Cheng Yuan arrived ten minutes earlier than expected and barged in without any explanation.
That was the worst expression Jiang Xiao had ever seen on his face—brows furrowed, complexion ashen, as if he wanted to devour someone.
Jiang Xiao snapped back to reality, terrified and wanting to flee, but he seized her by the throat. Her body leaned back, pressing hard against the railing. With just a little more force from Cheng Yuan, she would suffocate. Or, if he let go, she could fall straight down.
Her survival instinct made her grab Cheng Yuan's wrist, struggling to speak, "Cough, cough... let... let go..."
Cheng Yuan coldly glared at her, sparks flying from his dark eyes, "Let go? Didn't you want to die? Fine, I'll grant your wish."
No one knew what he was thinking on the way there. It seemed he saw Jiang Xiao lying in a pool of blood, moaning in pain. At that moment, his heart clenched as if it were about to die.
"Jiang Xiao, do you really think I wouldn't do anything to you?" Cheng Yuan was furious, grinding his teeth. "This is the first and last time. If you ever dare to threaten me with your life again, I'll make you regret it."
Just before she would have suffocated, Cheng Yuan released his grip, grabbed her wrist, and dragged her into the bedroom.
The maid came to knock on the door, and he roared, "Get lost!"
The clattering footsteps disappeared.
Jiang Xiao hadn't truly wanted to die; she just wanted to leave. In the moment he was distracted, she pushed him away and ran toward the door. But just as she reached it, he grabbed her from behind and threw her back onto the bed.
Then he pressed himself on top of her.
Cheng Yuan tightly restrained Jiang Xiao, gripping her jaw. "Want to escape? Dream on."
With that, he lowered his head and kissed her, biting hard on her tongue. "Jiang Xiao, you are mine. In this life, you can only be mine. It's only me who can abandon you."
"Want to run? Fine, I'll let you run."
"Rip." The clothes on Jiang Xiao tore apart, buttons clattering to the ground, mingling with heavy gasps.
The struggle ended after an hour. Jiang Xiao's body was covered in marks. She frowned at them and muttered, "Madman."
Then she wrapped herself in a quilt and went to the bathroom. Sitting on the toilet lid, she bit her finger, thinking of a way to escape.
A direct confrontation wouldn't work; she had to use her wits.
After a moment of thought, she came out of the bathroom, extended her hand, and said, "I don't have my phone anymore. My parents will worry. Can you give me my phone?"
Her voice was soft and docile, as if she had realized her mistake. Cheng Yuan thought she had seen the error of her ways and softened his tone as well.
"I can give it to you, but you have to promise me one thing."
"What?"
"No more talk of divorce."
Recently, the Cheng Group had run into some trouble that couldn't be resolved in the short term. Cheng Yuan didn't have the energy to wrangle with Jiang Xiao. The simplest way was to pacify her first, then deal with the company's issues.
Jiang Xiao pressed her lips together and didn't answer.
Cheng Yuan walked over, stood in front of her, pinched her chin, and forced her to look up. "Actually, if you don't agree, that's fine too. Then you can continue to stay here and not contact anyone."
He was restricting her freedom, but Jiang Xiao had no power to argue. After much thought, she had to compromise.
"...Fine, I promise you."
Cheng Yuan no longer trusted her words. He took out his phone and made a call. "Bring the agreement over."
The voice of his assistant, Jiang Yu, came through the receiver. "Yes."
Soon, Jiang Yu pushed the door open. "President Cheng, here you go."
Cheng Yuan took it and handed the agreement to Jiang Xiao. "Sign it, and you can leave."
The agreement was extremely harsh, all designed to restrict Jiang Xiao. If she breached it, she would have to pay a huge sum in damages.
Jiang Xiao frowned. "One hundred million? Cheng Yuan, are you crazy for money?"
Cheng Yuan snorted. "Do you think I'm doing this for money? I'm the president of the Cheng Group; I don't need your hundred million."
"No, I won't sign." Signing this agreement would trap Jiang Xiao for life. She stiffened her neck and said, "You might as well let me die."
Cheng Yuan had calmed down and no longer believed her suicidal threats. He leaned in, "Want to die? Fine, let's play a different game. I'll make sure you die comfortably."
Jiang Xiao could see something in his eyes and struggled, "Don't do anything crazy."
"I'll ask you one last time." Cheng Yuan tightened his grip on her waist. "Sign or not?"
Pain shot through her waist; it felt like her bones were breaking. Jiang Xiao couldn't bear it and trembled, "Fine, I'll sign."
Cheng Yuan looked down at her, watching her write her name stroke by stroke and press her fingerprint.
"Can I leave now?" Jiang Xiao didn't want to stay here.
"It's raining outside. Wait until it stops." Cheng Yuan put away the agreement and handed it to Jiang Yu.
Jiang Yu left with the agreement.
Jiang Xiao only wanted to leave, regardless of the rain. "I want to go."
Cheng Yuan stared at her for a long time. "Since you insist, fine."
They left together. Cheng Yuan carried Jiang Xiao into the car, and they barely spoke on the way, but they did a lot of things.
Fortunately, the partition was up; otherwise, Jiang Xiao wouldn't have been able to face anyone.
"Every time I touch you, you react like this. And you say you can bear to leave me?" Cheng Yuan said shamelessly. "If you really could, you wouldn't respond like this, Mrs. Cheng."