Volume One, Chapter 18: She Actually Wants to Leave Again?

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Lin Qingwan, now calm again, looked at the man before her. Despite the warmth of the spring water, an unsettling chill lingered in her heart.

“Your Highness once said you wouldn’t force me again. Is this your solemn promise?”

In her previous life, things were no different; once again, he disregarded her will.

Seeing Lin Qingwan's tears, Chu Linyuan immediately took her hand and fanned his own face.

“It was my fault for losing control. Wan’er, don’t cry. You can hit me as much as you want.”

His voice was gentle as he comforted her, drawing her into his embrace, yet his eyes were cold, a scornful smile curling at his lips.

“Your Highness, do you think I am some common courtesan, to be with anyone anywhere as you please?”

Gathering her courage, she spoke the words she dared not utter last life, stepping back to meet his gaze.

In her previous life, each time he forced himself on her, no matter how unwilling she was, she complied just to keep him near.

Yet he knew how much she detested it.

“Lin Qingwan, your words wound me deeply. You are the one closest to my heart; how could you belittle yourself so?”

The one closest to his heart?

Chu Linyuan bent down and gently kissed her lips. Seeing her expression fall into sorrow, he suddenly looked flustered.

“Wan’er, I was wrong. Next time, I will wait for your consent before touching you.”

“But you said before that you would never force me again—”

Lin Qingwan recalled the man’s words from a few days ago. How quickly he had forgotten.

She touched her neck, remembering how she had resisted but was nearly strangled.

No, she could no longer stay by his side. She would leave with her mother and never set foot in the imperial city again.

The man’s pleasant laughter sounded by her ear.

“It’s all my fault. Wan’er, you may punish me as you wish. How about I wash your body as punishment?”

She pushed his chest to keep him at bay.

“Don’t come any closer. I’ll wash myself. Afterward, I have something to say to you.”

“Just say it, Wan’er. I will agree to anything.”

As part of the bargain, she would have to accept the bonded gu poison.

Lin Qingwan was stunned. “No matter what?”

“No matter what.”

The man leaned against the center of the pool, holding Lin Qingwan close, her hands around his neck.

“I want to leave with my mother.”

His hands tightened around her waist, pressing her against the pool’s edge, his gaze sharp.

“Is that what you want to tell me?”

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The sudden movement caught Lin Qingwan off guard as he forcefully pinned her against the stone wall by the pool.

“It hurts! Don’t do this!”

“You feel pain too? I thought you were a celestial being from the Ninth Heaven, always longing to return to the heavens. How could a fairy know pain?”

Biting her neck fiercely, his eyes grew ruthless, and his actions more violent.

“Obey me. If you get hurt, I’d still never let you leave.”

Hearing his words, Lin Qingwan wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

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