The soft white light from outside the window streamed in, making her delicate, snow-white skin appear even brighter.

Wang Hezhan raised an eyebrow, glanced sideways, and asked with a smile, "What are you talking about?"

Seeing his nonchalant demeanor, Xie Rongyue felt a little annoyed and frowned almost imperceptibly.

"Moon".

He leaned closer and embraced her affectionately.

"I miss you so much, don't push me away."

Their bodies pressed tightly together, and she was pinned against the dressing table, unable to move.

She was embarrassed and annoyed, and reached out to push him, but he grabbed her wrist.

"To escape me, you deceived me with a fake corpse and ran away silently for three years. I really wanted to lock you up and punish you properly, but when I look at you, I can't bear to."

Xie Rongyue's eyes narrowed slowly, like a wildcat, gleaming with a sinister light. "Locked up in the other courtyard, to be bullied by you day and night?"

Wang Hezhan paused, realizing he had misspoke, and coaxed her gently, "I just can't bear to see you leave me."

"General, you come from a distinguished family. If you wish, there are plenty of noble ladies who would like to marry into the Langya Wang clan, or even become concubines. I'm begging you, please spare my life."

His eyes darkened, and he tried his best to suppress his anger, tightening his grip on her waist.

Xie Rongyue lowered her eyelids and said in a light voice, "I will stay in the Southwest. I hope the general will not disturb my life again. You should go back to Yandu."

She pushed him away again and again, every word she uttered was an attempt to distance herself from him, and all the excruciating pain she had endured for the past three years was nothing more than her own suffering.

Wang Hezhan raised his head, calmed his disordered breathing, and said in a deep voice, "And then what? Do you expect me to watch you marry someone else, watch you have children with another man, and live in pain day and night?"

Xie Rongyue was momentarily dazed and in pain. Could he be in pain? His current state was nothing more than his inability to tolerate her abandoning him first. It was his inherent pride that was at play. What he loved most was his family and status. How could a young woman be worthy of comparing herself to his family's great enterprise?

"I have already made myself clear to the general. You may leave."

Wang Hezhan sneered, "Beg me to let you go, let me leave, run away from me, push me away, Xie Rongyue, what else can you say besides these things?"

"If I don't let you leave and forcibly take you back to Yandu, where will you run off to and fake your death again?"

Xie Rongyue listened to his sarcasm, slowly raised her eyes, and met his gaze.

"If you don't let go, I can die right in front of you."

"die?"

This word was like a ghostly fire fallen into the wilderness, igniting the darkest side of his heart.

His lips curled into a half-smile, carrying a suffocating, suppressed sarcasm. "Fine, one day, I, Wang Hezhan, will actually drive someone to suicide."

Winter had just passed, and a thin layer of frost covered the trees in the early morning. Dewdrops fell on the windowsill, making a crisp sound that broke the eerie silence inside the house.

Xie Rongyue said nonchalantly, "My appearance is so plain and unattainable; I am unworthy of the young master of the Langya Wang clan. I was presumptuous back then—"

Before she could finish speaking, he grabbed her chin and lifted her up, his eyes flashing with a sharp and ruthless light.

"What are you pretending for? You're just a scheming wildcat at heart, would you really die?!"

Full of scheming?!

Xie Rongyue looked at his eyebrows and eyes, and wanted to laugh. She could hardly breathe, and tears welled up in her eyes from being pinched.

She knew that he had always thought this way. From the very beginning, when he caught her trying to climb the social ladder by breaking off the engagement, he thought she was a scheming and promiscuous woman.

But what did she do wrong? She didn't want to marry an old man, she didn't want to be a concubine with her elder sister, and she wanted to find a way to survive for herself. What was wrong with that?

“Wang Hezhan, I’m full of scheming, but what have I done to wrong you? I begged you to break off the engagement for me, and you took my body. We could have lived peacefully together, but you forced me. You married your legal wife while also trying to take mine. You wanted to enjoy the bliss of having two wives, so why should I pay the price for the rest of my life?”

Her eyes welled up with tears as she brought up old grievances, "I've paid a heavier and heavier price each time for my foolish attempts to seduce you. My moves, my fall into the lake, my being deceived—everything was brought upon me by you."

"It's been three years. I left Yandu and went to the southwest. Why won't you let me go? Do you want me to be a caged bird in your hands? Are you only satisfied when I'm dead?"

She had never cried like this in front of him before, and had never spoken of the grievances in her heart. Wang Hezhan suddenly felt that the three years of running away and deception had become insignificant, and her harsh words had faded into the past.

He tried his best to calm the surging emotions in his heart, hugged her tightly, and whispered, "That's not what I meant, Yue'er, don't cry."

He was just angry at her words; he didn't want to hear her always trying to escape from him, pushing him away without any mercy, like throwing away trash.

Xie Rongyue broke free from him, crying with tears in her eyes, "Admit it, you are selfish. You have never cared about my feelings. In your dictionary, Wang Hezhan, life is all about interests."

Wang Hezhan paused, then slowly lowered his eyes to look at her.

Yes, in his eyes, family interests are above all else, but he can't explain when that feeling that irritates him and even makes him want to destroy it has taken root in his heart.

Born into a prominent family, he grew up amidst the intrigues and power struggles of his clan. In his upbringing, he believed that marriage alliances were the simplest and most straightforward way to consolidate power. His father, brothers, and relatives all followed this approach, and he would be no exception.

He never believed in any nonsense about love, but ever since he met her, that burning, intense possessiveness almost overwhelmed him.

He had lost track of time; this absurd feeling had taken over his entire being since she faked her death.

Countless midnight dreams were filled with her cunning, smiling face, begging for his mercy. He admired ambitious people and liked those who could assess situations. Her obedient, fierce, aloof, and shy appearance was always etched in his mind, impossible to shake off.

His mother said he was bewitched, and now it seems he really was, willingly bewitched by her.

The cold wind howled outside, as if a vast expanse of time had flowed between them.

He looked at her red-eyed face, pulled her into his arms, and said in a harsh tone, "Don't cry."

Xie Rongyue didn't want him to hug her, so she tried her best to suppress her emotions, struggled to push him away, and said coldly, "From now on, General, you will live in Yandu, and I will live in the southwest. Let's never see each other again."

Before he could finish speaking, he leaned down and bit her lip hard. "You wish."

Xie Rongyue was taken aback. Her eyes reddened with anger at his appearance, and her fair cheeks flushed. She suppressed her anger and reached out to push him.

Wang Hezhan took the initiative to let go of her, glanced at her, and slowly said, "Wait for me."

She paused slightly, watching him take the blunt knife from her sleeve, turn around and leave. She breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the coldness from her face, and turned away without looking back.