Chapter 77 A frenzied and relentless passionate embrace.

Zhong Ying dreamt of slender, cool fingers stroking her body, leaving ambiguous water stains on her skin, which were then covered with another kind of water stains after being sucked and teased.

Just as she was about to gasp for breath, something blocked her throat—fierce, intense, almost devouring her with its madness… It finally released her when Zhong Ying was about to run out of breath, but it didn’t leave, still gently biting her lower lip.

Zhong Ying felt herself getting hotter and hotter, and even in her sleep, her mind was wandering. How could she have such a erotic dream?

Just as Zhong Ying was feeling so hot that she wanted to kick off the covers, something warm and cool touched her skin. Zhong Ying couldn't help but sigh, which relieved some of the restlessness and heat.

Soon, Zhong Ying dreamed that she was in the water, the water rippled gently, the current with a slight propulsion brushed against her arm, and guided her across a flat surface of water. Then small pebbles slid across her palm, passed over the firm blocks of the riverbank... and finally, she caught a throbbing fish in her hand.

Just then, she sank into the water... No! The truth is exactly the opposite!

Zhong Ying was now fully awake.

Li Linshi leaned in to kiss her again, mumbling between his lips, "It's a finger, mine... in your hand..."

After waking up, her five senses became clearer, and Zhong Ying could naturally feel what she was holding in her hand, as well as the skin pressed tightly against her without any barrier—she was clearly fully dressed before going to sleep, but now all of her clothes had been undressed and taken off!

What's wrong with him this time?

When Zhong Ying tried to ask Li Lin, the waves of emotion that surged like a storm kept pushing her up, leaving her only able to utter a few broken syllables.

It went too far, like a final frenzy before the end of the world, a desperate and passionate embrace.

Zhong Ying trembled uncontrollably amidst the tidal wave of pleasure, and the hand that had been holding his had already let go. Li Linshi didn't care about his own condition; he simply reached out and covered her completely with his large palm, preventing a single drop of liquid from spilling out.

“You…” Zhong Ying was just about to come out of her daze when her pupils suddenly contracted, and she looked at Li Lin in astonishment.

Li Linshi then used his other hand to take Zhong Ying's hand and touch it, planting a series of kisses on her lips, cheeks, and behind her ears, whispering, "Feel it carefully, can you feel that the shape is exactly the same..."

Zhong Ying was speechless.

Li Linshi's ability to manipulate water was terrifyingly advanced; the intangible water became tangible under his control.

She couldn't help but grip hard, it was just an unconscious grasping motion.

Li Linshi let out a hoarse gasp as Zhong Ying gripped his hand so tightly.

The rising water curtain walls on all four sides act like a water-based cover, using water's sound-insulating properties to trap all sound inside, so that only those inside can hear each other.

After a long while, the spasm seemed to be a signal, as if a white light exploded in her mind. Zhong Ying stared blankly into the void, her chest heaving.

Li Linshi, who had somehow crawled under the covers, popped his head out again and leaned over to press down on her. The wetness on his lips made his face even more alluring and beautiful, like a glamorous ghost who had just absorbed the yang energy of a living person. But in reality, he never actually put anything inside her, because he was afraid of really absorbing Zhong Ying's yang energy or causing her unnecessary trouble.

Zhong Ying slowly came to her senses, focused her gaze on him, and her heart softened.

Li Linshi chuckled and took Zhong Ying's hand, placing it on his left chest.

The skin beneath his palm had an unusually warm temperature, unlike his body temperature, but closer to hers.

"Did you feel it?" Li Linshi's smile deepened, yet it carried a strange, obsessive quality. "I sealed the water I swallowed here, as if I've regained my heart... the burning warmth of you..."

The water you swallowed?

Zhong Ying remained silent for a long time; could it be something she just spat out—

She often felt that Li Linshi was too abnormal, to the point that he kept pushing the boundaries of her understanding.

Zhong Ying clasped her outstretched hands together and forcefully pinched the fulcrum on Li Linshi's chest, twisting it hard.

"Disperse immediately," Zhong Ying said expressionlessly.

Li Linshi watched her quietly, and in the end, he could only let the liquid in his chest disperse, returning to the natural water cycle like a mud ox sinking into the sea.

Zhong Ying then stopped. "Tell me, what have you misunderstood this time?"

She had figured out the pattern: whenever Li Linshi went crazy, it was because he was having some serious, incoherent thoughts. Zhong Ying was absolutely certain of this because she had almost been "played to death" by him just now.

Li Lin stretched out his long arm and groped under the covers to grab a piece of clothing to wrap Zhong Ying in. He only realized it was his when he saw the exposed color. The soft, light yellow cardigan made her still flushed face look as beautiful as a forsythia. They had just done the most intimate thing, and he could neither hide it nor lie to her.

"After morning, I'm going to kill Qian Haishen." Li Linshi reached out and gently flicked the crooked wooden plaque around Zhong Ying's neck back to center with his slender fingers. His sinister voice had the feel of the King of Hell ordering someone to die at midnight.

Startled, Zhong Ying immediately reached out her smooth arms from the layers of warm clothing and hugged Li Linshi's neck.

"Don't worry," Li Linshi patted her arm reassuringly, "Even if I kill him, I won't be reborn as an animal. I will continue to stay with you."

He turned his head and kissed Zhong Ying on the cheek, "You'll always remember me, right?"

Li Linshi had already made up his mind. He would choose the option that his aunt hadn't chosen before: he wanted both his sister and Zhong Ying, even if the consequence of doing so was that he would be reduced to ashes after Zhong Ying's death because he had lost the last person who remembered him...

Li Linshi held Zhong Ying tightly, saying, "I have to do this. Only by killing Qian Haishen can my sister be free."

Zhong Ying also hugged his neck tightly, as if holding down a ferocious wild beast that might suddenly attack and hurt her at any moment. She had personally experienced the killing power of this ghost; she had almost been strangled or drowned by him several times before.

"It's not that bad, it's not that bad. It's not to the point where there's absolutely no other way and you have to step in. You're a piece of jade, why would you touch those stones?" Zhong Ying hurriedly smoothed things over, stroking Li Linshi's nape to comfort him. "If your sister, no, our sister wants to get out of this marital predicament, isn't divorce the only option?"

“I can’t get a divorce, Qian Haishen doesn’t want to.” Li Linshi’s voice became muffled as Zhong Ying pressed him into the crook of her neck.

"If you want a divorce, I have a way, whether you want it or not," Zhong Ying said confidently. "Have you forgotten that I'm still the women's team leader in the production team?"

Zhong Ying continued to remind her, "My sister's household registration and grain ration are still with our team."

Li Linshi tried to sit up, and Zhong Ying felt that he seemed to have calmed down, so she loosened her grip and stopped holding him tightly.

“Protecting the rights and interests of women in the production team is my duty as the women’s team leader.” Zhong Ying looked at Li Lin and said, “When individual strength is weak and difficult to resist, we must make good use of ‘organization against organization’. I don’t care whether Qian Haishen is willing to get a divorce or not, I will talk to the people in their county’s women’s federation directly.”

"I want to bring both organizations to the negotiating table."

Li Linshi stared intently at Zhong Ying.

After a while, he released his strength and pressed all his weight onto Zhong Ying, just as his overflowing love was heavy.

When Zhong Ying realized that Li Lin had let go of his murderous intent, she breathed a sigh of relief even though she was being heavily suppressed. She was in the mood to chat casually, saying, "I finally feel like I'm in a 'sister-brother relationship'."

Li Linshi had such a strong presence, and coupled with the fact that she was younger than him, Zhong Ying never really felt the "older woman-younger man" dynamic.

"Wait, isn't my biological age older than yours now?" Zhong Ying asked him. "What month were you born in April?"

Li Linshi pursed his lips, but still answered truthfully, "Twenty-six."

"I am fourteen." Zhong Ying's current birthday is the same as in the modern era, April 14th. According to her physical age, she is twenty-two years old this year. Li Linshi was also twenty-two years old when he died, but he died in June, and now it is November.

Li Linshi's time has stopped, but Zhong Ying's time continues to accumulate, so by any measure, Zhong Ying is now older than him.

Zhong Ying patted Li Linshi's head affectionately, like she was patting a child's head. "Young people like you haven't experienced much, so when you encounter a little trouble, you think it's a huge deal, and if you can't solve it, you start shouting for violence."

“After working for two years and experiencing the harsh realities of society, I know that there’s always a solution to everything.” After spouting this profound truth, Zhong Ying suddenly realized something and couldn’t help but puff out her chest proudly, “So I’m the ‘guided lover’.”

Li Linshi's gaze was deep and unfathomable. "...I understand."

He crawled back under the covers, lowered his head, and took the red cherry into his mouth in one bite.

Zhong Ying exclaimed in surprise, "That's not what I meant—"

That bastard deliberately misinterpreted her chest-puffing gesture!

——

Li Rou walked out of her daughter's room. The living room still bore the chaotic traces of last night's family dispute. She ignored them, walked around the mess on the floor, and went straight to the window.

Outside the window, the sky was gradually brightening, and the rising sun shone its morning light on Li Rou's face. She stood quietly with her arms crossed for a while, then slowly knelt down facing east.

Li Rou clasped her hands together in front of her chest, closed her tearful eyes, and thought of the clay statue of the Mountain Goddess in the temple behind the Tonggan Production Team.

If the mountain god truly exists, please take her home.

This is not her home, and those people are not her family.

A tear rolled down her cheek. Li Rou silently prayed, "If the mountain god has a spirit, please take me back to Tonggan Village..."

"Sister! Sister, it's me—"

Zhong Ying called out in a low voice. She stood on tiptoe and leaned against the Qian family's gate, looking through the small window on the upper edge of the door. The slender figure was clearly Li Rou.

Li Rou was startled. She quickly wiped away her tears, got up, and walked to the door. She asked repeatedly, "Yingni'er, where did you sleep last night? Are you alright? They locked the door and took my key, so they won't let me come to you."

"I'm fine, I stayed at the guesthouse for one night." After saying that, Zhong Ying only asked Li Rou two questions, "Sister, do you want to go back to the production team? Do you want a divorce?"

Li Rou said eagerly, "I want to, I want to!"

"I want to go back, I want a divorce," Li Rou said to Zhong Ying through the door. "I've finally seen through these people's true colors. They just want to use me as a testing ground to see if a bad seed like Qian Haishen can produce any fruit!"

Li Rou's low voice was full of sarcasm.

Outside the door, Zhong Ying and Li Linshi exchanged a glance and both breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Li Rou herself was determined enough to leave.

"That's good, sister. I'll take you away," Zhong Ying said. "I'll help you."

Li Rou was in a dilemma, "But I don't have the key right now, I can't open the door..."

Zhong Ying examined the lock on the door; it was an old-fashioned mechanical lock cylinder. "It's okay, I can open this kind of lock."

She reached up and took a black bobby pin from her hair, confidently inserting it into the lock cylinder—

Zhong Ying poked and poked, but the scene in the TV series where the lock clicked open did not occur.

That was awkward...

When Zhong Ying looked at Li Lin, she said: "I thought this would unlock the door."

"I'll give it a try," Li Linshi said.

Zhong Ying stepped back, and Li Linshi stepped forward, first returning the black hairpin that was stuck in the lock cylinder to her, and then injecting a thin stream of water into it.

He lowered his eyes, carefully feeling the water flow that reached in like his tentacles. The water flowed into the tiny gear grooves in the lock cylinder, condensed, and drove the mechanical lock cylinder to turn. The lock tongue immediately retracted, and the door opened.

Li Rou's surprised gaze passed through Li Lin and landed on Zhong Ying. "You can pick locks?"

"Haha," Zhong Ying chuckled dryly, the credit being given to her again, "It's always good to have more skills..."

Li Rou was definitely going to take her daughter with her when she left. She quickly went back to her daughter's room and woke Qian Qian up. "Qianqian, do you want to go with Mommy? We'll live with Grandma and Grandpa in the countryside from now on, instead of Daddy, Grandpa, and Grandma."

Qian Qian rubbed her eyes and nodded blankly, "Okay, Grandpa and Grandma don't like me either. They say I should have been called 'Qian Qian' (meaning 'debt collector') because I'm a little debt collector..."

Upon hearing this, Li Rou gritted her teeth, her heart hardening even more, and with a forceful lift, she picked her daughter up from the bed.

After a while, Zhong Ying reached out and took the luggage that Li Rou had packed. Li Rou hugged Qian Qian, who was dressed in thick clothes, and the two of them tiptoed away from the Qian family.

Once outside the house, the two quickened their pace and hurried to the county bus station.

After buying tickets for the earliest bus and boarding it, they arrived at the commune after several hours of bumpy travel. Zhong Ying unlocked the bicycle that was locked to a tree by the roadside and immediately took the mother and daughter back to the Tonggan Production Team.

Holding her daughter's tiny body, Li Rou looked at the increasingly familiar scenery along the way and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"It feels like we're fleeing a famine," Li Rou said, but she was overjoyed. She probably wouldn't be any crazier in her life than she was today.

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Author's Note: My sister will successfully get a divorce! That scumbag husband and his entire family, get out of here!