I'll take you home.

These were the most beautiful words she had ever heard in her life.

She still has a place to belong to, a home.

She held Pei Wenxuan tightly, as if she was holding on to the only drifting wood in the torrent.

Her tears soaked Pei Wenxuan's clothes, and even though they were mixed with the rain, they were instantly recognizable because of the scorching temperature.

Pei Wenxuan held her in his arms, and his sleeves overlapped to block her figure. He restrained his trembling, restrained his loss of composure, restrained all his emotions, and forced the tears in his eyes away.

She is alive.

No matter what, she's alive, that's the best thing.

He listened to the crying of the person in his arms, took a deep breath, and slowly raised his head.

Through the rain, they could see the entrance to the cave not far away. Su Rongqing was standing there, looking at them quietly through the rain.

The two looked at each other for a moment, Su Rongqing nodded slightly, then turned and walked into the cave.

Pei Wenxuan stared at the cave while stroking Li Rong's back. Li Rong's crying gradually subsided. After a while, Zhao Chongjiu came over. As soon as he appeared in Pei Wenxuan's sight, Pei Wenxuan raised his hand to his lips and made a "silence" gesture from a distance.

Then Pei Wenxuan raised his chin towards the direction of the cave.

Zhao Chongjiu understood, nodded, and hurried towards the cave.

Pei Wenxuan saw what Zhao Chongjiu did and felt that Li Rong's emotions had calmed down a little. He finally spoke up: "The people searching the cliff should be not far away. I'll carry you over."

He half squatted down and let Li Rong get on his back. Li Rong hugged his neck, leaned on his back, and said nothing.

There was a sound of running behind her. Li Rong seemed to realize something and shuddered slightly. Pei Wenxuan did not move forward, and she did not look back. After a long time, she spoke hoarsely: "Let's go."

Pei Wenxuan looked up at the sky, then walked out of the forest with Li Rong on his back.

They said nothing along the way, only heavy rain poured down, hitting the two of them, hurting them like stones.

He carried her on his back through the thorns and the dense forest. The rain gradually stopped and the sky began to brighten.

The morning after the rain was filled with moisture, and the sunlight was hidden behind the blue clouds. The two did not know how long they had been walking before they finally heard the sound of horse hooves and human voices.

Pei Wenxuan raised his head and saw Tong Ye and his men rushing over from a distance. Tong Ye led his men all the way to Pei Wenxuan and said excitedly, "Young Master," and then he looked at Li Rong, "Your Highness, are you okay?"

"Let's get in the carriage first."

Pei Wenxuan knew that Li Rong didn't want to talk, so he sent Tong Ye away, carried Li Rong to the carriage, and helped Li Rong into the carriage.

Li Rong had calmed down long ago. She kept her head down and said nothing.

Pei Wenxuan helped her into the carriage, asked someone to change her into clean clothes, and then returned to the carriage.

Tong Ye brought the Pei Mansion's carriage, which only had Pei Wenxuan's clothes on it. So when Pei Wenxuan stepped into the carriage, he saw Li Rong wearing his clothes, sitting quietly in her seat.

She moved almost motionless, just as she had walked.

Pei Wenxuan stared for a moment, then walked forward, half-knelt on Li Rong, lifted her up by one foot, and whispered, "Shall I clean your wound first?"

Li Rong didn't say anything. She lowered her head, and no one knew what she was thinking.

The carriage started off with a rumble, and it was a bit bumpy as it went along the cobblestone riverbed. Pei Wenxuan lowered his head, not daring to look at Li Rong any longer. If he looked at her any more, his heart would feel like being cut by a sharp blade.

He didn't want to ask about what Li Rong had been through.

In fact, Li Rong might know something. He knew it the moment he smelled the fragrance on Xie Chunhe's body yesterday.

He had countless questions and guesses, but he said nothing. He lowered his head to observe Li Rong's wound, selected the appropriate medicine to apply, then took out the bandage and wrapped it carefully circle by circle.

Li Rong lowered her head and looked at him quietly, observing this man.

She felt that she had never really known Pei Wenxuan in her life.

His kindness, his gentleness, his delicacy, his tolerance, she seemed to never look back and never cherish them.

Pei Wenxuan continued to let her stare at him. After bandaging the wound on his foot, he raised his hand to untie her belt, stood up, bent his waist, as if hugging her, and raised his hand to take her clothes off her shoulders.

The charcoal fire was burning in the carriage, and the airtight space was hot as summer. But the moment her skin touched the air, Li Rong still felt the coolness coming from all around. But soon the coolness was blocked by Pei Wenxuan. He hugged her in the air, and her clothes were stuck in her hands. He tried to take it away. He was very close to her, and she could clearly feel his temperature and his smell. She could even hear his heartbeat and feel the subtle caress and restraint when his fingertips touched her.

She sensed his emotions, looked at the swinging door of the carriage in front of her, and said without any emotion: "Do you want me?"

Pei Wenxuan paused, and after a moment, he responded in a low, hoarse voice, "I just want to help you clean the wound."

"Why not me?"

Li Rong turned to look at the people around her: "Why do you always have to think about me and make things difficult for yourself?"

"Don't think too much about it," Pei Wenxuan didn't dare to look at her, he took off her clothes and took the medicine from the side, "I'm your husband, I promised not to care about these things."

As he spoke, Pei Wenxuan took the medicine from the side and lowered his head to apply it to her.

When the medicine touched her small wounds, Li Rong felt a sharp pain coming up.

Her body trembled slightly, and Pei Wenxuan looked up at her: "Does it hurt?"

There was no lust in his eyes.

But she knew that he was a normal man. It was impossible for him to be without sexual desire. It was just that his love was greater than his desire. For him, even such a disgusting thing would become beautiful.

Li Rong fluttered her eyelashes, lowered her eyes, and said hoarsely, "It doesn't hurt."

The two of them were silent. Pei Wenxuan applied the medicine to her, put the bottle away, and said softly, "You go to sleep first. I'll stay with you."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Rong raised her hand and grasped his sleeve.

"I'll give it to you."

"Your Highness," Pei Wenxuan lowered his eyes, "I'm not as bad as you think."

"Is this unbearable?" Li Rong looked up at him, "If you don't even want this, what else can I give you?"

Pei Wenxuan was stunned for a moment. Li Rong looked up at him and smiled softly: "It's okay with me. I am willing. Pei Wenxuan, please take care of yourself in front of me in the future."

As she spoke, she stood up, raised her hands to hold his face, and gently kissed his forehead.

Her kiss is cool.

It seems that the rain from last night has not left yet.

Like a drizzle, a soft and delicate kiss, followed by more lingering explorations.

She had never been like this before. Li Rong's love was always full of spirit and playfulness. She enjoyed it happily and received the most genuine response. In this kind of relationship, he gave and she took. Seeing that she was happy because of him was the greatest encouragement for him.

But she was not like that today. She tried her best to take care of him and thought about him all the time. She lowered her status and approached him like a humble person, trying to please him carefully and with all kinds of tricks.

He looked at Li Rong's "understanding", Li Rong's sudden "growth", and Li Rong's thoughtfulness, and suddenly realized that he actually didn't want it.

Compared to what Li Rong has done for him, what he wants more is that Li Rong will always be the princess in his heart, never bowing his head to anyone, never bending over for anyone, and being proud to the point of arrogance.

He felt that Li Rong at this moment was like fragile glass. He didn't dare to touch her and could only watch everything she did.

He knew she was looking for a way to make herself feel better, but when she knelt in front of him and lowered her head to swallow him, he finally couldn't stand such torture.

He raised his hand and pressed her shoulders to stop her movements, and said in a low voice: "That's enough."

Li Rong stopped moving, and Pei Wenxuan's hand on her shoulder trembled slightly: "Li Rong, don't do this to yourself."

"Are you kidding me?" Li Rong looked up at him, "Don't you like it?"

Pei Wenxuan didn't say anything. He looked at Li Rong's expression. He stared at her quietly. There was only a fine line between madness and calmness. He suddenly realized that at this moment, he was her only salvation and straw. She had to use her own way to complete her punishment and redemption.

All his rejections only pushed her further into hell.

Seeing that he didn't say anything, Li Rong raised her hand, pressed his hand aside, and continued her actions.

Pei Wenxuan looked at the person kneeling in front of him. She was very calm and serious.

It should have been an overwhelming pleasure, but Pei Wenxuan felt as if he was dragged into the water. He couldn't breathe, and everything was accumulated in his heart, as if it would explode at any time.

He leaned his hands on the edge of the chair, his knuckles starting to turn white from exerting too much force. Li Rong's flattery and tenderness were like sharp blades cutting into his heart.

It was he who failed to protect her.

It was his inability to stop the wind and rain of this world from turning into sharp blades, breaking her knees and shattering her spine.

She was mistreating him.

She was using this method of self-harm to make him suffer and despair.

She wanted to drag him to hell with her.

He suddenly understood how she felt. Under extreme pain, any feeling in the body, whether it was pain or pleasure, was salvation.

He held on to the wooden board tightly, and his nails were bleeding.

He suddenly hated her.

He called out softly, "Li Rong."

Li Rong looked up at him, and at that moment, Pei Wenxuan pulled her up and pressed her against the car wall. She hit the wall hard, and the moment the pain came, he kissed her.

He had lost his usual gentleness, and she vaguely tasted the bitterness of tears from the kiss. She was almost suffocated in this violent kiss. Before she could tell where the tears came from, she felt him suddenly merge into one with her.

She felt pain.

She held his arm tightly. Pei Wenxuan noticed her change. He raised his head and stared at her with tears in his eyes: "Are you satisfied?"

She didn't say a word. For the first time in her life, she felt pain from what Pei Wenxuan had done to her.

This was actually the most beautiful gift Pei Wenxuan had ever given her, but she turned it into pain with her own hands.

He held her hand and approached her: "I covet your beauty and your power, but not you as a person. My feelings are dirty and filthy. Such feelings," he choked, "are you relieved?"

She knew she had done something wrong again.

She wanted to explain that she really wanted to be good to her, she was not slandering his feelings, she just wanted to do her best to make up for him.

But she couldn't say it. She looked at him with eyes that seemed to be filled with hatred. Li Rong's teeth trembled slightly. She smiled and said, "I feel relieved."

As soon as she finished speaking, tears fell from her eyes.

The two people's eyes met in the air. The distance between them was so close, but because no one took a step back, they could not move an inch. They seemed so close yet so far away.

Pei Wenxuan suddenly felt pathetic. He raised his hand to cover Li Rong's face and wiped away her tears with his thumb: "Li Rong, let yourself go."

These words hit the glass like a heavy hammer, shattering her heart. She wanted to fight back, to refute, but in the end, she could only ask a rhetorical question: "If I let myself go, who will let me go?"

"No one let me go!"

When she said this, she could no longer suppress the pain she had been trying so hard to suppress. "Everyone is using me. Chuan'er doesn't believe me and wants to kill me. Shangguan Ya and Su Rongqing watched me die. Pei Wenxuan," Li Rong grabbed Pei Wenxuan's sleeve and stared at him with tears in her eyes. "How can I let myself go?"

"No one believes me. You all think I'm not good, that I'm selfish, that I'm power-hungry, that I'm unscrupulous, and that I don't care about any of you."

"So Li Chuan wants to kill me, Shangguan Ya wants me dead, Su Rongqing watched me drink the poison without saying anything, and even you," Li Rong grabbed his clothes tightly, "Do you also think that I am forcing you now? I am slandering your feelings, and I am in pain so I want you to suffer too?"

Pei Wenxuan was stunned, and Li Rong lowered her head. She controlled her emotions and tried to calm herself down.

She has hurt too many people and everyone has abandoned her. She wants to be nicer to Pei Wenxuan and she shouldn't indulge herself.

"I don't have any."

She said in a hoarse voice: "I just want to be nice to you. I want to be nice to everyone, but I can't do anything right."

"I don't speak well, I'm too arbitrary, I'm like a hedgehog, everyone who sees me thinks I'm bad. I can't even like you."

"I have done so much for Chuan'er," she said, tears streaming down her face, "but he still doesn't believe me."

"I had such a big fight with Aya and Chuan'er over this, but Aya still gave up on me for a little bit of risk."

"I put so much effort into protecting Su Rongqing, but I still can't live in his heart. He didn't even give me a little trust."

"I didn't force you. I really just wanted to be nice to you. I didn't know what to do. I just wanted you to not feel wronged in front of me. But I still couldn't do it well."

"I'm sorry..." She looked up at him and repeated, "I'm sorry..."

Pei Wenxuan didn't say anything. He looked at Li Rong in front of him. She had lost all her manners. The worst time in her life was probably now. Even when he saw her in prison, she was dressed neatly and had her hair tied up. She was calm.

But she no longer cared about that. Her face was covered with tears. She grabbed his sleeves, her eyes full of flattery and pleading. Those flattery were like knives, cutting into his heart.

He couldn't speak, and as soon as he opened his mouth he felt choked, so he said nothing, he picked her up and held her on top of him.

He kissed her tears gently and stroked her cheeks tenderly.

She kept crying, as if all the tears in her life were shed at this moment.

He gave her all his tenderness and compassion, and when it reached its peak, she herself could not tell where these tears came from or where they were going.

They were lost in desire, calm, until the last moment, she hugged him tightly, and said, "I'm sorry."

He closed his eyes and said nothing. After a long time, he buried his head in her shoulder and said softly, "Your Highness, you have done nothing to let me down. It is my business to like you and I have no regrets."

As Pei Wenxuan spoke, he took a deep breath, raised his hand to put clothes on her, then lifted the curtain and looked out.

The carriage had already entered Huajing, and there was a lot of noise all around. Pei Wenxuan confirmed the location, then turned his head and kissed her forehead: "Don't cry, go back and tell me what happened in detail, and I will work with you to find a solution."

Li Rong said nothing.

"Pei Wenxuan," Li Rong hugged him. Her voice was hoarse but calm. "Let's separate after we get back."

Pei Wenxuan paused, and Li Rong looked up at him: "Don't be sad."

"When I told you we were breaking up before, it was because I was disappointed in you, but not this time."

"I like you too much this time," Li Rong laughed, "I want to give you the best in the world."

As a lover, she was not only not the best person in the world, she was not even a good girl.

She couldn't bring any benefits to Pei Wenxuan, and even dragged him into the quagmire. She didn't even know how to be good to him.

There is no such lover.

She is only suitable for one person, silently in the dark night, behind him, looking far away, gazing, accompanying. Quietly giving him money, sending him to a high position, and bringing all the power and wealth to him.

Pei Wenxuan is so pure and beautiful. He is her bright moon and her sun. He should be hanging high in the sky and not sink into darkness with her.

Pei Wenxuan looked at her quietly, and he seemed to understand everything in her heart.

After a brief silence, he said, "Okay."

Li Rong was stunned.

Then she saw him moving forward slowly, approaching her.

Stare at her.

He was so close to her that she could feel their breath like the green smoke rising from an incense burner, intertwining and lingering, unable to be distinguished.

He raised his hand to the place closest to her heart, and she shuddered slightly.

Then she heard him speak calmly and seriously, as if giving an order -

"Then give you to me."