Next, the black cloth covering my eyes was removed too.
I stared at the man in front of me, panic-stricken.
His sharp features and overwhelming presence made me tremble with fear the moment our eyes met.
The hand pressing down on my shoulder caught the light, flashing silver.
It was a metal arm!
Tần Mục frowned as he looked me over, then chuckled. “You’re this small?”
My heart lurched.
He… thought I was a gift from Tần Triết.
There had once been a rumor that someone had brought a woman to Tần Mục to curry favor with him.
But the woman had mocked him for being a beast-person, and he’d strangled her to death on the spot.
Now his right hand moved to my neck.
The chill of the metal seeped into me, making my whole body tremble.
It felt as if one wrong word from me would make him kill me on the spot.
My lips trembling, I summoned all my courage and cautiously pressed closer to his chest.
“I’m not small…”
04
His right index finger brushed lightly over my neck, then settled beneath my chin and tipped it up.
Once again, my eyes met his.
They were as deep as an abyss, as if they wanted to swallow me whole.
“Hmm. You’ve got some nerve.”
I couldn’t tell whether he was pleased or angry.
Tần Mục reached out, gently snapped the restraints around my wrists and ankles, and tossed them to the floor.
The next second, he bent down and pinned me to the bed.
His metal prosthetic leg clamped around my waist, leaving me no way to escape.
The pain drained the color from my face, and I couldn’t help crying out.
“Bear with it for a little while.”
I closed my eyes and bit down hard on my lip.
Tần Mục bent down to kiss me, his voice hoarse.
“Don’t bite.”
Just then, his phone rang.
He hung up, but it immediately started ringing again, over and over without end.
Tần Mục frowned in irritation, while I glanced at the phone screen—the caller was Tần Triết.
He suppressed his annoyance and answered.
“Speak.”
Just one word, cold as ice.
On the other end, Tần Triết hurriedly spoke up.
“Uncle, they were joking around today and gave you a woman. You didn’t…”
Tần Mục raised an eyebrow. “Joking around?”
His gaze fell on me.
I pressed my lips together and stayed silent.
Tần Triết hurried to explain.
“Uncle, Lộc Linh is my fiancée. We had a little fight, and they took their joke too far by bringing her to you.”
“I’m downstairs. I’ll come up and get her right away.”
Tần Mục sneered.
“Hmph. No need.”
“She’s in my bed. She’s quite the beauty.”
With that, he tossed the phone aside, pulled me into his arms, and fixed me with a gaze that burned like fire.
“You weren’t a gift?”
My face went pale as I shakily explained it all over again.
When I finished, Tần Mục let out a soft sigh.
“Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
“Were you afraid of me?”
I nodded slightly, studying his expression, afraid he’d get angry and kill me.
Tần Mục bent down helplessly and gently kissed my lips.
“All right, don’t be afraid.”
He held me, his movements gradually growing gentler.
His metal prosthetic leg, slick with moisture, pressed against my waist once more.
Cold and sticky.
Eventually, he gradually lost control.
I sobbed and begged, but he paid no attention. His eyes were bloodshot, as if he wanted to devour me down to the bone.
Outside the window, the sky grew light and then dark again.
I passed out, only to wake again when the pain jolted me.
Until at last, I lost consciousness completely.
When I woke, I couldn’t tell whether it was day or night. My whole body ached, and I felt awful.
A cold hand rested on my forehead, and a voice full of regret spoke.
“You’re awake.”
I tried to make out the person in front of me, but eventually drifted back to sleep.
In my half-conscious state, I faintly heard angry cursing.
After sleeping for a very long time, I felt a wondrous force slowly soothe me, easing the pain in my body.
I opened my eyes to an unfamiliar room and immediately sat bolt upright, on guard.
“Don’t be afraid. I’m not a bad person. My name is Mạnh Đàn.”
To be polite, I introduced myself.
“Lộc Linh.”
Mạnh Đàn looked at me, hesitating as if she wanted to say something but couldn’t bring herself to.
At last, she glanced at the bruises on my body and spoke cautiously.
“Would you like me to help?”
She said Tần Mục had brought me here.
She was a merperson with powerful healing abilities.
I immediately remembered that day and stiffened, but still shook my head.
“I’m fine. I can take care of myself.”
“How long was I unconscious?”
Mạnh Đàn shook her head.
“I don’t know. You’ll have to ask Tần Mục. Should I go call him?”
Only after I nodded did she go downstairs to find Tần Mục.
I could tell she was afraid he might hurt me.
Something in me softened.
In the two years since my family went bankrupt, Mạnh Đàn was the first person to treat me kindly.
Soon, Tần Mục walked in.
He wore a simple white shirt and slacks, with a black vest over them. His shoulders were broad and his waist slender.
His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing firm, well-defined muscles; on the other side, his metal prosthetic leg glinted silver.
Remembering that night, I quickly looked away from his right arm and curled up in fear.
“I’m sorry. I was in heat that day, and I couldn’t control myself.”
05
I looked up at him in astonishment.
He seemed to know I was afraid. He didn’t come closer, but stood a yard from the bed.
I knew beast-people went into heat, but what were the odds it would happen then…?
Tần Mục explained again. “My heat has always been unpredictable. It came on so suddenly that day, and I didn’t have any suppressants with me. On top of that, they said you were…”
He paused briefly. “I’m sorry. I’ll take responsibility.”
I was just about to ask what he meant by taking responsibility when Tần Mục blurted out, “I’ll marry you.”
“No!”
I rejected him almost without thinking.
“I… can’t.”
Those days had been far too painful.
Tần Mục suddenly stepped forward, his imposing presence pressing in on me.
I drew into myself and watched him warily.
Seeing me like that, he sighed and softened his tone. “I looked into it. You and Tần Triết were once engaged, but he didn’t want to marry you. Now your family has gone bankrupt and is drowning in debt. If you marry me, I can help you pay it off, and you can get revenge on Tần Triết. It’s two birds with one stone.”
It sounded very tempting.
“Isn’t he… your nephew?”
Hearing that, Tần Mục curled his lip mockingly. “He’s only my nephew, not my son.”
He coaxed me slowly. “Marry me, and he’ll have to respectfully call you Aunt. If you don’t give your blessing, he won’t be able to marry Hứa Lê.”
“Well? Doesn’t that sound like a great deal?”
It did sound like a pretty good deal.
“But… but…”
I hesitated, glancing at Tần Mục, unsure what to say.
Tần Mục understood at once. His tone was perfectly casual. “My heat may be unpredictable, but there are suppressants to control it. Nothing like what happened last time will ever happen again.”
“Trust me, okay?”
At some point, he had come to stand beside the bed.
I looked up at him, feeling a little uncertain.
Hadn’t I spent two years with Tần Triết just so he would marry me and help me get a share of the Tần family’s assets to pay off my debts?
Besides, he’d treated me as Hứa Lê’s replacement.
I had to get even for that.
Tần Mục waited patiently for my answer.
I was still a little hesitant. “I heard you once strangled a woman someone sent to you. What if I make you angry…”
At that, Tần Mục burst out laughing. “There are laws in this society. No matter how arrogant I am, I wouldn’t dare defy them. I just let that story get exaggerated on purpose to keep all the women trying to get into my bed away.”
The tension in my heart gradually eased.
“You really can control it?”
He nodded. “Otherwise, how do you think I’ve managed all these years?”
There were countless rumors about Tần Mục, but none of them had ever involved women.
In that case…
“Okay.”
Tần Mục curled his lip. “Mm.”
I lowered my head, lost in thought, and missed the brief, satisfied smile in his eyes.
06
My parents had no idea why I’d disappeared for days. They were frantic and had even called the police.
At the time, I hadn’t dared tell them I’d gone to find Tần Triết, afraid they’d blame themselves.
When I got home, my mother threw her arms around me and sobbed.
“Where have you been? Do you know how scared I was? I thought you…”
“Your father’s already like this. If something happened to you too, how would I go on?”
My father was bedridden, partially paralyzed. He couldn’t speak clearly and could only make indistinct sounds as he looked at me anxiously.
I hugged my mother and gently tried to comfort her.
“I’m fine. Something came up at work, so they sent me on a business trip, and my phone broke, so I couldn’t get in touch with you.”
It was a clumsy excuse, but my mother didn’t press me. She only said she was glad I was safe.
My father anxiously grabbed my hand, and I quickly clasped his to reassure him.
“It’s okay, Dad.”
After comforting my parents, I went back to my room and dug out the love letters and countless greeting cards Tần Triết had written me. I also searched online for the video of our engagement and all the romantic things he’d done for me.
Looking at them now, I could only laugh at how ridiculous it all was.
I photographed everything, edited the pictures into a neat post, and uploaded it online, exposing how Tần Triết had treated me as a substitute and deceived me emotionally.
Finally, I packed it all up and sent it to Hứa Lê.
Scandalous romances among the wealthy were always irresistible bait for gossip accounts.
Before long, news outlets big and small were circulating my video at breakneck speed, and internet users tore into Tần Triết without mercy.
At the same time, the package I’d sent arrived in Hứa Lê’s hands.