Qin Heye’s breathing grew urgent, ragged, filling the air with a raw intensity that made Shi Ning feel they were moments from tumbling onto the sheets. Her gaze flickered downwards, a swift, shy glance at his lower body. The heat emanating from his mermaid line was sudden, overwhelming. She yanked her hand back, tucking it behind her.
“Qin Heye, sober up! Let’s not talk about this now, we…”
Before she could finish, the fervent flush on Qin Heye’s face drained away, replaced by a sudden, glacial pallor. He stiffened, retreating instantly into his accustomed demeanor: cold, abstinent, and effortlessly superior. His eyes, devoid of their earlier heat, met hers with an indifferent, almost apologetic gaze. “Sorry, I’m drunk today.”
Shi Ning sniffed, her brow furrowed with suspicion. “You don’t smell of alcohol.” Not a trace. Could he truly be that drunk?
Qin Heye looked at her, his gaze unwavering. “Not drunk.” It was the intoxicating presence of her that had made him so. She was his intoxication.
“Hmm?” Shi Ning was even more confused. She instinctively reached for his left hand, her fingers brushing against the cool metal of his million-dollar watch. Eleven fifty-nine! It was almost midnight, the dawn of a new day.
She looked up at him, her voice firm. “This is my last explanation. I’m not going to leave you! I’m not going to divorce you!” Her confession poured out, heartfelt and urgent. “Qin Heye, I really don’t like Shen Xizhou anymore! I want to try to like you and fall in love with you!” She rushed on, determined to clear the air. “I said I would give up the land in the west of the city just to trick Shen Xizhou! Do you believe it…”
Before she could finish her sentence, before she could utter “me,” Qin Heye’s response was swift and absolute. “I believe you!”
Ding. The precise chime of midnight. A new day had begun.
Very good! Misunderstandings, she thought, shouldn’t linger overnight.
Shi Ning, a triumphant smile blooming on her face, pointed to the time on his watch. Her eyes, bright and earnest, met his. “Remember our agreement.” Her voice softened, a profound sincerity in her tone. “Our lives are so long, I allow misunderstandings.” She paused, then laid down her terms, a slight command in her voice. “But if you have a misunderstanding, you must explain it. At least before we go to bed, you must ask and explain the misunderstanding in person! I only allow our misunderstanding to last for 24 hours at most!”
Shi Ning spoke a torrent of words, but for Qin Heye, only one sentence truly echoed in his mind: “Our lives are so long!” Us! A lifetime! Her plan for the rest of her life includes him! His deep, cold eyes instantly shimmered with the pure light of happiness. “Okay!”
Shi Ning patted his hand, her expression turning serious once more. “Also, I am your wife, not your pet!” Her voice gained a determined edge. “You can’t think that I’m leaving, so you want to imprison me and lock me up with a chain! Force me to do husband and wife duties that I don’t like! I don’t like this!” She seized the opportunity to address potential future pitfalls, ensuring her autonomy. She would not be imprisoned, nor forced into affection. Especially not into a forced love that could turn to hate.
Qin Heye, caught off guard, looked away, guilt washing over him. He dared not meet her gaze, nor did he respond directly to her earnest declaration.
Seeing his silence, Shi Ning reached out, grabbed his tie, and with a surprisingly forceful tug, pulled him down to her level, making him look into her eyes. Then, with an air of playful dominance, she ordered him, “Answer me!” This alluring man truly needed some discipline.
Qin Heye’s gaze, burning with rekindled passion, lingered on her eyes, then drifted to her slightly swollen, reddened lips. “Don’t you like this?” he murmured, his voice hoarse.
“Yeah!” Shi Ning nodded vigorously.
Qin Heye held one of Shi Ning’s hands while the other still clutched his tie. He then took her small hand and, guiding it with his own, helped her wrap it around his tie. His eyes lifted to meet hers once more, and he asked, his voice a low, gravelly whisper, “What about this?”
Shi Ning was a little confused. “Ah?”
Qin Heye held her gaze directly, his voice raw, speaking slowly and deliberately. “Imprison me, chain me, and force me to do all… husband and wife obligations.” He leaned in closer, his ears hot, the question hanging in the air between them. “This, you really don’t like it?”