"Ah Jiang, are you scared?"
A cold hand gently brushed against the man's thigh, and the woman's even colder voice made him feel like he was plunged into an icy pit:
"If I break this leg of yours..."
"Would you still dare to run away?"
Qin Jiang shivered violently. Out of instinctual fear, he almost jumped out of the bright red mattress.
Then, he met a pair of sickly, bewitching crimson eyes.
"Ah Jiang... Take a good look at who owns you!"
The woman frowned slightly, almost obsessively leaning in closer, her eyes brimming with an uncontrollable intensity.
Yan Liang forcefully grabbed Qin Jiang's chin, making him meet her gaze.
This scene.
This familiar bed.
Qin Jiang quickly pinched his thigh. It hurt!
This wasn't a dream.
He had been reborn!
Tonight was his wedding night, forced by his biological parents to marry into the powerful Yan family in the capital on behalf of his younger brother.
It was said that the eldest daughter of the Yan family, Yan Liang, was cruel and violent, with a madness deep in her bones. Before Qin Yun's birthdate was chosen, seven men had been picked to marry her to appease her condition, and all seven died.
A 100% mortality rate.
This made all the major families in the capital too scared to consider marriage with the Yan family.
But despite knowing this was a dead end, the Qin family saved the younger brother and chose to sacrifice him!
"Ah Jiang, don't think that hurting yourself in front of me will make me let you go."
The woman's cold, sharp voice cut through his fragile nerves like a knife.
"Yan... Yan Liang, you're really not dead?"
"Qin Jiang, were you hoping I'd die? And don't call me 'auntie'. Are you still hung up on Bai Chuchu?"
"Wake up, tonight you are mine."
Yan Liang gritted her teeth, her already gloomy expression turning even colder.
She was only called Bai Chuchu's auntie because of some distant family connection.
Why did Qin Jiang keep calling her that?
In the next moment, Qin Jiang found himself harshly choked by the woman, her sick, dominant, and oppressive aura weighing down on him—a sign that Yan Liang was truly angry.
The suffocating feeling made Qin Jiang dazed.
The mention of Bai Chuchu's name made him gnash his teeth. She was his fiancée of three years, yet she cheated on him with his brother and left him for dead...
He hated her so much he wished he could tear her apart!
Seeing him lost in thought, Yan Liang's eyes grew even colder, and she tightened her grip on his neck, leaving her mark on him, finally revealing a hint of satisfaction:
"Qin Jiang, if you dare think of her again, I'll destroy..."
Qin Jiang instinctively endured the woman's rough treatment. Looking at her furrowed brows and repressed anger, he suddenly raised his hand, pressing the back of her head down.
A soft touch, sparks flying.
It instantly made the woman, who was on the verge of snapping, freeze in place...
"Yan Liang, my... my little darling, don't be angry, okay?"
"I don't care about Bai... mmm!"
His lips were sealed again, the woman biting down on them in a punishing kiss.
She bit fiercely, exploring every corner, leaving nothing untouched.
Qin Jiang's body instinctively resisted, but he was once again forcefully pressed into the bed by the woman.
Yan Liang saw through his false compromise, but she couldn't stop herself from sinking further into this voluntary descent.
"Ah Jiang, say it again!"
"Yan Liang baby? Sweetheart? My darling Yan?"
Yan Liang was so enchanted by his words that her bones almost melted, and Qin Jiang could hardly bear it.
"So obedient, what's your condition?"
"Fine, as long as it's not to see her, I'll agree to anything."
Yan Liang kissed him enough, then lifted her dress, intending to leave.
Ah Jiang didn't like her staying the night.
By the bedside, the corner of the woman's silk robe was suddenly tugged, Qin Jiang's ears reddened, and he looked up at Yan Liang with pleading eyes.
The woman's lips were so red they looked like they could drip water, her eyes curved into a fine hook that swept upward, hooking onto the hair at her temples, pulling at his soul.
Her sheer nightgown was tugged slightly open, revealing her snow-white, delicate shoulder...
"Yan Yan, I want you..."
"Come back and hold me while I sleep."
Yan Liang was stunned, and then a soft glow slowly rose in her eyes.
As adults, they both knew the true meaning behind those words.
"Alright, I'll fulfill your wish."
Even though she knew full well that tonight Qin Jiang used his body to keep her from going after Bai Chuchu...
Her heart ached!
So, she had to possess him even more wildly, to remind herself of the reality she held at this moment.
——
"Hiss!"
Qin Jiang opened his eyes, dazed.
Underneath him was the familiar luxury bed, the black curtains covering the scenery within. He lifted the quilt, shirtless.
A stain of red on the sheets reminded him of the nearly insane loss of control between them last night.
His body felt empty.
His supporting arm fell weakly.
"Awake?"
In the grand, palace-style room, the drapes were lifted, and Yan Liang stood by the bed, backlit, wearing a black Gothic Lolita dress. The hem was embroidered with lifelike patterns, the flower buds blood red, like seductive, blooming blood.
Her face, without makeup, still showed the innocence of a 20-year-old girl, her voice soft as she was in her awkward age.
Looking closely, it seemed she had become even more alluring than before.
But only Qin Jiang knew that this seemingly sweet and harmless woman was actually a little monster, combining sickness, ruthlessness, dominance, and madness all in one!
In his previous life, he avoided her like the plague.
He blindly believed the slander of his school flower girlfriend Bai Chuchu and his brother Qin Yun, rejecting and loathing Yan Liang.
He even conspired with Bai Chuchu and Qin Yun to steal the secrets of the Yan family, the most powerful in the capital, causing Yan Liang's downfall and forcing her to let him go.
And after he lost his value, Bai Chuchu knocked him out, and in his semi-conscious state, he watched as Bai Chuchu, wearing a mask, removed one of his kidneys.
His tears flowed uncontrollably as he questioned with his broken body, "Chu... Chuchu, why? Why did you harm me?"
Bai Chuchu laughed scornfully, placing his kidney in a cold chain box, mocking, "Qin Jiang, did you really think I would fall for a broke loser like you who's been a lowlife bug for over ten years? Ah Yun and I are childhood sweethearts. If it weren't for making you willingly be Ah Yun's walking blood bag, I would find it disgusting to even get close to you!"
"Now, Ah Yun needs your kidney."
"Of course, I have to personally transplant it to him."
"Didn't you say you loved me so much you'd give me your life? Now, I'm just taking one of your kidneys, not your life, you should thank me."
Each of Bai Chuchu's words stabbed into his fragile nerves like a knife.
Qin Jiang's eyes filled with fury, but he could only lie on the hospital bed in a private lab, barely clinging to life.
In his blurred consciousness, he heard familiar footsteps.
He weakly opened his eyes, and there stood his parents and five sisters from the Qin family.
His second sister, Qin Muyun, spoke first:
"Qin Jiang, Ah Yun's transplant is having serious rejection reactions, he urgently needs more blood. We must draw more blood from you, Ah Yun is our family's golden child, nothing can go wrong!"
He resisted the blood draw, using the last of his strength to fight back.
"No, I won't give him my blood!"
"Slap!"
Qin's father gave a hard slap to Qin Yun, who was lying weakly on the hospital bed, the sound echoing in the room.
Pain. It was excruciating.
Qin Yun coughed up blood, his face even paler than a corpse.
Qin's father yelled in rage, "Qin Yun, that's your own brother! He's been weak and sickly since childhood because you stole his nutrients in the womb. As his big brother, what's wrong with giving him some of your blood?"
"You've been doing it for four years already, giving a bit more won't kill you!"
"And besides, Chu Chu is Ah Yun's girlfriend. You, as a jinx, being with her would only bring her bad luck. Don't worry, when Ah Yun recovers, I'll make sure you sit at the main table as the best man at his wedding."
"Second son, hook up the blood transfusion line to Qin Yun immediately."
Qin Jiang felt like he was choking, his heart breaking while being utterly disgusted by his father's words.
Even his five sisters started to chime in.
"Qin Jiang, you're the older brother. Be generous and give Ah Yun what he needs."
"Qin Jiang, it's just blood. A brother who sacrifices for his younger sibling is a good brother."
"…"
Damn it. It's easy for them to be generous with someone else's blood.
For four years, he tried to fit into the Qin family, desperately seeking their affection. Eldest sister Qin Moyun was a CEO in the financial world, so he studied finance like crazy, got certified in three months, and stayed up all night to help her with projects, secretly helping her expand her business to the top five in East Asia.
Second sister Qin Muyun was a doctor obsessed with Chinese herbs, so he risked his life to venture into the rainforest to collect rare herbs for her research, narrowly escaping death many times without a single complaint.
Third sister Qin Xiangyun was a racing champion, so he racked his brains designing and modifying race cars tailored for her, ensuring her smooth ride to becoming a legendary driver.
Fourth sister Qin Shuyun was an award-winning actress, so he quietly secured top scripts and investments for her, never asking for credit, helping her rise to the pinnacle of fame.
When she disfigured herself in an accident and the industry's best cosmetic surgeons said they couldn't restore her looks, it was him who didn't give up. He went abroad to learn advanced cosmetic surgery techniques and restored her appearance, bringing her back to the top.
Fifth sister Qin Xianyun was his classmate at Hua University, but when she destroyed her senior's research project, she let him take the blame, getting him expelled…
For four years, he worked hard to fit in, willing to give everything because they were his blood relatives.
But no matter what he did, he couldn't warm their hearts!
Second sister Qin Muyun, dressed sharply in a lady's suit, which accentuated her figure and exuded a refined and gentle aura, looked down at Qin Yun's weak and miserable state, her brow slightly furrowing.
It felt like a tiny bug had pricked her heart, but the feeling quickly passed.
Seeing her hesitation, fourth sister Qin Shuyun decisively grabbed the blood transfusion needle and plunged it deeply into Qin Jiang's vein.
"Ah Yun exhausted himself helping me restore my appearance, which caused his kidneys to fail. Qin Jiang, you have no right to resent Ah Yun. Consider this kidney and blood as a debt owed to you by your fourth sister."
Second sister's expression immediately showed relief.
Ah Yun was saved.
Qin Jiang was in despair. If there was a next life, he'd make sure to settle the score with Qin Shuyun for that kidney!
For seven whole days, Qin Jiang was drained almost to the point of becoming a dried corpse.
Death was now just around the corner.
He silently awaited it…
"Click, click, click…"
The familiar sound of high heels echoed. A woman, dressed in a blood-red Lolita outfit with dark red hair flowing like seaweed, walked in. She was carrying a ragged doll chained up with iron.
Yan Liang was beautiful and seductive, with a dangerous glint in her eyes.
Behind her, the Qin family members, all missing limbs and covered in blood, were thrown down next to his hospital bed by her bodyguards.
She squatted down beside him, her gaze filled with a twisted, childlike curiosity as she spoke in a sweet yet eerie tone:
"Those who bully my Ah Jiang will be turned into dolls."
Yan Liang lifted a small bloodstained sickle and slowly brought it to Bai Chuchu's mutilated face.
"What a pity. If I had skinned you earlier and made you into a doll to place in our new home, maybe Ah Jiang wouldn't have run away."
As she spoke, she slit Bai Chuchu's throat.
Blood gushed out, and Yan Liang suddenly laughed.
She casually wiped the blood splatter off her cheek with a silk handkerchief, then turned her gaze to the Qin family.
The Qin family was utterly terrified.
"The rumors in the capital were true… You really are a monster!"
"Help! Help! Help!"
But no one came.
In his final moments, Qin Jiang saw her remove Qin Yun's kidney and drain his blood.
"Ah Jiang is mine!"
"You don't deserve a single drop of his blood!"
Qin Jiang witnessed a true massacre, but for the first time, he wasn't afraid.
He watched as the blood-soaked woman finally finished her work and came over to his bedside, exhaustion showing in her eyes. Her pale fingers caressed his rough skin as she let go of the ragged doll she was holding, crawling into his cold embrace.
With a click, a chain was firmly locked around both their wrists.
"Ah Jiang, be good. Don't try to escape this time, so we'll never be apart again."
Qin Jiang, with his last bit of strength, croaked out, "Run! Get out of here!"
"There's a bomb set to go off!"
Bai Chuchu, to silence him, had set the bomb to go off after draining him for seven days.
The explosion was imminent.
But Yan Liang just held him tighter.
She said, "Ah Jiang, don't be afraid… Yan Yan is here."
Before they died, she hugged him tightly, smiling contentedly. "I have nothing left now, but I still have you."
"Ah Jiang… if there's a next life, will you stay by my side?"
Qin Jiang, sobbing uncontrollably, felt unworthy!
But he couldn't help but nod, holding her tight:
"I promise."
If there's a next life, I won't let you down!
We made a promise!
The memories of his past life were too painful, causing Qin Jiang's nose to sting.
Yan Liang lifted the veil, seeing Qin Jiang's hopeless and defeated look.
It seemed he regretted it after all.
But seeing his reddened eyes, she couldn't help but gently stroke his face.
A flash of regret and self-mockery crossed her eyes.
Was he sad because he didn't stay loyal to Bai Chuchu?
Did he love Bai Chuchu that much?
"I won't touch you again, but don't think you can ever escape from me!"
Then, she arrogantly lifted his chin.
"In this life, you can only be my man!"
The next moment, the familiar cold touch of the chain locked around their wrists again.
"Click!"
The chain snapped into place, just like the promise they made in their past life.
Qin Jiang's body instinctively recoiled in panic.
He was scared, terrified, and resisted!
Yan Liang's eyes darkened, and without a word, she stormed out.
Qin Jiang, exhausted, took a long time to recover before he got up, using his past life memories to find where Yan Liang had hidden the key.
"Clang!"
The chain fell to the ground.
Qin Jiang stood in front of the mirror and almost threw up at his reflection.
Was this how he looked last night when Yan Liang… devoured him?
This was some seriously intense stuff.
Yan Liang must have been really hungry!