017 Man, tonight I belong to you_1

Jiang Xi frowned uncomfortably and looked up, her gaze drawn to a square-shaped vintage silver buckle on the belt.

She mumbled softly, "I don't like it, it's so hard..."

Her slender fingers fumbled with the belt buckle, her cheek rubbing back again, but this time a large hand pressed against her forehead, keeping her face in place.

Rong Nian looked down, his dark eyes seeming exceptionally deep and icy.

"What drunken nonsense are you spouting?"

Jiang Xi was momentarily frozen by his magnetic, icy voice. She looked up blankly, slowly making out who was in front of her through her blurred vision.

"Mr. Rong, what a coincidence, come, drink with me."

If Jiang Xi had been the slightest bit sober, she could not have said those words to Rong Nian's icy face.

Sure enough.

When Rong Nian heard her words, his expression grew three degrees colder.

He had no intention of meddling and was about to leave after releasing her, but he had barely taken a step when his other leg was embraced by her, seemingly oblivious to her impending doom.

"Don't go..."

Jiang Xi, almost completely devoid of reason due to her drunkenness, said as she rubbed her cheek against his cool dress trousers.

The scent of heated sandalwood, subtle and faint, surrounded her, inexplicably bringing Jiang Xi a sense of comfort. This scent, and by extension, the person who bore it, caused an unwarranted dependence to sprout in her heart.

"You smell so good, so comforting..."

Even though Rong Nian was cold-hearted and aloof, he was still a healthy man and couldn't remain indifferent to her provocations.

His jawline tensed, and his voice burst through clenched teeth, "Let go!"

Jiang Xi, clinging to his firm leg muscles, had no intention of letting go and nuzzled a few more times in a petulant manner, "I won't let go, I won't..."

She frowned, looking quite displeased.

Rong Nian's gaze fell on the soft-haired head that was gleefully nuzzling against his leg, on the verge of moving to a dangerous area.

Rong Nian couldn't take it anymore. He turned his head to the side, reached out, and scooped up the inebriated Jiang Xi in one swift motion—

Their eyes met.

In the light, Rong Nian's eyes looked as clear and cold as colored glaze, burning like fire, "Hasn't anyone taught you not to rub yourself against men indiscriminately?"

Jiang Xi selectively ignored his words, picking out only the key phrase.

"Man... Are you a man?"

"..."

Before Rong Nian could respond, Jiang Xi's hands were around his neck, her body lightly jumped, her legs wrapped around his waist, and she was hanging onto him.

"Man, take me with you. Tonight, I'm yours."

"..."

Jiang Xi was so sleep-deprived she could barely keep her eyes open, her fluffy head resting in his neck, the warm breath teasing his skin. Rong Nian could feel her hair barely brushing against his neck.

To tear her off and leave her here on her own, Rong Nian admitted to himself he couldn't do it.

He closed his eyes and let out a resigned sigh.

Rong Nian wrapped one arm around her waist to prevent her from sliding down and falling, and with the other hand, he picked up her bag and threw it into the cardboard box, lifting both box and bag together.

The walk from the bar to the parking lot usually took just two minutes, but tonight Rong Nian spent nearly 20 minutes.

The little drunk cat in his arms was anything but tranquil.

As soon as they left the bar, she started throwing a drunken tantrum, as if her long-repressed dissatisfaction was flooding out uncontrollably.

"Gu Bichen, what have I done wrong for you to treat me like this? You're just taking advantage of my feelings for you. By breaking my heart like this, you'll regret it one day..."

Jiang Xi clutched Rong Nian's collar, her expression fierce and menacing.

"You promised we were each other's only one. I remember everything you said. How could you forget?"

Rong Nian's neck was being choked by his collar. He had never been so undignified in his life and wished he could throw the drunken madwoman to the ground.

"...And your mother, insisting every day that I drink fertility soup. You don't even touch me. What am I supposed to bear, sores?"

Rong Nian's gaze faltered.

"Why won't you touch me? How am I any worse than them?"

Getting to the hurt and heartbroken part, Jiang Xi leaned on Rong Nian's shoulder and started crying pitifully, her hot tears smearing down his neck.

He remained silent and threw her onto the passenger seat.

Exhausted from crying, Jiang Xi, her face adorned with glistening teardrops, leaned back on the couch and fell into a deep sleep.

Rong Nian sat beside her, turned his head to look at the now-quiet Jiang Xi, and after a long while, his thin lips parted slightly, and he murmured six words, "What a waste of beauty."

His Adam's apple bobbed, and Rong Nian pulled out his phone and dialed a number.

"Xie Jianan, notify... forget it, hang up."

Rong Nian tossed his phone into the car's storage compartment, glanced at Jiang Xi again, and then started the car, slowly driving out of the parking lot.

Jiang Xi slept deeply that night, constantly surrounded by the faint fragrance of sandalwood, her mind drifting hazily in a half-awake state.

In an instant, her consciousness was pulled into a bizarre world.

All she saw was the Great Desert's yellow sand. She was hung on a dilapidated defense wall, her body bound up like a zongzi with no possibility of movement.

Next to her was another person also hanging. She looked intently and slowly recognized the man being hanged—it was her father.

"Dad!"

The sight before her was too absurd, and before Jiang Xi could react, a fierce-looking brute holding a glittering dagger approached.

With a cruel face, he shouted to the tall figure standing below the city wall.

"Chi Xie, choose one, your woman, or your future father-in-law."

Understanding what he was saying, a chill shot up from her feet. Jiang Xi shook her head continuously as she looked at the tall and sturdy figure in the yellow sand.

"Save Dad, please, save Dad..."

Unsure of what the man said next, the brute walked over to her father, the dagger in his hand swept through the air, cutting the rope, and her father fell like a kite with its string cut.

A "thump" resounded, stirring up the yellow sand.

"No!"

Jiang Xi suddenly sat up in bed, her chest heaving violently. The remnants of the nightmare followed her into reality, the piercing pain as strong as ever.

Perhaps her scream was too heartrending, for the door was suddenly pushed open from the outside, and a figure hurried in.

"What's wrong?"

Jiang Xi was still gasping for air, squinting as the figure approached from a distance, the light from the corridor spilling into the room, and she vaguely felt his figure blending with the one from her dream atop the Great Desert.

Rong Nian didn't hear her answer and strode to the french window, pulling the curtains open with one swift motion.

Silver sunlight poured in, the bright light so intense that Jiang Xi instinctively raised her hand to shield her eyes, squinting towards the newcomer—

"Mr. Rong," Jiang Xi said in a panic as she knelt up, looking around the unfamiliar room and growing more anxious, "why am I here?"

She looked down and saw her clothes were intact. She let out a long sigh of relief.

Thank goodness!

No disgrace!

Rong Nian stood tall and slender, his gaze lightly resting on her as he succinctly said, "You were drunk. I picked you up on my way."