Chapter 2: Stay

Clang!

A resounding noise gradually brought clarity to Suyuxin's blurred vision.

The familiar room, its furnishings, familiar yet toppled tables and chairs strewn about, creating a scene of disarray.

Moreover, the room housed a tall, erect figure, whose countenance now held an ashen hue with swirling fury in his pitch-black eyes.

"Suyu... Xin!"

Feng Yao clenched his fist, almost grinding out the three words between his teeth. His forehead furrowed tightly, accentuating the two ghastly scars on his face, appearing more ferocious and intimidating.

Suyuxin widened her eyes, perplexed by everything before her, her mind in a state of confusion.

What was happening?

Had she not died?

Suyuxin instinctively touched her face.

Smooth, unblemished, devoid of any marks from burning charcoal.

However, she couldn't ponder further, as Feng Yao was already heading towards the door.

"General," Suyuxin urgently called out, her voice clear as a nightingale's song, yet retaining a unique girlishness.

Suyuxin paused, recognizing this voice...

Her throat, once thoroughly poisoned by Suyuxiang during the General's campaign, had turned hoarse and rough.

Why had it suddenly improved?

Feng Yao turned back, only to find Suyuxin standing there, wide-eyed and bewildered, seemingly incredulous.

She couldn't believe why drinking the aphrodisiac Suyuxiang had slipped into someone's drink hadn't led to her expected consequence of seduction, but instead, she had the strength to confront her.

Suyuxiang had gone to great lengths to separate them.

If not for her extraordinary self-restraint, the consequences would have been unbearable.

Feng Yao lowered his gaze, concealing the trace of sorrow and helplessness in his eyes.

Perhaps he shouldn't have pursued her hand against her will from the Emperor.

Thinking so, Feng Yao glanced again at the still-dazed Suyuxin, sighed once more, and turned to leave.

He feared he might lose control if he lingered, might not resist the urge to force her.

After all, his desire for her was overwhelming.

His once-prized self-control seemed fragile and almost laughable in her presence.

While Suyuxin was still surprised by her own voice, she saw Feng Yao opening the door. Almost instinctively, she rushed over, her hands encircling his waist from behind, her small face buried in Feng Yao's back, muffling her voice but intensifying its allure: "Don't go."

Feng Yao stiffened.

Since their marriage, they had never been in such close contact.

Though he desired her, he also respected Suyuxin, wanting to wait until she willingly accepted him, yet she repeatedly challenged his boundaries.

Today was no different.

At this moment, she seemed like a different person, making him uncertain.

"General, please don't go. Please?" Suyuxin tightened her arms from behind, her voice tinged with nervousness and unease.

Though she hadn't figured out her current situation - whether she was alive or dead - it no longer mattered.

What mattered was holding onto this man in front of her, never foolishly pushing him away again.

During the days in the thatched room, she had gained clear insight.

The General had been genuinely good to her; she had been blind and misled, repeatedly hurting the General's heart.

Feng Yao's body stiffened further, akin to a scorching iron, though rigid, the blood and energy within him had already erupted, clamoring, shouting.

"General, stay with me, please?" Suyuxin's cheek pressed against Feng Yao's back, her voice soft and sweet, like a kitten's paw scratching at one's heartstrings.

"Do you understand what you're saying?" Feng Yao took a deep breath, striving to restrain himself, a thin layer of sweat forming on his forehead.

"I do." Suyuxin circled around to face Feng Yao, her cheeks already flushed, yet she nodded earnestly. Her delicate fingers tugged at Feng Yao's sleeve, guiding him towards the bedside.

Tonight, she was willingly offering herself.

The tight string in Feng Yao's mind finally snapped, his once domineering self-control crumbled in that moment.

He bent to lift Suyuxin, striding toward the bed.

Even if she might hate him later, tonight he would not let go.

His desire for her had long overflowed.