Chapter 4: He Called Her His Wife!

Yan Zuo was trampled without dignity by Butler Xu in the blood-red kitchen, struggling helplessly through tears.

Just as he was about to muster his strength, a commotion came from the door, then a chorus of respectful voices rang out, “Young Mistress!!”

Yan Zuo looked up to see the crowd politely parting to create a path. Yan Liang walked through in an all-black taffeta satin gown with a black blazer over it, her sharp high-heeled steps cold and precise.

Her features were strikingly sharp, lips unnaturally red, expression cool and penetrating, so she seemed devoid of any mortal warmth. Her black curls were casually tied back, and the line of her shoulders and neck was like a white swan’s.

The intensity of her looks balanced perfectly with the indifference on her face. Her entire aura was unsurpassably noble.

When she appeared, the pressure in the room dropped by what felt like eight degrees.

Yan Liang glanced at the kitchen’s “mess,” and as the corners of her eyes tilted, a cold light flashed across them.

It was like a swarm of ice shards cutting into someone—utterly intimidating!

“Where is Qin Jiang?”

Yan Zuo’s heart nearly climbed into his throat.

Where was Qin Jiang? He had secretly let him go!

Why was she more concerned about that guy? Wasn’t he just some lousy punk who couldn’t wait to escape? Yan Zuo was her own biological brother for crying out loud!

Wasn’t HE more important than that punk?

Butler Xu furtively moved the foot that had been holding down “Qin Jiang” aside: “Young Mistress, he’s…”

He’s under my foot!

This terrible man! This time he’s ruined Young Master Yan Zuo too!

“Boohoo! Elder Sister, you really don’t know how to care for others.”

“I’m your real brother—can’t you at least consider my life and death first?”

Yan Zuo tried to take the initiative, intending to expose how cold and heartless Qin Jiang was and how he didn’t deserve trust.

Butler Xu and the bodyguards and servants were in shock.

“I’ll ask again—where is Qin Jiang?”

The woman’s snake-like eyes swept coldly over Yan Zuo. Her red lips smiled, but a murderous aura spread through the room in an instant.

“He—he… I let him go to the hospital to give blood to Qin Yun. Qin Yun is his real brother, and the man who was supposed to marry into the Yan family and continue your line. Qin Jiang is just a substitute! Giving some blood won’t kill him, yet he kept making excuses—what kind of man is that?”

“Elder Sister, such a cowardly man doesn’t deserve you at all.”

Yan Zuo had pride too. He’d long been disgusted that his usually noble, composed, strategic sister repeatedly lost her wits over a man from the lowest rung of society.

So he stood up and walked toward Yan Liang intending to reason with her.

In the capital’s top aristocratic Yan family, internal power struggles between branches were fierce. He had been raised almost solely under his sister’s protection.

His sister loved and indulged him most—she would never treat him badly for a man.

He was confident of that.

And he was also qualified to be her equal…or so he thought.

“Zhou Ning, hang him up.”

“Dip the whip in salt water.”

Yan Liang said coldly, giving Yan Zuo no chance to keep speaking boldly.

“Yes, Ms. Liang.”

Zhou Ning was efficient. Soon, Yan Zuo was hung upside down from a tree in the backyard.

Beside the tree, Butler Xu wiped cold sweat while soaking the Young Mistress’ favorite whip in salt water.

No one dared to question the Young Mistress’ orders.

Yan Liang stepped out of the room and someone immediately opened a black umbrella over her head to shield her from the sun.

The woman’s gaze was conveniently shielded as well.

“Elder Sister, how could you let an outsider deceive you like this? I’m your real brother—can that cheap man compare to even one of my toes?”

Yan Liang picked up the whip and dipped it in the salt water herself. Her fingertips stained with red polish gripped the handle, and she briskly swung it up.

Crack!

A howl rang out across the entire Liangyue Manor.

Yan Zuo cried.

He felt his small heart gently… shatter! Into pieces!

He couldn’t believe that in his sister’s heart, he truly couldn’t measure up to that good-for-nothing Qin Jiang.

Why??!

Qin Jiang stood by the second-floor windowsill, casually enjoying the spectacle of Yan Zuo being whipped.

He didn’t forget to take out his phone to record this delightful scene.

“Tsk, you’ve crossed me… so I guess you could say, you’ve kicked a cotton ball.”

Problem was, this cotton ball was now a flammable one.

And Yan Liang was that flame.

Yan Liang’s whip rose and fell, and for a time the manor’s atmosphere was hellish. If even the little young master had been beaten like this for crossing Qin Jiang, the servants couldn’t imagine how they would suffer…

Butler Xu shrugged and couldn’t help but remind her, “Young Mistress, I’ll send someone to the hospital right away to fetch the son-in-law back to the manor.”

The son-in-law had escaped, but this time, thankfully, Third Young Master was around to take a beating from Young Mistress and take the brunt of her frustrations.

If Third Young Master hadn’t taken the whipping, who knew how many antique vases would have been smashed or how much plaster ripped off the walls at Liangyue Manor!

Outsiders only thought Young Mistress Yan Liang was a monster crazy to the bone. Whenever she displayed unnatural levels of violence and cruelty, men would be married to her to cure her of this supposedly evil curse, but all of them died under mysterious circumstances.

Some even rumored Yan Liang was a beast that ate raw flesh and drank blood.

But few knew the Young Mistress actually suffered from severe bipolar disorder, which kept her from sleeping night after night. Long-term insomnia made her irritable, gave her skin an unhealthy pallor, and an intense urge to destroy.

When she had an episode, even Butler Xu and Zhou Ning dared not step within twenty meters of her.

“No need, I’ll go back to my room and check first.”

Yan Liang tossed aside the bloodstained whip, didn’t spare Yan Zuo another glance, and walked straight into the house.

“…” Old Xu was stunned: he’d already searched the room thoroughly.

Qin Jiang had already run!

On the second floor, Qin Jiang hurriedly stripped, threw himself onto the bed at lightning speed, re-fastened the chain Yan Liang had locked on him when she left, and put the key back where it belonged.

Only then did his tumbling heart settle back into place.

Soon, a group of people marched into the master bedroom behind the Young Mistress, and Qin Jiang sat there unscathed and disheveled, looking as if he’d just woken up.

How could this be… What?! What a terrible commotion he had raised! That was all the servants could think about.

Qin Jiang stretched lazily and even pretended to rub his eyes, playing the part of someone who had just woken up.

Yan Liang entered the room and Butler Xu, sensing the mood, promptly shut the master bedroom door to give them privacy.

“They said you ran away again.”

“Do I have to chain you to me before you’ll behave?”

Qin Jiang’s heart skipped—though he had been reborn for a few days now, he was still processing his past life’s memories.

But facing Yan Liang, he still instinctively felt fear and resistance.

The way this woman acted during an episode was truly terrifying.

Once, while escaping through a window, he happened to pass a dark room and saw Yan Liang casually dissecting something with a scalpel.

When he looked more carefully, he realized that… that was obviously a human being!

This convinced him further that Yan Liang would kill.

He believed he would be her next “experiment.”

“No, I didn’t run away—I’m right here, Yan Liang li… little dear?”

Qin Jiang swallowed nervously, trying to stifle his fear of Yan Liang. He was so tense he nearly said something that would get him in trouble again.

He’d always considered Yan Liang an elder—a maternal aunt figure!

But she wanted to gobble him up.

“You’re afraid of me.”

Yan Liang approached and lifted the covers. The bloodstain from that night was still on the blanket—she hadn’t allowed anyone to disturb Qin Jiang, so the marks remained.

Qin Jiang’s Adam’s apple bobbed as his gaze also fell on that spot.

It was as if the madness of that night was still vivid in his mind.

The woman leaned in and nuzzled his temple, her breath brushed him and made him shiver. “Jiang, I want you to belong to me completely! Be good… give yourself to me.”

From Yan Liang’s perspective, she had taken him!

But in Qin Jiang’s heart, he had taken Yan Liang’s first time. As a man, he must take responsibility.

Otherwise he’d be a cad.

Yan Liang was noble, beautiful, and had a lovely figure—he couldn’t let her down. But he had too little now and couldn’t wait passively. In his past life, he’d been used to giving himself up for his five sisters, letting them literally drain his blood dry.

He had the ability.

He would climb step by step and rightfully stand by Yan Liang’s side.

His thoughts snapped back.

Receiving no reply, displeasure colored Yan Liang’s eyes.

Qin Jiang noticed and hurriedly explained, “I’m not afraid of you, and I never intended to run.”

“Is that so?”

Yan Liang reached out to lift his chin, giving him no chance to evade, and her red lips moved in to press against his.

Qin Jiang’s body instinctively recoiled, but he couldn’t anger Yan Liang further. He still wanted to mollify this sickly beauty and beg for a chance to return to school.

So he could only stiffly prop himself on the bed with his arms.

“If you’re really not afraid, then prove it to me.”

The woman leaned closer and planted soft kisses on his eyelids, then the brow, the bridge of his nose, the corner of his mouth, and slid down to his jaw.

Those countless light kisses missed his mouth but they tangled Qin Jiang’s heart into knots.

Qin Jiang’s breath caught as a scent of ripe black cherries mixed with smoky wood surrounded him, faint yet entwining, as if ready to seduce and trap him.

“I… I really won’t run away again—this time I’m sincere!”

“This time it’s different—you are already my woman, I’ll be responsible! I’ll be your husband.”

“I even made you a tonic soup to help strengthen you.”

Qin Jiang tried to explain—before Yan Zuo arrived, he’d already cooked a pot of soup in the pressure cooker for Yan Liang to help nourish her.

As for why he was slaughtering another bone, that was only because he wanted to make her a dish he was good at.

He had just been reborn and had nothing now.

All he could do was be good to Yan Liang first.

He was trying to treat her as his wife—he just needed more time.

After all, she had once been, in his eyes, someone he respected… an elder.

Yan Liang’s brow frowned slightly. Her fingertips glided over his bare chest and landed on Qin Jiang’s abs.

The intense pressure in the room finally eased a bit.

The sensation on his body was so real that Qin Jiang tensed, unable to relax.

“…Husband?”

“Indeed, it’s a fine title.”

Yan Liang’s brows lifted and she seemed at last somewhat pleased.

“But you clearly ran away just now.”

“You even took Yan Zuo’s private card. What happened? Couldn’t find the way out?”

Yan Liang’s gaze fell on a shoe print on the window that Qin Jiang hadn’t had time to wipe away.

It rained this morning. Qin Jiang had gone out and hadn’t had time to fully erase the traces of leaving.

The pressure in the room began to increase again, and Qin Jiang was unable to bear it.

“I just went out…”

Qin Jiang was about to answer when Yan Liang suddenly leaned in and kissed him forcefully.

This kiss had no tenderness or restraint—only strong aggression and a desperate ruthlessness.

Yan Liang intertwined his fingers and pinned him back onto the bed, her eyes were full of intense possessiveness.

As if truly devouring him at this moment was the only way to possess him.

A prolonged kiss.

It nearly jolted Qin Jiang’s empty, hollow body fully awake.

Seizing a chance to breathe, Qin Jiang hurriedly covered Yan Liang’s red lips, panting, and said, “My wife, listen to me.”

Yan Liang paused. Her cold, savage aura withdrew, revealing a sliver of the harmlessness and cuteness a girl her age should have.

“Mhm.”

Qin Jiang was baffled that she had actually gone docile.

So this violent, sickly beauty… was so easily placated?