Coming out of the torture chamber, Xiao Ying did not see Long Ming or his confidant.
Xiao Ying looked around once more.
No one was watching her.
In her heart, she didn’t deny that she had an impulse to escape.
But she was only thinking about it. Long Ming must be familiar with this place and if she were to escape, she would probably be caught back before she could even reach the entrance of the village.
Without 100% confidence, she would not act rashly.
…
Eventually, Xiao Ying found the house Long Ming was staying in. As soon as she entered the yard, the smell of food floated into her nose.
“Cousin, we can have dinner in ten minutes.” A clear voice entered Xiao Ying’s ears.
Xiao Ying went to the kitchen door and saw a graceful young girl standing in front of the stove busily. The girl wore the unique clothing of the village with her hair in long braids and she had an indescribably youthful air to her.
Did she just say ‘cousin’ just now? Was Long Ming her cousin?
Long Ming and several elders of the village came out of the room. After sending them off, Long Ming saw Xiao Ying coming over and he went back into the room with a dark expression and did not say anything further.
Xiao Ying thought of what he had said in the torture chamber and putting on a brave face, she followed behind him.
“Long Ming, actually I did try to save you that year when you fell into the swamp, but Master Ba sent people to look for me and knocked me out.”
Long Ming turned around and looked sharply at Xiao Ying with his hawk-like eyes. “You had countless opportunities to tell me the truth, but why didn’t you say anything? In the end, you were only deceiving and using me, aren’t you?”
Xiao Ying was at a loss by Long Ming’s question and she could hear the hurt accusation in his voice.
Yes, at that time, the mission was the most important thing in her heart, She really did not take Long Ming to heart.
When Long Ming looked at Xiao Ying’s expression, a self-deprecating smile appeared on his lips. Taking two steps forward, he pinched Xiao Ying’s chin. “If I gave you another chance, would you still use it to deceive me?”
Xiao Ying bit her lip and said nothing.
“You don’t have me in your heart, so you can be cruel to me. You have Qiao Yanze in your heart and couldn’t bear to hurt him, so you can be cruel to yourself!” He pressed his thumb on her lips and his handsome face came close to her. “Number 21, you really are cruel to me.”
He released Xiao Ying.
Xiao Ying took several steps back.
The girl who was preparing dinner in the kitchen came over to call Long Ming to eat. “Cousin, it’s time to eat. This Sister is…”
Long Ming did not introduce Xiao Ying and said coldly, “Let’s eat.”
Long Ming took a few steps forward and saw that Xiao Ying did not move. “What are you waiting for?” He needed to suppress his emotions all the time if he wanted to get along with her peacefully. His hatred ran too deep, such that every time he saw her face, he wanted to destroy it.
So Xiao Ying followed Long Ming and entered the dining room. There were only the three of them in the dining room so Xiao Ying took off her veil. Seeing Xiao Ying’s scarred face, the girl gasped softly.
When Xiao Ying had the veil on, she had a kind of fairy-like quality to her and the girl thought Xiao Ying looked beautiful like a fairy. It was such a shame…
Xiao Ying did not mind and smiled. “Did I scare you?”
“N-No.” The girl waved her hands. “My name is Xiaoqi.”
“You can call me Number 21, like your cousin.”
“Number 21. Why is your name so strange…”
Before the girl could finish her words, Long Ming’s frosty voice sounded. “Eat!”
The girl nodded obediently.
After that, Xiao Ying said nothing else and the girl took food for Long Ming from time to time. “Cousin, drink some soup. Is the taste okay?”
Xiao Ying looked at the cousins sitting together in silence.
Although Long Ming was gloomy and cold-blooded, he seemed to have a good attitude in front of his cousin. He ate everything his cousin had put on his plate.
She had to admit, the girl was a good cook.
But Xiao Ying lost her appetite as she ate it.
The girl was too attentive to Long Ming which made her feel like it was an eyesore. But thinking about it, it was ridiculous for her to have such thoughts. Wasn’t it normal for cousins to be harmonious and affectionate towards each other?
Xiao Ying curled her lips mockingly and concentrated on eating.
When Xiaoqi was scooping rice for Long Ming, she glanced at Xiao Ying.
If there was no scar on her face, Number 21 should surely be a beauty. She had a pair of charming fox-like eyes and had a mole at the corner of her eye. Under her small and delicate nose, her lips were pink like cherry blossom petals. Especially her skin. Unlike hers, which was slightly yellow, Xiao Ying’s skin was really fair like white porcelain.
All this time, her cousin had never brought women to the village before. This Number 21 was the first.
Xiaoqi could not help feeling a sense of nervousness in her heart.
…
After dinner, Long Ming went out.
Xiao Ying and Xiaoqi stayed at home.
“Long Ming isn’t your biological cousin, right?”
Xiaoqi was stunned, then she nodded.
“Do you like him?” Xiao Ying asked.
Xiaoqi blushed shyly. “He wandered to our village when he was young and my parents took him in for a while. To prevent any gossip, I claimed that he was my cousin. All these years, I always wanted to grow up quickly to be by my cousin’s side.
“Does he know about your feelings?”
“He doesn’t.”
Learning about Xiaoqi’s feelings and her relationship with Long Ming, there was a strange feeling in Xiao Ying’s heart.
It was so strange that she felt annoyed at everything.
Long Ming came back in the evening. Judging from the heavy scent of wine, he should have drunk a lot.
After Long Ming returned to the room, he called for Number 21.
Xiaoqi came over. “Can you let me go in to take care of my cousin?”
Xiao Ying was more than willing to.
Seeing that Xiao Ying had no objections, Xiaoqi went into the room with a washbasin. So Xiao Ying went back to the room and closed the door, not listening to the movements outside.
She had asked Xiaoqi and learned that she was 18 years old this year. She was willing to be Long Ming’s woman and Long Ming was demanding in that area and if he had touched Xiaoqi, he might not touch her in the future.
But at the thought of that they might be sleeping together in the room now, Xiao Ying felt irritated.
She could not hear anything outside, but she still buried her face into the blanket.
Sleep. She should just go to sleep.
After some time, her blanket was pulled away. Xiao Ying opened her eyes and through the moonlight shining from outside, she saw the man standing by the bed with a dark expression.
Long Ming looked at Xiao Ying’s mouth which was slightly opened because of shock, his eyes dark and he spat out coldly. “Get up.”
Xiao Ying did not dare to get up seeing his expression that looked like he wanted to devour her alive. Snatching the blanket from his hands, she covered her body and curled up in the corner.
Long Ming had one hand on his waist and was so angry at her that he laughed. “You agreed to let Xiaoqi in to serve me?”
Xiao Ying said nothing.
Long Ming knelt onto the bed on his knee and pulled the blanket to the ground.
Grabbing her slender arm, he pulled her to the side of the bed and lowered his head, pressing against her lips roughly.
Of course, Xiao Ying knew that she had angered him. It was not that she did not know how scary he was when he was crazy. At the moment his tongue reached into her mouth, she responded to him with a strong desire for survival.
