Chapter 3
Edward Quan ·
I stood rooted to the spot.
“I don’t want to.”
Gu Junheng looked at me, puzzled. “Why? How are we supposed to treat your burn if you don’t change?”
This wasn’t even my real body. I was practically counting down to my tragic ending so I could get out of this world.
I hadn’t even opened my mouth to insult him when he lowered his eyes and said coldly, “Of course. A rich young lady who lives in a villa would never wear something this cheap.”
【The male lead is really playing along! He’s saying it for you.】
I seized the opportunity. “Since you know that, then—ah!”
The slightest movement sent pain ripping through the burn.
“You really are…”
Gu Junheng strode over and shoved me into the bathroom. “Go treat it!”
“I said I don’t want to!”
I hurriedly read the line the system had given me. “And do you even know how much this outfit cost? Could you afford to pay me back?”
“You couldn’t even cover it if I sold you—ah?”
In the struggle, my hand seemed to brush against something.
When I looked up, Gu Junheng’s amber eyes were fixed on me.
Maybe it was because there were no glasses between us, but for a moment I felt…
Like prey caught in his sights.
5
Gu Junheng threw me straight into the bathroom.
He pulled down the zipper at the back of my dress and turned on the shower, rinsing the burn.
“Gu Junheng, have you lost your mind?!”
I turned to shove him away, but the slippery floor nearly sent me tumbling.
A large hand reached out and caught me. I thought Gu Junheng had finally grown a conscience.
Instead, he dragged over the little stool beside us, sat down, and pressed me onto his lap.
Cold water ran over my waist, making Gu Junheng’s hand feel strangely hot.
And that source of heat…
Was resting on my butt.
Smack!
I went rigid.
No one had ever spanked me in all my life.
And certainly no one had ever pinned me across his lap to do it!
“Gu Junheng, you… you’re a beast!”
A low laugh came from above me.
“You’re right. I am a beast.”
“Go on, keep insulting me. Hm?”
Every time I cursed him, he landed another smack.
Something hard and hot was pressing against my hip, too.
I broke down.
I grabbed the system and shook it frantically.
【Isn’t he supposed to be the male lead of a redemption story?! Why has he turned into a yandere?!】
【What on earth is wrong with this world?!】
The system, usually so impatient, had gone meek as a chicken in my hands.
【The system… is investigating…】
【Checking for changes in male lead Gu Junheng’s personality… Um…】
【But… there’s nothing wrong?】
I stared blankly.
Was Gu Junheng really just like this all along?
All that talk of him being an untouchable flower on a mountaintop, waiting to be saved, a pure-hearted god of love… Had he only been pretending?
I lay face-down across his lap, too exhausted to scream anymore.
My buttocks burned, and I had gone completely limp.
I tried to push myself up and saw how disheveled I looked in the mirror.
Behind me stood Gu Junheng in his shirt and trousers.
He looked exactly like a thug in a suit.
“Do you like what you see?”
He pinched my chin. His lips, usually pressed into a straight line, curved into a delighted smile.
“It’s fine. If you like it, we can stay here together from now on…”
The last few words were drowned out by the running water, but I heard them clearly enough.
My face went red.
I don’t know how long it took, but by the time he was done with me, I had no strength left.
Only then did Gu Junheng grab the dry towel beside us, wrap me in it, and carry me out.
I lay face-down on the sofa while he spread cool burn ointment over my skin.
For a while, the room was strangely quiet.
I could even hear Gu Junheng breathing.
“You…”
“About…”
We both spoke at once. I couldn’t help starting, and neither could he.
Gu Junheng lowered his head and gestured for me to go first.
Ignoring the system’s warning in my head, I asked him outright, “Aren’t you supposed to hate me? Why are you helping me?”
Gu Junheng seemed to find that hilarious. He lowered his head and chuckled.
What was he laughing at?
He pulled the blanket over my waist and hips, then calmly took a tissue and wiped the excess ointment from his fingers.
Then he stood and stepped in front of me, his long legs carrying him closer.
He bent down and lifted my face.
“Four years ago, at the banquet celebrating my admission to university…”
“You weren’t the only one who fell in love at first sight.”
“My darling young lady.”