“What are you going to do?” Gu Jianli looked at him innocently. Her eyes widened slightly in surprise, making the black and white of her eyes more distinct.
What was he going to do? Ji Wujing didn’t know either; he just wanted to tie her up so she couldn’t run away.
Gu Jianli struggled against her bound wrists, but the more she struggled, the more her hand hurt from hitting the bedpost. She had no choice but to look at Ji Wujing again and said, “Stop fooling around.”
Fooling around?
Ji Wujing suddenly realized he had been too lenient with Gu Jianli, indulging her too much. This realization made him uneasy, like holding a knife with the blade pointed at himself, handing the hilt to someone else.
Ji Wujing grasped Gu Jianli’s chin, looking at the reflection of his own cold face in her clear eyes. His hand gradually moved down, gripping her neck. A slight exertion of force could easily break her slender white neck, sparing him future troubles.
Yet, he didn’t. Instead, he leaned in and bit her neck.
“Ow…” Gu Jianli whimpered in pain, her features twisting in discomfort.
Her neck wasn’t enough. Ji Wujing tore open Gu Jianli’s clothes, biting his way down her collarbone.
“Fifth Master, stop this! This is the Prince’s residence, someone might come by any moment!” Gu Jianli struggled desperately, her body swaying. But with her hands tied to the bedpost, she couldn’t escape. The struggle only made her position more uncomfortable. She glanced back at her bound wrists and struggled even harder.
The wide binding strap was pulled loose, her chest-high ruqun slipping down to her waist, revealing her snow-white skin beneath the pale blue fabric.
Ji Wujing’s hand reached into her skirt gathered at her waist, intending to pull it off. Suddenly, he recalled her furious cursing, the way she hit him, crying like a weeping statue yet screaming like a little beast at the indignity of his actions.
Ji Wujing’s movements abruptly stopped.
At that moment, Gu Jianli managed to free her hands. She angrily pushed Ji Wujing away.
Ji Wujing came back to his senses and tried to grab her hands, but Gu Jianli kept pushing and dodging.
“Smack—” A crisp slap rang out, and both of them stopped.
Ji Wujing turned his face, maintaining the stance of having been slapped.
Gu Jianli stared at Ji Wujing in shock, only coming to her senses after a long while. “I didn’t mean to, I didn’t intend to slap you. I just wanted to push you away… really!”
She hastily explained, grabbing Ji Wujing’s wrist again.
“Does it hurt? I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean it…”
One should never hit the face.
Ji Wujing slowly turned to look at Gu Jianli, his face expressionless.
“Just because you didn’t mean it, it’s okay?” Ji Wujing asked coldly.
Gu Jianli suddenly felt a bit scared of this cold-faced Ji Wujing, especially since it was her mistake, her fault. She felt guilty. But she also thought she couldn’t be entirely blamed; after all, it was Ji Wujing who suddenly acted this way towards her. As she adjusted her clothes, she said defiantly, “Why don’t I let you hit me back?”
“Well, that’s a good idea,” Ji Wujing suddenly smiled.
Gu Jianli stared at him, dumbfounded, instantly regretting her words. How much strength did she have? How much strength did Ji Wujing have? If he slapped her, she might not even survive. Moreover, this wasn’t the Guoping Marquis’s residence. If her family saw marks on her face, they would surely be worried. She covered her cheeks with both hands, looking at him nervously, and said, “Can we delay it until we get back home…”
“No, I want to do it now,” Ji Wujing interrupted her directly.
He suddenly grabbed Gu Jianli’s slender waist, making her lie across his lap, and delivered a hard slap to her buttocks.
“Ah—” Gu Jianli, unprepared, was startled and cried out. Only after the cry did she feel a faint pain.
Ji Wujing looked at his palm, which retained a faint tingling sensation.
The ruqun clung tightly to Gu Jianli’s body, outlining her graceful waist and hips.
Suddenly, he recalled the time long ago when Gu Jianli bent over in front of him, and he saw her peach-shaped hips in the bronze mirror.
He wanted to bite them.
Ji Wujing’s Adam’s apple moved slightly.
He pinched her again.
Gu Jianli froze, completely forgetting the pain, feeling only embarrassment as her cheeks turned slightly red. She struggled to get up, but Ji Wujing slapped her again.
“You hit me again!” Gu Jianli shouted.
“Smack—” Another slap landed.
Gu Jianli, enraged, struggled to get off Ji Wujing’s lap, angrily pushing and hitting him, accusing, “You’re bullying me! It was an accident, how can you keep hitting me!”
Gu Jianli’s chest heaved with anger, the embroidered silk fan on her chest strap fluttering with her movements. Ji Wujing held Gu Jianli’s waist with one hand and easily pinned her hands above her head with the other, closing in.
Ji Wujing’s breath was erratic, but his eyes were filled with immense anger. He gradually approached Gu Jianli’s face, staring into her eyes with a gaze filled with fury, searching for something in her eyes.
Gu Jianli’s momentum softened slightly. They were very close, and she slightly raised her chin, kissing the corner of Ji Wujing’s lips. Her voice was soft and sweet, “Don’t be angry.”
The tingling at the corner of his lips hadn’t faded, yet the strong walls around his heart seemed to crack open. Ji Wujing’s gaze softened, and he gradually released Gu Jianli’s hands, just about to speak.
“Ji dog, how dare you hit my daughter! My precious girl!” Gu Jingyuan kicked the door open, barging in.
Gu Jingyuan, upon returning home, had heard that Gu Jianli had arrived and hurried over. Before he even got close, he heard his precious girl angrily shouting, “You hit me again,” “You’re bullying me,” and “How can you keep hitting me…”
Gu Jingyuan instantly exploded with anger.
It turned out this Ji dog was mistreating his precious girl like this! Today, he was determined to chop off his dog head and give it to his girl as a ball to kick!
Gu Jingyuan drew the sword from his waist, the blade making a sharp noise as it slid from its sheath, flashing with a cold light.
Ji Wujing sneered indifferently.
Gu Jianli was startled and quickly stood up, spreading her arms to block Ji Wujing, urgently shouting, “Father, no! He didn’t hit me!”
Ji Wujing looked slightly surprised at Gu Jianli standing in front of him.
“I heard everything! And you still defend him! Are you out of your mind?” Gu Jingyuan roared, “Forget those useless virtues! To hell with the three obediences and four virtues! If you’re being bullied, you must tell your father! Even if it costs my life, I can’t let you suffer!”
“No! He really didn’t hit me! Really didn’t…” Gu Jianli hesitated for a moment, her voice softening, “We were just playing…”
“Playing? Don’t I know your temper? If you weren’t really angry, how could you be shouting like this without caring about your dignity?” Gu Jingyuan was completely unconvinced.
“I…” Gu Jianli wanted to explain further, but suddenly her waist was held. Ji Wujing’s hand wrapped around her slender waist, pulling her back, making her sit on his lap.
Father is still here!
“Stop it, let go!” Gu Jianli glared at Ji Wujing, struggling to get up.
Ji Wujing didn’t comply. He wrapped his arms around Gu Jianli’s waist, resting his chin on her shoulder. His fox-like eyes slightly lifted at the corners, smiling as he looked at Gu Jingyuan and said slowly, “Good father, are you so old that you don’t understand a bit of couple’s intimacy?”
He turned his face, leaning close to Gu Jianli’s white neck and gently sniffing. Then he pretended to unfasten Gu Jianli’s clothes, his eyes looking back at Gu Jingyuan with amusement, “Good father, do you want to watch?”
“You!” Gu Jingyuan was stunned, carefully examining Gu Jianli’s expression.
Yes, his little girl was not someone who would easily wrong herself.
Gu Jianli lifted her foot and stomped hard on Ji Wujing’s foot, shouting angrily, “Let go!”
This time, Ji Wujing did release her.
Gu Jianli stood up awkwardly and walked towards Gu Jingyuan, forcing a smile as if nothing had happened, “Father, you’re back.”
“Jianli, come out with your father.” Gu Jingyuan turned and walked out angrily.
Gu Jianli hurried to follow. As she passed a small high table by the door, she grabbed a handball from a flower basket on it and turned to throw it at Ji Wujing. Ji Wujing didn’t dodge, letting the handball hit his chest and fall to the ground. He picked it up, curiously playing with the colorful little thing.
Outside, Gu Jianli spoke first, “Father, the Fifth Master really didn’t hit me or bully me.”
As she said this, a faint pain still lingered on her buttocks.
Gu Jingyuan looked angrily at Gu Jianli for a long time. Gu Jianli clutched the corner of his sleeve, using a coquettish tone, “Father…”
Gu Jingyuan shook off her hand and asked, “Tell your father the truth, do you like that scoundrel Ji Zhao?”
Gu Jianli hesitated. If she said she didn’t like him, wouldn’t her father be even angrier and more worried? So she said, “Yes, I like him.”
“Then what do you like about him?” Gu Jingyuan asked again.
This question really stumped Gu Jianli. What did she like about Ji Wujing? How could she make that up?
After a brief hesitation, Gu Jianli said, “I like how good he is to me.”
Gu Jingyuan sighed and thrust his heavy sword into the ground, looking utterly disappointed and pained.
Gu Jianli didn’t understand and looked at her father in confusion.
“Jianli, you can like someone for their character, talent, family background, or ability. You can even like someone because you share similar interests or because they are funny and make you happy. But you must never give your heart to someone just because they are good to you! Listen to your father, never trust a man simply because he’s good to you. ‘Being good to you’ is too vague and unreliable!”
Gu Jianli barely understood, but she didn’t really care about her father’s words. She always felt that liking or not liking someone wasn’t all that important. Duty, gratitude, or even conscience were far more important than some unclear notion of liking. Moreover, romantic feelings were often more trouble than they were worth.
Gu Jingyuan was worried. Gu Jianli had never had a biological mother, and although hardships had brought her closer to Madam Tao, in the earlier years, Madam Tao had always been somewhat distant from his two daughters, maintaining a superficial but not intimate relationship. Many things, many principles, had not been properly taught to her by a motherly figure.
“Do you understand? Even if you like Ji Zhao because he’s handsome, you can’t like him just because he’s temporarily good to you!”
Gu Jianli blinked slowly and said in confusion, “But he’s not handsome.”
In the room, Ji Wujing, who was eavesdropping with his inner strength, clenched his hand, crushing the handball.
Not handsome? He wasn’t handsome?
