Rebirth: After Becoming the Villainess-Chapter 248: This Is the Second Time I’ve Fallen for It
"You’re hurting me!"
Zhen Niang shot him an irritated glare. "You know he’s suspicious. I was just testing him!"
"Hmph! You’d better be."
The man released his grip and looked at her wrist. Her skin was so delicate that even the slightest pressure left a red mark.
He frowned, forcing himself to look away. "You’d better not forget your mission!"
"I don’t need you to remind me. I know what I’m doing!"
she said coldly, then turned and left with a flick of her sleeve.
Song Lianhe had drunk half a pot of wine. Her body grew hotter with every sip, and the person before her began to blur into a double image.
She shook her head. "Sister Mei, something’s wrong with this wine... It’s been laced with something..."
Xuan Mei’s expression changed instantly. She helped her up. "I’ll get you out of here."
"Okay..."
Song Lianhe was well-versed in pharmacology and could tell the wine contained an aphrodisiac.
Across from them, Zhou Cangyan watched everything unfold from behind a thin gauze screen.
Just as he stood to leave, someone immediately approached him. "Sir, it’s too noisy here. Boss Zhen invites you to a private room upstairs for a chat."
Zhou Cangyan raised his somber eyes to size up the man. The male attendant wore powder and rouge, his face so white it looked like a mask. Though his posture was deferential, his eyes were incredibly sinister.
He retracted his gaze. "...Lead the way."
"This way, please~"
When Zhou Cangyan lifted his gaze again, Song Lianhe and Xuan Mei were already gone.
The attendant led him to the fourth floor. Unlike the boisterous first three floors, the top level was elegant and quiet. A few dim yellow lanterns hung in the corridor, and the doors on both sides were shut tight, making the hallway look dark and deep.
"After you, sir."
The attendant pushed open one of the doors. As he glanced at Zhou Cangyan, a strange, fleeting smile touched his lips.
Zhou Cangyan’s eyes were cold and dark. He shot a sidelong glance at the attendant and chuckled softly. "Where is Boss Zhen?"
"Boss Zhen will be here shortly. Please wait a moment, sir."
Zhou Cangyan clasped his hands behind his back and slowly stepped into the room.
The door slammed shut with a THUD.
He glanced back at the door, sneered, and walked further into the room.
’I never would have expected to find authentic masterpieces from a previous dynasty here...’
"Water..."
Zhou Cangyan froze at the sound of the voice, then turned without hesitation and entered the inner chamber.
His expression changed slightly when he saw the young woman lying on the chaise lounge.
Her hair was a mess, and the collar of her dress was pulled open. But her sash was tied too tightly to come undone, so she was desperately tugging at her chest and hem, revealing large patches of pale, smooth skin.
To better fit her role as a wealthy widow, Song Lianhe had originally wanted to wear something more revealing and flamboyant, but a single icy glare from Zhou Cangyan had vetoed the idea.
Now, however, this modest and complicated attire only served to inspire a forbidden desire to destroy it.
Zhou Cangyan stood by the chaise and watched. The desire buried deep in his eyes gradually slipped from his control, like a beast desperate to break free from its cage!
The change beneath the hem of his robes also became increasingly apparent.
The scenery around him seemed to shift, and he felt as if he were back in that ruined temple. The young woman had descended from the heavens like a demoness sent to disrupt his ascetic life, casting aside all restraint in her clumsy, eager desire.
She had desecrated the gods, and she had desecrated him.
She was the one who had dragged him into the abyss, becoming the object of his thoughts day and night. Yet she was like a slippery fish that he could never catch.
Song Lianhe’s entire body felt like it was on fire. She knew something was wrong with the wine, but at first, she had assumed it was just a common aphrodisiac.
Who would have thought it would have such a powerful kick!
Now... now the emptiness was driving her insane!
And once the thought took hold, it became a flame rooted in her heart, constantly churning, twisting, and tormenting her body and soul.
Though she was being severely tormented, she still had a sliver of reason left. She had sensed Zhou Cangyan’s approach long before.
She opened her tear-filled eyes, and the first thing she saw was the man’s cold, indifferent face.
Song Lianhe froze, then felt a wave of relief so strong it almost brought her to tears.
’Thank god, it’s him.’
But unlike her, who was being torn apart by the drug, the handsome man before her was like a meditating monk, completely unmoved by such a delectable, living temptation.
He was truly hiding it too well.
If it weren’t for the poorly concealed evidence beneath his robes, she might have actually fallen for his act.
She couldn’t worry about that now. It felt like a beast was locked inside her, and if she didn’t get in there and stop it, she would be torn to pieces!
As a physician, Song Lianhe felt utterly defeated that she couldn’t counteract the drug in her own system.
This was the second time she had fallen into such a trap.
Compared to the time Song Xilan gave her a taste of her own medicine, this drug was far more insidious and potent!
On the surface, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but only she knew the truth. She was like a fish lying in a dry riverbed, baking under the scorching sun on the verge of death!
Right now, all she wanted was...
Her beautiful eyes, looking at Zhou Cangyan, were already brimming with tears.
Zhou Cangyan’s gaze tightened.
She choked back a sob and shakily reached out her hand. "Your High—"
The man suddenly reached out and covered her mouth, simultaneously lowering his body to press against her scorching frame... 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮
"There’s someone outside."
Those few words sent a cold sweat down Song Lianhe’s back.
But her clarity was only temporary. The man’s tall, rigid frame became the best antidote for her condition.
The man, still clinging to his reason, felt his eyes darken the moment her lips touched his Adam’s apple—
"I... I want..."
Song Lianhe cried out, heedless of her shame.
’It’s unbearable. I’m going crazy from this torment!’
Although Zhou Cangyan wasn’t in much better shape, he maintained his cold demeanor. His voice, when it slowly came, was laced with an imperious nobility. "Want what?"
"I... I want you..."
The words seemed to shatter what little was left of her consciousness.
Unable to think straight, she was like a child who couldn’t have candy. She stared at him with naive yet alluring eyes and said plaintively, "But you’re already..."
’You’re already prepared!’
’So why are you still teasing me like this?!’
’I’m in so much pain, but he’s being so cruel...’
Song Lianhe began to cry harder, her body and soul overwhelmed with shame.
The man narrowed his eyes. He suddenly raised his hand, and with a flick of his fingers, the candlelight in the room was instantly extinguished.
In the pitch-black room, the faint sound of a woman’s sobs could be heard.
"...You want it?"
His teasing was filled with the condescending air of someone bestowing charity.
"I... I do..."
The young woman had long since lost all sense of pride or restraint, begging him through her tears.
Then, the man commanded, "...Use your hand."
"No... don’t make me..."
The girl cried even harder.
「In a secret room, just a wall away.」
Only after the room was plunged into darkness did the prying eyes move away from the peephole.
Beside them, a pair of slender hands mercilessly slammed down a metal plate, covering the hole.
Zhen Niang stared coldly at the man across from her. "Have you seen enough?"
The man was, of course, the same attendant who had led Zhou Cangyan to the room earlier.
He scoffed. "No matter how handsome, they’re all the same in the end. Just as debased!"
Zhen Niang turned to leave in a huff.
"Zhen Niang!"
The man hurriedly grabbed her. "You..."
Zhen Niang stopped, slowly shifted her gaze downward to his groin, and curled her red lips into a sneer. "The ones in there aren’t the only ones who are debased."
The man’s face flushed red. He gripped her wrist tightly, pressing her hand down as he begged, "Help me..."
