Rebirth: After Becoming the Villainess-Chapter 288: You Don’t Even Mind a Man Like Zhou Junlin
Song Lianhe stood on tiptoe, raising a slender eyebrow. With a faint, teasing smile, she looked at the man before her and whispered, "Zhou Junlin, you’ve come to see me several times now. Are you really here to get justice for Song Xilan, or are you just looking for an excuse to see me?"
The typically refined and heroic-looking prince before her flinched at her words, his expression changing slightly. "Don’t talk such nonsense!"
He immediately took several steps back, looking rather flustered.
Song Lianhe scoffed. "It was just a joke. Don’t take it to heart, Prince Ling."
Zhou Junlin composed himself and glanced around. His eyes swept past Mrs. E and her son before he abruptly grabbed Song Lianhe and pulled her outside without another word.
Xuan Mei frowned and started to go after them, but Gu Ha brazenly stepped in her way, a look of smug satisfaction in his critical eyes.
"Granny!"
E Jintang cried, about to follow them out, but his mother suddenly grabbed his arm.
In short, Mrs. E was a woman who had seen it all.
Song Lianhe was dragged into the courtyard by Zhou Junlin. She angrily wrenched her arm free. "Hey! If you want to talk, then talk. Don’t get all handsy! We’re both married, you know. It’s better if we’re a little more careful!"
Zhou Junlin spun around, glaring at her in frustration. "Can’t you just behave yourself for once? Do you really have to pick a fight with your sister?"
Song Lianhe was a little confused by his words.
"So I was right? You know that Song Xilan framed me?"
Zhou Junlin didn’t answer. He just looked at her, a restrained intensity in his eyes.
Song Lianhe understood.
"So, even though you know that’s what happened, you still want me to be the one to avoid her?"
"...She’s your sister."
"And I’m her ancestor!!" Song Lianhe was so furious she practically jumped. But since she wasn’t as tall as Zhou Junlin, she felt she lacked presence. Spotting a rock on the ground, she climbed right on top of it—
"Hey, what are you doing? Be careful..."
Zhou Junlin felt a vein throb in his temple, but he still instinctively reached out to help her get her balance.
Song Lianhe was having none of it. She irritably slapped his hand away, but nearly lost her balance in the process. Fortunately, Zhou Junlin’s palm shot out to brace her waist, keeping her from falling off.
From an archway, a man in a dark cloak watched the scene with cold eyes.
Behind him, a Shadow Guard watched the intimately-posed pair and didn’t dare to breathe. His master had never liked anyone touching his possessions, let alone his Princess Consort!
Once she was steady, Song Lianhe immediately slapped his hand away. Zhou Junlin, helpless, made sure she wouldn’t fall again before taking a step back.
Song Lianhe planted her hands on her hips and glared at him. "Zhou Junlin, you’d better go back and tell her that I’m not good-tempered, and I’m certainly no pushover! If she tries any more of these dirty tricks, I guarantee the next things swarming her won’t be harmless grass snakes and thorn scorpions!"
In the sunlight, her eyes, practically spitting fire, shone like dazzling, vibrant jewels.
’He realized he particularly loved the way she looked when she was angry; it was so beautiful he couldn’t tear his eyes away.’
’It was a vibrancy that Xilan lacked. Her every frown and every smile was stunning.’
"And you!"
Song Lianhe was also emboldened by her status as his Imperial Aunt, figuring he wouldn’t dare act out of line.
She raised her index finger, intending to poke him in the forehead, but her hand stopped in mid-air.
’There’s a fundamental difference between being audacious and having a death wish.’
Her finger slid down, and she poked him directly in the chest, once, then again.
Zhou Junlin froze.
’In his entire life, no one had ever treated him with such disrespect.’
"You had better stay far away from me, too! We’ve gone our separate ways, you and I. If one day I lose control, I’ll beat you up, Prince or not!"
The expression on Zhou Junlin’s face was a sight to behold.
He slowly lowered his gaze to the finger poking his chest, and then suddenly grabbed her hand.
Song Lianhe stiffened. "What are you doing? Trying to start something? I have people inside. If you don’t let go, I’ll call for them!"
"’Gone our separate ways?’"
Zhou Junlin repeated her words, syllable by syllable. "You want to... go our separate ways?"
Song Lianhe let out a dry laugh. "What else?"
"No! I forbid it!"
His grip suddenly tightened.
"Ow, that hurts!"
Before Song Lianhe could jab a couple of needles into his temples to knock some sense into him, a pebble came whistling through the air.
Zhou Junlin caught sight of it from the corner of his eye and leaned aside, dodging the pebble.
As luck would have it, his movement knocked into Song Lianhe. She lost her footing and started to fall. Zhou Junlin moved to catch her, but a figure in black blurred past him. The next moment, the man had swept Song Lianhe up, holding her by the waist—
When Zhou Junlin tried to go after them, the man was already gone, having landed inside the courtyard behind them in a few bounds. Xuan Mei arrived just in time to block his path. "This is the inner court of Princess Qing. Please, stop here, Prince Ling."
Gu Ha also moved to block him, whispering, "My Prince, she is Princess Qing. We cannot force our way in!"
Zhou Junlin’s expression was terrifying. He stood frozen, staring in the direction the man in black had disappeared, his knuckles white from how tightly his fists were clenched.
’That’s right. She was Princess Qing. The consort of his dear Imperial Uncle!’
The man carrying her kicked the bedroom door open.
A bald falcon stood before a bronze mirror, wings spread as it admired its newly grown fuzz. The sudden bang of the door made it jump. It twisted its head to stare blankly at the newcomers, frozen in its comical, self-admiring pose.
Song Lianhe’s eyes widened as she stared at the masked man. "You—let me go!"
She struggled out of his arms, but before she could escape, he grabbed the back of her collar. In the blink of an eye, she was slammed against the wall. His tall body pressed against her, and he seized her chin, making her cry out in pain. "You..."
The man crushed his lips to hers.
As if he knew she was prone to brandishing her acupuncture needles, he pinned both of her hands above her head with one of his. His other hand went to her sash.
Song Lianhe’s eyes widened in terror. Realizing what he intended to do, she struggled with all her might to push him away.
"You... you lecher!"
"Lecher?" The man’s voice was deep, his laughter laced with scorn. "If I am, I’m the lecher who took your virginity." He leaned close to her ear, enunciating every word. "And you will remember until the day you die that I was your first man."
"You!"
Humiliated and furious, Song Lianhe tried to raise her knee to strike his weak spot.
The man scoffed. "This trick again? What, didn’t you learn any other ways to handle a man from King Qing? He must be quite useless then. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have needed to run back to your old flame, Zhou Junlin!"
Utterly enraged, with her arms and legs pinned, she lunged forward and bit him.
The man easily avoided the bite by turning his head, but to his surprise, she clamped down on his shoulder—
He frowned, his muscles tensing, and he instinctively started to use his Inner Strength to throw her off. But the thought that he might shatter her teeth made him hold back. Instead, he forced her jaw open with his hand until she finally let go.
Song Lianhe glared at him, her face a mask of furious, aggrieved hurt. "You said you wouldn’t come looking for me again!"
The man laughed coldly, his eyes like frost. The silver mask on his face seemed to gleam with a sinister light. "If you don’t mind a man like Zhou Junlin, why can’t it be me?"
