Li Meirong stood there, dumbfounded, for a good few seconds. She stared at Zhu Qingyue, still struggling to comprehend the meaning of his words.

One second passed, two seconds, three…

A soft giggle suddenly escaped her lips, filling the air with a cheerful melody much like the tinkling of silver bells. Her eyes closed as her narrow shoulders began to shake with the force of her laughter.

The ridiculousness of the entire situation was simply too much for her to handle stoically; she couldn't help herself. Zhu Qingyue's words were just so unbelievably silly!

When her fit of giggles finally subsided, her eyes opened once more, and she was met with the sight of Zhu Qingyue's deathly serious expression. Despite his extraordinary presence, the stillness of his body was such that he might as well have been a mannequin.

Despite her giggles, he had yet to relinquish his hold on her chin. An awkwardness settled upon her, her humor dying away.

"This is some kind of joke, right?" she asked softly, slightly confused now. It had to be a joke; he was speaking as though she was the big bad wolf who had eaten him up!

Now being forced by his grip to maintain eye contact, Li Meirong thought she detected displeasure from him once again. His eyes, blazing like twin suns, were emotive in a way his face was not. Zhu Qingyue had yet to move a single muscle, but she was almost certain that her reaction had angered him for some reason.

Thunder rumbled in the distance, low and threatening, and a bolt of lightning cracked across the ashen skies. It was almost as if the surroundings were tuned to this man's fluctuating mood swings. If that was even a possibility, then the deteriorating weather conditions and the wilted plant life were clear signs of his ire.

Then, much to Li Meirong's confusion, he leaned in closer, still holding her in place.

After seeing him up close several times now, she was incredibly conscious of the man's large stature. Still, she felt that she had never truly been able to measure how remarkable the difference between their heights was. Much like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming truck, she gazed up at him as he slowly brought his face ever closer to hers. His proximity blocked the view of anything and everything else.

Her laughter had long since died in her throat.

"W-what do you think you're doing?" Li Meirong questioned. Her voice shook slightly, betraying her nervousness at Zhu Qingyue's sudden actions. She was not to be presented with an answer. Not a verbal one, anyway.

This time, when she felt his breath mingling with hers, there was no longer any opportunity to push him away available to her. The softness of his lips brushed against hers with no sign of hesitation.

In that instant, it felt as though the rest of the world had faded away into nonexistence. Almost against her will, she sank into his gentle yet insistent touch.

She knew, logically, that it was not the first time they had shared a kiss, and yet it felt as though it was. Very faintly, her memory around the incident foggy from time and chemical influence became clearer. She recalled that she had been the one to make the first move when the two of them had been high on the aphrodisiac they had been drugged with.

Within moments, the fire inside Bai Qingyue had been stoked to new heights. He needed more. With unabashed urgency, blood heated with desire, he forced their lips together harder.

Li Meirong whimpered, flustered. To her, this kiss was different than any she had ever before experienced. It felt innocent and clumsy, not at all the type of kiss that should come from an experienced man, and yet it knocked the breath from her lungs just the same. It was not the most skilled kiss she had ever received, and yet it was the best she had ever experienced.

It was only when she pounded her small fists against his chest, more a signal of her need to breathe than anything else, that he finally released both her lips and her chin. Reluctantly, he removed his tongue from the inside of her mouth with a growl of frustration. She panted in relief, clutching at his hunched shoulders for support. How could such an amateur kiss unsettle her so?

Zhu Qingyue pressed his forehead to hers, his breath coming almost as unsteadily and harshly as her own.

"Do you still think I am being insincere?" he asked; his voice came out as a hoarse whisper.

Dazed, still attempting to recover from the intensity of the unexpected attack on her poor lips, and still struggling to believe that a man such as him would be at all interested in her, Li Meirong voiced a question she usually would never have dared to ask.

"Why me? Because I took your… because I was your first?"

"Mhm," he hummed in agreement. "I was taught to preserve my chastity for marriage. You have stolen my purity, and so now you must take care of me." His voice was deep, and as he spoke his lean arms greedily wrapped around her slender waist.

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Chapter 115 Snippet*

Li Meirong frowned. In a matter of minutes, her entire perception of this man had been shattered yet again!

If Zhu Qingyue was a woman, he'd definitely be a femme fatale. As a man, his looks didn't lose in the slightest even to the most alluring of men or women. Perhaps because of that, she might have been a bit judgemental about him, but who can blame her? He definitely gave the impression of a ladykiller, and so she had naturally assumed that he was a typical playboy intending to charm his way into any woman's bed.

Yet now it appeared as though her theories were not only proven wrong, but were completely and utterly the opposite of the truth! He had been a virgin, and she?

She had wronged him...