Chapter Thirty-One: Shameless Souls Are Rare Gems

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Xiao Jingxuan was now quite angry, feeling as though Su Jingluo had played him for a fool, experiencing the sting of being mistrusted and unsupported by his own ally.

“Wasn’t it because I was afraid you’d worry?” Su Jingluo decided to tell a universal lie.

Her plan was to feign madness, abduct her son, and escape as far away as possible. Open a clinic and raise her child. If caught, she’d keep pretending to be mad and foolish, so she wouldn’t be beaten to death.

Even if that dream couldn’t come true, well, she’d choose another. Living quietly in the prince’s manor for the rest of her life would do, but she needed to uncover at least one mystery—who around her was good, who was bad? Xiao Jingxuan’s behavior had always been inconsistent, so why tell him? That would be too naive.

Never did she expect Xiao Jingxuan would retaliate in such a desperate, self-destructive way, making Su Jingluo feel her conscience could no longer bear it.

“You’ve never been afraid that I’d worry about you. Are you worried I won’t die?” Xiao Jingxuan slammed the door and left. He was truly angry, and the happiness he had longed for suddenly seemed not so beautiful after all.

“Princess, you’ve really gone too far this time. The prince… sigh, you should reflect on yourself.” Zhuo Yue’an was also rather vexed; this entire family seemed possessed by troublemakers, and was far too exhausting to manage.

Zhuo Yue’an felt that he had truly fulfilled his duty to Prince Jing—even if he died a thousand times from being angered by this family, he would not resign.

Su Jingluo was a little stunned. In her memory, Xiao Jingxuan’s temper was never good, but he always kept it cool—never so agitated.

A vague unease crept into Su Jingluo’s heart. She silently washed her face, scrubbing away the sour smell from her body. She stared blankly at her reflection in the bronze mirror. Xiao Jingxuan’s earlier attitude of mutual destruction stirred something inside her; she couldn’t bear such weight. Before, there had been no ties, and leaving would have been easy. Now, there were too many bonds.

Bang!

The door was kicked open again. Xiao Jingxuan strode in, furious. He marched straight up to Su Jingluo, his hand clamping tightly around her slender neck, his eyes bloodshot, staring at her like a beast.

“Su Jingluo, I forbid you to deceive me, and I forbid you from getting into trouble. This is the last time. Otherwise… otherwise, we sever all ties!” Xiao Jingxuan’s reddened eyes grew moist. Seeing Su Jingluo’s baffled gaze, he felt disappointed. She would never understand how he had painstakingly dug suspicion from his heart, plucked away his scales just to accept her, to embrace her.

He had wanted to say, “Otherwise, I’ll kill your whole family,” but then remembered Yunbai was part of her family, and he himself too—so it didn’t carry much threat. So instead, he said they would sever all ties, though even as he spoke he regretted it, for it seemed there was hardly any real bond between them after all.

Su Jingluo tilted her head up to look at Xiao Jingxuan. Although she wasn’t the original owner of this body, five years of fragmented memories lingered. The original’s heart ached, and rationality told her that this man had hurt her for five years, yet expected that if he treated her a little better she would forgive him and feel indebted.

Indeed, handsome faces are all alike; shameless souls are rare and unique.

But this time, it seemed she truly had done something wrong. Judging from Xiao Jingxuan’s expression, if she provoked him any further, he might actually resort to violence. Time for a delaying tactic.

“Cough, cough, let go first—let’s talk this out properly.” As Su Jingluo coughed twice, Xiao Jingxuan loosened his grip, though he still pretended to be domineering and stubborn, not letting go entirely.

“Xiao Jingxuan, those people in the palace can’t wait for you to strangle me. To them, I’m just a useless pawn. You’d be better off getting rid of me—they could charge you with a crime, or eliminate the thorn in their side.” Su Jingluo hurriedly analyzed the current situation for him, hoping he’d understand that strangling her wasn’t the best idea.