Running Off with the Villain - Chapter 2

Laughing, I left with Tiezhu and stopped by one of my clothing shops. I collected several black robes embroidered in gold that no one had been willing to buy and decided Wuming could wear them.

People in the capital favored restrained elegance. They disliked dressing themselves in gold and silver.

But Wuming was tall and beautiful. Lavish clothes would suit him perfectly.

As we left the shop, a foreign caravan hurried past.

“What happened?”

The shopkeeper hastened to explain. “Young Mistress, a Demon Scion has recently appeared in the Great Desert. A celestial master prophesied that his birth would bring a terrible calamity. All the clans of the desert joined forces to kill him, but he escaped, so they have come to our dynasty for aid. Those people just now were envoys from the Great Desert.”

“Ohhh.”

Understanding dawned.

“Then it’s none of our concern. If the sky falls, the government can hold it up. We’ll live one day at a time and keep doing business.”

“Exactly what I said.”

The shopkeeper bowed me out with the utmost respect.

I hugged the robes to my chest, imagining Wuming in them, and felt thoroughly delighted.

Tiezhu followed me all the way home, repeatedly looking as though he wanted to speak.

“Young Mistress, forgive me for asking, but what exactly do you plan to do with Wuming?”

I stared at him. “Take him as a husband, obviously. Isn’t that clear?”

He was the man with the mines. If I married him, all those mines would become mine.

“Take him as a husband?”

Tiezhu looked troubled. “Then why do you keep hitting and scolding him, as though you’re afraid he might forget to hate you?”

“I hit and scold him? Haven’t I treated him well? I fed him a Nine-Turn Soul-Reviving Pill and found him beautiful clothes. I’ve never been this good to anyone!”

Tiezhu was not good with words. Unable to argue, he pursed his lips and looked wounded.

Once I calmed down and thought about it, I realized I might indeed have handled things poorly.

No female lead in any storybook I had read slapped the male lead the moment they met.

The way I behaved was more like some cannon-fodder villainess destined for a miserable end…

It was almost dark by the time I returned.

The footmen at the door reported that Wuming had refused to let them touch him and driven everyone out.

I kicked open the door.

The medicine had restored some color to his face.

But the moment he saw me, his expression hardened and he turned away. “Why are you here again?”

“To see whether you’re dead, of course!”

I tossed the clothes aside and plopped down on the edge of the bed.

“Well? Feeling better?”

He said nothing.

After a long while, he asked coldly, “Was the pill you fed me a Nine-Turn Soul-Reviving Pill?”

Hmph. At least he knew quality.

“It was. So what? I’ll feed you whatever I like.”

“That medicine cannot be bought even for a thousand pieces of gold. Why give it to me?”

I folded my arms and snorted. “I paid three thousand taels of silver for you. Of course I couldn’t let you die!”

Then I remembered that this was precisely the wrong approach.

If I kept saying cruel things, I would chill his heart.

So I changed my expression and smiled gently. “That was a lie. The truth is, I like you. I want you for my husband, and I want us to have babies together.”

To my surprise, Wuming’s ears turned red and he erupted in fury.

“Shameless wretch! Use whatever schemes you have in store. Why humiliate me like this?”

I stared at him. What was wrong with him now?

Oh. So he didn’t like gentle.

I slapped him.

Smack!

“Why are you being so fierce? This young lady is taking you as her husband. You will submit whether you like it or not!”

“In your dreams!”

Hatred blazed in his eyes. His wounds began to ache again, and he gripped the sheets, panting hard.

“Even if I die… I will never… submit to you…”

“Hey, hey, calm down! Look at yourself.”

I reached out to steady him, but he shoved me away.

“Don’t touch me!”

“Fine, fine. I won’t.”

I crouched by the bed and propped my chin in both hands, studying him.

What a difficult man.

What had I done wrong this time?

After crouching there for a while, I tried to make conversation so he could calm down.

“Wuming, I heard your whole family was slaughtered. Tell me about it. How did it happen?”

He went still.

Slowly, he turned to face me, his eyes bloodshot.

“Jin. Yu. Se. I will repay today’s humiliation a hundredfold.”

What?

What was wrong now?

Did he think I had deliberately poked at his wounds?

“That’s not what I meant! I meant, tell me who killed your family and I’ll help you take revenge!”

“You had better kill me now. The moment my body recovers, your death will follow.”

“What? Are you sick in the head?”

I had only been trying to help!

I shot to my feet. “I truly like you, and I truly want to help you. Believe me or don’t! The two of us are destined for each other. Sooner or later, you’ll be mine. Do you hear me? You. Are. Mine!”

With that, I slammed the door behind me.