248: Chapter 248: Let her remember forever that he was the male she loved most.

"Little A-Wu, are you still willing to go live there with Brother?

I can... find that place again.

If I can't find it, I will build one for you.

As long as you are willing—"

As he spoke, he grabbed Tang Ruan's shoulders with both hands, pressed his forehead against hers, and pressed her step by step.

Tang Ruan had no idea what he was talking about and struggled in fear.

His kiss suddenly landed fiercely.

One hand pressed firmly against the back of her head, while the other passed around her lower back to grab one of her wrists.

Her other hand was also pinned to her side.

Tang Ruan: She was completely locked in place.

Suddenly, Heng Zhou let out a soft "Hmm."

A metallic scent of blood spread through his mouth.

It was his blood; Little A-Wu had bitten him.

Feeling the faint pain on the tip of his tongue, Heng Zhou became even more excited.

This was a bite from the Little A-Wu he loved, so how could it hurt?

He deepened the kiss even more forcefully.

Tang Ruan was completely bewildered.

What happened to being just siblings?

Was this person suffering from a split personality?

Hadn't Prince Jiaoli's soul already disappeared?

Could there be another one?

Tang Ruan wanted to make things clear with him; his behavior terrified her.

They could sit down and talk about it slowly.

But he was like a warrior who had accepted he would lose, just pushing forward blindly, risking everything.

He carried the aura of someone ready to go down with the ship.

Suddenly, fragmented images flashed through Tang Ruan's mind.

In the Jiao Clan.

He had used his Supernatural Ability to control her.

He stood by her bedside and said to her, "Binding."

Tang Ruan's hands and feet were immediately pulled together.

It was as if there really was a rope Binding her wrists and ankles.

No matter how she struggled, she couldn't break free.

He said, "Kiss me."

And she kissed him frantically...

While kissing, she asked aggrievedly, "Brother, why do I have to do this?"

That confusion and unease from back then swept into Tang Ruan's heart, just like it did now.

She understood now; he hadn't been drugged back then at all.

He had simply wanted to do it.

And he had done it when she didn't understand anything.

Did that prove that when she "understood," he didn't dare to do it?

Tang Ruan suddenly felt a sliver of disgust toward Heng Zhou.

She stopped resisting, closed her eyes, and let him greedily drink in her scent.

Heng Zhou kissed her for a moment before suddenly realizing that Tang Ruan was resisting in silence.

He abruptly let go.

He looked lost and helpless, as if facing a piece of fragile porcelain.

He raised his hand, then lowered it...

He wanted to help wipe the blood from her lips, but was afraid she would loathe his touch.

"Brother... did I hurt you?" His voice trembled slightly.

Tang Ruan took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and opened them again.

If he really liked her, why didn't he think about developing their relationship slowly?

Why did he have to be so reckless?

Was there not a single one among them who knew how to express love properly?

The metallic taste of Heng Zhou's blood still lingered in her mouth.

Tang Ruan was a bit angry: "Have you thought this through?"

Heng Zhou was stunned, not understanding why she asked that.

Tang Ruan continued, "Is this feeling you have for me for a younger sister, or for a partner?

Have you thought it through?"

Her tone was calm, as if she were narrating someone else's affairs.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Tang Ruan continued to express her thoughts.

"You and I have a Cub together.

Perhaps it is fated that we should also become partners.

However, I want you to understand your own heart.

Do not do things that you will regret."

Heng Zhou was stunned.

He had expected her to blame him, fear him, or even loathe him.

But he had never thought she would be able to analyze it for him so calmly.

"Have you ever thought about why, since you like me so much and met me first, I didn't end up with you, but with Fen Tian instead?

Is it possible that there is a problem with the way we interact?"

She guided him patiently.

This was also something Tang Ruan had always been curious about.

In her view, a relationship between siblings was much easier to succeed than one between a younger brother and an older sister, because a younger sister naturally develops a sense of reliance on her older brother.

Heng Zhou opened his mouth.

He didn't want to say that by the time he realized his feelings for her weren't just brotherly, she had already fallen for Fen Tian.

"I really do like you, the kind of liking a Male Beastman has for a Female Beastman." Heng Zhou finally found his voice.

Tang Ruan nodded.

"Fine, I can accept you.

But if I accept you, you cannot be my brother anymore.

Can you accept that?"

Heng Zhou frowned slightly.

He hadn't expected her to agree so easily.

Even more, he hadn't expected that after she agreed, he wouldn't feel happy at all.

Why couldn't he be a brother after becoming a partner?

Couldn't he care for and protect her like a brother?

Or was it that he couldn't treat her as his unique source of reliance like before?

Also, why could she speak of taking in a Beast Husband so lightly?

To him, this was clearly a very important matter...

Tang Ruan: "What I am about to say next might be a bit hurtful."

She bit her lip.

"But I don't want to lie to you.

I don't love you.

You are a very important person to me.

But I don't have those partner-like feelings for you."

This feeling was strange even to Tang Ruan.

She felt that if Heng Zhou encountered a life-threatening danger, she might risk her life to protect him.

She could also become his partner to fulfill his wish.

But there was simply no—feeling of heart-fluttering attraction.

Seeing Heng Zhou stunned, Tang Ruan wasn't in a hurry for an answer.

"Think about it yourself, and tell me when you've figured it out."

If Heng Zhou were to become her Beast Husband, at least she could openly acknowledge that Guo Guo was her daughter, and Guo Guo would no longer be wronged.

Heng Zhou watched Tang Ruan's departing back.

At that moment, he desperately wanted to cast a curse on her to make her come back.

He also wanted to implant a thought in her mind.

To make her stop loving her Beast Husbands, and to make her remember forever that he was the Male Beastman she loved the most.

But he never took that step.

Suddenly, Heng Zhou chuckled softly.

If he could do it, Little A-Wu's heart would have been his long ago.

He just couldn't do it.

He couldn't bear to make her sad again...

---

Tang Ruan took a bath and changed her clothes.

She made herself look as if nothing had happened.

She held Xiao Yi and sat in the courtyard basking in the sun.

Suddenly, her eyes lit up.

She saw Yan Qing wearing a deep-V robe, followed by seven or eight City Lords, walking with big strides past a nearby corridor while talking.

From the side, she could just see a faint red mark on his pectoral muscle, looking like a little red flower.

Tang Ruan: ... Uh... Was he wearing it like that on purpose?

Not long after Yan Qing left, the sound of flapping wings arrived.

Before Hu Che even landed, his crying reached Tang Ruan's ears.

"Mistress! You are too unfair! Why do Fen Tian and Yan Qing both have little red flowers! And yet I—don't have one!"

As soon as Hu Che's feet touched the ground, he threw himself at Tang Ruan.

Suddenly, he noticed Xiao Yi in Tang Ruan's arms.

Xiao Yi: ...

Hu Che carefully picked him up from Tang Ruan's arms and stuffed him into Fen Tian's arms.

Then, quickly and with difficulty, he squeezed his upper body into Tang Ruan's arms.

Tang Ruan: ...

"Mistress, I want a little red flower too." He looked up pitifully, with not a single tear in the corners of his eyes...

Hu Che happily received a little red flower.

Five days later.

Lang Lie came to Central City for a meeting.

She accompanied Lang Lie to watch the moon.

After watching the moon, he seemed to have something to say but hesitated.

His ice-blue eyes stared intently at her lips.

Tang Ruan thought he was going to kiss her and was about to offer a sweet kiss.

He reached out and covered her mouth—refusing her.

Tang Ruan: ...