Young Prime Minister, a Hermit

Chapter 188

I didn't see him move much, but when I came to my senses, he had already picked me up and carried me to the nearby bed.

“You’re so smart, you’ll figure it out eventually. As for Han Jue…” Yi Han suddenly lowered his head and looked at me gloomily, “As long as he doesn’t die, it’s none of your business.”

I was taken aback and asked instinctively, "Has he rebelled?"

"No!" Yi Han answered me impatiently, placing me on the soft bed. "He manages the guild very well."

"That's good." I breathed a sigh of relief. No matter what, the thought of him being Zimo's ancestor made it impossible for me to ignore him. But then I looked up, startled, and asked, "Then why are you angry? It can't be because..." I paused, "...jealousy, can it?"

Yi Han glared at me, then suddenly leaned down and kissed me fiercely. When he released me, my cheeks were flushed, and I was panting: "Your jealousy is so unreasonable! Han Jue doesn't even know I'm a woman!"

Yi Han snorted and said coldly and slowly, "How do you think I fell in love with you in the first place?"

I was stunned, and immediately jumped out of bed, yelling, "No way! You like men?!"

Yi Han was both amused and annoyed, but her voice remained cold: "Do you think that just because you've dressed as a man for so many years, you're really a man? In the eyes of a real man, you will always unconsciously reveal your feminine side. At the time, he might just feel pity for you, but as time goes by, he will naturally understand."

My face flushed, and I lowered my head. I felt that Yihan's words were not so much an explanation as a disguised confession.

Yi Han suddenly hugged me and kissed me again. I was so dizzy from the kiss that by the time I came to my senses, I had already been pulled back onto the bed. I quickly moved up to avoid his lips and said, "I...I still have so many questions I haven't finished asking!"

Yi Han gently pulled me back beneath him. His forehead was beaded with sweat, and his breathing was rapid, yet his voice remained as cold and clear as ever: "Ask me again later, and I'll always tell you the truth..."

"No..." The hot breath touched my face, and I felt as if my whole body had been given a muscle relaxant. I was unable to control my own weight, and even shaking my head became weak and powerless. "In a while... I should go back."

Yi Han's hand, which had been moving over me, suddenly froze. He gripped my shoulder with tremendous force and almost growled, "Go back?! Where to?!"

His shout jolted me awake, my back drenched in cold sweat. I took a few deep breaths before I could meet his dark purple eyes with confidence, and whispered, "I was able to find you by traversing the gaps in time. But this body can't stay on the continent of Ishu for long; I have to go back every seven days. Unless... unless I find a new body that can fit."

Yi Han pulled me close to his chest, frowned, and his face was obscured by the light from his loose silver hair, but his purple eyes were dark and deep, like a piece of driftwood drifting on a vast ocean.

"Hey, Yihan." I stepped back a little, narrowing my eyes and looking at him dangerously. "Don't you dare come up with any ideas about killing a bunch of innocent people for me to experiment on!"

Yi Han was taken aback and looked away. Judging from his guilty look, the thought must have crossed his mind. Yi Han cleared his throat before saying, "I was wondering if your original body is still okay?"

"Huh?!" I was so shocked I almost jumped up again. "You mean Lin Yu's body? It's still there? Shouldn't it have rotted away by now, after five years?"

A fleeting sadness crossed Yi Han's eyes: "Yun Yan preserved it, hiding it in the ice coffin."

Yi Han's words filled me with joy, yet also with trepidation. Returning to Lin Yu's body would be wonderful, but I wondered if Lin Yu, who had died twice and whose internal organs were severely damaged, still had any chance of survival.

Just as he was pondering, alternating between joy and worry, he suddenly heard Yi Han softly ask, "What is your real name?"

I was startled, looked up, and saw the faint disappointment and sadness in his eyes, which made my heart ache. So I knelt down beside him, took his hand, and wrote on his palm, word by word: "My name is Lin Jialan, Lin as in forest, Lan as in blue, and the middle character is pronounced Jia."

After I finished writing, I stared blankly at his scarred hands, lost in thought. Before, I had only thought Yi Han's hands were long and cool, without any flaws except for the thin calluses from practicing swordsmanship. Now, however, I saw countless hideous scars crisscrossing these once-perfect hands, as if silently telling the story of the past five years of sorrow.

“Galan…” I heard Yihan call my name in an extremely soft yet hesitant tone. The two words, spoken softly, sounded like a roar from the depths of his soul, “Galan…”

I responded reflexively and looked up, only to feel a warmth on my lips as he gently kissed me.

His scarred hands gently caressed my body, a tingling, stinging sensation that couldn't hide his tender affection. Suddenly, I wanted nothing more to hold back; I just wanted to truly feel him, and let him feel me. Even if this body were to disappear in the next second, we would never let go of each other.

My clothes slipped off my body one by one, and I sank into the soft bed, sweat dripping onto my chest... Indulging, unrestrained, yet filled with the bittersweet joy of surviving a catastrophe.

I was swept away by this passion, swept away by the long-awaited atmosphere, and finally forgot the thought of having to go back, forgot that world, melting into his warm and tender embrace, forever adrift...

Chapter 39 Tearing Apart (Part 1)

I angrily tugged at my collar as I walked downstairs, muttering resentfully, "That bastard Yihan, he definitely did it on purpose!"

The thought of the bruises and hickeys I saw on my neck in the mirror made my ears burn with embarrassment. The best thing I should have done today was stay in my room to avoid being seen, especially by Xu Lie. Just thinking about it sent a shiver down my spine; I imagined he might strangle me on the spot.

As the saying goes, "Think of Cao Cao, and Cao Cao appears." Before I even stepped down the last step, I heard Xu Lie's mocking voice: "Finally getting up, huh? You must have had an even harder time looking for me last night!"

I gave an awkward laugh, but when I looked up, I saw him wearing only a shirt in the slightly chilly autumn weather, the top two buttons undone, revealing a large expanse of firm, smooth chest muscles. His hair wasn't as sleek as usual, and even his eyes held a wildness that was strangely sexy. My face flushed, and I quickly lowered my head, walking past him into the kitchen.

When I came out of the kitchen, Xu Lie was sitting on the sofa switching TV channels, a half-smile on his face. He looked a little tired, but seemed to be in a good mood. I grabbed my textbooks and was about to leave when he suddenly looked up and called out, "Come here."

I was startled and took a step back warily: "What?"

Xu Lie's face immediately turned from sunny to stormy, and he said coldly, "You came here because I told you to. I have something to say!"

I frowned slightly and said in a calm tone, "You can say it this way."

"I'm still your husband!!" Xu Lie slammed the remote control onto the sofa, took a few quick steps in front of me, grabbed my shoulders, and roared, "Can't you even listen to me for two minutes?"

I was in pain from his grip and wanted to get angry, but when I saw his bloodshot and frantic eyes, I couldn't bear it, so I softened my voice and said, "Say what you have to say."

Xu Lie glanced at me, a bitter, cold, and self-deprecating smile slowly spreading across his face. His voice was hoarse as he said, "What's so good about you? Not pretty, not considerate, not gentle, and foolishly prone to overthinking. Yet I'm even more foolish than you. For a woman like you, I've backed down again and again, resorting to any means necessary… What's so good about you? What makes you worth me compromising to the point of… trampling my self-respect underfoot?"

I closed my eyes, turned my head away, and whispered, "Yes, I'm not worth it. Xu Lie, let me go, and let yourself go too."

"You think I don't want to let go?!" Xu Lie grabbed me and shouted uncontrollably, "I wish I could forget you forever, I wish I had never met you! Clearly... clearly you were the one who provoked me first, and now, I'm the only one left in this quagmire. Lin Jialan, are you being fair to me? Are you fair?! You..."

Xu Lie's voice suddenly choked with sobs, and for a moment he couldn't utter a sound even with all his strength. He suddenly reached out and hugged me tightly. I struggled, but his grip was extremely strong, tightening around me as if he wanted to bind us together forever.

My body ached, but my heart ached even more. Xu Lie said the same thing as Yi Han—"You were the one who provoked me first." The same words, spoken by different people, evoked pity for Yi Han, but only a sharp pain in my heart for Xu Lie. Because of him, the debt I incurred can never be repaid.

"You heartless woman!" Xu Lie's voice was hoarse and sorrowful, as if he had reached the depths of despair, yet still clung to a sliver of hope. "You're a heartless woman, but I still can't let you go. Every day I ask myself what to do? How can I forget you? How can I love someone else? But I... I can't do it, Galan, I really can't!"

My face was wet with salt, and I hadn't even noticed the tears streaming down my face. I understand that kind of heartache; back then, watching him abandon me, despair overwhelmed me. I wanted to tear my heart apart to forget him, but I found that even every fragment was etched with his face. If time hadn't diluted the pain, if someone hadn't pieced my broken heart back together bit by bit, I might still be gasping for breath like a stranded fish to this day.

“Galan…” Warm fingers suddenly lifted my chin. Xu Lie’s eyes were filled with sorrow, so much so that his eyes were red, yet deep within them shone a fearful longing. “Galan, if I said that I don’t mind you being in that world…”

Xu Lie's voice suddenly stopped, and his sorrowful and gentle gaze suddenly turned like an icy sword, stabbing fiercely at my neck, unblinking until a raging fire filled his entire face, violent and furious.

"You let him touch you!" The slender, warm hand that I used to feel was now like a branding iron, gripping and burning my neck. I was slammed against the wall by that powerful force, feeling a sharp, tightening pain from the back of my head to my spine, making me tremble uncontrollably. I tried to take a deep breath to relieve the pain, but found that my throat was getting more and more painful, my lungs couldn't get oxygen, and a feeling of suffocation was overwhelming me.