That already-not-so-clear head of hers became even more muddled after being stirred up by Gu Chengyin's twisted logic.
Luo Zhao instinctively wanted to refute him, wanted to say, what kind of nonsense is this.
But when the words reached her lips, she found her tongue tied as if it were knotted, unable to utter a single word.
Because she actually felt that what Gu Chengyin said seemed to make a tiny bit of sense.
Luo Zhao knew the relationship between Lin Qingyan and Gu Chengyin very well.
Even without this imperial decree, Lin Qingyan was already Gu Chengyin's.
Both in body and in heart, she had already taken Gu Chengyin's shape.
From that perspective, her father's betrothal was indeed an unnecessary act.
But the problem was, a betrothal was a form of honor, a favor bestowed by the Son of Heaven upon his subjects.
How could it become, in Gu Chengyin's mouth, something that brought him harm?
And then to compare it with his betrothal to her, as if having both a goddess and a fairy at once.
For Gu Chengyin, it seemed like some kind of heinous crime.
Not only would it bring him no benefit at all, but he would actually suffer a great loss because of it.
Come on!
This was clearly a huge blessing, right?!
"So what do you want then?"
In the end, Luo Zhao asked that question.
The moment it left her lips, she regretted it, because she saw the wicked smile spreading across Gu Chengyin's face.
That smile began at the corners of his mouth and crept upward bit by bit, reaching his eyes, reaching his brows.
It stained his entire face with the smug satisfaction of a hunter who had just hooked his prey.
His gaze started from Luo Zhao's face and traveled downward.
Like a brush dipped in ink, painting from her eyes to the tip of her nose, from the tip of her nose to her lips.
From her lips to her long, slender neck, from her neck to her delicate collarbones, and from her collarbones onward, further down.
Every place Gu Chengyin's gaze landed, that patch of skin would involuntarily flush with a faint tinge of red, as if scorched by his stare.
As if it were silently hinting at something to her.
Luo Zhao became even more flustered under such an invasive look.
Her heart pounded so fast it felt like it would leap out of her chest, her breathing grew short and rapid.
Her fingers unconsciously clenched his lapels, and only one thought kept echoing through her mind.
Was Gu Chengyin trying to get even with her?
Because her father had targeted him and made him suffer, so he wanted to take it out on her?
Her father suppressed Gu Chengyin, so Gu Chengyin came to bully her.
What kind of logic was that?
She was the heir apparent, the future Empress of Daluo, how could she be bullied like this!
Luo Zhao's thoughts churned into a messy stew, because the most terrifying thing was that even so.
She discovered that she still wasn't resistant to it, and was even faintly looking forward to it.
Was this right?
This wasn't right!
She was the heir apparent, not some masochistic weirdo, how could she be looking forward to something like this.
But even so, Luo Zhao still couldn't help but imagine all sorts of scenes.
However, in reality, Gu Chengyin wasn't as twisted as Luo Zhao had imagined.
His plan was very clear: first, to break down Luo Zhao's psychological defenses.
He had a very good understanding of this Highness's true personality by now. On the surface, she appeared cold and aloof.
But in her bones, she was the softest, though only in front of Gu Chengyin.
That bit of heir-apparent airs had never actually been held up.
With just a little bit of intimidation, Luo Zhao's psychological defenses would collapse into a mess.
Just like right now, merely held in his arms.
Luo Zhao had already surrendered on her own.
She wouldn't put up even the slightest resistance, not even a bit of tough talk.
She was very much like the kind who was obnoxiously bold when the distance was positive.
But the moment the distance turned negative, she immediately became as obedient as the most well-behaved puppy.
Doing whatever she was told without encountering a hint of resistance.
Once he reached this point, he could get Luo Zhao to agree to some humiliating terms.
After all, Gu Chengyin's goal wasn't to actually bully Luo Zhao. If he really wanted to bully her, he would have done so long ago.
Rather, it was to use this leverage to counter Emperor Luo.
At the very least, he had to block whatever moves Emperor Luo had planned next.
At this point, it was practically an open game between Gu Chengyin and Emperor Luo.
Through this imperial decree, Emperor Luo had clearly told Gu Chengyin: I know what your weakness is, and I know how to use it against you.
And Gu Chengyin was never one to just take a beating without hitting back.
Emperor Luo had shown his stance and attitude, so it was only natural for Gu Chengyin to make a corresponding countermove to demonstrate his own stance and attitude.
At times like this, whoever showed weakness, whoever backed down, was as good as admitting defeat.
Gu Chengyin acknowledged that Emperor Luo's advantage was indeed significant, but he hadn't fully fallen behind either.
Luo Zhao was right now in his arms, with Gu Xiaoli watching from the side.
You weaken my influence in the court, and I'll work on your soft spot.
And Luo Zhao certainly hadn't let Gu Chengyin down.
Before he even started the intimidation, merely being held in his arms, her psychological defenses had already crumbled.
Her gaze was unsteady, her breathing rapid and flustered, and she looked like a little deer cornered by a hunter against a wall.
Even though she still had an escape route, she was too scared to even know how to run.
Luo Zhao's current state was exactly the state Gu Chengyin needed most.
Reason was still intact, but she could no longer think clearly.
Resistance was still there, but it had become a hollow shell.
Just as Gu Chengyin was about to speak and unleash the carefully prepared speech he had already planned out.
He saw Luo Zhao close her eyes.
Her eyelids slowly closed, and her long lashes cast a small fan-shaped shadow on her eyelids.
Her lashes trembled slightly, like butterfly wings fluttering in a storm, fragile and beautiful.
Her lips were tightly pressed together, her teeth sinking into the soft flesh, leaving a shallow indentation.
Her cheeks were flushed like rosy clouds, spreading from her cheekbones to her ears, and from her ears down to her neck.
Dyeing her entire being in a shade of shyness.
Luo Zhao turned her head aside, exposing that stretch of long, fair neck.
Her lines were graceful and fragile, like fine porcelain, making one want to reach out and touch, yet afraid that a careless hand might shatter it.
Her throat moved slightly, as if she was trying to convince herself of something.
Her face was full of humiliation, yet incomparably submissive—an extremely complex expression.
The humiliation came from Luo Zhao's pride, which wouldn't allow her to bow her head to anyone.
The submissiveness came from the fact that, deep in her subconscious, she could not resist Gu Chengyin.
These two diametrically opposed emotions clashed and intertwine on Luo Zhao's face.
Dyeing her already stunning features with an utterly contradictory kind of allure.
Then Luo Zhao spoke, her voice very soft.
So soft it was like the buzzing of a mosquito, almost missed if one didn't listen carefully.
Every word was squeezed out through her teeth, carrying a tremor.
Carrying suppressed shame, and a resignation that pleaded surrender.
"You... go gently."
Gu Chengyin: “¿”
lities. One day, Qi Yuan was buying groceries when he unfortunately came face-to-face with a monster. Just when he thought he was going to die on the spot, he suddenly heard the monster's thoughts... "This aura, he's definitely not an ordinary master!" "So terrifying, so terrifying." "A fight with my back against the wall, I can't take it anymore." Qi Yuan: Ah, no one told me that my awakened ability isn't telepathy, but rather the stronger my enemies imagine me to be, the stronger I truly become. PS: Zhou Hai in the first chapter is not the protagonist.
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
