It's hard to quit, but it's the perfect marriage!

Zhou Yinghuai looked down at the tips of their shoes that were lightly touching, and realized that he had been deceived.

When he looked up again, the person who had been teasing him was already casually picking up the messy fruit plate and eating it.

"All's fair in war," she chuckled mischievously, "How can you be so easily teased!"

Zhou Yinghuai's deep eyes darkened, and he gritted his teeth, enduring the pain.

The budding romance was shattered, and the planned kiss was abruptly cut short.

He was somewhat disappointed.

Once some physical contact occurs, a mere touch is no longer enough to satisfy desires and needs.

Humans are inherently greedy, including Zhou Yinghuai, who prided himself on being unmoved by material gains.

The desire to be alone with Zhu Xi runs deep in his bones; he can't help but want to get close to her, to hold her in his arms, to be close to that softness.

He suppressed the fire burning inside him and realized for the first time what tartaric acid felt like.

While taking a shower, Zhou Yinghuai could only think of her smiling face, and his body started acting up.

He mocked himself, calling himself a lecher and saying that his ugly body would scare her.

And now, Deng Tu Zi has turned evil again.

Zhou Yinghuai licked his lips, slowly sat down on the sofa next to her, and placed a soft pillow behind her waist.

"Lean against me, your back is bad."

"Is it comfortable?" he asked.

Zhu Xi adjusted her posture and thanked him very politely, saying, "You're a very kind person; you didn't repay kindness with enmity."

Zhou Yinghuai laughed at her, "Does Sister Xi not have the phrase 'repaying evil with kindness' in her dictionary?"

"No!" She shook her head dismissively. "Modern women believe in revenge; they'll settle scores tenfold!"

Zhou Yinghuai pretended to admire her, then suddenly remembered an interesting story he had told her yesterday in the middle of summer.

She went to the outpatient clinic, but because she looked young, patients disliked her for not being skilled enough.

As a result, whatever Zhu Xi said was immediately refuted by the patient's family.

This wasn't a troublesome matter to begin with, and Zhu Xi was used to it.

But on that particular day, he ran into Yu Qinghuan at the hospital.

Seeing her earnestly explaining to the family, how could they possibly give up the opportunity to mock her?

Yu Qinghuan was too inexperienced; all he could do was kick her when she was down and take the opportunity to make sarcastic remarks.

Zhu Xi didn't tolerate her either, and went all out in front of the patient's family.

The words weren't vulgar, but they were twice as disgusting to Yu Qinghuan.

In the height of summer, Dean Zhu casually remarked, hands in his pockets, "Her situation is a classic example of the consequences of not listening to doctors. She brought her brain with her, but it's shut down."

Upon hearing this, Yu Qinghuan was furious.

The patient's family members dared not question her anymore and cooperated obediently, doing whatever she asked them to do.

This happened before they got their marriage certificate.

Back then, she was even ridiculed by outsiders as the stepdaughter of the Yu family.

Yu Qinghuan only has a few moves.

They mocked her humble background, deliberately disgusted her lack of maternal love, and even kicked her hard on the very thing she hated most: her incurable fate that brought misfortune to her relatives.

Yu Qinghuan is stupid, so stupid that she always bullies her in the same order.

Zhu Xi wouldn't suffer in silence; she would retaliate.

They would say that the second young lady of the Yu family is not human, and that she deliberately kicks the lame man's leg.

When Yu Qinghuan was furious, he would coldly remind her to have brain surgery as soon as possible to dig out the rotten tofu pudding in her brain.

Therefore, Yu Qinghuan never gained the slightest advantage over her.

Zhou Yinghuai could imagine how calmly and naturally she delivered those sarcastic remarks.

They could also empathize with the vicious curse of "hard-hearted yet kind" that she had suppressed and diluted deep in her heart.

"Sister Xi," Zhou Yinghuai called out to her, opening his palm.

Zhu Xi chewed on a strawberry, knowing he wouldn't say anything meaningful, and only glanced at it perfunctorily.

The moment my gaze shifted there, I couldn't look away.

"This is?"

She looked at the lucky bag of peace that was quietly placed in Zhou Yinghuai's palm and suddenly felt at a loss.

Zhou Yinghuai smiled gently, took out a yellow talisman from the lucky bag in front of her, unfolded it, and showed it to her.

"This is what my mother asked a master at Lingyin Temple to ask for." Zhou Yinghuai said slowly, word by word, "My mother said that she asked for three fortune sticks, and they were all very auspicious ones."

"The master analyzed three very auspicious fortune sticks, said nothing, and then gave this one to my mother."

Zhu Xi listened quietly, her heart churning.

Thanks to the abundant rain, the water plants that had spread through her heart grew rapidly, enveloping her in a comfortable and pleasant lake.

Gently swaying, slowly drifting.

Zhou Yinghuai let out a long sigh of relief, "Sister Xi."

He moved closer to her and placed the fruit plate she was holding on the small coffee table behind her.

Zhu Xi's heart skipped a beat, and all she could hear was a loud, boisterous clamor.

Yet, strangely enough, she was able to hear every word he said clearly amidst the noisy clamor.

"Sister Xi." He called her name twice, and then, under her unwavering gaze, he uttered, "Don't be afraid."

As soon as she finished speaking, Zhu Xi felt a sharp pain in her fingertips.

Fresh blood, like rubies, gushed out and stood firmly on the fingertips.

Zhou Yinghuai gave her an acupuncture needle in the pad of her ring finger, the finger that connects to her heart.

Although the technique was gentle, the pain was very real.

Zhou Yinghuai smiled, and then, right in front of her, he pricked the pad of his ring finger as well.

The same blood, like rubies, shone brightly in her clear, bright eyes.

Fingertips touching, blood mingling.

Soon, another straight line was drawn on the yellow talisman paper.

The line isn't long; it's just to bless them for a hundred years.

"Does it hurt?" Zhou Yinghuai asked her.

Zhu Xi wanted to say it hurt, but before she could say it, she shook her head first.

Zhou Yinghuai folded the talisman paper again and held her right hand with his left.

Their hands were clasped together, showing their close bond.

Zhu Xi's voice trembled, "Zhou Yinghuai, you are...?"

Before he could finish speaking, Zhou Yinghuai had already swallowed the talisman.

Even though it was incredibly difficult for her to swallow, Zhou Yinghuai kept looking at her with doting eyes.

Zhu Xi tried to pry his mouth open, saying, "Spit it out quickly."

Zhou Yinghuai shook his head at her, "Sister Xi, listen to me."

Zhu Xi was at a loss, her voice choked with emotion, "What are you doing?"

"Sister Xi, our contract is complete. From this moment on, you are neither a jinx nor a source of harm to me. You are my protection and my companionship."

Zhou Yinghuai held her hand, behind him were the dazzling lights of thousands of homes in the dark night, and in his eyes was the light that was unique to Huanxi Sha.

Zhu Xi was caught in a strange kind of bewilderment, speechless and confused.

Her heart was pounding and her blood was churning.

Two forces seemed to be attacking her from both sides, leaving her nowhere to escape.

Even though night had fallen, she felt as if she were bathed in the blazing sunlight of midsummer.

The light poured down from above, enveloping her completely.

As she retreated, so did the light.

She went in, and the light followed.

She paused, and the light quietly waited.

Zhu Xi's throat moved slightly, her voice stuck there, struggling to rise upwards, trying to break through something.

Zhou Yinghuai cupped her face in his right hand, and their eyes met.

He leaned down and pressed his forehead against hers.

Their noses touched lightly, their breaths mingling.

"Sister Xi, don't be afraid."

What you fear will never happen.

"Zhou Yinghuai married you, and he will always be there for you."