Waaah, I'm being forced into loving my yandere wife's brain.

Lin Zhiyao was awakened in the middle of the night by the cool sensation of the ointment.

The fragrance of flowers was rich, but not sweet. It was a cool and refreshing scent of wild lily of the valley, very familiar, mixed with a touch of the coolness of the night. Then I felt something warmly holding my ankle.

Lin Zhiyao's heart pounded wildly. She jerked back, trying to pull her foot away, but the hand firmly gripped her ankle.

She had taken the bell off during the day, but now someone had tied it back on, though it was much looser than the night before, hanging loosely on her ankles, making a crisp, unusual sound with the slightest movement.

"bell--"

Lin Zhiyao's body stiffened slightly.

The figure, as black as a mountain, sitting beside her bed paused for a moment.

"My cousin is awake?"

The newcomer was Shen Jin, his voice sounding particularly deep in the night. He had sneaked in at some point, still holding Lin Zhiyao's slender ankle, stroking it as he turned to take out a tinderbox and lit the dim candlelight in the hall.

Her movements were so natural, as if she had accidentally wandered into his bedchamber.

Shen Jin leaned over, and Lin Zhiyao saw his lowered profile by the dim candlelight.

The candlelight flickered slightly, carried by his robes, its light and shadow shifting and illuminating the open ebony carved brocade box beside the bed before drifting back to Shen Jin.

He held a small white porcelain jar in his hand, a small piece of the flower ointment had been scooped out, and the glistening white ointment clung to the toes of his hand holding her foot, the cool, wild orchid scent mixed with a faint medicinal smell spreading out.

"Cousin!" Lin Zhiyao sat up in shock, her voice still hoarse from just waking up. She frantically tried to grab the ankle he was holding in his hand. "W-when did you get here? What are you doing—"

Shen Jin didn't look up. He casually tossed the small white porcelain jar back into the brocade box, then gently grasped her outstretched wrist.

His five fingers clenched together, not with much force, yet she couldn't break free.

With his other fingertip, adorned with floral ointment, he was applying it to the faint red marks left on the inside of her ankle by the red rope from the previous night. His movements were unhurried, the calluses scraping against her delicate, snow-white skin, bringing waves of tingling and itching sensations.

Lin Zhiyao's mind went blank for a moment, as memories of last night flooded back, waking her up completely. Her toes involuntarily curled, her ears burned red, and she hurriedly said, "I...cousin, I can do it myself...cousin, you don't need to..."

"Cousin came by herself?" Shen Jin chuckled softly. "My cousin wouldn't even open this box of floral ointment. If I hadn't come, all her good intentions would have been wasted."

As Shen Jin spoke, he deliberately ran his calloused fingertips along the arch of her foot, his fox-like eyes fixed on her.

Instantly, Lin Zhiyao's instep went numb, and the ankle he was holding felt like it was being branded with iron, the heat shooting up her calf.

She tried to pull her legs back by bringing her knees together, but Shen Jin's hand holding her ankle remained firmly in place.

"Cousin! Please, I can do it myself—"

Lin Zhiyao felt numb all over from being pinched, and raised her hand to push him away.

But Shen Jin easily turned his head to avoid it, and also pressed down on that hand.

Her two fair wrists were placed together in his palm, as if he were holding a delicate willow branch that was extremely supple.

Shen Jin stared intently into the fox-like eyes.

"Yao Yao".

Shen Jin stared for a moment, his Adam's apple bobbing, before finally raising his eyes. The candlelight flickered twice in his pupils, and the curve of his eyelids slightly lifted. His expression remained gentle, but what lay beneath that gentleness was heavier than the night. "Don't move, be good."

Lin Zhiyao could only bite her lip and remain silent.

Shen Jin then applied some more ointment and gently rubbed it in with his eyes lowered.

The candlelight cast a small shadow under his eyelashes. His fingertips, calloused, rubbed her instep with a slight tickle as he gently massaged the ointment into her thin skin.

Lin Zhiyao bit her lip, her eyelashes trembling slightly.

Her feet were extremely white, even more tender than the rest of her body. A thin layer of pale blue veins covered the instep. Her feet were only the size of his palm, appearing even smaller and more delicate in the candlelight.

Shen Jin's mouth went dry, and his Adam's apple bobbed deeply, but considering it was her first time, he knew it shouldn't be too frequent, so he suppressed it.

He took a deep breath, and when he rubbed down with his fingertips, the fair and tender flesh sank slightly into a shallow indentation, which bounced back the moment he released his grip. With just a little force, a pinkish, light mark was left.

It's so itchy, and it feels so weird...

Lin Zhiyao tried to struggle a couple more times, but his grip on her wrist was too strong, and she couldn't break free at all.

She could only turn her head away from his face, but out of the corner of her eye she could still catch a glimpse of Shen Jin's lowered profile. His fingertips slowly moved upwards along the red marks, tracing the slightly protruding knuckle on the outside of her ankle, and then sliding down the veins to the instep.

The cool, creamy texture, combined with the warmth of Shen Jin's fingertips, created a strange kind of heat.

Lin Zhiyao involuntarily curled her toes.

"Cousin... I can do it myself..." Lin Zhiyao's voice was muffled in her throat, thin and soft, with a slight tremor.

Shen Jin didn't reply, but his fingertips slowly slid from the back of her foot to her toes, massaging and pushing all the way down to her toes.

"Cousin, did you apply too much?" Lin Zhiyao's almond-shaped eyes glistened with tears.

Do you even need to apply it to your toes?

"alright."

Shen Jin pressed for a while before letting go and gently placing Lin Zhiyao's feet back into the quilt.

Lin Zhiyao had just breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that the torment of the night was finally over, when she saw Shen Jin turn his head to look at her again.

The candlelight reflected in his eyes flickered slightly.

Lin Zhiyao's heart skipped a beat.

I suddenly had a bad feeling.

Shen Jin's lips curled up slightly, his tone still gentle and mild, revealing nothing unusual: "My cousin's foot is healed."

The words had barely left his lips for a moment.

Shen Jin's gaze slowly rose from her ankles, sliding up the slender outline covered by the quilt, finally landing on her hands, which were clasped together in front of her waist, clutching the corner of the quilt.

His fox-like eyes were deep, and his voice was a little hoarse than before: "But, cousin, there's still one spot that needs medicine."

Lin Zhiyao instinctively gripped the corner of the blanket: "What?"

"Since you're unwilling to use the flower ointment your cousin prepared for you yourself," Shen Jin didn't answer directly, but instead leaned over and pulled out a small medicine jar from somewhere, gently opening it to release a cool minty scent, "then your cousin will do it all for you."

As he spoke, he turned his head slightly, his fox-like eyes staring intently at her in the dim light, their depths unfathomable.

It was just like the look in my eyes last night.

Lin Zhiyao's heart pounded, and she shrank back, her back pressed against the carved wooden railing of the bed, with nowhere left to retreat.

"If that area becomes red and swollen, it's not good; it will affect your walking."

As Shen Jin spoke, he lifted the quilt she was clutching tightly, smeared ointment on his fingertips, and pressed down on her knees. "My cousin is going to Jin Guang Temple in a few days. Although there is a carriage, she still has to walk up many steps and up a mountain road. If you don't handle this properly, you'll suffer."

Realizing where Shen Jin was talking.

Lin Zhiyao's almond-shaped eyes widened suddenly, her voice pleading, "Cousin, please, I can have Xiaotao come there..."

"No need."

Shen Jin pushed her knees apart with force that left no room for refusal. "Your cousin isn't used to giving up halfway."

"Well……"

Tears welled up in Lin Zhiyao's almond-shaped eyes. She was so ashamed that she covered her face with the quilt, her face burning red. She didn't want to see anyone anymore.

*

Shen Jin applied the medicine to her and then left.

Hearing him close the door, Lin Zhiyao trembled slightly and shrank even deeper into the quilt.

She bit her lip, her eyes sparkling.

The area where the ointment was applied was still slightly cool, as if a thin layer of ice had been applied, and it wouldn't get warm no matter how much you tried to warm it up.

Lin Zhiyao couldn't sleep.

*

These past few days, Shen Jin has been going to her boudoir every night. Even though she tried to keep Xiao Tao there, it was no use. Every night, Xiao Tao would fall into a deep sleep for no apparent reason and could not be woken up no matter what she did. She would also not remember anything the next day.

The only thing that made Lin Zhiyao feel a little relieved was that Shen Jin hadn't done anything so reckless since then. He would just hold her and kiss and lick her every night after applying the medicine, staring at her with his dark and unfathomable fox-like eyes.

Then take her hand and...

When it was over, Shen Jin would gently kiss her again, the force much less than at the beginning when it seemed like he wanted to swallow her whole.

The next day, all kinds of silk fabrics, fashionable red makeup, gold and silver jewelry were delivered in like a flowing stream, as if they were a gift.

Lin Zhiyao couldn't refuse, so she could only have Xiao Tao move to the side room, so she could avoid seeing her and getting annoyed.

I endured it for several days, and finally the day came when I went to Jin Guang Temple with my aunt to pray for blessings.