As soon as Shen Minghe opens her eyes, she sees a woman holding an iron whip. Blood on her face does nothing to diminish her beauty. The woman has the cold, dusty air of a sealed case file. She appears gentle and dignified, but her eyes conceal a chill that has lasted a thousand years.
It hurts! The stinging pain all over her body quickly makes Shen Minghe understand her situation.
The woman is Ying Suxi, the Regent Princess, and a mad villain from an ABO novel. Shen Minghe is her lover, a spy and a disposable Alpha who is supposed to be chopped up and fed to dogs after three days in the manor.
Shen Minghe’s heart turns cold, and she speaks at once. “Ying Suxi, the emperor isn’t descended from the late emperor.”
The iron whip Ying Suxi is about to swing stops in midair. She only leaves a cold command: “Heal her.”
*
While Shen Minghe recovers, Ying Suxi visits her every night. Rumors begin to spread that the cold and ruthless Princess Consort is very fond of one of her lovers.
As a result, Shen Minghe’s coworkers keep showing up in her courtyard, hoping to run into the princess.
Ying Suxi looks at the room full of beauties and the smiling Shen Minghe. Her expression turns icy. “Make them leave.”
Their scent is so overpowering, and the sight of them is even more irritating!
Soon, someone approaches Shen Minghe because of the princess’s “favor.”
The first thing Shen Minghe says is, “The princess can’t do it. She has no idea what to do in bed.”
Ying Suxi: “?”
That night, Ying Suxi keeps releasing the pure yet alluring scent of yilan orchids, mingled with the cool, restrained bitterness of wormwood.
Shen Minghe is tied to the bed, and the grapefruit-and-green-tea scent of her pheromones suddenly grows unusually intense.
Ying Suxi lifts her chin and demands, “You think I can’t do it?”
Shen Minghe stubbornly turns her head away. “Ying Suxi, I hate you!”
The ever-cool composure in Ying Suxi’s eyes briefly crumbles. Her voice turns dark and frenzied. “Shen Minghe, you are not allowed to hate me. You can only love me, forever.”
Ying Suxi releases Shen Minghe’s restraints and watches her become infatuated with her, her eyes full of satisfaction at having gotten what she wanted.
By morning, Shen Minghe is fully clearheaded again.
Ying Suxi is a madwoman. Shen Minghe should have known. Everything she changed had already come with a price, marked out in secret.
Shen Minghe decides to run away early, but Ying Suxi stops her. “Are you leaving me too?”
Ying Suxi’s eyes are filled with an unrelenting, sinister gloom. She looks like a broken doll someone has thrown away. Before fear can take hold, Shen Minghe finds herself feeling sorry for her.
*
Ying Suxi believes she would never show mercy to anyone, much less a spy always looking for a chance to gather intelligence on her.
But whenever she sees the frail Shen Minghe, whose eyes are still clear and defiant, or hears people disparage her as a murderous tyrant and a traitor, Shen Minghe always defends her, steadfastly standing by her side.
Ying Suxi is used to loneliness and being misunderstood. Shen Minghe’s support leaves her uneasy and helpless, and she restrains her desire to get closer.
But in the end, she cannot resist indulging, again and again, in the warmth Shen Minghe brings her.
Keeping Shen Minghe and drawing her close become her obsession.
For that, she is willing to use any means necessary, even offering herself and letting Shen Minghe leave a permanent mark on her.
Theme: People need to strive for a better future if they want to move step by step toward their goals.