To celebrate Lin Ran's return to school, Luo Yao opened a bottle of red wine.
The two shared a warm and cozy meal, during which Luo Yao showed no signs of behaving differently than usual.
Lin Ran knew his alcohol tolerance was low and was afraid of saying something inappropriate if he got drunk, so he kept himself in check.
Luo Yao picked up her wine glass and walked behind Lin Ran, wrapping her arms around his neck before speaking softly.
"Ran, happy start of the semester. Let me feed you this last sip of wine."
Lin Ran blushed and nodded, "Okay."
This girl sure knows how to flirt.
Luo Yao leaned in and kissed him, feeding him a sip of imported red wine in the process.
That sip of wine was poisoned.
Literally.
Lin Ran felt his head grow heavy, and when he woke up again, he found himself lying naked on the bed.
What the...?
He tried to get up but realized he couldn’t move.
This familiar feeling?
Memories from the past immediately flooded back, sending a chill down Lin Ran’s spine. He slowly turned his head to see a figure standing by the bed.
"Wife, what... what are you doing?"
Luo Yao didn’t say a word. Instead, she leaned over Lin Ran, her face close to his, staring into his eyes.
Her gaze seemed to say, "You’ve been naughty again."
"Luo Yao, you’re not serious, right? Right?"
Luo Yao put on a pitiful expression.
"Husband, do you love Yao Yao?"
Lin Ran nodded frantically, "Yes, yes, I love you the most."
"Then no matter what I do, you won’t blame me, right?"
Lin Ran nodded like a bobblehead, "Of course, of course, how could I ever blame you?"
Forty-nine minutes later.
This girl is really something.
Lin Ran knew that the more he resisted, the angrier Luo Yao would get.
This was a lesson he had learned in his past life.
Luo Yao was still that little devil, even if she had been acting gentler recently. It didn’t change her true nature.
Lin Ran remembered a time in his previous life when things had been even worse—he had been left bloodied and bruised.
The reason? On Luo Yao’s birthday, Lin Ran had used the excuse of preparing a gift to meet Liu Ruxue.
Afterward, Luo Yao had personally applied medicine to his wounds. At the time, Lin Ran had fought back fiercely, even slapping Luo Yao across the face.
Lin Ran remembered that after that incident, he had been subjected to a schedule of confinement: locked up on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and semi-confined on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
This went on for three whole months before Luo Yao finally let him out again.
He never thought that even after being reborn, he wouldn’t be able to escape the same fate.
"Ran, why don’t you listen to me? Why did you meet Liu Ruxue again? Don’t you love Yao Yao anymore?"
Lin Ran took a deep breath. The last few strikes had left bloody marks on his body.
"Of course I love you. I hate Liu Ruxue, but she keeps showing up out of nowhere. There’s nothing I can do about it. Honestly, it’d be more practical if you just dealt with her directly."
Luo Yao grabbed Lin Ran and pulled him close, forcing him to look her in the eyes.
"I’ve already been dealing with Liu Ruxue, Ran. We’re the same kind of people—we both enjoy taking our time with the torment."
"But I can’t tell if you’re being real or just acting in front of me, and I don’t even want to know."
"All I want is to warn you: if you dare to betray me, you’ll die a horrible death, and Liu Ruxue’s fate will be even worse."
"Don’t think I’m joking. When I’m serious, even I scare myself."
Lin Ran wasn’t intimidated by Luo Yao’s threats. In his understanding, the current Luo Yao was simply...
having an episode.
Lin Ran’s knowledge of Luo Yao wasn’t limited to this life—it extended to his past life as well.
In his past life, Luo Yao had been relatively restrained most of the time. She loved clinging to him, controlling him, and possessing him, but occasionally, she would truly lose it.
Of course, every time she lost it was because he had done something to upset her.
After her episodes, Luo Yao would either come back to comfort him or disappear for a few days before reappearing.
Once, after a particularly intense outburst, Luo Yao had confessed to Lin Ran.
She simply couldn’t control herself, especially when Lin Ran tried to escape. She couldn’t stop herself from doing those terrifying things.
Back then, Lin Ran hadn’t understood. He had simply seen Luo Yao as a monster.
But after being reborn, he had chosen to accept Luo Yao, to love her, and to understand her.
Gradually, he began to realize that Luo Yao might have a dual personality.
In her good moments, she was filled with love for him. In her bad moments, she vented her hatred toward him.
That’s why, when he saw Luo Yao hurting herself in the office last time, Lin Ran had immediately guessed why she had done it.
He had hurt Luo Yao before, and this was his debt to her.
Besides, this time, Luo Yao had been much kinder to him—at least compared to how she had been in the past.
If it had been like before, the consequences would have been far worse, and he knew that better than anyone.
Luo Yao tightened her grip around Lin Ran’s neck, her breath, her gaze, and her heartbeat all pressing against him.
She lacked love, so he would give her love—endless, boundless love.
"Let me say this seriously: the only person I love is you."
"You can hit me, scold me, and I won’t get angry. Even when you need to vent, I’d rather be the one hurt than you. Just like now."
"But if you doubt that I’d ever betray you, then I can only say this: it’s absolutely impossible."
"Go ahead! If this makes you feel better, then do it!"
Luo Yao looked at him with confusion.
"Are you serious?"
Lin Ran’s heart skipped a beat.
"Of course... Ah!"
Wait, girl, you’re not following the script!
Are you getting addicted to this or something?