Chapter 9: What Are You Doing?

He trapped her in the small space he created with his hands against the wall. There wasn’t even enough air to breathe!

“You say I’m threatening you? Do I need to?”

“You’re nothing like the person I thought I knew before. I really hate you right now,” she said, exasperated by his overbearing presence. Who did he think he was—a domineering CEO?

But he was far more formidable than any CEO could ever be.

“So what if I am?”

“Yes, what can I do?” She glared at him, then glanced at his hand, suddenly bent down, and bit it fiercely.

He acted as if nothing had happened, simply looking at her. Sinorsan could taste blood in her mouth, yet the man remained utterly unmoved. It infuriated her.

She released his hand.

“You’re such a strange person. Now, will you let me go? I need to sleep—I have a headache.”

“Alright.”

Xuan Yuan Juesi didn’t waste a single word. He simply looked at her and released his hold.

Sinorsan immediately leapt onto the bed, only bothering to remove her shoes. But in the next instant, Xuan Yuan Juesi yanked her down.

“What are you doing?”

Without warning, he hoisted her up and tossed her directly into the hot spring bath behind them. With a loud splash, she choked on the water several times.

“Bastard! Are you trying to kill me?” she shouted at him.

“Wash yourself properly. If you ever get into bed like that again, I’ll undress you piece by piece and scrub you myself.”

Xuan Yuan Juesi stood at the edge of the pool, watching her. The way he towered over her made Sinorsan uneasy. Men and women were supposed to be equal. She slowly moved toward his feet, and when he was least expecting it, she yanked him down. Her hands pressed on his head, forcing him underwater.

“Hahaha! Dare to bully me? Don’t blame me for being ruthless!”

Sinorsan laughed as she pushed him down, but suddenly sensed something was wrong. The person beneath her showed no reaction.

She quickly let go.

“Hey? Prince? Are you alright, Xuan Yuan Juesi?”

He didn’t respond at all. Strange—had she actually suffocated him?

She tried to pull him up, but the layers of clothing made it nearly impossible.

“Damn these stupid clothes.” She tore off all three layers, leaving only the white undergarment, then dragged Xuan Yuan Juesi to the shore.

“Xuan Yuan Juesi? Don’t mess with me—are you dead? Are you kidding me?”

She looked at him and slapped his face, but he remained unresponsive. There was nothing else she could do—he seemed truly unconscious.

What now? She couldn’t let him die! She pressed her hands firmly against his chest and pinched his nose, beginning artificial respiration.

She pressed his chest dozens of times and breathed into him repeatedly, but he still didn’t wake up. At this point, she began to panic.

Was Xuan Yuan Juesi really so fragile? Suddenly, he opened his eyes.

“Ah…” She screamed in fright.

“You’re awake? You scared me to death! Are you alright, Xuan Yuan Juesi, are you okay?” His sudden revival was terrifying.

“I’m fine. Next time, don’t do that.”

To her surprise, Xuan Yuan Juesi didn’t get angry or upset, just calmly said those words. It made her feel like the villain.

“Are you alright?” she asked, watching him. Something felt different—was he afraid of water?

“I’m fine. If you have something to ask, just say it.”

“Are you afraid of water?”

“No.”

“Then why did you faint just now?” She didn’t dare mention dying.

“Don’t you think I was pretending?” Xuan Yuan Juesi suddenly asked.

“No way! That’s impossible. I checked your pulse—it stopped! If you hadn’t woken up, I’d have been a murderer. You scared me out of my wits.”

Sinorsan patted her chest, trying to calm herself.

“I’ve been like this since childhood—four or five times now. My heartbeat suddenly stops, but it comes back after a while.” Seeing that Sinorsan seemed genuinely worried about him, he explained.

“Really?”

“Of course. It just happened again. Don’t worry, I’m resilient—I won’t die so easily. When you die, I’ll still be living just fine.”

“How can you say that? Cursing me to die? That’s such a vicious thought!”

Sinorsan rolled her eyes at him.

“Enough. I haven’t settled the score with you for earlier. How dare you push me under the water, hmm?”

Xuan Yuan Juesi glared at Sinorsan, who quickly retreated as he advanced.

“It wasn’t on purpose, Prince!”

“So it was intentional, then?”

“No, no, it wasn’t!” She shook her head vigorously.

For some reason, Xuan Yuan Juesi seemed shorter to her now—he only reached her shoulder. A congenital issue, perhaps. But was it normal for someone from ancient times to be so tall?

“Whether on purpose or not, you’d better be careful. If I’m in a good mood, it’s fine. If not, you’re doomed!”

Xuan Yuan Juesi stared fiercely at Sinorsan.

“Yes, my Prince.”

Well, Sinorsan knew she needed to seriously figure out what to do next. Xuan Yuan Juesi was like a ticking time bomb, his temper unpredictable.

It made her feel uneasy.

He was always ahead of her, and all she could do was react. Being manipulated by a man from ancient times, she felt less and less like a modern woman.

She needed to turn the tables, but how?

The next day, she sat in the middle of the courtyard. Seeing that Xuan Yuan Juesi had left, she examined the wall.

Maybe she could climb out. Yesterday, she’d overheard that Xuan Yuan Juesi would be gone for the day. Though there were plenty of people watching her, none of them were Xuan Yuan Juesi, so she could escape smoothly.

She pretended to head back to her room and changed clothes inside—actually, she put on Xuan Yuan Juesi’s casual attire. It was much too big, but better than wearing women’s clothes. She looked in the mirror.

Utterly ridiculous! She tucked the clothes into her pants and threw another layer on top. She looked like she was pregnant.

Just then, Xuan Yuan Juesi returned to the room.

“What are you doing?”

His sudden appearance startled both of them—Sinorsan hadn’t expected him to come back.

“Why did you return?”

“Can’t I come back? Are you trying to escape?”

“Escape? Like this? Do you think I’m stupid?” She gestured at her outfit, grateful it was comical enough to serve as an excuse.

“You look pretty stupid like that, don’t you?”