Chapter 153

Chapter 153

With such a large man leaning his full weight against her – and with his upper body bare – Ji Hanyi felt an immense amount of pressure.

But when she thought of the chill of this rainy early-spring night, she still did her best to help Shen Si toward the bed.

It was not as difficult as she had expected. Shen Si was heavy, but at least he stumbled along with her rather cooperatively.

However, when they reached the bedside in the pitch darkness, Ji Hanyi tripped over Shen Si’s boot. With his weight bearing down on her, they toppled onto the bed together.

Shen Si’s entire body pinned her beneath him.

Ji Hanyi’s quickened breathing betrayed her panic. She reached up to push him away, but the moment her fingers touched the warm skin of his chest, they trembled slightly.

She could even feel the strong beat of his heart beneath her palm, sending tremors through her hand as well.

She trusted Shen Si, but they were not close enough for this kind of intimacy. Being pressed so tightly against him filled her with embarrassment. Though her fingertips trembled, she still tried her best to push him away and called softly, “Lord Shen?”

As soon as the words left her mouth, his scorching breath washed over her face. Everything before her remained shrouded in darkness. She could only feel Shen Si’s damp hair brushing her cheek; she could not see his expression at all.

Yet Ji Hanyi could clearly sense how close his face was to hers. His breath was so hot that panic fluttered in her chest.

Shen Si felt the soft fingers trembling against his chest. The force with which she pushed him was hardly enough to matter, but her resistance was unmistakable.

She could not accept such intimacy between them.

Yet the flames of desire and waves of heat surging through Shen Si because of her threatened to drown him again and again. Little reason remained.

His intentions in coming here tonight had been obvious from the start.

This was the only way he could get close to her.

The soft fragrance of her lips drifted up to him. The woman beneath him was even softer than she had been in his dreams, and his body could not resist. No matter how she rejected him, he still pressed closer, inch by inch.

His instincts had long since outrun his reason.

Shen Si let out a low, muffled groan as his lips brushed her soft earlobe. Her fine, silky hair caressed his cheek, and all the blood in his body seemed to rush to one place. He truly wanted to bite down on her earlobe, kiss his way slowly down her neck, then capture her full lips and lose himself in her with desperate passion.

The scorching breath against Ji Hanyi’s neck tickled slightly. Shen Si’s body grew heavier and heavier atop her. He did not answer, and after hearing his low groan, she assumed he must be thoroughly drunk.

The smell of alcohol on him had also grown much stronger.

No matter how hard Ji Hanyi tried, she could not push him away. He was crushing her beneath his weight, leaving her almost unable to breathe. She raised her voice slightly. “Lord Shen? Lord Shen?”

Shen Si was locked in a fierce battle with himself and did not register Ji Hanyi’s voice at all. He was merely trying to convince himself, searching for a way to use this despicable ploy to go even further.

Another soft, sweet call reached his ears. In Shen Si’s fantasy, Ji Hanyi lay pinned beneath him, her eyes filled with nothing but him as she softly called out to him.

His entire body went unbearably taut. When those soft fingers pushed against his chest once more, Shen Si became like a savage beast poised to strike. He abruptly lowered his head and kissed Ji Hanyi on the lips.

The body in his arms stiffened and struggled, but the instant his lips touched hers, his body ceased to be something he could control. Only one thought remained: kiss her harder.

He wanted to give her all the yearning he had harbored for her over the years, to pour every last bit of it into her.

Ji Hanyi was still reeling in shock when Shen Si pried her lips apart with what seemed like practiced ease, storming her defenses and claiming her inch by inch.

A large hand closed around her waist, kneading with an intimate pressure that carried a faint sting. Only then did Ji Hanyi finally recover from her shock.
Even when they had been locked in such an intimate position earlier, Ji Hanyi had never imagined things would come to this. Shen Si was such an aloof, noble man, seemingly untouched by mortal passions. She could never have imagined that he would kiss her.

The wet kiss was long and unbearably intimate. Ji Hanyi’s mouth ached as his tongue tangled with hers, refusing to let her go. She could barely even close her mouth.

More than anything, she felt panicked and incredulous. The scent of wine hung thickly between them. Ji Hanyi turned her head away, trying to escape, and pushed against him with greater force.

Yet in the pitch-black darkness, Shen Si found her unerringly every time she tried to evade him. He was utterly unlike the Shen Si she knew.

She was no sheltered maiden ignorant of intimacy, yet at this moment, Shen Si seemed to have complete control over her. He even held her wrists tightly above her head.

The cramped, spartan room was filled with the sounds of their heated breathing.

Ji Hanyi had no idea how she finally managed to escape from beneath Shen Si. Her mind was a chaotic mess as she stumbled out of the room. Only when the rain-laced night wind struck her beneath the torrential downpour did her muddled thoughts finally begin to clear.

Her lips still stung faintly, as though Shen Si’s taste lingered on them.

Although she had already shut the door behind her, Ji Hanyi did not even have the courage to look back. Her heart pounded wildly. She raised her sleeve and wiped her lips again before hurrying toward Rongchun’s room on unsteady feet.

Inside, Shen Si sat on the edge of the bed and silently watched her slender silhouette beyond the door. Only after she stood there for a while and then walked away did he slowly lower his gaze.

His body’s arousal had yet to subside. He closed his eyes, savoring the memory, then let out a muffled groan and lay back on the bed, which was still filled with Ji Hanyi’s scent. His back curved slightly as he breathed in her fragrance, his hoarse, restrained breaths continuing through a sleepless night.

Before dawn the next morning, Wen’an hurried over with clean clothes and waited outside the door.

Only after the Marquis had finished bathing did he carry the clothes inside.

Once Shen Si had changed, he glanced at Wen’an and ordered him to replace the sheets.

At first, Wen’an wondered why there was any need to change the temple’s sheets. But the moment he approached the bed and caught the peculiar scent in the air, he understood everything and did not dare delay for even a second.

Seeing the tangled mess on the bed, he could not help imagining how intense things must have been there last night. Hundreds of scenes had already begun unfolding in his mind.

A smile unconsciously spread across his face. The Marquis had finally gotten what he wanted. At least he would no longer have to spend his nights staring at Miss Ji’s belongings.

Wen’an gathered the sheets into his arms with barely contained delight. When he turned around, however, he found his master regarding him coolly and hastily wiped the smile from his face.

The Marquis did not look particularly happy. If anything, he looked thoroughly unsatisfied.

Then again, Miss Ji did not seem to have stayed in the room for very long last night. No wonder he was unsatisfied.

Or perhaps the Marquis had failed to please her? Last night seemed to have been the Marquis’s first time, after all. It was entirely possible that his performance had been lacking…

In the room next door, Ji Hanyi had already heard the sounds of movement. What had happened last night still left her badly shaken. Shen Si had been drunk, and she had no idea whether he even remembered it.

She hoped he did not. Otherwise, every encounter between them would be unbearably awkward.

She reached down to touch her waist. A faint bluish bruise remained there, left entirely by Shen Si’s grip.

Remembering how completely different Shen Si had been last night, Ji Hanyi refused to dwell on it any longer and hurriedly got up despite the early hour.

Without daring to so much as glance toward the room next door, she went to her mother and said that they should set out for home.

Although a light rain was still falling outside, it was nowhere near as heavy as the downpour the previous night. Since they needed to return to Wei County that day, Madam Gu nodded and began packing, abandoning her plan to stay for the temple’s vegetarian meal before leaving.

After speaking with her mother, Ji Hanyi meant to wait outside and calm herself. Yet the moment she pulled open the door, she saw Shen Si standing there, waiting for her.