"Mmm..."

Under Shen Ruoyu's unabashed gaze, he removed his upper garment and willingly allowed her to tie his hands behind his back. Shen Ruoyu looked at her handiwork with satisfaction and nodded. "Hmm, not bad. You look quite suitable bound like this."

Binding him in this way also served as a form of revenge. Their feud had started lifetimes ago. Back then, he had bound her in a far more brutal manner. Compared to that, she was letting him off easy.

A wicked plan formed in Shen Ruoyu's mind. Her soft fingers pinched the firm flesh of the young man's waist. "I thought you were just a frail scholar, but your physique is quite impressive. Aren't you afraid of your uncle finding out about this?"

A tingling sensation spread from his waist, causing Qi Ziyi to frown. "You dare tell my uncle?! I didn't want this. I was about to leave, but you threatened me with that secret of mine!"

He had struggled when she first brought out the ribbons, already contemplating escape. But then she had dangled his vulnerability before him. "Tsk tsk tsk, if you walk out that door, your little secret will be the talk of the capital in no time."

How long would she keep using that trivial matter to threaten him? Qi Ziyi gritted his teeth in hatred. How had he not realized before how detestable this woman was?

"Don't say that. Aren't you hard as well?" Shen Ruoyu's palm pressed against his abdomen, her soft hand making the flush on Qi Ziyi's face burn even hotter, spreading all the way to the back of his ears.

Flushing red, he scolded her, "You, you're shameless!" It was hard for a grown man to say such words, yet they flowed from this girl's mouth as if they were everyday conversation.

Even as he cursed her, Qi Ziyi clenched his thighs together. What did she want? To keep him hard like this and mock him? His lower body ached uncomfortably, and she kept moving against him. Each movement caused his sensitive tip to rub against his wet underwear, torturing him to the point where even his breathing grew heavy.

Qi Ziyi shifted his position, inching back to put some distance between them. "Didn't you say you wanted to play a game? How can we play like this, bound up?"

Shen Ruoyu chuckled softly. "Don't be impatient. Haste makes waste." 

Her fingers slipped into his silky hair. As she leaned closer under his watchful eyes, her beautiful face coming nearer and nearer, Qi Ziyi's palms began to sweat.

Instinctively, he closed his eyes. What, what should he do? Why was she suddenly going to kiss him?

"Men and women should not touch. It's not right for you to be so forward... I, I..." Qi Ziyi was so nervous he could barely speak. He waited with his eyes closed for a long time, but the kiss never came.

The silence around him was terrifying. When Qi Ziyi opened his eyes again, the room was empty. Shen Ruoyu had vanished, leaving behind a note at his feet that had been written who knows when. [Sorry, I really can't muster any interest in you. I find you unclean.]

Realizing he had been tricked, Qi Ziyi was consumed by rage and humiliation. Was this woman addicted to deceiving him? He should have known she wouldn't suddenly want to get close to him; she was just toying with him again.

"Shen Ruoyu, damn you for tricking me again! You crazy woman, you'll meet a terrible end!"

Qi Ziyi was on the verge of exploding with anger. He and this vile woman were mortal enemies. How was he supposed to untie himself, bound like this? And how could he explain his n4ked state if he went out to ask for help? Women's words were indeed untrustworthy, especially Shen Ruoyu's...

"Hmm, I can already picture his furious expression."

In contrast, Shen Ruoyu was far more at ease. After leaving the place, she was in high spirits, buying a lot of jewelry and clothes, preparing to return to the manor.

As she stepped out of the tailor's shop, her peripheral vision caught sight of a familiar pink dress. The woman in pink was anxiously searching for someone on the street, clearly in a hurry.

"Xiao Chun! What are you doing here?"

Shen Ruoyu waved at Xiao Chun, sensing that something might have happened at home. Sure enough, Xiao Chun, panting heavily, ran up to her. "Miss, miss! Something terrible has happened. The young master is missing."

"Missing? How can someone his size go missing? Have you sent people to look for him?"

Xiao Chun nodded. "The master has already sent people to search. The problem is, before he went missing, the young master was going to see the prince..."