Chapter 426: Light the fire again, but don't regret it

Mu Nan Zhao's moment of hesitation had already given Gu Xixi an answer in her heart.

She weakly retreated a few steps, leaning on the desk as she sat down.

At this moment, compared to the suffocation in her heart, she didn't want to speak.

Gu Xixi was more at a loss for what to say.

The clothes were what she herself had put on; Mu Nan Zhao naturally couldn't have known beforehand.

Although he shouldn't have barged into her room, the situation having come to this point isn't solely his responsibility.

The air inside the room seemed to have solidified.

Actually, Mu Nan Zhao's heart was even more chaotic than Gu Xixi's.

If one speaks of that time he was poisoned, afterwards his recollection consists only of some vague, unclear fragments.

What he saw and felt tonight were utterly real.

Her exposed skin, her post-bath body scent, the faint outline of her figure hidden within her clothing, even the faint sounds she made moving in the darkness…

Bit by bit, they gathered into strong liquor laced with poison; the liquor turned into a serpent, dancing in flames.

It entwined his reason, wildly consuming the self-control he prided himself on.

Mu Nan Zhao silently adjusted his breath, the hands hanging at his sides clenching tightly.

He was practically going mad!

At this point Gu Xixi had already completed her inner self‑construction.

For modern people, wearing a short‑sleeve shirt and shorts is already quite conservative attire.

At most it's just not wearing underwear; nothing that shouldn't be shown is exposed—what's there to be embarrassed about!

Compared to the piles of bikinis on the beach, this is barely anything at all.

Gu Xixi regained her composure, looked again at Mu Nan Zhao, and actually had the mind to smile and tease:

"Outer clothes are all on, why are you still afraid to look at me?"

Mu Nan Zhao grit his teeth silently.

Is he unwilling to dare?

He cannot!

He cannot give himself any chance to lose control!

Gu Xixi still doesn't know how terrifying the fire she unintentionally lit is, and she continues laughing heedlessly.

"Hey, I don't mind anymore, why are you still so nervous?"

A moment of silence passed.

"Gu Xixi!" Mu Nan Zhao suddenly barked low, startling Gu Xixi.

He abruptly turned to face her, expression displeased, tone stern: "I haven't even asked yet—what's going on between you and your Top Scholar cousin?"

Gu Xixi blinked, "Huh?"

"What kind of evil fire are you igniting for no reason?"

Mu Nan Zhao, however, frowned and said, "For no reason?"

"You chatted with him in the courtyard for a short half‑hour, and you smiled at him twelve times!"

"You even exchanged smiles with him face to face!"

"And you took him wandering all over the village—are you trying to let everyone know how close you and your cousin are?"

Gu Xixi went from an initial frown of confusion, to slightly guilty, and finally to calm observation.

She wasn't angry.

Because if the Regent Prince were truly angry, it wouldn't be this mild.

Rather than saying he's throwing a tantrum, it's more like he's being coquettish… or perhaps… jealous?

Gu Xixi patiently waited for him to finish his complaint, then nodded and said, "Oh."

"Oh?" Mu Nan Zhao repeated, incredulous, "What does 'oh' mean?"

"Gu Xixi, you're acting so openly and fearlessly, as if I were merely away from home temporarily, not dead!"

He had been sitting quietly in the dark, intending to give her a surprise, and incidentally to "call out the troops and question the crime."

He never expected that the surprise she had prepared would be even greater.

It was so great it nearly threw him into disarray.

Mu Nan Zhao had never in his life experienced such panic, nor known how to deal with it.

At this moment Gu Xixi, on the contrary, started joking and pressing further.

So he simply went ahead and really began to question her.

One to divert her topic, two to divert his own attention.

However, Gu Xixi had already seen through it.

She rose to her feet, giving a half‑smile as she looked at Mu Nan Zhao, stepping closer step by step.

"So, Prince, what do you think… I'm this improper, not avoiding suspicion?"

"Prince… how would you deal with me?"

Mu Nan Zhao looked at Gu Xixi; his forcibly composed expression showed a crack.

He gritted his teeth and said, "If you keep messing around, don't regret it."

Gu Xixi bent over, locked eyes with him, and curled a teasing smile, "I'm actually curious…"

"How would the Prince make me regret it?"

Before her words had finished, she felt the world spin.

When she came to, she found herself already lying back on the bed.

Mu Nan Zhao lunged forward, his oppressive presence overwhelming as he looked down on Gu Xixi.

He breathed lightly, his eyes bright as if a night‑hunting beast.

The positions of attack and defense suddenly reversed.

Gu Xixi felt a little panicked, instinctively averting her gaze, unwilling to meet his eyes.

A moment later, Mu Nan Zhao chuckled softly. "It's the fire you yourself provoked, relentless and unyielding."

"Why are you afraid again?"

His voice took on a hint of hoarseness, more alluring than usual.

Gu Xixi felt his breath brush her ears, making them burn hot.

She dared not look at him any more.

"Move aside."

"Just messing around—whoever gets serious first is the dog."

Mu Nan Zhao pressed his body closer to hers, his lips whispering against her ear:

"It turns out the host is just playing with me."

Gu Xixi's ears itched, as if the sensation traveled straight to her heart.

She couldn't help but shrink her neck, unable to avoid it, yet somehow not really wanting to escape.

Mu Nan Zhao chuckled alluringly twice. "No wonder you kiss when you want to, tease when you want to, then turn and gaze deep‑eyed at another man—it makes me worry sick, you're restless, liable to climb over the wall any moment."

Gu Xixi forgot the itch and retorted, "Who's been gazing deep‑eyed? Who's constantly climbing walls?"

"I'm a very proper person!"

"Oh?" Mu Nan Zhao raised an eyebrow slightly. "Taking advantage of my poison‑clouded mind, you pressed me down, kissed and groped me, not satisfied, then bound me with a gauze curtain."

"Could a proper person do such things?"

Gu Xixi blinked. "You don't even remember, do you?"

Mu Nan Zhao said, "Later I gradually recalled some of it."

Seeing Gu Xixi feign silence, Mu Nan Zhao let out a deep sigh.

"You paraded Jiang Mingyuan all over the village today, yet you want to pretend it wasn't intentional?"

"I heard plenty of people saying you and your cousin are a perfect match."

"They also say you look down on me, that all you want is to be the Top Scholar's wife, so you don't want me back at all."

Gu Xixi felt a pang of guilt—how did this damned topic come up again?

"Others are just gossiping—why do you believe them too?"

Mu Nan Zhao's gaze grew hazy, like a wild wolf eyeing its captured prey, greedily sizing it up, pondering how to strike.

"If the host still won't talk, then…"

Gu Xixi sensed a dangerous shift rapidly unfolding below.

Alarm bells rang in her mind.

"Mu Nan Zhao, snap out of it! This is my home!"

"I know." Mu Nan Zhao mumbled, like a child denied candy complaining.

"But I can't put up with it any longer."

Before he finished speaking, he lunged to seal Gu Xixi's lips, drunk on their sweetness.

Lips and teeth clung, entwined fiercely.

Gu Xixi's reason too was crumbling fast; she slowly closed her eyes, surrendering to the drift.

Thump thump thump.

A knock sounded; Shitou Le bounced up and shouted loudly, "Sister Xixi! Aunt Qin cooked egg‑flower noodle soup, sweet—let's bring back a jar, come out and eat, it's delicious!"

"Xixi?" came Zhang Shen's voice. "We've come in."