Chapter 25: Forced Marriage
Shaoleyan had once fantasized that her dreams were reality, unwilling to wake up.
But eventually, sleepiness faded. When she opened her eyes, the empty room was pierced by a cold draft from nowhere, making her shiver uncontrollably. There was not a trace of warmth—just like a prison.
Coming back to reality, Shaoleyan held back her tears and recited the explanation she had prepared early that morning.
“But I still have lingering feelings for my ex-husband. Being with me now wouldn’t be fair to you.”
Fuxing Chen lifted a corner of his lips indifferently. With a gentle push of his knee, Shaoleyan lost control and fell backward.
Fuxing Chen collapsed with her onto the soft white bed, arms bracing on either side of her shoulders, his long legs bent and pressing against the bed frame—a posture of absolute control.
His steady, rational, and calm eyes now blazed with fierce fire, burning away anything that blocked his path to happiness.
“Why should I give up the person I love for someone who’s dead? I love you! I want to marry you! So can you stop hurting yourself? Isn’t me alone enough? Why do you need Xingyan to help you?”
Shaoleyan froze.
She hadn’t expected that after all she said, Fuxing Chen would still be hung up on the confrontation in the lab.
But she had been clear—she needed Fuxing Yan’s experiments to study the boundaries and details of resurrection abilities.
She could rely on Fuxing Chen, but she didn’t want to remain a weakling, waiting for someone else to save her.
She also wanted to improve her own mediocre ability. Even if it wasn’t offensive, immortality would be valuable.
Thinking this, Shaoleyan’s tone hardened.
“Becoming your wife won’t mean I can live without worries forever. You’re the city lord—you’re responsible for protecting hundreds of thousands of dungeon residents, not just me.”
Seeing Fuxing Chen’s tear-glossed, vulnerable eyes softened her heart, but she recalled the fear of being devoured when she first came to this world and steeled herself again.
Her pursuit of happiness depended on staying alive.
Without life, any pursuit is just a luxury.
Shaoleyan didn’t stop herself from speaking; she defended her thoughts firmly.
“I might fall in love with you, and I might have children with you, but I cannot—”
Fuxing Chen bent down, his tall, inverted-triangle frame completely overshadowing her. Lowering his head, he pressed a gentle kiss on her trembling eyelids.
His voice shook violently as he struggled back a step, conceding:
“As long as you agree to marry me, I’ll allow you to continue your experiments at the lab. Otherwise, I’d rather tie you to me, and you won’t go anywhere except being with me every day!”
Shaoleyan’s eyes widened. She had never imagined that the gentle and tolerant Fuxing Chen could be so domineering.
But he was, after all, the ruler of a city in this post-apocalyptic world. Authority, unchallenged and commanding, was the true nature of someone in power. His tenderness during intimate moments was only conditional.
Compared to fabricated gentleness, she preferred genuine strength.
Shaoleyan’s lips curved slightly as she pretended to pout. “You… you’re forcing me to marry you!”
Fuxing Chen laughed instead of getting angry. “You’re right. I am forcing you to marry me, to love me.”
Shaoleyan blushed, pressing her lips together in silence.
In all her life, she had never met someone so direct in confessing. It was as if refusing him would mean her doom.
Before, when she was affectionate with Fuxing Chen, her thoughts were only on revenge against Xiao Yi and complying with Le’an’s plans.
But now, with his intentions laid bare, she didn’t have the courage to agree outright.
Yet refusing meant she couldn’t upgrade her powers, possibly unable to even leave the city lord’s palace.
While Shaoleyan weighed the pros and cons, Fuxing Chen’s lips trailed along her cheek, igniting fire wherever they touched.
Her body burned unbearably. Feeling the flame in her lower abdomen, she instinctively climbed onto Fuxing Chen’s shoulders and whispered:
“You mean, as long as I agree, you won’t interfere with me anymore?”
Seeing her relax, Fuxing Chen’s deep, dark eyes sparkled with delight. He bit her delicate chin, feeling her soft body tremble, deepening his smile.
“Be my city lord’s wife, and I’ll only give you security and endless pleasure. You like pain? My lightning will give you as much as you can endure.
Want to work with Xingyan on experiments? Fine—at most four… no, three hours a day. More than that, you’re not allowed.”
Three hours hardly seemed enough! Shaoleyan hesitated, but Fuxing Chen had already conceded a step—she had no right to push further.
“Alright… then… hmm!”
His fiery lips abruptly covered hers. The words she hadn’t finished speaking were crushed into fragmented gasps and moans, echoing louder and louder through the bedroom.
At the Lab, Director’s Office
Fuxing Yan had finished organizing all of Shaoleyan’s experimental data and backed it up to the cloud. Only then did he relax into his chair, rubbing his tired brow with long fingers.
Ever since his brother took Shaoleyan away, she hadn’t returned.
Given Shaoleyan’s nature, she had likely already compromised under her brother’s coaxing and persuasion. Perhaps they had even changed the sheets multiple times.
Suddenly, Fuxing Yan recalled the day he accidentally saw her in an intimate moment, coupled with the past few days of close interaction. The memory of her smooth, delicate skin lingered in his palm, and the scent of her body still seemed to linger near his nose.
A fire seemed to gather in his lower abdomen, his throat moved involuntarily, and his jawline tightened.
Remembering her soft lips and pitifully moist eyes, Fuxing Yan couldn’t help but stroke his own lips, still tasting the sweetness she left behind.
The wound on his tongue was still swollen from her bite.
Not long ago, they had been inseparable, lips locked—but now, she was with his brother.
He had seen her coquettish and enticing when aroused, but it was nothing compared to the thrill and excitement of holding her up and pressing her against a wall while kissing her.
The more Fuxing Yan thought, the more it hurt. His breathing grew heavy, and with force, heat surged from deep within.
Veins bulging on his forehead, teeth gritted, he shouted the name that consumed his mind and heart:
“Shaoleyan!”
Again and again.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Urgent knocking at the door. A female voice outside rang harsh and high-pitched with fury.
“Fuxing Yan! You’re still thinking about experiments? Didn’t I tell you to watch over the city lord? How come I just got back and hear he’s about to get married?”
