Early morning.
Sunlight filtered through the sheer curtains, casting a warm glow into the bedroom.
Su Nian turned over, her arm draped over the “obstacle” beside her, feeling soft and warm in her half-asleep state, which comforted her.
“Mm…” she murmured drowsily, her eyelashes fluttering as if still immersed in a beautiful dream.
In her dream, she was holding the Magic Feather Fantasy’s cat, Xiao Meng; the soft touch made her instinctively reach out to pet it.
“Xiao Meng, you’re so good…” Su Nian murmured unconsciously, a smile of happiness curling at the corner of her lips.
However, in reality, “Xiao Meng” was far from a docile kitten.
Chu Tian had already woken, lying on his side quietly watching the girl beside him.
That exquisitely beautiful face lay there defenseless before his eyes.
Bathed in the morning light, the girl’s snow-white skin appeared even more translucent and flawless, like the finest mutton-fat jade, emitting a faint sheen that made one want to reach out and touch it.
Her dense, long eyelashes resembled two delicate little fans resting lightly on her eyelids, trembling slightly with her breath, as if whispering endless tenderness.
“Woww…”
A sigh escaped Chu Tian’s heart involuntarily, as if some unseen force had gently plucked at his heartstrings, causing ripples to spread.
He felt his heartbeat skip a beat; an inexplicable fluttering spread through his chest.
“Thump, thump, thump…”
His heartbeat grew faster and louder, as if ready to burst out of his chest, revealing his inner unrest at this moment.
Like some strange impulse, Chu Tian reached out his hand, his fingertips trembling barely noticeably as he lightly touched Su Nian’s eyelashes.
The soft sensation was as light as a feather, yet carried an electric thrill that instantly sobered him.
“Mm…”
Su Nian seemed to sense something, letting out a faint murmur, her body shifting slightly like a lazy little cat searching for a more comfortable position.
Chu Tian’s heartbeat quickened.
Like being struck by lightning, he quickly withdrew his hand, but couldn’t resist reaching out again, his fingertips tracing the contours of Su Nian’s cheek, gently stroking her jade-like smooth skin.
The delicate, moist touch was like the finest silk, making him unwilling to let go, lost in the moment.
“What… what am I doing?”
Chu Tian questioned himself silently, his voice laced with confusion and bewilderment.
Before this, he had done far worse things to the girl—those wanton humiliations, those unrestrained violations—none had ever stirred such intense emotional waves within him.
Those humiliations before had felt like routine procedures, merely to gain Annoyance Value, to satisfy a twisted desire in his heart, like a cold, unfeeling machine carrying out preset commands.
Yet now, simply touching the girl’s eyelashes and cheeks evoked a pounding in his chest, as if his heart might leap right out.
This feeling was unfamiliar yet intense, leaving him both excited and uneasy.
He didn’t even understand why he was acting this way.
He only knew the girl before him held an irresistible attraction.
“Thump, thump, thump—”
Suddenly, a knock on the door shattered the room’s silence.
“Miss Su Nian, are you awake?”
Outside came the voice of the maid, Emma.
“Mm…” Su Nian was startled awake, slowly opening her eyes.
The stunning beauty rubbed her sleepy eyes and yawned, still not fully awake.
“Get up… wash up. Today we’re going to Magic Feather Fantasy, and you need to prepare for the next magic class…”
Su Nian’s gaze was still hazy as she followed her usual routine, thinking over today’s tasks.
But when her eyes landed on the Horned Demon Bastard lying beside her…
She instantly froze.
“Eek!” Su Nian cried out, like a kitten whose tail had been stepped on, snapping upright.
Her eyes widened, staring at Chu Tian with shock and panic.
“Y-you… why are you here?!” Her voice trembled, disbelief coloring every word.
Her mind went blank, unable to comprehend the scene before her.
Her cheeks flushed bright red, like a ripe apple.
Now fully awake, Su Nian’s heart replayed the humiliations and the repeated battles of the night before, the multiple defeats, and finally, the humiliating compromise she had no choice but to accept…
She had once again become the Horned Demon Bastard’s… spoils of war.
At this moment, the knock on the door came again.
“Knock, knock, knock.”
This was Su Nian’s own instruction—to be woken up no matter what.
She forced herself to calm down and began analyzing the situation.
Emma was knocking outside.
Would she see her current predicament?
Embarrassment and despair washed over her, making her wish she could disappear into a crack in the floor.
At least… she could not let the maids discover that she had slept in the same bed as the Horned Demon Bastard!
Su Nian’s thoughts raced.
Her mind worked frantically to find a solution.
But what could she do?
She had no experience dealing with this.
“Maybe fight the Horned Demon Bastard again?” The thought flashed across her mind.
But she quickly rejected it.
The Temporal Anchor rule doubled the Humiliation Value after midnight; fighting now would require 200,000 Humiliation Value to rewind.
‘No fighting—it must be avoided, or she wouldn’t even be able to rewind if she lost. Then what if I just run away? Su Nian thought.’
But she dismissed that, too.
No, running would only make things worse.
Besides, escaping Chu Tian’s lightning-fast Thunder Magic was impossible.
She shook her head again.
‘No, no… What am I supposed to do?!’
She felt on the verge of breaking down.
As the girl covered herself helplessly with the blanket, Chu Tian finally spoke.
“Little wildcat, don’t be so tense.” His voice was low and playful.
Su Nian glared at him, her sky-blue eyes burning with anger like flames, wishing she could turn this despicable man to ashes.
He was clearly the culprit, yet he played the hero!
“Who’s tense?” Su Nian retorted stubbornly, though inside she was panicking.
“What? Afraid the maids will see us sleeping in the same bed?” Chu Tian seemed to see through her thoughts, asking knowingly.
“I do have an idea,” he said leisurely, sitting up, a wicked smile curling on his lips.
“One that can reasonably explain the current situation.”
“What?” Su Nian watched him warily.
What scheme was he cooking up this time?
“Announce our… relationship.” Chu Tian uttered the words lightly, as if speaking of something trivial, but deep down, he was eagerly anticipating the idea.
Perhaps having those around them believe he and Su Nian were lovers would be beneficial to him.
“Ah?” Su Nian nearly jumped out of bed.
“Relationship? What a joke!”
“Of course,” Chu Tian seemed pleased with her reaction.
He paused, then added with a shift in tone, “If you don’t want that, we can announce a master-servant relationship instead.”
As he spoke, the Blue Crystal Necklace around Su Nian’s neck instantly transformed back into a Black Leather Collar, the leash “considerately” appearing in Chu Tian’s hand.
“You!”
Su Nian trembled with rage; this guy was definitely doing it on purpose!
“Announce a lover relationship or master-servant relationship—choose one, little wildcat.”
Chu Tian toyed with the leash in his hand, looking completely confident in his victory.