He stopped rowing and looked down at her. She was momentarily taken aback by his gaze, then lowered her head and awkwardly said, “Why did you stop rowing? You were so into it just now.”
He grunted softly, straightened his back, and his expression darkened a bit. “You’re angry, aren’t you?”
Khanyi plucked the leaves off the reeds in her palm and tossed them onto the water. “Me? No way! I’m not like some people, whose moods are unpredictable and hard to grasp.”
He took a deep breath, glanced around, and his fingertips brushed over the uneven reeds along the shore. “Alright, then why have you had a long face since we got on the boat? Can’t you smile a little?”
She shot him a glare and retorted, “Because there’s nothing funny.”
He raised an eyebrow, a sly smile creeping onto his lips. “Let me perform a magic trick that the escape artist Houdini once did for you. After you see it, you’ll definitely laugh.”
Khanyi tightened her face, thinking she wouldn’t fall for his tricks. It was easy to hold back a laugh, but she was curious about what kind of magic he could perform with his empty hands, so she nodded hesitantly in agreement.
He extended his ten fingers, showing her that his palms were empty. Then, his long fingers flipped in front of her eyes, making her a bit dizzy. Finally, he clenched his right hand into a fist and extended it toward her.
“Look, what is this?” he said mysteriously, slowly opening his palm. Khanyi focused her gaze and saw a small red beetle in his palm. It was just an ordinary beetle, but its back had a peculiar pattern that resembled a slightly upturned mouth, and the two spots on its wings looked like little eyes. She furrowed her brows, watching the little bug crawl slowly from his palm to his index finger.
“Your smile is written on its back,” he said with a smile, watching her eyelashes flutter in front of him, and he raised an eyebrow, muttering to himself, “This is truly a successful magic trick.”
“What’s so special about that?” Khanyi blew gently at his fingertip, and the little beetle immediately flapped its wings and flew away, disappearing into the grass. She quickly turned to him, a bit smug, and said, “Ha, it’s gone now, isn’t it?”
“Now, your smile has returned to your face,” he said, his blue eyes sparkling as he looked at her. “Darling.”
“Uh-huh.” She touched her face, and suddenly, his large hand grasped her hand that was resting on her cheek. She tried to pull her hand away, but he held it tighter.
“Your smile is truly beautiful,” he said, his other hand brushing against her lips, gently touching them, and he pinched her chin, leaning closer to his lips. She saw his face gradually approaching hers, his high nose bridge, warm breath, deep-set eyes, and long, curled eyelashes brushed against her cheek. Her tender lips intertwined with his firm lip line, lingering together.
His breath gradually became heated, overwhelming her.
“No, don’t, on the boat…” she shyly glanced around. The riverbank was lined with dense trees, with a few low vines hanging down to the lake’s surface. There were few people around, but even so, it didn’t feel very safe. “What if someone sees us!”
“What do you want me to do to you?” He sat up straight, playfully teasing her.
Her face flushed, and she adjusted the neckline of her dress. The bow had already been pulled loose by him, and as she tied it again, she noticed that the hem of her dress had completely flipped up. She could only angrily lower her head to fix her dress, ignoring this mischievous guy who was clearly asking for trouble.
“Where are your thoughts wandering? In fact, I just want to…” His hand wrapped around her slender waist, grinning wickedly as he tickled her. “Just to make you laugh a little more.”
“No, stop! No!” She giggled, trying to evade his playful hands. He continued to ambush her, and the small boat rocked violently, scaring her into kneeling in the boat, wrapping her arms around his neck.
“Don’t be afraid, you won’t fall, darling,” he said, holding her soft body in his arms. “I’m here.”
She froze in his strong embrace. In this small river, on this little boat, another gentle man had once said the same thing to her. At that time, he held her hand, letting her sit comfortably in the boat. She remembered his hand was warm and strong.
“Are we going to fight again, right?” she suddenly whispered in his ear.
His brows furrowed slightly. “The war has never ceased.” His voice was a bit low. “Why do you ask this?”
“Marcus has left, saying he might go to the front lines.” Her tone became heavy. “But why is he doing this? He said he deceived me and apologized. I don’t know what he deceived me about.”
“Apologized to you? What else did that guy say to you?” His ice-blue eyes flickered.
She shook her head, biting her lip and pondering for a moment. She thought it was better not to let this bad guy know about the letter and the earrings. Her big, dark eyes turned a few circles, and she changed her tone. “He didn’t say anything, but I saw it with my own eyes. There were two men who claimed to be civilized, not even savages, fighting like a black wolf and a gray wolf.”
“In the world of wolves, the female always belongs to the victorious side.” He brushed her disheveled hair away from her forehead, not hiding his displeasure as he said fiercely, “That guy actually wants to compete with me for you. Isn’t that asking for death?”
She smoothed her hair that he had messed up. “But Marcus is very gentlemanly. Even when I was unconscious, he didn’t hurt me. He’s not like you, always thinking of taking advantage.”
