There are still five minutes until the hero escapes from marriage.

“Slap!”

The once gentle hand suddenly increased its force, slapping Gu Xianting’s face to one side.

“You call her Mengyao, but you call me Wen Zhao. I am not happy,” Wen Zhao coldly stared at him.

At the moment of the slap, the heart Gu Xianting had been holding in midair finally settled. “Zhao Zhao, I was wrong, please don’t be angry…”

“Slap!”

The second slap landed, Wen Zhao’s face full of mockery. “Even when you try to appease me, you do it so perfunctorily. I’ve seen how you comfort Su Mengyao. Gu Xianting, you need to be sincere when you comfort someone.”

He took a deep breath, knowing she was deliberately making things difficult for him. He reached out and grasped her hand. “Zhao Zhao, I cooperated with you today because I wanted to help you. 

It has nothing to do with anyone else. I know I was wrong before, that I hurt you. I won’t do it again. I won’t betray you or lie to you anymore. Just give me one more chance, okay?”

Wen Zhao’s dark eyes bore into his, making him break out in a cold sweat.

“Are you afraid of me?”

When she asked again, his heart leaped once more.

“No,” he said.

“Do you hate me?” She asked again.

“N-no, I don’t hate you,” he kept his eyes on her face, carefully observing her every micro-expression.

How long had it been since this person looked at her with such focused eyes, only seeing her?

“Liar!” Her expression changed in an instant. “You just said you wouldn’t lie to me, yet now you’re lying!”

She grabbed a book from beside her and smashed it onto his head.

“How could you not hate me? Your eyes, your expression, they all scream that you hate me! You hate me for breaking you and your true love apart, you hate me for not stepping aside and fulfilling your wishes, you hate me for using your true love to threaten you…”

Gu Xianting covered his nose with his hand, blood seeping through his fingers. The book had hit him directly on the bridge of his nose.

“Now, answer me again, do you hate me?” She asked.

His eyes locked onto hers, no longer pretending. His eyes were full of hatred. “Yes, I hate you. I wish you were dead, wish you would disappear right now. Is that answer satisfactory?”

“Slap!”

Wen Zhao delivered another slap. “You hate me? What right do you have to hate me?”

“Tell me, what fucking right do you have to hate me!”

“What do you want me to do? If you think my death is the only way to satisfy your hatred, then why did you pull me out of the sea?” Gu Xianting’s rationality snapped completely. 

“Yes, I did have ulterior motives today. I wanted everyone to know that you, Wen Zhao, under the guise of a honeymoon, trapped me on this damn island!”

“Here, I have no way to contact the outside world. I’m constantly under your surveillance. Am I still a person?”

“No, I feel like I’m just a dog now, a dog that you, Wen Zhao, can mold as you please, without any emotions of its own!”

“Why are you doing this to me? Why won’t you let me go? What do you want from me?”

He shouted these words, uncaringly, almost hysterically.

“I once asked you, Gu Xianting, why you did this to me.” She pulled out a tissue and slowly wiped the blood from her hand. “I asked you what it would take for you to stop hurting me.”

“Are you angry now?” Wen she smiled. “Good, because that’s exactly how I felt back then.”

“Gu Xianting, in this world, everything comes full circle. For five years, during those five years you knew Su Mengyao, I lived every day in this kind of rage. This is nothing compared to that,” her tone was calm because all her emotions had died with the Wen Zhao of the past in the cold seawater.

“If you want me to let you go, to fulfill your wishes, it will never happen in this lifetime, not in the next, not ever. When you provoke me, there’s no walking away unscathed!” She stared into his eyes, coldly saying, “I, Wen Zhao, am not something you can discard at will, something you can summon and dismiss as you please.”

“You hate me? You don’t deserve to hate me because your current situation is your own retribution!”

Blame it on the so-called redemption system that gave her the chance to be reborn.

She looked at him. His blue and white hospital gown was stained red with blood from his nose. Wen Zhao found it repulsive. “Go clean yourself up. I don’t like the way you look right now.”

Gu Xianting felt utterly absurd but, under her cold gaze, got out of bed and went into the bathroom.

He submerged his face in cold water, the suffocating feeling making his muddled brain clear for a moment.

He lifted his head, looking at his reflection in the mirror. His eyes were red, his nose still bleeding, the blood dripping into the sink, turning the clear water red.

He suddenly felt a wave of despair because he had no idea what Wen Zhao truly wanted.

He could sense that she no longer loved him; she hated him, hated him to death.

These days, he had been thinking repeatedly about when she had become like this. No matter how many times he had abandoned her before, she had never truly gotten angry with him.

He remembered clearly how happy she was when he finally agreed to the wedding under her relentless pressure, how her eyes sparkled like stars when she smiled at him.

Can a person really take back all their love for someone in an instant?

No, that’s not right. Why was he thinking about this? What he needed to do was find a way to leave this cursed place!

He regretted it a little, regretting that he had estranged himself from his parents for Su Mengyao. He rarely contacted them, as they would always nag him to break up with her, and Wen Zhao liked to visit them. His parents preferred Wen Zhao over him, their own son.

There’s no use in dwelling on the past. The past can’t be changed. He looked at his reflection, his gaze slowly turning from fear and anxiety to determination.

That night, in the stillness, he lay with his eyes closed, pretending to sleep. He estimated it was around 2 AM. Holding his breath, he could hear another person’s steady breathing.

He quietly turned his head, seeing Wen Zhao curled up on the other side of the bed, asleep.

Since arriving on the island, except for the first night when he was punished and not allowed to sleep, Wen Zhao insisted they share a bed. At first, he was anxious, fearing she would want to do something, but she never did.

Under the dim, faint night light, he could see her sleeping face.

During the day, she was so arrogant and domineering, her tone so venomous, but her sleeping face was unexpectedly serene.

For a moment, he felt a sense of bewilderment, as if he hadn’t seen this side of her in a long, long time.

He suddenly remembered a scene from fragmented memories of unknown origin.

It seemed to be a summer afternoon, with the annoying sound of cicadas outside. In a spot by the window, a girl slept peacefully, her head resting on her arms. The young Gu Xianting stared at this face for a long, long time.

The same sleeping face, but now Wen Zhao had shed the innocence of her youth, her brows and eyes more brazen and unrestrained.

He gently extended his hand, hovering it over her neck.

At this moment, Wen Zhao was completely defenseless. The butler was outside and would need time to get in. 

Now, all he had to do was squeeze, and a few minutes of suffocation and oxygen deprivation would be enough to kill someone…

She had done so many evil deeds, humiliating him repeatedly, her death wouldn’t be unwarranted, and he shouldn’t have any hesitation.

His hand moved forward a bit more but then suddenly stopped.

No, this wasn’t right. He quickly withdrew his hand. When he tried to strangle her in the hotel, he was immediately electrocuted and incapacitated.

Given what he knew about her, she would never leave herself completely unprotected. What if she had a backup plan? His breathing grew unsteady, his mind in turmoil.

His thoughts split into two factions. One urged him on, saying, “So what if she has a backup plan? Worst case, we both die together!” But the other warned against acting rashly. “It hasn’t come to that yet. Killing her is possible, but not at the cost of your own life.”

Before he could decide, she suddenly moved, turning over to face away from him.

He closed his eyes. He remembered that he had more important things to do than losing sleep over this.

He quietly and slowly slid out of bed. He recalled that Wen Zhao’s phone was on the coffee table outside. He moved silently, carefully opening the bedroom door, worried about making any noise that might wake her.

Luckily, he finally reached the living room. By the light of the lamp, he saw the phone on the coffee table. His heart leaped, his hands trembling with excitement.

Reaching for the phone, he knew that once he had it, he could contact his people, send out his location, and wait for them to rescue him. Then Wen Zhao would no longer be able to do anything to him…

“What are you doing?”

In the quiet air, Wen Zhao’s voice suddenly rang out.

He almost jumped in fright but steadied himself, his heart pounding. He feared she could hear it.

“I was thirsty, got up to get some water.” His hand bypassed the phone and picked up the water cup on the coffee table. He grabbed the glass water jug with the other hand and poured a cup of water.

Straightening up, he turned to look at the bedroom door, where Wen Zhao stood, her long hair draped around her, face hidden in the shadows.

His hand trembled slightly as he brought the cup to his lips, gulping down the water in several large swigs.

“Did I wake you? Sorry, I’ve finished drinking. Let’s go back to sleep.” He walked towards her, his voice soft and gentle.

She glanced at him, seemingly unaware of his recent actions, and turned back to lie on her side of the bed. He followed and lay down beside her.

“Why are you so far away?”she asked.

He replied, “I didn’t want to disturb your sleep.”

“No couple sleeps that distantly,”she suddenly said. “Gu Xianting, move closer to me.”

Having no choice and feeling guilty, he moved closer to her as she requested.

“Closer,” she said impatiently, reaching out to grab his collar and pulling him closer.

The distance between them instantly narrowed, so close that they could hear each other’s breathing.

She could see the resistance and rejection in his eyes.

She suddenly smiled maliciously. “Gu Xianting, we are legally married now. Shouldn’t we do what married couples are supposed to do?”

Gu Xianting’s eyes widened instantly, and his breathing quickened. He wanted to retreat, but she was holding his collar tightly.

“Why do you always refuse to learn?” she almost sighed. The next moment, she suddenly leaned in and kissed his lips.

Outside, the wind had picked up at some point, and the waves were crashing against the shore.

At the northeastern corner of the island, an area yet to be developed, a yacht had anchored in a calm spot, taking advantage of the wind.