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

“Zhao Zhao… wait a minute!” Gu Xianting finally couldn’t bear it anymore as Wen Zhao’s hand kept moving lower.

He caught her hand, restraining the urge to push her away, his face displaying a forced smile.

“What? Are you going to refuse me?” Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

“No, I just think that this kind of thing shouldn’t happen under today’s circumstances,” he racked his brain for an excuse.

Wen Zhao seemed intrigued. “What, do I need to pick an auspicious day to sleep with a man?”

Gu Xianting’s smile froze on his face. “Zhao Zhao, I think we should cultivate our feelings first. Such things should happen naturally when the feelings are there.”

“Are you teaching me how to do things?” She sneered. “I don’t have the time, nor do I need your guidance! I want it today! Now! Immediately!”

She directly reached out to tear open his nightshirt. The top button popped off under her force.

“But this is too hasty…” He felt a tingling scalp. Seeing her expression, he relented, “Fine, today it is. But this is our first time. You might not believe it, but it’s also my first time.”

As he spoke, he suppressed his sense of shame. He had to stall for time. No matter what, he couldn’t really let things go that far with her.

“Hmph,” Wen Zhao snorted coldly.

“I’m serious! It really is my first time!” His face flushed.

“So what?” She seemed impatient.

“So, I want to take a shower and change into some clean clothes,” he felt that even if he was forced, he couldn’t give away his first time so messily.

“Do you also want candles and rose petals on the bed?” Wen Zhao mocked.

Gu Xianting, however, seemed completely oblivious to the sarcasm in her words. “Can we?”

“Hmph, you’re pretty good at negotiating for yourself. Fine, I’ll give you what you want.” She was curious to see what trick he was up to.

She called the butler and issued her instructions. In the dead of night, at two in the morning, the island became busy because of the hostess’s requests.

Even the thunderstorm seemed to join in the fun.

The gardener, responsible for maintaining the island’s garden, braved the rain to the greenhouse to pick roses.

Half an hour later, the originally simple and elegant master bedroom had been completely transformed.

Mood-setting scented candles, a sea of rose petals arranged in a heart shape, the air filled with fragrance, and two glasses of red wine ready.

“Sir, do you need me to assist you?” the butler asked politely outside the dressing room.

Gu Xianting was immensely irritated. He had said that just to buy time, but who could have thought everything would be done in half an hour!

He panicked, asking to change clothes just to escape that overly romantic bedroom.

“Sir, you’ve been inside for five minutes. If you take five more minutes, I’ll unlock the door and come in,” the butler said in a calm yet authoritarian tone.

Gu Xianting grabbed a tie, slowly tying it.

Standing before the mirror, even though it was summer, he put on a shirt and suit. Wearing more would make him feel safer.

He left the dressing room and returned to the master bedroom.

Wen Zhao, dressed in a red chiffon dress that revealed her perfect figure, exuded an irresistible charm under the soft lighting.

“Playing the suit seduction game?” She took a sip of wine, walking over to him, scrutinizing him from head to toe. “Didn’t expect you to be into this.”

She grabbed his tie, pulling him towards the bed.

“Wait!” Sensing danger, Gu Xianting stopped. “Zhao Zhao, look at this atmosphere with flowers and wine. We should drink a little, get into the mood.”

She stared at him, then suddenly smiled, shoving her wine glass to his mouth and pouring it all over his face and shirt.

“Alright, now that you’ve had your drink and it’s late, we can start.” She yanked off his tie.

Gu Xianting, who had been neatly dressed and appeared like a cold, abstinent god, now looked disheveled, like someone who had been ravished—and indeed, he had been.

She stripped off his suit and violently tore open his buttoned-up shirt.

“Zhao Zhao, not like this. You’re too hasty…” He was on the verge of insanity.

“Gu Xianting,” she stared at him coldly, “are you deliberately stalling? I’ve given you everything you asked for, what more do you want?”

“No, this kind of thing should be initiated by a man. I’ll handle it myself,” he said as he held her hand. “You’re right, we’re already married, and I’ve come to terms with reality. From now on, we’ll live our lives well. I’ll try to fall in love with you and fulfill my duties as a husband…”

“Are you going to sleep or not?” She interrupted his long speech impatiently.

“Of course!” He bent down and lifted her horizontally, walking step by step towards the big bed covered in roses. He placed her gently onto the flowers.

The dark red roses accentuated her face, making it look even more beautiful and alluring. He seemed momentarily dazed, tripping over his own feet and falling uncontrollably to the floor with a thud, hitting his head and passing out.

Wen Zhao lay on the flowers for a while before suddenly laughing.

She sat up, looking at Gu Xianting, who seemed unconscious on the floor. “Did he knock himself out?”

She kicked him hard a few times, but the unconscious man didn’t react at all. “Gu Xianting, wake up.”

She kicked him a few more times, but still, he didn’t respond.

“Huh.” She knew he was faking it. She picked up the ice bucket with the wine and poured it directly onto his face.

Gu Xianting’s whole body shuddered. Wen Zhao thought he wouldn’t be able to keep pretending, but Gu Xianting showed her he could!

He was determined to defend his chastity, even if it meant pretending.

She called the butler, pointing at Gu Xianting, who looked pitiful with his torn clothes and face covered in ice. “Mr. Gu knocked himself out. Take him outside and let him get rained on to wake up.”

Lying on the ground, pretending to be unconscious, Gu Xianting felt a chill in his heart upon hearing this.

He had no other choice but to fake being unconscious, but he hadn’t expected Wen Zhao to be this ruthless!

Soon, he felt himself being lifted and thrown outside.

A flash of lightning struck, thunder echoing through the sky, and a torrential downpour instantly drenched him.

Wen Zhao stood upstairs, watching the man lying on the ground, being washed by the rain.

She leisurely finished the last sip of wine, then walked to the edge of the bed, grabbed the sheet, and lifted it forcefully, sweeping away the sheet and the flowers on top of it.

In the midst of the storm, Gu Xianting’s muddled brain slowly regained calm. He had actually already realized that Wen Zhao had been playing him from the beginning. Knowing her pride, she would never truly sleep with a man who had someone else in his heart.

She must have known about his attempts earlier that night to strangle her and steal her phone. She was just torturing him, getting revenge.

He had to stay here until Wen Zhao felt she had vented enough before he would be allowed back into the villa.

He prepared himself mentally, but he hadn’t expected to be rained on for two hours. By the time dawn broke, he was carried back like a dead dog.

This time, Wen Zhao didn’t torment him further. Of course, even if she did, it wouldn’t have mattered; his body had reached its limit, and he quickly fell asleep on the sofa in the living room.

During this sleep, Gu Xianting began to have a series of nightmares. When he woke up, it was almost afternoon.

After a quick wash, the butler came to him. “The boss says to change into sportswear within ten minutes and meet her at the sports field.”

“The sports field?” Gu Xianting paused, a scene flashing in his mind.

It seemed like it was on the high school field, a young Wen Zhao in a baseball uniform, accurately hitting the ball with her bat.

He shook his head, trying to shake off the fragmented images.

“Yes, the sportswear is ready. I’ll have someone bring it to you,” the butler said before leaving.

He ran his fingers through his hair, feeling a strange irritation at these random memories.

A maid walked in, carrying a baseball uniform with her head bowed. She only looked up when she reached him.

Gu Xianting’s pupils contracted. “You…how did you…”

“Come with me! Let’s leave this place now!” She grabbed his hand, pulling him away quickly.

On the field, Wen Zhao had her thick, long hair tied up in a high ponytail. Dressed in a sporty outfit perfect for baseball, she looked youthful and lively, as if time had transported her back to a certain afternoon in her sophomore year of high school.

However, more than ten minutes had passed since the appointed time, and her husband had not shown up.

Despite the heavy thunderstorm earlier, the sky was now clear and sunny, with no trace of the previous downpour. She stood with her back to the light, casting shadows in front of her. She rested her baseball bat on the ground, slowly raising her head, her dark eyes unfathomable. “He hasn’t come…”

She tilted her head slightly, her smile bright but with an underlying hint of uncontrollable madness.

“You made a city out of mud, saying you’d marry me, spinning around, passing through doors, wasting our youth…”

She hummed a song, dragging the baseball bat as she stepped into the shadows, the sound slow and heavy.