Chapter 72: Killing You Would Stain My Life

The room fell silent in an instant.

Chu Lingshuang sat at the edge of the bed, her gaze fixed intently on Lin Feng’s face. A faint flush of color had returned to his pale cheeks, and his breathing was growing steadier. Pressing her lips together, she reached out and touched his cheek with one hand; her palm met a cool, almost chilly skin.

Her hand moved slowly, fingertips trailing to his tightly pressed lips. After just one bowl of honey water, his lips were now somewhat moist.

Gritting her teeth, Chu Lingshuang slid her hand upward to the corner of his eye, her expression growing fiercer and more ruthless. A sudden, powerful urge to control him surged within her, nearly driving her mad.

Recalling what had just happened, she wished she could crush Lin Feng and embed him within herself. She couldn’t understand what was happening to her—how she had gone from wanting to see Lin Feng beg for mercy, to a possessiveness so intense it frightened even herself.

But she knew that, to satisfy herself, the only thing she could do was keep Lin Feng by her side. Even if she had to force him, she didn’t care.

Chu Lingshuang took several deep breaths, her fingers trembling with the urge to grip harder but fearful of hurting him further. Her lips pressed in a thin line as she stroked his cheek, murmuring fiercely, “Lin Feng, don’t even think about leaving me…”

...

“Ugh…”

He had slept for so long—it felt like the world was spinning, plunging him into darkness. Lin Feng’s eyelids fluttered slightly. His fingers twitched, and he opened his eyes a fraction.

Warm golden light met his gaze, and in its glow sat the woman he hated with every fiber of his being.

Chu Lingshuang.

She sat before him, composed, but her beautiful eyes were bloodshot as she stared intently at him.

“You’re awake?” Her voice echoed, uncertain if it carried anger or cold detachment, tinged with fatigue.

At the sound, Lin Feng snapped to full consciousness. This was the woman who had nearly cost him his life!

Though he’d only just woken and had eaten nothing, some unknown strength surged within him. He lunged at Chu Lingshuang like an enraged beast.

Her eyes flickered, but she did not seem alarmed. He pinned her to the mattress, gripping her shoulders so tightly it seemed he might break her bones.

Chu Lingshuang frowned in pain but did not cry out. Her voice remained level as she narrowed her brows. “Aren’t you hungry?”

Hungry?

As soon as the word formed in Lin Feng’s mind, his stomach growled loudly. A wave of dizziness swept over him, his limbs exhausted, and his grip slackened noticeably.

Hearing his stomach’s protest and feeling the force pinning her down diminish, Chu Lingshuang’s lips curved in a slight smile. “Eat something first. I’ve already had porridge heated up for you.”

That mocking expression again!

Did she not realize he’d just brushed past death? Was a human life nothing but a game to her? Or had she never considered him human at all?

Fury surged in Lin Feng. He raised his hand and clamped it around Chu Lingshuang’s throat, snarling, “Eat your damn food! I’ll strangle you first, you wretched woman!”

He began to squeeze, every ounce of hatred from the past four days and the brush with death fueling his strength. He meant to choke her for all he was worth.

Chu Lingshuang instantly struggled to breathe, her face flushing crimson as blood rushed to her head.

“If you…kill me, you…won’t live either…” she managed to gasp out, her vision dimming as a wave of dizziness consumed her.

“A life for a life! My worthless existence in exchange for the illustrious Miss Chu? Worth it!” Lin Feng, nearly delirious, ignored the throbbing in his head and squeezed all the harder.

Her delicate neck was nearly crushed. Her eyes bulged, mouth opening and closing soundlessly. Death was closing in, but then Lin Feng saw her lips curl into a smile.

It was as if she was inviting him to kill her.

Suddenly, he snapped back to himself and released her abruptly.

No. If he really did this, what would make him any different from Chu Lingshuang?

She was a madwoman. He was not.

He was still a sane man, longing only for a simple, free life. He could not allow himself to fall into a madwoman’s world.

While he could not dictate the lives of others, he could choose not to interfere with them. What mattered most was being himself, the master of his own emotions.

Coughing violently, Chu Lingshuang gasped for air, her composure slowly returning as she clutched her throat, surprise flickering in her eyes.

“Why did you stop?” she asked, curiosity burning, desperate to understand.

“Killing you would stain my life,” Lin Feng replied coolly. Propping himself up on the mattress, he reclined against it, regarding Chu Lingshuang with a look both mocking and disdainful. “You’re not worth it.”

He half-lay there, his words calm, almost indifferent, but they sparked instant fury in Chu Lingshuang.

How dare he look at her with such pity and derision?

She was the eldest daughter of the Chu family in the capital. It was bad enough he’d ignored her time and again, but now, he gazed at her with sympathy and contempt—

Who did he think he was? Some benevolent saint, pitying all of humanity?

Never before had Chu Lingshuang been looked at like this. For the first time, she felt her pride trampled into the dirt.

It hurt even more than being killed.

“I refuse to let you look at me that way. Take back that pitiful gaze!” she screamed, crawling maniacally toward Lin Feng, her chest heaving with rage as she grabbed his collar and glared down at him.

She was above him, the one in power, but with his face tilted up, Lin Feng still looked at her with that mocking, sympathetic stare.

This was not what she wanted.

She didn’t know why, but from this moment on, though he was right in front of her, she felt as if he no longer belonged to her.

The look in his eyes nearly drove her insane.

Biting her lip, she reached silently into her sleeve for a pill. Seizing a moment when Lin Feng was distracted, she dropped it into the bowl of porridge.

She brought the bowl over, her tone softer though it still carried a note of command. “Drink the porridge first.”

Did she take him for a fool?

Lin Feng sneered. “You think I’d still eat anything you bring me?”

“Don’t make me angry!” Chu Lingshuang ground out between clenched teeth, shoving the bowl against his lips.

Lin Feng pressed his lips together and turned his head aside, the muscles in his throat tightening as he spat out a single word: “Get out.”

Chu Lingshuang glared at his stubborn refusal, her anger finally erupting beyond control.

She took a large gulp of the porridge herself, then, with her free hand, seized Lin Feng’s jaw, pressed her lips to his with force—pouring the porridge straight to his mouth…