He is Lovestruck in the Revenge by Gu Nanxi

Chapter 6 - 6 005 Devils Bait

Chapter 6: 005: Devil’s Bait Chapter 6: 005: Devil’s Bait The evening after the heavy rain was very comfortable—moist and cool air, mixed with the smell of fresh grass, gently caressed her face. Wen Changling, after finishing work at the hospital, had dinner at a nearby restaurant and walked along the Yanglong River from a dusky, tangerine twilight into a night aglitter with neon.

The night view of the imperial capital was beautiful, albeit a bit noisy. Upstream of the river bustled with activity, so Wen Changling walked towards the less crowded areas, when the wind swept her fisherman’s hat into the river. Her thoughts drifted along with the wind and the hat, bobbing up and down in the water.

The bright yellow hat, fallen amidst the speckled starlight in the water, looked like a blooming flower.

Wen Changling didn’t think too much and walked towards the deeper water.

“Hey.”

Someone called out from behind her—it must have been directed at her since there was no one else nearby.

She stopped and turned around, seeing Mr. Xie Shang.

True to his nature, he wasn’t the type to follow orders and hadn’t stayed in the hospital for observation. He had changed out of his blood-stained clothes and was now wearing a white long-sleeve shirt with no design, quite thin, seemingly unaffected by the cold.

“How old are you?”

He suddenly asked from a distance.

Caught off guard, Wen Changling honestly replied, “25.”

“Ever been skiing?”

She shook her head.

“What about diving?”

She shook her head again.

Xie Shang took a couple of steps forward. His facial features were unclear from a distance, but his platinum blonde hair was very noticeable and commanded attention.

He seemed to be making idle conversation, “Udarami is rich in a type of agarwood called Chinese honeycomb. It’s shaped like a beehive, and its scent is subtle, somewhat like gardenia, but if you smell it for too long, it can induce hallucinations, making you see everything you wish to see. Hence, it has another name, ‘Daydream Fragrance.’

If his voice could take a physical form, it would be seawater—salty, making one thirstier the more they drank.

He asked Wen Changling, “Fascinating, isn’t it?”

Wen Changling nodded, “Fascinating.”

never heard of such a mystical fragrance and wanted to light a piece to see for herself the grand

Kubudian Desert and Mingmang Snow Mountain, and the national flower of Lileitu, the Beauty Sunflower, grows right at the intersection of the desert and the snow

describing a world Wen Changling had

have been magical—his words drew her along,

He laughed, “No.”

looks at all but instead added a mysterious, restless rebel vibe, like a fallen

go there and

was

Beauty Sunflowers too—her

warning and just as abruptly turned to leave. After a few steps,

“Isn’t the water cold?”

carried far away by

were wet. The

she realized—Xie Shang seemed to think she was trying to commit suicide by jumping into

“Xie Shang.”

He turned, “Hmm?”

said that Xie Shang

Jiahui was right.

Shang waited for a moment but,

with one going left and the other right, they each went their own way as if they

embroidered on the hat drifted aimlessly over the boundless expanse of

parked on the bridge with a song playing inside; the melody was

to cast spells? Why are you so miserable?” he wondered,

****

Wen Changling to bump into him again. A week after the encounter by the riverbank, at the foot of

to catch her, and they both fell onto the snowy ground

“Xie Shang?”

blond-haired

the snow off his hat, “What a

be good, her eyes livelier than usual, “You said the scenery here is beautiful, so I

much of a traveler. This was the first time she had decided on a whim to

way, I dyed my hair,” she freed her hair which

a rather

Shang looked