Meeting the man’s teasing gaze, Zhi Wan’s scalp tingled, and her toes curled inside her shoes from sheer embarrassment.

Every time she thought about the things she’d done to her cousin in the dream, a fresh wave of embarrassment washed over her.

"Shall I say it for you?" Lu Zhan drawled.

Zhi Wan: "..."

"In the dream, my cousin always has to touch... Mmph!"

Before he could finish, the girl lunged forward and clamped a hand over his mouth.

Lu Zhan: "..."

"Don’t you say another word!" Zhi Wan yelled at him, mortified.

Lu Zhan looked up at her, a distinct flicker of amusement in his eyes.

’So this is what she’s really like, isn’t it?’

The warmth of his breath against her palm startled her, and Zhi Wan snapped back to her senses. She quickly snatched her hand away and retreated two steps.

She looked at him, her expression serious. "What exactly do you want?"

At her words, Lu Zhan stood up and stepped toward her. "My request is simple. You need to take responsibility for me, cousin."

"What?" Zhi Wan was stunned.

Lu Zhan paused, his long, slender fingers moving to his sash. "You enjoy painting, don’t you, cousin? I can be your model."

Zhi Wan: "..."

"From now on, I’ll be depending on you to support our household," the man added. "I’m afraid I’ll have to trouble you to redouble your efforts and earn a bit more."

Zhi Wan’s brow twitched. She glanced down to see her cousin had already undone his sash, revealing his inner robes. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Seeing that he was about to remove his outer robe, her face burned, and she quickly grabbed his hand to stop him.

Her heart hammered in her chest. She swallowed hard and stammered, "D-don’t do this."

’What happened to him being so cold and distant?’

’She was so used to him being cold and aloof. She just couldn’t handle this passionate version of her cousin.’

Lu Zhan paused for a moment, then suddenly swept her into his arms, spun around, and set her down on the desk behind him.

Zhi Wan froze. The next moment, he had her pinned against the cabin wall.

"If you feel shy, cousin, you can just pretend we’re in the dream..."

The man’s warm lips brushed against the shell of her ear, and her mind went blank.

By the time she realized what was happening, the man had already lowered his head to capture her lips, pinning her hands above her head against the cabin wall.

Zhi Wan’s body went rigid.

When she processed it, her chest heaved with humiliation.

’They might have done things far more intimate in the dream, but this was real life!’

’Besides, she didn’t want to get any more entangled with her cousin right now.’

His kiss made her heart race, but she held on to a shred of reason. In a panic, she couldn’t stop herself from biting him again.

She didn’t hold back. With a low grunt of pain, the man released her, his eyes dark as he stared at her.

Looking at the marks on the corner of her cousin’s lips, Zhi Wan felt terribly guilty.

She gave him a little push and whispered, "Cousin, please calm down. We’re not in the dream anymore."

Lu Zhan froze, then wiped his lips. His voice was a little hoarse. "So you’re saying it’s okay as long as we’re in the dream?"

"Of course not! We can’t do things like that anymore. You’re my respected cousin!" Zhi Wan’s voice rose, as much a reminder for herself as it was for him.

Lu Zhan paused, then suddenly reached out to caress her flushed face. His voice was low. "Is that what you really think, cousin? Or are you just lying to yourself?"

Zhi Wan’s beautiful, peach-blossom eyes widened. "I am not!"

"Is that so?" Lu Zhan’s dark eyes watched her sharply.

"Of course!" Zhi Wan said emphatically.

"I see." The corner of Lu Zhan’s mouth quirked up as he reached out and patted her on the head.

Zhi Wan: "..."

As the man turned and walked out, she let out a huge sigh of relief. She quickly poured herself a cup of cold tea and gulped it down, trying to quiet the strange fluttering in her heart.

A short while later, Shuang’er came in.

"Miss, you and the Princely Heir..." Shuang’er began, her tone cautious.

Zhi Wan’s expression immediately soured as she remembered her cousin’s sudden appearance. "Did you let him in?"

Shuang’er answered sheepishly, "The entire ship belongs to the Princely Heir. I can’t stop him from going wherever he pleases."

Zhi Wan was annoyed but didn’t say anything more.

’If her cousin wanted into her cabin, he had plenty of ways to make it happen.’

Shuang’er’s gaze lingered for a moment on Zhi Wan’s slightly swollen lips. Recalling the fresh marks on the Princely Heir’s mouth when he’d left, she began to put two and two together.

She asked gingerly, "Miss, did the Princely Heir... trouble you?"

Zhi Wan froze.

The memory of her cousin pressing her against the wall and kissing her made her face burn. "Of course not," she denied flatly. "Don’t jump to conclusions."

Shuang’er didn’t press the issue, but after a moment’s thought, she couldn’t resist adding a word of caution. "Miss, there’s no one left in our family. If something were to happen, there’d be no one to stand up for us. You must be careful about whom you... entrust yourself to."

Zhi Wan stared at her, astonished.

Shuang’er lowered her head, avoiding her mistress’s gaze. "I’m just looking out for you, Miss," she said quietly. "This world is full of heartless men. Once they get what they want, they stop cherishing it. Men who abandon women after seducing them are a dime a dozen."

Zhi Wan: "..."

After a long moment, she couldn’t help but defend him. "My cousin isn’t that kind of person."

’Even though her cousin was pressuring her, she knew what kind of man he was.’

’He wasn’t like that at all!’

Shuang’er didn’t want to think ill of the Princely Heir, but her fear of her mistress getting hurt was greater.

"Since you trust the Princely Heir, Miss, why not take this chance, while he fancies you, to have him marry you?" Shuang’er suggested. "Once you have an official status, you’ll have nothing to fear."

Zhi Wan frowned. "Have you forgotten? I don’t want to marry into another family, I want my husband to marry into mine. Besides, my status is beneath his. My cousin should be marrying a high-born noblewoman."

Shuang’er opened her mouth to argue, but Zhi Wan cut her off. "I’m hungry. Go and fetch dinner."

"Yes, Miss."

「The next morning.」

Zhi Wan was still asleep when a commotion outside startled her awake.

She frowned, intending to ignore it, but the noise was too loud to sleep through. So, she got up, dressed, and went outside to see what was happening.

As soon as she stepped out, she saw Chen Jiu pinning a young man to the deck, demanding harshly, "When did you sneak aboard?"

With his face pressed to the deck, the young man gritted his teeth and refused to say a word.

"Who is he?" Lu Zhan asked, his voice grave.

"Princely Heir, this man is—"

Before Chen Jiu could finish, Zhi Wan cut in, "Cousin, he’s a man I hired."

"You hired him?" Lu Zhan frowned at her.

"Yes." Zhi Wan nodded, then looked in confusion at the young man on the deck.

The young man was Guo Yong.

Hearing Zhi Wan’s words, he immediately understood. "You’re my employer?"

"I am." Zhi Wan nodded, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

Guo Yong glanced at the people surrounding them, his eyes flickered, and he said no more.

Zhi Wan could tell he had things he couldn’t say openly, so she turned to Lu Zhan. "Cousin, could I have a word with him alone?"

"No," Lu Zhan said, his voice turning cold.