Zhou Wang heard the system’s prompt, but at this moment, he couldn’t pay it any attention.
No reward mattered anymore.
Yes, that’s exactly how Zhou Wang felt in that second.
As for Ji Xiaoxi, in the first moment Zhou Wang did as he pleased with her, her eyes widened, completely unable to process what was happening.
Or rather, with a mind as pure as a blank page, Ji Xiaoxi’s shallow understanding of such things was limited to the biological diagrams in textbooks, the scattered information on the internet, and the occasional dirty jokes between friends.
Yet more than anything... she was completely bewildered.
As she snapped back to reality from the overwhelming stimulation, Ji Xiaoxi began to frantically slap Zhou Wang.
Some say a young girl’s beauty is most evident in the gentle lowering of her head.
Zhou Wang said she was beautiful when she tilted her head up.
Clearly both adults, yet at this moment, they were making sounds akin to a baby’s "cooing and babbling."
...
Ten minutes later.
In the mother’s room of the bathroom.
Ji Xiaoxi, choking back tears, eventually became numb.
She just sat there, like a swan soaked in mud, utterly clueless on how to preen her feathers.
Splash!
Silently, Zhou Wang first washed his hands carefully, then found the wet wipes and tissues she carried in her bag. He knelt in front of her and began to carefully clean her.
Ji Xiaoxi sat dazed, as if she had lost all sound and let Zhou Wang handle her.
Until a certain moment, her unfocused gaze finally regained some clarity. She stared at Zhou Wang for a few seconds as her thoughts were pulled back to reality, then she suddenly pushed him away and ran to the sink.
She turned the water on full blast and, while dry heaving, repeatedly poured water into her mouth, drank, and rinsed in a cycle.
And in this process, the tears in Ji Xiaoxi’s eyes finally began to flow again, gradually becoming a torrent.
Zhou Wang approached and gently patted her smooth back, trying to comfort her.
"You... you get away, don’t touch me, get away!"
But Ji Xiaoxi’s reaction was as extreme as expected. She huddled to one side, as if Zhou Wang were a flood beast.
Zhou Wang said nothing. He just ignored her struggle and held her to prevent her from slipping on the water-splattered floor.
Perhaps realizing she still couldn’t muster much strength, Ji Xiaoxi finally stopped trying to push Zhou Wang away. She squatted in the corner, her covered-face sobbing turning into wailing cries.
Fortunately, the sound of running water was loud enough to mask her occasionally hysterical sobs.
Gradually, Ji Xiaoxi quieted down, reduced to intermittent sniffling.
Zhou Wang looked at her, feeling some guilt and heartache, yet knowing that, at this moment, Ji Xiaoxi was likely not in a state to communicate normally.
Mainly because Zhou Wang couldn’t quite determine what she was thinking at that moment.
[Ali’s Conch (Sealed) energy exhausted, has automatically destroyed itself]
This was a prompt that popped up at the end of a round.
The "Mind Reading Technique" experience card briefly obtained by Zhou Wang had expired...
"Xixi, although I’m not a good person, rest assured, I’m not just playing with you."
Zhou Wang thought for a moment, his fingers brushing over the tears on the girl’s tender cheeks, speaking softly.
"Not playing?"
Hearing this, Ji Xiaoxi briefly came back to her senses, looking at Zhou Wang with what seemed like a hint of sarcasm at the corner of her mouth, "Will you abandon Fragment? Will you marry me? Will you sever ties with those other women I know nothing about?"
Faced with Ji Xiaoxi’s triple question, Zhou Wang could only shake his head helplessly, "No... but that doesn’t mean I’m unwilling to take responsibility for you."
"You... how can you be so shameless!"
Ji Xiaoxi angrily wanted to hit Zhou Wang, but her punches were so soft that they lacked any deterrent power.
"You’ve given me almost everything. If it weren’t too hasty, and this place unsuitable, you’d already be completely mine. You can think I’m shameless, but as long as you’re willing, I certainly won’t let you be wronged elsewhere..."
Zhou Wang stated calmly.
Ji Xiaoxi’s cheeks turned red as she recalled how powerless she’d been earlier. Although she was unwilling to admit it, she knew Zhou Wang was telling the truth. If he had been more forceful, she would have unwillingly given him everything today, right here...
And what frightened Ji Xiaoxi was the thought that even if it happened again, she didn’t know if she could escape.
Last time, she had the excuse of alcohol, but although she had also drunk today, Ji Xiaoxi knew she was completely sober.
Besides, somehow, today felt ten times more intense than before.
Unbeknownst to her, Zhou Wang now possessed the "Small Ball Mastery" talent, which made certain things increasingly easy...
Amidst her confusion, she also felt a sense of misunderstanding and disgust toward herself.
The values her parents had spent twenty years instilling in her were now precariously weak.
Overwhelmed with mixed emotions, yet it didn’t stop Ji Xiaoxi from wanting to escape it all.
"Stop, please stop... Zhou Wang, I beg you, could you just stay away from me?"
Ji Xiaoxi lowered her head, pleading in a soft voice, "I have a family who loves me, a boyfriend I plan to stay with, a life I cherish. But with you, I completely lose myself. So, I’m begging you, please, don’t do this anymore."