Married to the Grim Reaper Against My Will

Straight men's confusing actions

Looking at his slightly roguish face, Ji Mian suddenly felt an urge to yell out the swear words Zhang Keke had taught her.

"Hey, Wang-ge, a girl bringing you food in the middle of the night?" Another frivolous voice rang out from the doorway, and Xu Ting, wearing flip-flops, shuffled out.

Ji Mian was petite, having been completely hidden by Jiang Wang earlier. Xu Ting walked past her, saw Ji Mian's face clearly, paused for a moment, then exaggeratedly exclaimed, "Heh! Food already? Pretty fast, huh?"

He gave Ji Mian a suggestive glance.

Ji Mian blushed. "I didn't mean to..."

"Mianmian, it's alright, don't be shy." Xu Ting, ever the familiar type, interrupted Ji Mian, his address becoming intimate. "Brother Wang got beaten up and has been stuck at home for three days without going to school. Look at the bruises on his face, they haven't even faded yet. Bringing him food is only right, there's nothing to be embarrassed about."

Ji Mian pursed her lips, silently thinking, "This is for Keke." But the thought of Jiang Wang getting beaten up because of her made it hard to say those words.

She hesitated for a moment, then looked up at Jiang Wang.

Jiang Wang met her gaze, suddenly bending down, his handsome face close to hers.

His sudden closeness made Ji Mian instinctively shrink back, clutching the thermos flask in her arms tightly. Jiang Wang noticed her reaction, a slight smile playing on his lips. Pointing to his cheek, he said, "Look, a bruise. You can't go to school now. You have to take responsibility, classmate."

Ji Mian: ...

He was so close, his breath brushing against her skin, making her uncomfortable. She just wanted to run away.

"You...you can't get this close."

Xu Ting, standing to the side, laughed uncontrollably. "Brother Wang, watch your step!"

As he spoke, he reached out to put his arm around Ji Mian's shoulder.

Ji Mian thought to herself, you should watch your step too!

She tried to dodge, but before she could move, her hoodie collar tightened as Jiang Wang pulled her hood up to him.

"Stop touching me like that."

Ji Mian stumbled, bumping into Jiang Wang.

"Did you bump into me on purpose?" he said, his fingers still hooked around her hood. Ji Mian twisted her shoulders and whispered, "Let go."

Xu Ting shouted, "Brother Wang, stop touching me!"

Jiang Wang released Ji Mian's hat and kicked him, "You're the only one with a mouth."

Ji Mian knew that this group of people were used to being lazy and indulgent; they probably just liked to joke around, and when they were with friends, they would unconsciously put their arms around each other's shoulders without any other intentions.

Although she could understand, she wasn't used to this way of getting along and felt uncomfortable.

"Hey, aren't you going to give me my stuff?"

Jiang Wang's voice rang out, and before Ji Mian could react, she felt a warm breeze sweep past her ear, and then her arms were empty.

Jiang Wang stretched out his long arm, directly over her shoulder, pinched the rabbit's ear on the thermos with two fingers, and lifted it up.

The pink rabbit thermos was held in mid-air, looking particularly out of place with Jiang Wang's tall, muscular figure in all black. Ji Mian stepped aside slightly. "I'm leaving, goodbye."

"Okay," Jiang Wang said shamelessly, "Buy me an apple for school tomorrow. I like apples."

Ji Mian didn't react immediately, replying, "Okay."

Jiang Wang licked his lips and smiled. "So obedient, huh?"

Ji Mian: ...

Xu Ting, standing nearby: Damn, Wang-ge, you're a little shameless.

Jiang Wang carried his thermos into the house, ignoring everyone, and strolled over to the dining table.

Lu Chen, curled up on the sofa playing King of Glory, glanced at him, and exclaimed in surprise, "Jiang Wang, didn't you go to take out the trash? Where did you get this girly-looking cup?"

Jiang Wang ignored him and went to the kitchen to find a spoon. The house was a complete mess; finding a spoon was like clearing mines in the wild. Xu Ting, always eager for drama, ran over and plopped down next to Lu Chen, putting his arm around his neck and vividly describing the love-hate entanglement between Jiang Wang and Ji Mian.

It included their chance encounter in the wasteland, the trouble caused by the vocational high school thugs, applying medicine late at night, and delivering porridge in the middle of the night—and there seemed to be more to come.

Xu Ting chattered on and on, like a stand-up comedian, and even licked his lips afterward, seemingly unsatisfied.

Lu Chen, having finished a game, looked at Xu Ting incredulously. "Jiang Wang's injury wasn't inflicted by his family?"

"Yeah," Xu Ting replied shamelessly, just like Jiang Wang, "Only girls would be soft-hearted if they said it was someone from the vocational high school."

Lu Chen looked at him, then at Jiang Wang, shaking his head with a "you're hopeless" expression.

Someone upstairs called for Xu Ting. Xu Ting cursed and ran upstairs. Only Jiang Wang and Lu Chen remained on the first floor.

“Damn it, Jiang Xuanyang, please, have some shame!” Lu Chen, who had been curled up on the sofa, stood up and yelled at Jiang Wang in a low voice as he walked towards the dining table, “Tell me, you’re so thick-skinned, all the students in the vocational school could stomp on your face and not a single mark would be left. It was clearly your ancestor who beat you up, and you’re blaming this little girl? Aren’t you afraid of going to hell?”

Jiang Wang picked up a not-so-clean spoon, wiped it with a tissue, and laughed nonchalantly, “Whoever can send me to hell, call him out, I’ll send him down to scout the way first.”

Lu Chen recalled the evil spirits who had been bullied by Jiang Xuanyang to the point of crying and begging to go to hell, and sighed silently. This guy was the most difficult Grim Reaper to deal with in Yunxiu Heavenly Palace. Unable to win by force, Lu Chen resorted to his conscience, "Jiang Xuanyang, you're supposed to be a god, can't you have some integrity?"

Jiang Wang completely ignored him, opened his adorable rabbit-shaped thermos, scooped a spoonful of porridge, and stuffed it into his mouth. Then, biting the spoon, he grinned smugly at Lu Chen, looking incredibly smug, "This porridge is f*****g delicious."

Sure enough, what you get through honest means is never as sweet as what you get by deception.

Jiang Wang drank his porridge, his long legs swaying on the ground, extremely pleased with himself.

His phone rang. He grabbed it, still biting the spoon, and looked at it.

Ji Mian: [Can you come out for a second, Apple?]

Jiang Wang grinned, the spoon clattering onto the table.

"What now?"

"The Apple delivery guy is here."

"You tricked Apple again?"

"None of your business."

Jiang Wang rolled his eyes at him and swaggered out. Lu Chen was powerless to stop him. If the ancestors knew that the Divine Lord Jiang Xuanyang had stooped so low as to trick a young girl into eating his food, they would probably be so ashamed that they burned down the Heavenly Palace that very night and banished themselves from the Three Realms.

Ji Mian had casually agreed to Jiang Wang's request, but since she had promised, she would keep her word. She remembered there were two apples in the refrigerator.

However, as she put the apples into her schoolbag, she changed her mind. She didn't really want to go to Class 14 to find Jiang Wang, nor did she want Jiang Wang to come to her. Just imagining the scene made her feel the curious gazes from all sides.

She found it hard to bear those gazes. Rather than being seen by everyone at school, she'd rather deliver them now and let it go.

Ji Mian stood under the streetlamp outside the courtyard, holding the apples, waiting for him.

Jiang Wang walked out lazily, hands in his pockets. "Pretty good, bringing them over in the middle of the night?"

His lips curved slightly, his eyebrows raised, his expression utterly frivolous. Even serious words sounded a bit inappropriate coming from his mouth.

Ji Mian didn't want to be swayed by his frivolous tone, so she looked at him with a serious expression and said earnestly, "Anyway, it's not far, just in Building 11."

Jiang Wang took two steps forward, his shadow enveloping Ji Mian, creating an inexplicable sense of oppression.

"Just randomly introducing yourself? Aren't you afraid someone'll climb up a drainpipe? Society's a mess."

Whether it was because he was so close or because of his words, Ji Mian suddenly became wary, her round eyes fixed on him defensively.

Jiang Wang was somewhat annoyed by her gaze, frowning and clicking his tongue. "What kind of look is that? Do I look like the kind of person who climbs up drainpipes?"

Ji Mian wanted to say yes, but she didn't dare. Jiang Wang seemed to have a very short temper; he might actually resort to violence. Staring at her like that, Ji Mian felt a little scared. She quickly shoved the apple in her hand at him and said hastily, "Apple, I'm leaving, goodbye."

She turned and ran away as if her life depended on it.

Behind her, Jiang Wang laughed, "Can't you speak properly? You're the apple."

Ji Mian pretended not to hear and continued walking, footsteps echoing behind her.

The quiet of the neighborhood at night amplified the dragging footsteps, unhurriedly following her.

Ji Mian knew that Jiang Wang probably wanted to walk her home. But his presence behind her made her uncomfortable.

After a few steps, a crisp "c***k" sounded in the quiet night, and Ji Mian could almost smell the apple's fragrance spreading with the gentle spring breeze.

With the scent wafting and the footsteps following, Jiang Wang's presence seemed to expand infinitely. Ji Mian's back stiffened slightly. She couldn't help but whisper, "You don't need to see me off."

"Oh," Jiang Wang chewed on an apple, his voice muffled, "Do you see that pond over there? When they were building the residential area, they said they dug up two corpses, so they didn't dare build houses on it and turned it into a pond instead."

Upon hearing the word "corpses," Ji Mian's hair stood on end. Although she knew Jiang Wang was just making it up to scare her, she couldn't help but imagine it. The images flooded her mind: vengeful ghosts with blood dripping from their seven orifices and tongues sticking out of their chests.

Although she had been to the Heavenly Palace and witnessed many mysterious things, apart from Xuanyang Jun being particularly frightening, everyone else was human, not scary at all, even somewhat cute.

Ji Mian's mind was filled with terrifying images. Never before had she liked Xuanyang Jun as much as she did now. The powerful and formidable Lord Xuanyang, capable of exorcising evil spirits.

Jiang Wang continued babbling, "Buried underground for a long time, when we dug it out..."

Ji Mian's scalp tingled. She stiffened her neck and turned to look at Jiang Wang, her eyes glistening with tears from fear.

"Can you please not talk?" Her voice was soft and trembling.

"What? Scared? Want me to take you?" Jiang Wang chuckled mischievously, chewing on an apple. He took two long strides and walked to Ji Mian's side. "If you're really scared, you can hug my arm."

He was shameless. If she weren't so terrified, Ji Mian would have definitely yelled, "Get away from me, you bastard!"

She looked up at him angrily. "As long as you don't say those things, I'm not scared."

"What did I say?"

His rogue nature was such that without solid evidence, he would deny everything he said the moment he was done. Ji Mian stood ramrod straight, striding forward angrily.

"Oh, I remember now, didn't I say there was a ghost in that bush up ahead?"

Ji Mian screamed in fright, grabbing his arm haphazardly. "Jiang Wang, please don't say it! I'm scared. Please, please..."

Ji Mian was genuinely frightened, clinging tightly to his arm, her voice trembling, soft and tearful, like a whimpering kitten.

Jiang Wang felt a tickle in his heart, as if something had scratched it.

He paused, wondering if he had gone too far.

He tried to pull his arm away, but Ji Mian instinctively held on tighter, as if afraid he would run away.

Jiang Wang was always sensitive to heat, and on this spring night he was only wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt. The soft touch of her skin brushed against his arm. His mind went blank for a second, then he concluded that he had indeed gone too far.