Chapter 3: History Repeating? The Man From the Previous Life

The man’s body was scorching and broad, pressing down on her like a mountain.

His fingers gently traced her brows and eyes, inch by inch, as if he were admiring his kingdom.

Tang Mi’s body trembled uncontrollably, she was terrified.

Why was history repeating itself? She had deliberately run in the opposite direction this time. So why had she still ended up in the wrong room?

Then it hit her, her heart pounded like thunder.

In her past life, she had escaped through the back window and ran to the right. This time, she exited through the front door and ran to the left. But it was actually the same direction.

Thinking back to the corridor she had crossed, it was clear this was the same room from her past life. And this man… was the one who had taken her virginity.

She remembered now, the man had also been drugged in her past life, which was why he couldn’t control himself and had ended up being intimate with her. She had never seen his face clearly. Even until her death, she never knew who he was.

As her thoughts spiraled in confusion, the man’s breath grew rapid and drew closer. His searing lips suddenly pressed against hers.

That instant shattered what little sanity she had left.

Waves of heat surged through her, stirring up a growing, unbearable desire.

Then something slipped into her collar. Her consciousness snapped back.

No!
She absolutely could not make the same mistake again!

Suddenly, she bit down hard on his tongue. The taste of iron spread in her mouth. The man finally stopped.

His burning gaze fell on her face. She couldn’t see clearly, but she knew he was looking at her.

Tang Mi gasped for air and looked at him with unfocused eyes. “I know… you’ve been drugged too. Go find cold water stones, mimeng flowers, valley grass, and celosia seeds… that’s the antidote.”

The man didn’t move. His eyes remained locked on her with searing intensity.

Tang Mi grew even more nervous but forced herself to stay calm. “I’m telling the truth. Believe me. That really is the antidote. Don’t let the ones who set us up get what they want, once this line is crossed, there’s no going back.”

“If you insist on touching me,” she suddenly pulled the gold hairpin from her head and thrust it toward the man’s neck, “then I’ll choose to die with you.”

The man caught her hand, then tapped her pressure point, knocking her unconscious.

Her body went limp and collapsed onto the bed.

The man stared at her for a long time before taking the hairpin from her hand.

Seeing all ten of her fingers were scraped raw and bloody, he frowned.

Tang Mi didn’t know how long she had slept. When she opened her eyes and saw the familiar yet foreign canopy, panic rushed over her again.

This was where she had been caught in her previous life. By the time she woke up back then, the man had already left, and she was left alone to endure the cruelest malice of the world.

The first thing she did was check her body. Her clothes were still on, but the drug’s effects were completely gone.

There were no traces on the bedsheets, and her virginity mark was still intact.

She hadn’t been violated!

The lingering taste of medicine in her mouth confirmed it, the man must have found the antidote as she had told him and even ensured she had some too.

In her past life, she had resented and even hated that man.

But this time, she couldn’t hate him. He had the chance to do what he had before take her and leave, but he didn’t.

Maybe he wasn’t such a bad person after all.

Tang Mi had no time to dwell on it. She didn’t know if Tang Rong’s situation had already been discovered.

Last time, they hadn’t found her in Tang Rong’s room, but they had found her in this one.

She couldn’t stay here. She immediately got out of bed.

Then she remembered what had happened before she fainted and touched her head. She turned back and carefully searched the room.

After a thorough search including under the bed, she still found nothing.

Her gold hairpin was gone.

Could it have been taken by the man? But why? What would he do with her hairpin?

“Thank you so much, Your Highness, for accompanying me to find the two girls,” said Qin-shi, the second madam of the Tang family, smiling obsequiously at the Princess Royal. “They rarely go out, and especially my eldest niece, it’s her first time attending such a birthday banquet. I’m worried she might oversleep and miss the proper etiquette.”

“Madam Tang, you’re overthinking it,” the Princess Royal chuckled playfully. “For a young lady, it’s common to feel unwell. Even if she did oversleep, it’s not a big deal. Do you think I’d swallow your niece whole?”

The Tang girls really were good-looking, especially the eldest one beautiful, well-educated, and refined. The Princess Royal found her quite likable.

“If she truly catches your eye, that would be her great fortune,” Madam Tang said with a smile, secretly calculating how to marry her youngest daughter into the Princess Royal’s household.

She had dismissed all the recent suitors. Only the Princess Royal’s family had true wealth and status, and they were connected to the imperial bloodline with a marquis title. If her daughter Rong’er could marry into that family, it would be a true blessing.

As the group passed down the corridor, Tang Mi’s eyes turned cold and menacing.

In her past life, it had been Tang Rong who led people to “catch her in the act.” This time, it was Qin-shi taking the lead.

She was curious to see what kind of expression Qin-shi would have when she found her own daughter entangled with a man.

Tang Mi meticulously tidied her clothes and hair before calmly going to open the door. As her fingers touched the door, she suddenly thought of something.

A moment later, Tang Mi stepped out of the room.

From the shadows, the man watched her emerge safely, then turned and vanished.