Empress Of The Lost Kingdom

"Bad reputation," 

Zhang Zhi Jun's mind hopelessly muddled by her words,

"She roams around with a couple of men, having an illicit relationship with the boss. Will you like a girl like that?" Li Juan elaborated her question,

"Well," Zhang Zhi Jun hesitated for a moment.

"What if that girl is nearly defiled and consistently chased by death? Will you accept a girl like that?"

Li Juan's sloppy drunk voice had a seductive charm, but somehow he only recognised the air of melancholy in her voice.

Zhang Zhi Jun gazed back at her, unable to answer her questions.

Her flustered face appeared vulnerable and fragile like a withering flower, but her stygian dark eyes held a strange glow,

"You can't." Li Juan replied and laughed bitterly. 

She drank another mouthful. 

"You cannot accept a girl like that, no one can accept a girl like that. Not even Yu palace." Li Juan closed her eyes and rubbed her face with her palms to hide her despair,

"I still don't understand why you guys are obsessed with coronating someone like this as your queen. 

Her mumblings left Zhang Zhi Jun in a confused state, "Is she talking about herself?" 

"Princess," Zhang Zhi Jun called her. "All those things you said, is it about you? Is that true? "

"Why would I lie Zhi Jun ah?" Li Juan asked him in a trembling voice

"You know something, your princess is nothing but a bad girl."

Princess, 

Aye, don't call me like that...I don't deserve it.

Why do you think so? 

Li Juan rolled up her sleeves, to show her tattoo on her wrists, a Compass with four needles pointing towards four elemental symbols of nature.

"Even I have a similar one," Zhang Zhi Jun proudly showed his tattoo. The compass tattoo in his wrist was similar to Li Juan but its needles were leading to lunar phases, instead of natural elements.

"It is not just a tattoo, it is done to cover the stitches of the wound,"

Li Juan undid the top three buttons of the black shirt she was wearing, revealing her golden honey-coloured skin, 

Zhang Zhi Jun went numb for a minute.

"Hey hey, what are you doing? he grabbed her hand to stop her from stripping her clothes.

But before he could avert his eyes, the phoenix tattoo under her collar bone caught his attention.

A phoenix rising from flames,

She said that these tattoos are for covering the wounds. 

"This too," Zhang Zhi Jun asked to confirm.

"Hmm, this not a normal wound, it is a bullet wound."

"How,"

"Someone did it to save me,"

"Save you?"

"Hmm, thanks to him, I am still alive,"

"But why?"

"I am cursed. Those who love me, those who treat me well, I end up hurting everyone, Why would you like a bad girl like me? Zhi Jun deserves better, you deserve someone who has a kind and bright personality, someone who makes everyone happy,

There is no place for people like me…" Li Juan burst into tears.

"Li Juan," Zhang Zhi Jun came closer and took her hands. She looked at him with moist eyes.

"I like you," He pressed his lips on the tattoo on her wrist. 

"I want to marry you, it is not because of your title of the princess.

I want to ask your hand in marriage because you are the girl whom I was waiting for, the girl whom I've fallen for the moment I laid my eyes you," Zhang Zhi Jun confessed the feelings he kept hidden for all these years.

"No, you can't." Li Juan refused.

"Look," he grabbed her chin and stared into her obsidian orbs, "I don't know much about you, but on the first sight itself, I found you imperfectly perfect, Li Juan. 

You are filled with beautiful chaos, 

Zhang Zhi Jun embedded her in his warmth and stroked her hair,

"Believe me, you are not a bad person neither you are cursed. Believe me and allow me to take care of you." 

Zhang Zhi Jun looked at her dazed face, 

She does look like Zhang Li Jun, but yet their aura is different,

A girl with a kind and bright personality, whose entire existence makes everyone happy- it was the apt words to describe Zhang Li Jun.

On the other hand, Li Juan appeared mysterious and forbidding, who solemnly believed that her existence is a curse.

Like everyone else, Zhang Zhi Jun also used to believe that, Zhang Li Jun, his third cousin was the firstborn female of his generation.

They were considered as the royal couple,

While they were growing up together, everyone repeated that they were destined to be together. 

But somehow his heart refused to believe that,

No matter how hard he tried, he was unable to see Zhang Li Jun as his better half. He liked her, but not the way everyone anticipated. It won't be a lie if someone says that he was forced to marry her in the future.

He was kind enough to avoid breaking her heart and ignored the yearnings of his own heart.

Until one day he unexpectedly met a random girl with big black eyes, 

Those eyes,

Those damn eyes, 

Her eyes held a strange bewitching power which captivated him.

Even they had never met before, she felt familiar.

It felt like she was someone he knew from the past,

"That is impossible," 

"You are the firstborn male of the Yu clan. You are bound to follow the rules.

How can you fall for someone else?

When the right time comes, you must marry Zhang Li Jun and carry the bloodline."

His conscious mind scolded his fluttering heart on the sight of her. It continuously warned him to not to fall for that girl. 

He controlled his feelings to chase after that girl, he even locked himself in the room to avoid going after her.

Every day was a struggle for him,

At one side, his conscious mind reminded him of his responsibilities as the firstborn of the Yu clan. On the other side, his adamant heart reminded her bewitching figure every now and then.

He was left in a difficult position, 

He reluctantly sided with his responsibilities and began to mentally prepare himself to get betrothed to Zhang Li Jun.

However, his foolish heart wrote songs for her and believed that she will get to know his unrequited love through the songs. 

3 years left like that,

Gradually he got accustomed to it and became closer to Zhang Li Jun.

But their fate was rewritten on a night when he dreamt of Li Juan.

In an ancient battlefield, He saw himself lying in her lap, waiting for his death.

The agony and helplessness in her eyes, made him break away from the chains which controlled his feelings and disclosed everything to Zhang Li Jun.

To his surprise, Zhang Li Jun was supportive of his decision. She understood his situation and assured him that she will talk to their parents. 

However, he never had a chance to talk to his parents about Li Juan.

The one who has supported his decision, she left the world in an accident before she could inform their families about calling off their engagement.

Only after her death that he understood Zhang Li Jun's worth in his life. 

She was the one who has been with him from childhood, how could he ignore her for the sake of someone whom he only met once.

That single thought bugged him day and night. He despised himself for being selfish. He tried to forget his unrequited love and focused more on his career.

However, fate has bought them together, once again, creating ripples in his stagnant memories.

But Li Juan appeared different,

She said that she is a fan and shown no memory of their previous encounter, forcing him to treat her the same. He wanted to believe that was a momentary encounter.

However, the time has proven that they were destined to be together.

His intuitions about Li Juan became true, she was indeed his destined one.

Li Juan, daughter Bai Ze, the firstborn female of the generation, the heiress apparent to the throne of Yu palace and the mother of Yu clan. 

He no longer wanted to refrain his feelings, to win her heart, he was prepared to confess the moment he saw her in the Yu palace.

Zhang Zhi Jun stared at the alluring beauty laying in his arms, 

her half-closed eyes, plump and red lips, reddened cheeks.

The more he stared, she appeared enchanting in his eyes.

"Li Juan," he patted her cheeks,

"Huh," she licked her lips with the tip her tongue and struggled to keep her focus on the man sat beside her.

Li Juan was already in a trance state which gave her a false impression of familiarity to the blurry silhouette of the man in front of her eyes. His warmth and the gentle caress of the hands felt familiar.

She slowly let down her guard and leaned closer to him, reducing the space between them,

Her brazen advances shook the fortress of Zhang Zhi Jun's self-restraint, waking up the inner beast in him.

"What are you doing, little seductress?" Mystified by her advances, he dropped his intention to defend her attacks,

This woman is addictive, like a moth to the light, he got attracted to her,

He gently traced her plump velvety lips with his thumb, 

Li Juan's lips bloomed into an alluring smile,

"Are you going to kiss m-?" Even before she could complete her words, a pair of warm lips stole a kiss from her.

When his burning hot breath caressed her face, Li Juan held onto his waist and gently traced his spine,

Zhang Zhi Jun was lost, he was totally lost by her ethereal touch,

He leaned closer and held the nape of her neck with one hand, and pried open her lips, 

Li Juan didn't hesitate to kiss him back, she demandingly shoved herself in his mouth and explored the sweetness of his trove. Her kisses were domineering and desperate.

Zhang Zhi Jun couldn't believe what he just encountered, 

This woman, she was trying to dominate like a beast.

Beasts should be tamed, Zhang Zhi Jun thought and bit her tongue,

She moaned in pain and moved away from him. 

He smiled triumphantly and buried his face on the crook of her neck, inhaling her sweet scent, planting burning kisses on her delicate body.

Li Juan involuntarily grabbed a tuft full of his hair to suppress her moans,

Zhang Zhi Jun stopped for a moment and noticed that she had pursued her lips,

" Li Juan, say that you love me," He ordered her in an authoritative tone,

"Nah," she smiled seductively,

"Say that you love me," he whispered in her ears and nibbled the lobes,

Before she could refuse him again, he captured her lips, while his warm hands finding it ways to slide down from her neck to her mounts.

The crescent moon has risen over the skies. It peeked at the pair of bodies feverishly engrossed in exploring, unable to stop their cravings,

They must get rid of the burning thirsty heat on their bodies.

In the clumsy, hurried motions to remove her clothes, Zhang Zhi Jun's finger got tangled in the chain on her neck and his big palm got brushed over the phoenix tattoo on her shoulder,

Li Juan who was floating in ecstasy felt electrocuted by his touch, unable to control it anymore,

She opened her mouth and said the words which rang on her trance mind, from the moment he laid his hands on her,

"Yang Yang, I love you,"