Lu Xiao was woken by a sharp pain. The first thing she saw was a bare-chested man kneeling before her. "Who are you..."
Before she could finish asking who he was, a flood of unfamiliar memories rushed into her mind. The world instantly went black, and she fainted again.
She had transmigrated into a world defined by female superiority and male inferiority. The man kneeling before her was her newly acquired side husband, Ares, a young S-Class Major General of the Empire. And his crime? He had merely glanced at her one too many times at a banquet.
The very next day, she had submitted an application to the military to make him her side husband, and it had been approved.
And just like that, an Advanced military officer with a promising future was forced to become her "concubine."
What was worse, on their wedding night, to satisfy her own perverse tastes, she had ignored his wishes and abused him for hours on end. In the end, he had hurt her during a mental rampage.
In other words, the intense pain she felt upon waking was entirely the original owner's own doing.
'The only reason he didn't kill me outright,' Lu Xiao thought, 'is thanks to the rules of this world.'
In this era, females were rare and possessed the ability to soothe a male's Spirit Sea. This granted them incredibly high status and benefits, allowing them to treat any male as they pleased.
The original Lu Xiao had been raised with this education from a young age, so she had never once thought it was wrong.
If a male were to resist during the process, he would be punished. In severe cases, he could even be exiled or executed.
For example, harming one's Female Master was a grave crime, regardless of whether it was intentional or not.
Lu Xiao awoke from her stupor to find the man still kneeling there. His handsome features were pale and bloodless, and his bare torso was covered in bloody welts, yet his back remained ramrod straight, as if holding on through sheer willpower.
"You..." The moment she spoke, the kneeling man's body trembled. He then lowered his head, prostrating himself on the floor in a gesture of complete submission. "Please, Female Master, mete out my punishment."
Lu Xiao squeezed her eyes shut, reminding herself that this was just the culture of this world. "Go and get yourself cleaned up."
Not yet sure how to deal with him, Lu Xiao decided it was best to get him out of her sight for now.
After he left, Lu Xiao pushed herself up into a sitting position. She discovered that not only had her wounds been treated, but someone had also thoughtfully changed her into a fresh set of clothes.
The thought of this world's rules made Lu Xiao feel suffocated, even though she was lucky enough to have transmigrated as a privileged female.
But as a doctor, even after surviving an apocalypse, she couldn't stand to see life being treated with such contempt.
'Someone like the original Lu Xiao, who trampled on others and held life in such contempt... death would have been too good for her,' she thought bitterly.
But now, she was the one left to clean up the mess the original owner had made.
She had intended to ignore everything, get some sleep, and deal with it all tomorrow. But after lying down, all she could see were the whip marks on Ares's body.
As a doctor with a professional code of ethics, it was something she truly couldn't bear to see.
She got out of bed without even putting on her shoes. It was only after she opened the door that she remembered she had no idea where Ares's room was.
It seemed the original Lu Xiao hadn't prepared a room for him at all.
'I hope he's not so foolish that he didn't even dare to find a room to stay in for the time being.'
As it turned out, such a fool did exist.
Coming downstairs, Lu Xiao spotted the man kneeling beside the sofa. He heard her and instinctively straightened up to look at her, but before she could speak, he prostrated himself again in submission. "Please, Female Master, mete out my punishment!"
Lu Xiao felt a headache coming on. "Where is the Treatment Device?"
Medical technology in this world was actually quite advanced. A standard Treatment Device could completely heal common external injuries without injections, medication, or scarring.
The only thing it couldn't cure was the storm within a male's Spirit Sea, which could only be soothed by a female.
At her question, Ares tried to stand up, but Lu Xiao reached out and pressed him down. "Just tell me where it is. Don't move!"
'The way he's bleeding every time he moves... I really can't stand it!'
"...It's in the room." Ares's body tensed involuntarily at her touch.
Lu Xiao felt it, but said nothing.
'After being tormented like that, how could he not have a physical aversion?'
Forget being killed unintentionally—even if he had hurt the original Lu Xiao on purpose, she would have deserved it.
Returning to the room, she found the small Treatment Device on the table. Apparently, this was what Ares had used to heal her wounds, yet he hadn't dared to use it on himself.
When she came back downstairs, Ares was still kneeling there. He saw her and was about to lower his head again when Lu Xiao quickly said, "Get up. Go sit on the sofa."
Ares's body stiffened. After a few seconds of hesitation, he slowly rose to his feet. It was only then that Lu Xiao realized how tall he was—he had to be at least 190 centimeters, maybe even pushing two meters tall.
He was a good two heads taller than her!
His sudden proximity made her take an involuntary step back. It was a purely subconscious reaction.
Ares, however, pursed his lips. When he sat down, he deliberately chose a spot farther away from Lu Xiao.
Lu Xiao didn't notice his subtle action. She walked straight over and activated the Treatment Device. "Heal your wounds. If you get hurt in the future, treat it immediately. I don't like blood."
Ares took the Treatment Device and acknowledged her with a simple "Alright," his expression unreadable.
While he was healing, Lu Xiao turned and went to the kitchen. After everything that had happened, she was a little hungry.
But when she opened the refrigerator, she found nothing but nutrient packs of various colors. She'd had more than her fill of this stuff back in the apocalypse; she never expected to have to keep drinking it after transmigrating here.
She couldn't help but frantically search her new memories. Her anxious heart finally settled. Thank goodness. This world wasn't short on ingredients, and there were restaurants. It was just that the original Lu Xiao didn't know how to cook and disliked using robots, so she had always subsisted on nutrient solution.
'As long as there are no resource shortages, everything will be fine.'
She resignedly drank a pack of nutrient solution and grabbed another one for Ares on her way out.
When she returned, Ares's wounds were already mostly healed, which made Lu Xiao give the Treatment Device in his hands a few extra glances.
'This thing really is convenient, huh!'
"Here." She handed him the nutrient pack. "Once you're healed, go upstairs and find any room to stay in. Don't kneel in the living room anymore. Got it?"
"I... I got it." As Ares responded, he unconsciously tightened his grip on the Treatment Device. He didn't really understand why Lu Xiao hadn't punished him. 'Or is this some kind of scheme?' he wondered. 'Is she waiting for me to lower my guard before delivering a fatal blow?'
He had heard that powerful and influential females enjoyed playing these kinds of games.
His colleagues often discussed such things. Although he never participated, he was tired of hearing about it.
And everything he had just experienced proved that Lu Xiao was not an easy person to get along with.
Besides, he really had hurt her just now.
Lu Xiao could see Ares's confusion, but she didn't want to explain or promise anything. There was no need.
When it came to some things, words and actions yielded completely different results. She and Ares had only just met; saying too much would be counterproductive.
Ares watched as Lu Xiao went upstairs, the nutrient pack dangling from her mouth, and his lips unconsciously pressed into a thin, straight line.