Chapter 35: A Reckless Kiss and a Stirring Awakening

As Zi Yanran heard this, she immediately rolled her eyes, unable to stop a grumble from forming in her mind.

“What do you mean, ‘from an aesthetic perspective’?” she scoffed. “How can you be so utterly clueless about romance? You’re nothing but a block of wood, hmph!”

Without warning, Zi Yanran suddenly closed the distance, her movements startlingly swift. She wrapped her arms around Bai Mengqi’s neck, pressing her entire body flush against hers.

Her gaze was intense, fixed on Bai Mengqi’s eyes as if searching for a hidden truth within their depths.

This unexpected intimacy sent a jolt through Bai Mengqi, her nerves instantly tightening. Yet, unlike before, she didn’t recoil with overt resistance; her body merely stiffened, a subtle tension running through her frame.

“Wh-what are you going to do now, I…” Bai Mengqi stammered, her voice laced with apprehension.

An involuntary tremor ran through her words. She simply couldn’t predict what peculiar stunt Zi Yanran might pull next.

Observing Bai Mengqi’s palpable nervousness, Zi Yanran merely grinned, a peculiar sparkle dancing in her eyes.

“Tell me,” she probed, “we’ve been together for a full day now, haven’t we? What are your feelings towards me?”

Bai Mengqi was utterly bewildered, her mind a sudden void. She had no idea how to respond.

“M-my feelings? You’re not quite the same as four years ago.” Bai Mengqi finally managed, after a long internal struggle to find the right words.

Having spoken, she cast a furtive glance at Zi Yanran, her heart thrumming with apprehension. She had no idea how Zi Yanran would react to such a statement.

Instead, Zi Yanran’s curiosity was piqued. Her eyes instantly brightened, and she pressed eagerly, “Different how? Tell me everything.”

She resembled a child, brimming with an impatient desire for answers.

Upon hearing the insistent query, Bai Mengqi found herself involuntarily reminiscing. Yet, the mere thought of that fateful night caused a faint blush to creep across her cheeks.

“Do you truly want me to say it?” Bai Mengqi confirmed, a note of apprehension in her voice. “If I do, please don’t get angry.”

She had no desire to displease Zi Yanran with a careless remark, especially since Zi Yanran’s temperament could be so inscrutable at times.

“Just say it,” Zi Yanran urged, her demeanor surprisingly magnanimous. “It’s all in the past now.”

She was confident that whatever Bai Mengqi revealed, she would be able to accept it.

Mustering her courage, Bai Mengqi hesitantly confessed, “You… you felt terrifying back then, so brutal. I truly felt like my life was in danger.”

As she spoke, she carefully watched Zi Yanran’s face, her heart thumping wildly with anxiety.

The moment the words escaped Bai Mengqi’s lips, Zi Yanran’s smile vanished. Her face instantly darkened, becoming as stormy and grim as an overcast sky.

A furious blaze ignited within her, and she couldn’t help but unleash a barrage of complaints at Bai Mengqi.

“I was under the fox demon’s control then, do you understand?” she fumed. “I wasn’t myself, do you get it? And besides, if it weren’t for that night, how could you have such adorable children…”

As Zi Yanran spoke, her agitation mounted, her voice unconsciously rising several octaves. Her entire demeanor suggested she had endured an unimaginable injustice.

Zi Yanran’s sudden fury plastered Bai Mengqi’s face with stark terror. Her body instinctively recoiled, freezing her in place.

She stood there, motionless, like a startled rabbit, her eyes wide with unadulterated fear.

“You… you told me to speak, and I did,” Bai Mengqi murmured weakly. “Don’t be angry, why are you still angry?”

Her voice was barely a whisper, like the faint hum of a mosquito. She felt truly wronged; she had merely followed Zi Yanran’s instructions, yet still managed to provoke her displeasure.

The instant those words were uttered, Zi Yanran’s fiery temper was abruptly extinguished, as though a roaring blaze had been suddenly doused with a bucket of icy water.

Clenching her hands into fists, she lowered her head and bit her lip, the unvented anger churning within her, an unbearable pressure.

“You really are a hopeless blockhead, aren’t you! Ugh, I can’t take it anymore!”

Zi Yanran suddenly cupped Bai Mengqi’s face once more, her movements even more swift and decisive this time. Then, she leaned in and captured her lips in a kiss.

This was no mere fleeting touch, like their previous encounter. This kiss was charged with an undeniable, fierce hunger.

Its fervor and urgency seemed to pour every unspoken emotion from Zi Yanran’s heart directly into Bai Mengqi.

Bai Mengqi’s eyes widened, fixed on Zi Yanran, her gaze filled with a mixture of shock and utter bewilderment.

Zi Yanran, in turn, gazed back at her with wide, insistent eyes, a silent message passing between them: ‘Don’t resist. If you do, I’ll cry.’

‘Hmph! This foolish boy truly needs a forceful push,’ Zi Yanran grumbled inwardly.

She believed Bai Mengqi was simply too obtuse at times; without such a direct approach, he might never truly awaken to her feelings.

Slowly, Zi Yanran closed her eyes. Her hands, which had cupped Bai Mengqi’s face, now gently slid to embrace her slender waist.

Through this tender and intimate gesture, she sought to convey the depth of her feelings, hoping Bai Mengqi would finally comprehend her affection.

Seven emotions and six desires. Everyone possesses them. As long as Bai Mengqi remained human, the most primal urges were bound to stir within her.

Indeed, under Zi Yanran’s persistent initiative, a restless yearning began to awaken deep within Bai Mengqi.

This time, however, was markedly different from four years prior. Back then, she had felt coerced, utterly powerless and out of control.

Now, she vaguely sensed something stirring to life within her, something she felt she could either unleash or hold back.

Yet, her body’s primal reactions remained beyond her control.

Her body trembled almost imperceptibly, and her restless hands instinctively wrapped around Zi Yanran, as if seeking solace and support.

Internally, she began to reason with herself.

‘Don’t be afraid,’ her inner voice urged. ‘She’s the mother of your children, your wife. Besides, she’s the one taking the initiative; you’re not forcing her. Relax, accept her. Haven’t you always said you were lonely, with no one to share your secrets with? Now you have someone, don’t you?’

This was the silent chorus within Bai Mengqi, echoing relentlessly in her mind, an invisible force compelling her onward.

Under her relentless self-hypnosis, Bai Mengqi’s eyes, once vigilantly open, finally fluttered shut. She closed them, yielding fully to Zi Yanran.

Thus, they became utterly immersed in this uniquely intimate atmosphere.

They had known intimacy before. Now, reuniting after several years, the memories of that distant night began to resurface with vivid clarity.

Although Zi Yanran had been controlled by the fox demon’s power that night, and Bai Mengqi had been in a passive state, it was undeniable that upon calm reflection, the feeling was entirely different this time.

They were not like ordinary young lovers without any foundational history. Therefore, their interactions, too, diverged from most couples, possessing their own unique dynamic and emotional bond.

The room’s temperature inexplicably began to rise, both sensing the growing heat of the other’s body. It was as if the very air around them grew scalding with their burgeoning passion.