Chapter 47: The Chill of Possession

As Yu Niannian and Jin returned to the lounge, holding hands, faint blushes lingered on their faces from their recent activity. Their clothes were slightly disheveled, as if they had just enjoyed a lighthearted frolic or been gently ruffled by the evening breeze.

Lin Wan and Xia Yue had clearly completed their tasks and were now waiting by the bedside.

Xia Yue’s eyes, sharp as ice shards, instantly registered the unusual atmosphere between the two. She also noticed the subtle, intimate aura clinging to them.

Her brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. Her fingers, resting on the bedside, unconsciously tightened until her knuckles turned faintly white.

“Where have you been?” Xia Yue’s voice, cold as a winter spring, cut through the silence. Her gaze was scrutinizing, lingering for a moment on their still subtly clasped hands.

Stung by the frigid interrogation, Yu Niannian instinctively started to pull her hand away. However, Jin’s fingers in her palm gently squeezed back, sending a faint yet resolute warmth through her.

This small gesture emboldened Yu Niannian, and she lifted her head. “I took Sister Jin for a walk in the base’s ecological greenhouse to get some fresh air.”

Hearing this, Lin Wan raised an eyebrow, a playful, probing smile gracing her lips. Her gaze, like a precise scanner, swept over their faintly glowing cheeks—perhaps still damp with a hint of moisture—their slightly swollen lips, and their somewhat rumpled collars.

Her voice drawled, “Oh? Just… a walk?” She chuckled softly. “It seems this ‘walk’ was quite… ‘deep’ and ‘intense,’ wouldn’t you say?”

Xia Yue abruptly rose to her feet. The oppressive aura emanating from her seemed to drop the room temperature by several degrees.

“Pack your things,” she commanded, her voice unquestionable and laced with a forcibly suppressed coldness. “It’s time for us to leave.” Her gaze, like an icy chain, remained locked firmly on Jin.

****

On the journey back, the atmosphere was as oppressive as the sea before a storm, exceptionally silent.

Yu Niannian, seemingly lost in her own little world, clung to Jin’s side like a small animal seeking warmth.

Every now and then, she would furtively brush Jin’s hand or reach out to smooth a wind-tousled strand of hair. Each seemingly casual, intimate touch carried the tender awkwardness and nascent affection of a girl experiencing first love.

Yet, these subtle gestures were like pebbles cast into an icy lake, stirring cold ripples within Xia Yue’s heart.

She gripped the steering wheel tightly, the faint blue veins on her hands slightly prominent. Her knuckles appeared pale from the exertion.

Each time she glimpsed their intimate interaction in the rearview mirror, her jawline tightened a fraction more.

Meanwhile, Lin Wan observed the subtle scene with keen interest. Her gaze shifted between Xia Yue, who was driving, and the two in the back, a knowing smile playing on her lips.

Xia Yue, however, remained expressionless. Only her taut jawline and the overly firm grip on the wheel silently betrayed the tumultuous emotions churning within her—feelings she likely hadn’t even fully comprehended herself.

After dropping Jin off at her simple, yet clean and cozy apartment, Lin Wan and Yu Niannian simultaneously received urgent communications from the organization. They needed to return immediately to deal with the matter.

Yu Niannian was reluctant to leave. At the apartment door, seizing the moment Xia Yue turned away, she swiftly pressed a feather-light kiss onto Jin’s cheek. Her voice was soft and sweet. “Sister, I’ll be back soon.”

This intimate gesture, a clear declaration, instantly stiffened Xia Yue’s back, making her posture rigid as iron. Her eyes grew piercingly cold.

The moment the door clicked shut, only Xia Yue and Jin remained in the small apartment.

The air seemed to be sucked out of the room, solidifying into heavy blocks of ice.

Xia Yue advanced step by step. The click of her heels on the floor echoed distinctly in the silence, carrying an irresistible sense of oppression.

Jin instinctively recoiled, backing away until her spine met the cold wall, leaving her with nowhere left to retreat.

“You’re rather pleased with yourself, aren’t you?” Xia Yue’s voice was low and dangerous, like a volcano about to erupt, hidden beneath a thick layer of ice. “To have her… so utterly captivated.”

Jin opened her mouth, wanting to explain, to say it wasn’t as Xia Yue imagined. But before she could, Xia Yue seized her wrist without a word, her grip so strong that Jin’s slender bones emitted a faint protest, a clear throb of pain.

With a sharp *snap*, Xia Yue’s other hand slammed against the wall beside Jin’s ear. She was completely trapped between Xia Yue and the cold surface, forming an inescapable cage.

“I warned you,” Xia Yue’s breath, icy cold, ghosted against Jin’s sensitive ear, suppressed fury simmering in every word. “Do not toy with… *our* feelings.” She deliberately emphasized “our,” as if asserting a claim of ownership. “But it seems you didn’t heed my words at all.”

Before Jin could react, Xia Yue suddenly leaned in. With a fierce intensity, almost a punishment and a declaration of dominance, she savagely kissed Jin’s lips.

This kiss was starkly different from Yu Niannian’s soft touch moments before.

It was brutal, urgent, and filled with a predatory hunger, devoid of any tenderness. There was only cold possession and a furious release. The forced pressure between their lips grated painfully.

“No… stop…” Jin’s faint protest was mercilessly silenced by Xia Yue’s lips and tongue, dissolving into broken whimpers.

Fear and a profound sense of humiliation spurred her into a violent struggle. She tried to push Xia Yue away with all her limbs. Yet, Xia Yue’s strength was astonishing; her body, honed by years of training, easily neutralized Jin’s feeble resistance, pressing her more forcefully onto the sofa behind her, rendering her immobile.

Xia Yue straddled Jin, one hand pinning her wrists, the other roughly tearing open her shirt.

The sound of buttons popping echoed jarringly in the silent room.

“Isn’t this what you wanted?” Xia Yue’s voice was laced with icy sarcasm, her breath slightly ragged from their struggle. “To get close to others… like this?” Her fingers, with a punitive force, squeezed the sensitive flesh at Jin’s waist, leaving vivid, stinging red marks, like a brand.

Jin felt Xia Yue’s fingers working at the buttons of her jeans.

Jin closed her eyes in despair, ceasing all her futile struggles. Tears streamed silently from the corners of her eyes. She could feel Xia Yue’s calloused fingers dangerously tracing her trembling skin, each touch sending shivers and a deeper sense of dread through her.

However, the anticipated further invasion did not occur.

Xia Yue’s movements suddenly stilled. She pushed herself up, looking down at Jin, who lay beneath her, tear-streaked and fragile like a flower battered by wind and rain. Her ice-blue eyes swirled with intensely complex emotions—unresolved anger, a chilling warning, a hint of self-reproach from losing control that she refused to acknowledge, and, even deeper, an unspeakable tremor stirred by Jin’s vulnerable state.

A long, suffocating silence stretched between them.

Finally, Xia Yue slowly rose, stiffly adjusting her slightly disheveled clothes, attempting to restore her cold facade.

“Remember this feeling.” Her voice remained icy, but the anger seemed to have receded slightly, replaced by a deeper warning. “If you dare betray me… I will make you pay a price far greater than this.”

She turned and walked towards the door without looking back, her steps still straight but carrying an inexplicable stiffness.

As she pulled the door open, her footsteps paused almost imperceptibly. Ultimately, she did not turn around, leaving only a cold, rigid back.

The door closed softly, the click of the latch echoing clearly in the silent apartment.

Jin remained curled on the sofa, her body trembling slightly from lingering fear and humiliation.

She raised a hand, gently caressing the distinct red mark on her wrist, and the throbbing area at her waist.

This was the first time she had seen Xia Yue so utterly lose control—the Xia Yue who was always calm and composed, seemingly with everything in hand, had revealed such an aggressive and possessive side due to her closeness with Yu Niannian.

The lingering touch and scent of Xia Yue seemed to cling to the air. The suffocating feeling of being forcefully suppressed, of being unable to resist, overwhelmed her.

****

That evening, as if to ease the tense atmosphere of the day, the four gathered on the living room carpet in Jin’s apartment. A colorful Ludo board lay spread out in the center.

Soft light poured down, meant to create a relaxed and pleasant ambiance.

Yu Niannian chattered excitedly, explaining her self-invented rules with various harmless “penalties.” Lin Wan smiled cooperatively, occasionally interjecting with teasing remarks. Jin also tried to curve her lips into a smile, attempting to blend into this superficial peace.

Only Xia Yue, though sitting as usual with a poised posture, seemed encased in an invisible, unbreakable wall of ice, shutting out all warmth.

“It’s your turn, Xia Yue.” Lin Wan gently nudged her with an elbow, trying to draw her back from her detached state.

Xia Yue seemed startled awake, her eyelashes fluttering. She picked up the dice with an expressionless face and casually tossed them.

The dice rolled a few times on the board before settling on an unambiguous ‘3’.

“Oh no! Right on my piece!” Yu Niannian immediately wailed dramatically, trying to lighten the mood. “Sister Xia Yue, how could you be so cruel! Not giving me any chance at all!”

According to the rules, a piece that was landed on had to return to the start. This was a common setback in the game, and Yu Niannian was only complaining playfully.

But Xia Yue’s reaction was unusually flat, almost cold. She merely uttered a faint “Mm,” then reached out to pick up Yu Niannian’s sky-blue piece. Her movements were somewhat stiff, almost as if she *threw* it back to the starting square.

The piece landed in the square with a slightly crisp thud, bouncing once before settling.

The air momentarily solidified in a subtle tension.

Yu Niannian and Lin Wan exchanged puzzled glances. While Xia Yue was usually aloof, she rarely displayed such nearly… impatient and indifferent emotions towards them, especially Yu Niannian.

Another round began, and Jin’s red piece, with a stroke of luck, was on the verge of reaching the finish line first. She couldn’t help but show a hint of an eager smile, turning her head to whisper to Yu Niannian beside her, “It looks like… I might win soon.”

This small, slightly joyful sound seemed to prick a sensitive nerve.

Xia Yue’s throw of the dice clearly carried a suppressed force. The dice bounced violently on the board, finally rolling the largest number—a ‘6’.

“Tsk.” She let out an almost inaudible, yet clearly discernible, sound of displeasure.

According to Yu Niannian’s rules, rolling a ‘6’ granted a special privilege: to move any plane to any position.

Under Yu Niannian and Lin Wan’s slightly surprised gazes, Xia Yue unhesitatingly picked up one of her own dark green planes. With precise, almost deliberate placement, she landed it directly in front of Jin’s red piece, which was about to reach the finish line. It was like a silent, unyielding roadblock, firmly blocking the final step to victory.

This move was undeniably targeted.

“Xia Yue…” Jin looked up, her voice very soft, carrying a hint of imperceptible tremor and confusion, as she met the icy face opposite her.

Xia Yue did not look at her, her gaze fixed on the chessboard as if it were a strategic battle map requiring intense focus. Her tone was flat and even, devoid of any emotion. “The rules allow it.”

Lin Wan raised an eyebrow, her gaze flickering between Xia Yue and Jin, a knowing and slightly amused smile playing on her lips. She wisely chose to remain silent, not exposing the underlying tension.

Yu Niannian, simple-minded, didn’t think too deeply. She merely felt that Xia Yue’s competitive spirit was unusually strong today, and she mumbled, “Wow, Sister Xia Yue, you’re playing the game so seriously and intensely today!”

In the subsequent rounds, Xia Yue almost entirely focused her “tactics” on targeting Jin.

Whenever an opportunity arose, her pieces would find a way to block Jin’s path, or ruthlessly send Jin’s hard-won advances back to the starting point.

Every one of her actions strictly adhered to the game rules. However, her tightly pressed, bloodless lips and her overly sharp and swift movements betrayed an uncontrollable, icy irritability.

When Xia Yue, with an expressionless face, once again knocked Jin’s piece back to the start, her hand, retracting with too much force, accidentally knocked over a water glass on the small table beside her.

*Splash—*

The water glass toppled. Fortunately, it only contained a little water, which quickly soaked a small section of the carpet, leaving a dark stain.

All three were stunned.

Xia Yue stared at the rapidly spreading water stain, her brows furrowed deeply into a ‘川’ shape. Her jawline was taut as hard stone.

She took a deep breath, her chest rising slightly, as if she were desperately suppressing a surging emotion within.

“…Sorry.” She abruptly stood up, her voice still maintaining its usual calm. Yet, upon closer inspection, one could see her hands, hanging at her sides, were subtly clenched into fists.

Those eyes, usually as still as an ancient well, capable of freezing everything, now clearly churned with a frustration and loss of control that she herself might not fully comprehend, and certainly refused to admit.

“I’ll get a towel.”

She turned and walked towards the kitchen with slightly hurried steps. Her back remained straight, yet it carried an inexplicable stiffness and tension, as if she were fleeing something.

The three remaining in the living room were speechless for a moment, leaving only the colorful squares of the Ludo board and the conspicuous dark water stain.

Yu Niannian scratched her head, leaning close to Lin Wan and whispering, “Wanwan, what’s wrong with Sister Xia Yue? She’s been acting strange ever since we got back that day… Was the previous mission too tiring, too stressful?” She habitually sought rational, external explanations for Xia Yue’s unusual behavior.

Lin Wan gave a meaningful glance at Jin, who had been silently looking down ever since the water glass spilled, then cast a look towards the kitchen. She chuckled softly, reaching out to ruffle Yu Niannian’s hair, her voice carrying a knowing, teasing tone. “Silly Niannian, sometimes the reasons someone feels ‘tired’ and ‘frustrated’ aren’t always about missions, you know.”

Jin lowered her head, her long eyelashes casting a small shadow beneath her eyes.

Her gaze fell on the board, on her red airplane, which Xia Yue’s pieces had repeatedly chased and blocked, preventing it from reaching the finish line, leaving it isolated and helpless. Her fingertips unconsciously curled, pressing against the cool carpet.

She clearly felt Xia Yue’s cold, unvented anger, and beneath that anger, a violent and chaotic emotional fluctuation, sparked by her, that Xia Yue herself had not fully perceived, or perhaps vehemently denied.

The Xia Yue who was always as calm as a precise instrument, whose emotions never showed, had indeed become… different because of her.

When Xia Yue returned from the kitchen with a dry towel, her face was once again covered by a hard shell of ice. She had reverted to her usual cold composure, as if everything were normal, as if the person who had just lost control, knocked over a glass, and revealed frustration was merely a collective illusion.

Yet, the lingering, stagnant air in the living room, the still-wet stain on the carpet, and the varied thoughts in everyone’s minds, all silently spoke of unseen cracks and changes.