Vоlumе 1 Сhaptеr 11: Running Аwау
Тhe food thаt оnce tаsted like сhеwing wах nоw fеlt like а blеssing. Fоr thе first time, Yan Shi еxperienсеd the рlеаsurе оf enjоуing а meal.
Не aсceptеd evеry bite Yun Jiaо fed him withоut hesitаtiоn, not evеn glancing at whаt hе wаs еating befоrе swаllоwing it down.
Evеn an оrdinary lеaf of vеgetablе was eatеn slоwlу and dеlibеrately, аs if he wеrе savoring а gourmet fеast.
Ноwеver…
Yun Jiаo cоuldn’t quite understаnd whу hе kept staring at her mouth.
And his knucklеs—thеy kept taррing incessantlу оn the table.
Yun Jiao shook her head slightly. Perhaps it was just his habit.
The two ate in silence, yet the scene was surprisingly harmonious, as if they were meant to be together from the start, a perfect match.
From a distance, Chu Yi and Chu Er watched.
Their eyes widened in shock once again. Chu Yi, whose face was usually unreadable, couldn’t regain his usual expressionless demeanor for a long time, his eyes faintly reddening.
Beside him, Chu Er counted softly, “Ten, eleven, twelve… sob…”
He suddenly crouched down, lifting his sleeve to wipe the tears from his face. “Master ate a full twelve bites today… sob…”
Ever since their master was poisoned, he had lost interest in all kinds of food. They had tried every method but couldn’t get him to eat even one extra bite.
The rare occasions when he ate a little more were only after killing the spies sent by Consort Ying, but never had he eaten as much as he did today.
Chu Er looked up, his eyes wet with tears, and said to Chu Yi, “Chu Yi, it turns out Master only eats when someone feeds him. If I had known earlier, I would have fed him sooner.”
Chu Yi: “…”
His reddened eyes were instantly restored to normal as he rolled them in exasperation.
After wiping his tears, Chu Er continued counting, “Thirteen, fourteen… mmm… mmm… why are you covering my mouth…”
With an expressionless face, Chu Yi skillfully covered Chu Er’s mouth and dragged him away.
＊
“Burp.”
Yun Jiao let out a satisfied burp, lazily leaning back in her chair, closing her eyes, and gently patting her slightly rounded stomach.
Yan Shi’s rhythmic tapping on the table finally stopped. After easing the pain in his throat, he asked, “Full?”
“Mhm!”
Yun Jiao nodded vigorously, her eyes curving into crescent moons as she smiled at him. “I’m full!”
“Very good.”
Yan Shi nodded, a faint smile curling at the corners of his mouth.
Huh?
Yun Jiao’s smile faded slowly, and a sense of unease suddenly crept over her. For some reason, she felt a little on edge.
That smile looked just like a fox’s—cunning and calculating.
Yun Jiao swallowed nervously, shrinking back into her chair as she watched him warily.
Yan Shi hooked his long leg around her chair, turning it to face him. Their eyes met as he gripped the armrests and pulled her, chair and all, toward him, planting his legs on either side of her chair.
Slowly, he said, “Darling, let’s settle the score.”
“?”
That tone sounded familiar, as if she had heard it somewhere before.
“Gasp!!”
Yun Jiao’s pupils contracted sharply. She tried to stand up abruptly but was spun around before she could even step over his leg. The next second, she was pressed back into the chair.
Yan Shi slowly rose, placing his hands on either side of the chair as he leaned down, trapping her beneath him with a commanding presence.
“Darling, why are you running?”
Yun Jiao pressed her hands against his chest, feeling like she was about to cry.
Damn it, he never said this meal would cost money!
Her lips quivered as she looked up at him, her voice trembling. “Prince, you know… I don’t have any money…”
“It’s fine. Didn’t This Prince say? One bite for another.”Yun Jiao blinked a few times, the words “one bite, one kiss” slowly echoing in her ears.
Her eyes suddenly widened.
Yan Shi’s lips curved into a smile. “Seems like you remember now.”
Yun Jiao held her breath, her heart suspended in the air. That unease abruptly intensified, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that what was coming next would be terrifying.
Whenever he wore that captivating smile, his words were always deadly.
The bell on her earlobe swayed as Yan Shi tilted his head and smiled. “Three hundred and twenty-eight bites in total. That means three hundred and twenty-eight kisses for This Prince.”
How many?!
It was like a bolt from the blue. Yun Jiao’s eyes widened in shock.
Her suspended heart finally dropped dead.
But she still wanted to struggle a little. “When did I eat that many dishes?”
As soon as the words left her mouth, Yan Shi’s smile widened.
Wait…
Yun Jiao realized belatedly—he hadn’t mentioned dishes. He’d said “one bite, one kiss.” He was counting every chew.
No wonder he’d been staring at her mouth.
Wait!
So those taps on the table… were counting how many times her mouth moved?!
Yun Jiao’s face flushed with anger. “Prince, you…”
“Hmm, This Prince is a scoundrel.”
“??”
Furious and indignant, in a fit of rage, she clenched her small fist and gave his shoulder a light punch before deflating like a balloon and wrapping her arms around him.
Pouting, she couldn’t help but mutter softly in a coquettish tone, “Three hundred and twenty-eight kisses… my lips are going to be worn out.”
Yan Shi lowered his head, his fingers threading through her hair, twirling it playfully around his fingertips. “How pitiful. What should we do about that?”
Yun Jiao nuzzled against his chest, shifting into a more comfortable position, her brows furrowed in distress.
The prominent Adam’s apple was right before her nose. Lost in thought, she unconsciously lifted her finger and lightly touched it.
Her slender, rounded fingertip, with its neatly trimmed nail, brushed over the Adam’s apple.
The man beneath her suddenly trembled. Yan Shi stiffened, a sensation like lightning shooting through his spine, leaving him tingling and shaking.
“Prince?” Yun Jiao looked at him, puzzled.
Yan Shi swallowed with difficulty, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. The way he looked at her was like a predator eyeing its prey.
His voice was no longer light and casual but hoarse as he said, “Kiss me.”
He took her hand and pressed it against his Adam’s apple.
It felt somewhat scorching, and she could clearly feel it moving.
Yun Jiao tried to pull her hand back, but Yan Shi stubbornly held it in place. “One kiss counts as three.”
Yun Jiao hesitated for a moment before finally saying softly, “Then… let go first.”
Hearing this, Yan Shi abruptly released her hand.
Yun Jiao placed her hands on his shoulders, her eyelashes fluttering twice. She stretched her neck, tilted her head, and kissed his Adam’s apple.
A light touch, a parting of lips, a gentle bite.
The hands resting on either side of the chair suddenly clenched tightly, the joints straining until the veins on the back of his hands bulged.
Yan Shi’s lashes fluttered rapidly, his chin tilting upward to reveal the smooth lines of his neck.
All his senses converged on his Adam’s apple. His eyelids half-lowered, the cinnabar mole beneath his eyes glowing a bewitching crimson.
The sensation vanished abruptly.
As the kiss ended and Yun Jiao was about to pull away, a hand suddenly covered her eyes. A large palm pressed against her waist, and before she knew it, she was leaning back against the chair.
A weight settled on her shoulder as Yan Shi buried his face in the crook of her neck. The tassel beneath the bell brushed against her skin, sending tingling waves of sensation.
Heavy breaths and panting fell beside her ear, mingling with the sound of an unknown heartbeat.
Yan Shi’s eyes trembled slightly. The overwhelming wave of tingling pleasure that had washed over him just now was a sensation he had never experienced before.
He wanted to drown in it.To die like this would be quite wonderful, wouldn’t it?
Her eyes were tightly covered, and Yun Jiao clutched Yan Shi’s clothes, crumpling them into a ball.
His full weight rested on her shoulder. After a moment, she truly couldn’t hold on any longer.
She hunched her shoulders slightly and said pitifully, “Prince, my shoulder is sore.”