“Why would I ever want to lure a cat in just to slaughter it? Xue A-Miao, don’t go slandering an innocent soul!” For once, Su Yu had offered a gentle, kindly tone, only to be met with such suspicion. Displeased, she took a sip of berry juice as a scheme sprang to mind.
With a soft scoff, she crossed one leg over the other. “A-Miao, don’t you want to make me happy? If you can cheer me up, I’ll waive your punishment for acting up on the streets, and I won’t hold what you did at Jiaoyue Pavilion against you either. What do you say? Are you really going to stand there all day?”
“You truly won’t pursue it? Ayu, since when did you become so easy to talk to?”
Su Yu ground her teeth. “Think carefully: since you arrived in Xiushui City, have I ever beaten or cursed at you? I am a peerless saint, you should cherish me.”
Her eyes sparkled with a distinct, lively brilliance, making her look spirited and unrestrained. Seeing the girl lost in thought, she coaxed her along: “Come in, quickly. If you refuse to step inside, does that mean you don’t want to stay under this roof anymore?”
“I never said that!” When it came to the matter of staying or leaving, how could Xue Lingmiao dare remain still? Bracing herself on her emerald cane, she took a step forward, though a persistent voice inside warned her: Ayu is setting a trap. Whatever awaits is certainly no treat.
Her instincts were always sharp, yet she could not back down. She was Ayu’s fiancée; why should she ever leave the Su Manor? Even if it meant crossing mountains of daggers and seas of flames, she had to face it.
Watching her approach with cautious, deliberate steps, Su Yu’s eyes crinkled with amusement. Her delicate features were handsome, yet the slight tilt at the corners of her eyes gave off the unmistakable impression of mischief brewing beneath the surface.
A-Zhi cast a worried glance toward her mistress. The young master was the undisputed little tyrant among rogues; her mistress was blind, naive, and pure of heart. Bound by an engagement to someone of that nature, she was bound to be dominated entirely in the days to come.
Yet a bold hope sparked in A-Zhi’s chest: she hoped her mistress would prove capable and capture the rogue’s heart as soon as possible.
If she could truly secure an unshakeable place in the young master’s affections, no one in this world would dare bully her for the rest of her life.
As for the difficulty of such a feat, one only needed to look at Miss Ning. Eldest Miss Ning possessed top-tier family status and looks in the borderlands, yet more than a decade of childhood closeness had failed to tether Su Yu’s heart. To make a rogue fall in love was harder than breathing warmth into wood and stone.
Yet if this rogue truly fell in love. The corners of A-Zhi’s lips lifted, her eyes alight with anticipation for the drama to unfold.
It was a short distance, but Xue Lingmiao walked with immense care. She could not guess Ayu’s thoughts and had to mind the path beneath her feet. By the time she reached an arm’s length from Su Yu, the young master had already run out of patience: “Am I some fierce beast? How can a few steps take you so long?”
Guided by the sound of her voice, Lingmiao reached a hand out, feeling through the empty air. Not knowing what she intended to do, Su Yu watched with keen interest.
When the delicate, jade-like hand hesitated and then gently, firmly patted the crown of her head, an inexplicable sense of embarrassment rushed through Su Yu, as though she were being treated like some rare, precious pet. “What on earth are you doing?” She snapped.
“Soothing you.” The girl did not pull her hand back despite the resistance. Her voice was soft and sweet, tickling Su Yu’s ears. “Ayu, stop being angry. Please?”
Su Yu glared at her. “Is this your attitude when begging someone? How dare you commit treason upon my very head, take your hand down!”
“What’s wrong with it? You touch my head all the time. At worst, I’ll just let you stroke mine later.” Sensing she had stroked the fur in the right direction, the girl’s unease faded, replaced by sudden boldness. She smiled faintly. “Ayu, I’m trying to cheer you up. Won’t you play along?”
“You dare negotiate terms with me?”
“It isn’t a negotiation. Ayu, please, please, just play along, just for a moment, alright?”
No matter how unruly a rogue she was, Su Yu was not made of stone. The soft, gentle lilt swayed in her ears like a swing, melting her resolve completely. Reluctantly turning her face aside, she muttered, “I’ll grant you this brief presumption. Don’t push your luck.”
Delighted, Lingmiao seized the opportunity to stroke her fiancée’s hair gently.
“Hey, don’t mess up my hair,” Su Yu warned.
“Mm, I know.”
You know? Su Yu’s lips curled. “Xue A-Miao, there are pastries on the table. I’m hungry, feed me.”
“Pastries? Where?”
“Right by your right hand. Forget it.” Su Yu took away her bamboo cane and took hold of the girl’s palm. “Let me check if your hands are clean first.”
“Ah?” Lingmiao instinctively moved to pull out a silk handkerchief to wipe her hands, but Su Yu stopped her. “Why are you dodging? Stay still!”
With her palm turned up, Lingmiao froze nervously in place. She had bathed and changed after returning home, so her hands should have been clean. Aside from holding the cane, she couldn’t recall anything that would have dirtied them. Yet, perhaps out of nervousness, a fine layer of sweat gathered between her fingers. Her shoulders trembled timidly, fearful she would be cast aside in disgust at any moment.
She waited and waited, relieved that no rejection came. Her hand remained nestled in Ayu’s grasp.
The world was vast, and everyone had their preferences. Some loved long, slender legs; some favored alluring or pure faces; others were hopelessly enchanted by a pair of hands.
Su Yu had loved revelry since youth. Even as the boys and girls she grew up with developed various pursuits of beauty, she had always found cuju far more thrilling than pretty faces.
She was an exceptional beauty herself, and even if she were shameless enough to claim she had seen countless beauties, none would dare dispute it. She had never understood her peers’ unique obsessions, but right now, she found the girl’s hands utterly exquisite—not dirty in the slightest.
Reaching this conclusion, she was reluctant to let go, turning the hand over and admiring it thoroughly.
Clueless as to what was happening, the girl waited anxiously for the inspection to conclude. “A-Ayu, are you done yet?”
“What’s the rush? Shouldn’t I inspect them thoroughly?”
Did it really require such a long inspection? Lingmiao did not dare ask further. As time trickled by, a lovely blush blossomed across her delicate face, tender as an unripened cherry, promising a fresh and sweet flavor.
“Beautiful,” Su Yu murmured, holding that soft, fair hand. The light danced in her eyes as her playful urge flared up. Softly, she said, “A-Miao, when you act like this, I can hardly resist bullying you. How about this: agree to one condition, and I’ll let bygones be bygones.”
“What condition?”
“Let me take a bite.”
“A, a bite? This.”
Feeling the tips of her ears burn with heat, the girl shrank back in bashfulness, only to be caught around the waist by a firm, gentle pull. Su Yu coaxed her, “Just one bite. It won’t hurt. You flutter around right in front of me all day, I just want to taste.”
“Taste?” Lingmiao found herself pulled directly onto Su Yu’s lap. “But I, I’m not food! How can you taste me? Ayu, what are you trying to do?”
“That’s why I say you’re still a child.” With such delicate softness in her arms, Su Yu felt an itch deep in her heart, developing a rare fascination with beauty. Yet more than mere beauty, she wanted to tease the person before her. Innocent, harmless, a soft bundle of a kitten—she was simply too delightful to bully.
With a light touch of her fingers, Su Yu lifted the girl’s chin. “Have you made up your mind? Will you let me bite?”
Everything happened too fast. Xue Lingmiao sat stunned, feeling Ayu’s breath brushing against her face, drawing closer and closer. Amid the dread of the unknown bloomed an indescribable shyness. She thought: Is ‘biting’ just another word for kissing?
The thought of Ayu kissing her sent her heart pounding frantically against her ribs.
At such close quarters, taking in the sweet fragrance radiating from the girl, Su Yu nearly lost her composure. Snapping back to her senses, she curved her lips into a faint smile, her voice clear and velvety: “A-Miao, why is your face so red?”
“Is, is it?”
“It is.” A hint of mischief crept into her smile. “A-Miao, be good. Close your eyes.”
Her emotions surging, the girl had never felt so utterly helpless. She wanted to make Ayu happy, yet the situation overwhelmed her with crippling embarrassment. She wanted to push her away, but could not bear the consequences of doing so. Ayu was her fiancée; by all reason and feeling, she should strive to be accepted by her.
“A-Miao, close your eyes.”
Under that coaxing, gentle cadence, she softly shut her eyes. Her heart leaped and tumbled atop a precarious precipice. With nothing else to hold onto, she could only clutch the fabric over her fiancée’s chest, trembling like a morning dewdrop quivering upon a lotus leaf.
A thousand thoughts of flight flashed through her mind in an instant, but in the end, she held her ground. Hadn’t she traveled all the way to the border city just to be with Ayu?
Su Yu watched the shifting expressions on the girl’s face with keen amusement, silently marveling at her pure nature, incapable of concealing her emotions. Seeing her pursed lips and fluttering, lowered eyelashes, Su Yu suppressed the sudden stirrings in her heart. Leaning in with a playful tilt of her head, she gently bit down on the girl’s soft, crimson earlobe. “I’ll let you off this time. Next time, I’ll teach you a proper lesson.”
The teeth grazed her earlobe with a faint sting. Lingmiao slowly opened her eyes, a shimmer of tears welling within them. She might be blind, but her mind was sharp. Even in her dazed state, she understood what had happened. Parting her red lips, her voice trembled with endless grievance: “Why do you love teasing people so much? Is watching me panic really that amusing to you?”
Catching her breath, she added with stubborn resolve, “Sincerity or charade, you bit me, which means you’re mine now. If you ever think of breaking our engagement, I will never give you the chance.”