Chapter 48 "Between him and me, who do you like more..."

As soon as Xiao Che carried her into the room and the door closed, she immediately wrapped her arms around his neck, breathing heavily, her breath hot, murmuring his name: "Xiao Che... Xiao Che... Xiao Wenqi..."

She couldn't resist wanting to suck and bite his neck, but as soon as her pearly white teeth touched the skin of his neck, he turned away.

Yan Jiarou was stunned for a moment, seemingly not expecting Xiao Che to dodge. Her eyes instantly reddened, and she called out to him in a wronged tone, "Xiao Che..."

Before this, Xiao Che had never refused her.

Xiao Che casually curled the corner of his lips: "What's the rush?"

He carried her to the desk, glanced at the documents and letters on it, placed her on the desk, braced himself on his arms, leaned down and enveloped her, slowly narrowing his eyes: "We still have accounts to settle first."

Yan Jiarou blinked, her moist eyes revealing a hint of confusion: "Um... settle... the score?"

Her not-so-bright little brain slowly turned around, thinking that what Xiao Che meant by settling accounts was the previously agreed-upon exchange of kisses for his blood... But wasn't it agreed to pay on credit? Could it be that he owed too much and needed to pay some back first?

Well... that's not impossible...

She then tremblingly reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck, her thick eyelashes fluttering, her watery eyes gazing at him with a hazy, shimmering light. Perhaps due to the recurrence of her illness, her face was even redder than before, and her two red lips parted slightly as she softly said, "Then... then let's clean it up a bit..."

Xiao Che clearly felt a pulling force, the little thing was pulling him forward. He raised an eyebrow slightly and moved closer to see what trick she was up to.

But the more he looked at her, the redder her face became. He smiled playfully, and just as he was about to speak, his soft lips pressed against hers.

Yan Jiarou's heart was pounding wildly; this was the first time she had ever truly taken the initiative to kiss him.

Noticing that Xiao Che's mood was unusual tonight and that he seemed somewhat resistant to her, she didn't know what she had done to upset him. To avoid being refused when she asked for blood later, she could only try to please him.

If the goal is to please someone, a simple kiss is certainly not enough...

So she tentatively stuck out a bit of her tongue, clumsily licking and tracing his features, then gently pried open his teeth, mimicking his actions, and slowly inserted it to lick and tease him…

The moment his tongue probed inside, Xiao Che almost immediately noticed.

His little rabbit was trying to please him using the same flirting techniques he used to use with her.

This realization excited him.

Well, although she didn't even learn the basics, it's commendable that she had the heart to do so and remembered how he treated her; at least she kissed him earnestly.

Thinking of this, his eyes darkened, and he cupped her round head with his large hand, seizing her soft tongue and repeatedly sucking and licking it, kissing her more deeply and intensely.

At first, Xiao Che just wanted to see what she was up to, until her soft lips touched his, and he realized that this silly girl had misunderstood.

Did she think that settling scores was something that could be done with just a few kisses?

Ah, what an innocent little rabbit.

However, there's no reason not to eat the rabbit meat that's served.

Such a delicacy should not only be eaten, but its sweet, soft, and fragrant flavor should also be savored.

When the kiss ended, she was completely unable to sit still on the table and slumped against my chest as if she had no bones.

Xiao Che then sat down in the armchair in front of the table and pulled the person onto his lap.

Yan Jiarou snuggled against him, finding a comfortable position to hold him. She licked her lips and was about to lean against his neck to suckle when Xiao Che suddenly put his index finger on her forehead. The force was enough to prevent her from making any further moves.

He lazily lifted his eyelids and simply said, "Did I say you could touch me?"

Yan Jiarou blinked blankly, her eyes reddening and filled with a sense of grievance. She looked at him with misty eyes and asked, "...Why isn't it working?"

I've already let him kiss me, why isn't it okay?

Xiao Che glanced at her and casually curled the corners of his lips: "Didn't I say there are accounts that haven't been settled?"

“But…” Yan Jiarou kissed the corner of his lips and said urgently, “But I’ve already kissed you, I’ve already paid off part of the debt, why… why can’t I…”

Xiao Che laughed: "Who said I was going to settle this score with you?"

"You...you weren't going to settle this score with me?" Yan Jiarou's red lips parted slightly, and she blinked blankly. "Then...then why did you let me kiss you..."

Xiao Che laughed heartily: "My royal sister has taken the initiative to throw herself into my arms, how could I refuse?"

He leaned closer to look at her, a smile playing on his lips, and raised an eyebrow slightly: "So, you kissed me because you wanted to draw blood? I thought you couldn't help but kiss me the moment you saw me."

Yan Jiarou blushed slightly upon hearing this and couldn't help but lightly punch him: "You...you're so annoying, you're bullying me!"

Even the most oblivious among them would realize by then that she'd been tricked. She glared at him resentfully and aggrievedly, accusingly saying, "How could you do this..."

"How could I do such a thing?" Xiao Che scoffed. "Before you say that, my royal sister, you should ask yourself what you have done."

"I didn't do anything," Yan Jiarou blinked, looking completely innocent. "I just kissed you. Is that wrong?"

“Of course there’s nothing wrong with kissing me. What’s wrong with that—” He glanced at her sideways and said ambiguously, “My dear sister, are you really unaware, or are you just pretending to be stupid with me?”

Yan Jiarou was almost in tears: "I really don't know..." She had no mind to think about such things right now. Xiao Che was right in front of her, but she couldn't have him. She was so upset.

As she spoke, she became restless again, leaning in to suck and bite Xiao Che's neck: "We can talk about it later, Xiao Wenqi, please give it to me first, I feel so uncomfortable..."

He turned his head away from her again, asking, "Did you come to see me just for this?"

"Will you forget about me once I'm no longer of use?"

Yan Jiarou was stunned for a moment, and really didn't know why Xiao Che had so many inexplicable questions tonight. She came to him to get blood, of course, what else could it be?

But if she answered yes directly, it would seem too heartless. Besides, after spending time together, she had changed her opinion of Xiao Che a lot. It was undeniable that Xiao Che had helped her a lot. People from Lanling were extremely sensitive to pain, but he always let her have her way. Sometimes she was so eager that she bit too hard, but he never said anything. She would never forget this kindness.

In her heart, she had already come to regard him as her real brother.

"How could that be... You'll always be my third brother," she nuzzled his chin with her cheek, trying to please him affectionately, "I feel so bad, brother, can you help me?"

Xiao Che loosely embraced her, leaned back in the armchair, gently stroking her smooth cheek with his arm, and smiled, saying, "Sure, but we need to settle things first. If you perform to my satisfaction, I will naturally satisfy you."

Yan Jiarou rubbed her cheek against the back of his hand and sobbed, "But I feel so bad..."

"Okay, baby, you're sitting in my lap now, and you've kissed me again, so you don't feel so bad anymore—am I right?"

Yan Jiarou was taken aback. She hadn't expected Xiao Che to know. Well, they had been spending so much time together lately, so he would naturally notice any changes in her immediately.

She was indeed still in pain, but more than that, she was suffering from the unfulfilled thirst for blood. This pain made her restless and uneasy, but it wasn't impossible for her to endure it for the time being, because Xiao Che's aura could also have a certain calming effect. From the moment she touched Xiao Che's body, her body received temporary comfort.

She was indeed not as upset as she had been at the beginning, but the temporary reassurance would not last long before a crazy backlash would follow. She still needed Xiao Che's blood to completely calm her agitation. However, in Xiao Che's view, the current temporary reassurance was enough for them to settle old scores properly.

Xiao Che lowered his head, tidied her disheveled hair, and gently patted her face: "Tell me yourself, where you went today, who you met, and what you did?"

Where she went, who she met, what she did... Yan Jiarou's mind went blank for a moment, and just as she was about to say that she hadn't done anything, a flash of white light appeared in her mind, and she thought of someone.

Xiao Jue.

She went to see Xiao Jue today.

Her fingers unconsciously twisted together, and she suddenly felt incredibly guilty.

Even she herself didn't know why she felt guilty.

Xiao Che should know that she has liked Xiao Jue since childhood. She and Xiao Jue have always been close, so isn't it only natural for her to meet with him?

She didn't do anything wrong, so why should she feel guilty?

But she subconsciously felt that if Xiao Che found out that she had met with Xiao Jue, he would be unhappy.

She didn't want to upset him. What if he got upset and wouldn't allow her to take blood? She didn't want to take that risk.

And putting that aside, she also didn't want him to know. She couldn't explain why, but she just didn't want to. She felt guilty, especially when they met his gaze.

Therefore, she didn't tell him the truth. Her arms wrapped even more tightly around his neck, and she said to him in a sweet and coquettish tone, "I came to Hanguang Palace, saw you, and kissed you."

Xiao Che scoffed coldly: "Aren't you going to tell the truth?"

"What? Didn't you have a lot of fun playing with your second brother at the Agarwood Pavilion this afternoon? You've already forgotten?"

Yan Jiarou's soft body, which had been nestled in his arms, tensed instantly upon hearing these words: "You...you saw everything?"

Xiao Che glanced at her coldly and said only, "It must be hard for you to spend all day with me. You look exhausted, yet you still have to spare the energy for your trysts with him."

He took a deep breath, then suddenly grabbed her face, a fierce glint in his eyes: "You like him that much?"

"And what about me? What am I?"

When he pinched Yan Jiarou's chubby face, her plump cheeks were squeezed together, making her small face look even fatter. Every part of her face was fleshy, and it felt like her cheeks could leak out from between his fingers. She thought she must look ridiculous, but Xiao Che didn't laugh, which meant he was really angry.

Her lips were squeezed together so tightly that she could not close them, and she could only mumble, "I...I like you too!"

Xiao Che was taken aback, the fierceness in his eyes gradually dissipated, and he stared at her blankly, seemingly not expecting her to say that.

He slowly loosened his grip.

Yan Jiarou quickly stepped forward to coax him, saying, "Although I like the Crown Prince, I like you now too."

As she said this, her eyes sparkled as she looked at him, appearing quite serious, as if she weren't lying.

Xiao Che stared at her intently, his Adam's apple bobbing: "Between him and me, who do you like more?"