The night was like thick ink, enveloping the villa completely.

Yu Jiuyuan stood at the bedroom door, her fingertips gripping a velvet box, her knuckles turning white from the force.

The blue thread on the pinky ring had a dark purple tinge, representing Rong Shenghan's lingering emotions, like a suppressed fire that made her heart clench.

She took a deep breath and pushed open the door.

Rong Shenghan sat on the edge of the bed, his back to her. Moonlight shone through the gauze curtains onto him, casting a cold, white halo around him.

He didn't turn around, but his fingertips unconsciously traced the wrinkles on the sheets, as if he were repeatedly recalling the way she had knelt down that afternoon, or the way she had just cried in his arms.

Yu Jiuyuan walked behind him and placed the velvet box on the bedside table, making a soft sound.

She wore a pair of fluffy cat ear hair clips that swayed gently with her movements.

"Sheng Han." Her voice was soft, with a deliberately softened hoarse tone, "Look."

Rong Shenghan finally turned around, his gaze falling on the cat ears on her head, his pupils suddenly contracting.

The ears were exquisitely crafted, with soft, fluffy black fur that made her cheeks appear even whiter. Yet, her eyes held a kind of almost sacrificial madness, like a wild cat that had willingly walked into a cage.

"What are you doing?" His voice was as cold as ice, but it couldn't hide the movement in his throat.

Yu Jiuyuan didn't speak, but slowly knelt on the carpet, her knees pressing against the red marks she had made that afternoon, causing a sharp pain.

She looked up at him, her cat ears trembling slightly with her movements, as if she were silently trying to please him.

“I don’t wag my tail at anyone else.” Her fingertips lightly traced her tailbone, where a cat tail of the same color as the prop was tied, swaying slightly with her breath. “My tail wags only for you.”

These words were like a match, instantly igniting the fire in Rong Shenghan's eyes.

He suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his arms, the force almost crushing her bones.

The cat's tail was pressed between the two of them, and through the thin fabric, there was an ambiguous friction.

"Yu Jiuyuan, are you really that shameless?" He bit her earlobe, his voice venomous yet burning with desire. "You'd even wear something like this just to appease me?"

“Yes.” Yu Jiuyuan met his gaze without flinching. “I’m shameless, I’m only shameless to you.”

She kissed his lips first, her tongue deliberately gentle, as if licking her owner's fingers.

The blue light from the pinky ring flashed intensely, and Rong Shenghan's positive and negative emotions intertwined wildly, eventually breaking through a certain critical point. The positive value soared, like lava during a volcanic eruption.

"Please." Yu Jiuyuan breathed heavily on his lips, her cat ears brushing against his cheek, bringing a soft tickle. "Take care of me, baby."

The word "baby" completely shattered Rong Shenghan's defenses.

He pressed her down onto the sheets, his kisses landing with a ruthless, punishing intensity, from her neck to her collarbone, leaving wet marks on the ribbon around her neck.

Yu Jiuyuan didn't struggle, but simply raised her hand to hug his neck, her cat tail unconsciously hooking around his waist, as if she were being coquettish, or as if she were submitting.

“Say you’re mine.” Rong Shenghan bit her shoulder, leaving clear teeth marks. “Say you only wag your tail at me.”

"I am yours." Yu Jiuyuan's voice was choked with sobs, it was hard to tell whether it was from pain or something else. "My tail, my ears, I only show them to you... Please, don't be angry."

She knew what she was doing.

This is a transaction, compensation, and her way of comforting her pet as its tamer.

But when Rong Shenghan's hand stroked the cat's tail fur, she couldn't help but tremble slightly.

The emotional surge emanating from the pinky ring burned her skin; it was Rong Shenghan's suppressed love, mixed with intense possessiveness, almost drowning her.

"Remember this feeling." Rong Shenghan's kiss landed on her pinky ring, his fingertip pressing hard against the blue light. "Remember who is the one who can make you wag your tail."

The moonlight was obscured by clouds, plunging the bedroom into an ambiguous darkness.

The cat ear clips came loose and hung on the pillow like a broken chain.

Yu Jiuyuan closed her eyes, letting herself sink into his aura, feeling his tenderness and punishment, his gentleness and madness.

She was a high-and-mighty young lady, a madwoman who controlled everything, but now she willingly put on shackles and became his pet.

After an unknown amount of time, Rong Shenghan slowed down and pulled her into his arms.

He held the cat's tail in his palm, the soft fur brushing against his fingertips.

His breathing was still heavy, but a hint of tenderness returned to his eyes, like the surface of a lake after a storm.

"Does it hurt?" He kissed away the tears at the corner of her eyes, his voice hoarse.

Yu Jiuyuan shook her head, snuggled deeper into his arms, and rubbed her cat ears against his chin: "It doesn't hurt."

The blue light from the pinky ring finally stabilized, turning a soft purple, the color of Rong Shenghan's calmed emotions, like a gemstone bathed in moonlight.

He looked down at the cat ears on her head and suddenly chuckled, his laughter carrying a mixture of relief and helplessness.

"You crazy girl." He pinched her cheek. "If you ever dare to kneel for someone again, I'll..."

"So what?" Yu Jiuyuan looked up, a sly glint in her eyes, her cat tail gently brushing against his side.

Rong Shenghan's breath hitched, and he pulled her back into his arms, his voice threatening but no longer cold: "I'll lock you up forever."

Yu Jiuyuan smiled and snuggled against him, like a cat that had finally been comforted.

The clouds outside the window dispersed, and the moonlight shone in again, illuminating the cat ears on the pillow and the intertwined fingers of the two people.

The light from the pinky ring pulsated gently, as if witnessing this absurd yet devout surrender.

Yu Jiuyuan knew that this taming game was not over yet, but at least for now, she and her pet had found a balance for each other.

She was his princess, and he was her baby.

She wags her tail for him, and he retracts his claws for her.

In this transaction called "love," no one can escape unscathed.