Excessive closeness
After serving as a cushion for a while, Gu Tinglan lowered his eyes and looked at Xixi in his arms.
Her eyelashes cast a fine shadow under the light, her breathing was even and long, and her cheeks, which had turned slightly pale after the injury, regained some color in her sleep.
Can you really sleep soundly if you sleep like this?
His eyes fell on her slightly furrowed brows - even in her sleep, the remaining sealing power seemed to still torment her.
"Xixi?" Gu Tinglan called softly, gently touching her shoulder with his fingers.
Xixi didn't react, but unconsciously shrank into his arms, making a vague murmur. Gu Tinglan sighed, and he carefully supported her back and knees, preparing to lay her flat on the bed.
The moment he leaned over, Xixi's face naturally rested on the crook of his neck. Her warm breath brushed against his skin, carrying a faint floral scent—the smell of the shower gel in his bathroom, which at this moment was inexplicably particularly alluring.
Gu Tinglan froze. They were so close, so close he could count her eyelashes, so close he could feel the slight rise and fall of her chest. His Adam's apple rolled unconsciously, and his arm muscles tensed, afraid he'd wake her if he wasn't careful.
"Hmm..." Xixi murmured in her dream, rubbing her cheek against his shoulder like a little animal looking for warmth.
Gu Tinglan held his breath and slowly laid her down on the mattress. Just as he was about to pull away, a soft hand suddenly grabbed his collar.
"Don't go..." Xixi's voice was soft and sleepy, but her eyes were still closed. "Sleep with me..."
Gu Tinglan's body instantly tensed. He looked down at the small hand gripping his collar. The knuckles were slender yet powerful, the nails manicured to a lovely, rounded, healthy pink. Reason told him to pry the hand away, but a deeper impulse held him still.
"Sissy, are you awake?" he asked tentatively, his voice a little lower than usual.
There was no answer, only the sound of even breathing. But Gu Tinglan keenly noticed that her eyelashes trembled slightly - she was pretending to be asleep.
This realization left him feeling both helpless and amused. Logically, he should have exposed her little trick, but seeing her pale face, trying to maintain a "sleeping" expression, a soft emotion spread in his chest. After all, it was because of his family's exorcist that she had suffered such a serious injury...
"Since you can't leave me even when you fall asleep, then just stay for a while." He finally compromised and lay down beside her with his clothes on, deliberately keeping a distance.
The mattress sagged slightly under the weight of another person. Sissy's lips curled up imperceptibly for a moment, then she rolled over, wrapping herself around him like an octopus. Her arms wrapped around his waist, her cheek pressed against his chest, and one leg even unceremoniously draped over his.
Gu Tinglan gasped. The girl's soft body pressed tightly against his, and he could clearly feel every curve through the thin fabric. The faint floral fragrance on her body became more intense, lingering around his nose, unable to be shaken off.
"Xixi..." He called her name warningly, but his voice was hoarse.
"Hmm... cold..." Xixi mumbled vaguely, but hugged him even tighter, and her fingers even groped restlessly on his waist.
Gu Tinglan closed his eyes, resisting the urge to push her away. He knew she was doing it on purpose—she wasn't afraid of the cold at all; demons' body temperatures were much higher than humans'. But guilt and the desire to be closer to her bound him like shackles, preventing him from refusing any of her requests, even this... excessive intimacy.
Sissi's fingertips moved up quietly, tracing across his taut abdominal muscles, deliberately lingering on each muscle texture. She could feel the stiffness of his body beneath her palms and hear his suddenly accelerated heartbeat, which gave her a sense of pleasure from having succeeded in her mischief.
When her fingers reached his collarbone, Gu Tinglan finally couldn't bear it anymore and grabbed her rebellious wrist.
"That's enough." He gritted his teeth, his voice carrying a dangerous tone. "If you're going to pretend to be asleep, then do it well."
Exposed!
Xixi deliberately stretched herself, pretending to have just woken up, and opened her eyes drowsily: "Gu Tinglan? Why are you in bed too..." Her acting skills were perfect. If it weren't for the cunning that flashed in her eyes, Gu Tinglan almost believed that she had just woken up.
"What do you think?" he said expressionlessly, still not letting go of her wrist. "Of course it was forced to stay by some succubus who pretended to be ignorant while knowing the truth."
"Really?" Xixi blinked, feigning innocence. "I don't remember... maybe it's the aftereffects of the seal." She tried to pull her hand away, but failed. "Why are you using so much force? It hurts me."
Gu Tinglan immediately loosened his grip, but didn't let go completely. Moonlight filtered through the gaps in the curtains, illuminating his profile and outlining its sharp outlines. His eyes seemed especially deep in the darkness, like two bottomless pools.
"Isn't it fun?" he murmured, his thumb unconsciously rubbing the inside of her wrist.
Xixi's heart skipped a beat. This gesture was too intimate, carrying some inexplicable implication. She suddenly realized that her prank might have gone too far—the Gu Tinglan before her was completely different from the calm and self-possessed top student she usually was. He exuded a dangerous aura.
"I... I just..." She stuttered, a rare occurrence, and instinctively tried to step back, but was trapped in place by his suddenly tightening arms.
Xixi suddenly remembered that she was a succubus, so what was there to be afraid of?
"It's just for fun, unless you like it." Xixi raised her chin, and her pink tongue unconsciously licked the corner of her lips. This action made her look both innocent and dangerous.
Gu Tinglan's pupils suddenly contracted, and the knuckles of his fingers, gripping her wrist, turned white from the force. He could feel the blood vessels in his solar plexus throbbing, the blood uncontrollably flowing to a certain part of his body.
"Why don't you just come back after having fun?" She continued, completely unaware of how seductive she looked at the moment. Her succubus instinct made her long for intimacy, but she had only a vague understanding of the complex emotions of humans.
"Xixi." Gu Tinglan's voice was so low that it was almost hoarse. The impulse that he had just suppressed with great difficulty was easily provoked by her words. "You don't know what you are talking about."
"Of course I know." She pouted unconvincedly, and this action made her lips look even fuller and redder. "It's not that I don't allow you to play, it's you who doesn't want to."
From the time she met Gu Tinglan until now, Xixi felt that he was a rather strange person every moment. Others would be attracted to her without her even having to deliberately provoke him, but he just didn't respond no matter how she teased him.
If he hadn't been unable to resist kissing her last time, she would have almost thought that he was a machine without emotions and desires.
This sentence was the last straw that broke the camel's back. Gu Tinglan suddenly leaned forward, shrouding her in his shadow. Xixi finally sensed the danger and instinctively shrank back, her back against the headboard.
"Do you think I'm unwilling?" His breath sprayed hotly on her face, mixed with a faint pleasant scent, "I don't dare."
Sissy's eyes widened.
In the moonlight, she could clearly see the dark currents surging in Gu Tinglan's eyes - it was an almost feral desire that she had never seen in him before.
"Why...why not?" she asked in a low voice, her heart beating so fast that it seemed like it was about to burst out of her chest.
Gu Tinglan's gaze fell on the magic pattern on her collarbone, which hadn't completely faded. The dark purple lines shimmered in the moonlight. He took a deep breath and forced himself to step back.
"Because you're hurt." He turned his face away, his voice regaining some composure, "and you have no idea what this means."
"When I wasn't injured, you didn't dare to do that either."
"I know, you're a coward!"
Xixi was about to retort, but suddenly frowned and snorted softly—she had accidentally touched a wound that hadn't fully healed yet. This subtle change in expression was immediately caught by Gu Tinglan.
"Does it hurt?" He immediately moved closer to check, and all the ambiguous atmosphere was instantly replaced by concern.
"A little bit." Xixi admitted honestly. Looking at his nervous look, a strange warmth surged in her heart.
Gu Tinglan skillfully took out a small white jade bottle from the bedside table. Inside was a light green ointment. "Turn around. I'll change the ointment for you."
Xixi obediently turned around and lifted the back of her nightgown, revealing the silvery scar on her waist. Gu Tinglan dipped his fingertips in ointment and gently applied it to the wound. The slightly cool ointment quickly seeped into her skin, bringing a comfortable cooling sensation.
"What is this?" Xixi asked curiously, smelling a fresh herbal fragrance.
"It's a special healing ointment with some ingredients that can neutralize the exorcism runes." Gu Tinglan applied the ointment attentively, his fingertips carefully avoiding her sensitive skin. "It should be almost healed by tomorrow."
Xixi secretly looked back and saw that Gu Tinglan's drooping eyelashes cast a shadow on his face, and the high bridge of his nose looked like a finely crafted work of art in the moonlight. She suddenly wanted to reach out and touch his face, but thinking of the dangerous atmosphere just now, she held back.
"Also, why are you so unguarded?" Gu Tinglan frowned slightly and said dissatisfiedly, "You easily trust your back to others."
"You're being unreasonable!" Xixi turned her head sharply and retorted, "Didn't you say you would apply the medicine to me? If I don't agree, you'll be unhappy again."
"Maybe I'll even be secretly sad."
Gu Tinglan's ears turned red as she hit the nail on the head. He didn't hesitate for a moment, "I won't be sad, I will be happy. You have to be on guard against everyone at all times, including me."
"Then don't apply medicine to me, okay." Xixi turned around with a frown, and her little expression seemed to say that you are really hard to please.
"Okay." Seeing her getting angry, Gu Tinglan didn't get angry. He put away the medicine bottle and pulled her clothes on. "That's not what I meant. It's something as intimate as rubbing the back. You have to hesitate a little, just to show your respect."
"Tsk, your thoughts are really hard to guess."
"Okay, now you can rest well."
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