The snow outside the window was falling heavier and heavier, covering the glass windows of the lounge with a layer of white mist.
The room was very warm, and the air was filled with the scent of cedar and rose, as well as an indescribable, scorching smell.
Rong Shenghan closed his eyes, letting down all his rationality and defenses.
He could feel her fingertips tracing his Adam's apple and his taut shoulder line. Those desires that were usually hidden deep within him and firmly locked up by reason were now like wild beasts breaking free of their shackles, rampaging wildly under the influence of the drug.
Strangely, as soon as he touched her breath, his mania would subside a little, leaving only a surging desire to meld her into his very bones.
Yu Jiuyuan's movements were very calm, even precise in a certain way.
She was like a top hunter, knowing exactly how to soothe an out-of-control beast and how to satisfy its desires while maintaining firm control.
Her eyes remained clear as she looked at Rong Shenghan's reddened eyes, his tightly pursed lips, and his suppressed emotions. The frantically fluctuating numbers on the system panel were nothing more than task targets that had to be completed.
But only she knew that when Rong Shenghan unconsciously nuzzled against her neck, when his hot breath brushed against her earlobe, when he whispered her name in an almost broken voice, something seemed to be quietly melting in the frozen wasteland of her heart.
“Jiuyuan…”
"Don't move." She pressed down on his restless hand, her fingertips tracing the bulging veins on the back of his hand. "It'll be over soon."
Time flowed by amidst scalding breaths and suppressed gasps, like a stretched rubber band.
The wind and snow outside the window had stopped sometime ago, revealing a waning moon. Its cold light shone through the fogged glass, falling on the entangled figures and outlining an ambiguous and fragmented silhouette.
As the effects of the medicine finally subsided like the receding tide, Rong Shenghan's breathing gradually calmed down.
He opened his eyes and saw Yu Jiuyuan sitting on the carpet next to the sofa, her back to him, adjusting her skirt.
The moonlight fell on her bare nape, giving her skin a delicate sheen, but also leaving several red marks of varying shades, like red plum blossoms blooming in the snow.
He suddenly felt a tightness in his throat, and when he tried to say something, he found that he couldn't even make a sound.
Those surging emotions were stuck in his chest: gratitude, guilt, lingering fear, and a deeper, more intense possessiveness that almost drowned him.
Yu Jiuyuan stood up and turned around, her face already showing its usual calm.
She picked up the shawl from the carpet and tied it back up, covering the marks on her neck. Her tone was as calm as if she were talking about the weather: "The effects of the medicine have worn off, you should be fine now."
She walked to the door, placed her hand on the doorknob, and suddenly stopped, but did not turn around: "Rong Shenghan, remember this feeling."
Her voice was soft, yet carried a chilling, penetrating power: "You are mine, no one can touch you. Hold on a bit, I'll wait for you outside."
The door was gently pulled open and then closed, locking away the lingering warmth and ambiguity of the room.
Rong Shenghan lay on the sofa, gazing at the intricate chandelier on the ceiling, her warmth and scent still lingering on his fingertips.
The system panel was in his mind.
Yes, he could vaguely sense the existence of the system, but he never pointed it out.
The screen displayed Yu Jiuyuan's name, and the number representing her favorability rating was still a cold 100. But he knew clearly that something had completely changed.
As Yu Jiuyuan walked out of the lounge, she stood in the shadows of the corridor and raised her hand to touch her burning cheeks.
The temperature that her fingertips touched was even more scorching than Rong Shenghan's body temperature.
She looked at Rong Shenghan's line of 100 on the system panel, a faint trace of confusion flashing in her eyes, a confusion she herself hadn't even noticed.
But that confusion was fleeting, quickly replaced by a deeper indifference.
She tidied her slightly disheveled hair and turned to walk towards the banquet hall.
The Su family's banquet was not over yet, and her game had only just entered its most crucial stage.
But the scorching heat and lingering warmth of that night, like footprints in the snow, left indelible marks in a corner unknown to anyone.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
