Ye Lan stood up, giving Mu Xi a meaningful look before she left, as if to say, “Wait for me to come back, and we’ll continue.”
Then, she stepped out with her long legs and headed toward the door.
As she passed the members of the Escort Team, Ye Lan lowered her voice and said with a hint of a smile, “We’ll discuss the deployment plans later. First, ensure the safety of our ‘important supplies’.”
She emphasized the phrase “important supplies” heavily, carrying a suggestive hint that invited further thought.
The members of the Escort Team laughed knowingly.
Their eyes swept over Mu Xi once more with an ambiguous gaze before they followed Ye Lan out.
They even considerately closed the door, temporarily locking the lingering atmosphere of spring inside.
The sound of the door closing served as a signal, finally allowing Mu Xi’s tense body to relax.
She let out a long breath and gently stroked her still-burning cheek with her fingertips, as if she could still feel the warmth of Ye Lan’s touch.
The scenes from moments ago replayed in her mind like a movie.
Ye Lan’s burning gaze, her husky voice, and that domineering yet gentle touch were all like a fire, blazing fiercely within her heart.
She stood up and walked toward the bathroom with slightly unsteady steps.
In the bathroom mirror, a girl with a flushed face and blurred eyes was reflected.
Her long silver hair hung messily over her shoulders, making her skin look as white as snow and her lips as red as cherries.
Mu Xi looked at herself in the mirror with a complex gaze, containing both a young girl’s shyness and a hint of indescribable longing.
She turned on the shower, and the warm stream of water poured down, washing over her slightly sticky skin.
It was an attempt to wash away the lingering heat in her heart, as if trying to erase every trace of that ambiguous encounter.
However, the more she washed, the more clearly Ye Lan’s figure appeared in her mind.
It was impossible to shake off, like a brand deeply seared into the bottom of her heart.
***
The heat from the bath still clung to Mu Xi’s skin like a lover’s whisper.
She stepped out of the misty bathroom, her toes lightly touching the cool floor without a speck of dust.
She then picked up a pair of unopened white stockings from the bedside.
Her fingertips brushed across the silky fabric, carrying a trace of imperceptible hesitation.
In the end, she decided to put them on, as if this thin layer of silk could provide her with a bit of security, or perhaps it was simply a novelty to please herself.
The stockings felt like a second skin, gently wrapping around her slender, beautiful legs.
The cool sensation instantly tightened every nerve.
She hooked her fingers into the tops of the stockings and slowly pulled them upward.
Her ivory skin was faintly visible beneath the transparent silk.
The fine texture was magnified, looking like the finest porcelain—perfect, yet fragile.
Her ankles were thin and delicate, and the curves of her calves were smooth, extending all the way to her thighs.
Every inch looked like a work of art meticulously carved by a creator.
Mu Xi turned slightly toward the mirror to inspect her legs.
The stockings wrapped tightly around them, making her legs look even longer and straighter.
A moist luster shimmered under the light, the pure white contrasting with the fairness of her skin.
It was a combination of innocence and a hint of alluring charm.
Even she found herself dazed by the sight.
These legs possessed a bewitching beauty.
The door opened silently, and Ye Lan’s tall figure entered against the light, bringing with it the dry scent unique to The Desert.
She hadn’t expected to encounter such a sultry scene the moment she stepped inside.
Mu Xi stood by the bed, her petite body bare except for the pair of pure white stockings, admiring herself in the mirror.
Her long silver hair still carried the moisture from her bath, draped messily over her shoulders.
It made her skin look even whiter, like a snow lotus blooming proudly in winter—cold and captivating.
Ye Lan’s breath hitched.
Her throat felt as if it were being squeezed by an invisible hand, letting out a faint, dry sound.
She felt the blood in her body rush toward a single point, her temples throbbing.
A primitive desire instantly seized all her senses.
Her eyes grew dark, like a beast eyeing its prey, as she approached Mu Xi step by step.
“Little Xi’er…” Ye Lan’s voice was low and husky, carrying a trace of an imperceptible tremble, as if she were desperately suppressing a surging emotion.
Mu Xi was startled by the sudden voice.
Her body instinctively tensed up, and a cry of surprise got stuck in her throat.
Before she could even turn around, she was pinned down onto the soft, large bed by a powerful force.
The moment her back sank into the mattress, she realized the person pressing down on her was Ye Lan.
Her fear instantly turned into shame, and her cheeks burned fiercely.
The crimson flush rapidly spread to the tips of her ears, and her gaze became frantic.
“Ye Lan… you scared me to death…”
Mu Xi’s voice was as soft as a mosquito’s buzz, carrying a hint of a pout, but mostly filled with unconcealed panic and shyness.
She tried to get up, but she was firmly pinned down by Ye Lan, unable to move.
Ye Lan didn’t speak.
She just stared at Mu Xi with a burning gaze, as if she wanted to incinerate her entire being.
Her eyes greedily swept over Mu Xi’s body, finally landing on her beautiful legs clad in white stockings.
The darkness in her eyes deepened, as if a storm were brewing.
She leaned down, her hot breath fanning Mu Xi’s ear, bringing a heart-fluttering tingling sensation.
“Do you know what you look like… right now?”
Mu Xi grew even more flustered by her ambiguous tone.
Her body trembled slightly, and her eyes flickered, not daring to meet Ye Lan’s gaze.
Like a startled fawn, she asked with a hint of a sob in her voice, “Like… like what?”
A wicked smile curled at the corner of Ye Lan’s mouth.
Her fingers slowly moved up Mu Xi’s silk-covered calf in a shivering, teasing manner.
Everywhere her fingertips passed, it felt as if an electric current were surging through, sending a tingling sensation through Mu Xi’s entire body.
“Like ice cream,” Ye Lan paused, emphasizing every word, “The kind everyone wants to eat—sweet ice cream.”
Mu Xi froze, her mind going blank.
She couldn’t understand the meaning behind Ye Lan’s words at all.
‘Ice cream? What does that have to do with my legs in stockings?’
She blinked blankly, her eyes clear and innocent.
That confused and dazed look made her even more pitiable and endearing.
“Ice cream…?” she murmured, her voice full of questions.
Seeing her ignorant look, the desire in Ye Lan’s heart grew even stronger, nearly swallowing her logic whole.
She knew Mu Xi understood nothing; she was like a sheet of pure white paper.
It was precisely this innocence that made Ye Lan unable to stop herself, wanting to possess her completely and stain her with her own colors.
“Yes, ice cream,” Ye Lan confirmed again, her voice thick with a desire that was about to break through.
“Guess… will I eat it?”
Mu Xi’s cheeks instantly turned deep red, like a ripe apple, so hot it felt as though they might bleed.
She finally realized the implication in Ye Lan’s words.
Shyness and panic surged into her heart like a tide, throwing her mind into chaos and stripping away her ability to think.
She stammered, her voice shaking uncontrollably, “Will… will you?”
Ye Lan didn’t answer.
She provided the answer with her actions.
She suddenly grabbed Mu Xi’s silk-clad ankle, lifting that fair, slender leg toward her lips.
Mu Xi cried out, and her body instantly stiffened, as if she had been frozen in place, unable to move.