Not because of fear, but a sickening familiarity, forcibly awakened.
The warm entanglement of lips and teeth formed a bizarre and absurd contrast. The gun muzzle pressed firmly against Ye Lan’s temple, the cold, metallic touch so intense that Mu Xi could even feel the pulse of the blood vessels beneath Ye Lan’s skin, beating one after another. She hated this feeling.
Another pulse, steady and strong, as if silently mocking her hesitation.
Her finger was still on the trigger; the metal beneath her fingertip was ice-cold and hard.
Just a little more pressure, just the tiniest movement, and it would all be over.
Yet, Ye Lan deepened the kiss, with a force that brooked no refusal. Her tongue pried open Mu Xi’s teeth, plundering wantonly, filled with the intent of punishment and possession.
Mu Xi was forced to tilt her head back, her neck stretching in a vulnerable arc as she endured this intimate act, laced with humiliation.
Tears fell once more, rolling down her cheeks, cold and bitter, dripping onto the skin where their bodies were pressed together, instantly evaporating from their body heat.
Just when Mu Xi thought this was the ultimate humiliation, Ye Lan released her lips, but didn’t pull away.
Their foreheads touched, their breaths mingling, warm air spraying onto each other’s faces.
Ye Lan’s gaze fell upon Mu Xi’s reddened eyes and her stubbornly pursed lips. Those deep, phoenix-like eyes were now as dark as an abyss, reflecting no light, only a thick, suffocating emotion.
Her voice was low and dangerous, like a lover’s murmur, yet also a demon’s whisper. “Little Xi, you haven’t learned your lesson.”
Before the words faded, Ye Lan’s palm rose and, with a whoosh, landed heavily on Mu Xi’s firm, rounded backside.
Smack! The crisp sound echoed in the silent room, especially jarring. Even the walls of reinforced concrete seemed to absorb the noise.
Caught off guard, Mu Xi let out a muffled groan of pain, her body instinctively lurching forward. The gun muzzle swayed violently, nearly scraping past Ye Lan’s temple. The cold metal grazed her skin, bringing a sharp chill.
“You!” Mu Xi was both shocked and angry, her voice rising with shame and indignation, an uncontrollable sob escaping. “Ye Lan! Don’t go too far!”
She couldn’t move. She tried to struggle, but her body was held firmly in Ye Lan’s embrace. This posture made her feel incredibly embarrassed and vulnerable, like an object to be manipulated.
But Ye Lan didn’t stop. Her hand came down again. “Too far?” Ye Lan let out a light laugh, her voice laced with shards of ice. Smack!
A heavier blow, a clearer pain.
The pain and humiliation drowned Mu Xi like a cold tide. She bit her lower lip, a faint, rusty taste spreading in her mouth, proof that she had almost drawn blood.
The fingers gripping the gun were white from excessive force, veins bulging. But that fatal squeeze never came.
‘It wasn’t that she couldn’t, but that she dared not.’
The faces of Li Xin and Xiao An flashed through her mind. They were the weak points she couldn’t bear to sever.
“You call this going too far?”
Ye Lan’s voice carried a cruel tenderness. She whispered into Mu Xi’s ear, her warm breath brushing against her sensitive earlobe, sending a shiver down her spine. “If this is too far, then what were those times before? Hmm?”
She deliberately brought up the past, those sealed-away, dark days of torment and conditioning. Like rusty, dull knives, they slowly and cruelly flayed Mu Xi’s heart once more.
Those memories were like maggots clinging to the bone; once awakened, they madly gnawed at her sanity. The cold of the basement, the chill of the chains, the unending pain and despair…
Ye Lan’s hand fell again and again. The force wasn’t extremely heavy, possessing a strange, rhythmic quality. But each time it landed, it brought clear pain and unbearable shame. The agony wasn’t sharp, but it was lingering and grinding, slowly eroding her will.
“You’re right, Little Xi.” As she administered the punishment, Ye Lan whispered into her ear, her voice eerily calm, as if stating an obvious fact. “Our relationship is twisted, evil, and unsightly.”
She paused, her fingers brushing against Mu Xi’s reddened, hot skin. The pads of her fingers were calloused and rough, yet held a strange, soothing quality.
Smack! Another blow, shattering the brief illusion of tenderness.
“You hate me, you loathe me, you even want to kill me. That’s all normal.” Ye Lan’s tone was flat, as if discussing the weather.
Smack!
“You wanted to cuckold me, to use someone else to get rid of me…” Ye Lan’s voice dropped, her fingers tracing the curve of Mu Xi’s buttock, her tone carrying a terrifying obsession. “It’s fine. I can accept all of that.”
Her fingertips carried a scorching temperature, leaving a trail of faint, electric tingles wherever they touched.
“Really, Little Xi. You can do anything you want.” Ye Lan’s voice was as soft as a feather brushing the tip of one’s heart, yet filled with deadly poison.
“But,” Ye Lan’s tone shifted, instantly turning icy cold, like an icicle in the dead of winter, stabbing into Mu Xi’s eardrums with undeniable possessiveness. “No matter how complicated the process, no matter what tricks you pull, in the end, your body and your heart will completely belong only to me.”
These words burrowed into Mu Xi’s ears like the most vicious curse, making her feel cold all over, her blood seeming to freeze. This woman, what gave her the right? What gave her the right to pronounce judgment on her future with such a self-evident tone?
“Heh…” Mu Xi let out a broken, heavily sarcastic laugh.
She turned her head. Though her vision was blurred by tears, she still stubbornly, fiercely stared at Ye Lan’s profile. That perfect jawline now looked like the outline of a demon. “Ye Lan, what gives you such confidence?”
Mu Xi’s voice trembled, mixed with sobs, yet it was exceptionally clear. “Is it because of these despicable, shameless tactics of yours? Do you call this love?”
Her body was still locked in Ye Lan’s embrace, their skin pressed tightly together, even able to feel each other’s heartbeats.
The gun muzzle was still pressed against Ye Lan’s temple, cold and hard, like a bomb that could explode at any moment.
The atmosphere was at its most hostile, on the verge of explosion, yet permeated with an indescribable, sickly ambiguity.
Ye Lan didn’t answer her question. She just stared at her with those unfathomable phoenix eyes, as if trying to suck her soul in.
Those eyes churned with complex emotions: a frantic love, a suppressed pain, a desperate possessiveness, and a hint of fragility.
Then, Ye Lan’s hand rose again.
Mu Xi closed her eyes. Her long lashes trembled, casting shadows onto her lower eyelids.
She resigned herself to enduring the coming pain and humiliation, even prepared to be disciplined again.
The hand holding the gun, in an unnoticed corner, gave an extremely faint, slight tremor.
Just then, the communicator on Ye Lan’s body rang, shattering the suffocating standoff. The jarring electronic tone echoed in the silent room, seeming especially abrupt.
Ye Lan frowned slightly, as if displeased.
“What is it?” Her voice carried the impatience of being interrupted.
The cool voice of the Escort Team leader came through the communicator. “Boss, something’s happened in Stone City. Someone has secretly assembled armed forces. They seem to be about to make a move.”
Ye Lan’s face instantly darkened.