Chapter 110
Chapter 110
Qiao Ying gazed at the young man’s exquisite face and slowly tilted her own upward as she leaned closer. He could probably sense her breath drawing nearer, for the curve of his tightly pressed lips rose higher and higher.
He had done nothing extra and said hardly a word, yet every inch of him radiated the seductive allure of something waiting to be plucked.
But just before their lips touched, Qiao Ying stopped.
As if she had learned his wicked habit of teasing, she stared at his pale, beautiful lips, softened her voice, and said with a smile, “But I don’t feel like curing you today. What should we do?”
The smile on Shen Qingyu’s lips froze. He looked dazed.
Qiao Ying laughed even more happily and pulled him to his feet. “All right, our legs will go numb if we keep squatting.”
Shen Qingyu pressed his lips together and said nothing.
“Meow.”
A black cat sprang from the bushes, sat on the ground, and lazily licked its paw.
Qiao Ying had only taken two steps toward it when every hair on the little cat stood on end. As if facing a mortal enemy, it hurriedly backed away several paces and stared with its entire body tense at Qiao Ying, who should have posed no threat at all.
She touched her face and said in confusion, “Small animals never disliked me this much before.”
Rather than dislike, it seemed more like fear.
The corners of Shen Qingyu’s dejected lips lifted again, and his air grew more cheerful.
Qiao Ying asked him, “Do you know what’s happening?”
Shen Qingyu said, “Yingying, I’ve already marked you.”
Qiao Ying was baffled. “How did you mark me?”
His hand stroked her lower belly and slid slightly downward. With perfect innocence, he said, “This place is full of my scent.”
Qiao Ying did not understand.
Qiao Ying fell silent.
Then Qiao Ying’s face turned scarlet.
“Yingying, tonight we can make it even stronger…”
“Be quiet!” Qiao Ying covered his mouth. Her face burned, flushed a brilliant red.
Shen Qingyu closed his mouth. His expression remained perfectly open, as if he had not said anything scandalous in the least.
Qiao Ying suddenly remembered that the world was full of Yaoguai and strange spirits, including many animals that had surely awakened intelligence. So anxious she nearly stamped her feet, she asked, “Does that mean… does that mean every furry creature that sees me can smell your scent on me and know what I’ve done with you?”
Shen Qingyu shook his head and answered through her hand, “No.”
Qiao Ying breathed a sigh of relief.
Then he added, “Things without fur can smell it too.”
Qiao Ying’s expression stiffened. Her entire world collapsed.
Shen Qingyu asked in innocent confusion, “Yingying, is mating with me something shameful?”
He could not understand why she did not want others to know they had mated. It was an entirely natural and normal thing. If she did not carry his scent, how would anyone know she already had a mate?
Qiao Ying opened her mouth, then closed it. Giving up on herself, she lowered the hand covering his mouth. Her expression changed several times before she said gloomily, “It’s embarrassing that anyone who smells me will know you and I had marital relations at night.”
Shen Qingyu found nothing embarrassing about it. But now that he was her husband, he felt he should respect her wishes. He asked softly, “Then we won’t have marital relations anymore?”
Qiao Ying refused at once. “Absolutely not!”
Shen Qingyu fell silent.
Qiao Ying looked at her young husband, who pleased her tastes in every possible way, then thought about preserving her dignity with a conflicted expression. Finally, she gave up all restraint and reasoned it through.
“We’re already married. So what if others can smell your scent on me?” She planted both hands on her hips and declared righteously, “It proves we’re a loving couple. If the scent gets even stronger, that’s only natural!”
Shen Qingyu’s lips curved almost imperceptibly. “Mm. I’ll listen to Yingying.”
He appeared to have handed the choice to her, but from the start, he had known exactly how much Qiao Ying coveted his body.
She hugged and clung to him day and night. Could she possibly hold herself back from mating with him?
Of course not.
After all, there were so many people in the world, but he was the only one she loved most.
Qiao Ying vaguely saw through his little scheme, but she lacked the strength to argue. All she could do was sigh. It seemed he had her thoroughly ensnared.
A crystalline flake landed on the tip of his nose and tickled slightly.
Then he heard the girl’s delighted voice. “Shen Qingyu, it’s snowing!”
The flowers in the City Lord’s Manor bloomed beautifully, and the wine brewed there was equally fine.
In Yunling City, it was customary to drink a little wine for warmth when snow fell. The steward brought the guests fruit wine brewed that year, showing them generous hospitality.
Qiao Ying pulled Shen Qingyu beneath the eaves to watch the snow. She cautiously took a small sip. The wine was not strong and even tasted a little sweet. It was delicious, and before long, she had drained cup after cup.
Her verdict was simple. “So good.”
Qiao Ying poured another cup and held it to his lips.
Shen Qingyu tasted the fruit wine. It was sweet.
A flush spread across Qiao Ying’s face. “My good fish, I remember you don’t like sweet things.”
Shen Qingyu steadied her swaying body, his voice gentle. “I don’t exactly dislike them anymore.”
Qiao Ying broke into a foolish grin. She threw her arms around him and happily rubbed her face against his chest. “My Fish Baby, you’re so sweet.”
One moment she called him her good fish, the next her Fish Baby. Her tipsy breath drifted as lightly as a feather over the tip of his heart, making the itch there increasingly unbearable.
Shen Qingyu cupped her face and lightly touched the corner of her lips. “Yingying, you’re drunk.”
“I’m not drunk!” Qiao Ying had yet to learn that Yunling City’s fruit wine might taste sweet but was quick to intoxicate. She had drunk countless cups, and her mind was already spinning.
Shen Qingyu kissed the corner of her lips again. “All right. You’re not drunk.”
Qiao Ying tilted her face up. Her eyes held only him, and the desire she could not conceal seemed to glitter in her gaze. “Little Fish, I want…”
His throat bobbed. He bent down and asked hoarsely, “What do you want?”
She suddenly cried, “I want something furry!”
Shen Qingyu fell silent. “Only something furry?”
“Something furry! I want something furry!” Qiao Ying wriggled out of his embrace, put both hands on the ground, and crawled in a circle around him, searching for the furry thing he had hidden. “Where’s my furry thing? My furry thing…”
When she could not find what she wanted, she hummed in frustration. “My furry thing is gone.”
Qiao Ying draped herself over his back, nearly in tears. “Fish Baby filled me with such a strong scent. Why won’t you give me something furry?”
Facing the snow and wind, Shen Qingyu sighed softly.
While Qiao Ying was still grieving, a large white tail suddenly appeared before her.
Pure white, luxuriantly fluffy, and curved with perfect softness, the fine hairs at its tip trembled in the cold wind.
Her eyes widened. She straightened and sat in silence for a moment, then suddenly pounced.
The large tail swayed left, and she caught nothing.
Qiao Ying climbed up and pounced to the left. Her fingers had barely brushed the edge of the fur when the tail swung right, and she missed again.
This happened several times. Like a cat being teased, Qiao Ying chased the tail as it swayed from side to side, pouncing this way and that. Gradually, her strength ran out. But she stubbornly refused to surrender and insisted on capturing that beautiful bundle of softness.
Qiao Ying fixed an intense stare on the white fluff and shouted, “It’s mine!”
She threw herself forward with so much force that she nearly struck the ground, but the young man caught her securely and gathered her into his arms.
His chest trembled lightly, and bright, delighted laughter spilled from his lips.
Humans did not share one another’s joys and sorrows, much less humans and those who were not human.
Nestled in his embrace with tears in her eyes, Qiao Ying murmured, “Mine… mine…”
Something soft brushed her cheek. Then an enormous mass of fur crowded close, wound around her, and enveloped her entire body. The cold wind and the biting ice and snow were all shut away. It was almost excessively warm.
At last, Qiao Ying hugged the tip of the tail. Turning her face, she buried most of it in the thick, soft fur, leaving only a pair of glossy black eyes visible. Drunkenness and satisfaction filled them together, as if a river of stars lay hidden within, sparkling brilliantly.
“Good Fish, I like you.”
The white-haired young man bent down and kissed the space between her brows.
“Silly Yingying. I know you like me. You only like me.”