Eine eisige Aura

Kapitel 111

"You'd better behave and not disobey me too often." He lowered his eyes and placed a cool kiss on the girl's forehead. "I'm not this patient every day."

The thought of embracing the beauty vanished without a trace. Gu Xiju waved his sleeve listlessly and said, "Someone, help Miss with her toilette."

The first snow of the winter fell in Beijing.

Pang Wan sat on the couch by the window, wearing a gold sable cloak, with a charcoal brazier in her hand, idly eating candied fruit.

She seemed quite relaxed and in a good mood, occasionally reaching out to catch the snowflakes drifting down from the sky.

Occasionally, when the wind and snow got heavy, she would hum a couple of lines of a song with an ambiguous meaning. Her carefree demeanor made it hard to believe she was under house arrest.

"The Alliance Leader asks if Miss would be willing to dine with us today?" Lu Kui suppressed her dissatisfaction and bowed respectfully to Pang Wan.

“I don’t like his room, so you should bring the food over.” Pang Wan took a sprig of wintersweet from her bottle and gently held it under her nose. “Tell him that if he really wants to see me…” she parted her red lips, revealing two charming dimples on her face, “he might as well come to me in person.”

For a moment, Lu Kui had the urge to strangle the woman.

"Yes." She bowed and withdrew.

After admiring the plum blossoms in the snow for a while longer, the curtains in the room were lifted again, and Lu Kui came in with several maids carrying food boxes and began to set the table.

Pang Wan glanced at the dishes, which were noticeably more lavish than usual, and a smile quietly crept onto her face.

Sure enough, Gu Xiju stepped in a moment later: "Why did you decide to have dinner with me today?" He dismissed the maids and sat down gracefully beside her.

"After being locked up by you for so many days, I suddenly wanted to talk to someone." Pang Wan reached over him, grabbed the plate of crispy peanuts on the small table, picked up a peanut and put it to her mouth.

"I thought you had finally come up with a way to deal with me." Gu Xiju's face showed a hint of disappointment that was hard to tell. "I've been waiting for you these past few days, and I rushed over as soon as I heard Lu Kui's message. I didn't expect it to be all for nothing."

Pang Wan lowered the peanuts she was holding, glanced at him, and asked, "How do you want me to get revenge on you?"

Gu Xiju smiled without answering, lowering his head to take the red-skinned peanut from her fingertip into his mouth, his tongue lingeringly licking it: "Eat my flesh, drink my blood, etch my image into your heart, never to be forgotten for eternity." He swallowed the peanut, half-jokingly, "Would you be willing?"

Pang Wan smiled and said, "Okay, I'll remember that."

Gu Xiju was dazzled by her rare bright smile. His eyes flickered, and he leaned over, wanting to kiss her.

But her lips were covered by a pair of soft, white hands, as white as jade.

"I'm asking you," the girl's voice was soft and sweet, "you clearly don't like me, so why are you being so nice to me now?"

Gu Xiju sighed and took her hand in his palm.

"Who said I don't like you?" He lowered his head and nuzzled her ear, a gentle smile on his lips. "Of course I like you."

The girl giggled, her voice crisp and cold: "No, you're only nice to me because the person you used to manipulate left first. You enjoy the process of controlling others. I haven't been completely conquered by you yet, so you're not reconciled, are you?" Where he couldn't see her fiercely, her eyes were clear and unfathomable.

"Even if you're just a toy, I still love you." Gu Xishui didn't refute, but instead slid her head down until she found the crook of her slender neck and finally buried it deep inside.

Yes, that's the scent. The unique fruity fragrance of the young girl is enough to soothe all his turbulent emotions and make him willingly succumb to it.

This is a toy he crafted himself, and now it has grown into such a beautiful and charming piece. How could he not be delighted?

"If you really had fallen for the magic spell that night, I wonder who would have been the last person to appear before you?" the girl sighed.

Ever since she learned that Lu Kui, whom she had always underestimated, was actually Tang and the youngest daughter of the former head of the Tang Clan, she was quite certain that Gu Xiju had not been poisoned at all that night during the honey trap, and that it was all an act.

Perhaps she took the antidote beforehand, or perhaps she never drank the poisoned wine at all, or perhaps her hard work had already been secretly replaced by the loyal Lu Kui.

The honey trap was used, but she herself fell for it.

"Are you curious?" Gu Xiju laughed, his warm breath turning into white mist and clinging to her skin.

"Hmm, I'm curious too. How about we each take one and sleep together tonight, and see what the result is?" He wrapped his arms around her waist, his tone leisurely. "You can take a look at my sweetheart, and I'll take a look at yours."

He was so arrogant, yet Pang Wan did not push him away, but simply turned her head to look out the window at a certain place.

The ground beneath the wintersweet tree in the courtyard was covered with fallen petals, a pale yellow hue. Just moments ago, the tree was bustling with activity and filled with a subtle fragrance, but now it was all withered and decaying, as if the true cold had arrived.

[Beauty and the Mermaid]

“I really underestimated you…” Through the half-walled glass beaded curtain, the graceful figure of a beautiful woman swayed in, “…the shamelessness.” She smiled at Pang Wan, her red lips revealing teeth like pearls.

"Where did you get these words, fairy?" Pang Wance Chansha looked at the newcomer, a hint of doubt on her face.

"Isn't that so?" Sang Chan smiled, sitting gracefully by the bed like a beautiful swan. "I thought you would have an irreconcilable hatred for Gu Xiju, but I never expected you would willingly live here, even if it's not a happy occasion." Sang Chan looked at her with pity, her expression seeming to say: Another foolish woman who is crazy in love, what a pity.

Pang Wan chuckled: "I would like to leave, but I've been caught and can't get away. Rather than struggling to the death, I might as well enjoy life."

Sang Chan raised an eyebrow: "I'm curious why you can still laugh? I heard you have no internal energy left, and it will probably be difficult for you to learn martial arts again in the future. Is your joining forces with your enemies a sign of giving up on yourself?"

Pang Wan tilted her head to look at her: "Fairy, if you were in my situation, what would you do?"

However, Sang Chan completely ignored her sincere question: "How could I possibly end up like you? I would never sacrifice my future for anyone, whether it be status, position, or inner strength." She scoffed at Pang Wan's foolishness.

Pang Wan looked at her intently, thinking that this fairy was just like another relatively rare type on the Mary Sue continent—the self-centered type. Because she cherished and protected herself so much, she wouldn't easily fall for a man. Even if there was a romantic subplot, it was all just for show. If things suddenly changed, she could always pull away without hesitation.

This type of female protagonist is also very popular because she is easily given high praise such as "independent, smart, and strong," and she often suffers very little harm.

But if you refuse to love because you're afraid of getting hurt, can you still find true love?

"Why has the fairy come here today?" Pang Wan had no intention of continuing the discussion with her and changed the subject.

“Naturally, someone couldn’t stand seeing you doing so well, so they deliberately brought me here to put you down.” Sang Chan glanced at her, her pupils gleaming with a seductive light. “Although I could have politely declined, what can I do when I’m somewhat interested in you?” She smiled and said, “If you hadn’t lost all your inner strength, you would have been an excellent prospect.”

Pang Wan was taken aback: "What kind of talent?"

Sang Chan pursed her lips and remained silent.