41: Chapter 41 An almost obsessive desire

The wind seemed to cease its clamor at this very moment.

In Su Muxue's world, only the slightly roguish face of the man before her remained, along with that "unreasonable request" pounding frantically against her eardrums.

From childhood to the present, she had heard too many voices.

They were the gentle yet unquestionable arrangements of her parents, the respectful flattery of others, and the cautious pandering of suitors who treated her as if she were fragile porcelain.

They were all very good to her—so good that it made her feel like a clay figurine enshrined in a niche: exquisite, expensive, but utterly devoid of life.

Never had anyone dared to speak to her in such an aggressive, even slightly insulting tone.

"Use your body to pay the rent."

Was this sentence vulgar? Yes, it was.

Was it obscene? Yes, it was.

But in Su Muxue's logic, this was not an offense; on the contrary, it was a thunderbolt that tore through her stagnant life.

Because this sentence contained something she had never experienced before—a direct, naked, and unadorned desire for dominance.

He did not treat her as the "Eldest Miss of the Su Family," nor as a "porcelain doll that needed pampering," but rather as a "woman" with practical value who could be possessed, used, and commanded.

This feeling of being treated roughly actually caused her long-numb heart to beat violently, a sensation she hadn't felt in a long time.

If it were him... If it were the man who could even make Leng Qingxuan drop her facade...

To be commanded by him, to be claimed by him, or even to be touched by those hands of his that might be somewhat rough...

An indescribable tremor shot up her spine to the top of her head; Su Muxue felt her legs go weak, a complex emotion mixed with fear, shame, and a certain secret excitement.

She raised her head, and her eyes, which were usually shrouded in a mist of melancholy, were now startlingly bright.

"If it is your request..."

Su Muxue spoke again; although her voice trembled, it was firmer than before.

She even leaned forward by half a step, actively closing that final bit of distance, like a swan voluntarily offering its neck to a collar:

"I can do it."

"..."

At this moment, the world seemed to truly stand still.

Leng Qingxuan remained in the posture of someone who had almost fallen, her mouth slightly agape, her beautiful eyes filled with astonishment and disbelief as she looked at Su Muxue.

As for the instigator, Huang Mao, his facial expression management completely collapsed.

The hand he had propped on the railing to look cool froze in mid-air; it was awkward to pull it back, and equally awkward to keep it there.

The "I'm a rogue and I don't care who knows it" aura he had originally cultivated was shattered into nothingness by Su Muxue's direct attack.

This isn't the script!

Shouldn't a normal person call the police? At the very least, shouldn't she curse him as a "pervert"?

Why does this girl have an expression that says, "I've finally been waiting for you"?

Huang Mao took a deep breath, quickly retreated two steps, and put a safe social distance between them.

The roguishness on his face instantly dissipated, replaced by his usual gentle and helpless expression, even tinged with a bit of embarrassment.

"Stop."

Huang Mao raised his hand to make a "hold it" gesture, his tone returning to normal:

"Classmate Su, that was just a joke. I'm a decent person; I don't do that whole 'hidden rules' thing."

If he didn't clarify immediately, and this girl actually started undressing, he wouldn't be able to wash his name clean even if he jumped into the Yellow River. Tomorrow's school forum headline would be:

"Shocking! A Certain Man Named Huang Forces the Eldest Miss of the Su Family on the Rooftop..."

Hearing the words "just a joke," the fanaticism in Su Muxue's eyes receded slightly, but the disappointment or anger Huang Mao had expected did not appear.

She simply stood there quietly, tidying her bangs that had been tousled by the wind, and a gentle, graceful smile curled at the corners of her lips, as if the girl with the flushed face and dazed eyes from just a moment ago hadn't been her at all.

"I know."

Su Muxue said softly, her tone calm and certain, "Someone who can be recognized by Classmate Leng Qingxuan and make her show such a relaxed smile could never be a shameless villain who takes advantage of others in their time of need."

Leng Qingxuan, listening from the side, gave a soft huff and turned her head away, her earlobes slightly red, though she didn't refute it.

"However..." Su Muxue changed the subject, her deep, pool-like eyes locking onto Huang Mao once again, her tone revealing a startling stubbornness.

"I am not joking."

Huang Mao's eyelid twitched.

Su Muxue folded her hands over her lower abdomen, resuming the stance of a young lady from a wealthy family, yet what she said was still shocking:

"Everything I mentioned before—whether it's doing housework, paying rent, or... anything else. As long as it is what you need, I can do it."

She paused, her gaze burning: "As long as I can stay, as long as I can feel that I am 'needed,' even if it's a request like the one just now... I am willing."

"Because for me, that is not an insult; it is the anchor that proves my 'existence.'"

Crazy.

This is absolutely crazy.

Huang Mao looked at this top-tier wealthy girl before him—glamorous on the outside, but twisted beyond recognition on the inside—and felt a headache coming on.

Is this the mental world of the rich? It's too advanced; a mortal like him can't keep up with the patch notes.

Before Huang Mao could figure out how to respond to this heavy "confession," a cool hand suddenly grabbed his arm.

Leng Qingxuan had walked over at some point. She looked at Su Muxue with a complex expression, then turned to Huang Mao and said in a low voice, "Come with me for a moment."

After saying that, she looked at Su Muxue, keeping her tone as flat as possible: "Wait here for a moment; it won't take long."

Su Muxue nodded obediently: "Okay, I'll wait for you."

...

The heavy iron door blocked out the wind on the rooftop.

In the dim stairwell, the air was stuffy.

Leng Qingxuan leaned against the wall and let out a long breath, as if trying to exhale all the shock she had just received.

She rubbed her temples and looked at Huang Mao, who was standing opposite her, her eyes filled with inquiry: "What do you think?"

Huang Mao leaned on the railing, fished a peppermint out of his pocket, and tossed it into his mouth to calm his nerves: "What do I think? I think with my eyes. This girl... is there something wrong with her head?"

He pointed to his own head.

"Although it's a bit impolite to say so, her reaction just now definitely falls into the category of some kind of psychological disorder, right?"

Leng Qingxuan was silent for a few seconds, then nodded: "More or less."

"I chatted with her for a bit on the rooftop just now," Leng Qingxuan's voice was low. "The situation in the Su Family is just as extreme as in my family, though exactly the opposite."

"My family is about strict control, while her family is about... excessive pampering and handling everything for her."

"From childhood, as long as she opened her mouth—or even without opening it—everything would be arranged perfectly for her by someone else."

"She's like a specimen soaked in a honey jar; it's sweet, but suffocating."

"So..." Leng Qingxuan raised her eyes to look at Huang Mao. "What follows is my speculation based on her reaction just now."

"She craves to be treated a little roughly, even craves to be forced, and craves for someone to ignore her status and give her clear instructions."

"Because she is extremely lacking in such experiences; only then can she feel that she is alive, and only then can she achieve what is 'relaxation' for her."

Huang Mao listened, then crunched the candy in his mouth with a crisp "crack."

"Got it." He summarized with a strange expression. "So you wealthy young ladies, if you don't have some psychological trauma or shadow from your original family, you're too embarrassed to go out and say hello to people, right?"

"A runaway internet-addicted girl, a masochistic Eldest Miss... is this place a branch of a psychiatric hospital?"

Leng Qingxuan rolled her eyes at him. "Stop with the snarky comments. There are definitely more normal people, but what normal person would leave a mansion to come find you and ask to stay over?"

"True." Huang Mao shrugged. "Birds of a feather flock together. Anyone who ends up hanging out with me probably has some issues."

"You're the one with issues." Leng Qingxuan retorted, but the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.

Subsequently, the stairwell fell into a brief silence.

After a moment, Leng Qingxuan took a deep breath, as if she had made a decision. She raised her head, looked directly into Huang Mao's eyes, and said earnestly, "So... Huang Mao, let her stay."

Huang Mao raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised: "Actually, I thought you would advise me to refuse at first... So, what's the reason?"

Upon hearing this, Leng Qingxuan turned her head to look at the closed iron door, her gaze seemingly piercing through the steel plate to see the girl standing alone in the wind, waiting for judgment.

"If we don't let her stay, given her current state of desperate need for change, even at the cost of degrading herself..."

"What if she runs into someone who really has ill intentions?"

"Right now, she's like a child running around in a busy downtown area with a huge check; as long as someone gives her a little bit of 'reality,'"

"even if it were a scam so obvious that it could only fool an elderly person, she would probably pay with a smile."

Speaking to this point, Leng Qingxuan gave a self-deprecating smile: "Although she and I aren't actually close, that feeling of wanting to escape the cage... I understand it all too well."

"I was just as numb as her before, until I met you; only then did I feel like I came back to life."

"Since she came to me for help, I can't just watch her destroy herself."

Leng Qingxuan finished, looking back at Huang Mao, her eyes filled with a hint of pleading, as well as unconditional trust in him: "Of course, the house is yours, and the decision is yours. I'm just... making a suggestion."

"Saying it like that, it feels a bit like moral coercion. Sorry..."

Huang Mao looked at Leng Qingxuan—a "problem girl" herself who needed looking after, yet was still trying to exude a clumsy kindness—and felt a soft spot in his heart gently touched.

"Alright, don't flatter me."

He sighed, reached out, and gently rubbed the top of Leng Qingxuan's head, messing up her otherwise smooth, long hair.

"Actually, even if you hadn't said anything, I wasn't planning on refusing her."

"Huh?" Leng Qingxuan was stunned, letting his hand wreak havoc on her head. "Then why did you just now..."

"That was a test just now. Who knew the test results would be so explosive." Huang Mao helplessly withdrew his hand. "I wouldn't dare claim to be some Sigma male."

"Since she's delivered herself to my doorstep, and comes with all-around nanny attributes and high rent... refusing would be inviting divine retribution."

"However..."

Huang Mao's tone changed, and the expression on his face became a bit more serious.

"We need to make things perfectly clear."