42: Chapter 42 One more or one less makes no difference

The night wind crept in through the cracks in the window, causing the paper to bulge slightly and then press back against the frame.

Jiang Xuan watched her stiff back and cursed himself fiercely in his heart.

"I really shouldn't have spoken out of turn."

He tightened his grip and gave a gentle tug, pulling Su Yue back to his side.

Su Yue did not resist; she leaned back following his strength, but still refused to turn around.

Jiang Xuan simply extended his arms and gathered her into his embrace from behind.

The next moment, he froze.

Su Yue, in his arms, was looking down, her lower lip bitten white.

On the lashes of her Phoenix eyes hung two crystal-clear droplets, swaying precariously, stubbornly refusing to fall.

She pressed her lips tightly together, her face wearing that coldness she used to maintain her dignity.

But in the depths of her eyes, moistened by tears, grievance was clearly written.

Looking at her like this, Jiang Xuan felt as if something had struck his chest.

He reached out and gently wiped away the tear that had not yet fallen from the corner of her eye.

"Fairy Su, you have misunderstood."

"I know you feel uneasy after accepting my gift."

"But I simply didn't want you to do these things with me while being reluctant."

Su Yue's pressed lips finally loosened a little.

She shrank into his embrace, her voice muffled, squeezed from her nasal cavity with a hint of petulance.

"Why tell me these things... Anyway, you have three other beauties to keep you company..."

"One more of me is not too many, and one less of me is not too few."

Jiang Xuan froze for a moment, then laughed softly.

This cold and aloof Fairy Su was surprisingly like this when jealous.

He did not rush to refute, but instead placed his hand over that Snow Lotus and rubbed it gently.

Su Yue's breathing suddenly hitched.

Jiang Xuan leaned into her ear and whispered: "Fairy Su, do you remember a sentence I said before?"

Su Yue didn't make a sound, but the tips of her ears were red enough to drip blood.

His hand did not stop, caressing slowly and gently, feeling the temperature passing through the thin gauze bit by bit into his palm.

Jiang Xuan's voice carried a smile as it was delivered softly into her ear.

"Even if I were to die under the flowers, I would hope that the woman is Fairy Su."

Su Yue's body trembled again; her cold frost finally could not hold up.

A faint flush spread from her cheeks, burning all the way to her earlobes.

She gave a cold hum, her voice light and soft, completely devoid of the coldness from moments ago.

"Shameless..."

These two words were spoken almost as if she were acting coquettishly.

Jiang Xuan laughed, and the movement in his palm intensified slightly.

Su Yue's body softened into his embrace bit by bit, and the last bit of stubbornness she was holding onto dissipated.

They just leaned against each other for a long while.

Neither of them spoke, only the insects chirping outside the window remained.

Then Su Yue moved.

She slowly turned around from his embrace to face him.

The redness in her Phoenix eyes had not completely faded, and the traces of tears on her eyelashes were still there.

But her gaze had already calmed down, no longer possessing the sharpness of injury and petulance from before.

She looked at him for two breaths.

Then she lowered her head and bent down in front of him again.

Her jet-black hair fell once more, covering half her face.

This time, she was even gentler and more earnest than before.

Neither hurried nor slow, with grace in every movement.

Occasionally, she would raise her eyes to look at him, the moisture in her Phoenix eyes not yet dispersed, carrying a kind of earnestness of having to do things after being bullied.

Jiang Xuan's hand fell back onto the top of her head, stroking it again and again.

Time passed bit by bit.

When Su Yue felt the familiar signal, this time she did not hesitate at all and calmly accepted it.

Then she tilted her head back slightly, closed her eyes, and her throat moved gently.

She picked up the jade bottle by the bedside, took two gulps of clear spring water, rinsed her mouth carefully, and put it back in its place.

Only then did she turn her head back, her pair of Phoenix eyes looking straight at him, her red lips moist, her face flushed crimson.

Jiang Xuan reached out and pulled her back, pressing her shoulders to make her lie flat.

Su Yue's Phoenix eyes were half-closed, watching his face leaning down, her lips moving slightly.

"That Cultivation Technique... must be very precious."

Jiang Xuan replied while moving: "As long as you like it."

The corners of Su Yue's mouth curved, a very, very shallow arc that vanished in an instant.

She turned her head away and buried her face into the side of the pillow, covering her bright red eyes.

Jiang Xuan landed upon that Snow Lotus.

...

The moonlight slowly shifted from the center of the lattice window to the west side.

The occasional sounds that spilled out were clear and melodious, carrying a cold undertone.

Like the wind of a winter night sweeping across bamboo tips, piercing yet revealing a trace of lingering charm.

Jiang Xuan asked with a smile: "Fairy Su, do you like this?"

Su Yue's cheeks were red enough to drip blood, and she stubbornly said: "I... I don't like it at all..."

Her voice was faint, with no confidence at all.

Jiang Xuan chuckled softly, and suddenly...

Su Yue trembled violently, her Phoenix eyes red and bright, glaring at him with a hint of shyness.

But she couldn't hold it for long.

In the end, she simply gave up on restraining herself.

"Say it quickly." Jiang Xuan's voice carried a smile.

Su Yue shook her head, stubborn and pressing her lips shut, refusing to speak.

Jiang Xuan found her appearance extremely amusing.

He didn't force her to speak again, but leaned down and sealed her slightly parted lips.

When they separated, both were breathing slightly heavily.

When it started again, the moonlight outside the window had already set significantly.

In the distance, one or two rooster crows were heard, and the deepest layer of ink color on the horizon began to slowly lighten.

...

Don't know how much time had passed.

Su Yue fell heavily back into the bedding again, panting heavily.

Jiang Xuan kissed her forehead and whispered: "Shall we continue?"

Su Yue closed her eyes, her chest heaving violently for a long while, then squeezed two words out from between her teeth.

"...As you wish."

Jiang Xuan smiled.

In the time that followed, the sky outside the window changed from ink black to deep blue, and from deep blue, faint morning light began to seep out bit by bit.

Until just before dawn.

Su Yue lay on the bedding, her face buried in the middle of the pillow.

Her voice was hoarse, with clear sobbing, coming out intermittently from the pillow.

"I... I was wrong..."

Jiang Xuan leaned beside her, smiling: "What were you wrong about?"

Su Yue buried her face deeper into the pillow.

After several breaths.

A muffled voice, filled with a crying tone, squeezed out from the surface of the pillow.

"I like it..."

The voice was as small as a mosquito's hum; if it weren't for the room being so quiet that only the two people's breathing could be heard, it would be impossible to hear.

Jiang Xuan looked at the tip of her ear exposed outside the pillow, which was red through and through, and couldn't help but smile.

He then reached out and gently gathered her disheveled hair to one side, revealing half of her face buried in the pillow.

Her eyelashes were wet, the flush on her cheeks had not yet faded, and her lips were excessively red.

Her Phoenix eyes were half-closed, covered with a layer of moisture that had not yet dispersed, revealing a look of satisfaction.

Very beautiful.

He gathered her into his embrace, resting his chin on the top of her head.

The coldness of the plum blossoms was softened by body heat, turning into a soft, sweet fragrance that lingered at the tip of his nose.

The sky outside was already bright, and the morning light spilled in through the window paper, spreading a layer of warm gold over the two of them.

Jiang Xuan closed his eyes, his waist also feeling a wave of soreness...