Chapter 13

Liu Ran was pushed onto a cool and soft cushion, one side empty and the other blocked by a matching backrest. There was a faint leather scent. Liu Ran guessed that what she lay on was a sofa.

Ming Siyu straddled her waist, reaching with both hands for the wolf ears on top of her head. During the process of being pinned down, Liu Ran’s hat had flown off at some point, so those wolf ears were easily captured in cool, sticky palms and squeezed tightly into a ball.

She heard Ming Siyu let out a trembling, restrained sigh like “ugh.”

It was an extremely faint sound, like a bubble rising to the water’s surface and popping.

Ming Siyu’s hands roamed chaotically over her ears, gripping and pinching one moment, with heavy force that made her ears throb with pain—completely different from her usual playful handling. A surge of fear rose in Liu Ran’s heart. The Ming Siyu before her felt utterly unfamiliar.

Ming Siyu was like a drug addict desperately seeking a new fix. Liu Ran felt as if Ming Siyu wanted to knead her wolf ears into her palm, tear open the skin, and mix flesh with blood.

The sofa was narrow, with half her body dangling in the air. This position left Liu Ran feeling deeply insecure.

She grabbed at Ming Siyu’s hands.

“Ming Siyu! Calm down, what are you doing—”

With the bite inhibitor on, her words came out muffled, accompanied by sticky saliva sounds.

Feeling her fierce resistance, Ming Siyu paused but didn’t get off her.

Answering irrelevantly, “If I let go, will you obediently let me touch? If you don’t want to be kissed again, then don’t move… It’ll be over soon.”

There seemed to be a hint of lingering anger.

Liu Ran was infuriated and used some force on her hands, preparing to shove Ming Siyu off. Muffled, she said, “You think I’m afraid of your kisses?”

It was just a kiss—not like it was chopping off her head or legs. Nothing big!

She figured Ming Siyu was just making an empty threat and would switch tactics once she saw it didn’t work.

But unexpectedly, as soon as the words left her mouth, cool hands cupped her cheeks. Ming Siyu said discontentedly, “Who put the bite inhibitor on you?”

Liu Ran’s heart jolted. Ming Siyu had actually planned to kiss her again. Good thing she was wearing the bite inhibitor this time, or Ming Siyu would’ve succeeded again. So the bite inhibitor wasn’t to stop her from biting others—it was to stop others from biting her.

She had just exhaled in relief.

When her collar was yanked open and warm lips pressed against her collarbone.

Darkness shut down her vision, amplifying her other senses several times over. Liu Ran stared wide-eyed, forced to feel Ming Siyu’s kiss. A faint glint reflected off the other woman’s cold glasses, while hot, rapid breaths sprayed against her neck.

Ming Siyu was very satisfied with her reaction. After the kiss, as if still not sated, she lightly nipped at her collarbone, then slightly lifted her body to create some distance. “Looks like Little Wolf will be savoring this for a long time again.”

Liu Ran instantly bristled. “Savor my ass!”

Ming Siyu, that lunatic! Pervert! Psycho!

If she kept getting bullied like this without fighting back, she’d despise herself. Liu Ran clamped onto Ming Siyu’s waist to throw her down. Ming Siyu’s waist was exceptionally slim, with only a thin layer of flesh over bone. Liu Ran was startled by the feel, but then she thought about how little Ming Siyu ate each day—even a random cat ate more than her. No wonder she was so skinny.

But without muscle or fat for cushioning, falling would hurt a lot. This was Ming Siyu’s Ming Group, her territory. If she actually hurt Ming Siyu, she’d be in deep trouble.

Liu Ran didn’t slam Ming Siyu straight to the floor but pushed her onto the sofa instead.

As soon as she shoved her off, Ming Siyu lunged back, grabbing her ears. Liu Ran was already half off the sofa, and with this pounce, she tumbled right off. Her lower back knocked against something sharp and hard. Pain numbed her instantly, her cry caught in her throat, her features scrunching up.

The waist was a wolf’s most vulnerable spot.

Just as she was about to curse Ming Siyu out loud, she heard a murmur by her ear: “Little Ran…”

Liu Ran’s mind went “boom.”

Little Ran.

Ming Siyu had called her Little Ran.

Her mother had always called her that before falling into a coma. Since her mom had been hospitalized in a vegetative state, it had been years since she’d heard that name.

Memories from years ago pierced through the barriers of time, stabbing precisely into her heart.

The hands that had been pushing Ming Siyu away slowly, powerlessly dropped. Liu Ran clenched her teeth, letting whatever that thing was dig into her waist, as if it wanted to crush her. “Whimper…”

Her nose stung. She wanted to cry so badly.

In the pitch-black room, soon only intertwined breaths, aggrieved whimpers, and Ming Siyu’s occasional murmurs filled the air.

“Little Ran, don’t block your tail with your skirt. Give it to me.”

“Good girl, Little Ran, be obedient.”

“Don’t shake.”

…

Liu Ran remembered saying one thing: She hadn’t brought the suppressant.

Playing with her tail and ears easily aroused her, causing her to release pheromones. And Ming Siyu was especially sensitive to that. At home, she’d try her best to hold back her pheromones, and if she couldn’t, Ming Siyu would call Qi Zhen right away to inject her with suppressant the moment she smelled the bitter orange scent.

But this time when she went out, she hadn’t even thought to bring it.

She also hadn’t known Ming Siyu had called her all the way to the office for this.

Ming Siyu’s alarm went off. She reached for her phone to turn it off, then got up to straighten her clothes and put on her suit jacket before switching on the light.

Adjusting her glasses, Ming Siyu looked down at Liu Ran on the floor, her face flushed. Her gaze cut like icy blades through the lenses:

“If you dare go into heat in my office, you’d better have already figured out how you’re going to die.”

It was like a completely different person from the one who had panted softly in her ear before the lights came on.

Being scrutinized with a gaze like trash made Liu Ran feel physically nauseous. Ming Siyu was just this cold and heartless—caring only about her own pleasure, satisfying only her own desires, completely ignoring how agonizing it was for Liu Ran on the verge of arousal. She didn’t even give her a moment to recover before ruthlessly slashing down with words.

Liu Ran propped herself up from the ground. Half her body was numb. Only after standing did she realize what had been jabbing her waist was one of Ming Siyu’s high heels, heel facing up—no wonder it hurt so much.

Liu Ran picked up the shoe and wordlessly tossed it to Ming Siyu’s feet, then sat on the sofa and turned her head away.

It was a suite. Much smaller than Ming Siyu’s penthouse, but still spacious enough. Living room, bedroom, bathroom… all complete. A semi-transparent wardrobe stood against the wall, holding a few changes of Ming Siyu’s clothes and shoes.

Her guess was right—this was the lounge connected to Ming Siyu’s office.

A pack of opened women’s cigarettes sat on the coffee table. Dark blue case. A few missing.

Sniffing carefully, there was indeed a faint lingering smoke scent in the air.

Ming Siyu slipped on the shoe. Her pale wrist flashed under the white shirt in Liu Ran’s peripheral vision as she grabbed the cigarette pack. With practiced ease, she drew out a cigarette, leaned against the desk, and held it loosely between her fingers without lighting it.

“I’m having a meeting soon. If you want to go back, have the driver take you first. If not, wait for me.”