Coveted After Becoming a Monster [Quick Transmigration] 85

85: Side Couple Extra Three

Qi Fu let go, about to slide down, but just as her hand reached Ling Yun’s collar, she was pulled back.

“Go take a shower first,” she said in a low voice.

She still couldn’t let that go, refusing to yield an inch.

Qi Fu shot her a glare, turned toward the shower, and without even taking off her clothes, turned on the water, clearly venting her frustration.

Ling Yun leaned against the wall, her head tilted back to look at the ceiling. Her eyes were deep and complex, her thoughts unreadable. Only when the pooling water reached her feet did she finally speak. “How long have we known each other?”

She murmured to herself, “From seventeen until now…”

She stated with certainty, “Ten years.”

The figure by the shower visibly stiffened, then let out a sarcastic laugh. “Oh, so you still remember this vanquished foe of yours.”

Steam filled the entire bathroom. Qi Fu kicked off her slippers and stepped into the hot water. She swept her soaking wet, golden hair back and, tilting her head up, impatiently tugged at the buttons of her shirt.

Ling Yun tilted her head to look at her, not forgetting to add a reminder, “The fifth button is still done up.”

Qi Fu, already frustrated with her inability to get the shirt off, scowled and said resentfully, “This button is so hard to undo.”

But Ling Yun said, “I’ve always remembered.”

“You were so dazzling back then, like a chattering, flamboyant peacock.”

Qi Fu shot her a sidelong glare, then squinted as hot water splashed into her eyes. “I don’t get the feeling you’re complimenting me.”

“The Professor’s octopus thought so too,” Ling Yun stressed.

“That was Ji An’an. She’s a child who speaks her mind,” Qi Fu finally tore her shirt off, letting it fall in a wet heap at her feet.

“You see her through a filter. How is it that when she makes the same comment, it’s fine, but when I do it, it’s not?” Ling Yun’s gaze drifted downward, stopping on Qi Fu’s lean waist, daring neither to look up nor down.

“What if I just don’t like you? Is that a problem?”

Her trousers slid down, pooling at her feet. Just as Qi Fu raised her hand, a bottle of shampoo was passed to her. She grabbed it reflexively, then belatedly snapped, “Turn your head. No peeking.”

Not that saying it at this point was of any use.

Ling Yun turned her head away, staring at the floor and watching the water swirl toward the drain. “I’ve remembered for a long time,” she said. “I knew it was you the first time you came to the institute.”

The other woman’s eyes were closed. As she scrubbed her hair vigorously, large clumps of foam formed and slid down her body. Her expression was hidden as she asked, “Then why didn’t you say hello?”

“There were too many people around you, a whole entourage,” Ling Yun said after a moment of silence. “And I was afraid you wouldn’t remember me.”

Qi Fu thought back. It was true, she had been surrounded by people that day. She loved a lively atmosphere and enjoyed making friends; even in a completely new place, it would only take her a few days to get to know a whole crowd.

Besides, she hadn’t wanted to go over all alone that day, lest it look like she was deliberately seeking someone out.

She reached up and turned the shower back on, letting the hot water cascade over her head.

Ling Yun continued to stare at the floor, as if trying to make flowers bloom from the tiles. “I’m usually doing extra practice in the training room. That was the first time I left the institute at a normal hour.”

“After your prosthetic eye transplant, I volunteered to take care of you, but you never contacted me, and I…”

Qi Fu deliberately shook her head, flinging suds onto Ling Yun. “If I don’t contact you, you won’t take the initiative to come see me?” she demanded fiercely.

Ling Yun’s voice was a little heavy. “I went a few times, but you were unconscious.”

For some reason, Qi Fu took a deep breath and turned the water temperature down slightly. She tilted her head back, letting the spray hit her face directly. The film of water outlined her deep, sculpted features, making them stand out even more.

She muttered under her breath, “You dense blockhead.”

After a moment’s thought, Ling Yun asked, “Do you like me?”

Qi Fu couldn’t help but turn her head to glare. The skin around her eyes was red from the water, making her look like a bristling golden cat. “I gave you my damn first kiss,” she said viciously.

For once, Ling Yun stammered, her voice a little quieter. “That was my first kiss, too.”

“Body wash,” she changed the subject, handing over another bottle.

Qi Fu snatched it from her. “If that hadn’t been your first kiss, you’d be dead meat,” she said without ceremony.

She squeezed a dollop of body wash haphazardly onto her body and muttered, “You dense blockhead, why are you only figuring things out now? I thought you wanted to be my mortal enemy for life, fighting and bickering every single day.”

She continued, “It hurt like hell. I had to slather myself in ointment every night after we fought. Do you have any idea how strong you are?”

Ling Yun was uncharacteristically at a loss for words, managing only a quiet, “I’m sorry.”

Qi Fu just snorted in response.

The sound of the water stopped, then started again, soaking the clothes pooled on the floor. When it stopped for a final time, Ling Yun picked up a bath towel, wrapped Qi Fu in it, and scooped her up into her arms.

Qi Fu let herself be held, hooking her arms around Ling Yun’s neck.

Combat boots padded across the floor, making soft, wet sounds. The steam was thick, making it hard to breathe. Both their hearts were racing, and even without being pressed flush against each other, they could feel the rapid thrumming.

The distance from the bathroom to the bed was neither long nor short. Ling Yun’s lips moved as if testing the words before she finally spoke. “I didn’t dream about you and me.”

Qi Fu raised an eyebrow, tilting her head back to look at her.

The jawline hidden beneath the mask was sharp, and the column of her throat, set against wheat-colored skin, was clearly defined, vibrating slightly with her words.

“I dreamed about you and Cheng Xi,” Ling Yun’s voice was low and hoarse.

Qi Fu laughed in exasperation and blurted out, “You get pretty jealous, don’t you?”

The hands around her waist and under her knees stiffened. Ling Yun’s back remained ramrod straight as she said, “I hold a grudge.”

“I’m deeply aware of that,” Qi Fu said pointedly, then added, “I was getting that for Ji An’an.”

“I know. You already explained,” Ling Yun finally reached the bed and gently set her down. She then took the towel and began to carefully dry Qi Fu from head to toe.

“You knew, and you still argued with me?”

“I was unhappy.”

Qi Fu lifted her leg and kicked Ling Yun’s shoulder, muttering, “You big jar of vinegar.”

That wasn’t enough, so she added, “And a sullen blockhead.”

After holding it in for so many years, she only managed to blurt out a few sentences now.

Ling Yun reached up and grasped her ankle. Kneeling on one knee, she gently placed Qi Fu’s foot back on her shoulder and continued to dry her leg with the towel. “Are you done scolding me?” she asked.

Qi Fu lowered her gaze. “How could just those two insults be enough?”

“Then you can scold me for a while longer.”

A half-smile played on Qi Fu’s lips. The foot resting on Ling Yun’s shoulder gave a little push. Seeing right through the ploy and giving Ling Yun no quarter, she exposed her on the spot. “Are you trying to secure a promise for our future?”

“Can’t I?” Ling Yun replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Qi Fu gave a hard kick, sending Ling Yun toppling to the floor, then straddled her. “We’ll see how you perform.”

Then, she remembered something very important and suddenly asked, “Are you a one or a zero?”

Ling Yun was clearly stunned. Her eyes stared blankly at Qi Fu as she slowly squeezed out, “What about you?”

“A zero, of course,” Qi Fu said, full of confidence. “Do I look like the type to serve anyone?”

Ling Yun was silent for a few seconds before forcing out, “But… I don’t know how.”

“You didn’t learn in your dream?” Qi Fu asked, shocked and astonished.

Ling Yun’s face was stiff. She opened her mouth to speak several times before stopping herself. Finally, she managed to get the words out. “I… I got angry and woke up right at the beginning.”

Her voice dissipated. The room, lit by only a single table lamp, was dim. An awkward, dead silence fell over them. They stared at each other, frozen in place.

After a long moment, Ling Yun managed to squeeze out, “So… are you still going to watch?”

Qi Fu was so angry she exploded. “I’ve already taken a damn shower and scrubbed my skin raw! What do you think?!”

She reached out and started tearing at the other woman’s clothes, cursing, “I’ll be the one!”

Ling Yun instinctively tried to stop her, but after grabbing her wrist, she let go, her hand clutching the carpet beneath her instead. “Do you… know how?” she asked apprehensively.

“Better than you do,” Qi Fu snapped, adding, “I get to watch the whole show.”

The vest was ripped off and flung aside.

Ling Yun paid it no mind, asking instead, “Who was with who?”

She stared intently at Qi Fu, as if the answer was of the utmost importance.

Qi Fu was beyond angry. She simply leaned down and bit the lips beneath the mask. “It wasn’t with Cheng Xi, that’s for sure.”

Ling Yun hissed in pain but still asked, “Then with who?”

A kiss like that wasn’t pleasant. Qi Fu raised a hand to remove the mask but stopped herself. She couldn’t bring herself to lift it—not out of disgust, but because Ling Yun had worn it constantly since her disfigurement. Aside from the one time Qi Fu had forcibly ripped it off, she had never removed it in front of another person.

She could vaguely sense Ling Yun’s entire body tense up the moment she raised her hand. Even her lips clamped shut, pinching Qi Fu’s painfully.

Qi Fu released her, pressing her hand to the floor for support as she moved down to bite Ling Yun’s throat.

Ling Yun remained silent but visibly relaxed a little. She raised a hand and placed it on Qi Fu’s waist, too proper to dare move it recklessly.

In the absence of words, the sound of their heartbeats became exceptionally clear. A fine sheen of sweat broke out on Ling Yun’s neck. She was more nervous now than she ever was on the front lines.

The combat uniform was finally torn open, and Qi Fu saw the chain she had been wanting to see.

It was silver, a delicate, thin chain that draped down from her neck, looped around her torso in a graceful arc, and then encircled her waist before falling lower. It stood out against Ling Yun’s wheat-colored skin, vibrating slightly with her heartbeat and tapping against her firm abs.

Ling Yun was a little nervous. She swallowed and turned her head aside. “It’s a bit complicated. I’m not sure if I put it on correctly.”

Qi Fu hooked a finger under the chain and tugged. Ling Yun let out a muffled grunt, and a hint of a flush appeared on her normally serious face.

Qi Fu suddenly laughed. “Should I check for you?” she asked nonchalantly.

“Okay,” Ling Yun replied, a little slowly.

The carpet sank into a distinct depression beneath their weight. The window Ling Yun had risked climbing through was still ajar, letting in intermittent gusts of wind.

Ling Yun bent her legs, but she couldn’t stop the other woman from moving ever lower. The small, clumsy kisses grew more urgent. Her lips brushed against the chain a few times; it felt cool against her skin.

Ling Yun frowned and asked again, “So, do you like me?”

By now, Qi Fu’s kisses had reached her waist, lingering along its lines. Hearing the question, she simply said, “I’m not a masochist. I don’t have a fetish for waiting in my room every day to get beaten up.”

It was only because it was Ling Yun that she would wait, even if it meant taking a beating.

Ling Yun finally smiled. She reached up and ruffled Qi Fu’s hair. “I hurt you in the past.”

Qi Fu ignored her, simply biting her at the side of her waist.

Ling Yun let out a low hiss, and the other woman’s bite softened into a lick, her tongue tracing the lines of her waist and abdomen downward.

Ling Yun was nervous, her entire body tensed, which made the lines of her muscles exceptionally defined.

Qi Fu started laughing mid-kiss. She patted Ling Yun’s stomach. “Are you showing off the results of your training, Major General Ling?”

“You!” Ling Yun started to get angry, but then Qi Fu moved upward, stopping just below her collarbone to bite a slightly rough patch of skin. Her hand pinched the spot, leaving faint marks.

Ling Yun tensed abruptly, then relaxed. Her gaze lost some of its focus, and her breathing grew uneven.

“Everywhere else is hard as a rock, but it’s soft right here,” Qi Fu’s voice was muffled, as if her mouth was full.

Ling Yun started to raise her hand, but it fell back to grip the carpet. She turned her head aside. “Why can’t I ever shut you up?”

Qi Fu suddenly fell silent, but she began to deliberately make wet, smacking sounds, like a child noisily eating candy.

The room was quiet now. Even the sound of the wind was indistinct. Faintly, one could hear snippets of conversation from people passing by in the distance. It was so quiet that every tiny sound was infinitely amplified, falling heavily on the ear.

Ling Yun wanted to escape, but there was nowhere to go. Forward was Qi Fu, backward was the hard floor.

Her hand gripping the carpet tightened, the veins on its back standing out.

The indescribable and unfamiliar sensation continued. Ling Yun opened her mouth, trying to take a deep breath, but the mask she relied on so heavily had now become an obstacle, pressing tightly against the lower half of her face and restricting her airflow.

Ling Yun subconsciously judged that she was now slightly deprived of oxygen.

But the other woman didn’t stop. The silver chain lay between them. Warmed by their body heat, it would cool again as it was jostled and pulled, falling back against her skin like a special kind of ice, repeatedly jolting her with a sliver of clarity that was never enough to truly pull her back to her senses.

Qi Fu moved downward slowly, her small kisses spreading like sparks, lighting bonfire after bonfire until she plunged into a shimmering lake.

Ling Yun suddenly trembled. A film of moisture glossed her eyes, reflecting the moonlight from the window. With the slightest movement, the reflection shattered.

“Don’t… don’t bite,” she tried to protest, her voice hoarse, but her words were drowned out by other sounds.

The hand clutching the carpet loosened and tightened, again and again.

Outside the window, all was calm. Qi Fu’s status was special, so her residence was naturally well-appointed, surrounded by dense gardens that formed an ocean of green.

A breeze rustled the leaves, creating a wave of green. Occasionally, a leaf, unable to hold on any longer, would detach and drift silently down to the lawn below.

Before it even had a chance to settle, it was trod upon by someone passing by.

The wide-open window rattled, making a sharp little sound.

Ling Yun bit her lower lip. Though inexperienced, she could still identify the unfamiliar sensations in her body. Several times, she felt herself approaching a peak, only to slip back from the edge.

It was maddening.

She reached out and grabbed Qi Fu’s head, half-pushing, half-pulling, not knowing what she wanted to do. Her actions were purely instinctive. The territory was so unfamiliar that it left her helpless, unable to issue proper commands to her own body.

Meanwhile, the other woman mumbled in dissatisfaction, her words extremely muffled, “My tongue is getting sore.”

Ling Yun wanted to say something, but the words were caught in her throat. In the end, only one word escaped: “Scram.”

Though her voice was fierce, the sheen of moisture around her eyes was even more pronounced, gathering into beads that threatened to fall, making her normally deep eyes look pitiful and vulnerable.

Qi Fu grunted in dissatisfaction and then actually bit down.

Startled, Ling Yun’s whole body tensed. An image from the bathroom flashed before her eyes—Qi Fu under the pattering shower, turning her head to glare at her, complaining viciously.

Ling Yun’s breath hitched.

Seeing her reaction, the other woman didn’t stop, but instead changed her approach.

Ling Yun let out a muffled groan. Her hand, which had been gripping Qi Fu’s head, softened into a caress, and she managed to utter something.

Qi Fu didn’t hear clearly. “Huh?”

The other woman kept her voice low and repeated, “Do I still have to write the mission report?”

Qi Fu raised an eyebrow, her fingers following suit. “Write it,” she responded. “For my eyes only.”

She stressed, “I want the most detailed version.”

Ling Yun, whose provocation had backfired into being teased, shot her a glare. “You write it for me.”

“As you command, Major General Ling,” Qi Fu lifted her head. Her lips, the bridge of her nose, and her cheeks were all damp, but her smile was wild and unrestrained, just as it had been when they first met.

For a moment, Ling Yun’s vision blurred. It was as if she had been caught and plunged back into the phantom dream of being seventeen.

“Alright then. Since you refuse to admit defeat, don’t come crying to me when you get beaten later.”

“Oh, and remember my name.”

“My name is Qi Fu. The Qi from the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven. The Fu from the line, ‘A thousand forests are swept to yellow, only the hibiscus blooms fragrant and alone.'”

“Qi Fu.”