Chapter 102: At Her Mercy

This was Li Yunli’s first time doing something like this—forcing herself to let go and become the kind of person Ji Zhenshi would like, sparing no effort to keep her from pushing her away. “It’s fine if I’ve changed, or if I haven’t. I’m still me, the me who messed up and needs Xiao Zhen to forgive her.”

It wasn’t really a change; she had done her homework seriously.

To be precise, it was Xiao Ning who had done the homework. Perhaps Xiao Ning had only been joking at the time when she mentioned what type Ji Zhenshi might like, but Li Yunli had seemed nonchalant on the surface while committing it all to memory.

In this uncharted territory, her learning ability was as astonishing as ever.

A chill ran down Ji Zhenshi’s back. She could clearly feel Li Yunli’s trembling, and her awkward inexperience only made her seem all the more alluring.

“Aren’t you afraid? To be honest, I haven’t convinced my mom yet. She still won’t let me have anything to do with you.” Ji Zhenshi finally regained a shred of reason and voiced the biggest obstacle between them—the insurmountable mountain that had once trapped them both.

Li Yunli tentatively brushed a light kiss against Ji Zhenshi’s earlobe. Sensing that she was about to push her away, she clung tightly to her neck and whispered softly into her ear. “I’m not afraid, and neither are you, right? You don’t really care what she thinks anyway. Something like threatening suicide will only happen once, and you’ll handle it just fine. You’re amazing, and you’re worth relying on. I need to trust you.”

Ji Zhenshi wasn’t some fledgling bird in need of her protection. She had already spread her wings. Believe in her. And be a little selfish—don’t push her away under the guise of doing what’s best for her.

Ji Zhenshi was amazing. She needed time, trust, and trials.

Ji Zhenshi’s ears instantly went soft. She was completely defenseless against a Li Yunli like this. Her hands weakly tried to push away the desperate woman who was holding her in a death grip.

If this stalemate continued, Ji Zhenshi had no chance of winning. The last thread of sanity in her mind was about to snap. Her vision was filled with vast expanses of pale skin, dream and reality overlapping.

With her clothes half-undone, Li Yunli was breathtakingly beautiful—the image Ji Zhenshi had fantasized about indulging in countless times.

After all, she was her white moonlight, the one etched in her heart, the home of her soul.

Ji Zhenshi’s eyes turned crimson. Unable to hold back any longer, her hand caressed that soft waist. “If only you’d thought like this six months ago?”

Why did it have to take until now to realize? Why did she have to hurt her until she was riddled with wounds before belatedly understanding that what she thought was “for her own good” was just a lack of trust dressed up in fancy trappings?

“It’s not too late now.” Li Yunli guided her hand to the most exquisite place. She had truly cast aside all her pride, begging Ji Zhenshi and staking everything she had as collateral—including herself.

They hadn’t wasted three or five years that could be glossed over in a TV drama. Everything could still be salvaged. Li Yunli was decisive; once she snapped out of it, she didn’t hesitate for a second. She humbled herself and launched a fierce offensive on Ji Zhenshi.

Now, it wasn’t too late.

It was just a few months of sulking and cold war. It would get better. It had to.

Li Yunli used one hand to cover Hihi’s eyes. “Can you take her away?”

They didn’t need an audience. This was a performance for just the two of them.

Ji Zhenshi chuckled lightly and pulled her hand back. “So you still have some sense of shame? She’s just a month old and doesn’t understand anything. Besides, with an audience, how far would you be willing to abandon your restraint, Manager Li?”

Li Yunli was always sharp in business. All her gentleness and boundless indulgence were reserved solely for Ji Zhenshi. At work, she had a completely different style—even when she couldn’t speak, she had managed the coffee shop flawlessly. And now, her second shop was also a coffee shop. After recovering her health, her ambitions had become increasingly clear.

It could be said that over the past six months, both she and Li Yunli had achieved considerable success in their careers. This phase of rapid progress seemed to suggest that being apart really wasn’t so bad for either of them.

So why not just stay apart? Why hold each other back from bright futures?

“You… don’t call me that.” Li Yunli bit her lip, her sense of shame overflowing. She knew Ji Zhenshi was teasing her, but feeling her about to pull away, she gritted her teeth, leaned closer, and scooped Hihi to the side.

Hihi had been about to fall asleep but was terribly displeased at being pulled from her cozy spot.

It felt like… she was being treated as a nuisance.

Just a moment ago, both moms had loved having her around!

“So what should I call you?” With nowhere left to retreat, Ji Zhenshi braced herself and met her gaze.

“You never called me Sister A-Yun or Sis before. Not today, not in our previous meetings. Call me like you used to.” Li Yunli wanted to hear her call her “Sis.”

But Ji Zhenshi really didn’t want to, even aroused to the point of distraction. She just lowered her eyes, suppressing the fire within.

The standoff continued until Li Yunli finally sacrificed herself completely.

“Don’t feel any psychological burden. I’m doing this willingly.”

“Xiao Zhen, don’t push me away. I really know I was wrong.”

“Let’s raise Hihi together, like a family. Okay?”

“I’ve always only had you. You’re all I have, Good Child.”

“Don’t you want me? You do. You used to love me so much. I’ll give you everything, okay?”

Her words bewitched Ji Zhenshi’s mind, clouding her judgment. Under Li Yunli’s deliberate guidance, she soon flipped her over, and things spiraled completely out of control.

In the end, Hihi was disturbed by the noise. With her stubby little legs, the round ball of fluff tumbled off the sofa entirely and nestled into Li Yunli’s discarded pajamas on the floor, where she settled down for a sound sleep. She even craned her neck to glance at the two entangled figures on the sofa, burning with passion.

Too noisy for the little kitten! Didn’t they know kittens needed sleep to grow tall?

Tonight, the little kitten had been the hero, but they’d kept her from sleeping!

Hateful! These two who claimed to be her moms weren’t paying any attention to her!

Finally, Ji Zhenshi and Li Yunli returned to that familiar bed. It was a long, long time before the indulgent gasps and suppressed moans gradually faded.

…

It was terrifying.

Utterly unbelievable.

How could something like this even happen in this world?

Days later, Ji Zhenshi still sighed from the depths of her heart.

Even now, sitting in the audience watching the dance performance on stage, her thoughts inevitably drifted to that coffee shop—to that night in the coffee shop.

Those slender legs pressed to their utmost limit, long hair scattered messily across the bed. That supremely gentle face bore an uncharacteristic seductiveness. She bit her lower lip hard, refusing to make a sound, yielding to the taking, yielding to the teasing.

All her vulnerability laid bare for the one before her, giving silently and completely. Her snow-white skin was marked with ambiguous traces.

Even when things got rough, she didn’t utter a peep, just interlaced their fingers tightly and clung to her neck, trembling.

She was Li Yunli—a woman who exuded restraint and poise from head to toe. She liked to smile, but she had principles and boundaries; everything in moderation.

Yet that night, she had let go completely, as if offering her body as a bargaining chip.

Why?

To awaken the dormant love between them?

Everyone knew it, but Ji Zhenshi was too embarrassed to admit how easily she had fallen into Li Yunli’s trap, step by step, until it was too late to turn back. Now she was caught, unable to escape.

What exactly had happened that night? What magic did Li Yunli possess?

Ji Zhenshi hadn’t even figured it out for herself when Li Yunli’s whispers bewitched her mind, making her abandon all reason. She threw caution to the wind and immersed herself willingly, unable to pull away.

“Xiao Zhen, hold me.”

“Do you remember? We used to…”

“But you said your heartbeat would never betray me. You still love me, right?”

“I’ll give you everything you want. Forgive Sis, okay?”

“Hihi is our child. From now on, we’re a family.”

“Can you share just a little of the smile you give Hihi with me?”

Those words still echoed in her ears. Ji Zhenshi wanted to curse herself for being so spineless, but that night’s Li Yunli had been utterly different. No one could resist her when she abandoned her pride and humbled herself like that.

Not to mention she had Hihi as her trump card, pinning Ji Zhenshi down completely.

Ji Zhenshi realized too late that when Li Yunli used Hihi as an excuse to keep her there, she had already planned everything. Li Yunli executed her scheme flawlessly, and she couldn’t escape the trap.

Li Yunli had played her cards masterfully!

Ji Zhenshi still remembered how disheveled she had been that morning!

When she woke, the room was empty except for her. She didn’t know if it was deliberate, but Li Yunli was gone from beside her. Only Hihi slept sweetly by her pillow.

The kitten slumbered near her ear, her soft breaths instantly reminding Ji Zhenshi of how Li Yunli had lain so obediently and tenderly in her arms the night before.

Her forehead had rested lightly on Ji Zhenshi’s arm—the closest they’d been in six months. Too weak to push her away, Ji Zhenshi had let Li Yunli sleep contentedly through the night.

“Goodnight, Good Child.” Li Yunli’s hoarse voice had drawn a perfect close to the evening.

Ji Zhenshi knew exactly what had happened last night—how Li Yunli had lured her in step by step. She even anticipated that Li Yunli might use it as leverage later, so without a second thought, she threw off the covers to get dressed and bolt.

But when she pulled back the blanket, she found herself completely naked. Fine, whatever—but there was a sticky note on her chest.

【If you want to run, your clothes are at the foot of the bed. Last night’s clothes aren’t wearable anymore, so make do with mine. Xiao Zhen, if you need it, there’s ointment in the first-aid kit.】

High damage, extreme insult!

Li Yunli had won, using herself as bait to lure Ji Zhenshi back into the game.

Without thinking, Ji Zhenshi reached for the clothes at the foot of the bed to make her escape—only to find another sticky note on them.

【No reward without merit. If you wear my clothes, you have to keep your promise and take Hihi for her vaccines today. The info’s in the little backpack; I’ve marked the location. Good Child, last night was all my choice—no psychological burden. I’ll keep pursuing you until you forgive me. Off to supervise the new store reno. Good morning.】

Li Yunli knew their meeting would be awkward and that she’d try to run, so she had left early.

Was that thoughtful or what?!

Ji Zhenshi crumpled the sticky note in her fist, squeezing it into a ball. If she could have stomached it, she would have shoved it in her mouth to vent her fury.

She was done for—utterly fallen for Li Yunli.

She looked like a gentle, elegant beauty with no aggression, but she sure knew how to scheme!

Ji Zhenshi desperately wanted to stubbornly refuse Li Yunli’s clothes, but last night had been too intense. Neither of their outfits was wearable anymore; they’d all been tossed in the trash.

Gritting her teeth, Ji Zhenshi rolled around on the bed before finally putting on Li Yunli’s clothes. She hastily said goodbye to Xiao Ning and fled in embarrassment.

Thinking back on that scene still mortified her, and it took a while to shake it off.

Ji Zhenshi stared blankly at the stage, her mind extending from there to that night’s images.

She hadn’t been drinking that night, so she remembered everything clearly.

Lost deep in thought, her phone buzzed in her pocket.

She opened it to find a video from Li Yunli—of Hihi.

Hihi was playing with a toy in her nest, full of energy. When Li Yunli extended a finger, she scrambled right into her hand, refusing to settle unless Li Yunli held her.

She was growing fast; it felt like no time had passed, and Hihi was already bigger. She used to struggle to leave the nest, but now her little legs kicked and she hopped right out, scampering around the place. Everyone loved her, and some customers even came specifically to see her and have coffee.

Hihi was a pro at “working the crowd,” letting guests play with her. She had become the coffee shop’s mascot, utterly adorable.

Ji Zhenshi couldn’t help smiling at the sight. “Good girl Hihi. I’ll come get you in a couple days and we’ll go play.”

Because of falling into Li Yunli’s trap out of nowhere, Ji Zhenshi replied only in Hihi’s “voice.” Their communication had increased, but it all revolved around Hihi.

Li Yunli knew she was being stubborn and didn’t push for talk of getting back together. They maintained this distant-but-connected relationship, linked only through Hihi—but it was still much better than the impatience and estrangement of that birthday night.

This fragile balance was soon shattered.

Ji Zhenshi got hurt. Due to a stage lift malfunction, she fell off along with the person next to her.

She ended up as a human cushion, her back landing squarely on shattered glass. The performance halted, and she was rushed to the hospital.

“Teacher Tang, you have to vouch for me. This counts as a work injury, right? Even if it’s not, it’s still a good Samaritan act.” Ji Zhenshi lay prone on the hospital bed, gazing pitifully at Tang Xien.

Unable to wear clothes due to the injury, she had only a blanket draped over her. She couldn’t lie on her back or sleep, forced to stay in this position all day.

Stiff and aching all over after treatment, her days were far from comfortable.

Tang Xien had just returned from taking a work call outside and found Ji Zhenshi’s state inexplicably amusing.

Poor thing—stuck prone for days to come.

What a coincidence. The previous three or four acts had gone fine, but the moment Ji Zhenshi stepped on, disaster struck.

Suppressing a laugh, Tang Xien said, “It counts as a work injury. I just talked to the organizers; they’ll take responsibility, and we’ll discuss compensation details. They wanted to come check on you, but I figured you wouldn’t like the fuss, so I politely declined.”

Ji Zhenshi blinked, clearly waiting for more.

Knowing what she wanted to hear, Tang Xien continued, “Paid leave until you’re fully recovered. And I’ll apply for work injury benefits from the studio. Just rest easy in the hospital.”

“Awesome!” Ji Zhenshi lit up at “paid leave” and “benefits,” flashing herself a thumbs-up. She perked up like a flower in spring.

Tang Xien pulled up a chair and sat by the bed. “Your reaction’s more upbeat than I expected. You looked so serious falling off—covered in blood, scared me half to death. You know stage accidents have ended careers before, and not just a few. Yet you’re taking it calmly.”

The scene had been chaos. Ji Zhenshi’s short-sleeved back had been shredded by glass shards; doctors had taken ages to clean it up. Her back was a bloody mess, horrifying to behold. Yet her first worry had been ensuring her precious violin was safe. Even now, she cared most about leave and compensation.

Did Ji Zhenshi really need the money that badly? She didn’t seem like the type who was obsessed with it.