Chapter 1

She couldn’t remember how many times it had happened…

Yun Chun was kissed awake once again.

She had been sleeping soundly when she suddenly felt two soft petals pressing against her lips, sealing them off. Before long, her lips were lightly nipped. In that hazy space between sleep and wakefulness, the faint sucking and twinge of pain furrowed her delicate brows…

When she finally opened her eyes, hoping to see who had snuck into her home in the middle of the night, she found a layer of fabric draped over them. The blurry pattern looked like white lace. Even with her eyes wide open, everything remained a foggy blur of white, offering no clear view of the person pinning her down.

She reached out to push them away, but it was like shoving at empty air—she couldn’t touch them, much less budge them.

Yun Chun simply closed her eyes and gave in to the sensation.

That’s right. She enjoyed it.

This wasn’t the first time something like this had happened.

She had grown used to it.

With her sight blocked, she could only rely on her nose, ears, and other senses to take it all in.

They were an expert kisser.

Noticing she was awake, the light teasing was no longer enough. Their tongue tip pried open her teeth, deepening the kiss.

Their soft tongues intertwined. Yun Chun’s toothpaste had a Longjing tea flavor, and now her mouth was filled with saliva carrying a faint tea fragrance. She couldn’t taste theirs, but she was certain she had infected them with that endlessly sweet tea essence.

Throughout it all, Yun Chun didn’t respond. She simply let them kiss her.

The kiss continued.

But Yun Chun’s thoughts had already drifted away.

This person smelled divine.

It was a scent Yun Chun had never encountered before.

If she had to describe it using something familiar, it would be the sweet juice bursting from overripe pomegranate seeds between her teeth.

Endlessly lingering.

Once the sweetness faded, she couldn’t help but lean in for another taste.

In the end, it wasn’t just her lips that carried the pomegranate aroma—her entire body slowly soaked it in, turning sweet through and through.

This person’s voice was lovely too, even though Yun Chun had never heard them speak.

A few times, when they caught her off guard and kissed her, she had instinctively pushed back with her tongue, trying to force them out—only for their tongues to tangle unexpectedly. Each time, they let out a muffled hum.

The sound was brief, but that hook-laden hum floated like osmanthus blossoms on the water’s surface, each one infused with fragrance, rich and lingering.

It stirred something wicked in Yun Chun, making her want to counterattack more, to draw out a few more of those hums.

The first time had been accidental; the rest deliberate. But they had figured out her game. When Yun Chun extended her tongue to tease the inside of their mouth, hoping to tickle them, it hadn’t even reached its target before they sucked it in, then pushed back with their own tongue tip.

It made Yun Chun hum involuntarily, foiling her plan.

Remembering this, Yun Chun refocused and tried once more to make them vocalize.

Seizing a moment when they paused for breath, she tilted her head slightly. Just as they gripped her jaw to turn her back and descended for another kiss, Yun Chun darted her tongue out first.

But they stopped.

In their line of sight, Yun Chun’s eyes were covered by white lace, her cheeks flushed peach-pink, and her extended tongue tip glistened with the saliva from their recent kiss. She looked… utterly debauched.

Their gaze darkened. They lifted their index finger and pressed it against her tongue tip.

Instinctively, Yun Chun wrapped her lips around the fingertip. By the time she realized and tried to spit it out, she had already sucked on it twice without thinking.

When she finally released their finger, before she could catch her breath, their lips claimed hers again.

Her scheme had failed once more.

Their kissing skills were impeccable. Yun Chun’s body trembled uncontrollably; even on tiptoe, she couldn’t steady herself and had no choice but to wrap her arms around them.

They probably hadn’t expected this response from her. In previous encounters, even when they kissed her into a state of arousal, she had lain there like a wooden log, offering no reaction. It was only yesterday that Yun Chun had thrown caution to the wind, parting her lips to indulge the kiss.

Today marked even more progress—she was extending her tongue in response.

Yun Chun’s tongue was so soft, so sweet; sucking on it felt like it might melt away. They only dared touch it briefly before letting go quickly.

This time was no different. Instead of tangling with her tongue, they kissed the corner of her mouth and trailed downward to her chin.

A sheen of fragrant sweat beaded on Yun Chun’s neck, a few stray hairs clinging to it—damp and irresistibly sensual.

But just as they reached the line of her jaw, Yun Chun hugged their head, stopping them from going further.

How did she know it was a “she” and not a “he,” even without sight?

It wasn’t just the voice or the occasional brush of hair against her skin—some men had soft voices that could mimic a woman’s, and long-haired ones could blur the lines even more.

What gave it away definitively was the sensation of a woman’s body pressing down on hers: those unreachable waves at the chest.

That soft pressure against her was impossible to ignore.

Unsure why Yun Chun was halting them, they lifted their head slightly and planted a kiss on her jaw, urging her to let go. The gentle gesture sent ripples through Yun Chun’s heart. Then came her voice, husky with evident desire: “Are you… about to leave again?”

Why ask that?

She had forgotten the exact night, but she’d woken in the small hours feeling arms around her. Terrified, she struggled to push them away, but it was futile—her hands and feet felt shackled, immobile. She tried to cry out, only for her lips to be sealed by theirs, muffling her to mere whimpers.

When that familiar kiss descended, her panic subsided.

She had allowed these sudden kisses.

Back then, she had thought…

Ever since, they appeared every few days, repeating the ritual: kissing her.

At first, it was just mouth-to-mouth. Once she stopped resisting, it escalated. Every time they kissed her into a dizzy haze, she braced for more—only for them to pull away and leave.

It was excessive, sneaking into her home at night to kiss her. Yet they never crossed the line.

Leaving her alone in bed, churning with unsatisfied desire.

Sometimes Yun Chun could endure it, but other times she had to take matters into her own hands to resolve the fire they’d ignited.

She hated them for it.

What did they take her for?

After her question, she felt the one kissing her chin pause, followed by a faint, almost imaginary chuckle—as if mocking her complete surrender, from initial resistance to current reluctance.

The laugh was beautiful; Yun Chun’s lower belly clenched.

She parted her lips and exhaled a breath scented with orchids: “Why won’t you speak?”

She had never heard them talk, as if they were mute, only capable of hums like “mm,” “ah,” or “oh.”

Thinking of that recent muffled hum, Yun Chun’s mischievous side resurfaced. She rubbed her chin against them by feel, wondering if she could coax out a sound.

But no matter how she nuzzled or writhed, it was like wasted effort. Not only did they make no noise, but they seemed to pull back a little.

Watching her silently, like an observer appreciating a show.

Yun Chun’s face heated with embarrassment, and she stilled.

She wanted to reach up and remove the blindfold, but her hand had barely lifted before it was pressed down. She gave up.

Yun Chun wore a nightgown—she disliked pajama pants or sets, preferring dresses, mostly spaghetti-strap ones.

In her wriggling, the hem had ridden up to her waist, baring her flat stomach to the air. Her dainty navel was the most vulnerable spot on that expanse of exposed skin.

With her eyes covered, Yun Chun felt vulnerable too. So when they poked her navel with a finger—equally vulnerable—she shuddered twice and curled to the side.

“Don’t… don’t touch there.”

Her pleading voice was soft and feeble, only making one want to tease her more.

But they didn’t. Obediently, they withdrew their finger—but not far. Instead, their cool fingertip traced circles around it.

Yun Chun’s waist arched involuntarily.

Not only were their fingers cool; their body was chilly, lacking warmth.

When Yun Chun’s warm skin met theirs, it chilled her instantly.

Like plunging into a spring stream—not bone-chilling, but rushing over her body, stirring vibrant life.

It flushed her cheeks.

She wanted the current to quicken, to sweep over her.

But…

They made no further moves.

Just as Yun Chun thought they had left, their breath ghosted her ear.

It grew heavier.

Closer and closer. Yun Chun bit her lip, recognizing this as their parting ritual.

Nipping her earlobe with their teeth.

Sure enough, even as she recalled the tingling numbness from past bites, the sensation hit her anew.

They released her quickly, and the pomegranate scent lingering in the air faded away.

Yun Chun’s eyes snapped open.

Her body burned, her neck slick with sweat.

Her brows furrowed slightly, her lips parted as she panted.

Draping an arm over her eyes, Yun Chun muttered a curse under her breath: Damn it, another erotic dream.

Yes, Yun Chun never resisted because, in the dream, she knew full well: this was just a dream.

One her subconscious craved.

And recurring, at that.

The same person, the same routine. Always just foreplay, no climax.

Was her libido really this rampant lately?

A whole month of the same steamy dream in a row.

After resting a bit, Yun Chun threw off the covers and got out of bed. Before falling asleep, she had covered her entire body with a thin summer quilt, but now it only draped across her stomach. It was the height of summer, and no one in their right mind should bundle up under a quilt on a sweltering night like this—but over the past two months, she had felt as if a pair of eyes were watching her from somewhere in the house. The eerie sensation made her hair stand on end, just like if someone had secretly installed surveillance cameras… But she had checked everywhere, and there was nothing wrong with the place.

That led to a new explanation: there was a ghost in the house.

As a result, no matter how hot it got, Yun Chun insisted on covering herself with at least a layer of quilt.

It was a time-honored rule between humans and ghosts: a quilt acted as a protective barrier, and nothing could harm the person underneath it.

She switched on the bedside lamp, and the warm glow chased away the night’s creeping dread. Yun Chun slipped off her damp panties, picked them up with two fingers, and carried them to the bathroom, tossing them into a basin.

The apartment she rented was getting on in years, and the bathroom light flickered on and off because of faulty wiring. When she had first moved in, she replaced the bulb, but it started flickering again after only a short while. She had complained to the landlord countless times, but he grew annoyed and brushed her off. “Oh, wiring problems aren’t my responsibility,” he said. “Go talk to the power company. Complaining to me won’t do you any good…”

If she called the power company, she would end up footing most of the bill, while that tight-fisted landlord skimped and saved every penny he could. Thinking it was better to save what she could, Yun Chun decided to let it slide.

The flickering light had never seemed scary before, but the strange atmosphere of the past few days had heightened her nerves to a breaking point. She didn’t dare linger in the bathroom. After a quick cleanup, she bolted back to the bed like a shot from a bow.

She pulled the covers over herself and slept straight through until dawn.