Chapter 71

Li Jia took another sip of milk tea, her eyes squinting happily for a moment before she passed it over. “Sister, you should try some too.”

Ye Chengxing leaned in and took a sip just like that.

It really was sweet.

Even after swallowing, she could feel that lingering sweetness on the tip of her tongue.

They had clearly made two cups, yet it felt as if there were only one—insisting on sharing this one together before moving on to the next.

The movie Li Jia had picked was a pure campus romance, full of the heart-fluttering awkwardness and subtle tension between its two female leads.

After watching for a while, Ye Chengxing heard Li Jia ask, “What was Sister like back in school?”

She pondered for a moment, letting out a soft hum. “Me in school…”

Ye Chengxing spoke at an unhurried pace, unfolding those old memories like scenes from a film slowly revealing themselves before her listener’s eyes.

As Li Jia listened, it felt as though she were stepping right into that sparkling youth of Ye Chengxing’s, living it alongside her.

“And… did Sister ever like someone in school?” she couldn’t help but follow up.

Ye Chengxing shook her head with a chuckle at the question. “No, no. Back when I was studying, I was completely oblivious to that sort of thing. Actually, even later on, I didn’t feel much about it. After starting work, I was just buried in my career—doctors really are worked to death.”

She paused there. “In any case… Xiao Li, you’re my first love. In every sense of the word.”

The words slipped out before Ye Chengxing could stop them, and she felt a flush of embarrassment rising even as Li Jia was still processing.

She wasn’t some teenager anymore, but saying something like that out loud still made her feel unexpectedly shy.

Seeing Li Jia open her mouth to respond, Ye Chengxing’s mix of embarrassment and nerves got the better of her. She simply leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to her lips.

“Don’t say anything yet.”

Li Jia let out a soft laugh at her words, pulling her close for a returned kiss. “Okay then. I’ll pretend I didn’t notice Sister getting all shy. Let’s keep watching the movie.”

Ye Chengxing could feel the heat rising to her face again.

Desperate to shift her focus, she turned her gaze back to the screen. It suddenly struck her that whenever Li Jia watched movies or TV shows, they always seemed to revolve around romance—and she always watched with such rapt attention, no matter if the storyline’s love arc was good or bad.

So… she must really love this kind of movie, right?

With that thought, Ye Chengxing realized she didn’t actually know much about what Li Jia truly enjoyed, especially since their daily life didn’t reveal any strong preferences.

That realization prompted her to ask directly.

Li Jia turned from the screen at the sound of her voice, answering without hesitation. “Things I like to do? There are too many to count.”

“I like cooking with you, watching movies with you, taking baths with you, reading with you, kissing you, doing it with you…”

Ye Chengxing coughed preemptively before Li Jia could finish that last word, a faint blush creeping up her ears. “Okay, I get it. But that’s not quite what I meant—I wasn’t asking about things Xiao Li likes doing with me. What I meant was things you like doing on your own. I probably didn’t explain it clearly.”

Li Jia made a soft, questioning sound. “That’s exactly what I was answering.”

“Everything in this world is more or less the same to me. The only things that feel special, the only things I truly like, are the ones I do with you.”

Her tone was as matter-of-fact as if she were commenting on the weather.

Coming from anyone else, it would have been a heartrending declaration of love. But for Li Jia, it was simply a statement of fact.

Ye Chengxing blinked, momentarily at a loss as Li Jia’s words sank in.

Then she remembered those words Li Jia had gasped out in agony, fingers tight around her throat: “Before I met you, I never even needed emotions like that.”

An unbidden pang of heartache spread through her chest. Without thinking, Ye Chengxing murmured, “…Do you regret it?”

The question came out of nowhere, but Li Jia understood perfectly.

Meeting her gaze, Li Jia paused for two seconds before breaking into a smile. “Shouldn’t I be the one asking Sister that?”

She leaned in closer, her eyes fixed unwaveringly on Ye Chengxing’s. “If Sister could go back to the very beginning with all your memories intact, would you still make the same choice?”

Ye Chengxing imagined it for a moment. “That would actually be great. Doing it over, I could take down those scum even faster…”

Li Jia’s expression faltered slightly.

She buried her face in the crook of Ye Chengxing’s neck, hugging her tightly. “Regret it? Not at all. Without you showing up, none of this would have any meaning. If anything, it’s because of you that everything finally gained some.”

Love made the mad even madder, the obsessive even more entrenched—but it also taught the mad to temper themselves and the obsessive to try changing.

She truly didn’t want to let her go. But she couldn’t keep her locked away forever, forcing her to stay by her side without ever leaving.

Ye Chengxing had said “I love you” countless times already, yet Li Jia still struggled to believe it, to be sure.

Ye Chengxing had taken care of her for so long. Maybe it was just pity, heartache from everything that had happened before—like how she stayed so rational even now, resisting the pull of pheromones and refusing a complete mark.

She cherished her, yes. But it might not be romantic love.

How could she keep holding her here…?

At this point, aside from her pity, the main reason Ye Chengxing stayed was that Li Jia wouldn’t let her leave—and with the System out of contact, she couldn’t leave even if she wanted to.

Li Jia couldn’t help but let her lips and teeth linger on that small patch of smooth skin at the Alpha’s shoulder and neck, pressing until a mark bloomed there.

A red imprint against snow-white skin.

It stung faintly, accompanied by a tingling itch that spread in fine waves.

Ye Chengxing had noticed it before during their intimate moments: Li Jia loved leaving marks on her body. If they had to go out right now, she’d definitely need a scarf or a turtleneck to cover up.

Unlike her, whose own marks on Li Jia were always hidden at the crease of her thigh—completely out of sight.

As Ye Chengxing recalled this, her fingertips brushed over the Omega’s nape. The person in her arms, who had been about to bite down again, suddenly lost her strength; what was meant to be a nip turned into a soft lick from the tip of her tongue.

Her hand paused there at the back of Li Jia’s neck.

Then it trailed down her spine, tracing the curve of her waist before gently tugging her clothes aside.

No need to check further—it was already a hopeless mess.

The breath against her neck came warm and hot, almost petulant as it nuzzled lightly, sensing her hesitation. “Sister… touch me more.”

Ye Chengxing shook her head. “We just made milk tea and drank it… Or wait here a sec…”

She started to rise as she spoke, but before she could turn, Li Jia grabbed the hem of her shirt. “Don’t go.”

Li Jia met her eyes, the corners red and glistening with moisture.

Her thin clothes had already slipped down to her ankles.

She withdrew the hand clutching Ye Chengxing’s shirt and placed it on her own thigh instead.

Sliding from the outer side to the inner.

Her slender white fingers pressed hard, nearly sinking into the soft flesh.

She parted herself for her.

Like a shy yet alluring bivalve, her voice husky with desire. “If not with your fingers…”

“Then Sister… lick me instead.”