Chapter 83

Ye Chengxing listened to the sounds drifting from the bathroom.

The water stopped—she must have turned off the shower. Li Jia’s voice carried an indescribable sultriness, laced with faint pants.

That little “mm” drew out even longer at the end.

Ye Chengxing’s anxious expression shifted subtly the moment she heard it.

The vague sense of familiarity she’d felt ever since laying eyes on Li Jia reached its peak in that instant.

Images from moments ago flashed through her mind. She paused mid-step and pulled the controller from her pocket.

It really was ingeniously designed, with exactly the texture she liked best.

Ye Chengxing glanced at it, then pressed the control button twice more.

As if caught off guard, a clear, uncontrolled gasp escaped from the bathroom—she clearly hadn’t been able to hold it back.

Ye Chengxing remembered the transparent water stains at the door.

And with them came Li Jia’s voice: “I’m doing fine now. Since you’ve seen me, just head back.”

Mm… so her mouth was the only part telling her to leave.

Staring at the controller in her hand, Ye Chengxing had a pretty good idea what it was remotely controlling.

She paused for a few seconds, then stepped into the bathroom with it.

The Omega was nearly slumped on the floor, her bath towel loose and barely covering her, half-concealing, half-revealing. Her fingertips trembled as they clutched the towel, giving her the look of someone thoroughly bullied.

Seeing her like this, Ye Chengxing suddenly recalled fragments of their shared past.

She pressed her lips together, lifted Li Jia, and settled her on the curved edge of the bathtub. Then she switched off the controller.

The air was thick with the sweet scent of white peach.

Li Jia met her gaze, her eyes misty with vapor.

She knew Ye Chengxing had figured it out.

But what could she do about it?

“Sister.” She clutched at the hem of Ye Chengxing’s clothes, her voice as watery as her eyes.

She was calling her “sister” again at a time like this.

“Why did you turn it off? Are you disgusted?”

Ye Chengxing noticed the redness around her eyes. She paused, then leaned in to press a gentle kiss to the corner of one.

It hadn’t been obvious under her clothes before, but now that she’d picked her up, Ye Chengxing realized Li Jia’s body was even weaker than she’d thought.

“You’re too weak right now. I’ll turn it off and take it out for you first. We’ll talk about the rest after you’ve properly recovered.”

Li Jia hadn’t expected her to say that. She stared at Ye Chengxing, her tone edged with anxiety. “I’m fine, really. As long as it’s what you want, sister, I can handle anything—and I want to be with you too…”

Ye Chengxing let out a silent sigh. She rubbed Li Jia’s cheek, cutting off her words. “Let me take care of you from now on. We’ll get your body back in shape first, okay?”

Her voice was so gentle, without a hint of force, yet it carried more weight than any command.

Li Jia’s lashes trembled. She nodded in agreement.

The bath towel was lifted slightly.

The exposed part clenched around a soft cord, shrinking involuntarily in the open air.

The signal receiver was shaped like a cat claw—white with pink pads.

When Ye Chengxing pinched the little cat claw and pulled, she glanced once and immediately averted her gaze, her ears turning red.

The scene was just too intensely intimate…

Even with her eyes elsewhere, the moment it came free, she heard a crystal-clear, wet sound right by her ear—

“Pop.”

It came with a soft moan from the Omega.

The flush at her ears crept to her cheeks. Ye Chengxing turned on the shower.

She’d planned to clean Li Jia up first, then deal with the pale pink little toy.

But right now, they were stuck on that “first.”

After a few failed attempts, Li Jia caught on. Seeing Ye Chengxing hesitate, she offered a soft explanation. “I didn’t mean for it to happen, but just thinking about you cleaning me…”

As if to prove her point, her body’s reactions intensified, and the pheromones in the air grew thicker. Ye Chengxing pressed a hand to her face and looked away. “I’ll step out and wash this. Can you handle yourself?”

Li Jia watched as Ye Chengxing picked up the little toy nearby. It was dripping wet, the fluid staining her hand.

The Omega’s eyes darkened a fraction, but she answered obediently with a little “mm-hmm.” “Go ahead, sister. I can manage.”

Ye Chengxing nodded and turned to leave.

She hadn’t looked when she picked it up, just cradling it in her palm. Now she registered the slick, warm softness against her skin—actually, even softer and warmer than that.

Realizing where her thoughts had wandered, Ye Chengxing felt the heat already simmering on her face flare hotter.

No more of that.

She closed her eyes briefly, then opened them again.

If she was going to think ahead, it should be about how to help Li Jia recover bit by bit.

Ye Chengxing ran the faucet and washed the cat-claw toy clean, then set it aside with the controller.

But after she finished and waited a bit, Li Jia still didn’t come out.

It seemed… a little too slow.

Just as Ye Chengxing was wondering about it, Li Jia emerged.

She had changed into a robe, but it hung loose and haphazard around her.

Before Ye Chengxing could speak, Li Jia met her eyes. As if suddenly realizing something, she said in the most innocent tone, “Sister, I was just blow-drying my hair. I wasn’t… doing anything else in there. You can check if you don’t believe me.”

Her beauty was striking, aggressive in its allure, and right now it carried an extra layer of delicate allure.

Ye Chengxing noticed that her hair was indeed dry. Hearing the hidden grievance in Li Jia’s voice, she blushed and said softly, “I didn’t think you were…”

Her voice trailed off lower. What was she even saying? She really hadn’t thought that—and certainly not about checking.

It was mortifying. Somehow, everything Li Jia said carried this seductive undertone.

An inexplicable eroticism.

Ye Chengxing coughed lightly, brushing past it. “As long as your hair’s dry, that’s good. It’s late—we should sleep.”

But as the words landed, Li Jia’s expression shifted subtly.

She looked rooted to the spot, reluctant, her lips parting but closing without a word.

Li Jia lowered her gaze.

She admitted she was greedy. Even now, after more closeness than she’d dared hope for, she still wanted to stay in this room, sleep alongside Ye Chengxing.

She didn’t want to go back to her own—even if it was right next door.

But what excuse did she have to stay…?

Seeing Li Jia like that, Ye Chengxing blinked. Her previous tone had probably come off too formal; Li Jia clearly preferred when she spoke softly. So she softened her voice and patted the bed beside her. “Come on, hop in and sleep. Okay?”

Sure enough, at those words, Li Jia came right over, the corners of her eyes tinged with a peach-blossom pink. She looked delighted.

Li Jia hadn’t realized Ye Chengxing meant to sleep together.

The Omega’s white peach pheromones sweetened even more, mirroring her mood.

She climbed into bed beside Ye Chengxing—a far cry from her earlier reluctance. Not only did she settle in quickly, she even urged Ye Chengxing to lie down too.

Ye Chengxing’s lips curved unconsciously, her thoughts drifting.

That moment in the bathroom had brought back a rare, continuous thread of memory between them.

A snowy night, after their intimacy. She’d held Li Jia and asked if she had any fantasy scenes she longed to make real.

The Omega in her arms, still hazy with wine, nuzzled her skin. “This is good enough now.”

She could feel the care, the cherishing.

She preferred the gentle aftercare and soft touches that followed over the pain or breathlessness. She craved hugs more than fierce passion.

Her deepest fantasy… was simply to be loved.

Slurring through the drunken haze, she’d confessed it in fragments. Ye Chengxing had gone still for a long moment before brushing a featherlight kiss to her lip’s corner. “Okay. I understand.”

Snapping back to the present, Ye Chengxing turned off the light and lay on her side. Her voice was clear and warm. “Sleep time. Goodnight, Xiao Li.”

The nickname slipped out on instinct; she hadn’t planned it.

It hung in the air for a few seconds. Then she felt Li Jia’s arms wrap around her waist, her face burying into her chest.

The woman’s body was warm and soft. Li Jia held her close, breathing in the faint scent she’d longed for countless times.

Caught off guard by the sudden embrace, Ye Chengxing froze for a second. Then she simply slid her hand along Li Jia’s blow-dried hair, stroking downward in a soothing rhythm.

Li Jia thought the pressure of her touch hadn’t changed a bit.

Even holding her now, feeling her presence so vividly, it still felt dreamlike, unreal.

Had Ye Chengxing really come back?

Her hollow heart filled with her return. But her mind echoed Ye Chengxing’s words from the bathroom: “from now on.”

From now on… did that mean she wouldn’t leave anytime soon?

If she did leave again, when would she return next? Would she?

Li Jia hugged her tighter.

Breathing her in, she grew even more reluctant to waste this time sleeping. She was truly afraid—afraid she’d wake to find her gone, that this was all a fantasy born after losing her.

Like the little mermaid story Ye Chengxing had once told her. The details differed, but she couldn’t shake the fear that come dawn, Ye Chengxing would dissolve into foam—impossible to hold, impossible to keep.

She really didn’t want to sleep…

But just holding her brought on drowsiness.

No more splitting headaches; in an instant, she felt at ease. It was indescribable, soft—like being wrapped in fluffy clouds.

Even unwilling, her eyes drifted shut.

—Her first unmedicated sleep in five years.