Chapter 53: Shared Bliss: Love Thick and Burning Part 1

Heat drove Ye Xi to seize control once more. She grabbed Shen Mingjin’s wrist and pulled her onto the bed, letting Shen Mingjin’s body crash against the edge again. The clear pressure reappeared along her thigh, accompanied by warm, soft flesh under the weight.

This time, Ye Xi distinctly felt the oppressive sensation—someone had sat on her thigh.

Warmth seeped through the fabric, claiming the skin of her thigh.

Ye Xi ignored the wondrous touch on her thigh. She gripped Shen Mingjin’s waist, deepening the sudden kiss to prevent the impulsive Shen Mingjin from escaping easily. Her fingers gently stroked the small of Shen Mingjin’s back.

Scorching fingertips left their exclusive mark in the sensitive dip of her waist, stirring deeper desire.

The overflowing gasps sounded especially clear in the silent room. Shen Mingjin’s fair skin flushed completely red, every inch rising with faint pink traces. The intensifying shyness only added to her allure, and Ye Xi suddenly felt an urge to cover every inch of Shen Mingjin’s skin with peach blossom marks.

She wanted to add vibrant strokes to this pure white canvas, but she couldn’t quite guess Shen Mingjin’s intentions at that moment.

Ye Xi still released Shen Mingjin, though her burning body refused to let go.

Her arms circled Shen Mingjin’s waist, pulling her further onto the bed.

Shen Mingjin’s legs rubbed against the bed’s edge, her soft skin generating spots of heat from the friction.

The heat crept toward Ye Xi’s thigh, but Ye Xi didn’t linger on it. She pressed her forehead against Shen Mingjin’s and asked, “Sister, do you know what you’re doing?”

Ye Xi stared intently into Shen Mingjin’s eyes, searching for signs of the seal loosening and desire taking over. But this time, Shen Mingjin wasn’t controlled by desire.

Shen Mingjin was perfectly clear-headed. She knew exactly what she was doing.

That kiss had been her initiative.

Shen Mingjin lowered her gaze, her fingertip gently grinding against her skin. “I… Ye Xi, I carried you back, bathed you, changed your bandages. I… I should take responsibility.”

Shen Mingjin was truly terrible at lying and couldn’t come up with a better excuse.

If she truly had that resolve, they would have formalized their relationship the night they returned from Wanghe Village.

Ye Xi didn’t believe Shen Mingjin, nor did she call out the lie. She simply stared silently at her. Someone unpracticed in deception would cave under such quiet confrontation. Shen Mingjin didn’t hold out long before voicing her true feelings. “Ye Xi, I want to protect you.”

Shen Mingjin’s gentle yet persistent gaze lingered on Ye Xi’s lingering scars, her voice growing firmer. “I don’t want to see you hurt again. I have the power to protect you. As long as… as long as the seal is lifted, I’m a great demon too. The Spirit-Devouring Snake Clan’s combat strength is very strong…”

Under Ye Xi’s silent gaze, Shen Mingjin’s resolute voice grew weaker and weaker until it was almost inaudible.

Shen Mingjin guiltily lowered her head. Ye Xi didn’t accept such emotions. “Sister, I have great talent. Bureau Chief Ni even shared her power with me. In the future, I can protect myself and you. I don’t need you to go this far for me, or sacrifice for me.”

“It’s not… not a sacrifice.” Shen Mingjin stammered, the mumbled words carrying an emotion Ye Xi couldn’t decipher.

“Sister, I don’t want you to change anything just to take care of me.”

Ye Xi didn’t yield. Shen Mingjin bit her lip until a bead of blood welled up before speaking. “Ye Xi, there’s a problem with our family genes.”

Ye Xi had heard this excuse many times before, but this time it felt different.

The evasion in Shen Mingjin’s eyes had been replaced by an unusual determination, and Ye Xi grew a bit expectant for what she would say next.

Shen Mingjin gazed into Ye Xi’s eyes and reiterated, “It’s a big problem.”

“Sister, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with you.”

“Ye Xi, you… let me finish.” Shen Mingjin’s firm gaze softened bit by bit, delicate self-abasement surging in her eyes. “I don’t know if I’ll hurt you in the future, but I’ll try my best to restrain myself. I’ll do my best…”

Shen Mingjin had told Ye Xi to let her finish, but halfway through, her excessive reticence stole her voice.

She didn’t pour out the long-suppressed emotions with words. Instead, her fingers stroked her forearm, revealing a piece of red scale. With a gentle flick of her fingertip, she broke the seal on it. As the seal shattered, a sweet, alluring fragrance spread through the room.

Shen Mingjin pounced on Ye Xi again, her arms wrapping around Ye Xi’s neck as she offered another fervent kiss.

She lacked Ye Xi’s clear logic and couldn’t always articulate smoothly.

Even confessing love made her own face flush first. Shen Mingjin resorted to this method to unleash her passion, refusing to bury herself in shyness and miss the chance to express her love to Ye Xi. In this relationship, it had never been just one heart stirring.

Ye Xi was a bit dazed by the sudden surprise, but fortunately, her body enjoyed the proactively embracing beauty more than her mind did. Before her thoughts could unravel Shen Mingjin’s intentions, her lips and teeth bit down first, greedily sucking at the soft sweetness offered.

Her tongue tip clearly tasted the fragrance on Shen Mingjin’s lips, their entangled mouths moistening the dry ones.

So sweet.

The moment she released Shen Mingjin’s lips, Ye Xi subconsciously licked her own, savoring the lingering sweetness.

She felt a strong impulse to devour the fragrant, soft pastry before her, but she held back intensely, seeking confirmation first.

When Ye Xi spoke again, her voice was husky, full of desire as she caressed. “Sister, do you like me?”

“Mm.” Shen Mingjin nodded. Thinking of Ye Xi’s past enthusiasm toward her, she felt such a simple answer wasn’t enough. She touched her burning ear tip. “Ye Xi, I… I know you don’t really like to smile, but I love seeing you smile. I know you’re lying to me, but… I still find your lies pleasing. I like the way you look at me. I like… you…”

That was enough!

Though Shen Mingjin still stumbled over her words, Ye Xi clearly heard “I like you.”

She leaned in for an enthusiastic kiss on the lips that had just spoken such sweet words. Far more outgoing than Shen Mingjin, once her emotions could flow freely, she unhesitatingly confessed. “Sister, I love you so much. I’ve loved you for so long.”

“There are so many things about you that make my heart race. I love your smile, Sister. I love the Sister who worries for me. Even if you do nothing, just standing there—I love you!”

The sparkle in Ye Xi’s eyes was no longer feigned enthusiasm.

She feared her words weren’t enough for Shen Mingjin to fully understand her heart.

Shen Mingjin’s fingers still pinched her ear, somewhat at a loss as she gazed at the overzealous little rabbit. The ear tip under her fingers seemed even redder, probably hotter too.

Ye Xi was neither reserved nor restrained; she excelled at pushing boundaries.

Once granted permission and status, the urge to touch became action.

Ye Xi reached for Shen Mingjin’s flushed ear, feeling the transmitted heat as her fingertip traced the delicate contour. “Sister, I don’t think you’ll hurt me.”

“Ye Xi, I…”

Shen Mingjin couldn’t respond to that. She could allow herself to love Ye Xi, but not deceive her.

Her childhood had been the Spirit-Devouring Snake Clan’s harshest survival environment. She had witnessed too many cold, damp, and extreme emotions. In Shen Mingjin’s eyes, the clan’s love was a grand fireworks display—destroying the beloved while destroying oneself.

Shen Mingjin once thought she and Shen Minghuan were normal, but later realized even Shen Minghuan wasn’t.

The only normal one in the Spirit-Devouring Snake Clan now was Shen Shuyun, who had distanced herself from the family. But in Shen Mingjin’s memories, Shen Shuyun had never touched emotions, cutting ties early and remaining without a partner to this day. Shen Shuyun couldn’t serve as her reference, so Shen Mingjin struggled to promise anything about the future.

Ye Xi read the hesitation in Shen Mingjin and stopped insisting on her perfection. “Sister, if one day you really do hurt me, I’ll still be glad it’s you.”

Shen Mingjin guiltily averted her gaze. The demon poison’s worsening genes remained an insurmountable mountain in her heart.

She feared love turning into torment, feared hurting Ye Xi.

Ye Xi only feared Shen Mingjin didn’t love her enough. Watching Shen Mingjin avoid her eyes while her breathing quickened, Ye Xi suddenly suggested, “Sister, how about we try it first?”

“Try it?” Shen Mingjin blinked, looking at Ye Xi in confusion. “Try what?”

“Try tying me up, hitting me.” Ye Xi fixed on Shen Mingjin’s slender, delicate palm, her gaze sweeping repeatedly over the snowy wrists. “If you experience it beforehand, Sister, you won’t hold back your feelings or suppress your love for me.”

Shen Mingjin looked helplessly at the serious, earnest Ye Xi. “Ye Xi, that would hurt.”

“I’m not afraid of pain. I’m afraid Sister doesn’t love me enough, or won’t love me.”

“No, that’s not okay.”

Ye Xi blinked innocently, staring unblinkingly at Shen Mingjin. “Sister.”

There was a plea in her eyes.

Shen Mingjin could tell she was serious, reigniting her impulse to flee.

“Ye Xi, I’ll love you, but I won’t hit you.”

Shen Mingjin pulled back, urgently trying to widen the distance to prevent Ye Xi from grabbing her hand and forcing it to strike.

Having watched her sister turn mad, Shen Mingjin had always hated extreme emotions. During Ye Xi’s coma, she had seriously considered their future and reached one conclusion: if she ever went mad enough to hurt Ye Xi, she would first kill herself.

She rejected twisted, pathological love laced with hate, but Ye Xi seemed different.

Shen Mingjin sensed Ye Xi’s subtle pathological tendencies—Ye Xi seemed to need only enough love to fill her shell, heedless of her own pain.

“Sister, if you love me, don’t push me away.”

Ye Xi gave Shen Mingjin no chance to escape. She grabbed her wrist and yanked her onto the bed, pressing her body against the mattress. A sudden heat rose in Ye Xi’s chest, and she subconsciously rubbed it, frowning.

Shen Mingjin: “Ye Xi, what’s wrong?”

She wanted to check on Ye Xi, her back against the mattress as she struggled lightly.

Her back rubbed against the sheets, fingers unconsciously clutching at them as she tried to sit up.

As Shen Mingjin’s body writhed on the bed, the odd sensation in Ye Xi’s chest intensified. She didn’t let Shen Mingjin slip out from under her but watched quietly as her body frictioned against the mattress. “Sister, my chest feels a bit itchy.”

Shen Mingjin startled. The rising heat on her back reminded her of something important she’d forgotten.

“Ye Xi, I… there’s something I need to tell you. I…” Shen Mingjin guiltily lowered her gaze. “Your clone soul body accidentally got fused into the mattress by me. I…”

As expected.

Ye Xi wasn’t surprised by the answer. She’d vaguely guessed it when she first felt the anomaly on her thigh.

Though she already knew, she feigned surprise on the surface. “Hm?”

Shen Mingjin didn’t dare meet Ye Xi’s eyes, her voice so soft it was nearly inaudible. “Ye Xi, I didn’t expect it. I was just hurrying to wipe you down and apply medicine. I cleaned it off first and put it on the bed. By the time I… carried you over, it had already fused in.”

Shen Mingjin wanted to apologize—after all, she’d fused Ye Xi’s clone into a large, immovable object, against Ye Tan’s earlier instructions to her.

Before she could express regret, Ye Xi cut her off.

Ye Xi pressed her index finger to Shen Mingjin’s moist lips, observing where her body met the mattress, a full smile welling in her eyes. “Fused into the mattress, huh.”

This wasn’t a bad thing.

On the contrary.

It seemed pretty great.

With a slight mental nudge from Ye Xi, the mattress trembled subtly, rubbing against Shen Mingjin’s thigh roots and buttocks through her clothes and sheets. The sudden friction made Shen Mingjin’s propped-up upper body collapse back, her back pressing fully against the mattress again.