Chapter 13: The Naughty Puppy Defying Big Sis

Lu Zhixia snapped back to her senses only to find that her T-shirt had been transformed into a genuine backless top, her shoulders held together by nothing more than thin crisscrossing straps.

She had no idea when Shen Wanqing had grabbed a pair of scissors and snipped away the ruined fabric from her back, turning it into a ragged mess.

Lu Zhixia’s cheeks flushed red as she glared back at her. “You’re taking advantage of me!”

“Yeah,” Shen Wanqing admitted lazily from her seat behind her. “I’m treating your wounds right now. You might want to be a little nicer, or my cotton swab might miss the spot.”

The threat never went beyond words.

Lu Zhixia huffed twice. Shen Wanqing’s touch was gentle—she could feel that much. But even just disinfecting the scrapes hurt like hell. She hunched her back slightly, shivering every so often with the instinctive urge to pull away.

Shen Wanqing suddenly stood up. She bent her arm and tucked Lu Zhixia’s chin into the crook of her elbow. “Lean on me,” she said flatly.

For someone as stubborn as Lu Zhixia, it was better left unsaid. The moment the words were out, she wanted nothing more than to lean back away from her.

“Ah!” A sharp sting shot across Lu Zhixia’s back. She jerked forward on instinct.

Her chin fit perfectly in the elbow’s curve. Lu Zhixia grabbed Shen Wanqing’s arm with both hands. “You did that on purpose!”

Shen Wanqing didn’t deny it. From the corner of her eye, she caught sight of the smaller woman’s chin tucked obediently into her arm, and an image flashed through her mind—the familiar sight of the puppy curled up in the bend of her arm. The faintest smile tugged at her lips.

Leaning against Shen Wanqing’s shoulder for support, Lu Zhixia let her head relax a little. As she breathed, she caught a faint scent lingering in the air. It couldn’t be pheromones, could it?

What did Shen Wanqing’s pheromones even smell like? Her last gland awakening had something to do with her, but Lu Zhixia had no memory of it at all.

The large expanse of abrasions on her back took a full hour to clean and treat, even the minor ones.

Lu Zhixia was on the slimmer side, and with her back hunched, the ridges of her spine were faintly visible.

The worst of the scrapes covered an area where there was barely any muscle between her skin and bone. Shen Wanqing’s brows furrowed slightly.

Even with the lightest touch, she could feel Lu Zhixia’s body trembling. Sweat beaded on her forehead and trickled down her cheek onto Shen Wanqing’s arm.

“Want to chat?” Shen Wanqing asked abruptly.

Lu Zhixia was gritting her teeth through the pain, letting out a shaky breath. “Mm. I just remembered something.”

She’d come here to drop Shen Wanqing off—she needed to get home. Her voice was soft as she spoke, her little mouth opening and closing, her chin wiggling against Shen Wanqing’s arm. It tickled a bit.

“Go home like that? You sure?”

Lu Zhixia pursed her lips, then said, “Fine, I’ll crash at a friend’s place.”

Shen Wanqing worked carefully to pick out the grains of sand from the wounds. “Am I not your friend?”

Lu Zhixia shot back, “Are we friends?”

“Exactly,” Shen Wanqing said matter-of-factly. “More than friends.”

Lu Zhixia pouted. Shen Wanqing continued, “We’ve even slept together…”

“I didn’t sleep with you!” Lu Zhixia protested hotly. “I-I haven’t even…!”

“You’d like to,” Shen Wanqing said, ruffling her hair gently like she was petting a big dog. “If you want to mark me, you’d better work on your stamina first.”

The pain from her wounds had already flushed Lu Zhixia’s face bright red; now the blush crept all the way up to her hairline.

Shen Wanqing’s meaning… As Lu Zhixia mulled it over, Shen Wanqing pulled her into an embrace and leaned down toward the wound. In a slow, deliberate murmur, she said, “Anyway, you’ll have to figure it out yourself. You can’t mark me—you can only let me have my way with you.”

Lu Zhixia looked up, tilting her chin defiantly, her eyes sparkling. “Shen Wanqing, what exactly do you mean by that?”

Shen Wanqing pressed her palm to the top of Lu Zhixia’s head. “Head down.”

“What you just said—is it what I’m thinking?” Lu Zhixia asked uncertainly.

“And what are you thinking?” Shen Wanqing replied leisurely. “Aren’t you a translator? You should be the most careful with your words, avoiding anything vague or misleading.”

Lu Zhixia huffed in dissatisfaction. “That’s because you weren’t clear enough! Why not just say it straight out?”

“Not straightforward enough for you?” Shen Wanqing finished tending the last of the wounds and gave Lu Zhixia’s cheeks a playful shake. “You don’t have a girlfriend, do you?”

Lu Zhixia’s eyes flickered, but she put on a tough front. “So what if I don’t?”

“Then be my bedmate first.” Shen Wanqing locked eyes with her, dead serious. “Two hundred thousand as a deposit. Say some sweet nothings in bed.” She poked Lu Zhixia right between the brows, like she was scolding a wayward child. “And stop defying me all the time.”

Incredulity flashed in Lu Zhixia’s eyes. She’d heard the words, but they didn’t quite register. “Shen Wanqing, do you even realize what you’re saying?”

“Are your ears clogged?” Shen Wanqing pinched her earlobe and blew gently into it.

Lu Zhixia shook her head at the ticklish sensation. The movement tugged at her wounds, making her grimace in pain.

Shen Wanqing slid around to sit in front of her. She cupped Lu Zhixia’s face, making sure their gazes met.

She repeated it all word for word, one syllable at a time. When she finished, she asked, “Clear now?”

Lu Zhixia fell silent for a moment. Shen Wanqing fixed her with a stare. “Going to turn me down?”

“Why should I say yes?” Lu Zhixia shot back.

Shen Wanqing gave her a deep look before suddenly smiling. Without a word, she stood and pressed down on Lu Zhixia’s head.

Forced to bow her head, Lu Zhixia huffed indignantly. “What are you doing?”

“Treating that big mosquito bite for you.” Shen Wanqing suddenly pressed on her gland. Lu Zhixia’s body went soft in an instant, and she said urgently, “Don’t just press it randomly.”

As she applied the ointment, Lu Zhixia couldn’t tell if Shen Wanqing was doing it on purpose, but her fingers kept circling her gland.

By the time the ointment was fully applied, Lu Zhixia felt drenched in sweat.

Shen Wanqing ignored her and turned away, vanishing somewhere into the house.

The place was so huge that Lu Zhixia sat alone on the sofa, feeling utterly isolated.

She let out a long breath and rubbed her throbbing head, replaying her conversation with Shen Wanqing. Her heart churned with unease.

She sat there for quite a while, but there was no sign of Shen Wanqing.

Her gaze fell on the phone on the sofa. Lu Zhixia glanced behind her, then picked up Shen Wanqing’s phone.

It had a password lock, so she set it down again.

Soon, footsteps approached. Shen Wanqing returned, wrapped in a bathrobe.

Lu Zhixia shoved the phone into the corner of the sofa and slowly stood. Proactively, she said, “Can I borrow your phone? I can’t find mine.”

Shen Wanqing’s voice held no warmth. “You’ve got me blocked. How would you even call?”

Caught out, Lu Zhixia coughed awkwardly. “It’s not blocked anymore.”

Shen Wanqing picked up the phone and stood beside her, manually entering Lu Zhixia’s number.

“You memorized it?” Lu Zhixia said in surprise.

Shen Wanqing’s tone was icy. “It’s just a few digits.”

Lu Zhixia could sense that Shen Wanqing was angry, her words as cold as before.

She instinctively resisted getting more entangled with her, so if she was mad, fine. Lu Zhixia made a vague sound of agreement. “Lend me the phone. I need to make a call.”

Shen Wanqing handed it over, her demeanor indifferent. “I didn’t hold it against you for calling me deranged. You’re planning to pay back the two hundred thousand, so don’t try my methods.”

Exposed once more, Lu Zhixia dropped the pretense. “Yeah, that’s right. I want to pay you back. Best if we cut all ties.”

Shen Wanqing stared at her steadily, her gaze sharp. Lu Zhixia met her eyes without flinching, her lips twitching as she said, “Don’t forget—your dad’s marrying my mom. Even if it’s just a marriage of convenience, in a way, that makes me your sister.”

“Tch.” Shen Wanqing scoffed as if she’d heard a joke, her laugh laced with mockery. “Want to play sister now?”

“I mean in a way,” Lu Zhixia retorted, displeased. “If you want to do that kind of thing with me, wouldn’t that be totally per—”

Under the weight of Shen Wanqing’s cold, piercing stare, she swallowed the last word and mumbled, “You get what I mean.”

Shen Wanqing stepped closer, tilting her head up to meet her eyes. Her gaze was fierce. “Am I some kind of pervert in your eyes?”

Caught again, Lu Zhixia shook her head at once. Shen Wanqing let out a cold laugh. “You’re not wrong. I am.”

There was something sickly and eerie about Shen Wanqing’s smile. She stared unblinkingly into Lu Zhixia’s eyes and enunciated each word: “Just a few days ago, the person claiming to be my sister toyed with every one of my glands, hurt me badly—nearly broke me. And now she’s talking about cutting ties.”

Lu Zhixia’s lips twitched. Shen Wanqing took another step forward until their bodies pressed together. She lifted her chin, her presence overwhelming as she smiled. “And just the other day, my dear sister’s gland awakened and was on the verge of exploding. She couldn’t handle it and came begging me, so I went down on—mmph.”

Lu Zhixia clapped her hand over Shen Wanqing’s mouth. Her face burned red as she glared fiercely. “You are not saying that!”

Shen Wanqing wasn’t one to obey. She seized Lu Zhixia’s wrist and slowly pried her hand away. The smile that emerged was sharp and menacing. “Want to cut ties? Fine. Let me show you how.”

She dragged Lu Zhixia along, the pull making her back ache as she gritted her teeth.

They ended up in the bedroom—a space so vast it shocked Lu Zhixia.

The moment they entered, Shen Wanqing’s first move was to lock the door.

Her second was to grab a small medical kit from the bedside table and shove it into Lu Zhixia’s hands.

Her third: she undid her bathrobe, flung it to the floor, and glanced back over her shoulder. “Apply ointment to all my glands.”