Shen Yaoyao’s heart leaped. Just as she expected, the unavoidable moment had arrived.
But she truly couldn’t bring herself to say it. She had no intention of betraying the Hell Organization.
If she kept her mouth shut, the most likely outcome would be Bai Jinghong sending her away.
“Hold on, let me get these ropes untied first!”
Bai Jinghong paused, then shifted his hands to deal with the ropes.
When the bodyguards tied them up yesterday, they had deliberately avoided Bai Jinghong’s hands holding Shen Yaoyao.
His hands were still free to move.
If not for those hands locking Shen Yaoyao tightly in place, these ropes probably wouldn’t have done a damn thing.
Trying to bind an Earth Rank Warrior? Dream on, even if that warrior’s strength was temporary.
While untying the ropes, Bai Jinghong silently cursed his own brain for short-circuiting.
Hell, he’d been so focused on the fight yesterday, he forgot to use the Soul Capturing Eye.
Otherwise, controlling Shen Yaoyao for just three seconds would have been enough to subdue her.
He didn’t have to take a punch at all.
Once the ropes were loosened, the two finally separated.
Shen Yaoyao stretched her stiff muscles. Just as she was about to move aside, Bai Jinghong suddenly pulled her onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her.
A startled gasp escaped her, and she was already in his embrace.
“This is much more comfortable to hold!”
“Back to business. I’ll ask you questions, and you answer me honestly.”
Shen Yaoyao didn’t respond. She thought to herself that if Bai Jinghong asked about her identity or the force behind her, she would inevitably keep her mouth shut.
Even though a special feeling for Bai Jinghong had taken root in her heart, that didn’t mean she would betray the organization.
Having made up her mind, Shen Yaoyao looked at Bai Jinghong.
“Tell me, did something happen in your childhood that affected you?”
“Because when you were drunk, it wasn’t me you were cursing, but ‘all of you.’ And you were terrified.”
Shen Yaoyao was stunned. She could never have imagined Bai Jinghong would ask this.
Shouldn’t he be questioning her about who sent her?
Bai Jinghong cupped her exquisitely beautiful face in his hands, his voice impossibly gentle. “Don’t overthink it. The reason I want to know is to help you walk out of that nightmare.”
“I truly can’t bear to see you tormented endlessly. If you trust me, tell me. I’ll definitely find a way.”
Shen Yaoyao felt a sharp tug at her heart, staring blankly at Bai Jinghong.
So, from beginning to end, Bai Jinghong only cared about her. He didn’t care at all about what purpose she might have in lurking by his side.
In fact, Bai Jinghong knew everything.
As someone whose mind held the script, asking anything was redundant.
But this matter was different.
If Shen Yaoyao could pour out that tormented past to him, that would be the true way to pull her to his side.
Revealing the unbearable secrets deep in her heart was equivalent to surrendering her heart.
After all, besides the culprit, only Shen Yaoyao herself knew about that incident. Even that fool Chen Lin was clueless.
A full minute of silence passed.
Shen Yaoyao finally spoke slowly.
“Back then, I was only five years old…”
Bai Jinghong listened quietly, feeling the waves of emotion from Shen Yaoyao.
Her body was even trembling.
Shen Yaoyao was from Su Province, born into a wealthy family, a beloved Eldest Miss doted on by her family.
When she was five, a group of people stormed her home and began a slaughter.
Still very young, Shen Yaoyao was bound by her older sister, her mouth taped shut, and stuffed under a bed to survive.
The original intention was to prevent her from making sounds or movements that would alert anyone. But what no one could have expected was that, unable to speak or move, Shen Yaoyao ended up witnessing her relatives die right before her eyes.
And Bai Jinghong also understood why the sound of a vase shattering could terrify her so much.
After all, when those people ransacked the house, there were also many sounds of porcelain shattering to the floor.
With a shadow like that, it would be a wonder if nightmares didn’t sprout.
As Shen Yaoyao spoke, tears uncontrollably streamed down her face.
Bai Jinghong wiped her tears for her, a hint of helplessness in his heart.
He only knew the process and the result, but he truly didn’t know who did it.
“System, about Shen Yaoyao’s storyline, it’s incomplete. Can you reveal anything on your end?”
At this moment, Bai Jinghong thought of the system.
[Ding. Reporting to Host, Shen Yaoyao’s plot belongs to background story.]
[In the original work, it was also left unresolved.]
“Hell, isn’t that just digging a hole and not filling it? I don’t care, I want to know who did it. Dig it up for me!”
[That… is doable.]
“Then fine, tell me!”
[Ding. Host need not worry. You only need to continue following the plot. As you proceed, the story thread will trigger itself.]
Bai Jinghong didn’t press further.
If the system said so, then it must have some arrangement in place.
How long had it been since Chen Lin’s storyline? As he continued forward, he would still meet many people. The trigger the system mentioned was certainly among those people.
And according to Bai Jinghong’s judgment, the one who wiped out Shen Yaoyao’s family was, nine times out of ten, inseparable from the Hell Organization.
Chen Lin was unlikely. When Shen Yaoyao’s family had its accident, Chen Lin was probably fighting wild dogs for scraps in some alley.
The other possibility, then, was the other leader of the Hell Organization, the Death God!
After all, it fit the setting requirements—a classic trope.
By the time Shen Yaoyao finished speaking, tears had already streaked her face like a pear blossom bathed in rain.
What happened afterwards was easy to understand.
Shen Yaoyao became the sole survivor of that incident, was sent to an orphanage, and later taken away to be trained.
Bai Jinghong gently patted Shen Yaoyao’s back, his voice soft. “Don’t be afraid. With me here, whatever demons and monsters come will die!”
“I’ll help you take revenge. When the time comes, I’ll let you settle it with your own hands and sever that nightmare.”
Shen Yaoyao hugged Bai Jinghong tightly, burying her face against his chest.
In that moment, it was as if Shen Yaoyao had finally found a place to belong.
A long while later, Bai Jinghong spoke. “Yao Yao, I know you’re hiding many things from me.”
“But I don’t want to interrogate you. I hope that one day in the future, you’ll take the initiative to tell me.”
“I’m not afraid that you might harm me. Of course, if that day truly comes, I’m willing to be hurt by you.”
Bai Jinghong directly unleashed his ultimate move.
Shen Yaoyao lowered her head, her heart beginning to waver again.
“Alright, let’s not think about those things anymore. I have a small request now. I wonder if you’ll agree?”
“What is it?” Shen Yaoyao asked, puzzled.
“I want to kiss you…”
Shen Yaoyao’s small mouth parted slightly, a blush rising on her cheeks. “You… haven’t you kissed me plenty of times already? Why ask?”
Bai Jinghong shook his head. “It’s different. This time, you have to take the initiative. You kiss me, the kind with tongues!”
“Honestly, even though our mouths were pressed together the whole night, I never dared to stick my tongue out. I was terrified of putting a whole one in and getting half of one out!”
Shen Yaoyao blushed deeply. “You… you always say such embarrassing things!”
“So, will you agree?” Bai Jinghong looked at her expectantly.
Shen Yaoyao bit her lip, her chest heaving up and down as she clearly wrestled with the decision.
After a long moment, she slowly leaned in, pressing her lips to Bai Jinghong’s lips, and without hesitation, her little lilac tongue slipped inside.
Shen Yaoyao felt extremely shy, and upon making contact, her subconscious instinct was to bite that annoying little thing.
But when her pearly teeth closed on it, it transformed into a gentle, tender nibble.
Step by step, Bai Jinghong had conquered her during this time.
She had experienced the care and affection of Bai Jinghong’s family, on top of his own doting love for her.
Added to that was a whole night of kissing.
And now, entangled so intimately, especially after pouring out the unbearable depths of her heart without reservation just moments ago.
All these factors combined, and Shen Yaoyao gradually gave her heart to Bai Jinghong, having silently accepted certain things.
Feeling that annoying tongue gently teasing her fragrant snake, tenderly entwining.
Soon, Shen Yaoyao completely relaxed, gradually shifting from acceptance to enjoyment, savoring that sweet sensation that sent shivers through her entire body.
The exquisite, wondrous experience blossoming from the tips of their tongues spread throughout her, as if her body was soaking in a hot spring, drifting among soft clouds.
