Chapter 6 — Daytime Succubus

Gaze met gaze, and I felt a wave of humiliation so intense it made my scalp tingle. Without stopping to think, I instinctively reached out to cover his eyes. A slightly hoarse voice reached my ears, laced with a helpless amusement.

"Are you alright?"

"I... I am fine!"

Flustered, I scrambled off his body and hurriedly snatched the fallen scroll from the ground.

"I am sorry, I... I truly did not mean to."

I stammered awkwardly,

"You should hurry back to your room and change."

"The weather is warm, but mud and water can still lead to a chill."

Without daring to linger a moment longer, I spun around and made a wretched escape.

I bolted straight back to my bedchamber. After gulping down three cups of tea in a row, my frantically beating heart finally began to calm down. Seated at the dressing table, I retrieved the small pill, my mind racing as I tried to figure out a foolproof way to make Shen Zhu ingest it without him ever suspecting a thing. Yet, after turning countless schemes over in my mind, I realized there was simply no other path left. Matters having reached this point, only the most desperate gamble remained. Steeling my resolve, I tilted my head back slightly and slipped the pill into my mouth, concealing it beneath the base of my tongue. Taking a deep breath, I lifted the beaded curtain and stepped out.

"Where is Shen Zhu right now?"

Before long, Qing La returned to report,

"Replying to the mistress, the young master has just returned to the Warm Pavilion and is currently bathing in the hot spring."

Bathing? I hesitated no longer. Lifting the hem of my skirts, I briskly made my way toward the Warm Pavilion. Two guards stood sentry outside. Upon seeing me approach, they hastily lowered their heads in a bow. I gave a slight nod and reached out to take the clean garments from their hands. Though visibly surprised, the guards did not dare to ask questions, quietly retreating to a respectful distance to wait. Pushing open the door and stepping into the pavilion, a warm, misty vapor mingled with the faint, crisp scent of pine washed over me. In the center lay a vast jade pool, its surface rippling gently. Shen Zhu was submerged within the water. His damp, jet-black hair clung to his slender neck, and his exposed shoulders bore a faint, rosy flush from the heat. Hearing the footsteps, he turned his head. The moment his eyes landed on me, his expression chilled instantly, and his body sank deeper beneath the water.

"Why are you here? Get out."

Undeterred, I pressed forward, walking straight to the edge of the pool and dropping into a crouch. Shen Zhu leaned back, resting the nape of his neck against the stone rim as his throat bobbed visibly.

"I told you to get out..."

Before he could finish, I leaned forward, bracing my hands against the rim of the pool. Without giving him a chance to react, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my lips directly to his. Our warm lips met unexpectedly. Shen Zhu stiffened entirely. The very next instant, his hand shot out to grip my waist, and with a swift counter-movement, he pulled me down into the water. My garments soaked through in an instant, clinging heavily to my skin. The warm spring water rose to my waist. Shen Zhu's kiss suddenly turned the tables, completely shedding its previous coldness and carrying a long-suppressed, fierce passion that offered no room for escape. Trapped securely in his embrace, my limbs slowly grew weak. I know not how long passed. Sensing the medicinal effect beginning to surge, I abruptly pushed him away. Looking into his eyes, now dangerously close, I spoke in a softened, breathy voice:

"Shen Zhu, what on earth are you hiding from me?"

Hearing this, Shen Zhu froze. His fingertips tightened around my waist, his gaze turbulent with a fierce internal struggle and forbearance. After a long silence—perhaps finally unable to resist the potency of the drug—he confessed in a hoarse whisper:

"My constitution is not that of an ordinary mortal; I carry the bloodline of the Charm Clan."

The bloodline of the Charm Clan? A violent shock rippled through me. Shen Zhu lowered his long eyelashes, a droplet of water sliding down the end of his damp hair. His voice was extremely low, carrying the helpless resignation of one yielding to fate:

"Those of the Charm Clan recognize only a single master in their entire lifetime. The very first person they kiss becomes that master."

"From that moment onward, body, soul, and heart are bound entirely to that single person."

"If not comforted by the master, one's entire body burns as if consumed by fire, suffering day and night without rest."

He looked at me, his peach-blossom eyes swirling with intense emotion.

"Three months ago, a banquet was held within the palace. After drinking too much wine, you forced a kiss upon me. Yet when you sobered up, you remembered nothing at all, continuing to bully me just as before."

"I dared not speak of it, fearing it was merely a drunken mistake on your part, fearing that you never truly wanted someone like me."

His eyelashes fluttered slightly. The lingering steam condensed into a droplet, sliding from the corner of his eye.

"I wore that red cord every single day to suppress the instincts of my bloodline. Wearing it allowed me to maintain a facade of normalcy before others, but once night fell, all the suppression would rebound upon me. My entire body would burn with fever, and my mind would be filled with nothing but you."

"Ning Yufei, you have no idea what I have endured these past three months."

A crystal-clear droplet slipped gently from the corner of his eye. For a moment, I could not tell whether it was water from the pool or a tear. I could only stare at him in a daze. In my haze, several hazy fragments of memory suddenly snapped into focus. The gentle moonlight. Beneath the blooming crabapple tree, the youthful, clean scent of pine that belonged to him. His lips had been exceptionally soft. His long eyelashes brushed against my cheek, sending a faint tickle over my skin. I had always believed it to be nothing more than a spring dream. Upon waking, I had even severely reprimanded myself, feeling that I had gone too far—bullying him by day, only to dream of kissing him by night. So it turned out...