She paused for a moment, her Adam’s apple bobbing as her voice dropped a few notches lower: “Or maybe in the future… you’ll kill me….”
Aze’s movement suddenly froze as he dragged her along, his fingers clutching the dragon tail tightening abruptly, then loosening just as quickly, as if he was afraid of hurting her but couldn’t help squeezing.
His crimson eyes dimmed, hiding a flash of complicated emotion, then he curled his lips up again, his tone still teasing as usual, though deeper than before: “What? Cat got your tongue? It’s not now. You’ll get your power back someday. When that day comes… we’ll talk about it then.”
Yiyi’s dragon tail, coiled around his wrist, went stiff all at once.
Tears still hung on her lashes, not yet dry, as she stared up at him in a daze.
Her dragon horns, flushed red and burning, drooped a little, and her childish voice was thick with lingering sniffles, both anxious and bewildered: “Kill you? Why would I want to kill you?”
“To… atone, I guess.”
Aze lowered his gaze to look at her, emotions surging in his crimson eyes—guilt, helplessness, and a hint of panic at being seen through.
“Well, I’m not taking care of you anymore!”
Yiyi suddenly raised her voice, but her dragon tail clung even tighter, like a frightened vine, her claws nearly digging into Aze’s sleeve.
Tears still trembled on her lashes, but she stubbornly craned her neck, her flushed dragon horns shining with desperate resolve.
“Since you want me to kill you, I definitely will! After all….”
Before she could finish, Aze’s deep voice cut her off, each word heavy as a stone:
“After all, I betrayed you, and all of humanity… I know. So I hope, in the future, you’ll defeat me, and then kill me.”
“Then… can you let go of my tail now, and put me down…?”
Yiyi’s voice suddenly weakened, her cheeks flaring scarlet, her dragon tail warming up as well.
“You’ve been carrying me like this all day! My skirt’s almost riding up!”
“No way. I’m not carrying you in my arms. You can choose: by the neck or by the tail.”
Aze snorted, the teasing glint in his crimson eyes dizzying, though his fingers relaxed their grip on her dragon tail ever so slightly—afraid of hurting her, yet still pretending to be tough.
He purposely tugged her forward, making her stand on tiptoes just to keep her balance, her nose nearly touching his chest: “What? Feeling shy now? Little baby dragon, go back to your little master.”
“Put me down, Aze! You can’t treat your big bro like this! Let go of my tail!”
Yiyi stamped her foot in frustration, her dragon horns so red they seemed about to smoke, struggling to pry his fingers off.
But being dangled by her tail left her powerless; she could only wriggle helplessly.
“Not listening, not listening, little baby dragon reciting scriptures.”
Aze sneered, the teasing in his crimson eyes nearly spilling over.
He deliberately dragged her along, strolling slowly, occasionally tickling the tip of her dragon tail with his fingers.
Yiyi shivered all over from the touch, both angry and anxious, almost bursting into tears again: “You jerk! I’m not a little baby dragon! I’m your big bro!”
She protested while punching his arm, her blows so gentle they barely tickled.
“Let me go! Or I’ll really get mad!”
“Mad?”
Aze raised an eyebrow and suddenly stopped, lowering his head to look at her puffy, angry little face, a sly glint flashing in his crimson eyes.
“What does a mad little baby dragon look like? Are you going to gobble me up in one bite?” he teased, pinching her flushed cheek lightly with his fingers.
“And anyway, with you being so short right now, you want to be my big bro? Maybe in your next life.”
“I’m not short!”
Yiyi retorted, craning her neck, but her eyes were rimmed red and her dragon tail coiled even tighter around his wrist.
“I just haven’t grown up yet! Once I get my powers back, I’ll beat you to death for sure!”
“I’ll wait for you. I want you to kill me, Hades.”
Aze’s voice suddenly dropped, losing all its playfulness.
The emotion in his crimson eyes churned like a sunset covered by dark clouds, so gloomy it made one uneasy.
His fingers clenched hard around her tail, making Yiyi hiss in pain.
But the very next second, he let go abruptly, as if the warmth of her scales burned his hand.
Yiyi’s struggles ceased instantly, her dragon tail stiff around his wrist, and the tears she’d just held back welled up again.
She stared up at him in a daze, her burning dragon horns trembling, her childish voice thick with emotion, urgent and flustered: “Who wants to kill you! I’m not killing you!!”
She reached out to swat his hand, her touch as soft as cotton.
“You jerk! Don’t say stuff like that!”
“Yes, yes, when we get back, explain yourself. Don’t you dare lie, got it? Little baby dragon.”
“You begged me.”
Yiyi stiffened her neck, glaring with wide, round crimson eyes, her dragon horns so red they seemed ready to catch fire.
Though her eyes were still wet, she stubbornly tried to look tough.
Her dragon tail wound even tighter around Aze’s wrist, as if staking a claim.
But her fingertip unconsciously rubbed gently against his skin, an unintentional show of affection.
Aze raised an eyebrow, the gloom in his crimson eyes instantly replaced by mischief.
He leaned in, his nose nearly touching her forehead, his warm breath brushing over her flushed cheek: “You begged me? Little baby dragon, do you even know who’s holding your tail right now?”
He deliberately scratched the tip of her dragon tail with his fingers, watching her freeze up, his smile deepening in his crimson eyes.
“What are you begging for? For me to stop making you cry? Or for you to hurry up and grow, so you can kill me?”
“I didn’t cry!”
Yiyi turned her head away to avoid his gaze, but her cheeks burned even redder.
“I’m begging you to let me go! Or else… or else I’ll bite you!”
As she spoke, she opened her little mouth, pretending to chomp down on his wrist.
But the moment she touched his skin, she just gently nipped, not willing to hurt him.
A moment later, in the garden dappled with golden sunlight, Aze carried Yiyi over to Liliya and abruptly let go of her tail.
Yiyi staggered to her feet, about to explode, when she saw him flop down onto Shamir’s lounge chair and close his eyes, looking as if he couldn’t be bothered to care.
“Big Sis, you’re back?”
Yaoyao lay in Liliya’s arms, her little hands gripping her shoulder, round eyes shining as she looked at Yiyi, her childish voice sweet as honey.
“Yibao, are you alright?”
Liliya hurriedly stepped forward to steady Yiyi’s arm, her eyes filled with worry.
“Aze didn’t bully you, did he?”
“Who’d dare bully her? This little baby dragon bawls at the slightest touch. If not for me, she’d still be clinging to a wooden post on the training field, crying her eyes out.”
Aze lounged on the chair without opening his eyes, his teasing tone floating over lazily like flecks of sunlight, making Yiyi’s fur stand on end with anger.
“You jerk… mmph?”
Yiyi barely got the words out before Aze wrapped her tail with his own and lifted her up, shaking her a little.
“You… you jerk! Put me down…”
Yiyi was securely trussed up by Aze’s tail, left dangling in midair, her dragon tail numb from being squeezed, her face instantly flushing bright red.
She thrashed with arms and legs, tiny fists flailing at the air, but her strength was soft as cotton, only making her look more adorably helpless.
Her red-hot dragon horns quivered, her eyes filling with tears again—half from anger, half from being dizzy and shaken.
Aze remained lounging, not moving an inch, controlling the force with his tail to dangle her right in front of him, the teasing laughter in his crimson eyes nearly overflowing: “What’s wrong? Weren’t you pretty tough just now? Why so meek all of a sudden?”
He purposely gave his tail a little shake, watching Yiyi squeeze her eyes shut in fright, his smile spreading wider.
“Little baby dragon is still just a little baby dragon—scared at the slightest shake, and still wants to mouth off to me?”