Su Nian stroked her cheek, her soft fingertip pressed against her moist skin.
The smile on her face did not waver in the slightest because of Su Wanqing’s words.
“Is that so? Daughter, don’t be so quick to deny me. I believe that one day, you will be just like me. Once you meet someone who truly makes your heart flutter, you will be willing to pay any price to have them.”
“I… I don’t. She wouldn’t like that…”
A figure subconsciously surfaced in her mind.
‘At the very least, she and Jiang Ran were just in a superior-subordinate relationship. She was the superior… and Jiang Ran was the subordinate…’
As it happened, Jiang Ran was quite beautiful, and talking to her wasn’t unpleasant…
Su Nian’s smile grew even more radiant.
“No, it is because you are that kind of person.”
“Stop trying to lie to me. You’ve been implying this to me since I was a child. I… If I’ve become like this today, isn’t it because of you?”
Su Wanqing turned her head away.
The dim yellow light from the chandelier cast shifting shadows across her face.
Suddenly, a shadow drew near.
Su Nian used her finger to turn her daughter’s head back toward her.
“But you seem to be enjoying yourself, don’t you?”
“No… I’m not. I’m not a… lunatic like you.”
Su Wanqing forcibly broke free from Su Nian’s grip, her eyes gradually turning cold.
In contrast, Su Nian remained as composed as ever.
“When you discover that you cannot get what you want despite using every means at your disposal, you will start to learn from the person you once hated most. This is not Instinct; it is Human Nature.”
Su Wanqing bit her lip.
“Tsk, I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
“You will understand. Sometimes, your unwillingness to understand is simply because you don’t believe it’s the truth.”
Su Nian pushed the milk toward her under Su Wanqing’s shocked gaze.
“Just as you might not have known that I warmed this cup of milk for you. Sweet dreams, daughter.”
Under Su Wanqing’s watchful gaze, Su Nian went up to the Second Floor until she disappeared from sight.
Clutching the warm milk, Su Wanqing’s heart felt heavy with complex emotions.
Would she really become a lunatic like that?
Su Wanqing opened her hand and stared at her snow-white palm, lost in thought…
Before possessing her Special Ability, she might have been able to shake her head with absolute certainty.
But now, Su Wanqing tossed the cup into the air.
The cup, which should have fallen, froze in mid-air.
The round droplets of milk clung tightly to the rim of the cup at an angle that defied gravity, without a single drop spilling.
***
In the narrow corridor, the beam of a flashlight suddenly flared to life, illuminating the somewhat mottled and rusty iron door frame.
The heavy clouds that had been gloomy for several days finally dispersed at midnight, and the cold moonlight poured in through the window, casting a pool of pale green.
The finger holding the flashlight gently clicked the switch off.
Guided by the faint moonlight, Gu Ge took the Bronze Key from her pocket and inserted it into the keyhole.
First, she opened the first iron gate that stood in her way.
The security bars that were supposed to protect a young girl’s safety were easily opened by Gu Ge.
Her towering chest rose and fell slightly with her steps.
She squinted one eye and leaned close to the peephole.
Although she couldn’t see clearly inside, she could tell there were no light sources left in the room.
Realizing that now was a good opportunity to sneak in, Gu Ge’s movements suddenly became bolder, the beast in her heart roaring.
Her hands didn’t stop either.
With a click, the room door creaked open.
Gu Ge changed into slippers, her footsteps making almost no sound.
After gently closing the door, Gu Ge looked up and immediately saw the girl’s room.
Her gaze shifted, landing on the leftover food on the table, and she licked her lips.
Clearly… that half a steamed bun had not been enough to satisfy her…
She stepped lightly toward the door of the young girl’s bedroom.
Her finger rested on the doorknob, and the heat from her nose created a layer of condensation on the door.
Gu Ge slowly exhaled a thin mist.
The charm in her eyes gradually turned into water, dripping onto the parched fields of her heart that had long craved rain.
She turned the doorknob, stepped out of her slippers, and walked across the floor.
Step by step, she slowly approached the blurry figure in the distance.
She was in a hurry—so much so that her steps were somewhat unsteady—but… at the very least, she had to control herself for the time being.
Gu Ge walked forward slowly.
Her silhouette, which started as a small point in the corner of the wall, gradually expanded until it filled the entire room, blocking out the few remaining light sources.
The shadow fell over Jiang Ran’s face as she slept soundly.
The “light” was being devoured bit by bit by Gu Ge.
Jiang Ran’s fingers gripped the edge of the blanket, sleeping quite casually.
Occasionally, she would roll over, leaving half an arm exposed outside the covers.
Gu Ge watched with fascination.
She leaned down, and just as her finger was about to touch Jiang Ran, the girl’s eyes twitched as if she were about to wake up.
Gu Ge’s hand froze in mid-air for a moment.
Seeing that Jiang Ran didn’t continue to move, she tentatively extended her finger, bringing it closer to Jiang Ran’s lips.
She felt the girl’s breath puffing against her finger, a warm current flowing through the gaps in her skin and over half her hand.
The suppression of the past several days found an unprecedented release at this moment.
Gu Ge crouched down.
The cold moonlight spilled down, landing on her snow-white skin that rose and fell with her breathing.
The chill jolted her consciousness, but it could not extinguish the fire already burning in her heart.
Like a wave drawn by the tide, she ebbed and flowed in the surging waters, never quite reaching the shore called “restraint.”
A sense of losing control spread throughout her body.
She knew she should stay away from the girl, yet she chose to indulge in this loss of control.
She allowed the desires within her heart to amplify.
Even she didn’t know what doing this meant, but she simply let that little beast grow unchecked.
Her hand was already moving uncontrollably to caress the girl’s face.
What remained of her rationality tried its best to pull back from the brink, but a few reins could not stop a horse determined to break out of its cage.
Her palm landed on Jiang Ran’s cheek, lingering like a butterfly gathering nectar.
Her heart started beating extremely fast at that moment.
Her slightly curled fingers applied a bit of pressure.
Jiang Ran, who had been sound asleep, began to frown more frequently, and the hand holding the blanket grew more restless.
“Be good. Sister won’t hurt you. In fact, I’ll make you love this feeling~”
Words filled with suggestion murmured from Gu Ge’s mouth.
Jiang Ran, who had just been rolling over and about to wake up, saw her breathing become even once more.
Gu Ge’s fingers became even more brazen.
She gently pinched Jiang Ran’s earlobe, her fingertip occasionally feeling the itchy sensation of strands of hair brushing against her skin.
Gu Ge bit her red lip. She discovered that Jiang Ran’s physical flexibility seemed even more exaggerated than it had been at the Hospital earlier today. The corners of her mouth curled slightly. She wondered how many more surprises Jiang Ran had that she didn’t know about.
Her fingers curved slightly, just as she was about to continue moving further down, when Jiang Ran’s eyebrows suddenly knitted together sharply.
Accompanied by a deep cough, Jiang Ran was forced awake.
She thrashed at her chest, which felt as if she were about to stop breathing, as she recalled the nightmare she just had.
She had just dreamed that she was being toyed with by Gu Ge.
If the **10% Resistance** hadn’t kicked in at the critical moment, she would have been left at the other woman’s mercy.
Looking at the empty room, Jiang Ran let out a heavy sigh of relief.
‘That was close. Thank goodness it was just a dream.’
‘But why is my body so hot? Is it… a side effect of the Newly Awakened Talent from tonight? But wasn’t I dreaming?’
Jiang Ran scratched her head, feeling extremely puzzled.
She got out of bed, found a bottle of mineral water, and took a huge gulp.
Only then did the heat in her body slowly dissipate.
Satisfied, she returned to bed.
After checking the house and seeing nothing strange, Jiang Ran lay back down under the covers.
Soon, the sound of rhythmic breathing echoed again.
At the same time, Gu Ge slowly reached out from under the bed.
Her five fingers pressed against the bedboard, feeling Jiang Ran’s heartbeat resonate with her own bit by bit.