Chapter 60: Little Guiyun, you weren’t… excited just now, were you?

The tip of the pen moved repeatedly across the screen as I tried to enhance the gaze and aura of the “attacker” in the drawing, but it always felt like something was missing. The lines were either too fierce or remained purely superficial, never quite catching the essence of being “lazy with a hint of aggression.”

“It’s still not quite right,” Ling Beina’s voice came from behind me, carrying a trace of subtle helplessness. “Aggression isn’t about wide eyes or furrowed brows. It’s a… sense of control that radiates from the bones. What you’re drawing now is more like posturing.”

I let my ears droop in frustration, my tail hanging listlessly on the floor. I had modified it several times already, but I still couldn’t meet her requirements.

“Then… what should I do?” I put down the pressure-sensitive pen and turned to look at her, feeling a bit helpless.

Ling Beina tapped her chin thoughtfully with her finger, her gaze scanning back and forth between me and the blank wall. Under the warm yellow light, her eyes seemed to flicker with an idea.

“Hmm… how about this,” she said as if she had suddenly thought of a great plan, beckoning me over. “You, go stand in that corner over there.”

I froze, my ears twitching in confusion. The corner? What did that mean?

Though I was full of doubt, seeing her serious expression, I slowly stood up. I followed her instructions and stood in the corner of the living room, looking back at her blankly.

‘For some reason, I have a bad feeling about this.’

Ling Beina stood up and walked over at a leisurely pace. She still wore her usual easygoing smile.

But that smile made my skin crawl at this moment. The warm yellow light cast a shadow behind her, and as she approached step by step, the dull thud of her slippers on the carpet sounded like it was knocking against my chest. My heart beat so fast it hurt.

She stopped in front of me, far too close. That familiar scent of fresh grass incense washed over me, invading my breath. I could even see the strands of hair hanging by her cheeks.

‘What… is she doing?’

“Don’t move.”

Those two words were light as a feather, yet they made my whole body freeze.

In the next second, her hand pressed firmly against the wall beside my ear with a soft *thud*. Her arm crossed over my shoulder, and her sleeve brushed the tip of my ear, instantly trapping me between her and the wall.

Blood rushed to my head. My ears grew so hot they flattened against my hair, and my tail stiffened like a rod. I forgot to breathe.

She lowered her head slightly, her hair nearly brushing my forehead. That lazy gaze was like a searchlight, scanning my lips, my trembling eyelashes, and finally locking onto my panicked pupils.

There was no ferocity, only a bottomless calm and an underlying desire for control that felt like it could drown a person. That gaze was saying: *You have nowhere to run.*

‘I can’t escape…’

Fear washed over me like ice water, leaving my limbs weak. Her breath, mixed with the scent of fresh grass, brushed against my cheek, sending waves of tremors through me. I gripped the corner of my shirt tightly, my fingertips ice-cold. I was like a pinned butterfly, unable to hide even a single shiver.

Just as I was about to be crushed by this overwhelming pressure…

The dark tide in her eyes suddenly receded, returning to their usual clear brightness.

She withdrew her hand briskly and took a step back, easily creating distance between us.

“Yes, that’s the feeling,” she said in a casual tone, as if nothing had happened. “Relaxed, but in control of the entire scene. You have to make people feel ‘you can’t escape’ deep in their bones. Understand?”

‘So it was just a demonstration?’

My tensed nerves snapped back to normal. My legs felt weak, and I quickly leaned against the wall for support. My heart was still pounding wildly, and my back was covered in cold sweat. I opened my mouth, but no sound came out, so I could only nod vigorously.

Ling Beina tilted her head and studied me, her gaze sweeping over my flushed cheeks and rapid breathing. A mischievous curve hooked the corner of her mouth.

“Though, having said that,” she asked slowly, “Little Guiyun, you weren’t… excited just now, were you?”

“Meow!”

My face instantly caught fire, and even my neck turned burning hot. I shook my head violently, my ears and tail swaying frantically.

“No! How is that possible!” My voice was sharp and hurried. “I was just scared! Just scared!”

“Heehee, alright then.”

Seeing me look as though I might evaporate from shame, Ling Beina finally stopped questioning me. However, the smile in her eyes lingered like ripples on water. She didn’t sit back in her original spot but instead got up and went to the kitchen.

I stood frozen in place, secretly taking a few deep breaths to try and calm my racing heart. The tip of my tail unconsciously curled around the hem of my shirt, and my head was still buzzing.

A moment later, she returned carrying two glasses of juice with straws and a plate of small cookies. She naturally handed a glass of juice to me and took the other for herself, sitting back down beside me—at a distance much closer than before.

“You’ve been drawing for so long, have something to drink.” Her tone was as ordinary as if she were talking about the weather.

I was indeed a bit parched, especially since I had swallowed nervously countless times just now. Whispering a thank you, I took the glass and lowered my head to take the straw into my mouth. The cold orange juice slid down my throat, slightly alleviating the heat on my face.

Just then, she picked up a butter cookie shaped like a small cat paw and naturally held it up to my lips.

“Try this, the taste is quite good.”

I blanked for a moment. Feeding me directly… this action seemed a bit too intimate.

But seeing her look so composed, as if she were just casually sharing a snack, it would have seemed even stranger if I refused. After a moment of hesitation, I parted my lips slightly and leaned in to take the cookie.

However, the moment my lips were about to touch the cookie, her fingers seemed to move forward unintentionally.

The coolness of her fingertip clearly brushed against my lower lip.

The sensation was extremely brief, yet it was like a weak electric current, instantly surging from my lip throughout my entire body!

“Ugh!”

I jerked violently, recoiling as if I had been burned. The orange juice I had just swallowed nearly choked me. The temperature that had just dropped on my cheeks skyrocketed again, becoming hotter than ever before. My ears shot straight up, and the fur on my tail puffed out.

She, she she she… she did it on purpose! Definitely!

I covered my mouth and stared at her with wide eyes, my heart thumping like a drum.

Ling Beina, however, acted as if she hadn’t noticed my extreme reaction at all. She didn’t even look at me, merely withdrawing her hand slowly. Her gaze fell on her own glass of juice as she gently stirred the ice cubes with her straw.

“What’s wrong?” She finally looked up, her expression innocent and tinged with just the right amount of confusion. Could that overstepping touch really have been an accident?

“Is the cookie not to your taste?”

Her expression was so natural. ‘Was I… just too sensitive?’

‘But that movement just now — she definitely did it on purpose!!’

The lingering tingling sensation on my lip was a vivid reminder of what had just happened.

I opened my mouth, but my throat felt blocked by something, and I couldn’t say a single word. I could only shake my head desperately, my ears and tail shaking along with me.

‘Ugh, even if it was on purpose, how could I ever say that out loud…’