Too close. Gu Yu had already retreated, yielding more than half the bed, yet Yun Qianxin continued to close the gap. It felt intentional, as if she were determined to keep him within her line of sight, trapping him in her gaze. Her willow-leaf eyes were striking—crystalline and clear, yet laced with a stirring, soulful charm. She watched him with an intensity that bordered on the supernatural, reminiscent of a seductive fox-spirit from ancient folklore.
“Xiao Yu is truly so disciplined. Or is it just that Sister’s charms aren’t enough for you?” she murmured, her voice soft and teasing as she toyed with the boy five years her junior.
“No, not at all. Sister Qianxin is very beautiful, very charming… I… I just felt embarrassed to look.”
“Sister already told you it’s fine. You can look whenever you want. Or rather…” Her eyes narrowed slightly. “Are you avoiding me because you’ve found a girl you like?”
Gu Yu’s heart skipped a beat. He met her eyes shyly. She had always been so good to him, appearing to understand and care for his every need. He hesitated, wondering if he should finally voice the thoughts he had kept hidden.
“Yes,” he whispered, nodding slowly.
In that instant, the gentle smile on Yun Qianxin’s face vanished. A flicker of cold, ruthless aggression nearly broke through her composure. She masked it quickly, her voice experimental as she asked, “The girl I saw last time?”
“Yes.” Gu Yu didn’t notice the fleeting anomaly in her expression and simply admitted the truth.
“But when Sister asked you last time, didn’t you say there was no one? Xiao Yu is a liar. A bad boy.”
“I… I didn’t realize back then that I liked her that much.”
“And does she like you?”
“I don’t know,” Gu Yu replied. While Luo Ming’s actions often hinted at deeper feelings, he simply didn’t dare to let his mind wander toward the possibility of love.
“When you were little, you used to say you liked Sister and wanted to be with me forever. Xiao Yu, you’re quite the heartbreaker.”
The obviously playful remark made Gu Yu fall into a heavy silence. They both knew it was just “childish nonsense,” but Gu Yu believed in standing by his word. He didn’t want to deny his past feelings, yet he didn’t know how to respond to the present.
“Alright, alright, Sister is just joking. I’m getting old; it’s only natural for Xiao Yu to like young, pretty girls.”
“That’s not true. Sister Qianxin is in the prime of her life. You’re even more beautiful than before.”
“Hehe, someone’s got a sweet tongue.” Yun Qianxin stroked his hair, observing the boy’s maturing features. She saw his shyness and his unease; she saw how he was desperately trying to maintain a respectful distance.
How ridiculous, she thought. Using these petty tricks to tease a boy, leveraging the sense of responsibility he can’t escape… Yun Qianxin, when did you sink to the level of playing such games?
“Xiao Yu really has grown up. You used to love crawling into my arms to let me hold you while you slept.”
“Everyone has to grow up and learn to be sensible. Speaking of which, why do you look after me so much, Sister? I’m starting to feel bad for accepting it all so effortlessly.”
“Because of what your father said before.” Yun Qianxin looked out at the night sky, where bright stars punctuated the darkness. Some said those were the departed looking down on their children. “He asked me to help take care of you. But mostly, it’s because I like you. You’re such an obedient, hardworking boy.”
Like… This was the third time he had heard a woman say that word to him. But this was different from He Yu; it was a feeling akin to family. He thought he understood the meaning. “I actually… just do what needs to be done. I wouldn’t call it being ‘hardworking’.”
“Then how are your grades at school?”
“They’re okay. Upper-middle, I think. It’s mostly thanks to Luo Ming tutoring me.”
Luo Ming… Tutoring…
Her white teeth suddenly clamped shut. She was nearly on the verge of abandoning her “gentle sister” persona. Every time she heard that girl’s name from Gu Yu’s lips, an uncontrollable surge of irritation rose within her. It felt as though she were watching her own puppy wagging its tail obediently for someone else—a feeling bordering on betrayal.
She gritted her teeth, forcing the act to continue. She cast her hook, asking in a soft, airy voice, “Then, has Xiao Yu ever thought about going abroad? Studying overseas is an option, you know. Sister can arrange everything for you. You could see the world.”
Gu Yu froze. He had never considered that. It required so much money—it felt worlds away. Besides, he was a person with deep roots; while he was curious about the world, he didn’t want to go so far.
“Probably not. Staying in the country is good. Going abroad would just mean more trouble for you, and I don’t want to go to a place where I’m a stranger and communication is difficult. I’d rather stay here… maybe I’ll even see Luo Ming again.”
The moment the words left his mouth, Yun Qianxin suddenly pulled him toward her. She pressed his head against her chest, her arms winding around his neck and back, her cheek resting against his messy black hair.
“Xiao Yu, you’re sleeping so far on the edge you’re going to fall off. Let Sister hold you for a bit longer. Don’t talk. Sister is a little tired.”
Gu Yu couldn’t wrap his head around this sudden shift. The collar of Yun Qianxin’s pajamas was wide, revealing a large expanse of pale, delicate skin. He was pressed against her softness, the intoxicating, heady scent of roses swirling around his nose… She wasn’t wearing a bra.
He tried to struggle, but it was futile. She held him with a desperate strength, as if trying to imprison him, to force him into submission.
He didn’t notice the frantic rise and fall of her chest, fueled by a restless fury. Her embrace was a tactic to keep him from seeing her face—because the moment he had rejected her offer, her “gentle and beautiful” facade had shattered.
She was angry. She hadn’t felt a rage this intense in years. Betrayal, rejection, lies… She hadn’t expected the boy’s apparent submissiveness to be so uncontrollable. A surge of violent irritation ignited within her, a fire that wanted to consume him whole.
Her grip tightened, as if she wanted to knead Gu Yu into her own body. Her final shred of sanity had been spent on those few sentences. Ugly thoughts of forcing the boy to bow his head and surrender began to surface.
“Sister Qianxin… I can’t breathe.”
Yun Qianxin didn’t care. Her voice had gone cold as she muttered to herself, “You used to be so obedient. How did you become like this? It’s because I didn’t teach you well… I shouldn’t have left…”
“Sister…” Feeling the physical distress, Gu Yu fought back with a survival instinct. He forced his hands up and pushed against her with all his might, breaking free from the suffocating embrace.
He saw her go blank for a second. The warmth on her face was gone. She looked almost frenzied as she suddenly grabbed his shoulders, pushed his head back, and forced a kiss upon him. It was rough, unrefined, and driven entirely by primal instinct.
Her pale pink lips were thin and slick, soft and sweet like a lethal, delicious nectar, luring one to fall. Gu Yu tried to resist, but she held him with everything she had, as if letting go meant falling into an abyss.
He felt the tip of her tongue brush against his teeth. He bit down, trying to stop her, but a sudden, sharp pain in his shoulder forced him to give in. What followed was a desperate demand of desire, her tongue moving with a lost, frantic madness inside his mouth.
Her eyes were clouded with lust, yet remained icy cold—like a drop of thick ink dissolving in a clear lake, staining the entire body of water until it was dark and murky.
“Gu Yu, you should have been obedient. You… you shouldn’t be so naughty. Sister is angry now.”