Chapter 30: Kiss

After a moment, Lilia finally fastened the last button.

Her fingertips lingered, gently brushing the edge of the hem before she supported Yiyi’s arm to help her sit up.

Morning light happened to fall upon Yiyi’s flushed cheeks, even her ear tips tinged pink.

The sight softened Lilia’s heart, making her reach out again to pinch Yiyi’s chin: “Yibao looks so pretty in this cream-white dress, just like a soft, squishy rice dumpling.”

Yiyi still hadn’t recovered from her earlier embarrassment.

She turned her head away to dodge Lilia’s hand, her voice barely above a whisper:
“Don’t keep pinching me…”

No sooner had she spoken than Lilia wrapped an arm around her waist and picked her up in a bridal carry.

“Ah!”

Yiyi exclaimed instinctively, her fingers clutching tightly at Lilia’s collar.

With her cheek pressed against Lilia’s warm chest, she could clearly hear the steady heartbeat within, like a small drum softly beating beside her ear.

Lilia looked down at the tense fingertips clinging to her.

She slowed her pace even further, then paused, thoughtful: “It feels like you’re missing something, Yiyi?”

Still carrying Yiyi, she moved a couple of steps toward the wardrobe.

The instant she opened a drawer, her eyes lit up.

She fished out a pair of little white stockings edged with delicate lace and waved them: “Mm—there we go, little white stockings, hehe.”

Lilia carried Yiyi over to the dressing stool padded with a wool mat.

Carefully, she set her down, making sure to support Yiyi’s back with her palm so she wouldn’t lose her balance.

She knelt at Yiyi’s feet, straightening the lace on the little stockings laid across her knees.

When she looked up, her eyes were gentle with a smile: “Give me your foot. I’ll help you put them on, so you don’t wrinkle the lace by yourself.”

Yiyi’s fingertips twisted the hem of her dress, her ear tips still tinged with the earlier blush.

She slowly stretched out her foot, her voice soft as a sigh: “I can do it myself too…”

Before she finished, she saw Lilia already holding her ankle, her fingers lightly brushing over the top of her foot.

Once both socks were on, Lilia patted her calf and reached to lift her up again: “All done, let’s go. I’ll carry you, hehe.”

“It’s not good if someone sees…”

Yiyi quickly pressed her arm, her cheeks growing even hotter, her voice a little flustered.

“It’s fine.”

Lilia’s movements were gentle and steady—one arm cradling the bend of Yiyi’s knees, the other supporting her back, keeping even her little feet gathered securely in the crook of her arm.

She glanced down at the lowered eyelashes of the person in her arms and slowed her steps even more.

Carrying Yiyi toward the door, Lilia’s footsteps made no sound in the morning light.

Her fingertips lightly brushed the fabric of Yiyi’s back: “When you return to the Dragon Clan, I’ll follow you; if you want to stay here, I’ll keep you company. No matter what, I’m not going anywhere else—just staying by your side, Yibao.”

“You…”

Yiyi’s fingertips tingled at those words, her face buried in Lilia’s chest growing redder still, even her voice trembling.

“Aren’t you going to ask if I agree or not…”

There was a hint of mock reproach in her words, but not a trace of real refusal.

“I’ll just take it as you agreeing, Yiyi, hehe.”

Lilia grinned even wider, deliberately rubbing her chin against Yiyi’s blushing ear tip: “I’ll just take it as you agreeing, Yiyi, hehe.”

As soon as she finished, she suddenly leaned in close to Yiyi’s ear, her voice dropping soft and light, with a hint of slyness: “Uh—hungry again, mm… Yiyi, you know what I mean, hehe, be good and let me bite, alright?”

Yiyi’s fingers tightened around Lilia’s collar, her ear tips so red they seemed ready to drip blood.

Still, she muttered in a small voice: “Even if I don’t want to, you’d pin me down and bite anyway, right? So… why don’t you just be straightforward?”

Lilia’s eyes sparkled, her arms tightening around Yiyi, but she didn’t act right away.

Instead, she teased: “So Yibao is urging me? You should’ve said so earlier, I thought I’d have to coax you for a long time.”

But just as she was about to lower her head, Yiyi gently pushed at her chin: “Wait a moment, are you going to bite me right here in the corridor, holding me like this?”

Lilia froze, then burst out laughing, carrying Yiyi into the nearby storage room: “Yibao thinks of everything, you’re right—this spot really isn’t suitable.”

She pushed open the slightly ajar storage room door.

Inside were clean wool blankets and wooden chests, the soft lighting just right.

As she placed Yiyi on the blankets, Lilia made sure to cushion her back, her voice full of laughter: “Now there’s no one around. If you keep hiding, Yibao, I’ll have to ‘punish’ you.”

“Yiyi, here I come.”

The pressure of fangs at her neck was a little heavier than usual, but brought no pain.

Instead, it was like a current of warmth, surging out from her skin to every corner of her body.

Yiyi’s fingers, which had been gripping Lilia’s hem, slackened now, and she unconsciously trailed her hand down Lilia’s back, her breathing tinged with a soft, trembling warmth.

“Mm…”

She couldn’t help but let out a gentle hum, her cheek pressed into Lilia’s warm shoulder.

The faint scent of cedar on Lilia, mixed with a hint of fresh sweetness, made Yiyi’s heart race, as if it would burst from her chest.

She’d always thought such closeness would be too embarrassing, but now, wrapped in the warmth of the blankets and Lilia’s careful embrace, that embarrassment melted into soft waves inside her heart.

After a while, Lilia finally released her bite, but didn’t get up right away.

Instead, she bent down, resting her chin in the hollow of Yiyi’s neck, her nose brushing Yiyi’s flushed skin.

Her voice was husky with recent satisfaction: “No matter how much I taste, Yibao’s flavor is never enough.”

Yiyi’s fingers still lingered on Lilia’s back.

Hearing those words, her ears grew hotter, but instead of pulling away, she gripped Lilia’s clothes, burying her face even deeper in Lilia’s arms.

The warmth of the blanket enveloped them both, the faint tingling at Yiyi’s neck mixing with the scent of cedar, even her voice growing soft: “You’re always like this…”

Though her words sounded a little reproachful, the end of her sentence drifted softly, with no real displeasure.

“From now on, Lilia, only twice a day at most, understand…”

Lilia’s kisses brooked no refusal, her tongue gently tracing Yiyi’s lips, blending all Yiyi’s unfinished words into this lingering embrace.

Yiyi’s fingers, which had clutched at her dress, now rested limply on Lilia’s back.

Even her breath was intertwined with Lilia’s, all her strength drained away by the kiss, leaving her to be circled up in Lilia’s arms.

Not until Yiyi’s cheeks were flushed bright red, even her eyes glimmering with moisture, did Lilia finally draw back a little, her nose brushing Yiyi’s reddened lips, her voice as honeyed as it was hoarse: “Twice isn’t enough. Yibao is so sweet, how could I not want a few more tastes?”

As she spoke, she dipped down to peck lightly at Yiyi’s lips again, her fingers tracing slowly up along Yiyi’s waist.

“Lilia, stop it, let me go… You’re biting and kissing me again…”

Yiyi turned her head to avoid Lilia’s touch, her fingertips pressing lightly against Lilia’s chest.

Her voice was full of panic, but she didn’t really resist.

Even she didn’t notice that her words had long since lost their bite.

Just then, a loud “Gurgle—” sounded in the storage room, clear enough to make both of them pause.

Yiyi’s cheeks burned even hotter, as if doused in hot wine.

She quickly clutched her stomach, wishing she could vanish into thin air.

“Um…”

Lilia looked down at Yiyi holding her belly, the warmth in her eyes blending with laughter.

She gently patted Yiyi’s back in comfort: “I was so caught up in teasing you, I forgot Yibao hasn’t had breakfast yet.”

When she lifted Yiyi up in her arms again, her movements were even gentler than before.

She walked extra slowly, afraid to jostle the person she was carrying.

Yiyi hid her face in Lilia’s chest, her cheeks still burning, but her fingers quietly gripped Lilia’s collar, her voice a mosquito’s whisper: “It’s all your fault…”

Before she finished, Lilia rounded the carved corner of the corridor—only to run into Lilith coming down from upstairs.

Lilith’s gaze first fell on Lilia’s tense arms, then swept over Yiyi, whose flushed ears peeked out from Lilia’s embrace.

Amusement glinted in her eyes as she deliberately drawled: “So this is where you two little ones disappeared to? Sneaking snacks in here, are you?”

Lilia’s ear tips went bright red in an instant, as if dabbed with rouge.

She instinctively pulled Yiyi tighter in her arms, her voice tinged with panic: “Mo-Mother, what, what are you doing here?”

“I was just about to look for you.”

Lilith jingled the silver pot in her hand, its body giving off a light clink.

“I know Yiyi needs this in the morning. I just took it off the warming stove.”

She stepped forward and held the silver pot out to Lilia, the smile in her eyes deepening.

She stepped forward and handed the silver pot to Lilia, the smile in her eyes deepening: “Lilia, now that you’ve ‘fed’ Yiyi, shouldn’t you give her something to drink too? Here, her dragon milk.”

“Th-thank you, Mother! We—we’ll be going now!?”

Lilia almost staggered as she turned with Yiyi in her arms, her steps so quick they kicked up a breeze, the silver pot swaying and giving off a faint clatter.

Yiyi, nestled in her arms, could clearly feel Lilia’s quickened heartbeat pressed against her own burning cheek, even her breath turning feverish.

“Don’t, don’t run so fast…”

Yiyi reminded her softly, but her grip only tightened, afraid she’d slip out of Lilia’s embrace.

Lilith watched the two girls’ flustered retreat down the corridor and couldn’t help shaking her head, though her eyes brimmed with gentle laughter: “These two little ones, always clinging to each other even in broad daylight. When they grow up—no, even just a few months from now—I can’t imagine what these two little dumplings will get up to.”