With legs weak, the sickly stable boy became a mad regent.

"woke up?"

A deep voice came from above, carrying a hint of satiated languor.

Shen Nannan stiffened her neck and looked up inch by inch.

He met a pair of unfathomable eyes.

Xiao Yunzhao leaned over her, his black nightgown hanging loosely on his shoulders, revealing his lean chest and several old scars.

He had clearly just woken up; his hair was disheveled, which made his face appear even more breathtakingly alluring.

"Did you have a nightmare?" he asked softly, his long fingers tracing her cheek, slowly sliding down her face. "You were screaming so loudly."

Shen Nannan wanted to speak, but her throat felt blocked, and she couldn't make a sound.

He smiled.

That smile was so familiar that it froze her blood.

"Don't be afraid," he leaned down, his hot breath brushing against her ear, "I'm here."

His fingers traced down her neck, lifting her already thin nightgown, his calloused fingertips rubbing against her skin inch by inch.

Not too light, not too heavy; not too fast, not too slow.

It's like playing with a beloved object, or marking out one's territory.

He ignited every inch of her skin, and every touch sent shivers down her spine.

He knew every sensitive spot about her perfectly.

"My little girl..."

He called her name in a hoarse voice, and the two words that came out of his mouth carried an indescribable meaning—it was intimacy, it was possessiveness, and it was also a kind of obsessiveness that made people tremble.

"Here, little one," he whispered, pressing his ear against her ear.

"Most sensitive."

She bit her lip, refusing to make a sound.

He was in no hurry. His fingers moved slowly and deliberately, as if playing an invisible harp, pressing each note precisely, making her tremble involuntarily.

"Say it to me."

His lips pressed against her collarbone, gently nibbling.

"Like last night."

Shen Nannan finally made a sound—a soft, weak sob.

He looked up into her eyes, those unfathomable black eyes churning with emotions she could never decipher.

"Why are you crying?" He wiped away her tears with his thumb, put the wiping stick in his mouth, and licked it. "It's sweet."

He lowered his head and gently licked away the tears from the corners of her eyes, his movements as tender as if he were handling some precious treasure.

But his actions became increasingly excessive.

"Ugh—"

She couldn't help but let out a sob, but he swallowed it back down.

His lips and tongue were burning hot, with an irresistible force that stole her breath.

"Don't cry," he said hoarsely. "You have to bear it even if you cry."

"You are mine."

"You'll have to suffer this in this life and the next."

……

"ah--!"

Shen Nannan suddenly opened her eyes!

The familiar embroidered canopy came into view, and moonlight filtered through the window screen, casting a soft glow on the ground.

There were no dark bed curtains. No ambergris. No that deadly finger.

She was panting heavily, her chest heaving, cold sweat soaking through her nightgown, which clung stickily to her back. Tears still clung to the corners of her eyes, icy cold.

It was a dream.

No, it's not a dream. It's a memory. One of countless nights from a past life.

She closed her eyes, trying to suppress those images, but the more she tried not to, the clearer the sensations became—his fingers, his lips, his hoarse voice, and those eyes that could never be seen through.

"My little girl..."

His voice still seemed to echo in my ears.

She instinctively cried out:

"Azhao——!"

The door was pushed open almost simultaneously.

"Miss?"

A deep voice came from the doorway.

Shen Nannan suddenly looked up.

Moonlight streamed in through the half-open door, casting a long silhouette in the doorway.

The boy stood there, one hand on the doorframe, the other still in a pushing motion. He wore a light blue turban for night duty, his dark hair falling loose over his shoulders.

Achao.

She called out "Ah Zhao." The one who came in was Ah Chao.

Shen Nannan gasped for breath, looking at him, momentarily unable to tell whether she was dreaming or awake.

The moonlight spread behind him, outlining his features in a sharp yet hazy way. That face was all too familiar—he had just seen it in a dream, and countless times in his past lives.

But at this moment, he stood outside the threshold, just one step away, without stepping in.

The person in my dream is different.

They are different from the people in their previous lives.

She suddenly felt her eyes getting hot.

"Ah Chao..." she murmured, her voice trembling, hoarse from just waking up and still filled with lingering fear.

He didn't respond.

He just stared at her.

His gaze moved from her pale face to the stray hairs clinging to her cheeks, damp with cold sweat, and then to her slightly open collar—

There, a patch of snow-white gleamed damply in the moonlight.

His gaze lingered for a moment.

Then move it away.

Shen Nannan looked at him, and the string in her heart that had been stretched to the limit suddenly relaxed.

It's not that person.

The way that man looked at her was one of predation, possession, and an inescapable oppression. But the way this boy looked at her—

She couldn't explain what it was. But it was different.

All she knew was that she didn't want to be alone.

"Don't go..."

She heard her own voice, hoarse and trembling, with a sob in it.

She reached out her hand in his direction.

Those hands were slender and fair, and the fingertips were still trembling slightly.

Ah Chao's eyes darkened.

He paused for a moment.

Then, I still stepped over that threshold.

He walked slowly, each step seemingly deliberate.

One step, two steps, three steps.

He stopped at the edge of the bed.

He was just a step away from her.

As Shen Nannan watched him approach, her heart pounded, yet strangely, she felt no fear.

He's here.

She recalled countless nights in her past life when she would wake up from nightmares, and Xiao Yunzhao would only hold her tighter and continue to tormenting her until she no longer had the strength to even dream.

But this time, he just stood by the bed.

Nothing was done.

Just standing there.

It wasn't him. It wasn't him either.

"You...you come and sit down..." She was still trembling, but for some reason she felt...at ease.

Moonlight filtered through the window screen and fell upon her.

She curled up in the corner of the bed, her nightgown soaked with cold sweat, the thin fabric clinging to her body and outlining her exquisite curves.

Her black hair was disheveled, with a few strands clinging to her cheeks and neck, and tear stains still clung to the corners of her eyes.

Ah Chao looked down at her, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly.

Her nightgown was too thin.

So thin it's translucent; you can vaguely see inside under the moonlight...

He looked away.

But the next second, she couldn't help but move back.

Those eyes were looking at him now, filled with panic and helplessness, and a trace of... dependence that she herself was unaware of.

No one had ever looked at him like that before.

No one has ever called his name when they were scared.

As if possessed, he listened to her and sat down on the edge of the bed.

Shen Nannan suddenly wasn't afraid anymore. "Could you... could you pat me...?"

Ah Chao was taken aback.

He raised his hand.

Suspended in mid-air.

There was a long, long pause.

So long that Shen Nannan thought he wouldn't move anymore, that hand finally came down—

It fell on her back through the thin brocade quilt.

Awkward, stiff, and light pats.

It was like someone who had never done such a thing before, awkwardly imitating a gesture he had only seen from afar.

Shen Nannan suddenly stopped shaking.

She slowly leaned closer and rested her head on his shoulder.

Ah Chao froze.

Like a stone.

The back-patting motion also stopped.

Shen Nannan leaned on his shoulder, smelling the faint scent of medicine and soap on him, as well as an indescribable aura of youth.

It wasn't the ambergris that suffocated her in her past life.

It is clean, crisp, and slightly bitter.

She closed her eyes.

"Take another pat," she said sullenly.

Ah Chao didn't move.

half an hour.

The hand rose again and landed on her back.

Keep filming.

Still so clumsy, still so stiff. One stroke, then another.

After an unknown amount of time, her breathing gradually calmed down, and she actually fell asleep leaning on his shoulder.

Ah Chao's hand paused.

He turned his head to look at her.

The moonlight cast a soft glow on her face. She looked completely different when she was asleep than when she was awake—less guarded, less complicated, without those emotions he couldn't decipher. Her brows were slightly relaxed, her eyelashes drooped quietly, and her breathing was long and even.

Like a curled-up, soft cat.

Her head rested on his shoulder, her warm breath brushing against his neck. Her hair brushed against his chin, carrying a faint, fresh scent.

Her body pressed against him through the thin nightgown, so soft it was almost unbelievable.

The fragrance emanating from her still lingered in the air, subtle and pervasive.

He wanted to lean down, get close to her neck, and take a deep breath.

I want to smell it more deeply. I want to pull her completely into my arms.

I want to do many... many things I shouldn't be thinking about.

Her nightgown was so thin it was almost translucent, and the moonlight outlined her exquisite curves.

That slender waist, those soft curves, that tantalizing glimpse...

His Adam's apple bobbed.

But his gaze fell on her exposed, snow-white skin, where, under the moonlight, glistened beads of sweat that hadn't been wiped away.

I want to lick it.

The moment that thought popped into his head, he froze.

Ah Chao closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

crazy.

It's crazy.

He opened his eyes and looked at her one last time. Then he slowly got up, his movements so quiet that he made no sound.

He paused as he reached the door.

Look back.

The moonlight bathed her, outlining her curled-up silhouette with exceptional softness. She slept soundly, her brows relaxed, as if she had finally been freed from something.

He stood there, watching for a long time.

Then, gently closing the door, they disappeared into the night.

-

inside the house.

Shen Nannan turned over, her eyes clear, showing no trace of her earlier lapse in composure.

Shen Nannan's lips curved slightly.

The words the courtesan taught her in her past life were: What men find most unbearable is the dependence a woman shows when she is vulnerable.

She shivered, but—

Xiao Yunzhao, I've caught you!

It's him!

It wasn't him!

So you harbored feelings for me that you shouldn't have had in your past life!

and so……

Nothing is more useful than beauty.

In addition, based on my understanding of you from my past life,

If I really can't escape it in this lifetime

She willingly became the bait.

Let's take a gamble on this wolf cub's true feelings.