Alone, Beautifully – Chapter 4

Sharing a bridal chamber with you (4)

“I’ll marry.”

On the jade-stone bed, the red silk cloth lay in various shades, indicating it had been dampened by some liquid. The red candle emitted a dazzling glow, accompanied by crackling sounds as the lamp blossomed, and the lamp oil trickled down the candle slowly, resembling tears streaming down.

Upon the cloth.

Lying there was a girl with pointed ears, adorned with pink velvet fur. Several strands of similar fur tails hung down from the edge of the cloth. However, those long, fluffy tails, supposed to be soft and fluffy, seemed bedraggled, dripping awkwardly, with even the soft fur matted into tangled clumps.

“Drip, drop…”

Semi-transparent droplets of water fell from the end of the long tail, splashing tiny flowers onto the ground.

However, the person in the bed seemed to be somewhat disturbed by this movement, as evidenced by the slight movement of their fair arms, which had already left marks. Even the sound of pulling the chain was not as agile as before.

The originally indifferent and desireless eyes, at this moment, were shrouded in a layer of physiological mist. That hazy mist made it easy for people to mistakenly believe that she was indulging in emotions.

After all,

Her original form is that of a nine-tailed fox.

It is said that fox spirits are adept at enchantment, and their cultivation techniques are primarily based on emotions. There are even rumors among the common folk that for a fox spirit to transform into a human, it needs to go to the human realm, seduce someone into developing feelings for it, and ask a question:

“Do you think I look like a human?”

If you say yes, then the fox spirit will immediately transform into a human form and embark on the path of cultivation; if you say no —

Then the fox spirit’s previous cultivation will instantly turn to ashes, and it will have to start all over again from scratch.

It can be said that throughout history, all records concerning fox spirits are inseparable from the words “emotion” and “desire.” Fox spirits are naturally adept at manipulating emotions; this is their inherent racial advantage.

Yet, the present Xu Jiao is an anomaly.

She cultivates the Path of Ruthlessness.

But with her usual cool and restrained appearance, who could associate her with such a seductive fox spirit?

Her brows and eyes were like the unmelting snow on the summit of Mount Kunlun. Regardless of the passage of days, months, or the shifting of constellations, they remained aloof and lofty, inspiring both admiration and an inability to imagine what they would be like when melted.

At this thought, Xia Jingzhe’s eyes flashed with a hint of peculiarity. She raised her hand and gently wiped the sweat from Xu Jiao’s forehead with her sleeve, then pinched Xu Jiao’s exposed fox ears. Those ears were soft and adorable. Perhaps because they were too sensitive, she could faintly feel the rising temperature beneath the fur with each of her movements.

Hearing the broken, somewhat hoarse voice escaping her lips, Xia Jingzhe chuckled and leaned down to kiss Xu Jiao’s now flushed lips, resembling ripe cherries on a branch. She sighed:

“I really should let Senior Sister see your current appearance, how obedient you are…”

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Xu Jiao’s eyelashes trembled, like fireflies darting among the reeds, causing the candlelight reflected in her eyes to flicker and break, sometimes bright, sometimes dim. Gradually, sanity returned from the previous chaos, tears lingering at the bottom of her eyes slid down, and even her gaze became clearer.

Her throat was a bit strained from overuse, her voice still hoarse, but she seemed not to mind, speaking calmly and softly:

“This isn’t a Transformation Pill…”

Just pulling out her ears and tail, one wonders what kind of terrible stuff Xia Jingzhe usually thinks about when refining pills.

Xu Jiao inexplicably felt distressed, even furrowing her brow slightly as she gazed at Xia Jingzhe inquisitively, as if unable to comprehend why she had never bestowed upon this protagonist any innate talent for such matters, yet Xia Jingzhe seemed to have an inexplicable mastery of them…

To the point of being so perverse?

At the words, Xia Jingzhe’s smile widened even more. She wrapped her slender waist around Xu Jiao, kneading and pinching her ears, feeling the trembling gradually spreading throughout her body. She even leaned in and blew a breath into Xu Jiao’s ear!

Seeing those delicate pink ears fold and instinctively flick, Xia Jingzhe chuckled and leaned in to gently bite them, asking Xu Jiao, “Does Senior Sister still like this pill?”

Despite Xu Jiao enduring her teasing just now, though her heart remained untouched, her body seemed to have developed a fear towards Xia Jingzhe. Whenever Xia Jingzhe approached, she couldn’t help but tremble, instinctively recalling the fear of having all her emotions controlled by the other party.

Lowering her gaze, Xu Jiao had no intention of answering her question, only sighing as she asked, “What exactly do you want?”

“I just said it earlier, didn’t I? I want to marry Senior Sister and enter the bridal chamber.” Xia Jingzhe seemed to have taken a liking to playing with her ears, not letting go even as she relaxed, pinching her ears until Xu Jiao’s neck was flushed with warmth, a mixture of embarrassment and discomfort.

Xu Jiao regarded her words as nonsense, remained silent, and instead asked something else, “You carry demonic energy on you, what is your relationship with the Demonic Realm now?”

Hearing her inquiry, Xia Jingzhe paused her movements, the cloying sweetness in her voice fading slightly. She met Xu Jiao’s gaze:

“Must Senior Sister ask about such dreary things at a time like this?”

However, Xu Jiao, who had been indifferent to her words before, seemed particularly persistent now. She looked straight into her eyes and pressed on, “Have you fallen into the Demonic Realm, yes or no?”

“So what if I have? And so what if I haven’t?” Xia Jingzhe calmly countered.

Xu Jiao was momentarily speechless, as if she had been caught off guard by her question.

In reality, she was thinking to herself, this won’t do.

Xu Jiao found herself in a dilemma — on one hand, she wanted to return sooner, no longer trapped in this endless world of books; on the other hand, Xia Jingzhe was the protagonist she had painstakingly created, and she was unwilling to see the plot collapse like this.

Though she had already followed the system’s instructions and revised several tragic points in the original work, making Xia Jingzhe’s life less pitiful than before, neither she nor the system could understand why Xia Jingzhe was instead heading in a more disastrous direction?

Clearly, she was born as an immortal, yet she willingly fell into the Demonic Realm.

Xia Jingzhe shouldn’t be like this.

The room remained quiet for a while before Xu Jiao’s response finally came, “This is not right, Junior Sister Xia.”

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Suddenly, Xia Jingzhe burst into laughter, her shoulders shaking as if she had heard the greatest joke, but her eyes flashed with a hint of resistance and disgust. Her nails seemed to have pierced into Xu Jiao’s ears, causing her intense pain.

“Sister has started again.”

“The tone of guiding the world, as if everything in this world should follow your will. Your Path of Ruthlessness has reached the pinnacle, as if you are the incarnation of the heavenly order itself.”

“Let’s stop talking about it. Sister seems to have recovered her spirits, which is good—”

“Then let’s continue.”

With that, Xia Jingzhe waved her hand, and outside the courtyard, the red spider lily, blooming and fierce, was summoned by her, flying in through the window and landing in her hand.

Xia Jingzhe held the flower branch, placing it by Xu Jiao’s face. The contrast between her enchanting appearance and Xu Jiao’s cold demeanor was striking. Interestingly, despite her usual indifferent and cold demeanor, she now looked adorable with her cute ears and nine tails hanging beside her, even more charming than the flower itself.

Truly worthy of being a member of the fox clan.

“This flower complements Sister so well.” Xia Jingzhe seemed to want to tuck the flower into Xu Jiao’s hair, but seeing her reaction, she appeared somewhat annoyed. Xu Jiao tilted her head and avoided her gesture.

Xia Jingzhe paused for a moment, and a smile slowly appeared on her lips.

“Sister, have I ever told you?”

“I really like your rebellious attitude towards me. The more cold and indifferent you are now, the sweeter you’ll look when you cry and beg for me later.”

She smiled gently, but her actions seemed inexplicably cruel, as Xu Jiao watched her tear off the slender petals from the red flower, leaving only the bare green stem.

A chill crept up Xu Jiao’s spine.

Clutching the petals in her hand, Xia Jingzhe held up the bright red ones for her to see, but Xu Jiao averted her gaze, refusing to look at her.

She heard Xia Jingzhe ask, “Are you feeling sorry for this flower, Sister?”

“It doesn’t matter, they won’t go to waste,” Xia Jingzhe replied to her own question in a low voice.

……

Sure enough, Xu Jiao’s cold demeanor didn’t last long—

Soon, there were cries of astonishment from the jade stone bed: “No, no, no… Xia Jingzhe! How dare you…”

“How am I being outrageous? With so many flowers, wouldn’t it be a pity if they didn’t bloom in the most beautiful place, Sister?”

Xu Jiao felt like curling up, but she was firmly held down by the person in front of her. The voice that escaped her lips was filled with extreme patience: “Stop… Stop it… You lunatic, you pervert…”

Xia Jingzhe kissed the tears at the corner of her eyes and gently asked, “If I stop, Sister, would you be willing to marry me?”

Xu Jiao couldn’t clearly hear her words, she just nodded absently, but not long after, for some reason, she shook her head randomly.

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She seemed like she was being driven mad by Xia Jingzhe.

Xia Jingzhe laughed even more brightly than the flowers: “Sister looks so pitiful like this, but I really don’t know if Sister is willing to marry. Let me remind you first, if you don’t speak up soon, you may miss your chance.”

“Xia Jingzhe…”

“I’m here, Sister, I’m here.”

“Have mercy on me…”

“No mercy.”

Tears welled up in Xu Jiao’s eyes. Hearing the cruel yet gentle refusal from the other party, she persisted for a long time, but it felt like she was immersed in boundless darkness, unable to find any light.

She finally couldn’t hold on any longer. Her consciousness slowly dissipated, becoming blurry. She looked at Xia Jingzhe’s smile, and in a daze, she uttered, “Marry…”

She whispered softly, “I’ll marry.”