Yun Manman was pinned beneath Lu Qi, their bodies pressed close together. As their bare skin brushed against each other, the temperature in the room seemed to rise inexplicably.
Lu Qi's body still carried the scent of her fruity body wash, mingling with his own pine fragrance. The mixed aroma enveloped Yun Manman, making her feel dizzy.
Yun Manman truly didn't know where to look now. Before her eyes were his broad, pale pectoral muscles. She closed her eyes and stammered, "No... I didn't touch anywhere..."
Tsk. Still claiming she didn't touch anywhere.
Her finger kept poking lower and lower, nearly reaching the area covered by the towel!
A naughty kitten with desires but no courage.
Lu Qi growled fiercely, "Do you know you'll have to take responsibility if you do this?"
If only she really would take responsibility for him.
Yun Manman's fair cheeks were flushed pink. Her plump cherry lips were pressed tightly together, her long curled eyelashes trembling nervously. Her long hair spread across the pillow like seaweed. She looked soft and sweet all over.
Lu Qi's throat bobbed as he swallowed hard.
He wanted to coil around her so badly. So, so badly.
In the rosy, quiet atmosphere, Yun Manman suddenly opened her eyes and looked directly at Lu Qi. "Do you like me?"
Her words hit Lu Qi like a bomb, leaving his mind blank.
Wait, how did she not follow the usual script?
Lu Qi had imagined several possible reactions from Yun Manman, including but not limited to: pushing him away in embarrassment and running off, or biting him outright. He never expected Yun Manman to voice the deepest desire in his heart.
It's worth noting that his goal today was simply to show off his physique to Yun Manman!
He blinked, his throat dry. "What did you say?"
Knowing he had heard her clearly, Yun Manman pushed him away and sat up on the bed. "Though I'm not sure when you started liking me."
"But when you were drunk, you were looking for me everywhere. They say drunk words are sober thoughts, so you must have had me in your heart even then."
She counted off the evidence of Lu Qi's affection on her fingers: "You say you don't like cats, but when I was injured, you always held me in your arms."
"And you won't let me touch anyone else's beast form, but you're always tempting me with your tail and wings. Now you're even trying to seduce me without clothes..."
"General, the look in your eyes isn't very innocent, you know."
Lu Qi was speechless.
When your opponent confidently points out all your tells and intentions, all your plans and schemes crumble in an instant.
Like a losing player who has lost all his cards, standing still waiting for the opponent's final blow, anxious yet hoping for a last glimmer of hope.
This was the first time Lu Qi realized that love could also have winners and losers.
And he was the fool who had lost spectacularly.
Yun Manman's hands on her knees tightly gripped the fabric of her pants. She raised her head bravely to look directly at Lu Qi. "So, General, you do like me, right? Am I wrong?"
The room fell silent, with only the pitter-patter of raindrops hitting the window, making the atmosphere increasingly tense and oppressive.
After a long while, Yun Manman heard Lu Qi's voice: "Yes, I like you. I want to coil around you, I want to be your mate."
"But you got one thing wrong."
Yun Manman instinctively looked at him, meeting the burning light in his phoenix eyes. "I fell for you long ago, even earlier than when I was drunk."
"So, how do you feel about me?"
Before Yun Manman could answer, Lu Qi pulled out his communicator and displayed his entire net worth to her.
"My name is Lu Qi, I'm an Ancient Singing Snake. I was orphaned as a child, promoted to General five years ago, and now lead Kashida's First Army..."
"I own one mansion and over fifty other properties. As for money, I haven't counted exactly, but there should be quite a lot. Here are the property deeds, here are the bank cards..."
"I'm 188 cm tall, weigh 69 kg, my beast form is about 27 meters long, and my human form is as you see. I have S-level Spirit Power, I'm in good health, um... I've had some injuries and old ailments, but nothing major. No bad habits..."
"No romantic history..."
Lu Qi frowned as he struggled to introduce himself, as if laying himself bare before Yun Manman for her consideration, letting her assess his value.
Yun Manman was stunned speechless by his forthright honesty, and her psychological defenses were shattered by his all-out display of assets.
The roles of attacker and defender had instantly switched.
Lu Qi thought for a moment, seemingly having finished his introduction, then put away his communicator and looked at Yun Manman. "So, how do you feel about me?"
"Would you like to be my mate?"
Yun Manman was dumbfounded for a moment, then couldn't help but quip, "Wait, you just confessed, and you're already thinking about mating?"
Mating on the Lingyi Continent was equivalent to marriage in her previous life.
Lu Qi fell silent for a moment, then the crimson flames in his eyes danced with excitement as he crawled forward a bit. "So, does that mean you accept my confession?"
The towel around his waist had already been loosely tied for the purpose of showing off his physique. After all this movement, it had become even looser.
Now as he crawled forward, his knee pressed on the edge of the towel. Naturally, the pale yellow cute towel slipped off Lu Qi's body in an instant.
Although Yun Manman quickly covered her eyes, everything she should and shouldn't have seen was already imprinted in her mind.
She was certain that her mental sea must be as yellow as her towel right now.
Moreover, snakes really do have two! And they're not small!
She didn't think she could handle this.
The acceptance that Yun Manman was about to voice took a detour on her tongue: "Uh... I think I need to consider... to evaluate a bit more..."
Lu Qi hurriedly tried to tie his towel back on, but hearing Yun Manman's words made him even more anxious. He was almost breaking out in a sweat. "What else do you need to consider?"
Damn it! Why won't this towel tie properly!
"Just let me think about it!" Yun Manman tossed out these words as she scrambled off the bed and fled in a panic.
The guest room door slammed shut. Lu Qi lay stunned on the bed for a few seconds, then collapsed back, his arm covering his eyes.
Thinking of what Yun Manman had just said, he couldn't help but chuckle to himself.
She hadn't outright rejected him like she did with Jin Luo. She even said she'd think about it.
Didn't that mean she had feelings for him too?
In the master bedroom, Yun Manman quickly shut the door, instantly transformed into her beast form, and dove under the covers, burying herself inside.
Thump thump, thump thump...
In the small, dark space created by the blanket, her rapid, loud heartbeat seemed amplified, as if it would burst through her eardrums and leap out.
The orange cat suddenly threw off the covers and sprawled on the bed, panting heavily.
It was too nerve-wracking and exciting.
It was all Qi Qi's fault! Coming to tease her naked, making her unable to hold back!
Just as she had told Lu Qi, why hadn't she clearly rejected him when she realized he had feelings for her, and instead allowed him to continue?
Perhaps she too had developed indescribable feelings for him.
She didn't know when she had started to like him, but before she knew it, he had imperceptibly walked into her heart.
Looking back now, she realized how brave she had been! Confronting it directly!
Yun Manman gave herself a mental thumbs up.
Ah, Qi Qi really did have a great body. She definitely wouldn't lose out dating someone like him...
That butt was truly white, perky, and round...
Sometimes she was quite afraid it wouldn't pass censorship...
Regarding the relationship with the original body, some readers pointed out that it was my fault. I wrote too quickly and didn't explain some parts clearly. I'll...
Also, if there are any other plot holes, please @ me. I can only see your comments in the backend if you @ me, and I really will fix them! (I'm all about admitting mistakes...)