After Accidentally Marking the Cold and Elegant Eldest Princess - Chapter 42

Chapter 42: Kiss After Kiss

A soft, thin panting came from beside her neck. The woman’s slightly parted lips pressed close to Yan Yunti’s throat; with every breath, the sweet fragrance that had blended between their teeth drifted up to Yan Yunti’s nose.

Yan Yunti held Yuan Jingxue in her arms, one hand tightly encircling her waist and the other resting on her back, slowly and gently stroking her to soothe her breathing, much like smoothing the fur of a rabbit.

The breeze swept through the forest; everything was quiet and peaceful.

Yet, Yan Yunti couldn’t help but ask, “How does Your Highness feel?”

The tone, tinged with a light chuckle, inexplicably sparked a hint of annoyance.

Yuan Jingxue adjusted her breathing and looked up. She met Yan Yunti’s clear, slightly curved, and somewhat seductive peach-blossom eyes. Scenes of Yan Yunti talking and laughing with Zhongli Yu flashed through her mind, and that annoyance, mixed with other emotions, led her to blurt out a question: “Yan Yunti, is it true that no matter who the other person is, you would seduce them with this same posture?”

“Seduce?” Yan Yunti’s brow arched, the smile in her eyes deepening. It was rare for the Eldest Princess to speak so bluntly. “Then, did I succeed in seducing Your Highness today?”

Yuan Jingxue wanted to say no, but the fact that she had proactively returned the kiss already said everything. Thus, she said with a cold face: “Answer my question. Do not deflect.”

The beauty’s cheeks were flushed like wine, yet her expression remained icy. Previously, Yan Yunti might have been “heartbroken,” but now she saw clearly: the more Yuan Jingxue feigned indifference, the more it proved her heart was overflowing with emotion.

The question itself was a strange one.

Yan Yunti detected a hint of “jealousy” in it. She appeared to ponder for a moment before replying: “If Your Highness is asking whether I would act this way if I fell into a dependency period with someone else, I think… I probably would. After all, it concerns one’s life. For my sake and hers, choosing to accept is the right choice, isn’t it?”

In Yuan Jingxue’s view, Yan Yunti had always been emotional, yet this reply was extremely rational. It suddenly made Yuan Jingxue think in reverse: perhaps from the very beginning, Yan Yunti had been the rational one. She was rational enough to understand what was “right” and what would make them both comfortable, which was why she could treat this as a normal matter and accept it so quickly and naturally.

The more she thought this way, the more stifled Yuan Jingxue felt. The small amount of pleasure derived from exchanging pheromones between their lips vanished completely. The crimson on her face gradually faded. “Take me down. You’ve finished making your scene; can we go now?”

Clearly, the Eldest Princess was truly unhappy.

Looking at Yuan Jingxue’s pale pink face, Yan Yunti suddenly really wanted to pinch it. Thinking so, and taking advantage of the fact that the other didn’t dare move recklessly, she actually reached out and pinched the soft, white cheek. She squeezed and released it like kneading dough, causing Yuan Jingxue to become thoroughly incensed. She grabbed Yan Yunti’s hand to pull it away, rebuking her: “Yan Yunti!”

Hearing her name called so angrily, Yan Yunti laughed instead. She let go of the Princess’s cheek and grabbed her hand to rub it. “See? Your Highness can get angry after all.”

“What exactly do you want to do?” Yuan Jingxue couldn’t pull her hand away and was fuming with helplessness.

“It’s not a matter of what I want to do,” Yan Yunti said, also sounding helpless. “It’s clearly Your Highness who always stops halfway and refuses to speak her true thoughts. You are clearly angry with me, yet you claim you aren’t. You are clearly dissatisfied with my answer just now, yet you pretend not to care. Making me guess like this… if I ever guess wrong, wouldn’t Your Highness go back and let the anger harm your health?”

Having her thoughts exposed, Yuan Jingxue’s expression remained cold. “You think too much yourself; don’t push the responsibility onto me.”

“Is it really just me thinking too much?” Yan Yunti “angrily” pinched Yuan Jingxue’s cheek again. “Your Highness, oh Your Highness, if I truly let you go back like this, I’m afraid you wouldn’t be willing to see me for the next few days.”

Who would dare to easily pinch the cheek of the grand Eldest Princess? And to do it twice!

Yuan Jingxue coldly slapped away the Qianyuan’s “claws.” “When did I ever say I wouldn’t see you?”

“Then if I want to see Your Highness later, you will let me?” Yan Yunti pressed.

Yuan Jingxue frowned, realizing Yan Yunti was setting a trap for her. She changed her tune: “Whether I see you or not is my business. What does that have to do with now? Don’t be unreasonable.”

“Tsk,” Yan Yunti shook her head. “Your Highness is clearly still angry. Since you refuse to open your noble mouth, I will explain myself first. Both yesterday and today, I encountered Zhongli Yu by chance. In those two meetings, I spoke fewer than ten sentences to her. If Your Highness dislikes me meeting her with smiles, then next time I see her, how about I do this?”

Having said that, Yan Yunti chilled her face, becoming expressionless. “Look, just like this—exactly like Your Highness’s expression. I guarantee no one will ever try to get close to me again.”

Yuan Jingxue had been angry, but seeing her tease her like this, she simply reached out and pinched the Qianyuan’s cheeks, squishing them together. Her phoenix eyes narrowed. “Miss Yan was born with such a face that attracts bees and butterflies; I fear that no matter how cold your face is, it will be useless.”

“Your Highness is right,” Yan Yunti’s eyes curved with a smile. “So by the same logic, no matter how cold Your Highness’s face is, you can’t drive me away.”

Hearing the compliment, Yuan Jingxue gave a cold snort. “Indeed, Miss Yan is like a dog—expert at being clingy.”

“But I’m only clingy with Your Highness,” Yan Yunti picked up her words, naturally leading the topic back. “Unfortunately, Your Highness doesn’t think so. You feel that no matter who the other person is, I would be this clingy with her, so you were angry and wanted to leave immediately, weren’t you?”

“No.” Yuan Jingxue denied it without hesitation, letting go of her cheeks.

Yan Yunti was in no rush. “Since Your Highness says no, then I must have overthought it. Presumably, Your Highness doesn’t care for my explanation, so let’s not speak of it. I’ll take you back.” As she spoke, Yan Yunti sat up, making a move to take her down.

Yuan Jingxue was slightly stunned. Just as Yan Yunti was about to jump down, she tugged at Yan Yunti’s sleeve, finally unable to stop herself from asking: “What did you want to explain?”

Yan Yunti turned to look at her, saying uncertainly, “Does Your Highness really want to hear it? I wouldn’t want to force you.”

Yuan Jingxue let go of her sleeve. “If you don’t want to say it, then let’s go.”

Yan Yunti caught her hand and rubbed it in her palm, sighing softly. “Alright, it’s rare for Your Highness to ask proactively, so I will tell you my thoughts.”

Yuan Jingxue waited a while, but no words followed. She looked up, only to see Yan Yunti’s face enlarging before her eyes. She wanted to retreat, but the back of her head was held firm. This kiss came abruptly, leaving her dazed. By the time she realized she should push the person away, she remembered they were in a tree and chose instead to tug at Yan Yunti’s hair.

The tug caused a sting in Yan Yunti’s scalp. She reluctantly let go of the Kunze’s soft lips, maintaining a distance so small they were almost touching.

Yuan Jingxue truly couldn’t read her mind anymore. “What are you doing now?”

Yan Yunti licked her lips and said very sincerely, “Your Highness’s lips are so soft. I like kissing them.”

Having grown accustomed to her blunt words, Yuan Jingxue didn’t even want to get angry. “So? This is your explanation?”

“Yes, this is my explanation.” Yan Yunti leaned against Yuan Jingxue’s lips and asked her, “Doesn’t Your Highness like it? Compared to extreme intimacy, this kind of contact is more like an exploration, satisfying both touch and taste. Even when separated, the other’s scent remains between the lips and teeth, leading the heart to race and throb, wanting to do it again.

“Your Highness, don’t you want to? We can do it again, slowly and gently, seriously tasting that feeling of exploring each other…”

Yan Yunti’s words were as light as a seduction and spoken so closely that Yuan Jingxue had no way to refuse. Yan Yunti’s lips pressed against hers again.

With Yan Yunti’s words as a guide, Yuan Jingxue’s attention was indeed drawn to the sensations of touch and taste. It was a pure exploration; there was no hint of pheromones mixed between their lips and teeth. Even so, this pure kiss was still intoxicating. Yuan Jingxue felt as though she were being led to fall into an endless abyss; knowing it was wrong, she still allowed her body to sink.

The sounds of the wind and birds faded away; her attention was entirely concentrated on Yan Yunti. It wasn’t until the kiss ended and hurried, burning breaths hit her face that Yuan Jingxue realized she had proactively sat in Yan Yunti’s lap, holding her tightly, looking as intimate as a pair of lovers.

It wasn’t that they hadn’t had closer contact before, but this time, something felt different.

Yuan Jingxue couldn’t name the feeling. By the time she snapped back to reality, another kiss had ended. Relying on her reason, she turned her head away, missing Yan Yunti’s next kiss. Her voice was panting: “Enough.” Even though her reason remained, she had lost herself like this with Yan Yunti in broad daylight—it was truly unacceptable to her.

Yan Yunti licked her lips and obediently stopped kissing. She had restrained herself and kept the kisses very light, so Yuan Jingxue’s lips were only slightly redder than usual; no one would notice anything wrong.

“How does Your Highness feel?” Yan Yunti asked into Yuan Jingxue’s ear.

The breath entered her ear, and Yuan Jingxue felt her heartbeat was difficult to calm. She didn’t want to answer and asked back: “How do you feel?”

“I feel wonderful, of course,” Yan Yunti kissed her flushed earlobe. “Your Highness proactively held me, proactively explored, proactively invited me—I have never felt so good.”

Remembering how she had been lured into opening her mouth, Yuan Jingxue closed her eyes, wishing she could wipe that memory away. Clearly, at the start, she had only wanted Yan Yunti’s explanation.

Ah, right—where was Yan Yunti’s explanation?

Yuan Jingxue remembered the question late. Yan Yunti let out a low laugh in her ear. “Does Your Highness still not understand? It is because it is you that I am like this. There are no such things as mere coincidences in this world; the pheromones of Your Highness and I are uniquely compatible. It is also because Your Highness chose me that day that everything today exists. It couldn’t be anyone else, and it cannot be anyone else. The only one I want to be clingy with, the only one I will be clingy with, is Your Highness.

“Your Highness always says I think too much, but from where I stand, it is clearly Your Highness who thinks far too much and refuses to speak clearly to me, leaving me only to guess. I wonder if A-Yun guessed correctly this time? Is this answer satisfactory to Your Highness?”

Yuan Jingxue didn’t know how to respond. With her heart thoroughly laid bare, she would rather she hadn’t asked the question. She said with feigned coldness, “These words of yours are nothing more than coaxing.”

Yan Yunti wasn’t surprised by the response. She looked at Yuan Jingxue’s lips, pressing her thumb against them and sliding it slowly across. “Then Your Highness tell me—if it were someone else, would Your Highness kiss them again and again like you just did?”

Waves of tingling sensations came from her lips.

Yuan Jingxue slapped Yan Yunti’s hand away, feeling her question was utterly foolish. Even if she was unwilling to admit it out loud, she knew very well in her heart: if it weren’t for Yan Yunti, how could she have lost herself so easily?

Whether that moment was driven by the body or the heart, Yuan Jingxue could no longer tell.