After My Paranoid Act to Woo My Cold Master Failed - Chapter 42

Shen Shuheng froze for a moment, then her brow furrowed, her lips pouted, and she said aggrievedly, “I just wanted to taste what your eyes were like, to see if they were the same as malt candy!”

“Why are you being so mean to me!”

“I am not being mean to you,” Fu Xueke replied.

“You say you’re not, but you clearly are! Your voice was so loud, you never talked like that before. And your face was all stiff and cold!” Shuheng noticed the shift in her Master and attributed it to anger; in her current state, she couldn’t conceive of any other reason.

“I am sorry,” Fu Xueke realized her tone had been harsh. Given her disciple’s fragmented soul and diminished mental state, she should be offering nothing but unconditional patience.

“That’s better! To know one’s mistakes and change them is the greatest of virtues,” Shuheng quoted, swaying her head back and forth as if reciting a lesson.

A childishness that didn’t belong to her actual age appeared on the girl’s face, making her look incredibly endearing. Fu Xueke found it slightly ironic—she had said those very words to Shuheng before, and now the roles were reversed.

“Why do you associate my eyes with malt candy?”

“Because the color of Master’s eyes right now looks exactly like it!” Shuheng reached out and gently touched Fu Xueke’s eyelids.

Fu Xueke smiled, the warm lamplight bobbing in her eyes. Shuheng stared, her mind drifting along with that light. She felt a tingling sensation throughout her body, like a mild electric current. She truly wanted to kiss that smiling face starting from the forehead, across every inch of her skin, down to those beautiful lips.

“Is there anything in that head of yours besides food?” Fu Xueke asked, noticing her disciple’s vacant, staring expression.

“I want to kiss Master!” Shuheng blurted out. She didn’t see anything wrong with her words.

“You… cannot just kiss people recklessly.”

Shuheng shook her head stubbornly.

“This is something you can only do with someone you like,” Fu Xueke repeated her earlier lesson. Shuheng wouldn’t recover her full mental faculties for some time, and Fu Xueke couldn’t have this happening every single day.

Shuheng’s expression brightened instantly. “I like Master, so I can kiss Master!”

But then, the joy withered into a pitiful look. “Does Master not like A-Heng?”

“Of course I like you,” Fu Xueke said. “But there are many types of liking. Only one very special kind allows for kissing.”

The yellow light dusted Shuheng’s eyelashes like gold powder. “Then my liking for Master is the most special kind. Master is the most special person to me, no one can compare!” Her gaze was unwavering.

Fu Xueke felt a jolt in her heart. She paused before saying, “In the future, there will be someone more important to you than your Master.”

“No! Never! There will only be Master. My heart only has room for Master, no one else. I wouldn’t lie to you liars are puppies!” Shuheng pointed to where her heart was beating, looking at Fu Xueke anxiously. “Master, how can you not believe me? I believe everything you say.”

“I believe you. Now, A-Heng needs to sleep,” Fu Xueke said, dismissing the words as the intense attachment of a child. She rubbed the girl’s hair.

“If you let me kiss you once, I’ll sleep,” Shuheng bargained shamelessly.

Fu Xueke looked at those sparkling eyes and whispered, “Fine.”

Shuheng leaned in and kissed the woman’s forehead. It was a gentle kiss, as if she were handling a priceless treasure she was afraid to break.

The Night’s Fire

The candle was extinguished, and silence swallowed them. Shuheng clung to Fu Xueke in the dark; as she had expected, hugging her Master felt wonderful, like being cooled by mountain snow. She fell asleep quickly.

Fu Xueke, however, could not sleep. Shuheng held her tighter and tighter, as if trying to press Fu Xueke into her own body. The girl’s head was buried in the crook of Fu Xueke’s neck, her hot breath claiming her skin.

To Fu Xueke, her own collarbone was like a dry field, and that heat was the spark that set it ablaze. The fire quickly consumed her. Fu Xueke’s body temperature rose until she was even hotter than the feverish girl. Her hidden desires bloomed into vivid, seductive flowers in the shadows.

Just as she prepared to push the girl away, a muffled sob came from the sleeper. “Please, don’t leave A-Heng… I’ll be useful to Master…”

Fu Xueke’s hand stopped in mid-air and returned to the quilt.

The fire continued to roast her. In the distorted light of that internal flame, she saw another world—one where she could discard all reason, morality, and shame to trap this girl forever. She could use greed and deception to make the girl entirely hers.

The pale blue moonlight crept in, judging her with its cold, silent eye. Her shadow on the wall looked small and wretched, much like her soul.

A Puppy in the Snow

The sun rose, painting the clouds a vibrant crimson. Fu Xueke woke up groggily to find a hand blocking the sunlight from her eyes. Shuheng had been awake for a while, holding her hand up to shield her Master, despite the ache in her arm.

“Master, you’re awake! Let’s go play in the snow!”

Fu Xueke checked her forehead. “The fever has broken. Do you feel better?”

“I’m fine! Let’s go!”

“Aren’t you hungry?”

“No,” Shuheng said, just as her stomach gave a loud growl. She had promised not to lie, yet here she was.

“Still not hungry?” Fu Xueke teased. “You said liars are puppies. Are you one?”

Shuheng shrunk her head back, stealing a glance at her. “I’m a puppy.”

“I didn’t hear you. You’re a what?”

“I’M A PUPPY!” Shuheng shouted at the top of her lungs.

Fu Xueke laughed, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “I’ll make breakfast, you go play first.”

“No, I want to help Master, then we play.”

They washed and went outside. Shuheng hopped around the snow, delighted by the crunching sound under her boots. Fu Xueke watched her, her gaze softening into a look of pure, lingering tenderness.

“Is it fun?”

“Very! Master, you try!”

“No, I am an adult,” Fu Xueke declined.

“A-Heng is almost an adult and I’m playing. Why can’t you? Didn’t you do this as a child?”

Fu Xueke realized she couldn’t remember what she did for fun as a child. That part of her memory felt like it had been hollowed out. “I have never done this, as a child or now.”

“Then we’ll build a snowman together!” Shuheng ran behind her and wrapped her arms around Fu Xueke’s waist.

The touch sent a jolt of heat through Fu Xueke. She instinctively grabbed Shuheng’s wrist, her grip tightening and tightening until the girl’s skin turned red.

Shuheng gritted her teeth. It hurt, but she endured it if it made her Master happy.

Fu Xueke suddenly snapped back to reality and let go. A red ring marked the girl’s wrist. “I am sorry.”

“It doesn’t hurt at all,” Shuheng smiled. Fu Xueke’s fingertips glowed with a minty-green light, and the red mark vanished instantly.