She’s Being Naughty - Chapter 9

The walk from the dressing room to the hallway was a blur for Xu Zhaoyi.

Her legs felt weak, as if she were stepping on cotton. Her ears buzzed, and her mind was a tangled mess.

The scene from moments ago was seared into her brain like a brand.

The dim light, the bare shoulders and back, the faint rustle of the silk shirt as it slid down.

And that scent in the air, a mixture of red wine and perfume.

Reaching the top of the stairs, she gripped the railing and glanced down.

In the living room, Auntie Lin was still there. Jiang Yao was already seated on the sofa, holding a cup of hot tea and smiling as she listened to Auntie Lin speak. She was wearing that cream-white shirt now, it looked clean and crisp on her, as if the chaos from moments ago had never happened.

Xu Zhaoyi stood at the top of the stairs, hesitating over whether to go down.

Right then, Jiang Yao suddenly looked up.

Across the distance of a floor, their eyes met.

Jiang Yao gave her a slight smile and waved her over. “Zhaozhao, come down. Auntie Lin is about to head out; come say goodbye.”

Xu Zhaoyi’s heart gave another squeeze.

She took a deep breath and slowly descended the stairs.

Her feet hit the steps with a lightness that felt like walking on clouds.

By the time she reached the first floor, Auntie Lin had already stood up to leave.

“Zhaozhao,” Auntie Lin said, smiling as she approached. She pulled a small box from her bag. “Here, let Auntie give you one more little gift.”

Xu Zhaoyi took it. “Thank you, Auntie.”

“You’re very welcome.” Auntie Lin patted her hand, her gaze tender. “When you’re free, come over to my place with Xiao Yao and play.”

Xu Zhaoyi gave a soft hum of agreement.

Once Auntie Lin was seen out, the villa fell silent once more.

Xu Zhaoyi stood in the foyer, watching the front door click shut. She heard the sound of the car engine starting outside, gradually fading into the distance.

When she turned around, Jiang Yao was no longer in the living room.

She breathed a sigh of relief, yet felt an inexplicable sense of loss.

Just as she intended to head upstairs to her room, Jiang Yao’s voice drifted over from behind her.

“Zhaozhao.”

Xu Zhaoyi froze.

Turning back, she saw Jiang Yao standing at the dining room entrance, holding two cups. She smiled at her. “Come have a cup of tea to warm up.”

Xu Zhaoyi wanted to refuse, but the words died in her throat.

She nodded and walked over sluggishly.

Only the small pendant light above the bar was on in the dining room, casting a hazy, soft glow. Jiang Yao pushed one of the cups toward her and took a seat opposite.

It was herbal fruit tea, the aroma of roses mingled with a faint sweetness, steam curling upward.

Xu Zhaoyi picked up the cup, blew on it gently, and took a small sip.

“Did I scare you just now?” Jiang Yao suddenly asked.

Xu Zhaoyi’s hand jerked, nearly spilling the tea.

“No, I… no.” She kept her head down, staring at the flower petals in the cup.

“That’s good.” Jiang Yao smiled and took a sip of her own tea. “Actually, I was a bit startled myself. I didn’t expect you to be so bold.”

She said this in a relaxed tone, as if making a casual joke.

But Xu Zhaoyi heard a different meaning behind it.

She looked up at Jiang Yao.

Jiang Yao was looking back at her with a gentle gaze and a faint smile. But in those eyes, there was a certain… knowingness that saw through everything.

“However,” Jiang Yao paused, her fingers lightly tracing the rim of the cup, “Zhaozhao, lately you seem… very fond of making things difficult for me.”

Xu Zhaoyi’s throat tightened. “I haven’t.”

“Is that so?” Jiang Yao tilted her head. “The wreath at the wedding, the burnt eggs in the kitchen, and the red wine just now… were those all coincidences?”

She spoke nonchalantly, like a mother listing the minor mischiefs of a naughty child.

But to Xu Zhaoyi’s ears, every word sounded like a warning bell.

Dong. Dong. Dong.

One after another.

“I just…” Xu Zhaoyi wanted to say something, but didn’t know what.

She couldn’t exactly say. I just wanted to see you angry, I wanted to see you lose your composure.

What would that sound like?

Like a petulant teenager throwing a tantrum.

“You ‘just’ what?” Jiang Yao set down her teacup and leaned forward slightly, watching her. “Zhaozhao, I’m actually quite curious. You hate me so much, is it because of your dad?”

Xu Zhaoyi was stunned. “What?”

“Because your dad married me, and you’re unhappy about it,” Jiang Yao said softly, her voice light as a feather. “You feel like I stole your dad, you feel like this home has changed, and you feel like… I don’t belong.”

She was so direct, so blunt, without a hint of evasion.

Xu Zhaoyi opened her mouth to argue, but found she didn’t know how.

Because it seemed… that was exactly it.

At least, that’s how it started.

“Actually, Zhaozhao,” Jiang Yao sighed, her tone tinged with a bit of helplessness, “you really don’t need to be so guarded against me. Between your dad and me… it’s not what you think.”

Xu Zhaoyi snapped her head up. “What does that mean?”

Jiang Yao looked at her for a long time, then gave a soft smile. “Nothing.”

She stood up. “Leave the cups here, the maid will clean up tomorrow. Get some rest.”

With that, she turned to head upstairs.

When she reached the stairs, she paused and looked back. “By the way, I’ll send that shirt to the dry cleaners. Don’t worry about it.”

Then she went upstairs.

Xu Zhaoyi sat alone in the dining room, staring at the now cold fruit tea for a very long time.

A few days later, Xu Jiancheng finally returned home.

He looked exhausted, with bloodshot eyes likely due to being overwhelmed with company business.

During dinner, he announced some news.

“There’s a charity gala next weekend,” he said while eating. “The organizers sent over a few invitations. Xiao Yao, you’ll come with me. Zhaozhao, you’re coming too, it’s time you saw a bit more of the world.”

Xu Zhaoyi’s chopsticks paused.

“What charity gala?” she asked.

“Just some people from the circle getting together to eat, drink, donate a bit of money, and do some socializing,” Xu Jiancheng explained simply. “You’re older now, it’s time you get used to these occasions.”

Jiang Yao nodded from across the table. “Zhaozhao can go take a look; it should be quite interesting.”

Xu Zhaoyi didn’t say anything, silently picking at her rice.

She didn’t actually want to go.

Those events, groups of people holding wine glasses and faking smiles, saying insincere things, testing and calculating against one another, were utterly boring.

But since her father had asked, it was hard to refuse him directly.

A week passed by quickly.

On the day of the weekend, Xu Zhaoyi lingered for a long time before finally heading downstairs.

Downstairs, Jiang Yao was already dressed and ready.

She wore a silver-gray maxi dress with a simple and elegant cut, adorned only with a few scattered diamonds at the waist. Her hair was loosely pinned back with a pearl hairpin, and her makeup was light, finished with a soft dusty-rose lipstick. She looked the picture of grace and poise.

Xu Jiancheng was there too, dressed in a dark suit and looking quite spirited.

When he saw Xu Zhaoyi come down, he frowned. “Why are you dressed like that?”

Xu Zhaoyi looked down at herself.

She wore a black dress that hit her knees, the style was plain, with no decorations to speak of.

“It’s fine, isn’t it?” She tugged at her hem. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s too plain,” Xu Jiancheng said with a wave of his hand. “Go change into something more formal. A gala isn’t a little girl’s get together, you need to show some class.”

Xu Zhaoyi wanted to argue, but Jiang Yao spoke first. “I’ll go help Zhaozhao pick something out. I need to touch up my makeup anyway.”

As she spoke, she walked over and gently took Xu Zhaoyi’s hand.

It was that same gentle yet undeniable force again.

As she was led upstairs, Xu Zhaoyi felt an underlying sense of unease. Yet, she couldn’t quite put her finger on what was wrong.

Returning to the third floor, Jiang Yao didn’t take her to her own room, but instead led her to the larger walk-in closet, the same place where the red wine had been spilled last time.

As they pushed the door open, the lighting was exactly as before: soft LED strips casting a hazy glow. The air still carried that familiar fragrance.

Jiang Yao closed the door.

Click.

Xu Zhaoyi’s heart leaped at the sound.

“Zhaozhao,” Jiang Yao turned to look at her, “you’ve been… very naughty lately.”

Xu Zhaoyi took a step back until her back hit the closet door.

She wanted to push her away, to turn and flee, but her hands felt as if they were nailed in place, immobile.

Jiang Yao took two steps forward, standing directly in front of her. She reached out and lightly pressed her hands against the closet panels on either side of Zhaoyi’s shoulders.

The distance between them vanished instantly.

They were so close that Xu Zhaoyi could see the fine lines at the corners of Jiang Yao’s eyes, smell the sweet clarity of her perfume, and feel her warm breath brushing against her face.

“Starting from the wedding day,” Jiang Yao spoke softly, her voice light and tender, as if whispering sweet nothings, “the wreath, the burnt eggs, the nightgown, the phone calls, the red wine…”

She tallied each “misdeed,” and with every item, her voice grew a fraction softer. “You really want to make me angry, don’t you?”

Xu Zhaoyi bit her lip and remained silent.

“But look,” Jiang Yao smiled, her eyes crinkling at the corners. “I’m not angry. Not at all.”

Her face leaned in further, her lips nearly brushing Xu Zhaoyi’s earlobe.

“On the contrary… I find it quite interesting.”

The warm breath on her ear was itchy and tingling. Xu Zhaoyi shuddered.

“Zhaozhao is so young, so fresh, like a green apple that hasn’t quite ripened.” Jiang Yao’s voice was right at her ear, as soft as a dream. “Tart, astringent, and yet… it makes one want to have a taste.”

Xu Zhaoyi’s breathing grew labored.

She wanted to push her away, to curse at her, to fling her hand off and storm out as she had in the past. But her body felt as if it were under a spell, frozen and unable to move.

“After doing so many bad things,” Jiang Yao leaned in even closer, her warm lips almost touching her ear, “shouldn’t there be some kind of gesture?”

Xu Zhaoyi finally found her voice, though it shook violently. “What… what kind of gesture?”

“What do you think?” Jiang Yao pulled back slightly to look at her, her eyes bright as stars. “Zhaozhao, you know exactly what I mean.”

Xu Zhaoyi averted her gaze. “I don’t know.”

“Is that so?” Jiang Yao gave a light chuckle. She reached out and hooked a finger under Zhaoyi’s chin, forcing her to look back. “Then let me remind you.”

Her fingers were cool, but the sensation was sharp.

“If you don’t call me ‘Mom,'” Jiang Yao said, emphasizing each word with a gentle but indisputable weight, “you aren’t leaving this room.”

Xu Zhaoyi’s pupils constricted sharply.

“You…”

“I’m serious,” Jiang Yao interrupted with a smile. “Call me ‘Mom’ once, and I’ll let you out. If not, we stay here until you’re ready to say it.”

Xu Zhaoyi stared at her, at those smiling, crescent-shaped eyes. In those eyes, there was tenderness, mischief, curiosity, and a hint of… amusement.

Like a cat toying with a mouse under its paw.

“You’re crazy,” Xu Zhaoyi hissed through gritted teeth. “By what right?”

“By what right?” Jiang Yao tilted her head. “By the right that I am your legal mother. By the right that I am the one managing this household now. By the right that your father entrusted you to me.”

With every sentence, she pressed her body an inch closer.

Finally, she was pressed almost entirely against her.

Xu Zhaoyi could feel the heat of her body, the soft contact of her chest, and the subtle itch of the dress fabric brushing against her calves.

“Zhaozhao,” Jiang Yao’s voice grew even fainter, like a feather brushing against the heart, “is it really that hard to say it just once?”

Xu Zhaoyi closed her eyes.

Her lips were trembling, her hands were trembling, her whole body was shaking.

Inside her mind, two versions of herself were at war.

One said: So what if you say it? It’s just a word. Do you really want to waste the whole night here with her?

The other said: No! You can’t! If you say it, you lose! Saying it means acknowledging her status! It means… surrendering!

“Will you say it?” Jiang Yao asked again, her voice laced with a faint smile. “I’ll give you three seconds to think. Three, two….”

“No!” Xu Zhaoyi snapped her eyes open, practically shouting the words.

Her voice echoed in the cramped walk-in closet, the sound ringing in her own ears.

Jiang Yao stared at her for a few seconds, and then she laughed. She actually laughed out loud.

“Fine,” she said. “Then stay here and think about it. We’ll go out once you’ve made up your mind.”

Having said her piece, she was truly in no hurry. She took a half-step back and leaned against the central island, folding her arms across her chest and watching Zhaoyi with leisure.

It was as if she were enjoying an interesting performance.

Xu Zhaoyi stood there, back against the closet, watching her.

She watched her elegant, composed manner, she watched the tender yet mocking smile on her face; she watched those eyes that seemed to see through everything.

Minutes and seconds ticked by.

The closet was silent, so silent they could hear each other’s breathing.

Xu Zhaoyi’s breath was shallow and frantic, while Jiang Yao’s remained steady and slow. It truly seemed as though she wasn’t in a rush at all.

Outside, the sky was gradually darkening. The LED strips in the closet appeared brighter now, casting their overlapping shadows against the wall.

Xu Zhaoyi looked at those two shadows on the wall and suddenly felt as if she were truly…

Trapped.