"Young Master Lu, you fell for it!"
Jin Ping'er's voice was soft, carrying a deadly sweetness.
Her foxlike eyes narrowed into two curved crescents in the moonlight. They brimmed with amusement, triumph, and undisguised possessiveness.
A soft touch pressed against him through their soaked clothes, so vivid it felt as though nothing stood between them.
Her body was pressed against his, every inch fitting snugly against him.
She rose onto her tiptoes and leaned close to his ear, her voice as soft as a secret.
"I told you there'd be a chance sooner or later."
Lu Jiuyuan's breathing grew ragged.
The hot spring water soaked his body, her sweet fragrance ensnared his senses, and her soft body rested in his arms like a warm flame.
His reason told him he should push her away.
He should turn and leave.
But his body refused to obey!
Jin Ping'er tightened her arms around him. She lifted her head and gazed at him from inches away.
Moonlight fell across her face. The lazy, nonchalant expression she usually wore was gone, replaced by a solemnity so earnest it was almost devout.
"Lu Jiuyuan." Jin Ping'er's alluring red lips shaped his name in a bewitching voice.
"Do you know how long I've been waiting for this day?"
Jin Ping'er's hot breath brushed Lu Jiuyuan's neck.
His body tensed, and his Adam's apple bobbed.
"Three years." Jin Ping'er didn't wait for him to answer. She continued on her own, her voice as soft as a sigh. "It's been three years.
"Ever since that cave, I've been waiting.
"Waiting for you to leave seclusion, waiting for you to come to the Southern Border, waiting for a moment when no one else was by your side."
Her fingers slipped through his wet hair, lightly tracing his scalp.
"I know there's someone else in your heart. I don't care."
Her lips were almost touching his. Her voice dropped until only he could hear it.
"I only want you."
At that moment, all reason vanished.
Lu Jiuyuan grabbed her waist and pinned her against the stone wall beside the hot spring.
Water splashed everywhere, soaking the stones along the bank.
Jin Ping'er let out a muffled moan, but didn't pull away. Instead, she tilted her head back and met his gaze.
Her eyes held triumph and anticipation, as well as a hint of nervousness hidden deep within.
Lu Jiuyuan bent down and kissed her.
Jin Ping'er closed her eyes, tightened her arms around him, and pressed her whole body against his.
Her lips were soft and warm, damp with steam from the hot spring and sweet with a scent that was uniquely hers.
Jin Ping'er returned his kiss without reservation, as though she'd waited so long for this moment that she couldn't bear to waste a second of it.
Mist swirled around them.
The water sounded especially clear in the stillness of the night. Each movement sent ripples spreading across the surface, lapping against the stones with a gentle sound.
Her fingers slid through his hair, lightly caressing his scalp with a tenderness that bordered on greed.
Time lost all meaning.
After an unknown amount of time, Jin Ping'er's arms slipped from around his neck. Her fingers came to rest on his soaked lapel, gently undoing the first frog button.
Lu Jiuyuan's breath caught.
Just then, a faint rustling came from a distance.
It wasn't the chirping of insects or the wind. It was voices.
They were faint and far away, but in the quiet of the night, they were unmistakable.
Jin Ping'er froze. Her fingers stopped on his lapel, neither continuing nor letting go.
She turned her head and listened for a moment, confirming that the sounds were indeed voices—and that there was more than one person.
"Damn it," Jin Ping'er muttered, her irritation undisguised.
Lu Jiuyuan had already come to his senses.
He stepped back and quickly straightened his robes.
They were soaked and wouldn't dry anytime soon, so he could only make do, tying his belt and gathering his disheveled hair behind his head.
Jin Ping'er was still leaning against the stone wall, watching him without moving.
In the moonlight, her face was full of frustration.
Her rosy lips were slightly swollen from their kiss. Her wet hair clung to her shoulders, droplets trickling from the ends and dimpling the still water.
Her thin gauze undergarment was a mess. Soaked through and rumpled by their embrace, it hung crookedly from her body, covering nothing and leaving her curves exposed.
Lu Jiuyuan's gaze swept over her, then quickly darted away.
He climbed out of the hot spring. His soaked robes hung heavily from his body, and each step left a wet footprint.
He took a clean set of robes from the storage pouch at his waist. After a moment's hesitation, he held them out behind him, his back turned to the hot spring.
"Put these on first."
Jin Ping'er took the clothes. Her fingers paused when they touched the coarse fabric.
She didn't thank him or bother with formalities. She simply turned and stepped onto the stones along the bank.
Her soaked, gauzy undergarment clung to her body, outlining every curve. Droplets ran down her calves, leaving a trail of wet marks on the stones.
She didn't hide herself. Right in front of him, she slipped the soaked gauze garment from her shoulders.
Lu Jiuyuan whipped around, as if burned, but he'd still caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye.
Her snow-white shoulder blades were like butterfly wings. The line of her spine ran down her back and disappeared into the small of her waist.
Moonlight fell on her skin, illuminating it like luminous jade.
His Adam's apple bobbed, and his blood turned scorching hot, heat blazing from his chest all the way to his lower abdomen.
"Lu Jiuyuan, why did you turn around? You've already seen everything worth seeing."
With his back to her, Lu Jiuyuan heard the faint rustle of clothes behind him.
The sound was so slow that it hardly seemed as though she was getting dressed. It was more like she was... doing something else.
"Lu Jiuyuan." Jin Ping'er's voice came from behind him, laced with a hint of amusement. "You really aren't going to turn around and look?"
He didn't answer.
"I take a long time to get dressed. You'll have to wait ages." Jin Ping'er's sultry voice was full of teasing and seduction.
Lu Jiuyuan took a deep breath and didn't move.
A soft laugh came from behind him, followed by the rustle of fabric, even slower than before.
He could imagine what she was doing: unfolding the robes, shaking out the wrinkles, leisurely slipping on the sleeves, fastening the frog buttons one by one. Each movement was deliberately slow, as if she were waiting for something.
Lu Jiuyuan cursed inwardly. What a little temptress.
She knew he was watching.
Her snowy silhouette lingered in the corner of his eye for a moment, then slowly moved.
She turned sideways, as though arranging her lapels or adjusting her angle.
Moonlight fell on her. The robes, too large for her, hung loosely from her shoulders, the collar gaping to reveal a wide expanse of snowy skin.
Her hand rested at the collar, slowly drawing it together, but never quite managing to close it.
Lu Jiuyuan felt his blood begin to boil. His body grew abnormally hot, and he couldn't tell whether it was from the hot spring or something else.
At last, the rustling behind him stopped.
The sound of fabric ceased, and light footsteps approached. Jin Ping'er circled around from behind him to stand in front of him.
In the moonlight, she wore his blue-gray robe. It was much too big; the shoulder seams drooped down her arms, the sleeves covered her fingers, and the hem dragged at her ankles.
She stood beneath the moonlight, her slender body swamped by the oversized robe, like a kitten wrapped in an adult's clothes.
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