Ye Chang lowered her eyes and let Mo Xie hold her. She rested her head against his broad chest, quietly listening to his heartbeat.
A faint smile touched her lips. She savored this hard-won peace too and had no wish to disturb it.
After a while, Ye Chang raised her head. Seeing the blissful look on Mo Xie's face, she chuckled, tapped his forehead with a delicate finger and said with mock annoyance,
"Enough. You've held your aunt for so long, and you still won't let go?"
Mo Xie loosened his grip a little. From where he was, he could see the soft, snowy-white curves spilling over the neckline of Ye Chang's bath towel, like cream squeezed from a cake.
His heart stirred. He quickly turned his head away and changed the subject.
"It's just... been a long time since we saw each other."
They had met at the Evil Heaven Pavilion, but the medicine had hit him so hard that night that he had slept straight through until morning. That time didn't count.
Besides, Asharuiya had explained that Ye Chang really was his honorary aunt. Knowing that only made his sense of closeness and reliance on her stronger.
"Hmph. You little rascal. You even dared to say you'd pursue me out there. Getting bold, aren't you?"
"I wouldn't dare. I'd recognized you, that's all."
Ye Chang nodded in understanding. A teasing glint entered her lovely eyes as she asked playfully,
"Then... if you hadn't surrendered just now, were you really going to keep going with me?"
Mo Xie froze, shock written all over his face. He shook his head and hurried to explain.
"How could I? You're my aunt. I'd never dare do that. I only kept it up because you wanted to stay in character."
The gentle smile