Hu Xiaotian said, "Keeping each other warm, comforting each other-you don't seem to be getting the short end of the stick."
Baobao said, "I have something serious to tell you. Tonight, I saw that Ma Liangpeng sneaking around with Qiuyan."
Hu Xiaotian laughed. "Aren't the two of us sneaking around too?"
Baobao leaned close to his ear, her breath fragrant as orchids. "Qiuyan serves the Empress."
"So what?"
Baobao said, "They shouldn't know Wutong. Today, I also saw Wutong secretly release a bird."
Hu Xiaotian said, "And what does that prove?"
Baobao said, "Idiot! It means she's exchanging messages with people outside the palace."
Hu Xiaotian chuckled.
His laughter left Baobao embarrassed and angry. With both her hands caught in his grip, she could only part her cherry lips and try to bite his chin. But Hu Xiaotian was far too crafty. He dipped his head and caught her lips squarely with his own. The fighting spirit she had just mustered crumbled into utter rout beneath his passionate kiss.
Going from passively enduring it to silently cooperating was a process, one that encompassed complex changes of heart. Only with difficulty did Baobao persuade herself to break free of his entanglement. "One day, I'll kill you," she said fiercely. Yet those words held not the slightest killing intent, only a sweetness she alone understood. What was more, once she had spoken, she buried her burning face against Hu Xiaotian's shoulder.
Hu Xiaotian said, "I believe you. Why not now?"
Baobao felt him stirring restlessly against her. She suddenly wrenched her hands free and planted them against his chest, bracing hard to keep a sufficient distance between them.
Seeing Baobao making her last stubborn stand, Hu Xiaotian could not help finding it amusing. In the faint light, her shy, alluring expression naturally