Anning’s pov

"Did you just say I’m throwing a tantrum?" Wanqing asked, staring at me in utter disbelief.

Call me stupid, but if I hadn’t said that. She would have probably bitten my head off or something.

I shuffled back into the bed, making her place her hand on either side of me. But that couldn’t stop me from moving.

"I don’t throw tantrums, tiger. I warned you, didn’t I?" She said, looking down at me. "I told you to stay away from my father. And yet..."

She trailed off, closing her eyes for a few seconds and taking in a deep breath. When she finally opened them, her black eyes seemed to lose the little color it had left.

"Yet, you still chose to go there. Why do you always act like this, throwing yourself into danger without thinking twice? Do you enjoy playing princess waiting for her knight in shining armor to save her? Do you enjoy me cleaning up your messes?"

I frowned at her words. First of all, I refused to be referred to as a princess. I preferred to be a god-damned emperor and secondly, I never asked her to clean up my mess. Why the heck was she making it seem like she was doing me a favor?

"I know I’m stubborn. You don’t have to spell it out." I muttered, rolling my eyes at her.

"Yes, I have to." She answered without hesitation.

The intensity in her gaze returned as placed one of her legs onto the bed, moving closer to me. She took my jaw between her index and thumb finger, forcing me to look at her.

"You have no idea what would’ve happened... If he had seen you. My father doesn’t tolerate defiance lightly, especially not from someone he sees as a slave."

News flash, General Gu wasn’t a fan of me.

She pressed her thumb lightly against my cheek, biting on her lower lip as though she was trying to restrain herself.

Wait, restrain herself from what exactly?!

"There’s a reason everyone complains about your attitude, Anning. You work under the Gu family, do you really think you’re that invisible?" She asked, running slow circles on my cheek. "You aren’t."

She wasn’t wrong, considering my unique hair color. It was impossible for me to remain low-key.

Wanqing was acting weird today. Her voice sounded different, even now, her words came out in a low angry rush. Her thumb against my skin, made my heart race.

I swallowed hard, forcing myself to stare at Wanqing right in the eyes. Honestly, I hadn’t expected to ever see her behaving this way...or even touching me like this.

Was she trying to seduce me?!

Although I knew I had crossed the line by eavesdropping, hearing her defend me so fiercely in front of General Gu... it did things to me.

As I didn’t respond, she took that as her cue to continue speaking.

"You need to stop putting yourself in danger. Sure, I might tolerate your personality but other people won’t. So, when I tell you to stay away, you listen." She paused. "Am I understood?"

"Yes, I understand." I responded, letting out a small sigh.

At this point, I just wanted to head back to my room. Eat dinner with A-mei and then have a goodnight’s rest.

Silence stretched between us, thick and heavy. I didn’t like seeing Wanqing like this. I preferred it when she was indifferent and cold.

When she is like this, she makes me feel small. No offense.

After a long moment of silence, her eyes finally regained their color.

"Good girl." She said, her voice dropping into something darker. Then, she straightened to her full height and sat down at the edge of the bed before saying. "But I’m not done with you yet, Tiger. You still need to be disciplined so you never forget my words."

I let out a small chuckle, shaking my head from side to side. "I don’t need that and I don’t want it."

"Don’t argue with me. Come." She said softly, not even looking at me.

I had no idea what her plan was, but it couldn’t be that bad, right?

I slowly moved to the edge of the bed, swung my leg off it and then moved to stand in front of my petty young miss.

Just as I opened my mouth to speak, she grabbed me by the arm and pulled me toward her with strength that was actually pretty surprising.

The next thing I knew, I was bent over her lap. My face burned with humiliation and something far more suspicious?

"Wanqing, you can’t do—" I started, already lifting myself off her lap but she held me down firmly.

"Shh." She whispered, her hot breath fanning the top of my ear. "I promised I would handle you properly, didn’t I? So, I will keep my word."

My heart was pounding wildly in my chest. This should have made me feel furious. I should be struggling harder. Instead, I felt heat pool on the lower part of my belly when her hand came to rest on the curve of my ass over my clothes.

"From now on," she started, her voice low and commanding. "You will never go near my father’s study or anywhere else I forbid you from without my permission. Do you understand me?"

I gulped hard, not knowing what to say. Wanqing let out a small scoff, yanked my skirt up in one motion, then a sharp smack landed on my bare skin. I gasped, wriggling at the sting.

"You shouldn’t be doing this!" I yelled, my voice trembling slightly.

"Answer my question, Anning." Wanqing responded, choosing to ignore my words.

"Fuck. Yes!" The word slipped out from my mouth before I could stop it.

My face burned with embarrassment, but my body was reacting entirely differently. I hated how much her dominance was affecting me.

I was supposed to be the dominant one. Not the other way round.

"That’s my good tiger," Wanqing purred, her palm gently caressing the spot she had just spanked, soothing the stinging spot.