Anning’s pov.

The room felt too quiet with everything that was currently going on. Sweat slowly rolled down my skin, my heart hammered against my ribcage and Wanqing’s grip on me was yet to loosen.

The faint sting and lingering heat on my ass made me feel humiliated but it didn’t hide the fact that she turned me on. I grinded carefully against Wanqing’s lap, hoping she didn’t notice.

What the hell is wrong with me?

I sat there on her lap, trying to control my breathing and make sense of the chaos in my head. This was the same woman I swore I hated months back, the same woman who left me behind but still protected me when it mattered. Even though she had to go against her father for it, which I consider very stupid.

Then, she disappeared or brushed it off like it meant nothing. We bickered constantly, we were yet to fight... Why?

Because my position wouldn’t allow me to just touch someone like her and get away with it. And yet, here I was flushed, aching and completely undone by the hands of a woman who I meant nothing to.

It was almost pathetic how I still didn’t know what we were.

"Wanqing." I finally choked out, my voice cracking. "You need to stop."

As though she sensed the seriousness in my voice, she froze immediately. Her hands stilled on my thigh, no longer moving or trying to coax me into giving in. For a moment, the only sound that could be heard in the room was the sound of our breathing.

"What’s wrong?" She asked, sounding surprisingly gentle. Her voice had lost its usual cold and commanding edge.

I swallowed hard, staring down before speaking, "I don’t want to do this with you. Whatever this is, just stop. I just want to go back to my room."

The words sounded utterly right now that I had finally said them out, but my body still wasn’t moving. I stayed exactly where I was, my legs placed on either side of Wanqing’s body.

The adrenaline that had made me resist and maybe allowed this whole situation look funny was gone, leaving only exhaustion and trembling limbs in it’s wake.

Wanqing didn’t push me off. She simply hummed softly at my words, sounding almost thoughtful. I could feel her staring at me intensely, like she was slowly peeling back every single layer I tried to hide.

The silence stretched between us for a few more minutes and I felt myself blush. I hated how it seemed like she could figure me out with just one glance.

It wasn’t fair, considering the fact that she was always so brooding and mysterious.

After what felt like forever, I couldn’t take her intense staring anymore. My cheeks burned as I shoved myself upright, using her shoulder. The sudden movement almost made my legs give out under me.

They felt weak, unsteady, like I’d just run for hours instead of letting her punish me like she wanted.

I stumbled two steps back before I managed to catch myself, pushing a few strands of hair out of my face.

"Goodnight." I said, not wanting to look at her in the eyes. I turned around and hurried to the door, the upper half of my dress was soaked in sweat and my skirt was slightly rumpled.

Just as my fingers touched the edge of the door, I heard Wanqing speak from behind me.

"Don’t forget to be here tomorrow morning, Tiger. You lost the bet." She said calmly, not bothering to hide how amusing she found this.

I froze with my hand on the door frame. On any other day, I would have spun around and then argued with her.

She used secret passages and that was cheating. But tonight, I just wasn’t in the mood to argue with her.

The fierceness and anger in me had been long gone. I just felt utterly tired from running earlier and my body felt so sticky that it made me feel a bit uncomfortable.

I slid the door open without saying a single word and then stepped out of the room, closing the door behind me.

The walk back to the servant wing didn’t make me feel better. I kept my head down, making sure my hair covered my face.

I avoided looking at any maid or guard as I passed. My legs still trembled with each step I took, and the dampness between my thighs just made me feel hypersensitive.

Every shift of fabric reminded me of what had just happened, how I had brutally denied myself pleasure. Well... A pleasure that could ruin everything. It wasn’t exactly worth it.

Right?

But still I couldn’t help but wonder, why she always does this to me.

One moment, she was defending me in front of her pervert of a father. The next she’s bending me over her knee like I don’t even have a choice.

You know what the worst part was? The fact that some stupid part of me wanted it.

I slipped into the room I shared with A-mei, closing the door as quietly as possible. Thankfully, she was already asleep and snoring softly underneath the covers.

I didn’t bother lighting a lantern. Instead, I took off my dress, threw it to God knows where and then collapsed onto my own bed.

I pressed my face into my pillow, trying to ignore the ache between my legs and the confusion swirl of emotions in my chest. I asked myself a question last time...if I truly wanted Wanqing?

The answer to my question was yes. But that didn’t make me feel better, nothing did.

I didn’t know where Wanqing and I stood. Were we still enemies? Currently going through some kind of truce? Or were we lovers?

Argh! Don’t even get me started on the fact that that woman had a god-damned fianceè. Call me a hypocrite but she was definitely a cheater.

Both in that bet we had and in whatever relationship she had with Xiao Qingyue. And I was going to use that to my advantage.