The next day, DongZe strode into the West Residence, his polished boots pounding the marble floor like a warning drumbeat. The slight clatter resonated across the high-ceilinged hall, reflecting off the carved pillars and old tapestries. The guards outside had attempted to prepare her, but their worried words did little to soothe XiaoQi.
She sat at her workbench, sunlight streaming over the rows of herbs carefully organized in woven baskets. Her hands moved deftly, sorting dried leaves, but her mind wandered lazily to the inevitable confrontation. When DongZe's shadow fell across the doorway, she didn't flinch.
"You again?" she asked, not looking up. Her voice was light, teasing, as if he were some trivial disturbance in her otherwise quiet morning. "Did the heavens send you here to annoy me as punishment for skipping prayers?"
DongZe's eyes narrowed, the sharp glint of frustration flashing across his dark gaze. His hands clenched at his sides. "Do you enjoy humiliating me in front of the entire court?" His voice rose, a low rumble that carried a weight of authority and anger. "Do you think your petty antics make you clever?"
XiaoQi finally lifted her gaze, tilting her head with exaggerated curiosity. A loose strand of hair fell over her shoulder, catching the morning light. "Well," she said softly, almost innocently, "clever enough that you still haven't caught me trying to leave the palace again. That must sting for the great Crown Prince."
His dark eyes bore into hers, a mixture of anger, frustration, and something that hovered just beyond recognition. "You will learn your place," he said, his voice low but brittle.
XiaoQi plucked another leaf, twirling it between her fingers. "Ah, my place," she mused aloud, her voice lilting, almost musical, as if testing the words before letting them fly. "Apparently it is at the centre of gossip, surrounded by enemies who whisper behind your back. And one very grumpy prince who cannot seem to stay away. Quite the throne I have been given, and such a lonely crown it is."
A flicker of heat, unmistakable and unwelcome, passed over DongZe's features. He stepped closer, the polished floor echoing each movement. She watched him, unblinking, letting him fill the room with the intensity he carried like armour. The corners of her mouth quirked, daring him.
"You enjoy this too much," he said, his voice quieter now, almost lost under the steady rhythm of his heartbeat in his ears. "Every word, every glance—do you do it on purpose?"
"Do what?" XiaoQi asked innocently, leaning on the table as if his towering presence mattered nothing. "Make you twitch, fume, and parade through my residence like a storm cloud? Perhaps." She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Or perhaps I am merely a mirror, showing you exactly what it looks like when someone defies you. Do you like the reflection?"
His eyes darkened, a storm contained behind a brittle mask of control. He was far too close now, and the air between them shimmered with unspoken tension. "You cannot keep this up," he warned, his voice tight, sharp enough to slice through the floral-scented air. "You are too bold. Too reckless."
XiaoQi lifted her chin, meeting his gaze with a softness that felt almost dangerous. "Bold?" she echoed, letting the word linger like smoke. "Reckless? Maybe. But is it really bold to laugh at danger when you know it might catch you? Or reckless to dance on the edge of your wrath?"
DongZe's lips parted as if to speak, then closed again. He wanted to say something, anything, but the words tangled in his throat, refusing to escape. He inhaled sharply, the scent of her herbs mingling with the heat of the room, and for a fleeting heartbeat, the crown prince and the girl who outraged him existed in a world suspended between fury and fascination.
XiaoQi tilted her head again, studying the tension in his posture. "Come now," she said, softer this time, almost coaxing. "Do you always wear your anger like armour, or am I just special?"
The tension snapped like a taut string.
"Enough," DongZe growled, his voice low and dangerous. He lunged forward, a living shadow moving too fast to track.
XiaoQi squeaked, scrambling away with a desperate agility that belied her usual composure. She weaved between chairs and stools, knocking one over with a sharp clatter. He followed relentlessly, boots pounding the floor, the sound echoing like a drumbeat of fury.
It quickly became absurd, almost comical, if one ignored the heat building in the room. She darted left, he mirrored her movement, blocking her escape. She scrambled up onto a table, and before she could leap again, he caught her mid-air, strong hands gripping her waist. The table wobbled dangerously under them.
Her hair, loose from its pins, tumbled over her shoulders and brushed against his cheek, warm and soft. He froze for a heartbeat, the sensation setting his nerves alight, before slamming his hand against the wall beside her head. The impact rattled the frame, the vibration thruming through his body as he pinned her in place.
"You think you are untouchable," he hissed, his face just inches from hers, dark eyes burning with restrained fire.
XiaoQi's heart pounded so hard she thought he might hear it. She forced a smirk, stubborn and defiant. "And you think you are in control. How sad." Her words were laced with amusement, but the heat of his gaze pressed down on her, and she could feel her resolve starting to tremble.
His patience, already thin, shattered completely.
Before she could dart another barb past her lips, he crashed forward, and his mouth claimed hers. It was hard, bruising, a desperate, heated collision full of frustration and hunger.
Shock twisted into fury. She bit down sharply on his lower lip. The sting, hot and electric, drew a thin line of blood.
He froze for only a heartbeat, a flicker of surprise passing through his stormy gaze. Then, without breaking the kiss, he deepened it, tasting her defiance, tasting his own pain reflected in her stubbornness. It was a battle, a dance of fire and steel, where neither would yield.
XiaoQi gasped, her hands clawing at his chest, shoving him with all her strength.
He staggered back a single step, his dark eyes wild, lips red, chest rising and falling with ragged breaths.
XiaoQi stumbled back a step, knees slightly unsteady, trembling with a storm of rage and embarrassment that prickled across her skin. Her fingers curled into fists at her sides, but the fire in her chest did little to hide the heat rising to her cheeks.
"Y-you... barbaric!" she stammered, voice cracking with indignation, her cheeks flaming red. "How dare you—!"
DongZe's fingers barely brushed against his bottom lip, leaving a small trail of blood. His touch lingered, and a slight smirk formed on his lips. He leaned in closer, the heat sent by him brushing across her skin. His dark eyes glimmered with pleasure, danger and were unreadable.
XiaoQi froze, her nails digging into the fabric of her sleeves as if trying to anchor herself. "What... what are you doing?!" she demanded, though her voice wavered between fury and something else she refused to name.
"Enjoying the moment," he murmured, low and velvety, every word dripping with tension. "You think biting me would frighten me?"
"Of course not! But—ugh—it's... gross!" she snapped, swatting at him reflexively, her hands shaking despite her bravado.
He tilted his head, studying her face as though committing every detail to memory. "I should be furious," he said, voice soft but edged with a hint of dark amusement. "And yet..." He licked his lips across his bottom lip, tracing the part where her teeth had bitten him. The gesture was intimate, teasing, and her stomach churned with a heat she could not contain. "I rather like it. I rather like you."
XiaoQi's eyes narrowed into slits, a spark of fire igniting despite her heart hammering in her chest. "You are insufferable! You enjoy humiliating me!" she spat, though her voice faltered slightly, betraying her racing thoughts.
"I do not enjoy humiliating you," he replied smoothly, closing the distance between them until she could feel the heat of his breath. "I enjoy every spark of fire you have. Every act of defiance. Every struggle that makes you who you are."
Her stomach flipped violently. She swallowed hard, willing her anger to rise over the pounding in her chest, over the heat of his gaze that seemed to strip her bare without touching her. "I will—if you do not leave me alone—throw you into the well," she declared, though the words came out shakier than she intended.
"Try me," he murmured. "You are fierce, clever... untouchable. And yet..." His gaze darkened, intense and unflinching, and he leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to the curve of her temple instead of her lips. "...you are mine to chase."
XiaoQi spun around, fists clenched tight, ready to escape, ready to strike if necessary. But even as she turned her back to him, her body betrayed her. Her ears burned, her heart hammered like a drum, and a shiver ran down her spine at the memory of his lips against her skin. Every nerve seemed alight with him, each breath drawn sharp and aware.
She stomped her foot, trying to force her composure back, but even the sound of her own anger sounded hollow compared to the storm of emotion he had left behind. She could feel his gaze tracing her back, lingering in all the spaces he had claimed without permission. And despite herself, a small, stubborn part of her thrilled at it.
"Do not think this changes anything," she muttered over her shoulder, voice firmer than she felt. "You will not get the better of me."
XiaoQi spun around, trying to put distance between them, but the room felt smaller with every step he didn't follow. She forced herself to pace, muttering to herself, fingers twitching as if physical motion could steady the storm in her chest.
"Focus," she hissed under her breath. "Do not let him see... anything."
DongZe, however, was not so easily ignored. He leaned against the edge of the table she had just escaped from, arms crossed, the faint curve of amusement tugging at the corner of his mouth. His dark gaze followed her every move like a hawk circling prey.
"You think scolding me will help?" he asked, voice smooth, teasing. "You think pretending to be furious will save you?"
XiaoQi whirled to face him, chest rising and falling, cheeks burning, and fingers curling into tight fists. "I am not pretending!" she snapped, though her voice betrayed the tremor she felt deep in her chest. Her heart was hammering, each beat loud enough she could feel it reverberate in her stomach. "I... I am furious, and you..." Her words faltered, lost in the thrum of adrenaline and anger.
DongZe tilted his head, dark eyes glinting as he studied her, tracing the flush along her neck, the tight clench of her jaw, the sharp rise and fall of her chest. "Ah," he murmured softly, almost reverently. "Speechless. Finally, a moment where your fire flickers."
XiaoQi's stomach twisted at the words. She pressed her lips together, forcing a tight line, trying to transform the storm inside her into anger. "Do not speak to me like that!" she spat, though her voice wavered, betraying her in a way that made her want to punch herself. Her body quivered despite her best efforts, the memory of his lips on her skin sending a shiver down her spine she could not ignore.
"You are an interesting contradiction," he said quietly. "So fierce, yet... so fragile. So unyielding, yet trembling at the smallest touch. You are fire and ice, defiance and desire all at once."
XiaoQi's pulse spiked. Her teeth pressed into her lower lip to keep herself from snapping at him, from screaming, from confessing the tiny, infuriating truth—that her body remembered his kiss in ways her mind refused to admit. She whirled away, flinging her skirts around her in a sudden, defiant spin, and stormed toward the window. The sunlight fell across her hair, and for a brief moment, she let herself breathe.
DongZe moved silently, almost imperceptibly, stopping just a hand's breadth from her shoulder. He did not touch her, but the space he occupied carried weight, pressing against her with the force of his presence alone.
"Step closer and I will—" she began, but the threat faltered in her throat as his shadow fell over her, his presence impossibly close. The air between them shimmered, heavy with unspoken tension.
"I rather hope you do," he said softly, leaning so that his hand hovered just above her shoulder, fingers brushing the fabric of her sleeve. The contact was minimal, but it sent a shiver down her spine she could not suppress. "I rather hope you fight, resist, bite. It makes the chase... worth it."
"You take pleasure in this," she said through gritted teeth, trying to reclaim some semblance of control. "In... in seeing me squirm like a trapped little animal."
"I take pleasure in seeing you alive," he corrected, the smirk replaced by a dangerous softness that made her pulse thrum in both fear and something else entirely. "In seeing you spirited, untamed. Every inch of you that refuses to bow... I will chase."
"Do not think for one second that you have control," she managed, her voice stronger than she felt. "I am not yours to chase."
His low chuckle followed her movements, echoing off the walls. "Ah, but you are," he murmured, voice teasing and almost intimate. "Every spark of fire you throw at me, every defiance you offer, it belongs to me. I do not take it—I earn it."
The sheer audacity of this man made her blood boil. Her fists itched to strike, her chest heaved with indignation, and yet beneath it all, a small, stubborn flutter in her stomach betrayed her.
DongZe moved toward the doorway, the soft scrape of his boots against the polished floor echoed through the room, leaving a hollow sound that seemed to reverberate straight into her chest.
He paused at the threshold, leaning lightly against the frame, the light catching the sharp angles of his face. His lips still glistened faintly with the remnants of her bite, a small, wicked smile tugging at the corner. His eyes smouldered with an intensity that made her knees feel weak, that made the air between them almost unbearable.
"Every moment with you... is mine to savour," he whispered, voice low, almost to himself.
XiaoQi's fingers tightened around the edge of the table, nails pressing into the wood, as though trying to anchor herself to reality.
"You are impossible," she muttered under her breath, voice trembling. "And infuriating beyond reason." Her eyes followed him, dark and stormy, even as she clenched her jaw and tried to steady her racing thoughts.
DongZe straightened, finally turning fully to leave. His hand lingered briefly on the doorframe, fingers brushing it as though he were reluctant to sever contact completely. Then he stepped into the corridor, the soft click of the door behind him sealing the moment.