Zero didn't understand what was going on. He stared at the top of Jingliu's head and couldn't figure it out.
As her partner, he should have the right to interfere with Jingliu's outfit choices, right?
The blooming period of an epiphyllum is too short and its meaning isn't good. He just wanted Jingliu to change the accessory, and she got angry?
The upper half of Zero's bathrobe had been pulled open by Jingliu quite a bit. Her long hair brushed against his chest from time to time.
…It really felt a lot like Jade rubbing against him with a fluffy tail.
Zero raised his hand and tucked Jingliu's slightly messy hair behind her ear.
She didn't linger long at his collarbone. Soon, she loosened her bite and instead k*ssed the side of his neck.
Zero said softly, "Let's change places."
Jingliu paused, pulled back a little from him, and gently nodded.
Zero had originally planned to take this chance to straighten the collar of his robe. Before he could even lift his hand, Jingliu very cooperatively stretched out her arms and hooked them around his neck.
Seeing this, Zero had no choice but to wrap one arm around Jingliu's shoulders and place his other hand under her knees, lifting the person in his arms horizontally.
He didn't hesitate, carrying Jingliu toward the living room.
He hadn't taken more than a few steps when he heard Jingliu ask, "That time I got drunk, why did you carry me back?"
Every time she thought about it, it felt off.
On the surface, Zero seemed gentle, but in reality, he was very hard to get close to. He paid great attention to boundaries and never easily shortened the distance between himself and others.
Jingliu had spent quite a lot of effort before finally getting together with him.
So why had Zero suddenly held her back then? Was it because… he also had feelings for her?
Zero thought, 'What else could it be?'
At the time, they were just ordinary friends. Considering the difference between men and women, he could only think of every possible way to avoid impropriety.
Only holding her like that would minimize bodily contact.
Carrying on the back or over the shoulder couldn't compare to a princess carry.
But facing Jingliu, who was now his partner, Zero couldn't tell the truth. He only said, "You were drunk… I didn't know what to do, so I just followed the way you rescue injured people."
Jingliu, "..."
Zero wasn't wrong. On the battlefield, Cloud Knights and medics often carried the wounded horizontally.
This method of transport was only used for rescuing those with lighter injuries, who could still stand and walk.
Using this method to help a drunk Jingliu who could still stand and walk was perfectly appropriate.
Jingliu thought about it again. After the two of them gradually became closer, she realized that Zero didn't really know how to handle intimate relationships. He was just imitating how others loved her.
Even if Zero did have feelings for her, he probably wouldn't even realize it himself.
Zero carried Jingliu to the sofa, bent down, and placed the person in his arms onto it.
He sat beside Jingliu and lowered his head to adjust the robe that was exposing most of his chest.
After straightening his collar, Zero reached out and pressed his hand against the shoulder of the person beside him, applying slight force to push her down onto the sofa.
He braced himself with both hands on either side of Jingliu and leaned down to gently k*ss his lover, who was right in front of him.
Lying on the sofa, Jingliu instinctively closed her eyes and actively raised her hand to hook around his neck.
The swordmaster who refused to yield before enemy lines was no different at this moment.
Zero stared at Jingliu, watching her slightly trembling eyelashes, feeling her response, watching that cold expression gradually soften in his arms, in this k*ss.
Until Jingliu opened her eyes, revealing those red pupils veiled in moisture. When her gaze met Zero's, she felt both shy and annoyed, and even her tongue was trembling.
Zero stopped and pulled back a little.
Jingliu instinctively raised her hand to cover her face, but Zero grabbed her wrist in one swift motion.
Zero couldn't help feeling the urge to tease Jingliu.
He tried hard to suppress it, chuckled lightly, and joked, "Alright, what are you covering up for? What's there you can't let me see?"
Jingliu's breathing was slightly unsteady, her chest rising and falling continuously. She stayed in the position of having her wrist held by Zero, not saying a single word.
As if giving up on herself, she turned her head to the side, exposing her completely red ear tips.
Zero knew that if he kept teasing her, Jingliu would probably run off again.
So he changed the subject.
"I said I'd punish you. You can't go back on your word. You have to change the epiphyllum."
Jingliu's emotions hadn't settled yet, and hearing Zero say this, she could only close her eyes briefly.
She controlled her tone and said calmly, "Fine, I'll change it. What do you want me to change it to?"
Zero thought for a moment and suggested, "Hmm… what about peonies?"
Peonies were flowers of betrothal, and also the first flowers he had ever given Jingliu.
Jingliu endured patiently and nodded. "Okay."
For some reason, after she agreed to Zero's suggestion, he seemed to smile even more happily.
Jingliu grabbed his collar and applied a bit of force, easily reversing their positions.
She discovered that even when Zero was in an extremely passive position, pressed down on the sofa by her, he still wore that gentle, harmless expression.
Zero didn't seem surprised at all.
It was as if every move Jingliu made was already within his expectations.
More accurately, his expression and gaze… were more like someone indulging an immature child, tolerating everything she did and letting her fool around.
Zero only looked passive. In reality, he had long since taken control of everything about her, forcing her to retreat step by step until she was completely defeated.
Jingliu prided herself on being the older one, believing she should be controlling the pace of this relationship, that she should be more… at ease. Not becoming embarrassed and annoyed over just a few words from Zero.
She stared into those smiling eyes and couldn't help feeling frustrated.
Jingliu pulled open Zero's collar again and leaned down to place her lips on the side of his neck.
Thinking of Zero's overly special constitution, her lips shifted slightly downward, landing on a spot that could be covered by clothing, k*ssing down little by little.
Jingliu stopped, raised her hand to caress Zero's face, and leaned even closer to his chest.
The moment their upper bodies pressed tightly together, both of them stiffened.
Jingliu's gaze flickered. Her chest rose and fell, yet her face still refused to reveal even a trace of emotion.
Seeing this, Zero took the initiative to speak. "Wait..."
Jingliu pretended to be calm and interrupted him, "Alright, wait for what? What is there to wait for?"
Zero saw through Jingliu's clumsy act at a glance. His gaze fell on his lover's bright red ear tips.
Hearing this extremely familiar line, he didn't point it out.
Zero sighed inwardly.
'Forget it. As long as Jingliu is happy.'
Seeing that Zero didn't speak, Jingliu thought she had regained the upper hand. A hint of a smile appeared on her face as she k*ssed him without giving him a chance to object.
Only when both of them were slightly short of breath did she finally stop.
Jingliu's cheeks were flushed. She raised her eyes, and froze for a moment.
Zero's eyes were half-lidded, and the gentle smile he usually wore was gone from his face.
Only then did Jingliu realize that when his face was relaxed, the corners of his mouth naturally curved downward.
It was just that in front of others, Zero always wore a friendly, harmless smile, as if that were his natural expression.
It was only today that Jingliu noticed this.
Zero had long since noticed her gaze, but he had no time to deal with it. He did his best to control his expression and eyes. After calming his emotions a bit, he raised his eyes to meet Jingliu's gaze.
Jingliu pinched his cheek and softened her tone.
"In front of me, you can relax a little."
Zero took a deep breath and smiled. "Okay."
Jingliu narrowed her eyes and continued pinching his cheek. "I said, in front of me, you don't need to keep that expression all the time."
Once Zero stopped smiling, Jingliu finally let go. With some curiosity, she studied her lover's cold, expressionless face.
Jingliu pulled back and lifted her leg as if to straddle him.
Zero's expression froze for a moment. Just as he was about to stop her, Jingliu first sat on him, then stiffened and quickly stood back up.
Zero's expression returned to normal. He sat up on the sofa, casually picked up a cushion beside him, placed it on his lap, and gently comforted Jingliu, who was standing there frozen, "Sorry. You don't need to mind these things."
He smoothly changed the topic without batting an eye. Jingliu replied absentmindedly with a few words.
Zero sighed inwardly.
He really wasn't good at comforting people. He could only find an excuse for Jingliu and said, "What time is it? Isn't it about time for the Cloud Knights to assemble?"
Jingliu took out her jade communicator, glanced at it, and nodded.
Zero continued, "Then go quickly."
He watched Jingliu leave, leaned back against the sofa, and rested for quite a while.
After calming his emotions, he got up to grab his jade communicator, checked the time, and realized there were still two hours before the Six Commissions and the Cloud Knights started work.
Before he could put the communicator down and continue reading, Jingliu sent him a message.
[Jingliu: If there's nothing urgent at the Divination Commission, then take a day off and rest at home]
Zero tapped on the communicator.
[Not During Work Hours: No, if I take leave to catch up on sleep, I won't be able to fall asleep at night]
Zero put down the communicator, calculated his commute time, and estimated how many pages he could read in these two hours.
Holding the book, he read while recalling the details of how the two of them interacted.
In any case, no matter how far they went, the engagement ring had to be made as soon as possible.
A proposal had to be done by him, no matter what.