Inside Kong Mingan's room at the Mingmeng Chamber of Commerce headquarters, spatial ripples spread silently, and Kong Mingan's figure stepped out from within them.
The furnishings inside the room were the same as always, without much change. His gaze swept across the room, but he did not find the Ice Empress's figure.
It wasn't until he entered the bedroom that he found the Ice Empress sound asleep, sprawled crookedly in the center of his not-too-large but comfortable bed.
Her sleeping posture was truly not graceful, even somewhat terrible. Her petite body was sunken into the soft bedding, and the thin blanket that had originally covered her had long been kicked to the foot of the bed.
She was only wearing a silk, green and white thin-strapped nightgown. One strap had slipped down to her arm, revealing a large expanse of delicate skin and her exquisite collarbone.
That delicate small face, which usually carried a hint of tsundere pride and Divine Qi, now appeared completely defenseless, peaceful, and well-behaved in her sleep.
Her legs were bare, not wearing her usual signature black stockings, and were casually crossed. Her skin was smooth and lustrous like jade, and her lines were graceful.
Her pair of jade feet were small and exquisite, her toes rounded and tinged with faint pink.
Perhaps due to her terrible sleeping posture, the hem of her nightgown had rolled up to her thighs, perfectly revealing the shadow of the absolute Domain.
Kong Mingan's gaze paused for a second before he unconsciously shifted his eyes away.
Perhaps because of what happened last night, his mindset had undergone a subtle transformation.
While he might have been indifferent before, now his resistance to such enchanting sights seemed less absolute than in the past.
Kong Mingan rubbed his brow, silently chanting "Restrain yourself" a few times in his heart before slowly approaching the bedside.
Perhaps sensing the approach of a familiar aura, the Ice Empress's long eyelashes fluttered a few times, and she slowly opened her hazy golden eyes.
Her gaze was blurry, but upon clearly seeing the person standing by the bed, her eyes lit up slightly, only to be immediately replaced by dissatisfaction.
She let out a grunt. Not even fully awake, she instinctively raised her stockingless, smooth, jade-like foot and, with a touch of morning temper, directly kicked toward Kong Mingan.
The force wasn't great, but it was full of resentment.
Kong Mingan reacted extremely fast, instinctively reaching out and accurately grasping the slender jade foot extended toward him.
The touch was warm and smooth, like a piece of high-quality warm jade. The small foot seemed almost too small to hold in his hand, feeling exquisite.
"What are you doing?" Kong Mingan asked, holding her foot.
The Ice Empress was now completely awake. Hearing him, she sneered, tried to pull her foot back but failed, and glared at him: "So you finally decided to come back?"
"Haven't I come back now?" Kong Mingan's tone was calm, showing no panic; he still needed to maintain his basic composure.
The Ice Empress gave a soft snort and didn't retort.
She couldn't explain why she had felt irritable earlier. The kick was purely an instinctive release of frustration. Hmm, she herself didn't understand where this inexplicable anger came from, but she was just so annoyed!
Anyway, she had kicked him. Although he caught her, she felt better now.
She tried to pull her foot back again. However, just then, she realized something was wrong.
Not only did Kong Mingan not let go, but he held her foot, looking down at it intently, a thoughtful expression in his eyes. Then, he gently squeezed it with his fingertips.
Kong Mingan: "..." The Ice Empress: "..."
After a brief silence, the Ice Empress's fair face rapidly flushed red, likely overheating again, and she roared furiously: "Are you trying to die, bastard!"
Kong Mingan instinctively let go, but it was too late. The Ice Empress, hissing, sprang up from the bed and pounced on Kong Mingan, flailing her arms and legs... A moment later, peace returned to the room.
Kong Mingan sat on the edge of the bed, his clothes slightly disheveled.
The Ice Empress, puffing up with anger, sat cross-armed on the edge of the bed a little farther away from him, turning her face away and only showing Kong Mingan the back of her head, which screamed "I am very angry," and her slightly reddened ear tips.
"...I really didn't mean to, I truly couldn't resist." Kong Mingan attempted to explain.
It's like how you can't help but pet a cat's head when you touch it, so catching the Ice Empress's foot and giving it a squeeze... isn't that reasonable?
"Hmph." The Ice Empress looked disgusted, giving him a look usually reserved for trash.
After a long silence, the Ice Empress took a deep breath, then let out another soft snort. Only then did she grudgingly let the matter go, but she couldn't help but ask:
"Alright, tell me. Where did you go for so long?"
"I handled some matters; they are resolved now." Kong Mingan answered vaguely.
The Ice Empress had no intention of digging deeper. She unconsciously leaned closer to him, instinctively sniffing with her small nose, and then frowned:
"You smell so clean. Did you take a shower before coming back?"
She paused, scrutinizing him suspiciously from head to toe. "Also... I remember you weren't wearing these clothes when you left, were you?"
"The previous set got dirty, so I changed them when I returned." Kong Mingan's expression didn't change, and his tone was calm and unwavering.
The Ice Empress continued to frown. Her intuition told her something was off, but with her straightforward mind, she couldn't figure out exactly what it was.
She pouted and ultimately didn't press the issue. As long as the guy came back safely, that was enough; she was too lazy to ask about anything else. Whatever he said would probably be something she wouldn't understand anyway, so it was better not to listen.
Just then, Kong Mingan abruptly spoke: "How about we go out for a walk?"
The Ice Empress raised an eyebrow in surprise and turned her head to look at him: "What are you trying to do?"
"Roughly... consider it an apology for what just happened?"
That was a marginally acceptable reason. Coincidentally, she had indeed been bored staying in the room with this guy for so long.
The Ice Empress turned her face away, hiding the fleeting interest in her eyes, but said aloud: "I am merely your guard."
Kong Mingan nodded, readily accepting the premise: "Yes. Well, now I want to go out for a walk, but I'm afraid something might happen, so I require your protection?"
The Ice Empress gave a light snort, adopting a "since you asked" attitude: "Fine then, let's go."
Saying this, she deftly jumped off the bed. With a casual wave of her hand, as spirit power light flowed, the alluring thin-strapped nightgown instantly transformed into the exquisite white and green dress she usually wore, and her legs were once again covered in smooth black stockings.
Kong Mingan's gaze paused for a moment on her legs clad in black stockings, but an untimely thought flashed through his mind.
What would the Ice Empress look like wearing white stockings? Or... black and white matching?
Kong Mingan paused, but quickly suppressed those strange thoughts in his head. Then, just as he had countless times before, he naturally extended his hand in a gesture of invitation.
The Ice Empress showed no hesitation, naturally placed her hand in his palm, and gently clasped it.
"Let's go." The two left the room together.
(End of Chapter)
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