Day after day, night after night.
Several days later, inside a room located in the Shrek City headquarters of the Mingmeng Chamber of Commerce.
The light inside the room was dim, the heavy curtains completely blocking the morning sunlight outside. The room was slightly disheveled, and a lazy atmosphere permeated the air. Pillows that should have been on the sofa were scattered across the carpet, which itself was crumpled and haphazardly piled in one corner of the room. In a more distant corner, a few pieces of clothing that were barely intact, along with several strips of what looked like lace material, were heaped together, resembling strange scraps of fabric. Only the large bed in the center, though the sheets were wrinkled, maintained its basic form and appeared relatively normal.
At a certain moment, a sliver of sunlight penetrated the gap in the curtains, entering the room like fine golden sand. It landed precisely on the slightly raised quilt in the center of the bed, outlining the petite curves of the girl hidden beneath. The warmth brought by the sun caused the girl under the covers to stir slightly, letting out an unconscious whimper. Her long eyelashes trembled slightly. At that moment, the girl's consciousness awoke from slumber. Instinctively, the Ice Empress slightly opened her eyes, but her vision was blurry, unable to discern anything clearly. Her mind felt like it was stuffed with paste, leaving her dizzy and disoriented. Before she could fully recover, a massive wave of fatigue washed over her body, leaving her without the strength to even move a finger. Wait, what is going on?
The Ice Empress felt confused amid her disorientation, sensing that something was fundamentally wrong. She instinctively began to recall, and then memories rushed back like fragmented film reels. Oh, I remember now, I was drilled...
Wait, hold on, drilled?!
The Ice Empress snapped back to reality, becoming completely sober. She immediately reached out to grope beside her, but her palm only met the cold, empty sheet and a faint, familiar scent. Wait, where is he?!
An inexplicable panic rose in the Ice Empress's heart; she felt her chest tighten and an unknown discomfort. Ignoring the soreness and discomfort in her body, the Ice Empress grabbed the quilt and threw it off. In the weak morning light filtering through the curtain gap, the Ice Empress's body was exposed to the cool air without any cover. But at this moment, the Ice Empress completely disregarded that, letting her gaze linger on the empty space beside her for a moment before turning to sweep the room.
And at this moment, the room was empty save for her.
Her pupils trembled uncontrollably. The Ice Empress forced her still-sore and weak body to try and get out of bed to search, but the moment her feet touched the floor, her legs went soft. Damn it... couldn't that guy have been gentler? She couldn't even walk now!
The Ice Empress took a deep breath, gritted her teeth, and prepared to attempt getting out of bed again. However, the next moment, a familiar ripple appeared near the bed without warning. A figure naturally stepped out of the ripple, carrying a bag in his hand. As soon as he emerged, his gaze met the Ice Empress's eyes, carrying a hint of surprise. "You're awake?"
Kong Mingan was slightly surprised. According to his calculations, even if the Ice Empress woke up, she should have stayed in bed for a few more hours. Why was she up so quickly?
Just as he was about to speak, the Ice Empress flashed forward, crashing directly into his arms. Kong Mingan was momentarily stunned by her sudden, proactive collision. He lowered his eyes, looking at the Ice Empress, who was tightly hugging his waist as if terrified he might run away. His gaze softened slightly. He reached out, gently embraced her back, and stroked her back, his voice extremely soft: "What's wrong?"
The Ice Empress didn't answer, merely burying her face deep into his chest and stubbornly shaking her head, tightening her arms around him even more. Kong Mingan didn't press the matter, simply reaching out to gently rub the top of her soft hair, holding her quietly like this.
After quite a while, the Ice Empress's emotions seemed to calm down slightly. Still clinging tightly to him, her muffled voice came from his chest, carrying a hint of barely perceptible grievance: "Where did you run off to?"
Kong Mingan gently supported her waist and explained softly, "Before you fell asleep, didn't you say you were hungry and wanted some proper food? So, after I woke up, I went out to buy something to eat."
As he spoke, Kong Mingan shook the paper bag in his hand, which emitted the aroma of food. The Ice Empress looked and saw buns inside. Oh right... that did happen... she remembered now. At the time, she wanted to beg for mercy but was too stubborn, so she made up the excuse that she was hungry and wanted to eat. But that guy had replied with something like, "We'll talk about it later," and then continued to tease her, refusing to give her a single chance to breathe...
Thinking of this, the Ice Empress immediately felt a surge of anger. She couldn't help but quietly curse, her voice slightly nasal: "...Bastard."
Her voice was soft, sounding almost like a reward. "Mm-hmm, I'm a bastard, I'm a bastard."
Kong Mingan nodded readily, his tone coaxing, which made the Ice Empress want to bite him again. Was this guy treating her like a child?!
The Ice Empress bared her teeth, just about to say something, when a wide coat, carrying a hint of warmth and a familiar scent, naturally settled over her. Feeling the sensation of fabric covering her body, the Ice Empress froze. She instinctively looked down, her gaze traveling unimpeded from her own chest, past her slightly protruding lower abdomen, all the way down to her fair toes. It looked like she had hugged him without wearing any clothes?
The Ice Empress paused for one or two seconds, her ears turning slightly red. But the next moment, she calmly reached out, grasped the edges of the coat, pulled it shut, and fastened two buttons. So what if she wasn't wearing clothes? It wasn't like she had worn clothes much these past few days anyway... if the occasional strips of cloth and stockings she wore counted as clothes. It wasn't as if this guy hadn't seen it before; he had seen all the places she couldn't see herself, alright. What was the big deal about him seeing it one more time?
The Ice Empress muttered internally, constantly trying to justify her actions, until after a good while, her emotions finally calmed down a bit. She raised her head, her golden eyes flickering slightly as they met Kong Mingan's gaze. Then... the Ice Empress reached out and hugged him tightly again. Kong Mingan was taken aback, slightly confused. He instinctively rubbed the girl's hair again and asked softly, "What's wrong?"
The Ice Empress buried her face in his embrace, then rubbed against him slightly, muttering in a voice only the two of them could hear: "So tired. Let me hug you a little longer..."
Kong Mingan was slightly startled. He blinked, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. Was this the'soft' side of a tsundere?
Without resisting, Kong Mingan stood quietly in place, one hand supporting the Ice Empress's waist, letting her hug him as if he were a body pillow.
Hmm... it was actually quite nice?
(End of Chapter)
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