Kong Mingan paused.
He couldn't help it; an inexplicable intuition told him that Zhang Lexuan seemed very off right now, especially her tone of voice. It inexplicably made him feel strange.
He neither pushed her away nor dodged her. Kong Mingan merely patted her hands, which were tightly gripping his clothes, to make her loosen her grip a little, lest she tear his clothes. It wouldn't be good to explain to the Ice Empress later.
Then, he frankly admitted:
"What I want is to control you. I want to use you to gradually gain control of Shrek Academy.
"Rather than directly eradicating it, I prefer to transform Shrek into a stable talent cultivation base to supply me with talent."
"Is that so?" Zhang Lexuan murmured softly, then continued to ask, her voice even softer, "Then why me?"
"Partly because your talent and ability are sufficient for the task, and partly..." Kong Mingan paused slightly, looking down at Zhang Lexuan,
"...it's because of your 'Moon' Spirit and the Sun-Moon Bloodline flowing within you, which is of the same origin as mine. Although the blood ties are beyond five generations, you are still considered my clan sister. Choosing others would be less ideal than choosing you.
"Therefore, I need you."
The irrelevant words before were naturally omitted by her, leaving only the last four words of the young man's speech echoing in her mind.
Her slightly loosened hands, which had been clutching the young man's clothes, tightened again at this moment, as if grasping a life-saving rope. A complex, inexpressible light flashed in her eyes.
And deep within that light was a hint of pathological relief, slowly surfacing, carrying a sense of belonging, which even the young man had not noticed.
Zhang Lexuan narrowed her hazy, wine-infused eyes slightly, and a faint, yet pathological, smile curved her lips.
"You need me now?"
She looked at him, repeating the words, as if making a final confirmation, with a strangely solemn tone.
Perhaps her tone was too unusual; Kong Mingan also sensed a hint of something amiss, but he still nodded.
"Yes."
After he spoke, Kong Mingan thought for a moment, then with a flick of his mind, he took out the contract, which had various clauses already drafted, and placed it on the table.
His gaze shifted, and he looked at Zhang Lexuan, about to explain the contract.
But the next moment, Zhang Lexuan's face rapidly magnified in front of him.
A warmth came from his lips, followed by a taste of wine and a hint of sweetness.
Kong Mingan's body stiffened slightly, and a trace of shock flashed in his eyes.
Subconsciously, he wanted to turn his head away, but Zhang Lexuan didn't give him the chance.
Her eyes were closed, and her hands, which had been tightly clutching his clothes, were now wrapped tightly around his neck.
As if grasping the only life-saving rope in the world, she held on with an inexplicable stubbornness, not allowing him to escape an inch. Then, with an awkward motion, she pried open his teeth.
A faint, sweet taste with a hint of wine circulated between their lips and teeth, yet it also seemed to carry the bitterness of tears.
Time slowly stretched on.
After a long while, she was the first to release him.
Zhang Lexuan rested her forehead against his chest, her head bowed, her body instinctively gasping for fresh air due to lack of oxygen, her chest heaving violently, a little dazzling.
Kong Mingan looked down at her, at her inexplicably stubborn eyes in his arms, and couldn't help but ask in a low voice,
"Why?"
Zhang Lexuan immediately laughed foolishly. She gasped for breath, lifted her head, with the haziness of wine and a hint of clear obsession:
"Isn't this what you wanted?"
With that, she disregarded everything and leaned in again, completely blocking the words he had yet to utter.
And this time, he did not refuse.
He reached out, wrapped his arm around her waist, and leaned back slightly against the sofa's backrest.
Immediately, a subtle spatial ripple appeared on the sofa's backrest, and their figures instantly disappeared into it.
Inside the booth, everything returned to silence, leaving only the empty wine glasses and scattered wine bottles on the table, as well as the unsigned contract, quietly remaining in place.
Everything remained peaceful... Inside Kong Mingan's room at the Mingmeng Chamber of Commerce's headquarters.
The Ice Empress lay idly on the soft bed, her small face buried in the quilt that still carried Kong Mingan's faint, crisp scent. Her eyes glowed with a faint silvery light, connected to the "spiritual pivot network," watching the newly updated storybook.
But at a certain moment, the Ice Empress suddenly frowned. An inexplicable feeling of unease surged in her heart.
Unconsciously, she sat up and looked around.
"Where did that guy run off to?"
The Ice Empress pouted.
That guy suddenly said he was going out and she didn't need to follow, then he just disappeared, leaving her alone in the room.
The Ice Empress was inexplicably a little angry. She paused slightly, then suddenly remembered something.
Without hesitation, her consciousness connected to the "spiritual pivot network." In the contact list, she directly initiated a voice communication request to Kong Mingan.
In a moment, the call was connected, and the Ice Empress quickly spoke,
"Where are you?"
"...Here, handling some things." Kong Mingan's calm voice echoed in her ear through the "spiritual pivot network."
It's just...
How did she feel that his tone was a bit off? He was speaking in pauses?
The Ice Empress was a little confused, but she didn't think much of it and continued, "Can you handle it? If not, call me."
"It's fine, it just might take some time."
His voice was still calm, but the pauses in his words were even more noticeable.
The Ice Empress frowned.
Don't misunderstand, she wasn't frowning because of the pauses, but because of the phrase "it might take some time."
The Ice Empress was a little unhappy and lost the desire to continue chatting: "Alright, then that's that."
Kong Mingan: "Okay."
With that, the Ice Empress hung up the call, then continued to lie on Kong Mingan's bed.
With slightly puffed cheeks, the Ice Empress was still inexplicably uneasy. She thought for a moment, edited a message with her mind, and then sent it directly:
"Can you really handle it?"
"Yes, don't worry, it's nothing."
Kong Mingan replied instantly. The Ice Empress raised an eyebrow and continued to edit the message, "Then come back early after you're done, I'll wait for you."
Halfway through editing the message, the Ice Empress's thoughts paused. She was silent for a moment, then deleted each word, and finally, only sent a short:
"Oh."
After sending it, she disconnected from the "spiritual pivot network," then, as if to convince herself, she mumbled softly:
"This is just a routine inquiry, I'm not worried about him. It's nothing big, hmm... nothing big."
Thinking this, she turned over slightly, hugged the pillow Kong Mingan usually used to sleep, buried her face in it, took a deep breath, and then slowly closed her eyes.
Presumably, he would be back after she woke up, right?
(End of Chapter)
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