Chapter 17

The scene played out a bit differently than in her memory.

In the original book’s description of “biting into fruit,” the specific type wasn’t named, but to play into the romantic mood of a kiss, it surely meant something small like a strawberry or a grape—or perhaps the small chunks of apple she had sliced tonight.

Then, one person would bite halfway into the fruit while the other’s lips moved in to take the other half. In the process, their lips would inevitably brush together in a subtle way, creating an unspeakable, ambiguous atmosphere. The kiss would then happen naturally.

Now, Meng Li had created a revised version of the original plot: she simply finished the entire piece of apple herself.

The effect seemed even better.

Without the fruit as a distraction, the visual focus was entirely concentrated on her red lips, which looked as though they were coated in nectar and shimmering with clear moisture. Meng Li’s face was free of makeup, possessing an incomparable purity. Who would have thought that her slightly tilted chin and cherry-like, seductive lips were actually a silent request for a kiss?

Ming Yufu knew she shouldn’t lean in. It was a pitfall, a trap; kissing her would be accepting Meng Li’s hint, turning it into a real kiss and giving the girl exactly what she wanted.

She didn’t mind Meng Li making progress, but the prerequisite was that the girl shouldn’t keep her in the dark, working hard behind her back.

Their gazes interlaced. Meng Li’s eyelashes caught the warm glow of the room, and her eyes were full of expectation. Expectation for her kiss.

Ming Yufu lowered her lashes halfway, avoiding her gaze—even though that expectation felt almost tangible as it rested on her. She wouldn’t let the girl have her way. Instead, she decisively picked up a silver fork, speared a piece of apple, and ate it.

She completely ignored Meng Li’s hint for a kiss.

“Is it delicious?” Having surely noticed the rejection, Meng Li switched the topic instantly.

“It’s alright,” Ming Yufu said.

“Just ‘alright’?”

Ming Yufu replied, “That is a high evaluation.” Many people consider apples the most boring fruit in the world—tasteless yet a pity to discard—and she was no exception.

“But eating apples has many benefits,” Meng Li said eloquently. “Apples are rich in dietary fiber and Vitamin C; they’re highly nutritious. ‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away.’” Meng Li pushed the “sales pitch” hard. “Now that you’ve heard the benefits, do you have the urge to have another piece of this delicious apple?”

Ming Yufu’s hands were folded; her hands were slender, her posture elegant, and she remained entirely unmoved. “Taste is determined by the taste buds on the tongue. As for Vitamin C and other nutrients, other fruits are just as rich in them.”

The “sales pitch” failed. Meng Li sheepishly pulled back the celadon-carved porcelain bowl and enjoyed it herself. It was rare to find an apple with such a strong apple flavor; if it were anyone else, she definitely wouldn’t share. But Ming Yufu was her “life-extending cheat code,” after all. Since she didn’t like them, Meng Li would finish them herself.

Meng Li stuffed three pieces of apple in a row, her cheeks puffed out.

Ming Yufu felt it was time to bring the conversation back on track and have a proper talk with Meng Li.

“Don’t study in secret next time.”

“Study what?” Meng Li’s mind whirred [read the original at bailiantales.com]even as she chewed. “Math? I never study math in secret.”

“Your book, The ABO History of Kissing.”

Meng Li didn’t react immediately. Her long curls cascaded down as she swallowed the apple. “…?” Wasn’t that book in her bag?

As if guessing her thoughts, Ming Yufu said, “Nuomi accidentally knocked over your bag. I saw it by chance when I was picking it up for you.”

The bowl of apples was nearly empty. Meng Li asked, puzzled, “Why can’t I study it in secret?” The book didn’t just contain the history of kissing; it also organized practical Alpha marking methods, and the writing was interesting, so she had bought it.

Ming Yufu’s eyes were as deep as a frozen lake, as if all emotions that fell into them were swallowed by silence. She asked back, “Why do you need to study kissing techniques in secret?”

Meng Li’s cheeks flushed as she protested, “No, I didn’t buy the book for the kissing techniques. The historical content is interesting, and the traditional marking methods are worth a look.”

Ming Yufu’s dark eyes were aloof, her voice carrying a note of scrutiny. “Is that so? Words have never been very persuasive.”

Meng Li’s brow line was still striking even as she looked down. She instinctively blurted out: “If words won’t do, then only action can prove me right.”

“Mm.” Ming Yufu uttered the monosyllabic response, her gaze brushing over her.

“Mm” could be interpreted in many ways.

Meng Li fell silent for a moment. Her mood was like solving a math problem—she wasn’t sure if what she was thinking was the “standard answer” Ming Yufu intended with that “mm.”

“Are you worried about being exposed?” Seeing no further action from the girl, the small flame of suspicion in Ming Yufu’s heart flickered upward.

Meng Li licked her lips. “No.”

She was calculating. Calculating the probability that her answer was the correct one. Although saying this carried the suspicion of blind confidence, in Meng Li’s heart—whether it was a problem she could solve or one she couldn’t—the moment she put pen to paper, the probability of it being correct was 100%. This blind confidence only vanished once she got back a paper covered in red ‘X’ marks.

The priority now was to kiss her.

Meng Li braced one hand on the table; her almond-shaped nails were unadorned, showing a healthy flush of blood. She leaned in toward Ming Yufu, her silhouette blocking the light shining on the woman. She exhaled a warm breath, capturing the other’s soft lips and sucking.

The lips generated heat through the friction, and the air became thick, as if a miniature storm of passion were condensing. Meng Li smelled that faint grapefruit scent again—crisp and alluring, flowing through every part of her body along her veins.

In the entanglement of lips and tongues, the scent grew stronger and impossible to ignore. Meng Li’s breathing grew heavy; her long, warm fingers moved downward, lingering along the sensitive lines of the woman’s waist.

She liked to speak against Ming Yufu’s ear after a kiss; not seeing the woman’s soul-stirring beauty made her feel less restless and nervous.

“Is my kissing technique the same as before?”

Ming Yufu’s neck was tilted back, feeling slightly sore, but the spiritual shiver brought by the kiss was full of pleasure.

“No.”

A vivid flush surfaced at the corners of Ming Yufu’s eyes, and her lips shimmered with a flower-dew luster—moist, moving, and exuding a seductive aura after the kiss. Her arms loosely circled Meng Li’s shoulders.

“The duration was longer before,” she said.

To make a comparison, the reference points must remain the same.

Meng Li felt a surge of sweetness in her heart. The “ice beauty” was still a beauty—soft as jade and tender as a flower. Those dark, clear eyes and cherry-pink thin lips were enough to make anyone linger. She hurriedly revised her answer, capturing the thin lips and exploring deeper.

However, trying to pull a memory from the past and replicate it exactly was impossible. When the kiss ended, Meng Li felt a lingering sweetness between her teeth, yet she thought it wasn’t quite as good as the previous kiss.

Could kissing be like math? If you don’t practice, you get rusty?

The mind of the “examining teacher” was difficult to gauge.

Ming Yufu said, “You have indeed improved.”

Meng Li gave a light cough into her fist, the tips of her ears flushing red. She didn’t feel the embarrassment of being caught in a lie; instead, she felt as though she had received a compliment for being capable. Her eyes were bright, and she lost some of her bravado as she spoke with a closed-lip smile. “But you can’t prove I learned it from that book.”

Ming Yufu: “Do you have other ways of learning?”

Meng Li huffed. “Could it not be that I’m just naturally gifted?”

Ming Yufu looked at her with her clear, dark eyes.

Meng Li blinked her peach-blossom eyes guiltily. “Fine, it probably isn’t. Then there’s only one possibility left.”

Ming Yufu had a feeling the next thing she said would be unconventional. “What possibility?”

Meng Li puffed out her chest and lifted her head. “You have a ‘natural-born talent’ filter when it comes to me.”

Ming Yufu was slightly stunned, her exquisite shoulders and back lines tensing up.

Isn’t that the wrong way around?

Meng Li liked her, not the other way around. Even if there were a “filter,” it should be Meng Li’s filter toward her. Since the girl hadn’t voiced this love yet, Ming Yufu had no chance to righteously reject her and make her give up.

But her mind was firm; she wouldn’t fall in love with anyone. From beginning to end, this was an equal exchange of interests with Meng Li.

Ming Yufu stated her innocence: “I don’t have any filters.” Meng Li should be clear about their real relationship.

Meng Li raised her brows slightly.

Didn’t Ming Yufu’s words just mean that she objectively and fairly believed her kissing [bailiantales.com]technique was even better than last time?

Cough. She was really starting to feel a bit boastful.