Ling Yao smiled, "I knew it. You just haven't interacted with them much. If you met them, you'd definitely like them. They're so good-looking, nothing like you."
Is that so?
Xiao Shan, infected by her smile, brushed a stray strand of hair from her forehead. The momentary gloom within him slowly dissipated.
His large hand enveloped her small one, and he held her tightly as they left the main street.
But Xiao Shan knew that if things continued like this, the gloom in his heart might return at any time.
He desperately longed for Ruan Ji's reply.
He wanted a way to break through his current predicament.
He would not allow any deviation in her feelings. If the world's troubles could truly affect them, he might indeed do something extreme.
That night, at the inn where they were staying.
Ling Yao woke up in the middle of the night, hungry.
She turned over, now lying prone, but it was no use. It was too unbearable. Xiao Shan's hand unconsciously patted her back, and Ling Yao turned her head.
He was not fully awake, his breathing even, and his firm jawline had softened considerably.
"A Shan, I'm so hungry!"
Her small head nudged forward bit by bit, and she opened her mouth, latching onto his lips.
A familiar taste, missed for so long.
Xiao Shan woke up, but he didn't want to.
The fragrant, soft lips were the taste from his dreams, exactly the same. With an excited heart and trembling hands, his mind conjured up her graceful body, Xue Niang, now grown.
He wanted to sink into it.
Her strength was immense, as if she had longed for this for ages, sucking with a wet, slurping sound. He quietly opened his mouth, and her mischievous little tongue slipped in.
She was Xue Niang, his rightful woman, he told himself.
However, as his body lost control and her childish whimpers arose, he jolted, throwing the small body off him.
"Xue Niang, be good."
Xiao Shan wrapped her in the quilt and stood up, then opened the door and went out.
Ling Yao heard the door close and couldn't help but sob.
"A Shan, I'm so hungry."
The feeling of hunger was agonizing, surging from her stomach in waves, a kind of dry heat that spread throughout her body, leaving her nauseous and weak.
She didn't want to control it anymore. She wanted to eat. Xiao Shan's lips wouldn't let her, and her attention couldn't be diverted. Her stomach felt like it was burning.
Why should she suffer like this!
Perhaps she wasn't sick at all. Yes, maybe this was what happened after Nirvana!
After Xiao Shan went out, he leaped onto the rooftop and blew on the cold wind for a while to calm himself.
If he could control his wicked thoughts, a kiss would be nothing. But it seemed he couldn't control it, so he could only make her sad.
Alas, what should he do? This couldn't go on.
Xiao Shan patted his forehead in distress, then paused and slowly looked up.
Perhaps he could ask Qing He to prescribe some more medicine for him?
If so, if it was just a kiss, it should be fine. She was his wife after all, no need to overthink it.
As long as she was happy and not upset, what did it matter?
Yes, this was a good idea.
Xiao Shan seemed to have figured it out and was very happy. This way, there shouldn't be any lingering resentment between them, and they would be as affectionate as before.
He touched his slightly numb lips.
Not to mention, the little one had quite some strength.
Thinking that he had left her and run out, he wondered if she would be angry again. He didn't dare to stay on the roof any longer and returned to the room, wrapped in the cold air.
However, the room was empty.
In the lobby, under the dim light of a kerosene lamp, the night-duty waiter dozed half-asleep at the table. He suddenly felt a chill.
He shivered, opened his eyes, and saw a large dark shadow in front of him.
"Oh my god! A ghost!"
"Silence!"
Xiao Shan's deep voice made the waiter's ears ring. Only then did he realize it was the tall, sturdy guest who had checked in.
"Sir, you, you..."
"Did you see the child who was with me run down?"
"Child, child, child..."
Never mind, this guy was asleep just now, so he wouldn't have seen her run down anyway.
"Don't speak!" Xiao Shan raised his hand to stop the waiter and tilted his ear to listen.
There was a sound, like a mouse, rustling.
That was the kitchen, there must be rats again! The waiter picked up the oil lamp and the stick beside him and went over.
But as he entered the kitchen, the stick he raised was caught by Xiao Shan behind him.
"Sir?"
Xiao Shan didn't speak, slowly turning around the table, and indeed saw Ling Yao squatting on the ground, gnawing on a chicken.
She gnawed very roughly, as if she hadn't eaten in ages. Because her mouth and teeth were small, it was difficult to gnaw, and she tore at it with all her might, squatting in the darkness, not even hearing anyone approach.
Xiao Shan felt as if his heart had cracked.
How could this be?
How could his pampered, precious girl be hiding here like a beggar, gnawing on food?
Had he starved her?
"Oh dear, this chicken is half-cooked, you can't eat it, it's still raw inside!" the waiter exclaimed.
Xiao Shan had been stunned. It was only when the waiter shouted that he reacted and rushed forward.
"Xue Niang, you can't eat this, you'll get sick."
Xiao Shan snatched the chicken away, but Ling Yao held on, refusing to let go. She looked up at Xiao Shan with fierce eyes, her eyes red, devoid of emotion, like a wild beast guarding its food.
Only up close did he notice that her mouth and teeth were already stained with blood, from tearing at the half-cooked chicken.
Xiao Shan was shocked.
"Get away! Don't snatch my chicken!"
"I'm not snatching yours, we'll eat something else. Good Xue Niang, be good."
Xiao Shan gently soothed her, enduring the immense pain in his heart.
"I won't listen, won't listen! I feel bad, don't snatch, don't take it away!"
Ling Yao looked at the chicken Xiao Shan had thrown aside and went madly to pick it up, but he held her. "Let's eat something else, okay?"
"I'm hungry, I want to eat."
She looked at him as if she didn't recognize him, her reason gone, twisting her body desperately, and then bit down hard on Xiao Shan's arm.
The waiter was terrified.
Only after Xiao Shan carried her out did he swallow.
How could this child be so hungry? Was her father mistreating her?
Ling Yao tasted the blood, but she didn't find it unpleasant. Instead, she eagerly sucked it in large gulps. She felt her stomach quiet down, and she wanted more, to fill her stomach.
It was only when her mind gradually cleared that she released her mouth.
Xiao Shan's arm was bloody from being bitten, the flesh mangled.
Ling Yao stared blankly, then raised her hand to wipe her mouth, which was covered in blood.
She had bitten him. She had been eating Xiao Shan just now.
"Ah—"
She recoiled in terror, her hands and feet scrambling, shaking her head in disbelief.
"I'm a monster, I've become a monster..."
"No, good Xue Niang, don't be afraid, you were just groggy from sleep. Come..."
Xiao Shan stepped forward, but this only made her retreat further.
"I'm a monster, A Shan. There's a monster in my stomach, and it wants to eat. It's always calling. I'm hungry, so hungry. You don't let me eat, I'm hungry, so hungry!"
"I didn't mean to eat you, I didn't know. A Shan, don't let me starve. I'm not sick, really not sick."
"Once I eat something, it'll be fine. If I'm full, it won't call. I don't want to be a monster, sob..."