Chapter 398 Breakthrough Progress

That night wasn’t exactly peaceful.

Before I knew it, morning arrived, bright and sunny, with sunlight pouring into the room, adding a touch of warmth to winter.

Ling Mo lay in bed, quietly watching Xia Xinyan curled up in his arms, soundly asleep, enjoying the warmth of their skin touching, unable to suppress a smile.

It felt like just yesterday when they first met, but it had already been a year and a half.

The world’s changes had been like passing a century.

The one thing that hadn’t changed was Xia Xinyan, always by his side, the companionship they shared.

Well… it wouldn’t be accurate to say there was no change at all.

He had always sensed that Xia Xinyan wasn’t quite ready, not ready to take things further with him.

He didn’t understand what she was hesitating about, but he wouldn’t push her. If she wasn’t ready, he could wait—he was more than willing to wait.

Just like she had said before, she wanted to give him the best of herself after they were married.

He had kept that promise, never making any further moves on her.

Even now, he could feel she wasn’t quite ready yet.

However… unlike before, she had gradually shed her disguise, allowing him to understand her on a deeper level. Now he realized that perhaps the reason she hadn’t been ready was simply due to shyness.

As a noble lady, she naturally had a more conservative attitude towards such matters, and Ling Mo could understand that.

But last night when he asked her if she wanted to give herself to him, her affirmative answer had been clear.

Ling Mo understood her quite well; he felt that Xia Xinyan’s personality was very similar to his in many ways, and it was easier for him to read her. So, when she gave that answer last night, he could still sense that her heart wasn’t entirely willing.

Yet she still provided an affirmative answer.

To him, it felt like the most genuine expression after overcoming her shyness; for Xia Xinyan to reach this point was quite impressive.

Nevertheless… she seemed to need a little help to overcome this threshold of hers.

For example, doing those intimate actions they had shared before; as long as she got used to it, she wouldn’t feel shy anymore.

So last night, Ling Mo took her words seriously.

They were closer than ever, with even the barrier of clothing removed—the first honest meeting after a year and a half of being in a romantic relationship.

And they had done everything except for that last step.

Yes, they had done things, but not everything.

Ling Mo held onto his last bit of rationality because Xia Xinyan had once said she wanted to give herself to him after marriage. Now that her parents had agreed to marry her off, he hadn’t proposal yet, so naturally, it couldn’t be considered after marriage.

There was another reason as well… he had made her cry.

It seemed she had cried out of utmost shame, or perhaps it was a silent rebellion against his actions—or maybe it was a form of self-abandonment after her bottom line had finally been crossed.

In that moment, Xia Xinyan cried like a child.

Although she looked so cute that he just wanted to pull her into his arms and spoil her, it nonetheless captured Ling Mo’s heart in an instant.

So he just held her without going any further.

Ling Mo’s first night ended rather ambiguously.

But he was quite satisfied.

This was already a breakthrough progress between them; once they had the first time, the second and even countless times afterward would be far easier.

He had indeed waited too long; now that Xia Xinyan had given him the opportunity, it seemed natural for him to recover a little interest from her.

As for the real feast… let’s save that for after the wedding.

Ling Mo sighed lightly and leaned down to plant a kiss on Xia Xinyan’s forehead.

When he lifted his head, he noticed she had opened her eyes at some point.

Perhaps it was because she had cried last night; her eyes were still misty, sparkling like tiny stars, framed by the morning light reflecting off her flowing black hair, adding an ethereal touch that left Ling Mo momentarily dazzled.

The two of them locked eyes for a moment.

Xia Xinyan’s mind was currently a jumble.

Not just her mind, but her entire body felt disordered.

She could feel every inch of her body in contact with him, and just that sensation made her skin flush, like being in a hot furnace—more accurately, she felt like she was the furnace herself.

The moment she became aware of their predicament, she couldn’t help but recall what had happened last night.

She felt like she had been possessed, otherwise, how could she possibly have reacted that way—she couldn’t believe she had actually… been bullied into tears by Ling Mo!

In her previous life! In this life! She had seen enough grand scenes, even calmly facing countless demon waves alone to take down the enemy with her warship—yet, she ended up crying on the bed!

Her dignity, her bottom line, her shame—all shattered to pieces in that moment of crying.

She had never made such a fool of herself in two lifetimes.

Most importantly, she never expected Ling Mo would resort to grabbing her tail to make her lose her ability to resist—he knew damned well that her tail was her weak spot outside of combat, and yet he still used it against her! How despicable! How shameless! How low!

The boundary she had always maintained was entirely broken by Ling Mo last night.

Even now, she couldn’t comprehend how she had gone from testing Ling Mo’s attitude and thoughts to unintentionally throwing herself into the situation.

—Or maybe it was just that last night felt too good to think about anything else.

This did prove one thing—her cat-girl form was not just sensitive in the tail area; other places were absolutely no less sensitive as well. The reason she had fallen apart last night was… cough.

But the mixed emotions of rage, grievance, and humiliation were all swirling inside her heart. At this moment, looking at Ling Mo, she couldn’t muster any of it.

The only emotion that came through was shyness.

Her mouth didn’t say it, but her body was quite honest.

She believed she shouldn’t be reacting this way, but… perhaps… maybe… she had gotten used to it.

Not just to the intimacy with Ling Mo, or to their daily interactions, but to Ling Mo as a person, to having him in her life.

So no matter what they had done, she struggled to be angry with him.

Could it be this guy had already seen through this, hence why he was so reckless in pushing her limits?

She narrowed her eyes, assuming a serious expression: “Ling Mo.”

“Xinyan?”

“… No more next time.”

“Okay.”