Which step?

Jiayi’s face seemed to be splashed with sparks, and it burned hotly, "Which step, what...?"

He was very dissatisfied with her feigned ignorance, and, leaning forward, he closed in step by step, backing her into a corner of the terrace.

Not until she finally had nowhere to retreat and could only shrink her small body against the railing of the rooftop, her hair fluttered by the night breeze like a lively black snake.

She felt as if her body was almost suspended in mid-air when she finally widened her frightened eyes, looking at the man whose anger had not yet subsided.

Playing dumb? Fine, then he didn’t mind giving her a demonstration.

He cornered her with his body in the tiny space, his heavy, hot breath enveloping her, rendering her immobile; he lifted his fingers and slid them down from her neck, caressing her delicate skin, "Did he do this to you?"

She trembled all over, like the quivering wings of a butterfly, pitifully alluring.

"Or perhaps, like this?" With one sweep of his large hand, he pushed her small, delicate back, squeezing her entire being into his arms, pressing her even closer to himself seamlessly.

She didn’t know, she really didn’t recall if she and Nie Yixiao had ever been like this, only able to stare helplessly and panic at him, continuing voicelessly, "..." 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

The girl’s doe-like eyes, clearer and brighter than the stars in the sky, were incredibly tempting.

He restrained his anger, lifted a lock of her hair, and buried his head in her fragrant neck, his thin lips kissing her earlobe slowly and meticulously, like droplets of rain, seemingly wanting to wash away every trace of Nie Yixiao’s scent from her.

Passionate kisses trailed from the tip of her ear to the edge of her cherry lips, where he gently bit and kissed her sweet mouth, "Mhm, what about this? Has he ever done this to you?"

She was kissed breathless, until at last, coming back to her senses, incoherent moans escaped from between her teeth, "No. Ah... it hurts..."

In reality, she simply couldn’t remember, but with no way out, she could only avert the man’s wrath for the moment.

Finally, he released her swollen lips, which were now unrecognizable; he’d played too rough and spoiled her sweet little mouth, unfortunately, in the end, he was the one to suffer, but he wrapped his arms around her, pressing her against his tall, magnificent figure.

She thought it was over, that he should let her go now. Before she could even feel relieved, however, his handsome face remained stern as he hooked her cheek and his eyes landed on her slightly swollen red lips, the traces of his own harsh treatment.

"Call me ’husband’." He teased her with a gaze.

Unexpectedly, the despicable man had an endless array of tricks up his sleeve. Her throat tight, she dumbly asked, "What...?"

Huo Zhenyang demanded, each word seeming to spark with fire, "Call me ’husband,’ now, immediately."

She pursed her lips, "Don’t want to. That’s for after getting married."

"Four years from now, you’ll be calling me that anyway. What’s the difference? Unless, of course, your heart flies away after seeing that man." He was already impatient to hear the sweet sound of ’husband’ coming from her soft little mouth, and he lifted her small buttocks and placed her atop the railing.

Under his domineering gaze, she finally softened, wrapping her arms around his neck, her flushed face bleeding red, "Hu... husband."

"You didn’t say it well, say it again."

Helpless, she pinched her voice even softer, "Husband."

"Remember, only your husband is entitled to touch you, and I want you to tell me that yourself," he murmured in her ear, with a domineering yet affectionate tone that intoxicated.

She paused for a moment, having already said more embarrassing things than this to upset Nie Yixiao before, but now facing him, she somehow found it hard to say...

Under the intimidation of his gaze, she finally exhaled and declared as if taking an oath, "Only... my husband is entitled to touch me."

Such words, though embarrassing to speak, were unavoidably satisfying to a man’s ego.

Jiayi saw the satisfaction on Huo Zhenyang’s face, but felt a stir in her heart, inexplicably reminded of Nie Yixiao’s earlier taunting.

Nie Yixiao had said, did she really think Huo Zhenyang actually liked her? Once he was tired of her, Huo Zhenyang would abandon her.

... Was his doting on her really just a possessive desire for a forbidden delicacy?

Perhaps, Nie Yixiao’s sarcasm and blow wasn’t altogether a bad thing.

At least, it brought her long-standing doubts to the surface and gave her the courage to ask him.

She lifted her smooth forehead, gazing into his deep eyes, and mustered the courage, "In your eyes, am I really... just a pet?"

Actually, what she wanted to say was "plaything."

But that seemed too blunt and a bit embarrassing.

Huo Zhenyang’s eyes stalled for a moment, seemingly not expecting her to ask such a question, and he chuckled lightly, leaning close to her ear, and wickedly breathed out his warmth, "You’re not a pet."

Jiayi sighed in relief, but then she heard his lips continue to move against the flesh of her ear, teasing, "... You’re my Little Kitten."

Jiayi was speechless, what was the difference?

She felt a sense of being teased and unjustly treated, biting her lower lip softly.

Could it be that Nie Yixiao was right?

Huo Zhenyang noticed the gloom on Little Kitten’s face, seeming unsatisfied with his answer, and a slender finger lifted her chin, his gaze serene yet piercing, "What does it matter what you are in my eyes? What’s important is, do I want to keep you by my side or not."

Jiayi swallowed a mouthful of saliva, "Of course, there’s a difference, if it’s just a pet, then it’s not real liking, just... a desire to possess. Such feelings... won’t last very long."

The intimacy may be intense one second and possibly vanish into thin air the next.

This past year, she had been protected by him, kept within his bounds.

And he, was he also enjoying this possession of her?

Possession?

These three words made Huo Zhenyang’s brow quiver lightly.

His emotional world was straightforward and simple, without all the twists and turns of a woman’s.

He had never carefully distinguished what kind of feelings he held for Little Kitten.

"So what do you want me to do?" His eyes narrowed slightly, as if amused, his tone somewhat mocking.

Jiayi gathered her courage, staring deeply into his eyes that were both clear and obscure, "Say you love me."

These four words burned through all the calories from her dinner that evening.

He had never uttered such a sentence from beginning to end.

A very important promise for a woman.

A man may be willing to spend a fortune on a woman, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he loves her.

But if he’s unwilling to spend even a penny on her, he clearly doesn’t love her.

By the same logic, a man who constantly mouths "I love you" may not truly love the woman.

But if he’s unwilling to say "I love you," it’s unlikely that he loves her much at all.

She awaited his response.