TCPM EXTRA

 

Side Story (Audio Drama Is Out Too!)

That meal passed in a daze, and Wei Zai deeply experienced the care coming from elders. It wasn't just Xu Jianyou who cherished such warm familial affection; when had Wei Zai ever experienced such a sincere and pure form of care? She had tasted rare delicacies and witnessed the ultimate extravagance, yet she had never tasted the taste of home wrapped inside everyday home-cooked dishes. All of this felt unfamiliar to her, yet instinctively she longed to draw closer.

The warm food slid down her throat, warming her all the way to her stomach, and this warmth spread along her blood vessels to her limbs and fingertips. A sense of grounded stability, unexperienced for a thousand years, returned to her body. She only felt that both her physical body and her soul were enveloped by warmth, like returning to the original maternal womb—free, relaxed, and at ease.

Xu Jianyou looked at her with some worry, and she responded with a gentle, reassuring smile.

After finishing the meal, Xu Jianyou impatiently pulled her into the bedroom and closed the door. Xu Jianyou leaned back against the wall and let out a sigh of relief, while Wei Zai curiously looked around her room. Xu Jianyou felt a headache coming on behind her.

"How on earth can you suddenly be seen? Is it only my mom and dad who can see you, or can other people too? I'll take you out to look around tomorrow... How can you even eat food? Won't it cause problems? So are you a living person now?"

"A-You," Wei Zai interrupted her, turning to face her with a smile as she opened her arms. "Come here."

Xu Jianyou looked at her fixedly, her eyes gradually turning red. She stepped forward, opened her arms, and tightly hugged Wei Zai, and Wei Zai returned the embrace with the exact same strength.

In the quiet room, two bodies held each other close, indistinguishable from one another. They were warm and hot. Pressing chests together, they could feel the powerful, rhythmic beating of two hearts, thumping stroke after stroke—the power of life. Their cheeks touched, and the gradually rising heat burned each other. They rubbed against each other's soft cheeks, and their warm breaths brushed against their ears, making their earlobes burn with heat as well.

This was a real, flesh-and-blood body—a body she had once been intensely familiar with and perfectly matched with. It was no longer ice-cold, no longer breathless, and no longer so silent that there was no sound of flowing blood.

They could finally hold each other tightly without any obstruction. They were two halves that fit together seamlessly, separated on opposite banks by the long river of time, but now, they had finally completed the missing part. The moment they held their beloved in their arms and melted into their chest, their souls grew full and rich once more. The missing flesh and blood grew and filled in rapidly, just like thirsty vegetation drinking in water, binding them inseparably together. Overwhelming emotions grew and expanded deep within their hearts, overflowing past their hearts and out of their shells. The satisfaction of putting down roots enveloped them. At this very moment, they had finally become complete versions of each other.

An indescribable emotion surged from their hearts up to their throats, choking their voices, and rushed into their eyes, making them glisten with moisture.

They embraced for a very, very long time, making no further movements, just holding each other tight, feeling the joy and satisfaction of a lost treasure regained.

Xu Jianyou buried her cheek in the crook of Wei Zai's neck. There, an artery was throbbing, radiating a scorching temperature accompanied by Wei Zai's faint, natural fragrance. These were all things the previous Wei Zai hadn't possessed; back when she was a spirit entity, she was like a piece of ice or a puff of vapor—she existed, but she lacked these human details. But now she had them, and the rhythm of her heartbeat and flowing blood was just like the old days. The lingering, inescapable scent of incense she always used to wear made her feel incomparably familiar. They drowned in abundant love, forgetting time and forgetting everything else. The long river of time surged past them, countless fragments sparkling in the shifting sands, and their past and present lives were contained entirely within it.

Suddenly, a knock on the door startled them. They jolted awake in a daze, hurriedly pulling back from each other's embrace and springing far apart, each standing at opposite ends of the room and pretending nothing had happened.

Mom didn't come in; she just called out from outside telling them to take a shower early so the water heater wouldn't run out of hot water later.

Xu Jianyou acknowledged her, and the footsteps faded away. She let out a breath, dropped heavily onto a chair, turned back to look at Wei Zai—who was looking just as red-faced by the bed—and chuckled softly.

Wei Zai turned her head away in mild embarrassment.

The ambiguous atmosphere instantly dissipated completely. Xu Jianyou got up to open her suitcase and unpack her things, sorting them as she spoke: "You need to change clothes first, right? Such a luxurious ancient outfit... my mom sneaked several peeks at it just now... You should be able to wear mine for now... I'll have to take you out to buy clothes tomorrow... Here, take this, go take a shower first."

A stack of clothes was shoved into Wei Zai's arms. Wei Zai froze in place for a moment, furrowed her brows slightly, and said to Xu Jianyou, "I seem to feel... you've become a bit naggy..."

Xu Jianyou glared at her: "I've always been like this! Go wash up quickly!" Saying that, she fished a clean bath towel out of the closet and tossed it into Wei Zai's arms.

The bathroom was inside Xu Jianyou's room. Wei Zai pushed the door open and went in, only to poke her head back out a moment later: "Aren't you coming to keep me company?"

"Didn't you watch how I use the things in the bathroom? Don't tell me you don't know how." Xu Jianyou sneered.

"Come on~" Wei Zai put on a pitiful, pleading expression. "Everything looks completely different, I really don't know how to use it..."

Xu Jianyou sighed and finally stood up, stepping into the bathroom.

Wei Zai smiled happily. Xu Jianyou still had a bit of a temper; she pointed her chin at her and said coldly, "Raise your arms."

Wei Zai obediently spread her arms, and Xu Jianyou stepped close, unfastening her accessories one by one. Then she wrapped her arms around Wei Zai's waist from behind, untied her belt, and peeled away her garments, piece by piece, carefully placing them on the stool outside the door. Wei Zai's attire was extremely lavish, but also extremely cumbersome. Xu Jianyou, however, was familiar with it; as she unlaced it leisurely, her restless heartbeat gradually steadied.

Wei Zai was also very familiar with this side of Xu Jianyou. Through countless mornings and evenings, Xu Jianyou had undressed her, dressed her in robes, and adorned her with jade pendants. Back then, they used to stand just this close—with Xu Jianyou lowering her head and working methodically with her hands, while Wei Zai could look down and see her gentle face. Just like now, her heart skipped a beat. Different from the fullness she felt when embracing earlier, at this moment, submerged in Xu Jianyou's unconscious tenderness, her heart-lake rippled like a mirror, spreading soft waves.

Xu Jianyou worked with concentration, and in no time stripped Wei Zai down to her undergarments. Separated by only a single layer of inner wear, before Xu Jianyou even pressed her hands against her, she seemed to sense the scorching temperature of Wei Zai's skin.

That warmth flushed her eyes red. She wrapped her arms around Wei Zai's waist, pressing against her from behind so their bodies met once more, and pressed light kisses down, tracing piece by piece the remade shell of her beloved.

The kiss was very light, devoid of heavy lust—it was the cherished care of a lost treasure regained, the exclamation of a long-awaited reunion.

Under her tracing, Wei Zai was stripped bare, watching herself in the mirror emerge piece by piece from her magnificent attire until her body was fully exposed in the glass. When her hair bun was completely undone, the lingering aura of a thousand years ago vanished from her body, making that past feel like nothing more than a long dream. Now, the curtain had fallen on the past, and she had finally returned to reality, back to the side of the person who gave her peace of mind.

"Come over, sit here." Xu Jianyou straightened a small stool under the shower, pressed Wei Zai down onto it, and—amidst Wei Zai's curious gaze—turned on the faucet, directing the showerhead toward the corner until the water temperature adjusted to a suitable warmth, before carefully wetting Wei Zai's hair.

The water temperature was just right, and steam rose. Wei Zai sat obediently, letting Xu Jianyou massage her long hair.

"So long," Xu Jianyou couldn't help sighing, her dragged-out ending note echoing in the bathroom.

Wei Zai reached back, caught the ends of her hair, pulled them forward to play with, and said, "I want to go trim it..."

"Hmm? Trim it into what style?" Xu Jianyou asked casually, not paying much mind.

"How about short hair? The really cool kind." Wei Zai chuckled softly.

Xu Jianyou paused and sighed: "I can't imagine it."

"Then... maybe dye it and get big waves?" Water flowed down from the top of her head, washing away the foam and dropping onto the floor tiles, splashing tiny droplets.

Xu Jianyou remained silent for a moment, still finding it hard to picture, but she only said: "After the New Year, I'll take you to see a Tony the stylist and let them recommend something. Changing it up is fine too."

Wei Zai smiled, cupped her palms to catch a handful of water, watched it flow through her fingers, and then scooped up another.

"All right, go wash up yourself." Xu Jianyou rinsed the foam from her hair, instructed her to scrub herself with body wash, and while Wei Zai was playing with the bubbles, washed herself as well. When she turned back, she caught Wei Zai watching her.

She tilted her head and asked in confusion, "What is it?"

Wei Zai smiled and shook her head: "Nothing, just looking at you."

A belated shyness crept over Xu Jianyou; she hurriedly rinsed her off, grabbed a bath towel, threw it over her head to cover her upper body, and said, "Dry yourself off and get out!"

She dried herself with another towel, went out to put on her pajamas, and Wei Zai followed behind her, drying herself and dressing as well. Xu Jianyou plugged in the hair dryer and motioned for her to come sit down.

The hair dryer hummed loudly. Wei Zai's hair was long and thick, and it took a very long time to dry—so long that Wei Zai began to nod off. She was no longer a spirit entity who didn't need to eat or sleep, so she started feeling drowsy with long-overdue sleepiness.

In a daze, the sound of the hair dryer seemed to stop, and hot breaths and kisses fell onto her neck. Wei Zai let out a soft hum, turning her head to dodge, but a pair of arms wrapped around her waist, locking her tightly in an embrace. Overbearing and forceful, yet gentle and considerate—it was her.

Wei Zai nestled in Xu Jianyou's arms, half-asleep and still floating in a dream, instinctively holding Xu Jianyou and echoing her kisses.

She couldn't help letting out a sound. But it was a very light one, immediately blocked by a hand covering her mouth.

Xu Jianyou covered her mouth to keep her from making a noise.

Wave after wave of tides crashed against their defenses. The dikes were teetering on the verge of collapse, yet there was nowhere to release the pressure.

Her brows furrowed tightly, and her nose let out an unbearable whimper, but most of it was trapped inside her mouth as that hand blocked the exit. The suppression reached its absolute limit, turning into a form of agony.

Xu Jianyou's bewitching voice fell beside her ear: "A-Zai... Mom and Dad are sleeping in the next room... Don't make a sound..."

Wei Zai belatedly realized where she was, and this realization acted like the final trigger.

The raging tide seemed to find a breach, crashing down with a force that destroyed all decay.

Wei Zai clenched her teeth tightly, gripping Xu Jianyou's wrist with a force so intense it felt as though she might snap those slender bones. Her body grew immensely rigid, and her mind went blank for a fleeting second. Just a single second later, her eyes refocused, locking onto Xu Jianyou's face, which was likewise flushed with heat. Her eyes were startlingly bright, carrying a teasing smile and a long-lost fiery intensity; within them lay her profound longing and attachment.

Xu Jianyou released the hand covering her mouth, hugged her to feel Wei Zai's heavy, heaving breath, lowered her head to gently rub against her cheek, and pressed soft kisses onto the fine sweat beads on her forehead, licking away the tears spilling from the corners of her eyes. Panting, Wei Zai reached out to wrap her arms around Xu Jianyou's neck, taking the initiative to kiss her.

Spring water welled up, and the tide seemed ceaseless, rolling up waves again and again before crashing down once more.

Unable to bear it, Wei Zai furrowed her brows tightly, forcing herself to retain a sliver of reason to endure and not make a sound, but this reason had long since shattered into pieces. Her voice was suppressed deep in her throat, leaking out slightly before being swallowed back down through sheer self-control.

Xu Jianyou paid attention to her every second, her own reason equally teetering on the edge. Piously, she lowered her head to kiss Wei Zai, gently biting down with her teeth to slightly hurt Wei Zai; when Wei Zai let out a muffled groan of pain, she relaxed her teeth again, replacing it with a tender kiss. The gentler the kiss was like water, the fiercer the assault became. Wei Zai tilted her head back, completely exposing her slender neck, nearly failing to suppress the cries at the back of her throat.

Her remaining sliver of reason drove her to raise her hand and cover her own mouth, the base of her palm firmly embedded between her teeth, leaving a row of medium-deep bite marks. Her voice was stifled, but for some reason, her gasps grew heavier instead. Every single breath, traveling from her chest to her trachea down to her nostrils, clearly articulated her desire. The more suppressed it was, the more intense the craving became.

A Wei Zai like this was like a flower that looked fragile yet possessed resilient toughness; her slender stems and leaves seemed as though they would snap at the slightest touch, but in reality, her slender floral stalk wound tightly around the hand that plucked it, refusing to loosen no matter what.

"Mm..." Wei Zai was reaching her limit, weeping as tears slipped out.

Xu Jianyou knew; she clearly understood the meaning of every single reaction from Wei Zai. She pulled away the hand Wei Zai was biting down on and kissed her before Wei Zai could make a sound, her tongue probing inward to seek out another softness. This kiss forcefully devoured everything in her mouth, replacing Wei Zai's hand to block the voice.

Wei Zai tilted her head back to meet the kiss, raising her arms to hug her tightly, her hands tightening bit by bit along Xu Jianyou's back, clinging to her fiercely as if such a forceful clutch could help her endure more.

A fierce storm never cared whether the earth could bear it; it poured down indulgently from overhead, forcing everyone to bow and submit.

"Mmm..."

Xu Jianyou held her close in her arms, her kisses softening as she peppered her with affectionate, cherished pecks. Catching her breath, Wei Zai opened her eyes to look at Xu Jianyou.

At this moment, Xu Jianyou was pressing kisses onto her chest, raising her head in the intervals to lock gazes with Wei Zai.

Wei Zai saw a pair of eyes filled with both tears and a smile. The owner of those eyes returned her gaze with steadfastness and devotion, lowering her head to press a kiss straight over her heart.

She lowered her head, surrendering to her sovereign.

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