Transmigrated as the Imperial Princess's Scumbag Alpha Ex-Wife - Chapter 36

A bone-chilling aura surged through the air, transforming the pristine white corridor into a snow-swept plain.

Blinding gusts of wind stung their cheeks. Faced with this unfamiliar danger, humanity’s survival instincts urged them to flee.

Yet Zhu Yu raised her hand, braced against the gale, and advanced step by step.

Before the slightly ajar door, a massive snow leopard blocked the gap with its body, thick fur frosted with ice. Gritting its teeth, it growled, “The Princess has lost control again! Report to Your Majesty immediately—”

“No! There’s no time! Summon Dean Feng!”

Another snow leopard channeled its Mental Power without hesitation, charging swiftly toward the end of the corridor.

Yu Yan had already collapsed against the wall, gasping for breath.

Gloriel knelt on the ground, her face as pale as paper. The overwhelming pressure made it nearly impossible to breathe, her legs trembling uncontrollably, threatening to buckle into submission.

She stared at Zhu Yu’s retreating figure, her eyes filled with disbelief. Why isn’t she affected?

The snow leopard blocking most of the doorway bared its fangs at the girl, its voice hoarse. “Your Highness, you must not approach any closer.”

“I am the Princess’s companion. There’s no reason I can’t be here. She needs me.” Zhu Yu’s voice was soft, yet carried an extraordinary, unwavering conviction that cut through the wind and snow.

She deftly squeezed past the Snow Leopard and slammed the door shut behind her.

A soft click echoed as the Snow Leopard’s claws barely grazed the hem of her robe.

Seeing Zhu Yu had actually entered, Gloriel gritted her teeth, desperately trying to follow. But an even greater oppressive force slammed her back to the ground, forcing her to cough up a mouthful of bl00d.

She stared greedily at the door, as if gazing upon supreme power itself.

Why could Zhu Yu do it, but not her?!

The natural pressure crushed her bones, making them creak. Gloriel braced herself against the wall, inching forward. Just as her trembling fingers were about to touch the handle, the impatient Snow Leopard Knight pinned her hand down with a single paw.

Bl00d streamed from the woman’s eyes, nose, and mouth, a horrifying sight. Yet she seemed oblivious, lunging forward like a madwoman, desperate to replicate Zhu Yu’s success.

The dripping bl00d froze instantly.

The Snow Leopard growled low in her throat, “Back off!”

Arching her back, she stood firmly before the door, her cold expression like that of a guardian deity, not to block danger from entering, but to… contain the danger within.

The room was another world.

Time seemed frozen here. All the instruments were coated in a thin layer of ice, their cameras flashing with ominous red light. Golden halos refracted through the transparent ice, and even the warm breath exhaled from lips and teeth turned into wisps of white mist.

It was so cold that Zhu Yu was suddenly reminded of Bai Shuzhou’s dream from before. That nightmare.

A warm, golden glow emanated from Zhu Yu’s palm as deep green vines gently coiled around her arm, guiding her deeper into the room as if inviting her.

The moist, woody fragrance mingled with the icy scent of Rose, an irresistible allure born from the raw energy of life itself.

As she approached the bedside, Zhu Yu saw not Bai Shuzhou, but a massive cocoon tightly woven from vines, completely isolating him from the outside world.

“I’ve lost control,” Bai Shuzhou’s voice, calm to the point of indifference, echoed from within the cocoon. “Don’t come any closer.”

Her aura was icy, the biting chill overwhelming the rich fragrance of roses. It was pure, untamed Mental Power, brimming with wildness and vitality.

Zhu Yu gently squeezed the resilient vines, sat on the edge of the bed, and concentrated her warm Mental Power at her fingertips. Slowly, she began to unravel the layers of entanglement, determined to free Bai Shuzhou.

With painstaking patience, she peeled back the resistant vines, millimeter by millimeter.

A gap gradually widened.

First, a cascade of silvery-white hair spilled into view, softer than the finest silk yet gleaming with the cold light of ice and snow.

Next came the delicate curve of his nose, his pale, tightly pressed lips—perfectly sculpted yet radiating aloofness.

Finally, his light blue eyes lifted slightly.

Bai Shuzhou emphasized coldly, “It’s dangerous.”

Though his words protested, Bai Shuzhou couldn’t help but bite his lip when Zhu Yu’s fingers suddenly paused.

“If you’re hesitating, why continue?” she asked, a hint of nervousness she hadn’t even realized was in her voice.

Old Zhu Yu replied, “Ah, it’s frozen. My hand just got stuck to your vines.”

This sensation was similar to touching a metal railing outdoors in winter—a physical sense of being pulled.

As the vines were peeled back layer by layer, Bai Shuzhou saw light filtering through, followed by Zhu Yu’s smiling face. The lamplight illuminated her hair, outlining it with a soft golden halo that made it look fluffy.

“Hi,” Zhu Yu said, curling her fingers into a mock knocking gesture. “May I come in?”

She poked the vines, which were formed from Mental Power. Logically, Bai Shuzhou should have been able to feel it too.

Bai Shuzhou’s expression seemed frozen with frost and snow. He bit his lip with extreme restraint, remaining motionless.

Only his eyes, fixed on Zhu Yu, seemed to be assessing her, as if piercing through the barriers of time, space, and flesh.

“You won’t hurt me,” Zhu Yu said, placing her warm palm over the vines, her healing energy flowing through them.

The vines softened and melted under Zhu Yu’s touch, becoming as viscous as honey.

“Ugh…!”

It was just a joke, but the vines actually parted, creating a narrow path and pulling Zhu Yu inside.

Narrow.

Zhu Yu braced herself above, tiny warm lights danced like fireflies, illuminating Bai Shuzhou’s snow-white hair.

At such close range, Bai Shuzhou looked as fragile as a delicate work of art. The faint blue veins in her neck trembled slightly, her heartbeat unusually clear in the silence.

Zhu Yu involuntarily held her breath, suspecting that her own heated breath might be causing the butterfly perched on Bai Shuzhou’s eyelid to flutter its beautifully curved wings.

In the stillness, she felt the warmth in her palm being gradually drawn away, devoured. The vines slowly bloomed into eerily vibrant roses, their soft petals brushing against her skin, sending shivers down her spine.

This time, Zhu Yu clearly realized that Bai Shuzhou was actively drawing energy from her.

Slowly, yet persistently.

With an almost primal, irresistible hunger.

It was like squeezing a cat treat onto her fingertip, waiting for the usually aloof and icy cat to approach and taste it, even gently scraping her skin with its barbed tongue, bringing a faint sting and an indescribable intimacy.

A tingling sensation surged through Zhu Yu’s body from the light touch on her skin.

She gazed down at the person beneath her. Bai Shuzhou’s eyes remained closed, her long, dense lashes casting a small shadow beneath them. Her expression was still cold, even carrying a hint of the detached indifference of a deity receiving offerings.

Yet the vines coiled around Zhu Yu with intimate, greedy fervor.

This stark contrast made Zhu Yu’s heart pound erratically.

She clearly likes it, Zhu Yu thought, but Bai Shuzhou suddenly stopped.

A soft voice brushed against her ear. “Just now,” Bai Shuzhou asked, “what were you thinking? Why didn’t you resist?”

Even from a distance, she could sense the change in Zhu Yu’s pheromones, shifting from a faint, sweet fragrance to a bitter, aggrieved scent.

Bai Shuzhou instinctively wanted to rush out and check on her, but she had just undergone a round of treatment, and her suppressed Mental Power had reached its breaking point. Her numb legs still refused to move freely.

Though she couldn’t see what was happening outside, Gloriel’s sharp, aggressive voice made it easy to imagine the humiliation Zhu Yu was enduring.

Bai Shuzhou’s senses were abnormally acute, amplifying every detail—the girl’s resentful whimpers, the stifled sounds from her chest as she was pinned down by claws—all magnified to an unbearable degree in her exhausted state.

And she was powerless to help.

Fragmented memories flashed repeatedly through her mind. She saw the girl on the pure white snowfield, the one who used to call her “Sister” so sweetly, now curled up in agony. Despite having a chance to escape, the girl stubbornly clung to her hand, the wilting rose drooping to the ground.

Then, slowly, the girl grew cold and stiff, no amount of desperate embrace could bring back warmth.

Wasn’t I supposed to be the Dragon Clan’s most gifted and powerful member?

Why… why can’t I do anything?!

Could this cursed ability truly be nothing more than a curse?

Bai Shuzhou closed her eyes, her nails digging deep into her palms. She loathed this powerlessness, even more than her own loss of control.

Born amidst everyone’s expectations, she had failed to fulfill her destined duty.

“Are you angry because I was bullied?” Two fingers gently tapped the back of her hand, clumsily drawing a heart.

Zhu Yu felt a sudden surge of inexplicable joy.

At eighteen, Bai Shuzhou still couldn’t perfectly conceal her fluctuating emotions.

Her tightly furrowed brows, her lightly bitten lip—these subtle cues betrayed her joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure, adding a touch of crimson to her flawless jade-like complexion. This sudden vulnerability drew her closer, making her seem more alive, almost within reach.

Like the moon’s reflection in a wine cup, each sip carried a refreshing sweetness.

Zhu Yu gazed at her intently, finding her anger particularly endearing. The lingering resentment had long since dissipated in the face of Bai Shuzhou’s distress, vanishing like smoke into thin air, replaced by a pang of guilt.

Despite her dramatic wailing, the Snow Leopard Knight had shown her no harm, not even unsheathing her claws, keeping them pressed against her soft, padded paws.

“I fought back and wasn’t hurt. Please don’t be angry anymore, okay?”

“I was just worried the roses got dirty and I couldn’t give them to you.”

“I’ll bring you even prettier ones next time!”

The girl rarely showed such restraint, but her pheromones betrayed her inner joy, instantly becoming sweet and alluring. The flower buds, unable to resist, burst open against her skin with a soft pop, and clusters of roses bloomed in an instant.

Zhu Yu tilted her head, gazing at Bai Shuzhou’s slightly glistening lips, and suddenly felt that there could never be a rose more beautiful than her.

Even if all 1.6 trillion roses in the universe were gathered together, they couldn’t compare to Bai Shuzhou.

Bai Shuzhou still wanted to give her flowers, to pursue a touch of conventional romance. Even if it only earned her a fleeting glance, that moment of beauty would be forever etched in her memory, frozen alongside the fragrance.

The girl’s dark hair cascaded over her pale collarbones, still warm from her touch, stirring a ticklish sensation in Bai Shuzhou’s chest.

This visceral feeling instantly snapped Bai Shuzhou out of her muddled thoughts. Her fragmented memories coalesced, and the chaotic notes of her mind found their proper places.

The moment Bai Shuzhou closed her eyes again, wildly blooming roses surged forth, enveloping and surrounding them.

Flowers, dim light, the flutter of long eyelashes—a subtle signal.

A butterfly landed on the tip of Bai Shuzhou’s heart. Zhu Yu lowered her head to kiss her, but the woman had already tilted her face upward, their soft lips meeting.

No longer a slow, deliberate seduction, Bai Shuzhou now openly embraced her desire, from tentative touches with her fingertips to a passionate entanglement of their hands.

As they kissed, the intense scent of roses devoured Zhu Yu’s pheromones, swallowing them whole, gently yet possessively claiming her as her own.

The faint rose mark on the girl’s skin deepened once more, the woody fragrance fading into a subtle base note before gradually dissipating, as if a thousand roses had once bloomed there.

The initial awkwardness was merely a prelude. Bai Shuzhou quickly mastered the rhythm.

There was no pain, no tears, only intense yet tender passion. His sparkling eyes clearly still held a hint of exploration.

For the first time, Zhu Yu experienced the sensation of being kissed until she felt breathless, or perhaps she had simply forgotten to breathe.

Whenever she opened her eyes, she saw those pale blue eyes, reflecting her own image perfectly.

Her hazy gaze and her passionate reflection overlapped beautifully, like a moment frozen in crystalline amber.

Thump.

The heavy knock on the door finally jolted Zhu Yu back to reality.

As if waking from a dream, she remembered the uninvited guest waiting outside.

Receiving no response, Gloriel forcefully pushed open the door, followed closely by Feng Jiang, who had rushed over. The sight before them made even the usually stern Feng Jiang push up his glasses in surprise.

“Dean Feng, is this the Academy of Sciences’ standard of management?” Gloriel sneered, waving her hand dismissively. “Get this commoner out of here immediately and conduct a thorough investigation! She must have been plotting something while the Princess was ill!”

The Snow Leopard Knights exchanged glances, lowered their heads, and focused their gaze inward, forming a human wall to block Gloriel’s reddened glare.

Zhu Yu scrambled to her feet, intending to cover Bai Shuzhou with the blanket first, but she saw the woman casually prop herself up, her narrow eyes narrowing slightly.

“Gloriel,” a cool voice rang out.

The lingering haze of passion had vanished from those eyes, replaced by an icy sharpness.

Bai Shuzhou didn’t even sit up straight, merely leaning languidly on one arm, her silver-white hair cascading over her shoulder.

Her pale fingers curled as she casually wiped at her slightly swollen, glistening lips.

The gesture, performed by her, carried no hint of flirtation or ingratiation, only an air of imperious scrutiny.

Her gaze didn’t immediately fall on the uninvited guests at the door. Instead, it swept lightly over Zhu Yu’s flushed cheeks.

After a moment, Bai Shuzhou slowly lifted her eyes, her gaze piercing through the barrier of Snow Leopard Knights to lock precisely onto Gloriel’s deathly pale face.

Frowning, the suppressed imperial aura she had restrained during their kiss suddenly descended. Her voice, still carrying a trace of huskiness, dismissed Gloriel with a casual glance:

“How dare you insult the Imperial Family?”