Transmigrated as the Imperial Princess's Scumbag Alpha Ex-Wife - Chapter 38

Zhu Yu rarely had pleasant dreams.

In the past, her dreams were either about falling or frantically running, occasionally mixed with fantastical adventures. If she remembered even fragments of these dreams upon waking, she would feel utterly exhausted.

Zhu Yu hated dreaming, especially when she relived her childhood through those visions.

But this time, as she stepped onto the soft, snowy plain, she was acutely aware that she was dreaming. In this desolate landscape, there was nothing but her own footprints.

No, there was also a faint scent of roses.

The most remarkable thing about pheromones was how they could link a person to a particular scent. Once that connection was established, the mere whiff of a similar fragrance would trigger anticipation.

She was waiting for someone.

Even though the previous scene had still lingered in her mind—her mother’s scolding and retreating figure—the warm bed in her bedroom had transformed into this barren, snowy plain.

Dreams, after all, rarely made sense.

Zhu Yu’s mother, a doctor, had always been strict about her upbringing, almost forbidding her from eating sweets, believing they would harm her health.

Though this was the reason Zhu Yu herself had come to accept.

She had forgotten much of her childhood, remembering only that her mother was often busy and occasionally forgot to leave her meals. The little girl would rummage through the entire house, finding nothing to eat but water.

When her stomach growled with hunger, a bitter taste would coat her tongue, making her crave something sweet even more.

But her knowledge and imagination were too limited back then. She couldn’t even picture desserts like cakes, chocolates, or macarons; everything just looked edible.

Soap tasted both sweet and bitter, its texture like stale rice cake. Biting into it and washing it down with water would make bubbles foam in her mouth. It wasn’t good, and getting caught by an adult meant a beating.

The sun must taste like oranges. What did orange gummies taste like? Would they feel the same as basking in the sun? Roses smelled delicious and felt soft against her cheek, but they were too beautiful to eat…

Amidst these whimsical thoughts, the rose fragrance grew stronger.

A slender, pale hand appeared before her, the small red mole on its wrist swaying gently as it offered a sugar cube.

Zhu Yu took the white cube, rolled it onto her tongue, and felt an indescribable sweetness bloom in her chest. Her sluggish steps suddenly became light and airy.

Her eyes curved into crescents, as if she had long anticipated Bai Shuzhou’s arrival, or as if a massive weight had finally crashed to the ground.

The woman pinched Zhu Yu’s cheek, her cool voice patiently correcting, “You don’t eat sugar cubes like that. They’re too sweet and will rot your teeth. You should put them in coffee and stir them slowly until they dissolve.”

As she spoke, her fingertip brushed across Zhu Yu’s lips, gently pinching them, as if urging the child to open her mouth and spit out the sugar cube.

But the tiny cube was already firmly clamped between Zhu Yu’s teeth. The stubborn child refused to give up, and in her struggle against the finger, she accidentally bit down on it.

Cold, soft, and faintly scented with roses.

The woman’s brow furrowed slightly, the air around her visibly chilling. Her innate aloofness made her deeply averse to overly intimate contact, especially being suddenly bitten on the finger—wet, with the child’s sharp teeth pressing against her fingertip.

Zhu Yu gently bit down, belatedly realizing that Bai Shuzhou seemed a little angry. She looked up, meeting those pale blue eyes with a hint of guilt, and heard herself say softly:

“Sister, you’re sweeter than sugar…”

Timid yet bold.

She saw that jade-like finger, a silver thread stretching from its tip, with a small indentation where her teeth had pressed, radiating a faint, moist sheen.

The woman’s lips curved into a smile, light and fleeting, instantly dissolving the sweetness on Zhu Yu’s tongue. The sugar water melted, dripping slowly downward.

For some inexplicable reason, Zhu Yu’s heart felt as if it had been brushed by a feather.

Zhu Yu lowered her head, clasping her hands behind her back, afraid to look at her. She also felt that having such a dream was inappropriate.

Subconsciously, she remained ashamed to voice her desires.

But the woman’s fingertip touched her lips again, brushing lightly.

Then it traced her brow, the tip of her nose, sliding down inch by inch until it pinched off Zhu Yu’s ragged breath.

Mmm…

Outside the dream realm, Bai Shuzhou pinched the girl’s nose.

When she woke up, Zhu Yu was pressed too close. Despite having her own pillow, she had burrowed onto Bai Shuzhou’s, shrinking the spacious bed into a cramped space. Her disheveled black hair contrasted sharply against the snow-white sheets, her head nestled against the pillow like a fluffy puppy.

Bai Shuzhou’s body temperature ran low, while Zhu Yu seemed slightly warmer than average. The temperature difference was stark when they were pressed together.

A thin layer of sweat had already formed on the arm Zhu Yu was hugging.

Hot.

Who told her to sleep here?

Bai Shuzhou frowned, wanting to push Zhu Yu away. She wasn’t accustomed to accommodating others, but the girl’s defenseless sleeping face was undeniably endearing, as if she had completely opened herself up to Bai Shuzhou.

Bai Shuzhou’s frown deepened, then lifted as she remembered: Oh, we’re married now. We’re bed partners.

Just sleeping together. That seems normal enough.

?

Bai Shuzhou lowered her hand, letting Zhu Yu’s warm, even breath brush against her cheek, stirring her trembling eyelashes. Even her aloof expression softened slightly.

No one would…

It made him want to tease her.

Bai Shuzhou pinched her cheek. It was soft, but a little thin, not as satisfying to the touch as he’d imagined.

He then touched her lips, which were even softer and fuller, and pinched them.

Bai Shuzhou propped himself up slightly. Depending on the angle of his touch, the sounds Zhu Yu made varied, resembling a small fish blowing bubbles.

But after playing with her lips repeatedly, they became flushed, looking very kissable.

Yet, Zhu Yu’s initiated kisses, though clearly more skilled and assertive, somehow couldn’t match the tingling sensation of her sudden, unexpected kisses. It was like a faint electric current, numbing from her lips all the way to the tip of his heart.

This was due to her Ability—a cruel and icy Ability that, paradoxically, made kissing her even more alluring. It was… almost unbelievable.

Zhu Yu seemed to possess a kind of magic, capable of silencing even time itself.

It was like when they had once held hands while navigating through thick fog. Even though they couldn’t see each other, simply sensing the other’s presence brought a sense of peace.

In the moment Bai Shuzhou was lost in thought, the sleeping Zhu Yu suddenly opened her mouth and gently bit his fingertip.

A subtle, strange tingling sensation slowly spread through him.

Bai Shuzhou focused intently, certain that Zhu Yu was truly asleep and not using her Ability. So why did her heart still race?

The girl’s sharp canine tooth pressed against the soft pad of Bai Shuzhou’s finger. Omegas were more sensitive; even this slight pressure made her involuntarily clench her jaw and her arm inexplicably weaken.

The body’s memory sometimes proved more accurate than the mind. Fleeting images flashed through Bai Shuzhou’s mind. That canine tooth had bitten other places before, gently grinding and teasing, making her tremble uncontrollably, suppress her gasps, and grip the girl’s hair tightly.

The girl in her arms murmured softly, “Sister…”

Bai Shuzhou snapped back to reality, withdrawing her damp fingertip, the tips of her ears burning.

Zhu Yu slept peacefully, a faint, sweet smile lingering on her lips.

Damn it… that wicked creature! How dare she bite me!

The usually calm and composed Bai Shuzhou found herself completely flustered, even though Zhu Yu was merely sleeping obediently.

No, not obedient at all.

Her measuring gaze fell, assessing the impossibly close distance, forcing her pride to find a shred of solace.

Hmm, Zhu Yu must be doing this on purpose.

Rumor had it that Zhu Yu was gentle yet flirtatious, and her occasional tricks were hardly surprising.

You’re pretending to be asleep too, aren’t you?

Bai Shuzhou reached out, her fingertip brushing Zhu Yu’s brow and the tip of her nose. Slowly, she pinched Zhu Yu’s overly heated, noisy breathing, refusing to let it continue to bewitch her.

Pinching someone’s nose usually forces them to open their mouth, but Zhu Yu’s face flushed slightly, and she let out a muffled “mmm,” like a fish suddenly stranded in its sleep, her eyes fluttering open in confusion.

The Mermaid had come ashore.

The first thing Zhu Yu saw were those shimmering sapphire eyes.

Bai Shuzhou was gently biting her lip, the tip of her nose flushed with a charming blush, yet she maintained a cool, indifferent expression, as if nothing mattered.

Seeing Zhu Yu awake, she felt both satisfied and slightly guilty, unable to explain her childish actions.

How immature.

Pinching someone’s nose to wake them up?

But why should she explain herself? She was the most esteemed princess of the empire!

Your Highness the Princess closed her eyes as if nothing had happened, leaning back against the pillow and calmly feigning sleep.

Zhu Yu watched her fluttering eyelids, then blinked herself, instinctively touching the tip of her nose as if Bai Shuzhou’s lingering coolness still lingered there.

Wait, this wasn’t a dream…?

From what point did it stop being a dream? It was hard to tell.

The sky had already brightened. Zhu Yu hadn’t realized she’d slept so soundly. She’d been planning to sneak back in to guard the unconscious Bai Shuzhou if Feng Jiang’s men carried her out. After all, she had memorized the layout of this entire floor.

Bai Shuzhou’s fleeting smile earlier had seemed mischievous, so different from her usual cool and aloof demeanor. Zhu Yu inexplicably felt that this was the real Bai Shuzhou, now that she had shed all pretense. She couldn’t help but grin silently.

Zhu Yu swore she hadn’t made a sound, but the woman’s eyes fluttered open, the faint blush of embarrassment on her cheeks growing more pronounced.

“Zhu Yu!” Her voice was low, husky, and magnetic.

Daylight streamed in, time slipping away, yet they remained here, whispering secrets. Everything else seemed to fade into insignificance.

I’m here. Their eyes met. Zhu Yu swallowed the simple words. Following the poetic convention of parallel phrasing, she should call her by name too.

But “Bai Shuzhou” was longer than “Zhu Yu,” like a journey with a slightly greater distance, somehow lacking intimacy.

Shuzhou didn’t roll off the tongue. Little Zhou—ah, Bai Qianze used that too. No, no… she wanted a unique name.

“Zhou,” Zhu Yu murmured, a shy smile playing on her lips. When she saw Bai Shuzhou’s long lashes flutter, as if surprised by the nickname, she took it as a tacit, unspoken agreement—a novel and slightly thrilling moment.

Silence fell over them.

Emboldened by her successful probe, Zhu Yu repeated the name, her voice soft and sweet, like a mermaid’s murmur turning into pearls—precious, each one carefully released. “Zhou… Zhou…”

Though it was just a whispered name, their eyes locked, the distance between them feeling vast. Their hearts raced inexplicably, and Zhu Yu unconsciously pursed her lips, slowly drawing closer.

Zhu Yu had studied countless guides on flirting—how to chat with high emotional intelligence, how to hold hands, how to kiss. But when the moment of genuine intimacy arrived, she realized it was all so natural and beautiful, not driven by conscious thought.

It was their bodies, instinctively drawn to each other.

Her mind, usually brimming with mechanical blueprints and capable of memorizing thousands of intricate parts, was now utterly blank.

Only one thought echoed through her:

My first love! A first love after marriage!

Too slow.

Bai Shuzhou, who had been waiting with his eyes closed for what felt like an eternity, frowned slightly. Seeing Zhu Yu frozen in place, wearing that bashful, silly smile, he couldn’t bear it any longer. He leaned forward and gently bit her.