Chapter 46: Kiss (Edited)
"Y-you are engaged?" Anning repeated softly, the wooden brush slipping from her fingers before dropping onto the floor with a quiet thud.
Her eyes widened slightly and the smile resting on her lips disappeared almost immediately.
For a moment, she simply stood there staring at Wanqing’s reflection in the mirror, her fingers still hovering awkwardly in the air as though they had forgotten what they were meant to be doing.
Engaged?
The second she noticed Wanqing looking at her through the mirror, Anning immediately schooled her expression and forced a smile onto her face.
"Wow... that’s surprising." She bent down quickly to retrieve the brush before returning to her place behind Wanqing. "What’s the imperial princess like?"
She had to bite on the inside of her cheek to make her voice sound normal. But at this point, Anning didn’t want to sound normal.
Earlier, when she had been crying, there had been a heavy feeling lodged inside her chest. She thought it was anger. Maybe frustration.
But now, this felt different. It felt like someone had reached into her chest and ripped her heart out.
Why?
Why the heck was she feeling this way?
She spent time with Wanqing everyday, sure. She had gotten used to seeing her face and even hearing her voice.
But that was all, right?
After everything she had gone through since she met Wanqing, there was absolutely no reason for her to be feeling this way.
"I mean, Anning. She almost killed you."
Her inner diva remained, sounding genuinely offended at whatever Anning was currently feeling.
’And now you’re upset because she’s engaged?’
Anning just wanted to shrivel up and die.
"Tiger, are you okay?" Wanqing asked after a few moments of silence.
"I’m fine." She said, smiling lightly. "Can you turn around? I still need to finish this."
Wanqing stared at her reflection in the mirror, watching her for a few seconds before finally looking away.
"I was betrothed to the imperial princess when I was still a child." She said calmly. "She’s arrogant, clingy, overbearing and doesn’t know when to stop talking."
Anning ran the brush through her hair, making sure to be careful as she did so. Although she was being gentle, it was a stark opposite to whatever was happening in her chest.
With what Wanqing just said, the imperial princess and her truly were perfect for each other.
Their arrogance and overbearing behavior might kill them eventually. But apart from that, they seemed to be destined for each other.
"It sounds like a match made in heaven." Anning mumbled absentmindedly.
As those words left her mouth, the room suddenly went quiet. At first, Anning didn’t notice it.
She merely continued brushing Wanqing’s hair until she finally realized the woman hadn’t responded yet. Not even a single word.
With a frown on her face, she lifted her head and through the bronze window, she found Wanqing staring directly at her.
The look in Wanqing’s eyes made her stomach clench painfully.
"Is something wrong?" asked Anning.
Wanqing remained silent for a few seconds before saying, "You don’t seem very happy."
Anning nearly laughed at her words.
"What reaction were you expecting?"
"I don’t know." Wanqing replied, her answer coming out a little too quickly.
The honesty in her words caught both Wanqing and Anning off guard, making Anning look away first.
The silence from earlier filled the room almost immediately. Only this time, it made it hard to breathe.
Anning took in deep breaths as she continued brushing Wanqing’s hair and tried her best to focus on that instead.
Anything was better than thinking about the fact that Wanqing was engaged and to a fucking princess at that.
Or the fact that one day Wanqing would probably marry someone else.
The thought made her chest tighten slightly.
"Tiger?"
On hearing that name, Anning’s hand froze. "What is it?" Anning spat, her voice coming out sharper than she intended.
"Keep the attitude in check." Wanqing said coldly before adding in a much softer voice. "Look at me."
Anning swallowed hard and slowly raised her eyes, but she instantly regretted it.
Wanqing was staring right at her. There was no mockery, amusement, curiosity in her gaze and that made Anning feel slightly nervous.
"You’ve been avoiding my eyes since I spoke about the imperial princess." Wanqing stated calmly.
"I have not." Anning instantly refused.
"You have."
Anning let out a small scoff and immediately looked away again. Unfortunately for her, that only proved Wanqing was right.
A small chuckle escaped Wanqing’s lips and Anning hated how much she liked hearing that sound.
"You shouldn’t be laughing at me. It’s not funny." She said softly.
"Then you should stop acting strange." Replied Wanqing.
"But I’m not even actually strange!"
"Yes, you are." Wanqing muttered, taking that chance to slightly turn around.
"I’m not...."
The way she moved was small, but it was enough to have Anning shut up and it also brought them closer.
Anning could feel her heart racing against her chest as she stared into Wanqing’s eyes. Neither of them spoke, and neither of them moved away.
The room suddenly felt smaller and had unexpectedly turned warm. The brush in Anning’s hand slipped out of her fingers and landed on the table right beside.
Even when it made a loud thud, neither of them laid attention to it.
Wanqing’s eyes dropped briefly to Anning’s lips before returning to stare at Anning in the eyes.
Anning noticed instantly and unfortunately for her, just realizing that made her breathing turn uneven.
"You have to stop looking at me like that." Anning whispered.
Wanqing raised a brow at her words, then asked, "Like what?"
Anning didn’t even know what to say when she opened her mouth. She immediately pressed them close.
Why? Because she had absolutely no idea how to explain.
And seeing her like this, made the corners of Wanqing’s lips lift slightly.
Whatever composure she had left was nearly destroyed at that point.
"Young Miss..." Anning drawled out, the title sounding weaker than usual.
Wanqing noticed almost immediately, her black obsidian eyes gleaming as she stared at Anning.
At first, neither of them could bring themselves to look away. Or they simply weren’t capable.
Before Anning knew what was happening, Wanqing was suddenly leaning toward her.
She knew this was a very bad idea and Wanqing probably knew too.
Then why the hell is she even coming closer?
"Wanqing, we should—" Anning didn’t get to finish her sentence as Wanqing finally kissed her.
Anning’s eyes went wide, she didn’t kiss her back for a few seconds. But when she felt wanqing bite her lower lip, she closed her eyes and kissed her back.
The kiss wasn’t as demanded as she had expected. If anything, it seemed like Wanqing was being cautious.
She was waiting for Anning to pull away, Anning should have done just that.
Instead, she found herself leaning closer while tilting her head to deepen the kiss.
And for the first time since she got here, Anning stopped thinking and merely focused on feeling.
