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Inside Kong Mingan's private room at the Mingmeng Chamber of Commerce headquarters, the air suddenly moved. Spatial ripples spread out silently across the space, and Kong Mingan's figure stepped out from within them. He stood still for a moment, taking in the familiar surroundings.
The furnishings inside the room were exactly the same as always, without much change. His gaze swept across the living area, but he did not find the Ice Empress anywhere. He walked further in, and it was not until he entered the bedroom that he found her. The Ice Empress was sound asleep, sprawled crookedly in the center of his bed. The bed was not very large, but it was soft and comfortable.
Her sleeping posture was truly not graceful at all. In fact, it was somewhat terrible. Her petite body was sunken deep into the soft bedding. The thin blanket that had originally covered her had long been kicked away and now lay in a pile at the foot of the bed. She was only wearing a thin, silk nightgown with green and white straps. One strap had slipped down to her arm, revealing a large expanse of delicate skin and her exquisite collarbone.
That delicate small face usually carried a hint of pride and Divine Qi, but now it appeared completely defenseless. She looked very peaceful and well-behaved in her sleep. Her legs were bare, as she was not wearing her usual signature black stockings, and they were casually crossed over each other. Her skin was smooth and lustrous like jade, and her lines were graceful. Her pair of jade feet were small and exquisite, and her toes were rounded and tinged with a faint pink color.
Perhaps due to her terrible sleeping posture, the hem of her nightgown had rolled up high to her thighs. Kong Mingan's gaze paused for a second before he unconsciously shifted his eyes away. Perhaps because of what happened last night, his mindset had undergone a subtle transformation. While he might have been indifferent to such sights before, now his resistance to such things seemed less absolute than in the past.
Kong Mingan rubbed his brow and silently spoke to himself. He told himself to restrain his thoughts a few times in his heart before he slowly approached the side of the bed. Perhaps she sensed the approach of a familiar aura, because the Ice Empress's long eyelashes fluttered a few times. She slowly opened her hazy golden eyes.
Her gaze was blurry at first, but upon clearly seeing the person standing by the bed, her eyes lit up slightly. However, that look was immediately replaced by dissatisfaction. She let out a small grunt. Since she was not even fully awake, she instinctively raised her smooth, jade-like foot and kicked directly toward Kong Mingan.
The force behind the kick wasn't great, but it was full of resentment. Kong Mingan reacted extremely fast. He instinctively reached out and accurately grasped the slender jade foot extended toward him. The touch was warm and smooth, like a piece of high-quality jade. The small foot seemed almost too small to hold in his hand, and it felt very delicate.
"What are you doing?" Kong Mingan asked while holding her foot.
The Ice Empress was now completely awake. Hearing him, she sneered and tried to pull her foot back, but she failed to move it. She glared at him and said, "So you finally decided to come back? I thought you forgot the way home."
"Haven't I come back now?" Kong Mingan's tone was calm. He showed no panic at all because he still needed to maintain his basic composure.
The Ice Empress gave a soft snort and didn't retort. She couldn't explain why she had felt so irritable earlier. The kick was purely an instinctive release of her frustration. She did not understand where this inexplicable anger came from, but she was just very annoyed. Anyway, she had kicked him. Although he caught her, she felt a little better now.
She tried to pull her foot back again. However, just then, she realized something was wrong. Not only did Kong Mingan not let go, but he held her foot and looked down at it intently. There was a thoughtful expression in his eyes. Then, he gently squeezed it with his fingertips.
Kong Mingan said nothing, and the Ice Empress was stunned into silence as well. After a brief silence, the Ice Empress's fair face rapidly flushed red. She was likely overheating again. She roared furiously, "Are you trying to die, you bastard! Let go of me right now!"
Kong Mingan instinctively let go, but it was already too late. The Ice Empress sprang up from the bed and pounced on Kong Mingan. She was flailing her arms and legs at him in a fit of rage. A moment later, peace finally returned to the room. Kong Mingan sat on the edge of the bed, and his clothes were slightly disheveled from the scuffle.
The Ice Empress was puffing up with anger. She sat cross-armed on the edge of the bed, a little farther away from him. She turned her face away and only showed Kong Mingan the back of her head. Her body language screamed that she was very angry, and her ear tips were still slightly red.
"I really didn't mean to do that. I truly couldn't resist," Kong Mingan attempted to explain.
In his mind, he thought it was like how a person can't help but pet a cat's head when they touch it. To him, catching the Ice Empress's foot and giving it a squeeze seemed reasonable in the moment.
"Hmph," the Ice Empress said. She looked disgusted and gave him a look that she usually reserved for trash.
After a long silence, the Ice Empress took a deep breath and let out another soft snort. Only then did she grudgingly let the matter go, but she couldn't help but ask, "Alright, tell me the truth. Where did you go for so long? You just disappeared without saying a word."
"I handled some matters that needed my attention. They are resolved now," Kong Mingan answered vaguely.
The Ice Empress had no intention of digging deeper into his business. She unconsciously leaned closer to him and instinctively sniffed with her small nose. Then she frowned and said, "You smell so clean. Did you take a shower before coming back here? Also, I remember you weren't wearing these clothes when you left, were you? Why did you change?"
"The previous set of clothes got dirty during my travels, so I changed them when I returned," Kong Mingan's expression didn't change at all. His tone was calm and unwavering as he spoke.
The Ice Empress continued to frown at him. Her intuition told her something was off, but with her straightforward mind, she couldn't figure out exactly what it was. She pouted and ultimately didn't press the issue any further. As long as the guy came back safely, that was enough for her. She was too lazy to ask about anything else. Whatever he said would probably be something she wouldn't understand anyway, so it was better not to listen.
Just then, Kong Mingan abruptly spoke, "How about we go out for a walk together?"
The Ice Empress raised an eyebrow in surprise and turned her head to look at him. "What are you trying to do? Why the sudden invitation?"
"Roughly speaking, consider it an apology for what just happened. I want to make it up to you," Kong Mingan replied.
That was a marginally acceptable reason to her. Coincidentally, she had indeed been bored staying in the room for so long. The Ice Empress turned her face away to hide the interest in her eyes. She said aloud, "I am merely your guard. I go where you go anyway."
Kong Mingan nodded and readily accepted that logic. "Yes, that is true. Well, now I want to go out for a walk, but I'm afraid something dangerous might happen. Because of that, I require your protection, don't I?"
The Ice Empress gave a light snort and adopted an attitude as if she were doing him a favor. "Fine then, let's go since you need me so much."
Saying this, she deftly jumped off the bed. With a casual wave of her hand, spirit power light flowed over her body. The alluring thin-strapped nightgown instantly transformed into the exquisite white and green dress she usually wore. Her legs were once again covered in her smooth black stockings.
Kong Mingan's gaze paused for a moment on her legs. An untimely thought flashed through his mind. He wondered what the Ice Empress would look like wearing white stockings instead. Or perhaps a black and white matching set?
Kong Mingan paused and quickly suppressed those strange thoughts. Then, just as he had countless times before, he naturally extended his hand in a gesture of invitation. The Ice Empress showed no hesitation at all. She naturally placed her hand in his palm and gently clasped it.
"Let's go," she said. The two of them left the room together.