The Knight, the Princess, and the Goblin.

Lunch ended in a pleasant atmosphere.

Actually, it wasn't that pleasant.

Qing Mo was just as Xu Mingyao remembered, still cold and aloof.

She responded half-heartedly to the countless topics Xu Mingyao brought up.

However, when they touched upon some interesting topics, Qing Mo would slightly curl her lips into a smile, not deliberately keeping a straight face.

This kind of smile made Xu Mingyao feel as if she had returned to the past.

Back to the time when she and Qing Mo were still good friends.

It was just like this back then.

She would search for countless topics just to see a hint of a smile in Qing Mo's cold eyes and brows.

Whenever this happened, Xu Mingyao would feel an immense sense of accomplishment in her heart.

Emotions of happiness and joy would rise like a tide, drowning her soul and letting her indulge in the sweetness.

Besides this, Xu Mingyao also saw hope in Qing Mo's smile.

Bright, shining hope!

During the meal, Xu Mingyao had wanted to seize the opportunity while Qing Mo was in a good mood to quickly play the sympathy card and act pitiful.

But she remembered Qing Mo saying she didn't want to talk about this while eating.

So she held back with great difficulty.

On one hand, due to their difference in status, she didn't dare to disobey her.

But on the other hand, out of personal feelings, she was more willing to carefully obey her.

After finishing lunch, the two went downstairs to go shopping at the mall.

Because the restaurant and the mall were in the same commercial district, they were very close to each other.

So the two decided to walk there.

On the way, Xu Mingyao kept thinking about how to bring up the subject.

Her gaze subconsciously drifted toward Qing Mo.

But as she looked, Xu Mingyao's attention suddenly shifted from those messy thoughts and focused entirely on the person in front of her.

She looked at Qing Mo's side profile, which was as coldly ethereal as a fairy's, just like always.

Her attention slowly, bit by bit, gathered on her bright red lips.

Qing Mo's lips were not full and plump in the traditional sense.

Her lip shape was on the thinner side.

Like two thin pieces of mountain jade.

Such lips on someone else's face might appear somewhat harsh and unapproachable.

But on Qing Mo's stunning yet rarely expressive face, they only made her look more cold and unearthly.

Qing Mo had painted her lips bright red and glossy today.

Under the warm winter sun, her crimson lips reflected a seductive gleam.

Xu Mingyao stared blankly, a crazy idea suddenly surging in her heart.

What would happen if she suddenly kissed her right now?

Xu Mingyao really wanted to know what it would feel like to touch Qing Mo's beautiful thin lips.

Would they be soft and squishy like most girls'?

Or would they be a bit more bouncy?

Or would there be some other special feeling?

Xu Mingyao didn't know.

But she really wanted to know.

She wanted to know right now!

This thought that suddenly emerged from the bottom of her heart was like a demon locked in a cage, ready to strike.

It kept growing under Xu Mingyao's greedy gaze, constantly squeezing the cage forged by reason, crashing against the sturdy cell door and making it rattle open and shut.

Xu Mingyao really wanted to give in to her desires.

To let the demon burst open the cell door, embrace Qing Mo, and satisfy this desire that was driving her crazy.

Ultimately, Xu Mingyao hadn't gone crazy to the point of being completely irrational.

She knew that if she really did that.

She absolutely wouldn't be able to bear the consequences!

Under the strong suppression of reason, Xu Mingyao locked the demon back into its cage. She withdrew her gaze, not even daring to look at Qing Mo again.

Along the way, Xu Mingyao secretly took deep breaths, forcing herself to calm down.

During this time, the two had already arrived at the mall area of the commercial district and took the elevator straight to the eighth floor.

There weren't many people on the eighth floor of the mall.

One reason was that it wasn't a holiday, and the other was because this floor was almost entirely filled with luxury brand counters.

Items costing a few thousand were rare.

The vast majority were luxury goods costing tens or even hundreds of thousands.

It was a place where the vast majority of ordinary people would absolutely never come to shop.

The two strolled around casually. After calming down, Xu Mingyao had been looking for a suitable opportunity to speak to Qing Mo.

When the two walked to a relatively secluded area, Xu Mingyao felt it was time.

She turned her head to look at Qing Mo, moved her lips, and was just about to speak when she heard a very loud, crisp smack.

She saw Qing Mo's body instantly tense up like a bowstring.

Her face carried an expression of unbelievable shock, and the anger in her eyes was so intense it could almost kill.

She turned her head to look at the reckless bastard.

But her furious gaze immediately softened upon seeing that blond punk.

Xu Mingyao stared blankly at Qing Mo's attitude shift from anger to playful reproach.

Her gaze gradually moved down, landing on that large hand where veins could faintly be seen.

After that crisp slap just now, that large hand hadn't let go; instead, it gripped tightly and brazenly, the fingers even sinking into her flesh a bit.

H-How dare he?

How dare this bastard do this?

Didn't he know this was a mall and there were many passersby?

Is this how he treats Qing Mo?

In her heart, Xu Mingyao furiously felt the injustice for Qing Mo, feeling she deserved better.

But when she looked up, full of anger, she realized that at some point, the two had already pressed tightly against each other, locked in a passionate kiss.

Qing Mo's thin, jade-like lips were being wantonly ravaged without the slightest bit of tenderness.

Xu Mingyao watched in shock, the anger in her heart reaching its peak in a very short time.

But unlike last time.

Where her anger had exploded recklessly after reaching the breaking point, even leading her to physical violence to vent.

This time.

After the anger reached its peak, what followed was an extreme sense of powerlessness that seeped deep into her bones.

Watching Qing Mo cooperatively raise her chin with an expression of infatuated enjoyment, even eagerly standing on her tiptoes to press against him.

Xu Mingyao's chest full of resentment instantly turned into a powerlessness that was about to drown her.

When a princess is attacked by goblins.

The knight wouldn't abandon the rescue in disgust.

He would transform the anger that almost tore his body apart into immense power, tightly grip his sword with both hands, erupt with unprecedented terrifying strength, and slay those disgusting, lowly creatures.

But when seeing the princess attacked by goblins acting joyful, excited, and even proactive.

The knight would only stand there blankly, his faith collapsing.

Letting the sword slip from his powerless hands.

Slumping dejectedly onto the filthy ground.