Please Have Mercy on Mengli

Ye Feng initially thought Shen Mengli would pull away from his embrace when she couldn’t catch her breath, but to his surprise, she made no move to do so. Instead, she continued kissing his lips fervently until he noticed her pupils beginning to lose focus. Alarmed, he quickly withdrew his face from hers.

"Haah... huff... haah..."

As soon as Ye Feng pulled back, Shen Mengli gasped for air, her body instinctively reacting to the lack of oxygen. It was clear that if he hadn’t intervened, she might have passed out from suffocation.

"Mm... Xiao... Xiao Feng..."

Her eyes dazed, Shen Mengli gazed up at Ye Feng, who was still holding her, and pressed herself against him again, as if she were a boneless creature clinging to him.

"Mengli, you nearly scared me to death."

Ye Feng didn’t scold her harshly for her actions. Instead, he gently tapped her forehead and brushed away the stray hairs clinging to her face.

"Can you tell me why you did that? And I’m pretty sure I locked the door to my room."

"......"

At his words, Shen Mengli’s body stiffened slightly before she buried her face into the crook of his neck, nestling there comfortably before finally speaking in a soft voice.

"W-well... it’s because I had a key."

"A key?"

Ye Feng blinked in surprise, then realization dawned on him as he recalled what had just happened.

"Did Mu Cheng give it to you?"

"Mhm..."

Shen Mengli nodded meekly, pressing a light kiss against his neck.

"I like you..."

"Cough..."

Her adorable demeanor tested even Ye Feng’s formidable self-control, stirring a greedy desire within him. Suppressing his urges, he gently stroked her hair.

"Mengli, what exactly did you and Mu Cheng talk about?"

"Mmm..."

Shen Mengli closed her eyes, savoring his touch. Just being this close to him was enough to satisfy her—but a mischievous thought slowly crept into her mind.

"Well~ I could tell you... but since you want to know our little secret, you’ll have to put in some effort first~"

"What do you mean...?"

"You know better than me, Xiao Feng. If you want valuable information, you’ll need to offer something of equal value in return, right?"

"Oh?"

Noticing how Shen Mengli was deliberately coaxing out the desires he had tried so hard to suppress, Ye Feng finally gave in. Letting his impulses take over, he quietly wrapped an arm around her waist and brought his lips close to her ear, whispering:

"Then, Mengli... what exactly is the ‘price’ you want?"

"That depends~ on how well you perform~"

With that, Shen Mengli slowly slipped out of his embrace and reached behind his pillow, pulling out a small square packet.

"?!"

Ye Feng stared blankly at the item in her hand before glancing back at his pillow in disbelief.

This girl... why is she carrying something like this around? Did she plan for this to happen?

"Well... we shouldn’t waste time, Xiao Feng. Who knows? I might just forget what I know if we wait too long~"

"You little... Mengli, today I’ll have to teach you a lesson—"

Before he could finish, Shen Mengli suddenly pressed the packet into his hands, then lay down beside him, her earlier boldness completely gone.

"Huh? Mengli, you...?"

Seeing her suddenly so meek, Ye Feng hesitated, wondering if he had done something to upset her.

"X-Xiao Feng..."

Shen Mengli spoke in a tiny voice, barely audible.

"I just wanted to... make you happy earlier. But my body isn’t as strong as Yu Yan’s, so... could you be a little gentler with me? If anyone found out I couldn’t even get out of bed afterward... I’d be so embarrassed..."

Understanding her intentions now, Ye Feng tenderly brushed aside her bangs and placed a soft kiss on her flawless forehead.

"Alright, I understand. I’ll be gentle this time. But..." His voice took on a teasing lilt. "Since you were so mischievous earlier, I’ll have to punish you a little too~"

"P-punish? What kind of punishment...?"

Shen Mengli instinctively covered her chest with her hands, her crimson eyes fixed nervously on him.

"Well..."

Ye Feng paused, then leaned in close to her ear and whispered a few words. Instantly, Shen Mengli’s fair skin flushed a deep red, her face burning as if about to burst.

"......"

"Hmm? Mengli, you don’t want to?"

Ye Feng watched her squirm under his teasing with amusement.

After a long silence, Shen Mengli finally parted her rosy lips and spoke in a voice so faint it was almost inaudible.

"M-mas... ter... p-please... be gentle..."

"Sorry? I didn’t quite catch that~"

"Waaah... Xiao Feng, you’re bullying me...!"

Overwhelmed with embarrassment, Shen Mengli’s eyes welled up with tears.

"Ah—w-wait! I’m sorry, Mengli, I didn’t mean to—"

Just as Ye Feng began to apologize, something unexpected happened. Shen Mengli suddenly flipped over, pinning him beneath her. Taking a deep breath, she mustered all her courage and stared straight into his eyes before blurting out in a flustered, trembling voice:

"M-mas... ter... p-please... be gentle with Mengli...!"