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She simply gazed at that stunning face, which bore a faint resemblance to her own.

Candlelight fell across Lin Qingyan’s face, casting a soft golden sheen over her features.

Her brows, her eyes, her nose, her lips.

Every detail was so exquisite that it seemed to have been carved stroke by stroke by the finest master artisan.

Not a single flaw. Not a single regret.

She really did look so much like Lin Qingyan.

Luo Zhao had known that for a long time, but never before had she been so keenly aware of it.

As she stared at Lin Qingyan’s face, it was like looking into a mirror.

But the reflection in that mirror was not the present—it was the future.

When she reached Lin Qingyan’s age, would she grow into someone like this?

Would she have such exquisite features, such composed bearing, such beauty that made it impossible to look away?

Or would she never be able to catch up with Lin Qingyan?

To be honest, even now Luo Zhao found it hard to believe.

Her aunt, who had always seemed like a celestial maiden descended from the heavens, from childhood until now…

Could actually make an expression like that, could actually say those things.

In Luo Zhao’s heart, Lin Qingyan had always stood high above everyone else.

And yet that very Lin Qingyan had just cried and begged for mercy in front of her.

Tears had fallen uncontrollably, while her broken voice stammered out apologies.

That scene had completely overturned Luo Zhao’s understanding of Lin Qingyan, forcing her to reassess her aunt.

But no matter how difficult it was to believe, the truth was right there before her eyes.

Lin Qingyan was fragile. She needed protection too.

Those tears had been real. Those pleas for mercy had been real.

Those sounds she had made because she could no longer endure it, like the whimpering of a small animal—

They had all been real.

It was simply that only Gu Chengyin had ever been able to see that side of her.

And now the question was, how should Luo Zhao take revenge on Lin Qingyan?

Should she do to Lin Qingyan what Lin Qingyan had done to her?

Luo Zhao thought it over and decided that it probably would not have much effect.

Lin Qingyan was no longer an untouched maiden, and she had just experienced something indescribable.

That sort of shallow teasing would probably feel no different from a tickle to Lin Qingyan.

If she really did that, it would not be revenge at all. It would only make her look ridiculous.

It would be like a novice showing off in front of a master, or a child playing house in an adult’s world.

When Lin Qingyan woke up, she would probably just smile at her.

Then Luo Zhao would deflate like a punctured balloon, losing even the last shred of her dignity.

What Luo Zhao wanted was not some harmless, ineffectual revenge.

She wanted Lin Qingyan to understand one thing:

Luo Zhao was not someone who could be bullied. She was certainly not some soft persimmon that anyone could squeeze at will.

The only person allowed to squeeze her was Gu Chengyin—and she allowed only Gu Chengyin to do so.

No one else. Not even Lin Qingyan.

This was not possessiveness, nor was it jealousy.

It was a matter of boundaries.

I can lower my head to you. I can yield to you. I can show weakness in front of you.

But I do so because I choose to—not because it gives you the right to act recklessly.

The difference between those two things was enormous.

But how could she make Lin Qingyan understand that?

Luo Zhao thought until her head began to ache.

She had gone over every possibility in her mind. Each plan had its advantages, but each also had a fatal flaw.

A gentle approach would fail to convey her attitude. An aggressive one would make her seem like an immature child, so childish that it would be laughable.

In the end, Luo Zhao gave up.

Not on revenge, but on taking revenge against Lin Qingyan in Lin Qingyan’s own way.

That was not her path, nor was it her style. More importantly, it was not what she wanted.

She was Luo Zhao, not a copy of Lin Qingyan.

She had her own methods, her own way of expressing herself, and her own goals.

Luo Zhao’s gaze lingered on Lin Qingyan’s sleeping face for one last moment before she looked away.

Slowly, she backed off the bed, moving even more carefully than when she had climbed onto it.

First her feet touched the floor, then the rest of her body, until she had finally withdrawn from the bed completely and was standing on the carpet.

Luo Zhao turned around and returned to Gu Chengyin’s side.

Her steps were a little quicker than before, as though she had already made up her mind and no longer needed to waste time.

Gu Chengyin gave her a questioning look.

Luo Zhao walked over and stopped in front of him.

She only came up to his chin and had to tilt her head slightly to see his eyes.

Luo Zhao raised her face. The redness in her eyes had not completely faded.

But it was no longer the red of hurt and embarrassment. It was the red of burning flames.

It was as if fire danced deep in her eyes—quiet and scorching, never showy, yet impossible to ignore.

Luo Zhao asked in a soft voice,

“Master, do you want to eat me?”

Gu Chengyin blinked. He needed a moment to process the amount of information packed into that question.

With one simple sentence, she had handed all the initiative over to him.

Whether he answered yes or no, Luo Zhao would accept it. She would obey without a complaint.

Because she was the most obedient little dog. A good dog did not question its master’s decisions; it only carried out its master’s orders.

But before Gu Chengyin could answer, Luo Zhao continued.

Her voice was still as soft as before, so quiet that it sounded like she was sharing some unspeakable secret.

Yet the determination in her tone rang louder than any declaration shouted at the top of one’s lungs.

At the same time, her lashes lowered, casting a fan-shaped shadow over her eyelids.

Through the gaps between her lashes, she looked at Gu Chengyin, her gaze holding something that made the heart race.

It was not seduction, nor temptation, but a careful, timid request.

“If Master wants to eat me, could I choose the place?”

Gu Chengyin drew in a slow breath. His chest visibly expanded for an instant, and he suddenly had a bad feeling.

It was not that there was anything wrong with Luo Zhao’s words themselves. It was the tone in which she had said them.

Gu Chengyin knew that tone all too well.

It was the same tone Shangguan Yunying used before making some earth-shaking, utterly outrageous declaration.

The same tone Lin Qingyan used when she was brewing some absurd scheme.

And now, that tone had appeared in Luo Zhao’s mouth.

It meant that whatever Her Highness said next might be even more outrageous than anything Shangguan Yunying had ever said.

Gu Chengyin patiently asked in return,

“What does Her Highness mean?”

Luo Zhao did not answer immediately.

First, she glanced back at the bed, allowing her eyes to rest on Lin Qingyan for a moment.

In that brief instant, hesitation and inner struggle flickered through her expression, but in the end, they all turned into resolve.

If she wanted the most effective revenge, then she had to take the worst thing Lin Qingyan had ever experienced…

And let Lin Qingyan experience it in its entirety.

Luo Zhao withdrew her gaze and looked back at Gu Chengyin.

Her lips moved slightly, as though she were making one final effort to steel herself.

Her fingers unconsciously clenched the hem of her skirt. Her knuckles turned white, and her fingertips trembled.

Her entire body seemed like a taut string on the verge of snapping.

Then Luo Zhao spoke.

“Can you eat me… on my aunt’s body?”