Chapter 79: The Devil’s Sacrifice (29)
Hearing Nie Hongshen’s words, which were laced with ridicule and a desire for revenge, Yu Jiao tilted her head. In the darkness, her face was blurry, with a hint of just the right amount of innocence.
“What are you talking about?”
Yu Jiao’s voice rose at the end, with a light, teasing quality, like a flirtation, a knowing question, or a playful tease.
In the pitch-black darkness, a slightly cold laugh was heard.
“Isn’t it a bit late to pretend you don’t understand now?”
—It seemed Yu Jiao’s feigned ignorance would only be met with more of Nie Hongshen’s gritted-teeth sarcasm.
“I still…”
This time, Nie Hongshen’s voice was suddenly much closer.
“…prefer the way you were last time.”
Compared to the rich, deep voice of reality, Nie Hongshen’s voice now was as hoarse as a rough gauze. Along with his feigned, gentle breath, it brushed past Yu Jiao’s ear, a fake smile, as cold as a predator, contemplating where to take the first bite.
Before his words had faded, the insect silk suddenly tightened, pulling the defenseless Yu Jiao towards his slowly opening and closing mouthparts, a cold glint in the darkness.
Yu Jiao was like a small insect, trapped in a spider’s web, and she was obediently listening to Nie Hongshen speak.
“You had the guts to tease me, and you had the guts to meet me alone. But now you don’t have the guts to speak? Speak.”
Nie Hongshen’s voice grew even darker and colder.
Yu Jiao, who was in a disadvantageous position, said smoothly:
“I’m sorry.”
“…”
Her apology was so natural that Nie Hongshen, who had been baring his teeth, ready to teach her a lesson, didn’t know how to react.
Nie Hongshen had imagined how the traitor, Yu Jiao, would behave at this meeting. Would she cry and beg for forgiveness, or would she grit her teeth and complain?
But he had not expected…
As it turned out, Nie Hongshen did not know his “lover” at all.
The darkness did not affect his non-human vision. At this moment, Nie Hongshen could clearly see Yu Jiao’s round earlobe and her oblivious profile from this angle, like a blank little lamb.
—An ugly fake, wearing her skin.
Nie Hongshen slowly narrowed his eyes and repeated her insincere apology.
“I’m sorry? The one and only ‘chance’ I had Fusheng bring you before the Metal Sun Day memorial service was thrown on the ground by you.”
After Nie Hongshen had dredged up old scores, he said slowly and deliberately, “Didn’t you say then that you were no longer a member of the Divine Moon Moth, and that you would never come to see me?”
Before Yu Jiao could answer, Nie Hongshen continued in a sarcastic tone, “You came to see me today. Don’t tell me you want to go back on your word and become a member of the Divine Moon Moth again?”
Nie Hongshen curled his lips.
“You know, if you don’t seize some opportunities, you won’t get a second chance.”
As he spoke, a sharp pincer-like leg slowly moved to Yu Jiao’s neck, pressing against the blood vessels under her delicate skin, a killing intent filling the air.
“Hmm? Why don’t I remember you giving me a one and only chance?”
Her life on the line, Yu Jiao’s face was as normal as ever. She even curved her eyes, as if she had remembered something interesting, and her voice rose at the end, leisurely.
“Didn’t we last meet in Yaoguang City? At that time, you were about to kill me at the slightest disagreement.”
As her light words fell, this already dark world was plunged into a strange, dead silence. For a moment, Yu Jiao even thought she had fallen into a data black hole in the virtual world.
“…”
Yu Jiao feigned ignorance of Nie Hongshen’s sudden stiffness and said with a coquettish laugh, “Alright, I admit it was a bit rude of me to kiss you when we had just met, but there’s no need to go to war, is there? Didn’t I come here specifically to apologize to you?”
At this, she paused and, slowly and deliberately, called out that special name.
“—Mr. Moth.”
“…”
Like a riot of chaotic data, everything around them seemed to surge.
Yu Jiao was a little puzzled: Why is his reaction so different from what I expected?
Although ‘Miss Butterfly’ and ‘Mr. Moth’ had a little unpleasantness, it shouldn’t have provoked such a strong emotional fluctuation in him… right?
In my plan, ‘Miss Butterfly’, who had unexpectedly logged into Nie Hongshen’s private dream, was definitely a suspicious, dangerous, and mysterious person.
As long as I can arouse this person’s curiosity and desire to explore, there would be room to maneuver, and many opportunities to exploit.
But in practice… why did it feel like, compared to ‘Yu Jiao’, who had betrayed him and caused him to lose benefits, he wanted to kill ‘Miss Butterfly’, with whom he had no deep-seated hatred, even more?
“…”
“How did you know?”
Nie Hongshen said, one word at a time, his cold voice laced with an undisguised killing intent. “Yu Jiao, your methods are much more advanced than I imagined.”
Yu Jiao: “?”
She couldn’t connect with Nie Hongshen’s train of thought for a moment. She could only hear his voice growing more and more hoarse and emotional:
“Your reach is long enough to even investigate my affairs in Fuguang City… Very good. A few more charges can be added to your list.”
“Betrayal.”
“Deception.”
“Trespassing.”
“And…”
Nie Hongshen was like a cruel monarch, his superior scrutiny over. Without even giving her a chance to defend herself, he was about to pronounce the death sentence.
The fine silk threads that were binding Yu Jiao began to tremble. It looked very bad. A thick killing intent rushed towards her—
“And pretending to be her with a clever trick.”
At this, Yu Jiao finally knew what he had misunderstood.
Just as the uncompromising tyrant was about to end her life, Yu Jiao quickly appealed, “You’ve got the wrong person! What do you mean, pretending? I am Miss Butterfly. If you really don’t believe me, just check my dream interface, won’t you?”
As her words fell, the place was once again plunged into a heavy silence, as if time and space had been paused, and the killing intent had also stagnated and dissipated.
—It seemed Nie Hongshen had really logged out of the dream to investigate.
Even with eleven cleaning up after her, Yu Jiao was not sure that he would be completely fooled. After all, she had some doubts about the trustworthiness of the AI that had taken the initiative to show her goodwill.
It didn’t matter. Though she was not good at placing her hopes in others, she was good at taking risks.
“…”
She didn’t know how much time had passed, but Yu Jiao finally felt the stagnant space begin to flow again. A heavy, coarse breath was suddenly behind her, as if he were desperately suppressing a turbulent emotion.
Yu Jiao’s heart was in her throat. Could it be that eleven was not careful enough and Nie Hongshen had discovered a clue?
Her mind was racing, trying to figure out how to break the situation, when she suddenly heard Nie Hongshen’s dry, astringent voice:
“…Hongyue.”
Yu Jiao’s heart immediately fell back.
—From his low, hoarse, and hesitant tone, he was definitely not here to interrogate her.
As expected, the insect silk that was binding Yu Jiao loosened, and she regained her freedom. Of course, it also symbolized that she had officially regained the initiative.
Her lips curled slightly, and she felt the person, like a dark little insect, slowly approaching, yet hesitating. A glint flashed in Yu Jiao’s eyes. She held a cluster of silk threads and, with a slight force, she stood in the air, playfully swinging back and forth, and answered his previous call:
“Hongyue? Are you talking about this identity— Mmph!”
To her surprise, before her words had faded, the little insect, who had been hesitating to approach just a moment ago, had suddenly closed the distance, and a strange, dark fragrance washed over her.
“…”
This was the strangest kiss Yu Jiao had ever experienced.
A coiled, cool mouthpart, as if it were sucking nectar, eagerly stirred in. Her cheeks were gently cupped, and the touch was also rough and cold, the texture of a leg joint.
A rushing wind was late, and it lifted her long hair.
This kiss was like a joyful seal, and also a careful verification.
He was finally sure.
Like a firefly in the dark night, a pair of dark purple pupils lit up, close at hand, like two cute fireflies from another world, and also as evil as a witch’s crystal ball for divination.
There was no distinction between the pupil and the white of the eye. The deep eye socket was completely a fluorescent purple, and inside were densely packed, star-like compound eyes, which were now staring at Yu Jiao without blinking.
“You’re back.”
Nie Hongshen’s voice was very soft, as if he were afraid that the sound waves would shatter the treasured thing he had lost and found.
“?”
Yu Jiao was a little strange.
In her opinion, his reaction was from one extreme to another.
—It couldn’t be that a clean-freak old man had fallen for “Miss Butterfly” just because of that one kiss, could it…?
In a pitch-black space, Yu Jiao couldn’t see his expression clearly, only his deep, affectionate, and glistening eyes.
Yu Jiao grew even more suspicious.
“Sir, we do have a kiss of affection, but—”
Yu Jiao tilted her head back slightly, creating some distance between them. “We’re not familiar with each other.”