Her Rose – Chapter 61

As a well-known dandy who regularly mingled with other profligates, Cheng Ying naturally knew how to smoke. But for her, it was merely a tool to fit into her social circle, far from the point of addiction.

Alcohol could make her fall into a deep sleep, but cigarettes only plunged her brain into a more uncontrollable state of excitement. Therefore, in private, Cheng Ying didn’t smoke.

So now, after rummaging through everything for a good while, she finally found half a pack of women’s cigarettes in the corner of a living room drawer, tossed in there at some unknown time. She checked the production date—thankfully, they hadn’t expired.

Jiang Hanguang followed behind her, looking at the half-pack of cigarettes in the Alpha’s hand with considerable hesitation.

She had never had much interest in such recreational products, which were harmful to the body with no benefits. Although it was unavoidable to have a couple of drinks at social functions, no one would force a female Omega to smoke as a sign of respect. Thus, to this day, she still didn’t know what smoking felt like.

But she had seen other people smoke. They would squint their eyes, take deep, intoxicated breaths, and then exhale pungent white smoke from their mouths and noses.

Judging solely by the smell of the smoke, Jiang Hanguang couldn’t understand why anyone would enjoy smoking such a thing.

Yet, as fate would have it, the very first scene in 《Return》 was the part where Gu Qingsheng secretly smoked, hiding it from her lover.

Jiang Hanguang had always been serious and meticulous when it came to her work. She would neither be like some popular actors who used special effects even for eating fried chicken for the sake of so-called “physical health,” nor did she intend to go in unprepared and just muddle through with an impromptu performance.

Besides, according to the online rumors about Director Yan’s personality, either of the above options would likely earn her a merciless scolding.

Cheng Ying skillfully tapped the cigarette pack on the table, and a slender cigarette obediently poked out halfway. She held it out to Jiang Hanguang. “Here.”

With an expression as solemn as a soldier receiving a weapon before battle, Jiang Hanguang carefully pulled out the cigarette. She studied it in her hand for a few seconds before bringing it to her nose to smell it.

The unlit cigarette only had a faint smell of tobacco. It wasn’t exactly pungent, but it still couldn’t be described as pleasant.

Cheng Ying watched as Jiang Hanguang’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, her expression like a cat that had just smelled stinky tofu. It was utterly adorable.

She felt a pang of sympathy, yet at the same time, a desire to tease Jiang Hanguang arose within her. So, she lightly pressed the electronic lighter she had found with the cigarettes. Reading her fingerprint, the lighter instantly ignited a ring of faint blue flame. She held the flame out, gesturing to Jiang Hanguang. “Want to try?”

Jiang Hanguang paused for a few seconds before placing the end of the cigarette between her lips. She leaned forward slightly, moving toward the flame Cheng Ying offered, and lit it.

The white paper of the cigarette was instantly scorched black by the flame. Faint smoke rose from the lit end, slowly diffusing into the air and veiling the smoker’s beautiful face in a thin layer of mist.

Cheng Ying’s gaze was glued to Jiang Hanguang’s face, unwilling to look away for even a moment.

By now, night had fallen. The floor-to-ceiling windows were meticulously covered by heavy curtains. Cheng Ying disliked overly bright environments, so only a single lamp in the room emitted a bright yet pale white light, like that of the moon.

Under the lamplight, the woman’s face appeared almost tenderly white. The blue light from the lighter danced and flickered in her dark eyes. Her delicate, refined features were slightly wrinkled from the irritating smoke, yet her gaze was filled with a helpless confusion, unsure of what to do.

She looked so clean and pure, yet so hazy and captivating, like an elf lured away by a villain, naively falling into a trap of amusement created with human malice, all while remaining completely oblivious.

Cheng Ying had to admit it was a highly picturesque scene. At the same time, she also had to concede that she possessed the dark side inherent in most of human nature.

Dripping thick black ink onto a sheet of pure white paper, watching a lofty goddess fall into an irresistible abyss.

The pleasure of destruction is often on par with that of creation, because destruction itself is a form of reverse creation.

Especially when a person was so beautiful that even their fall possessed a unique charm.

Cheng Ying suddenly understood why a story like 《Return》, which offered no cathartic highs and was filled with charged drama, could still hold a place in the arthouse film genre.

People could stand on their moral high ground and condemn it as they pleased, but it was undeniable that as long as the flower was beautiful enough, the process of its withering was bound to be exquisitely beautiful as well.

Jiang Hanguang, mimicking the smokers from her memory, took a light puff. Pungent smoke flooded her mouth. She parted her red lips, trying to let it enter her windpipe, and her throat was instantly and extremely irritated by the smoke.

“Cough, cough, cough!” She couldn’t help but start coughing, the violent, dry coughs triggering reactions from her other senses.

A blush spread across the woman’s fair face, and a film of moisture welled up in her eyes. Her expression was scrunched up, looking both cute and pitiful.

The originally beautiful, cinematic scene was instantly shattered by this fit of dry coughing.

Torn between laughter and tears, Cheng Ying patted her on the back, pushed the glass of water she had already prepared into her hand, and took the cigarette, which had burned down a little.

“Is it that unpleasant?”

Jiang Hanguang took a couple of sips of water to soothe the discomfort in her throat. Then, she looked at the cigarette in Cheng Ying’s hand with some difficulty and murmured, “People who like to smoke… are amazing.”

Cheng Ying burst out laughing, amused by the woman’s adorable assessment. Her gaze then fell back to the cigarette in her hand.

On the filter tip was a faint, wet bite mark.

Her eyes fell on Jiang Hanguang’s lips. They had just been moistened by water and were also glistening. A hidden darkness stirred beneath the surface of the shallow blue sea of her eyes. Cheng Ying’s voice deepened slightly. “It’s not as hard as you think. I’ll teach you.”

She placed the part Jiang Hanguang had bitten between her own lips, took a deep drag, and blew out a smoke ring. Then, smiling, she held it to Jiang Hanguang’s mouth and coaxed, “Want to try again?”

Jiang Hanguang looked at Cheng Ying’s relaxed expression, finding it hard to believe they were smoking the same thing.

Her throat was still a little uncomfortable, but she obediently took the cigarette Cheng Ying held to her lips and cautiously took another puff.

A warm palm suddenly covered her throat. Callus-roughened fingers clasped the larynx hidden beneath her skin, caressing it gently and sending a tingling sensation through her. The Alpha’s voice, tinged with a hint of bewitchment, blew against her ear like a warm breeze.

“Relax a little. Open your mouth a bit more. You need to release here. Breathe slowly, let it into your lungs, and it won’t be so unpleasant.”

Jiang Hanguang’s attention was no longer on the cigarette at all. She only now realized that she was completely encircled in Cheng Ying’s arms. The Alpha’s faint, woody pheromones seemed to have grown stronger, intertwining with the smoke they exhaled. The pungent smell no longer seemed so unbearable.

Wasn’t Cheng Ying… a little too close?

Jiang Hanguang’s face was burning, but it was no longer from the smoke. It was from the slightly ragged breathing of the Alpha behind her.

The stimulation Cheng Ying gave her was far greater than any cigarette could.

Like an elf bewitched by a sorceress, she obediently opened her mouth and, following Cheng Ying’s guidance, breathed gently.

Her throat was still uncomfortable, but this time it was far from unbearable.

Jiang Hanguang stared blankly at the pristine air before her, not understanding why she hadn’t exhaled smoke like Cheng Ying had.

A light laugh came from the Alpha behind her, like someone chuckling at a child who couldn’t quite get a game right. It was filled with a doting affection.

The hand on her throat slowly moved to rest over her heart, and a wet, warm, slightly painful sensation touched her earlobe.

“You’re smoking, not eating it. Breathe out.”

She finally exhaled the breath she had been holding. White smoke diffused into the air, just as Cheng Ying’s had moments before.

Did this mean she had learned how?

If this were her usual self, Jiang Hanguang would have definitely taken a few more puffs to reinforce the memory.

But at this moment, she had no capacity to do anything else, because Cheng Ying’s kiss had already landed on her cheek.

The Alpha’s voice was thick and syrupy, like stirred honey, pouring into her ears filled with deep infatuation.

“So smart. So good.”

The last wisp of smoke in Jiang Hanguang’s mouth dissolved into Cheng Ying’s sudden kiss.

The Alpha cupped her face and turned it back, pressing her into an embrace and kissing her in an extremely awkward position.

Cheng Ying’s mouth also held the faint taste of tobacco, but it seemed entirely different from her own.

Jiang Hanguang blinked, her eyes meeting Cheng Ying’s.

The blue ocean of her eyes was calm, but in their depths, there seemed to be an additional, indistinct layer of darkness.

She hadn’t even figured out how learning to smoke had led to kissing. How had she managed to pluck the Alpha’s particularly sensitive chord of desire again?

All her thoughts had already been stolen by this kiss.

Cheng Ying, however, knew exactly why she was losing control. She was using this sweet kiss to desperately resist the endless desire for control welling up from within her heart.

For someone like Jiang Hanguang to let go of all her defenses and allow herself to be manipulated was, in itself, enough to drive a person mad.

What’s more, she was looking at her like that—confused, uncomprehending, obedient, trusting… adoring.

No resistance, no fear.

You could do anything to her, because she was yours.

Taming a proud rose, softening its thorns with love, kissing its soft petals with abandon, without any fear of being pricked.

This was truly a matter of great accomplishment.

Cheng Ying released the Omega she had kissed until she was breathless. Holding her slender yet resilient waist, she pressed her into an embrace, feeling her ragged breaths against her neck as she slowly calmed the not-so-wholesome thoughts that had been drawn out.

The slender cigarette had burned to its end. Cheng Ying tossed it into the trash can and took another from the pack.

The lighter ignited with a blue flame, and the smell of burning tobacco filled the air around them.

Cheng Ying smiled like a fox.

“Darling, how about another one?”

She really wasn’t a good person.