"Uh, well…" Yang Kai scratched his head, stuck for words for a long while without managing to produce anything resembling a coherent explanation.
Yu Rumeng looked at Yang Kai, then at Ji Yao, and sneered. "After all that effort, you haven't even gotten her clothes off? You're completely useless! Do you want me to lend a hand?"
"Help — help with what?" Yang Kai's jaw went slack.
Yu Rumeng glanced at Ji Yao and chuckled softly. "It's obvious at a glance that this girl's Yin essence is still intact — she's clearly a virgin. If tonight is her first time, she's bound to be rather unprepared. I could stay close and keep an eye on things, maybe pass along a few tips from experience."
"Cough… quit messing around." Yang Kai suddenly felt a little nervous, unsure whether Yu Rumeng was genuinely angry or just teasing.
Yu Rumeng pouted. "If you want to have her, just go ahead — what are you afraid of? You've got so many women already, and have I ever made a fuss about it? One more won't make a difference!" As she spoke, her expression shifted into a radiant smile, her stunning eyes gleaming with an almost bewitching light. "Tell you what — how about the two of us put on a little demonstration first, so little sister here can watch and learn?"
She didn't just say it — she actually made good on her words. With a graceful sway of her figure, she climbed onto the bed and straddled Yang Kai.
Yang Kai froze on the spot. Ji Yao couldn't handle it either and quickly scrambled off the other side of the bed, biting her red lip. "You two — you talk. I'll just go check outside…"
She fled in a panic, Yu Rumeng's tinkling laughter chasing after her.
Once Ji Yao was gone, Yu Rumeng gazed down at Yang Kai from above, a smile playing on her lips, her delicate hands tracing idle circles over his chest, sending odd waves of tingling pleasure through him.
Yang Kai swallowed. "This isn't exactly proper… This is Ji Yao's room, after all. Doesn't this count as a cuckoo taking over someone else's nest? How about… we move somewhere else?"
"Don't you find this exciting?" Yu Rumeng leaned down, her seductive eyes languid and soul-snaring.
Yang Kai shook his head, then nodded vigorously.
Her slender hands wandered across his chest as his robes were gradually undone. Yu Rumeng's breathing grew heavier, and she whispered into his ear between breaths, her voice so soft it was almost a dreamlike murmur: "When exactly did you get involved with her?"
"Not long, not long…" Yang Kai reached out with both hands, gripping that slender waist he could nearly circle with his fingers.
Yu Rumeng swatted his mischievous hands away, clearly determined to take the lead, and laughed softly. "No wonder people say a wife can't compare to a concubine, and a concubine can't compare to an affair — so this is your preference…"
"That's not true at all!" Yang Kai denied it flatly, his blood running hot.
"Originally, Su Yan and the others sent messages trying to get me to form an alliance with them. I had no interest in bothering with it, but now… heh!"
Yang Kai was stunned. "Su Yan and the others asked you to form an alliance? An alliance against what? Wait — you've been in contact with Su Yan and the rest?"
Yu Rumeng smiled. "We're all your women, so naturally we ought to get acquainted. In the decade or so you were away, even though we didn't meet face to face very often, we've exchanged quite a few messages. The sisters are all perfectly pleasant — there are just a lot of them. But you're a vigorous man with quite the imagination, so I'm sure none of us will be left lonely in the future."
"What kind of alliance are they trying to form with you?" Yang Kai pressed, an ominous feeling creeping up on him.
Yu Rumeng giggled continuously. "What kind of alliance could it possibly be? They're just saying that with a great enemy bearing down, you — as the commander of an entire army — should be setting an example and not indulging your carnal desires too freely."
Yang Kai swallowed. "Did you agree to them?"
"Why would I agree to them?" Yu Rumeng scoffed. "When have I ever needed others telling me what to do?"
"Well said! You absolutely cannot agree!" Yang Kai nodded emphatically.
Yu Rumeng's lips curved into a lovely smile. "Originally I didn't agree, but now that I think about it…" As she spoke, she suddenly gave his waist a vicious twist, so hard that Yang Kai's face contorted and a strangled yelp escaped him. "— maybe I should form that alliance after all. After all, you're perfectly capable of sneaking around on your own! Why should we sisters bother serving you?"
The strange cry carried outward, startling Ji Yao in the outer tent. She called out nervously, "Wh-what's wrong?"
Yu Rumeng clapped a hand over Yang Kai's mouth to keep him quiet, panting as she replied, "Ah — no, nothing at all."
The outer tent fell silent.
A moment later, Yu Rumeng flipped off the bed, huffing coldly. "Beast!"
She gave Yang Kai no chance to speak again, strode toward the exit, but after a few steps seemed to think of something. She reached up and deliberately tousled her hair, wrinkled her skirts, then pushed through the pearl curtain into the outer tent.
Ji Yao stared at her in alarm, eyes wide.
Yu Rumeng's face was flushed with a rosy glow, her eyes limpid and sultry, like a flower that had just been watered. She gave Ji Yao a sweet smile. "Tonight, he's all yours."
With that, she strode out freely and soared into the sky.
Ji Yao looked outside, then back at the inner tent, frowning in hesitation for a long time. She still couldn't put her mind at ease, so she hurried inside. One glance at the great bed revealed Yang Kai lying there with vacant eyes, looking as though his very soul had been hollowed out.