VIP Chapter 096: Fragrant Tears

Ye Xiaoxuan was terrified. Throughout his life, he had almost never seen Jiaran shed tears. Jiaran was famously incapable of crying.

Only recently, after he was nearly beaten to death by the Chen family’s henchmen, had Jiaran cried once. When little Yu’er took poison, she cried a second time. And tonight marked her third time shedding tears!

Jiaran’s tears were truly more precious than gold. If she wasn’t devastated beyond measure, how could she have cried?

Ye Xiaoxuan quickly helped Jiaran straighten her clothes, holding her tenderly in his arms, kissing the tears from her eyes and apologizing with guilt, “I’m sorry, Jiaran. Please forgive me! I just couldn’t control myself!”

Jiaran’s tears never flowed much—just a few drops before stopping. She lay in Ye Xiaoxuan’s embrace with a forlorn expression, her large, dark eyes gazing at him as she said, “Xiao San’er, please don’t do that again, alright? We’ll be dunked in pig cages!”

Ye Xiaoxuan kissed the corner of her eye, pouted, and replied, “What era are we in that people still dunk others in pig cages?”

Seeing Jiaran’s face turn solemn again, he hurriedly added, “Fine, I won’t bully you anymore! I just worry about people pointing fingers at you, so I don’t care about pig cages or anything else!

“Our feelings are our own business, and we’re not living for others to see. Even if we make mistakes, it shouldn’t affect anyone else. Why should we be punished?!”

Jiaran rolled her eyes at him and scolded, “But you don’t live in isolation. You’re part of this social network and must abide by societal rules and moral codes. If you break them, you must accept the consequences!”

Ye Xiaoxuan kissed her cheek and said, “That’s why I’m thinking of taking you away from here, somewhere no one knows us, where we can live happily.”

After the breakthrough they just experienced, Jiaran’s mindset had shifted somewhat. She didn’t immediately refute him but stared dreamily at the sky above, softly asking, “Is there really such a place?”

Ye Xiaoxuan clicked his tongue, nodding vaguely. His tongue kept licking his upper and lower lips, then playfully flicked at Jiaran’s cheek!

Blushing, Jiaran pushed him away and sat up, scolding, “You just promised me! Why are you messing around again?”

Ye Xiaoxuan shook his head, clicking his tongue, and said, “Strange, why do your tears smell sweet?”

Jiaran laughed at his teasing, twisting his arm and scolding, “No matter how slick your tongue is, it won’t work. We can’t keep fooling around!”

Ye Xiaoxuan shook his head seriously. “I’m not joking! Actually, I noticed it last time—your tears have a peculiar fragrance. Others’ tears taste bitter, but yours smell sweet, like a miraculous elixir!”

Seeing his earnest expression, Jiaran believed him. If he wanted to flirt or take advantage, he’d say the tears were sweet or something vague. But “fragrant” was specific—it must be true.

Yet she herself didn’t understand why her tears tasted fragrant. She had been somewhat self-conscious about this since childhood and long envied girls who could cry whenever they wanted.

Whenever she was wronged, she wanted to cry, to shed tears. At first, she’d threaten to cry but never follow through. After being exposed a few times, she was too embarrassed to continue. If she couldn’t cry, so be it—being tearless seemed like a sign of strength.

Just when she had resigned herself to a lifetime without tears, Ye Xiaoxuan’s near-death experience allowed her to taste the release of crying for the first time. Then little Yu’er’s suicide made her cry again, and now tonight—within just two months, she had shed more tears than in the previous eighteen years combined.

There was a strange phenomenon Jiaran noticed. The first two times she cried seemed to mark fundamental turning points in what seemed like settled matters. Both people, originally thought dead, had miraculously survived.

She didn’t know if it was coincidence or her sensitive nature as a teacher. But what about this time? Whose life would be saved by tonight’s tears?

Xiao San’er was lively and vigorous—definitely not him. It couldn’t be her either. So there was no one else!

Lost in these thoughts, she suddenly felt the body beneath her stop moving. Looking up, she saw that Xiao Lv had already returned to shore!

This creature was truly clever. Once it sensed the two on its back were quiet and that tonight’s excitement was over, it obediently returned to the shore.

Ye Xiaoxuan wasn’t ready to get up yet, but Jiaran nudged him and smiled, “Are you planning to stay here overnight? Hurry up and go home, you have class tomorrow!”

Reluctantly, Ye Xiaoxuan took her hand and descended to the ground, preparing to say goodbye to Xiao Lv. Unexpectedly, the creature turned impatiently around, stretched its little limbs to support its big turtle shell, then hopped and leapt back into Great Immortal Lake. With a single dive, it disappeared without a trace.

“This creature’s getting more unruly!” Ye Xiaoxuan grumbled, his nose twisted in annoyance. “Next time I see it, I’ll have to knock its head to teach it some manners!”

Somewhat dispirited, he returned home with Jiaran. Watching her open the door, Ye Xiaoxuan hesitated to enter.

Jiaran, of course, understood his mood and blushed as she said, “No fooling around. If you don’t want me to be seen by anyone, I won’t go out with you anymore!”

Ye Xiaoxuan sighed and waved his hand, “I’ll say this now: sooner or later, I will take you away from here! You go inside.” Saying this, he stepped into the house himself.

After a quick shower, he lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. Tonight, he and Jiaran had broken through another barrier, but he knew this was the absolute limit.

If they pushed any further, he couldn’t foresee the consequences, but one thing was certain—the situation would spiral beyond his control.

But to remain as they were was not what he wanted. Though his ultimate goal wasn’t to claim Jiaran’s body, it was an essential step. Only when spirit and flesh united could they truly belong to each other.

Stopping here and returning to normal was not an option for Ye Xiaoxuan. In his eighteen years of consciousness, he had never considered Jiaran as his blood relative.

That kind of ambiguous feeling had existed since he first became aware. To give up such a childhood sweetheart bond was impossible.

The relationship with Jiaran was difficult to deepen and impossible to sever. Ye Xiaoxuan, tormented by this contradiction, continuously tossed in bed, unable to sleep.

After what felt like an eternity, a distant rumble of thunder rolled outside, and the sky finally opened with a storm, rain lashing down amid fierce winds. Ye Xiaoxuan hurried to close the windows and was about to lie down when suddenly he noticed someone crouching beside the car in the courtyard.