"I'm an adult! Just a few months shy!" Billie retorted immediately, as if her tail had been stepped on.
The deliberately created aura of maturity instantly shattered; she was indeed still a child.
Zoya raised an eyebrow, flicked the ash from her cigarette with her knuckle, and teased with a hint of lazy amusement, "Aren't there still a few months then?"
Provoked by her nonchalant attitude, Billie took a half-step forward, almost pressing against Zoya's arm.
She tilted her face up, her eyes filled with unwilling defiance and a hint of secret expectation, "Then… after a few months, you'll be willing?"
"Unwilling." Zoya's answer was crisp and direct, even with a hint of a smile.
It was as if she was teasing Billie, making her stomp her feet in frustration, "Then what about the market?"
"Don't you have Riley?" She turned her head, with a hint of playfulness, "Aren't you afraid she'll get angry again if you do this?"
"I don't believe you can't see her feelings for you."
"She…" Billie's momentum visibly shrank, her shoulders unconsciously hunching, "She… probably… wouldn't, right? Besides, we're all one person… what's the difference between playing with you and using my own hand…?"
Her voice grew softer as she spoke, her confidence clearly waning.
Zoya chuckled, shaking her head, her tone unreadable as serious or teasing, "Matters of the heart shouldn't be too reckless, lest they become difficult to resolve in the end."
[Billie's Affection for Zoya -2]
"Tsk! What kind of tone is that?" Billie was very impatient with Zoya's lecturing, "We're one person, you act so high and mighty, someone who didn't know would think…"
She had intended to say, "you're my mother."
But then she thought better of it, Zoya's age… she was probably old enough to be her mother's mother.
This realization made her even more exasperated.
Knowing Zoya's refusal, Billie was furious.
She suddenly reached out and snatched the half-smoked cigarette from Zoya's lips.
"You're so heartless! I'm so good to you, can't you…?" she grumbled indignantly, then, as if in a fit of pique, she forcefully shoved the cigarette butt, still carrying the faint, cool scent of wine from Zoya's lips, into her own mouth and took a deep drag—
"Cough, cough, cough—!" The strong, choking smoke instantly rushed into her unprepared throat and nasal cavity.
Billie bent over, coughing convulsively, tears streaming from her eyes, her carefully maintained image completely shattered.
She couldn't smoke at all.
Zoya looked at her disheveled state, first startled, clearly having never seen anyone smoke like that, then she could no longer hold back, letting out a string of bell-like laughter, her shoulders subtly shaking.
[Zoya's Affection for Billie +1]
She extended her hand, palm up, resting it casually in front of Billie, waiting for her to return the "culprit."
Billie, her face flushed from coughing, glared at Zoya in shame and anger.
With a hint of vengeful satisfaction, she slapped the damp, crumpled cigarette back into Zoya's open palm.
Zoya nonchalantly picked up the pathetic cigarette, her fingertips even brushing Billie's slightly warm hand.
Under Billie's gaze, she naturally put the wet cigarette butt back into her own mouth.
On the other side.
Compared to the two masters of emotional tug-of-war on the roof, Kuchiha and Goluthos's side was simply the epitome of peaceful times.
As Kuchiha fed her, Goluthos's affection obediently rose.
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I've posted 70+ chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/SolyuraMT
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