After Transmigrating, I Died of Depression Without My Phone - Chapter 87.1
The red candles burned softly, and the vibrant red silk draped down. A pale hand rested on the bright red wedding dress, the stark contrast of colors creating a striking visual effect.
Beiting Xue lowered his gaze to look at Long Xiang’s hands. Her hands were beautiful, and her fingernails were quite unique, but they had grown out a bit and now looked somewhat out of place. She seemed to notice too, and instinctively tried to hide them, but soon her robes, which had been loosened, covered her hands.
Beiting Xue lifted his eyes to meet hers. They had undressed each other before, but never as slowly and deliberately as this.
He wanted to take the lead, boldly and confidently, but Long Xiang stopped him.
“Don’t you know about ceremony? Today isn’t like any other day.”
Long Xiang bit her lip, taking his hand and moving it away, insisting on doing it herself.
Her movements were still slow and deliberate. She untied his belt, then removed the sash. Once the sash was gone, his white inner robes fell open slightly, revealing his firm muscles. She glanced at his hands and saw that they were clenched into tight fists, his muscles tensed with effort.
Suddenly, it began to rain outside, the downpour accompanied by occasional rumbles of thunder.
Long Xiang glanced at the half-open window. The red silk curtains weren’t enough to fully block the view, and she could feel a bit of the chill from the rain.
“Is it raining?”
She murmured to herself, then shifted her attention back to Beiting Xue. His hair, which had been styled exceptionally grand that day, was adorned with gold and silver threads, jade beads, and intricate chains. A slight breeze blew through the room, stirring the red silk and his soft, black hair.
Long Xiang leaned in and kissed his cheek, slowly pulling open his inner robes before resting her head on his shoulder, carefully untying his hairpiece.
A man’s hairpiece, when ornate, could be quite complex to undo, but Long Xiang had experience. She handled it with ease.
Gently, she freed his long hair without disturbing a single strand.
Beiting Xue suddenly said, “It’ll get in the way.”
“…”
He was right.
In moments like this, long hair drifting about could be both distracting and a little… awkward.
Long Xiang’s eyes lit up with excitement. “I’ve never seen you with your hair tied up completely.”
“That’s easy.”
Beiting Xue smiled and took the hairpiece she had just removed, quickly tying his hair up in a matter of seconds.
Without his hair falling around his face, his features became even more prominent. It didn’t diminish his beauty—in fact, it made him even more striking. Long Xiang found it impossible to look away.
Such a beautiful face, with his clear and cold eyes reflecting nothing but her. Anyone who saw this would be certain that she was the only one in his heart and mind.
Suddenly, Long Xiang felt a pang of sadness.
She had promised herself not to care anymore, but the thought that they might never grow old together made her heart ache. Her eyes welled up with tears.
Quickly, she adjusted her expression, smiling brightly as she moved closer to Beiting Xue. “Your turn now.”
He was almost fully undressed, so naturally, it was Long Xiang’s turn.
What had once been something done hastily in moments of passion was now laid bare under the candlelight. With everything so clearly on display, Beiting Xue found himself hesitating.
“How about we blow out the candles…”
He suggested, but she quickly shut him down.
“I want to see you,” Long Xiang said firmly, leaving no room for argument.
Beiting Xue barely dared to look at her, his gaze shifting downward until it landed on her collarbone. His hand, which had been too shy to move, suddenly reached out.
His cool fingers brushed over her collarbone, making Long Xiang shudder.
She took a deep breath, gripping the hem of her dress tightly, and said in a low voice, “I told you to undress me, not touch me yet.”
Beiting Xue paused, casting a quick glance at her face before his slender, jade-like fingers moved to her neckline.
Those pale, elegant hands, capable of wielding great power in battle, writing in graceful strokes, or exuding a quiet and gentle elegance, now did something unexpected. They moved with slow deliberation, untying the red wedding robes layer by layer, until only the embroidered undergarments with the design of mandarin ducks playing in water remained.
When Long Xiang first arrived at the Northern Court, she had a similar embroidered piece, but it had long since disappeared.
This one, however, had been painstakingly embroidered by Beiting Xue himself.
As a supporting character in the past, Long Xiang had worn the mandarin duck embroidery, but the hopes and dreams it symbolized could never be fulfilled. She was doomed to never grow old with her beloved.
But now, everything she had once thought impossible was within reach. All she had to do was accept it.
The rain poured down outside, the windows rattling from the force of the wind. Lightning flashed, even brighter than the red candles, illuminating Beiting Xue’s distracted expression.
Long Xiang gently took his hand, intertwining their fingers. In the midst of the storm, they kissed.
The rain fell harder, and their kisses grew fiercer, their tongues entwining, teeth nibbling at each other, as if they wouldn’t be satisfied until they had devoured each other completely.
Their arms wrapped tightly around one another, and in the heat of the moment, Long Xiang fell onto the bed, her arms slowly encircling his neck.
Just as things reached their peak, a sudden clap of thunder rang out, and Beiting Xue scooped her up, draping his large outer robe over her.
Long Xiang blinked in confusion, her face flushed as she panted, “What’s going on?”
Seeing that he had hastily adjusted his inner robes as well, Long Xiang finally realized that they were going somewhere. “Where are we going?”
Beiting Xue didn’t answer. Instead, he surrounded them with a barrier and, in an instant, they appeared outside, in the rain-drenched night sky.
Long Xiang remained in Beiting Xue’s arms as they hovered in the air, protected by the barrier that kept out the rain and wind. She felt neither cold nor hot, and waited leisurely, curious about the “surprise” he might have in store.
But then she realized she had overthought it.
“What… is that?”
Long Xiang stared in disbelief at the distant explosion. In the pouring rain, the bright and fierce display lit up the sky, reminiscent of modern-day fireworks, bursting one after the other without end.
Beiting Xue’s voice rang out clearly, “That’s my wedding gift to you. Do you like it?”
Long Xiang blinked, processing his words before muttering, “That’s… the monster realm?”
Beiting Xue waved his hand, dispersing the rain that blurred their view. Long Xiang could now see clearly—it was indeed the monster realm where the explosions were occurring.
“What did you do?” she asked, astonished, turning to look at him.
Beiting Xue gently set her down, the two of them standing in midair. His gaze remained calm as it rested on the distant monster realm. “When I lured the monsters, I placed some special artifacts inside them.”
The Northern Court had an abundance of treasures, and Beiting Xue was a master of crafting. Using artifacts on monsters wasn’t particularly difficult for him.
But—
“Even in that moment, you had the presence of mind to plan this?”
Back then, Long Xiang had been terrified, with 4897 pressuring her to make a choice. Who could have imagined that he was calmly planning her wedding gift?
And why would he think that blowing up the monster realm would make a good wedding gift?
“You want to become the ruler of the world, and she’s your greatest enemy. Since I was already sending the creatures there, I thought I’d do a little extra.”
Beiting Xue spoke as though it were the most natural thing in the world, as if such a feat were just a casual afterthought.
But Long Xiang knew how difficult it had been.
He had nearly died.
Even though she hadn’t seen it firsthand, it wasn’t hard to imagine how dangerous it must have been.
At that critical moment, he had still remembered her words to Bai Qingyin.
“…I’m not particularly attached to power,” Long Xiang rasped, her throat dry. The “fireworks” continued in the rain, making it clear that the monsters were wreaking havoc in the monster realm. Bai Qingyin would surely react soon, and their current peace might be gone in the next second.
She frowned. “I just had a fleeting thought in that moment.”
“Whether it was deliberate or a sudden impulse, as long as it’s something you want to do, I’ll help you achieve it.”
Beiting Xue, who had wielded the Xiangsi Sword to protect the human realm and fought a fierce battle with the monsters, still looked surprisingly well. Lightning illuminated his face, making it appear pale as paper—perhaps the only hint of weakness.