Chương 214: Reborn as the Dragon — Chapter 214 - Bullying — What Was Lost

In the moment Su Nian stood distracted, his little treasure Anna had already thrown herself into his arms. She rose up on her toes, stretching as high as she could. It wasn't enough. Even straining, she barely came up to his waist. All she could do was tilt her head back and look up at him, those bright star-like eyes brimming with joy and affection.

"Just as I thought — even in human form, Brother is so handsome and majestic..."

"It's just... he's still so tall. Anna can't reach..." She gave a little hop. Without her wings to help, the waist was all she was getting. She couldn't exactly throw herself at the ceiling, that would kill the mood entirely. Handsome and majestic. Su Nian couldn't stop the smile that pulled at the corners of his mouth. Four simple words, and they landed a hundred times better than anything Bolikri had ever said with his endless string of dragon flattery.

In this moment, even a legendary creature could feel a little smug. The problem was that all of Anna's bouncing, combined with her petite frame pressed against him, was doing nothing good for his composure. Su Nian felt a quiet alarm go off somewhere in his chest. If she kept this up, something was going to happen. Anna had latched onto his arm with her whole body, standing on her toes, pressed flush against him. She'd moved a little too quickly before, nearly stumbling.

She didn't dare open her dragon wings now either, since spreading them would ruin the dress. At this distance, Su Nian could smell her clearly. A soft mix of flowers and milk, faint and warm. He could also feel the two small, soft curves pressing against his arm. The scent was extraordinary. Like holding a vanilla pudding. His throat moved on its own.

"Brother, can you pick Anna up?" He looked down. She was gazing up at him with wide, expectant eyes, arms already open, balanced on her toes, those big bright eyes glimmering like stars. What was there to hesitate about? His girlfriend wanted to be held. Su Nian slid one arm around her waist, settled his other hand beneath her, and lifted. She came up effortlessly, the whole of her small, warm self cradled against him. Anna's face was right in front of his.

His gaze drifted over the pale line of her neck, the delicate curve of her collarbone, then traveled slowly upward until it settled on the soft pink of her lips.

"Brother~""Want a kiss~" Anna let her eyes drift shut. Her small hands looped around his neck. She tilted her chin up and pouted, lips slightly parted. Those lips caught the light with a faint, irresistible sheen. Like freshly rinsed cherries, vivid, dewy, and dangerously close. Su Nian's breathing went ragged. Every vein at his temple pressed against the surface. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

If he could still hold back right now, he might as well not be a dragon at all. He'd go find a monastery somewhere and live out the rest of his days as a monk. He pulled her in with the arm around her waist, her small body pressed tight against him. He drew a slow breath. Then he lowered his head and kissed her — deep and unhurried, like a lion claiming something that had always been his. So this was what Anna tasted like. Like the most tender petals of early spring.

It made him think of every soft candy he'd ever eaten in his past life, sweet and yielding, like the chewy tapioca pearls at the bottom of a milk tea, there and then gone, impossible to quite catch hold of. Not enough. He wanted more. His tongue coaxed her lips open. Anna's eyes cracked open slightly, peeking at him, watching his absorbed expression, and then her breath was gone entirely. She closed her eyes again and let herself fall into it. She was very glad he was holding her up.

Because her legs had stopped working a while ago. He kissed her until he was ready to stop, then finally let her go. Anna's face was flushed bright red. Her lashes trembled. Her lips were parted, and her gaze had gone soft and unfocused. Even breathing fresh air again wasn't quite enough to clear her head. Just being held like this in his arms made her chest feel like it was buzzing. She had waited a long time for this day. She tucked her burning face into the curve of his neck and stayed there for a long moment.

Then, very quietly:"So embarrassing... Brother... let's go inside..." The hall was well-lit. There were no other creatures around, but the open lights still made her feel hopelessly exposed. Su Nian didn't say a word. His eyes were already a deep, vivid red. He turned, picked a nearby door, and kicked it open. What kind of design was this. An entire obsidian door. What was the point. Opening it requires a mechanism. The boom that followed was significant. The obsidian door didn't open — it ceased to exist.

Chunks of black stone flew in every direction, most of them burying themselves in the corridor walls. Several found the portrait of the previous Dark Lord and reduced it to rubble. It had been a portrait of a dark nine-headed hydra. Now each of its nine heads had a brick wedged into it, which was deeply undignified for a legendary creature. Hydras were, in terms of reputation, a half-step below dragons, though only because they tended to be reclusive and their numbers were even scarcer.

In terms of raw power, an adult hydra fighting on its home ground could give a dragon real trouble. Ancient hydras were something else entirely. Their strength approached demigod. Su Nian spared the portrait one glance. Then he was done with it. He had actual business to attend to. The girl in his arms was warm and soft and sweet, her face flushed like a peach blossom.

The scent of her lingered at his nose, and the smooth curve of her waist beneath his hand hadn't stopped pulling at his attention for a single second. Being in human form didn't cool a dragon's desire, and this particular flame was burning hot enough that a few ladles of water weren't going to do anything. He wanted to devour her completely. He wanted to pull her into himself so thoroughly that they could never be separated again. That said, there were limits to what he could manage in the conventional sense.

He stood two and a half meters tall. Anna did not. The gap in their sizes was obvious, and Droiy's transformation potion had significant flaws, even setting aside whether Anna could handle it, he wasn't willing to risk it carelessly. But there were other ways to bully Anna. Plenty of them. Su Nian had grown up in the era of the internet, with access to more information than any prior generation in history. As a man with zero practical experience, he understood nothing.

He also, in a certain sense, understood everything. The only gap between the two was practice. The room they'd entered was beautifully furnished. The previous Dark Lord had clearly had taste. The colors were warm and harmonious, the space arranged with an ease that made the whole room feel like somewhere you'd lived in for years, like coming home. He carried Anna to the bed. She'd gone quiet, still as a small rabbit tucked against his chest, big eyes wide open and watching him without blinking.

There was shyness in that look. And underneath the shyness, a thread of nervous, hopeful anticipation. That look should be illegal. Su Nian wrestled down the urge rioting through him and gently set her on the bed. But before he could pull his hand away, Anna had wrapped around him like an octopus.

"Brother... don't tell me..."

"You're going to just leave?" Her burning cheek rubbed softly against the back of his hand. The murmur that followed, warm with her breath, was barely audible, but it carried everything. Every bit of what she was willing to give. Su Nian felt it clearly. And because he felt it, he wanted to be careful. The dragon instinct roaring in his chest went quiet. Almost miraculously quiet. He smiled.

"Leave? How could I?"

"Watch what I do to you." ➤ Next: Maybe We Should Just Throw Him Away