"You... what do you want? Shameless!" Reimu cursed loudly, quickly stepping back, forgetting about her meal entirely, clutching her flat chest tightly with both hands, her eyes wide open as she defensively guarded against Lin Luo.

It was no wonder she was so tense; it was entirely because of the perverted, sleazy, utterly vile look Lin Luo had just given her. Under such an extremely awful gaze, Reimu felt as if her clothes offered no protection, exposing her as if she were naked before his eyes, expecting Lin Luo to pounce at any second to humiliate and ravish her in countless ways, causing her to shiver pitifully, every hair on her body standing on end.

A lecherous fiend!

At that moment, those four words encapsulated Reimu's entire impression of Lin Luo.

Previously, because Lin Luo had concentrated all his attention on whether he was "healthy," he hadn't noticed anything wrong with his gaze. Seeing Reimu's exaggerated reaction now, he paid it no mind, only feeling that the joy in his heart needed to be shared with his future wife. With a sudden whoosh, he lunged forward with lightning speed, too quick for anyone to react.

"Ah!" Reimu shrieked, thinking Lin Luo was about to put his wicked intentions into action and do unspeakable things to her in broad daylight. Instinctively, she tried to flee. But in her panic and disarray, even her power was severely diminished. Before she could even fully rise, Lin Luo was already— (Shushuwu)

"How many times do you want to die!" Reimu only wanted to stop Lin Luo's indecent act; she couldn't spare a thought for what he was saying. She struggled fiercely while cursing... If it were nighttime, in the bedroom, she might not have reacted this way, or perhaps she would have coyly given in. But now, in broad daylight, if Mei Meng happened to see, or if Marisa suddenly burst in, she might as well be dead.

"What are you doing?" Lin Luo couldn't understand why she was resisting so violently when he merely wanted to share his good mood, acting as if he were trying to assault her.

However, the more violently Reimu struggled, the less Lin Luo wanted to let go. Thus, the two began an open display of close-quarters grappling in the small living room... Of course, due to her emotional state, Reimu wasn't exerting much strength, and Lin Luo certainly wasn't putting in any effort either, so it looked more like a typical spousal squabble.

A moment later, there was a sudden thump. Taking advantage of a lapse in Reimu’s defense, Lin Luo suddenly exerted force, pushing her down onto the floor. Pinning her hands, he decided to go all the way, leaning down to fiercely kiss her cherry lips.

Caught completely by surprise by this assault, Reimu's mind instantly went blank. Lying on the ground with wide, unmoving eyes, she let Lin Luo press down on her and kiss her.

This wasn't Reimu's first kiss. The old Reimu certainly wouldn't have frozen over such a simple kiss, but at this moment, a subtle change, one she hadn't even perceived herself, was occurring within her heart. Since she was unaware of it, she naturally didn't know how to react. Thus, this sudden kiss caught her completely off guard, rendering her temporarily unable to move.

Noticing her complete lack of resistance, Lin Luo naturally savored the soft, smooth texture of her tongue and lips. However, he wasn't so unrestrained as to "make serious moves" in this place and at this time. It was merely a light taste before he quickly drew back from Reimu's mouth.

Lifting his head gently, Lin Luo found the person beneath him still staring in a stunned trance. But unlike before, Reimu's face was now flushed crimson, radiating a faint glow, giving her an appearance so vibrant it seemed ready to drip. A silvery thread seemed to coat her soft cherry lips, shimmering brilliantly. Her dark eyes held wisps of mist, stirring the deepest, most primal nerves in a man's heart.

This sight, a blend of cuteness and seductiveness, was undeniably intoxicating. Lin Luo's lust flared instantly, and he deeply regretted that he hadn't returned in the evening, where he could have simply rolled her onto the bed without explanation.

Just as Lin Luo’s desires were fully stoked, Reimu finally snapped back to awareness. Feeling herself tightly pinned down, she instinctively tried to push him off, but Lin Luo reflexively pressed down harder. The result was that her attempt to rise only brought their faces even closer.

"You..." His hot breath fanned across her face—an intensity no less stimulating than a direct kiss. Instantly, Reimu felt flustered, completely forgetting that she was a peerless master whose strength rivaled that of a Quasi-Heavenly Rank expert. Instead, she became like a shy, inexperienced girl, her face immediately burning red. She could only manage a single syllable, "You," before losing her voice, her gaze instinctively darting away.

Seeing her flustered and at a loss, Lin Luo suddenly felt a mischievous urge to tease her. He dearly wanted to retort: See? Nothing was wrong just now, but because you acted so wildly, now you’re suffering the consequences, and I've taken advantage of you! If Mei Meng saw this intimate scene, things would get complicated. If Marisa and the others suddenly barged in, it would be even worse. To prevent our shameful play from spreading everywhere, I might just have to pull in the onlookers for a three-way scenario...

But Lin Luo could only keep these thoughts confined to his mind. He knew perfectly well that if he actually said any of that, he didn't know if Reimu's favorability would drop, but she would absolutely throw a tantrum.

Hold it in! I must restrain my desire to mock her!

Lin Luo forced himself to resist, his mind racing to figure out what words wouldn't incite Reimu's hatred. As he pondered, before Reimu could recover from her bashfulness, a brilliant idea suddenly struck him. He reached out, his knuckles lightly brushing across Reimu's smooth cheek, and said with deep affection, "Reimu, you are truly captivating today... as beautiful as the moonlight."

Hearing those words was like being hit squarely by a friendly Pao-Shao Fist. Reimu instantly sobered up, feeling a spasm in her stomach. "Saying things like that is truly disgusting."

"...Sorry, I agree," Lin Luo also felt a slight ache in his own stomach.

"And, how long are you planning to stay on top of me?" Reimu stated flatly.

Lin Luo blinked slightly, noticing that the blush had completely faded from Reimu’s face, and the mist in her eyes was gone. In their place was the familiar expression he always saw... Lin Luo immediately knew Reimu had recovered—not the tsundere Reimu, nor the coyly shy Reimu, but the Hakurei Shrine Maiden everyone was familiar with, who was neither warm nor cold towards others.

"Oh," Lin Luo replied, immediately standing up from her body. He didn't find Reimu's rapid shift jarring; in fact, he thought it felt natural. Only when he sat back down at the dining table, recalling the drastically different reactions from Reimu moments apart, did he feel a subtle, faint ache in his heart for some inexplicable reason.

Reimu—why is she neither warm nor cold towards people?

Suddenly, Lin Luo found himself pondering this question.

In truth, every girl in Gensokyo possessed a distinct personality: some were dominant, some arrogant, some cunning, some pure, some masochistic, and of course, some sadists. And then there was Reimu, who, despite not having the words "Stay away" written across her face, gave off the feeling that one could never truly get close to her.

Some personalities were innate; others were cultivated. For instance, Kazami Yuuka’s dominance was inherent, while the Lady's arrogance was acquired. So, what about Reimu?

Lin Luo instinctively felt that this distant attitude was definitely not her innate nature.

"Hey, you know..."

"Speaking of which, you seem a bit strange today. It feels like there's been a big shift in your personality," Lin Luo started, intending to probe subtly, but he was interrupted the moment he opened his mouth by Reimu’s words.

Lin Luo paused. "You think so too?"

He hadn't expected that his subtle shift in demeanor had been noticed by Reimu.

Reimu nodded. "Yeah. Today, you're even more contemptible than usual."

Hey!

Lin Luo was near tears. Although he knew he seemed to have inexplicably acquired a mocking face, did she really need to put it so bluntly? It was too damaging to his pride.

Reimu clearly spoke it offhandedly. Although it wasn't intentional mockery, feeling almost like an unintentional, winning move, she didn't press the point after speaking. She swiftly began clearing the food on the table.

Since Lin Luo’s question was unexpectedly interrupted by Reimu, he didn't forget the matter he wanted to clarify. After Reimu finished a bowl of rice, he said, "Hey, Reimu, is there anything you regret?"

"Regret?" Reimu looked at him blankly, clearly not understanding the point of his question. She tilted her head, thinking in a characteristic manner for a moment, then said, "Probably nothing. If I really had to name a regret, it’s that I didn't manage to kill you back then."

Reimu's gaze was sincere, so sincere that Lin Luo felt genuinely hurt.

Lin Luo shook his head, discarding the hurt feeling, and stated solemnly, "That’s not what I mean. I mean... knowing something is irrecoverable, that something lost can never be retrieved no matter how much effort is expended, yet deep down, still hoping to see it again, to obtain it again, even knowing it's just a futile desire... Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Irrecoverable... see again..." As if those words triggered something, Reimu lost focus for an instant, but in the next blink, she turned her head, stood up, and walked towards the kitchen.

"That kind of thing never existed!"

Reimu said without looking back, her tone firm and decisive.

PS: After finishing this chapter, I refreshed the monthly ticket rankings and found I was about to be completely overtaken. My heart shattered, and I coughed up a mouthful of blood... Monthly tickets!!!!