Punish Her

Annie was happy to help out at Long Ling’s busy tavern.

“I don’t have anything else to do anyway, and I’m happy to help.”

Perhaps for a wealthy young lady like Annie, this was just experiencing life.

Long Ling smiled slightly, “You just need to work the register.”

Working the register was relatively simple, not requiring running around, and still allowed her to experience life.

The tavern was doing so well that the cash box was full in the middle of the day.

As the owner, Long Ling had to handle everything from the front of the house to the kitchen, constantly working all day long.

It was also Annie’s first time earning money with her own hands, and she couldn’t help but think that even counting money was tiring after such a busy day.

After work, the tavern was cleaned, and the employees left.

Annie stretched and remarked, “That was so tiring. I thought running a tavern would be easy, but now I realize it’s really not.”

Her well-manicured hands were darkened after handling coins all day.

Long Ling handed her a handkerchief and said with a smile, “Wipe them off. You helped me a lot today. I’ll make you some delicious desserts later.”

Annie happily replied, “Okay, thank you, Long Ling-jie! But it’s so late, and I still have to take a carriage back. Can I take it to go?”

Long Ling saw her praying with her hands clasped, her eyes curved, “Sure, I can pack it in a food box for you.”

Long Ling-jie’s handkerchief also had a faint strawberry scent, which smelled fresh and comfortable. Annie wiped her fingers a couple of times, feeling reluctant to throw it away.

Long Ling turned and went to the kitchen to make Annie some egg yolk酥 [sū, pastry]. These small snacks were convenient to eat on the road, one bite at a time.

The flaky pastry was made with butter, wrapping an oily filling, rolled into a thin and pliable crust, then filled with duck egg yolk wrapped in red bean paste.

Before putting it into the oven, a layer of golden egg wash was brushed on top, and a layer of freshly harvested sesame seeds was sprinkled on top.

The egg yolk filled an entire plate, each one looking very round.

By the time all the pastries were baked, it was completely dark.

Long Ling quickly picked up the egg yolk one by one, wrapping five or six in oil paper, leaving more than half.

She couldn’t eat the rest, so she could leave them for the staff as employee benefits the next day.

The braised goose prepared for Annie to take home didn’t need to be heated. Heating it and keeping it sealed for too long would make it spoil easily on the road.

Long Ling put the braised goose on the bottom layer, and the egg yolk on the top layer.

Annie had smelled the enticing aroma long ago, and was already hungry after working hard all day. She couldn’t wait to pick up the food box in her hand and open the lid, “Hehe, Long Ling-jie, can I try one first?”

Long Ling smiled slightly, “Of course, it’s better to eat them while they’re hot.”

Just as Annie picked up a piece of egg yolk, a sound of footsteps suddenly came from outside the door.

Violet returned from outside, still wearing her military uniform, her eyes filled with melancholy, her lips cold and beautiful, her aura very strong.

Long Ling was a little surprised and went to Violet’s side, “Violet, why are you here?”

Violet’s gaze coldly swept over Annie, staring at Long Ling, and slightly raised her chin, “I came to pick you up from work.”

Violet’s eyes were very sharp. She rarely smiled in the past, and her lips were a dark color, which always made Long Ling feel unpredictable, afraid of making her angry.

This feeling was particularly obvious now. Violet said she came to pick her up from work, but it actually felt like she was coming to question her.

They had already agreed that after Long Ling finished her work at the tavern, she would return to Ilidari Estate.

Violet only needed to wait for her at the estate, but she didn’t know why she would suddenly come to pick her up from work.

Long Ling touched her nose and explained to Violet,

“I sent Annie some gifts of apology before, but Annie didn’t accept them and brought them back to me.

She also helped me with work for a day, so I prepared a food box for her, so she could take some food back to eat on the road.”

She gave Annie a look, signaling her to take the food box and leave first.

Annie was originally a little afraid of Violet, and quietly put the egg yolk back into the food box, closing the lid, “Long Ling-jie, if you have things to do, I’ll leave first.”

Long Ling waved goodbye to Annie, “Bye-bye, be careful on the road.”

After Annie left, Long Ling closed the tavern door, and took Violet’s arm, finding that her body temperature was icy cold,

“You’re so cold. Didn’t you say you’d wait for me for a few days? Why did you come over so quickly?”

Violet ignored her, so Long Ling went to hug her waist, pulling her into her arms,

“Have you eaten? Do you want me to make you dinner?”

Violet still kept a cold face.

The great evil dragon was angry, and the consequences would be serious.

Long Ling gently stroked Violet’s back through her clothes, softly calling out, “Violet.”

Violet’s tone was unfriendly, “Since you like her so much, why are you hugging and touching me now?”

Long Ling quickly explained,

“Annie and I are just friends, and besides, everything is in the past. She just came to see me occasionally. We haven’t seen each other for days, and I…”

She kissed Violet’s lips, wanting to appease her, but Violet pushed her away at once.

Violet coldly said, “So you’re not only giving her a food box, you’re also making her desserts to eat?”

Long Ling explained, “She worked in my tavern all day today, and I thought I couldn’t let her come for nothing, so I made her some egg yolk酥 to eat.”

Violet stared into her eyes. Long Ling’s eyes were clear, letting her look at her. Her heart was open, and there was nothing she couldn’t show Violet.

Violet’s voice was low, “Did you do anything else?”

Long Ling swore, “Of course not. I only like you and wouldn’t get entangled with other Omegas. We’re just friends.”

Violet’s expression softened a little, but she still didn’t let Long Ling off the hook.

Just accepting a gift of apology, something that could be resolved with a few words, and even keeping another Omega to eat, Long Ling’s thoughtfulness shouldn’t be used on others, especially since that Omega was almost engaged to Long Ling.

Violet pinched Long Ling’s chin, her slender fingertips caressing her rosy lips, “It better be nothing, or I won’t let you off easily.”

Long Ling thought she had already coaxed Violet, and quickly assured her, “It won’t happen. Don’t be angry, there are still some egg yolk in the oven. I’ll heat them up for you. You can eat some to fill your stomach first.”

Violet had been angry all the way.

Who would be like Little Strawberry Dragon, running to the kitchen for no reason, thinking about what new recipes to make every day?

However, the scent of pastries on Long Ling’s body smelled very sweet.

The thought that Long Ling didn’t make the pastries specifically for her, but for another Omega, made Violet feel inexplicably bothered.

Violet didn’t speak, watching Long Ling go to the kitchen to get the pastries, slowly taking off her black gloves and placing them on the table.

Long Ling refilled the stove with firewood and heated the pastries, sprinkling more sesame seeds on top to make them smell even better.

Long Ling still had a lot of flaky pastry for the egg yolk, so she made more red bean paste.

Soon, she rolled out the soft, oily pastry.

Long Ling temporarily found a piece of wood and skillfully carved it into a heart shape, then filled the pastry with the red bean paste and pressed it into the mold.

The molded red bean paste cookie looked like little hearts. Long Ling used red fruit juice to color the bean paste cookie.

These rose-red heart-shaped bean paste cookie were quickly baked along with the egg yolk.

For dinner, she needed to eat something warming. Long Ling hadn’t decided what to make yet, and wanted to ask Violet what she wanted to eat.

Long Ling first brought out the baked egg yolk and bean paste cookie.

Violet leaned against the table, her eyelashes lowered, her delicate profile looking very lonely in the light, seemingly still angry.

Long Ling had a smile on her face, “They’re heated up, eat them quickly. I also made bean paste cookie just for you.”

She placed the heart-shaped bean paste cookies on the table. Seeing that Violet still didn’t come over to eat, she picked up a bean paste and brought it to Violet’s lips, “Let me feed you.”

Violet glanced at Long Ling, “Eat it yourself.”

Long Ling blinked a few times, held the bean paste cookie in her mouth, raised her slender arm, and wrapped it around Violet’s neck.

Her eyes sparkled in the light, her lips were bright red. The heart-shaped bean paste was small, the pastry looked crispy, but Long Ling held it well, without dropping a single crumb, and nodded slightly to Violet.

Violet saw her chubby dragon tail peeking out from her skirt, wagging several times.

Violet lowered her head slightly and bit into the heart-shaped bean paste cookies in Long Ling’s mouth.

The pastry crumbled with a bite, and the sweet red bean paste melted between her lips and tongue.

Violet saw Long Ling’s curved eyes, which were somewhat cute, and continued to eat the remaining sweet bean paste.

Long Ling didn’t eat a single bite, obediently acting as a little dragon-brand bean paste feeding machine.

Violet ate the last bite of the heart-shaped bean paste cookies, and Long Ling let go.

Violet pushed the last bite of the bean paste cookie back to her.

Just as Long Ling tasted the sweet bean paste, Violet’s nimble tongue slipped into her mouth, stealing all her sweetness.

Long Ling’s eyes were full of confusion. After Violet kissed her, she wiped the corner of her lips with her fingertip and said in a faint voice, “Not sweet.”

She ate all her bean paste, and said it wasn’t sweet?!

Long Ling couldn’t help but swallow.

She picked up two more bean paste, handed one to Violet, and kept one for herself.

“How can it not be sweet? This is such a delicious and beautiful heart-shaped bean paste cookie. I put a lot of bean paste inside. Try another bite, it’s very sweet!”

Violet didn’t eat her heart-shaped bean paste cookie, and even took the heart-shaped bean paste cookie from her hand and put it back on the plate.

Long Ling watched Violet wipe her slender fingers with a handkerchief. The next moment, she was picked up by Violet.

Violet’s slender fingers stroked the back of her head.

She was always strong, and her cold kiss caught Long Ling a little off guard.

Her red lips were bitten by Violet as a punishment, making her lips even more bright and luscious, like a deep red berry.

Long Ling frowned in pain, and Violet squeezed her dragon tail behind her, not giving her a chance to escape.