“Here’s two thousand bucks. Is that enough to cover your bedsheets?”
Sunlight streamed in through the window, evenly spilling across the cheeks of the woman standing before him.
Lin Cheng watched as she buttoned up her white shirt, his expression turning peculiar.
She hadn’t finished fastening all the buttons yet. Her pale, delicate collarbone gleamed like fine porcelain under the sunlight. Strands of jet-black hair draped messily over her chest. She paused after the second-to-last button, lifting her gaze to meet Lin Cheng’s. “Cat got your tongue? Say something.”
Her voice was crisp and cold, like ice cubes clinking in a glass.
“It’s enough, sure…” Lin Cheng’s eyes weren’t on the stack of red bills she’d tossed onto the bed. Instead, they drifted from her collarbone down to her slender waist. Below that was a moon-white plaid skirt, its hem barely forty-two centimeters long. Her long, shapely legs—snowy and smooth—were pressed primly together.
“But I’m not for sale.” Lin Cheng scratched his head, his gaze sliding down to her slim calves, where delicate ankles slipped into lace-trimmed white socks.
“I know. Lin Cheng, high school dropout, currently a twenty-year-old unemployed drifter. You do occasional gigs singing at bars or hawking flowers from a street stall. And your account gets random transfers from strange women. You’re a kept man?”
Lin Cheng’s expression grew even stranger. He eyed the aloof woman before him, hesitating for a couple of seconds before nodding. “Something like that.”
“What’s the difference?” She scoffed disdainfully, muttering under her breath as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “These two thousand are hush money.”
“Hush money?” Lin Cheng blinked in confusion.
“Don’t tell a soul you saw me. And don’t breathe a word about what happened last night. Pretend it never happened. Got it?”
Lin Cheng hesitated for three seconds, then nodded. “Got it.”
“If word of last night gets out to a third party…” The woman bit her lip lightly. In Lin Cheng’s line of sight, she raised her hand. Suddenly, three ice lances gleaming with razor-sharp chill appeared before him, thrusting straight toward his throat.
Lin Cheng squeezed his eyes shut in panic. The ice lances halted right at his neck, and her cold voice rang in his ears at the same moment. “You know what’ll happen.”
The ice lances melted into water in an instant, splashing across Lin Cheng’s face like an impromptu wash. He wasn’t mad, though. He grabbed a tissue from the table and wiped himself off, eyeing the woman. “You weren’t kidding last night. You really are an Ability User?”
“You know it.”
The woman sat on the edge of the bed and slipped into her black ankle boots. The boots’ edges framed the lace trim of her white socks. Once she stood, Lin Cheng clambered off the bed. He was a touch taller than her, so he had to tilt his head down slightly to meet her eyes.
“Alright then… You’re leaving?” Lin Cheng asked tentatively.
“What else? Stay here with you?” She swept him with a scornful glance. Lin Cheng looked a bit glum. “You weren’t like this last night.”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than she cut in, her tone sharpening. “Forget last night!”
“Okay, okay.” Lin Cheng raised his hands in surrender and stepped closer. “Let’s head downstairs together. I’m starving. How about some Jianbing Guozi?”
He plucked a crisp red bill from the bedsheet—pointedly ignoring the faint bloodstain—and headed out of the fifteen-square-meter rental with her. The elevator waited right outside the door. Lin Cheng caught her reflection in its mirror. Her expression was frigid, excessively so.
Last night, when she’d bitten her lip, it had been different.
“You smell amazing,” Lin Cheng muttered, oblivious to the mood.
She turned slowly, her eyes icing over him. A chill ran through him in that instant. He shrank back and said wisely, “Shutting up now.”
The elevator hit the ground floor quickly. Early spring brought mild, warm weather. Peach blossoms littered the roadside, remnants of last night’s rain. Today dawned bright and sunny. They left the rundown complex, where the Jianbing Guozi stall was still open, vendor unhurried.
“Want one? My treat,” Lin Cheng offered after a pause.
She shot him a flat look and let out a cold laugh.
“Yeah, figures. You don’t seem the type. Boss, one Jianbing Guozi—egg, sausage, shredded pork floss, extra spicy.” Lin Cheng paused. “Where you headed? Want a ride?”
“On that junk motorcycle of yours?”
“It’s beat-up, sure, but I ride steady, don’t I? Even in that downpour last night, I got you home safe.”
Seeing her eyes frost over again, Lin Cheng slapped his own mouth. “Fine, you’re off?”
“Yep.”
“We keeping in touch?”
“Nope.”
“Alright, alright. What if we run into each other again?”
“Cross that bridge when we come to it.”
She turned away and strode to the roadside, clearly waiting for a cab. Lin Cheng watched her back, his gaze unashamedly fixed on the long, pale legs beneath her skirt hem. A breeze toyed with the fabric, stirring the imagination.
Too bad pumpkin panties with white lace trim peeked out underneath.
As she neared the cab, Lin Cheng remembered something. He snatched his fresh Jianbing Guozi and dashed over. She’d just settled in, eyeing him with clear impatience. “What?”
“Nothing. Just a reminder… Take your pill.”
Her full chest rose and fell with her breathing beneath the shirt. She fixed him with a deep stare and spat her final word.
“Scram.”
The cab pulled away. Lin Cheng stood by the road, silently taking a bite of his Jianbing Guozi.
Lin Cheng wasn’t in a rush to head home. He had business today. He lingered roadside, munching his pancake. Three or four minutes later, a silver supercar pulled up.
“How do you open this door?” Lin Cheng fiddled with it, stumped.
As he spoke, the door slid down on its own. He climbed into the passenger seat with his pancake, buckled up, and glanced at the girl in the driver’s seat.
White blouse, pink plaid skirt, shoulder-length hair. She looked like a bubbly high schooler, utterly at odds with the sleek silver supercar. Her skin was milky white, her calves slim—like a porcelain doll.
“Yep, Litchi, JK uniform suits your age best.” Lin Cheng muttered.
“What?” Litchi glanced back at him.
“Met a girl last night, twenty-one or twenty-two, rocking an outfit like yours. Bar lights were dim; I thought she was some innocent high schooler. Got played.” Lin Cheng chuckled ruefully.
“That’s Lu Xiaoxiao, an Adjudicator from the 【Alliance】.”
The 【Alliance】 was the largest official organization of Espers. Adjudicator: The title for the Alliance’s elite combat team handling Heretics.
A century ago, Catastrophes struck the world. Space Rifts would tear open without warning at intervals, unleashing alien killing machines on indiscriminate rampages. Some humans awakened special powers amid the chaos—the most disordered era in history. Three years ago, the strongest figure in human annals sealed the largest Rift, drastically reducing Catastrophe frequency. That legendary Adjudicator vanished after.
“How’d you know?” Lin Cheng asked, swallowing the last bite of his pancake.
“You think our bar has no cameras? Grape and I watched you leave with her on your motorcycle, heading home.”
“You could’ve given me a lift.” Lin Cheng grumbled through a full mouth.
“Boss doesn’t say the word, who dares cockblock you?” Litchi’s tone dripped with sarcasm.
“No sarcasm.”
“Steal a bite and I can’t call it out?” Litchi’s cheeks puffed up. The supercar accelerated, wind roaring past. Lin Cheng’s retort drowned in it. “Wasn’t hiding it from you. Doesn’t count as stealing.”
The supercar barreled from suburbs to downtown, weaving wildly. Twenty minutes later, it parked in a reserved spot on Rose Street in West City. Lin Cheng unbuckled, about to exit, when Litchi’s voice stopped him. “Explain.”
“Explain what?”
He turned to her. Litchi sat with arms crossed, cheeks puffed in obvious sulk.
“Explain last night.” She turned, her cute, delicate face now coolly impassive.
“Last night… New bar opening, right? I swung by. Ran into this Xiaoxiao.”
“Lu Xiaoxiao.”
“Right, Lu Xiaoxiao. She was drinking alone, all moody. I joined her for a few, boosted the bar’s sales a bit. She was paying, anyway.”
“The whole bar’s yours… Short on booze money?” Litchi inhaled deeply. His lame joke fell flat.
“Fine, her white silk leg socks hooked me. Blame her—twenty-something acting all cute! Anyway, light drinks, some chat. Mostly listening; heartbroken girls love to vent.”
“And then?”
“Then she insisted on coming home with me. You know how unsafe it is for a girl alone in a bar late. So… I brought her back.”
“And then?”
“And then…” Lin Cheng’s voice trailed guiltily. He skipped ahead. “Morning comes, she tosses me two grand.”
Litchi eyed his aggrieved face. Despite her icy front, she burst out laughing. “And you took it?”
“Earned it fair and square. Why not?” Lin Cheng said righteously, then pouted. “Then she says no more contact. Heh, women turn ice-cold once they’re dressed.”
“…You sure you didn’t sweet-talk and slick your way into bedding her?”
“Talent.” Lin Cheng tapped his face. “She even Alliance-checked my background, saw your transfers. Thought I was a gigolo, used the cash to humiliate me.”
Litchi shot him a helpless side-eye, lips pursing. “Whatever. Save the rest for Grape Sis… She didn’t sleep a wink last night. Wanted to rush over and torch that woman a few times. I held her back.”
“Knew my Litchi baby was the best.”
“…”
Litchi ignored his schtick, hopping out with him. She wasn’t tall, but her figure was perfectly proportioned. Arms still crossed, she looked standoffish, clearly stewing. Lin Cheng couldn’t coax her out of it, so he scratched his head awkwardly and changed tack. “So, what’d you need me for today?”
Litchi walked beside him, her dainty foot in little leather shoes “accidentally” stomping his. “An Alliance Adjudicator’s been cleaning out your casino daily. Took thirty million this week alone. And you? Zero fucks given. Wouldn’t even meet earlier—said you were busy busking.”
“What, thirty million?! We’re a legit small-time joint! Since when can we bleed that much?!”
Litchi took a deep breath. “You’ve ignored our ops completely these years, huh? Can’t you try being a boss for once?! I’m done! I quit!”
“…”
She stomped his foot again.
Lin Cheng glanced meekly at the cute girl before him, who now looked on the verge of a meltdown.
