Lin Cheng slept more soundly than he could remember.
The rain pattered gently outside the window. When he woke, the light filtering through the glass was dim. He suddenly felt short of breath and slowly opened his eyes, only to realize that he was pinned down.
They always said he was a restless sleeper who hogged the blankets, but Xu Wanyue’s sleeping posture was even stranger. At that moment, she was practically draped over him, her long legs wrapped tightly around his waist as if he were a giant body pillow she refused to let go of. The blankets tangled around them in disarray. He lowered his head, and there were her snow-white thighs peeking out from under the hem of her skirt, smooth and supple like a white serpent. Tilting his gaze up just a fraction more, he saw that one of her shoulder straps had slipped, revealing a tantalizing glimpse of soft curves.
Damn it, she even slept in her underwear.
Her head rested right beside his, her warm breaths brushing his neck. Curled up like that, she slept with an unusual peacefulness. Lin Cheng tilted his head slightly and caught the faint, sweet fragrance wafting from her body.
The room was utterly quiet—he could even hear Xu Wanyue’s steady breathing.
His arm had started to go numb, but he didn’t dare move. Last night, she’d been so wary of him, as if terrified he’d try something. So how had she ended up clinging to him like this in her sleep? Lin Cheng couldn’t make sense of it. He turned his head and watched her eyelashes flutter lightly.
There had been another woman once who loved hanging off him while she slept. She’d wrap herself around him tightly even before drifting off, her sleeping posture far from graceful—and she hated wearing clothes. When she woke, she’d sprawl across him to rouse him, then drag him into whatever mischief amused her.
He wasn’t sure why she kept popping into his thoughts lately. Maybe because Xu Wanyue’s figure was so similar? Was that why he kept seeing echoes of her? Lin Cheng had no answers. He simply lay there, quietly watching Xu Wanyue until she began to stir.
“Morning,” he said.
Xu Wanyue jolted awake, probably startled by how close they were.
She nearly sprang off the bed, releasing her grip on Lin Cheng in an instant. Her legs pulled back too. Sitting up, her eyes still hazy with sleep, she rubbed them. “You’re up awfully early.”
“You woke me with your snoring.”
“I do not snore.” Xu Wanyue huffed softly as she slid off the bed and padded over to the wall. She tiptoed to reach the comb on the shelf. Lin Cheng sat up behind her, watching. Her calves tensed straight as she stretched, her body leaning forward slightly, the skirt draping over her pert rear. Strands of her dark hair tumbled down. Once she had the comb, she sat in the chair and began brushing it out. Lin Cheng propped himself up. “Got any disposable toothbrushes?”
“No… but there’s mouthwash.” Xu Wanyue pointed to the bottle on the side.
Lin Cheng grabbed it and rinsed his mouth. He glanced at the clock on the wall—it was just seven-thirty in the morning. Xu Wanyue finished with her hair and shot him a look. “Hungry?”
“A little.”
“I’ll boil some dumplings. How many?”
“Fifteen?”
“Sure.”
Xu Wanyue headed to the apartment’s small kitchen and pulled a bag of dumplings from the bottom of the fridge—they looked homemade. Lin Cheng sat obediently in the living room, waiting to eat. Soon enough, she emerged carrying a plate of steaming dumplings, a vinegar dipping sauce, and some chili.
They were stuffed with coriander and beef.
They were delicious.
Lin Cheng polished off his fifteen dumplings but still felt a bit unsatisfied. He eyed the few left in Xu Wanyue’s bowl with longing. She glanced up at him and then picked two over.
“Here, two for you. Any more and I won’t have enough.”
“Like a little dog guarding its food.”
“Take them back, you ungrateful jerk.”
Lin Cheng shoved the two dumplings into his mouth at lightning speed, cheeks bulging out. He didn’t give her the slightest chance to snatch them away and even shot her a smug look. Xu Wanyue glared at him with mock anger at first, then sighed helplessly and looked away.
She gathered the dishes and took them to the kitchen. When she returned after washing up, Lin Cheng was lounging on her sofa, watching TV. Xu Wanyue settled beside him, phone in hand, about to scroll through some short videos when a notification popped up: last night’s Alliance mission report.
It was a summary of the previous evening’s chaos. The North City and West City organizations had clashed, ending with the Alliance personally executing the rule-breakers from West City. Futian had written the report.
The account was cold and mechanical, reducing the casualties to mere numbers. Sixteen dead in total. Xu Wanyue quietly glanced at Lin Cheng sprawled on the sofa.
She recalled the grudge between the Fruit Shop and Black Beast. It was supposed to be settled in two days under Alliance supervision—typically with each side sending fighters into the Octagon Cage. Any lingering disputes would be handled privately afterward, but no innocents could be harmed, or the Alliance would come down hard.
Who could’ve guessed that Black Beast, entrenched in West City for over a decade, would crumble overnight like a collapsing skyscraper? Xu Wanyue knew they had three S-Ranks among them. S-Ranks weren’t like cabbages at the market; there probably weren’t even five thousand of them in the entire world.
“What’s the Silver Wing?” Xu Wanyue asked Lin Cheng curiously.
“An assassin organization with a long history—founded over two hundred years ago. They’re similar to the Ancient Martial Families in that they know how to use Energy Nodes. They scout kids with awakening potential from the general public and train them into killing machines. But their goal isn’t pure wealth; it’s power.”
“Then why can our Fruit Shop use the Silver Wing Summon Order?”
“Because Grape used to be the head of the Silver Wing Assassins.”
Xu Wanyue suddenly remembered the Killing Intent Grape had unleashed while warning her that day. She scooted her butt over a little, putting some distance between her and Lin Cheng.
Lin Cheng: ?
“What are you doing?”
“Grape told me last time that if I kept prancing around you in those clothes, she’d burn them right off me…”
“She was just scaring you. All talk.” Lin Cheng said gently.
“But her tone was terrifying.”
“She wouldn’t. Grape’s actually pretty obedient.”
Xu Wanyue couldn’t fathom why Lin Cheng described the cool, aloof big-sister type like Grape as “obedient.” She looked at him curiously. “How’d you meet Grape?”
“She tried to assassinate me once.” Lin Cheng replied flatly.
“Huh?”
“A Silver Wing assassin crossed a line back then, so I killed him. They issued a kill order on me. The Silver Wing Leader at the time wasn’t Grape—she was their top assassin, sent to take me out. She couldn’t beat me even though I was injured, and she got badly hurt. Back then, Grape was like a pure killing machine, raised from childhood solely for murder. Later… I tracked their headquarters through her, killed the leader at the time, and helped her take over.”
“You were that badass back then?”
Lin Cheng suddenly felt too tired to argue. Hadn’t he told Xu Wanyue twice already that he was Si Ming? And she still didn’t buy it.
“Something like that,” Lin Cheng said wearily.
“Okay… So why did Silver Wing disband later?”
“Because the Catastrophe ended. By then, they’d become one of the organizations fighting it. Once it was over, they disbanded—of course they did, or the Alliance would’ve wiped them out. It was an assassin group at its core, after all. With nowhere else to go, Grape joined forces with Litchi, me, and the others to start the original Fruit Shop.”
“What about Litchi? What did she used to do?”
“Her?” Lin Cheng chuckled. “Guess.”
Xu Wanyue shook her head. “Too much work. Pass.”
“You’ll find out eventually.” Lin Cheng dangled the secret. Better to keep Litchi’s background from the Alliance for now. Besides, after last night, it was probably impossible to hide that Grape was Yue Sha anyway.
“What about you?” Xu Wanyue eyed him.
“Me?” Lin Cheng pointed to his own face. “I was an Alliance hero once. Got tired of it and retired.”
“What was your hero title? I’ll look it up.”
“Si Ming.”
“You again.” Xu Wanyue rolled her eyes and gave him a light kick with her soft little foot. Lin Cheng caught her ankle.
“I told you, but you won’t believe me.” He gazed at her slightly flushed cheeks, then let go. Standing up, he stretched lazily. “Alright, time for me to head home.”
“Oh… Want me to drive you?”
“Nah. I’ll walk—stretch my legs. Nice weather out.”
Lin Cheng flashed her a light smile and turned to leave.
Down in the lobby, he eyed the steady drizzle outside and suddenly remembered he’d lost his umbrella.
After Shadow Sting had shot him in the head yesterday, a gust of wind had blown it into the lake. Retrieving it would’ve been a pain. It was just a freebie from a phone top-up anyway. The rain wasn’t heavy; getting a little wet wouldn’t hurt.
Lin Cheng was about to step out into it when Xu Wanyue’s voice called from behind. “Hey!”
He turned. She was still in her nightgown, wearing flip-flops, umbrella in hand. “Just remembered—you don’t have an umbrella.”
“A little rain’s no big deal.”
Xu Wanyue stepped up to him and thrust the umbrella into his hands with a touch of insistence. She reached out and ruffled his hair. “You’ll catch a cold. And a cold could turn into a fever.”
“Why do you always treat me like a kid…”
“Hmm, maybe because your eyes are kinda… cute?”
Lin Cheng had never been called “cute” by a girl before. He looked at her helplessly. “You’re pretty cute yourself.”
Surprisingly, Xu Wanyue didn’t argue this time. She accepted it with a pleased hum. “Remember to give the umbrella back next time we meet.”
“Come grab it at my place.”
“Eh? So lazy.”
“It’s not far anyway.”
“Fine, fine. Can’t win with you.” Xu Wanyue nodded. Lin Cheng took the umbrella from her, popped it open, and headed out of the complex. She stood there watching his retreating back, fingers absently pinching the hem of her skirt, her expression troubled.
He couldn’t really be… Si Ming, could he? Without solid proof, how was she supposed to write the report?
She didn’t turn away until he vanished from sight, then took the elevator back upstairs.
