Chapter 60: Sweetness

Unknowingly, they spun to the middle of the dance floor. No one knew what Shen Han was thinking, but at the end of the dance, she directly hugged Su Mi’s lower back and lightly lifted her up, spinning her two full circles.

No one at the masquerade ball played such a high-difficulty move during the welcome dance. It instantly drew gazes from inside and outside the dance floor, and she even heard quite a few gasps of astonishment.

Su Mi had no time to worry about any of that. The moment her lower back was gripped by both hands, her face burned like it was cooked. As the sensation of weightlessness hit, Su Mi nearly cried out in alarm. She nervously clutched Shen Han’s shoulders. When she was finally set down after the two spins, her legs felt weak.

Shen Han… was she crazy?!

Su Mi had only one thought left. Shen Han wore a mask, but she didn’t. How was she supposed to attend classes from now on…

In a state of utter exhaustion, Su Mi was led off the dance floor by Shen Han to a corner of the hall.

Her legs were weak, her heart raced, her head spun—she couldn’t recover.

She leaned against one of the venue’s pillars to catch her breath. Shen Han stood in front of Su Mi, still holding her hand, seemingly gently rubbing over each segment of Su Mi’s finger bones.

The music in the hall didn’t continue, but the atmosphere inside had completely heated up. It seemed the welcome masquerade ball was divided into two parts: the first half was formal social dancing, and the second half was a more upbeat nightclub vibe.

The drumbeats gradually grew restless, pulling Su Mi back to her senses.

Only then did she realize her entire hand was gripped by Shen Han. Cool fingertips pressed not too lightly or heavily on the joints of her hand’s back, sending a wave of numbness from her fingertips to her palm.

Su Mi instinctively pulled her hand back. Her gaze darted frantically downward to the floor as she used the back of her hand to touch her face.

She was still panting in short breaths. The skin her hand touched felt slightly hot, but it was definitely flushed red.

Su Mi let out a breath, on the verge of collapse.

Her heart was in a tangle.

Was it hormones going haywire? It was so chaotic, mixed with some inexplicable anxiety, unease, bewilderment… and breakdown.

She didn’t know. It felt so strange, so overwhelming.

She didn’t want to do the mission here anymore. She just wanted to run.

It was like being momentarily bewitched by a dangerous man-eating flower, so her small animal instincts screamed warnings: run fast, don’t get addicted.

Su Mi twisted her fingers, unable to sort out her thoughts, when Shen Han’s hand reached up to feel her forehead.

Shen Han bent down to look at her, leaning in very close. Her voice carried a chill dampness, a soft whisper: “You okay?”

The moist chill wasn’t an illusion. Su Mi looked up at the sound, and her heart nearly skipped a beat.

Too close. Why did Shen Han lean in like this?

Their breaths were almost mingling. Right in front of her was Shen Han’s strikingly beautiful face, with overwhelming impact. Her earlobes and neck bore no jewelry, and the line from her jaw to her shoulder was perfectly sculpted, as if blessed by the gods. That shoulder and neck even carried faint red marks from when Su Mi had grabbed her in surprise while being lifted—right there in front of Su Mi, it created a strange atmosphere that isolated them from the world.

Her gaze was captured by those eyes like a rippling cold pool, with something surging beneath. It invisibly trapped Su Mi in place, her back against the pillar, nowhere to retreat.

In this dim corner of the hall, the lighting was very low. The surroundings were filled with couples and friends dodging the crowd, while cheerful waltz music still played in the main area.

Su Mi clenched her hands and said hoarsely in a small voice: “I’m fine.”

Shen Han let out an extremely soft laugh, then inexplicably reached out to touch the side of Su Mi’s face. Her voice emerged from lips very close by, slightly uplifted with pleasure: “You’re sweating a bit. You danced great.”

She was sweating a little…

Unlike Shen Han in front of her, who had finished dancing, lifted her for two spins, yet her face wasn’t flushed, her heart wasn’t racing—like nothing had happened.

Strange… What was she thinking… getting this close… Was it just simple concern?

Su Mi’s mouth hung half-open unconsciously as she breathed lightly. Her hand groped awkwardly backward until it pressed against the cool pillar behind her, barely steadying her thoughts.

This chaotic mood felt like something already built up had been suddenly shattered and reassembled.

What had been shattered?

Surrounded by Shen Han’s aura that permeated every aspect, Su Mi couldn’t figure it out. She could only feel her heart pounding fiercely.

She couldn’t make sense of anything else first; she could only conclude one thing: she needed to stay far away from this person to think calmly.

Su Mi licked her dry lips. The spot on her lip that had been bitten earlier now glistened with a layer of wetness.

Her small voice of request sounded at the same time as Shen Han’s.

“Can you… get me a glass of water?” she stammered, adding a white lie. “My mouth is so dry.”

Shen Han said in a low, slow voice: “Su Mi.”

The ending of her words lingered, as if she had chewed on those two syllables in her mouth for a long time before saying them. Clearly interrupted by Su Mi, she paused, pursed her lips, and said okay.

Shen Han straightened up and turned toward the distant refreshment table.

Instantly, Su Mi felt the air around her circulate normally again.

The crowd in the distance was still noisily dancing and playing. People stood chatting in pairs around her, and the atmosphere in the venue was electric.

Su Mi pulled her gaze back from Shen Han’s retreating figure. Her heart still trembled unsteadily.

She felt like Shen Han had been about to say something… terrifying just now.

She bit her lip and let out a long sigh. She really wanted to squat down without caring about her image, but in the end, she just covered her face with her hands.

Before leaving the floor, Su Mi had thought it would be just like Xu Nanqiao and Li Zhao, or other system-paired partners—dance properly and then step off.

But Shen Han… had pulled her into a strange whirlpool. Shen Han was the sea demon who controlled the flow, but she, Su Mi, was just a little shrimp. Even being led by Shen Han left her dizzy and disoriented.

She still couldn’t catch her breath even now.

After spacing out for a bit, before Su Mi could sort her thoughts,

Suddenly, a click.

All the lights in the hall went out at once.

The crowd in the venue erupted in cheers. Some clueless person shouted loudly, “Why’d the lights go out?”

Soon, someone cheered back: it was time for the scene change—watch the five o’clock position; the DJ stage was coming up!

The surroundings plunged into darkness, and the crowd grew chaotic. Su Mi leaned against the wall and heard cries of pain from stepped-on feet, joyful laughter, and sounds of running footsteps.

Nearby, it seemed a couple was kissing. In the dark, the sounds amplified—the sticky, wet smacks rang right in her ears.

Su Mi awkwardly took two steps forward.

Good thing she wasn’t too afraid of the dark, even if she couldn’t see in it.

Everyone probably knew it was a surprise for the transition, so no one in the venue turned on their light brains for illumination.

Su Mi hadn’t taken two steps when she accidentally bumped into someone.

She quickly stepped back a bit and said: “Sorry about that.”

But the person she bumped into didn’t speak. Suddenly, they directly pressed down on her shoulder.

Before Su Mi could react or push away, something that felt like a hard mesh mask lifted her chin in the pitch darkness.

Then, a breath carrying the sweet scent of orange juice descended.

Their lips met.

The cloyingly sweet orange aroma swirled around her nose. The person seemed to have no intention of prying open her teeth. Their flexible, soft tongue tip merely licked gently over Su Mi’s lips before taking the lip between theirs and sucking lightly. Even so, the sweet orange juice flavor seeped into Su Mi’s mouth.

The kiss was polite and light, but Su Mi still took a moment to react. She struggled backward a bit and opened her mouth: “…You!”

Yet she still couldn’t dodge. Those orange-flavored lips clung like a maggot to the bone and came again. This time, they kissed her stiff, half-open mouth. Seeming to hesitate, the tongue extended—the tip even paused when it touched Su Mi’s hard teeth before trying to push further in…

Goosebumps erupted. Su Mi recoiled violently, taking a big step back and breaking free from the grip on her shoulder. She was about to activate her light brain to catch the person when she accidentally stepped on the kissing couple behind her.

The girl’s startled cry and the boy’s irritated curse rang out. By the time Su Mi turned back, the venue’s lights suddenly blazed on.

Under the dazzling, psychedelic pink-and-blue lights, Su Mi could only see that at her previous spot, there was no one in front of her.