At four in the morning, Tsukiyuki Rio reluctantly released Gao Sijin from her embrace.
These past days had nearly suffocated her. Countless times she had wanted to step forward, take his hand, and call him “Gao-kun,” but right now they were still “strangers,” unable to be as intimate as before.
All this restraint was for the sake of starting over, to become true lovers with Gao-kun.
“Haah~~” Yu Qingxue yawned and walked languidly into Gao Sijin’s otaku den. “Young Miss, you’ve been at it for so long again. Leave cleaning the sacred water off Master’s body to Morgana and me.”
“That won’t be necessary.” Tsukiyuki Rio pulled her black hair back and tied it into a ponytail. “As his wife, the preparatory work should of course be done by me personally. It’s only proper for me to wipe down Gao-kun’s body.”
“You, personally?”
“Don’t worry. I wouldn’t dream of being disgusted by the ‘love’ juice left behind after Gao-kun and I spent last night locked in passionate battle.”
Taking the towel from Yu Qingxue, Tsukiyuki Rio gently wiped away the sticky fluid coating Gao Sijin’s body. Her dark crimson eyes curved slightly, thoroughly enraptured.
Though Tsukiyuki Rio would have preferred to grow strange together with him while he was awake, spending a night of cloud and rain with an unconscious Gao Sijin wasn’t a bad experience either. At least while unconscious, Gao-kun wouldn’t say things like begging for mercy to spoil her mood—he would simply accept the overwhelming torrent of her thick, dense love.
Her slender, jade-like fingers gently touched Gao Sijin’s warm body as though caressing a favorite toy.
Kneeling beside the bed, she whispered softly to him:
“Gao-kun, time will no longer be an obstacle to our tender embraces and whispered endearments. We’ve been parted countless times, but this time, at least, you will belong to me forever. Come to think of it, you often like to use the word ‘forever’ in your writing. Surely there must be such a thing as eternal happiness in reality, too.”
In ten years, maybe even sooner, an immortality elixir would be successfully developed by the scientists under the Tsukiyuki Family.
When that happened, they would no longer be shackled by biological limitations.
The two of them would continue to live on, forever maintaining youthful appearances. In some respects, eternal life was a curse, but with the Memory Implantation Device they possessed, they could erase all the tediously long and bitter memories, always preserving a state of youthful vitality.
The key called happiness was already in their hands; there was absolutely no way they would face an unfortunate ending again.
“I’ve basically finished wiping his body. Take Gao-kun to the bathtub and wash him thoroughly, one more time.”
“Yes, Young Lady Tsukiyuki.”
Yu Qingxue and Morgana skillfully took hold of Gao Sijin’s arms, completely unbothered that he didn’t have a stitch on him.
Even though she had just been satisfied, inside the bathroom, watching Gao Sijin toyed with in the palm of her hand, that craving coiled around Tsukiyuki Rio’s fair, creamy body like tentacles once more.
She wanted him so badly.
Like flowing water, sliding from her teeth and tongue all the way down to the depths of the secluded valley, it made her want to throw herself onto Gao Sijin’s body again.
Sometimes, Tsukiyuki Rio wanted to wake Gao Sijin up—to watch him open his eyes and discover himself pinned underneath a strange girl, unable to move, his face a picture of bewildered, comical panic.
But for the sake of the sweetest romance, she dismissed the thought.
The most delicious food was still yet to come. If she lost her reason, everything would be ruined.
“Speaking of which, Qingxue, you looked quite happy while wiping down Master’s body.”
Tsukiyuki Rio suddenly remarked.
“Of course I’m happy. Isn’t serving Master a maid’s duty?”
Yu Qingxue meticulously wiped Gao Sijin’s body, but a faint, unusual ripple lurked between her brows and eyes—and Tsukiyuki Rio caught that glance with pinpoint accuracy.
Perhaps there would be a battle between them one day.
But given Yu Qingxue’s shrewdness, she wouldn’t betray her in the short term; otherwise, she knew exactly what fate awaited her.
“Seeing as Qingxue works so diligently, it wouldn’t be out of the question to lend Gao-kun to you for a night to play with.”
“Young Lady Tsukiyuki, please don’t tease me. Even if you truly meant to let me play with Master, I wouldn’t dare.”
“It’s mainly that Qingxue doesn’t know how to play, isn’t it?” Tsukiyuki Rio smiled, composed and derisive. “Qingxue is still an innocent, pure maiden who hasn’t even lost her first kiss. If you ask me, Qingxue really should find some other man and fall in love sooner. The experience love gives you is truly indescribable in words.”
Yu Qingxue stole a furtive glance at the unconscious Gao Sijin and said nothing further.
The truth was, Tsukiyuki Rio was not merciful. Even without evidence, she would kill out of suspicion.
The reason Tsukiyuki Rio hadn’t made a move against Yu Qingxue was, in Yu Qingxue’s view, due to their friendship spanning six long years. Besides, while the position of Head Maid seemed easygoing, there was currently no one truly suited to the role.
Would there come a day when she’d become Tsukiyuki Rio’s enemy for Gao Sijin’s sake?
On the surface, Yu Qingxue appeared crazy, but her heart was a mirror of clarity. She didn’t want to commit suicide—yet she often fantasized about locking Gao Sijin in a pitch-black basement, admiring and playing with him all for herself, day and night without end…
The atmosphere in the bathroom grew subtly heavy before they knew it. Gao Sijin had been completely washed clean. After drying his body, they carried him back to his room, tucked him in, and made it all seem as though nothing had happened.
Tsukiyuki Rio changed into a dress and sat on the sofa, showing no sign of leaving just yet.
“Young Miss, is there anything else you require?”
Compared to earlier in the bathroom, even though Tsukiyuki Rio still had a smile in her eyes, there was now a chilly, imposing authority that inspired awe without anger.
Whenever she was like this, it was the prelude to someone’s death—but Yu Qingxue knew that person probably wasn’t herself. It had to be someone else.
“Qingxue, I just remembered something. Yesterday, when you and Morgana were taking Gao-kun for a walk near Senso-ji Temple, did a blonde woman pass by Gao-kun’s side?”
“Young Lady Tsukiyuki, I was just about to report that to you.”
So it really was about that…
The reason Tsukiyuki Rio had abducted Gao Sijin from Bincheng was because a blonde woman had sent a video. In the video, she and Gao Sijin were in a hotel room, completely exposed before each other’s eyes. Afterward, that woman had even taken Gao Sijin’s indescribable thing into her mouth—committing a capital crime that even being hacked to pieces could not quell the hatred in Tsukiyuki Rio’s heart.
At the time, the blonde woman’s face had been pixelated with a mosaic filter, making it impossible to recover her features.
But yesterday afternoon, while strolling around Senso-ji, a blonde girl had brushed past them. That girl stared fixedly at Gao Sijin, wanting to speak but holding back.
Her build was also incredibly identical to the blonde woman in the video.
