Lin Cheng suddenly felt a little unaccustomed to his recent life.
Xu Wanyue would show up at his place every day at ten-thirty, cooking whatever dish he had mentioned wanting the night before. In the afternoons, he would sit at his computer desk playing games while she lounged on his bed, fumbling her way toward unlocking her energy nodes. When she got tired, she would lie back and scroll through short videos. She always wore skirts that revealed her long, slender legs, and every time Lin Cheng glanced back, his eyes would land on the smooth, even lines of her pale thighs. When the evening glow began to burn outside the window, she would climb off the bed, rub her cheeks, and head to the kitchen to tie on an apron and make dinner.
In the past, Lin Cheng had usually only gone out—selling flowers, singing songs, chatting with random girls—when the loneliness of gaming at home alone had driven him to the brink of madness. But because of Xu Wanyue… it didn’t feel quite so lonely anymore.
She had been pretty idle at the Alliance lately anyway. Her ability was mainly used to assist in crafting alchemical items with a probabilistic chance of success.
Alchemy wasn’t a technology humans had developed on their own. It was a secret art derived from the knowledge gleaned from the corpses of dead Abyss Lords and the awakened ability memories of certain special ability users.
When the Catastrophes had descended in the past, those fallen Abyss Lords had left behind plenty of alchemical materials. Lin Cheng had no idea just how advanced the Fruit Shop’s alchemy technology was, nor did he care. After all, they had the world’s strongest Alchemist there.
Of course, it wasn’t him… it was Lemon.
But he’d gone and pissed her off just a little while ago, and he had no clue if she would still make that toy for him…
“Forty-seven,” Xu Wanyue said suddenly.
Lin Cheng had just wrapped up his gaming session for the day. It had been twelve days since he had taught her how to unlock her energy nodes, and he kept wondering if he’d gained weight over that time. Xu Wanyue, on the other hand, had been diligent—even doing sit-ups on his bed some afternoons, with him holding her legs down. Though he always suspected it might be part of some honeypot scheme on her part.
No, this silly woman probably didn’t have the cunning for that.
What left Lin Cheng especially exasperated was that every night lately, Xu Wanyue had been sending him photos of two pairs of socks to pick from—over-the-knee socks, ankle socks, mid-calf socks, pantyhose, lace patterns, polka dots, sheer, glossy, in every color imaginable… Lin Cheng really wanted to explain that he wasn’t a pervert, but then he thought better of it.
Fine, let her think he was a pervert. What was wrong with a guy being a little pervy?
Today’s pick had been lace-trimmed black short socks. They weren’t visible while she had her shoes on, but right now she had kicked them off and was lying on his bed. Whenever Lin Cheng glanced over, those socks struck him as oddly sexy.
“Looks good. Just three left.”
“But why can’t I unlock the one at the base of my spine…?”
“Oh, that one takes a while.”
“Can we speedrun it?”
“Turn over. Get on your stomach.”
Xu Wanyue shot him a slightly odd look but obediently flipped over and sprawled on the bed.
She was wearing a red strap-back tank top and a black pleated skirt today. As she lay there, the hem just covered her full, snowy buttocks, while her thighs gleamed smooth and warm below it. There was a leather garter on her right leg—a look that always reminded Lin Cheng of a certain four-member idol group’s brainiac.
Lin Cheng sat on the edge of the bed and, with a touch of mischief, said, “Puckered up a bit.”
Xu Wanyue twisted her head back, her dark eyes fixed on him. “Can’t I just lie like this?”
“Nope.” Lin Cheng looked utterly serious.
With a sigh, Xu Wanyue slowly raised her hips, dipping her waist slightly to form a subtle curve between her plump rear and slender midsection. Probably because the pose felt so embarrassing, a faint blush colored her cheeks. When Lin Cheng’s fingertip touched the base of her spine, Xu Wanyue let out a hum and widened her eyes.
“Don’t move. Hold still.”
“It tingles,” she said, her voice quivering faintly.
“It’ll be over soon.”
Xu Wanyue bit her lip and fell silent, her body trembling ever so slightly, the hem of her skirt swaying gently.
Unlocking an energy node brought a tingling sensation—nothing painful. Lin Cheng began counting down silently. “10, 9, 8…”
With each number, her body gave a little shiver. When he finally finished, he withdrew his finger, and Xu Wanyue collapsed like a wind-up doll that had run out of steam. Even so, her body twitched faintly every few seconds.
“Hey, hey, hey! You’re drooling all over my pillow!!!”
Lin Cheng noticed it right away. Xu Wanyue sat up slowly, her cheeks flushed crimson. “I’ll just toss it in the washer for you.”
She pulled off the pillowcase and headed to the balcony. It was afternoon, with lazy white clouds drifting outside. When Xu Wanyue returned, she stood right in front of him. She had spent more than ten days on the nodes she had unlocked herself, but under his hands, each one took mere seconds… Suddenly, it occurred to her that if slacking off was an option, maybe slacking off wasn’t so bad.
“How about… you unlock the last two for me too?”
“Weren’t you always grumbling about not wanting me to take advantage of you?”
“I misunderstood you.” Xu Wanyue looked utterly earnest as she reached out and patted his shoulder. “I believe you’re just curious about a mature big sister’s body, but deep down, you’re a good, upright kid.”
“Where exactly are you ‘mature’?” Lin Cheng eyed her darkly. “Where are the last two?”
“On either side of my waist.”
Lin Cheng jabbed his fingers quickly at the spots on her waist. Xu Wanyue’s body lurched forward a bit, but moments later, she felt every energy node in her body suddenly connect seamlessly. She shuddered all over, her limbs going limp as she toppled forward—right into the steady arms of Lin Cheng, who was sitting in his chair.
She felt so soft in his arms.
“Why… does my body… feel so weak…?”
“Because your brain’s flooded with pleasure hormones.”
“Like this… ah…” Xu Wanyue panted in big gulps, a light sheen of sweat on her forehead. Lin Cheng held her gently like that; her hair smelled wonderful, that familiar faint sweet scent. Only after a good while did she slowly stand on her own. “I need to take a shower…”
“Hm?”
“It’s sticky…” Xu Wanyue trailed off after one word, then hurried into the bathroom. She stayed in there for ages. Eventually, Lin Cheng heard a knock at the door—it was the takeout Xu Wanyue had ordered, a delicate little box. He peeked inside: lingerie.
“I… I washed my underwear… Can I hang it to dry here…? Y-you’re not allowed to do anything weird with it, okay?”
Lin Cheng suddenly had a strong urge to pin her down and give her a good spanking.
Xu Wanyue was about to say something else when her phone rang. It was Litchi, asking her to head over to Rose Street to help Lemon with something. She glanced at Lin Cheng. “Litchi needs me… I’ll come back later and cook dinner for you.”
“Sure, go ahead.”
Xu Wanyue took a few steps, then glanced back at him, a hint of wariness in her eyes. Lin Cheng stared at her stone-faced, convinced her mind was wandering to something filthy.
Xu Wanyue drove to Rose Street.
Seeing Litchi always made her feel inexplicably guilty. Over the past ten-plus days, she had learned a fair bit about the Fruit Shop from Lin Cheng’s stories, but he hadn’t said much about Litchi’s position there.
Litchi was dressed in a white dress shirt and suit pants today, her hair clipped back with a barrette, gold-rimmed glasses perched on her nose. Her slightly childish face made the outfit look a touch out of place. She had a slim build—not short, exactly, but unmistakably girlish.
Xu Wanyue followed Litchi upstairs. In the elevator, she whispered, “Is Grape Sis… not here?”
“You should be grateful she’s not.” Litchi gave her a meaningful look, then led her into Lemon’s private workshop, where they assisted in crafting a new alchemical item.
The process was straightforward. Xu Wanyue just had to stand by, praying that Lemon succeeded without her ability backfiring. This time, the support went smoothly. Afterward, she and Litchi left Lemon’s room, only for Litchi to pull her into a private meeting room.
“You don’t have any Alliance missions lately, right?”
“None.”
“We happen to have a job for you.” Litchi crossed her legs, a fruit-flavored lollipop dangling from her lips. Xu Wanyue nodded slightly, and Litchi handed her a file.
“Someone from West City has been drugging women in our nightclubs lately, abducting and imprisoning them. He’s broken our rules. Tonight, go to this location, demand the girl back in the name of the Fruit Shop—and while you’re at it, take him out.”
“I can’t… kill someone.” Xu Wanyue’s body tensed up.
“He’s just B-Rank. Didn’t he only just teach you how to use your energy? Every ability user has to get some real-world practice eventually.” Litchi casually set a revolver on the table. “Six bullets—should be plenty. With your luck, hitting him won’t be hard.”
Litchi then pulled out an aluminum alloy case and placed it on the table. “That B-Rank is some West City gang’s little young master. To keep you safe, have Lin Cheng go with you.”
“But doesn’t he… not have powers anymore?”
Litchi gave her another meaningful glance. “Then go by yourself.”
“C-can I… refuse?” Xu Wanyue hesitated, mumbling softly.
She wasn’t with the combat team to begin with. She had joined the Alliance for the money and a way to wake her sister… Right now, she finally understood what Lin Cheng had meant: the world of ability users was nothing like the ordinary one.
“You can. But the reward is half a vial of Evolution Blood. Your call—one minute.”
Xu Wanyue returned to Lin Cheng’s place. Litchi had given her a bonus: a little ring with spatial storage capabilities. Though she had been A-Rank before, she hadn’t had enough Alliance contribution points to qualify for one—until now.
She approached Lin Cheng, her voice a bit tense. “Litchi said… to have you come with me to the West City Villa District tonight. We need to rescue a girl who was drugged and abducted from one of our nightclubs. And also…”
“Sure, okay.” Lin Cheng agreed offhandedly. Xu Wanyue set the aluminum case on the table. “She told me to pass this to you.”
Lin Cheng opened the case, and his eyes lit up.
Xu Wanyue had been curious about what was inside before, but the moment she saw it, her mouth twitched.
It was a Kamen Rider Faiz toy belt.
