The swimming pool had become the main battlefield for their game of playing house, with several snowballs still floating on the surface, not yet melted. It wasn’t until Litchi softly called out that it was time to eat that the group finally climbed out of the pool.
A large picnic blanket was spread out on the villa’s lawn. Xu Wanyue and Lemon sat side by side with their legs crossed beneath them. Jiang Lingxue settled nearby as well. Lin Cheng thought for a moment before heading over to Grape’s side to help her keep grilling the food.
The light was gentle, and the warm sunlight fell upon the girls’ skin, making it gleam as white and pure as a layer of fresh snow. Lin Cheng stood beside Grape as she focused intently on grilling the barbecue.
“Take a break. I can handle it,” he said.
Lin Cheng handed Grape a skewer of perfectly grilled sausage. She hesitated for a moment before taking it and nibbling at it delicately with small bites. Unintentionally, his gaze drifted to her collarbone.
Come to think of it, he’d never really paid attention to Grape’s figure or her cheeks in the past. Despite meeting her many times, his vague memories only registered her as very pretty—because he’d never dared to look straight into Grape’s eyes. Or perhaps it was because beneath those cold, icy eyes of hers, the feelings she hid just for him burned far too intensely.
But now, it felt like a weight had been lifted. His gaze moved unabashedly from Grape’s face down to her slender calves. He couldn’t help but wonder in his heart: Were her legs a bit longer? Or were Xu Wanyue’s longer? It’d be great if he could measure them with his energy.
The straps on Grape’s one-piece swimsuit were so sexy. Any single frame of her would make perfect wallpaper for a silver-haired beauty. It took Lin Cheng a good while to pull his eyes away. He focused on grilling more food and brought the finished skewers to the girls. Only when he saw Litchi sitting beside Jiang Lingxue did he and Grape squeeze in next to Litchi as well. “Make some room.”
Litchi sat with her legs crossed, her calves slender and pale.
In the Fruit Shop, the age ranking went like this: Lemon, Litchi, Jiang Lingxue, Lin Cheng, Xu Wanyue, and Grape.
They ate their fill of barbecue until their bellies were stuffed. Lemon had slipped away unnoticed at some point. Then Lin Cheng felt a snowball hit the back of his head from behind. He turned to see Lemon standing there with her hands on her hips, laughing heartily. Lin Cheng bolted up, grabbed her, hoisted her into his arms, and hung her from his waist as he gave her bottom a couple of light swats.
After all, at just one meter forty-five, she was too easy to tease.
Surprisingly, Lemon didn’t struggle this time. But after Lin Cheng shifted his gaze to her face, he noticed her cheeks flushing a bit pink. Hmm? Normally, this girl would thrash around fiercely and then bide her time for revenge. Was she actually blushing now?
“I’m eighteen, and you’re still spanking my butt…”
Lin Cheng considered it and realized she had a point. He set her down and ruffled her hair. “Fine, I won’t do it again.”
After the barbecue session, the group returned to their rooms and started playing Texas Hold’em.
It was just for fun—no money on the line—but they seemed to subconsciously overlook Xu Wanyue. She kept winning; her hands were always the best. Gradually, Xu Wanyue bowed out gracefully and went to stand behind Lin Cheng, watching the other five play.
Lin Cheng was losing chips hand over fist. His luck was terrible today. Halfway through, he only had a hundred chips left. Under the table, one of his hands sneaked back and pinched Xu Wanyue’s thigh. Her expression shifted slightly.
When the round ended, Lin Cheng stood up. “I’m going to the bathroom.”
“I need to go too…” Xu Wanyue followed him guiltily toward the restroom. But just as they reached it, Lin Cheng spun around, placed a hand on her shoulder, and pinned her against the wall.
“Lend me some luck.”
“I knew it…” Xu Wanyue’s lips pouted slightly, but she obediently closed her eyes. Her soft pink lips parted just a bit, the tip of her tongue faintly visible.
Lin Cheng followed the advice she’d given him last time: Guys who kiss with their eyes open are scum. So he shut his eyes and kissed her lips earnestly. She was still clumsy about it, her soft little tongue responding in awkward little motions. But it was so slick and slippery, and this girl produced way too much saliva when they kissed. Eerily erotic.
Xu Wanyue’s legs went a little weak.
“Shame on you! Shame!” Lemon’s voice rang out suddenly. By the time Lin Cheng opened his eyes to look, she was already scampering off with a mischievous grin, as if she’d uncovered some monumental secret. She dashed back to the round table in the living room. “They’re making out! With tongue!”
…Lin Cheng always thought Lemon was a more insufferable bratty kid than he was.
He really hated that Xu Wanyue’s hip-hugging skirt reached all the way to her ankles today. Otherwise, he could’ve groped her thighs while pinning her to the wall for that kiss. That was one perk of her height. Xu Wanyue hurriedly pushed him away in a panic, her cheeks burning red. “Th-that’s enough, right?”
Lin Cheng winked at her. Xu Wanyue fled into the bathroom. Lin Cheng sauntered back to the table, all smug. “Deal ’em up.”
Litchi’s leg kicked him under the table, but her face remained impassive as she continued dealing. Sure enough, his luck turned around in a flash. Soon, his pile of chips was a little mountain again.
Cheating felt good once. Cheating always? Cheating forever.
When Xu Wanyue returned, her eyes darted guiltily. She stood silently behind Lin Cheng, her heart pounding. The game wrapped up soon after, and Lin Cheng emerged as the final winner!
Victory!
“Another round?”
“Nah.” Litchi crossed her arms and popped a lollipop into her mouth. Lemon sidled up to her, and Litchi pulled out another one for her. After Texas Hold’em came badminton. The villa had a dedicated indoor court with the AC cranked up high. Litchi refused to let Lin Cheng join, saying his ability would let him cheat. He and Grape sat on a bench off to the side, watching the girls bounce and leap around on the court.
The Alliance always assumed the Fruit Shop existed to seize power in A City. But that wasn’t the true purpose at all. The Fruit Shop had been created simply to give people like them—a bunch of homeless folks—a place to call home.
Everyone in the Fruit Shop had lost their families. It was like an orphanage for overgrown kids. As for all those businesses, Litchi had just wanted something to keep herself busy, so Lin Cheng had let her run with it. Life needed little goals to strive for; otherwise, it was pointless.
The Fruit Shop had never done anything outrageous. They’d always followed the Alliance’s rules and completed plenty of outsourced missions for them. And yet, that night, a sniper bullet had still struck the back of his head, blowing his skull to bits.
Lin Cheng glanced back at Grape without thinking. She wore a high-slit halter dress that looked like it had stepped straight out of a manga—complete with silver hair cascading over her shoulders, the picture of a perfect beauty.
“That dress looks great on you.”
“Mm. Litchi had it custom-made for me.”
The slit in the skirt’s side revealed her snowy, silky-smooth legs, with a texture like milk. Suddenly, Lin Cheng reached out and poked her leg. Grape startled, looking at him in confusion.
“Are you ticklish?” Lin Cheng offered a lame excuse for his tofu-groping.
“A little.” Grape murmured softly. So Lin Cheng poked her again. Her leg quivered lightly. He leaned in a bit closer, inhaling the faint fragrance on her. “Did you spray perfume?”
Grape shook her head.
“Weird… I never noticed you smelled so nice before.”
“Because… you never got this close to me in the past,” Grape replied softly.
Lin Cheng was at a loss for words. He racked his brain, trying to remember, but she was right. He’d always avoided getting near Grape back then, unsure how to handle her enthusiasm.
They fell into a brief silence. Then he heard Grape ask softly, “Why did you sneak off to kiss Xu Wanyue earlier?”
Her voice was its usual cool tone, somehow putting a bit of pressure on him. Lin Cheng broke out in a cold sweat for no reason and tried to explain seriously. “Her luck transfers through kissing. Pretty amazing, right?”
“Sounds… like an excuse.”
“She can’t transfer luck through sheer force of will. But in the objective reality of a kiss, it’s proof of love. That acts as the medium, drawing from her inner power. Once her luck hits S-Rank, she can even bestow it on unrelated people for a short time. Something like that.”
Lin Cheng explained it logically. Grape nodded lightly.
They lapsed into another short silence. Grape never said much; she always had that cool assassin vibe and only spoke when necessary. Even back then, their conversations had been one question from him, one answer from her.
But this time, she suddenly asked softly, “What does kissing… feel like?”
“You could ask Litchi to try it with you.” Lin Cheng said it, then his mouth twitched. If Grape seriously asked Litchi for a kiss to find out, and Litchi figured out why, she’d chase him down faster than a jealous yuri fan after too many doujinshi.
“Then why… not you?” Grape turned her face toward him, her eyes staring unblinkingly.
Her eyes were pure to an extreme degree. Being watched like that made Lin Cheng inexplicably uneasy. He thought it over seriously, then reached out and pinched her cheek. “Next time.”
“Then… we’ll wait for next time.” Grape tilted her face up slightly, a faint smile touching the corners of her mouth.
A few seconds later, Grape said softly, “Because… in the novel Litchi recommended to me last time, it said a first kiss… is really important.”
Lin Cheng suddenly recalled the evening of their first meeting. In a dim alley, the girl who had tried to slit his throat with a dagger. After knocking her out, he’d carried her home. Back then, Si Ming had never killed anyone. Faced with the girl lying on his bed, he hadn’t known what to do. Peering at her snow-white, delicate face beneath the mask, he’d even harbored the wicked thought of sneaking a kiss while she slept.
He’d been too young back then, his head full of sinful, erotic ideas. Instead, he’d pried open her lips with his fingers and removed the poison she’d hidden in her mouth. When she woke up… he’d tied her up first.
Thinking back, it was still a pretty fun memory.
