It was late at night, 11:58 p.m.
“Let’s break up.”
Xu Wanyue leaned against Lin Cheng’s chest and lifted her head to whisper softly.
Lin Cheng looked down into her eyes. “Why bother saying it out loud like this?”
“It’s for the ceremony of it,” Xu Wanyue replied softly.
“Fine, sure. We’re broken up,” Lin Cheng whispered back. Suddenly, he felt an emptiness in his heart. He remembered what Jiang Lingxue had said—that she would keep clinging to him afterward. Yeah right. With two minutes to go, she was already itching to call it quits.
“You’re exactly the type who never tries to talk a girl out of breaking up with you,” Xu Wanyue said with a sneaky giggle. She gently pinched his cheek, then wriggled out of his arms and sat on the edge of the bed. Lin Cheng lay there watching her. “What’s up?”
“I’m going back to my room to sleep,” Xu Wanyue replied innocently.
“You’re so cruel.”
“We’re broken up now… We can’t sleep together anymore.”
She really did get off the bed. Her fair little feet slipped into her slippers, and her eyes gazed at him tenderly. “Go to sleep. Good night.”
“I’m gonna cry.”
“No, you can’t.” Xu Wanyue’s eyes were gentle but serious. “No taking it back.”
“Then hurry up and go.”
Lin Cheng pulled the blanket over his face. A good while later, he heard the light click off and the door close. When he finally pulled the blanket away, the room was pitch black. He was alone.
What a cruel woman.
She left just like that, without even the slightest hesitation.
Lin Cheng stared up at the dark ceiling, that emptiness settling deeper in his chest. It felt like something had vanished in an instant, like everything before had been an illusion—no, a dream. And now that he was awake, nothing remained but the darkness.
It wasn’t a big deal, though. He’d spent the past year alone anyway.
Lin Cheng rolled over.
Five minutes later, he rolled over again.
Ten minutes later, another roll.
He tossed and turned for ages but couldn’t fall asleep. The silence in the room made his bones ache. He sat up and rubbed his head, swearing to himself that he’d clear his mind this time. In ten minutes, he’d be out cold. Tomorrow, he’d give Xu Wanyue the Evolution Blood, cut ties cleanly, and never clown around or embarrass himself in front of her again. She was the one who’d cruelly tossed him aside.
But was all this exactly what Xu Wanyue had planned? Lin Cheng paused… Maybe he’d been played, treated like Little Dog and toyed with effortlessly. And yet, there was nothing he could do to change it.
The room door suddenly opened. Lin Cheng startled and looked toward the doorway.
Jiang Lingxue, dressed in a black spaghetti-strap nightgown, flicked on the light and leaned against the doorframe, eyeing him with amusement.
“What are you doing here?” A flicker of disappointment showed in Lin Cheng’s eyes.
“What? Disappointed it’s not Xu Wanyue coming back?”
“Yeah, super disappointed… Why did it have to be you?”
“To laugh at you, obviously. Time’s up, and she dumps you. Seven days together, and you couldn’t even make her like you. Pretty hilarious, huh?”
“It’s normal not to be loved. What’s so funny about that?” Lin Cheng gazed wistfully at Jiang Lingxue standing there. The nightgown clung to her figure, her porcelain collarbone still dotted with water droplets, as if she’d just showered.
“Wanna do it,” Lin Cheng said suddenly.
Jiang Lingxue blinked, tilting her head. “I refuse.”
“I knew it.” Lin Cheng yanked the blanket over his head. “Get out, get out. Turn off the light.”
“Beg me, and maybe.”
“Not begging. Get out.”
“It’s rare to see you this pathetic. I’ll stick around a bit.”
“You’re trying to piss me off.”
“So?” Jiang Lingxue chuckled lightly as she casually shut the door behind her. In the next instant, Lin Cheng had scrambled up from the bed. He yanked her onto it, grabbed her leg, and hoisted it over her shoulder. Her skirt hem fell away, revealing a glimpse of pinkish-white skin that dazzled the eye.
A little farther, and it would be like rose petals blooming.
“You jerk,” Jiang Lingxue said, her tone not angry but laced with cool mockery. Lin Cheng pounced atop her and looked into her eyes. “Kiss.”
“No kiss. Get off.”
“Gonna kiss anyway.” Lin Cheng captured her lips. In the next moment, she gripped his neck, pulling him in. She was the one who kissed him breathless first. Then she flipped them over, straddling him, her hand pressing down on his chest, leaving him no room to struggle.
“Turn off the light?” Jiang Lingxue asked.
“No. I wanna see you.”
“Then no show for you.” Jiang Lingxue raised her hand. A pulse of energy snuffed out the light, plunging the room into darkness.
They knew each other’s bodies inside and out. Familiar memories flooded back into Lin Cheng’s mind, filling the void bit by bit, making everything feel right again.
“You’re biting me again!” Lin Cheng complained softly, but Jiang Lingxue’s teeth stayed clamped on his shoulder.
Lin Cheng heard the room door creak open—just a crack. A head peeked in from outside. He froze, making out Xu Wanyue’s face in the dark.
Xu Wanyue saw Lin Cheng’s face—and Jiang Lingxue astride him. Jiang Lingxue had her back turned and didn’t notice the slightly ajar door.
She hurriedly shut it again and pulled her head back. Lin Cheng opened his mouth to speak, but Jiang Lingxue collapsed onto him just then, gasping for breath.
“You’re getting weaker,” Lin Cheng muttered. Jiang Lingxue bit him again.
Three a.m.
Jiang Lingxue curled up in Lin Cheng’s arms, fast asleep. She always slept curled into a ball.
Lin Cheng held his phone in one hand and sent Xu Wanyue a peeking cat sticker.
She replied with a nodding cat.
“What’d you come for?”
“Mm… I was wondering if you’d have trouble sleeping… so I came to check… but you had company, so big sis went to bed. Good night.”
“Then why didn’t you just sleep earlier?”
“Waiting for your message. Sent it, now sleeping.”
“Then why worry I’d be sleepless and still leave?”
“Not telling.”
Lin Cheng blanked for several seconds. “Did you… go back to your room for some naughty alone time, then come check on me after?”
“No!”
“Quiet secret: Every room has cameras. I’ll check tomorrow and find out.”
“Don’t you dare!”
“So, did you or not?”
“It’s all your fault, your fault, your fault… I’d been good and off naughty stuff for so long.”
“So you planned to get frisky quick and come back to keep me company, right?”
“No way. We’re broken up, hmph. You don’t need me anyway. I barely left, and you had someone else.”
“Oh… mopey.”
“Mopey mopey, no more mopey. Go to sleep.”
“Oh, no cameras. I lied.”
Xu Wanyue sent him a fist-bumping cat sticker.
Lin Cheng’s mind was a mess, unsure what to reply. A while later, he saw her good night message.
Lin Cheng replied good night.
He glanced down at Jiang Lingxue in his arms. Asleep, she shed all her aloofness and pride, looking like a docile little kitten. Lin Cheng leaned down and planted a soft kiss on her forehead.
But that woke the lightly sleeping Jiang Lingxue. She looked up slowly. “Why sneak a kiss?”
“Wanted to, so I did. Mind your own business.”
“No sneaking.”
“Doing it anyway. Bet that ticks you off.”
Jiang Lingxue wriggled free and straddled him again, even as her eyes drooped heavy. She mumbled, “You just need…”
“Sleep.” Lin Cheng pulled her back into his arms and held her tight.
Who knew what tomorrow would bring? But… for now, just crash and get some real rest.
The next morning.
Lin Cheng woke to find Jiang Lingxue still asleep, but she stirred the moment he moved. Her sleep was always light. She sat up too, stretching lazily. The sunlight streaming through the window highlighted every curve of her figure.
“Hm? Wait, those aren’t the right size?”
“You think I wouldn’t develop from nineteen to twenty-one?” Jiang Lingxue rolled her eyes at him, only to be pulled into his arms the next second. “Feel it, feel it.”
“How’d you turn into such a perv?”
“No idea.”
Jiang Lingxue arched her waist a bit. “If you’re gonna tease, you better deliver.”
“Didn’t you cry from the pain last night?”
“Half a year without it, of course it’d hurt… All your fault…” Jiang Lingxue replied wistfully.
The team building was over. Lin Cheng had to head back. But by the time he stepped out of the room, it was already ten in the morning. Jiang Lingxue was fully dressed, her tastes especially twisted now with what was inside her…
“Later,” Jiang Lingxue said coolly, glancing at him.
“Oh, see you around.”
“See you around.” Jiang Lingxue replied coolly. Litchi, Lemon, and Grape had already returned to the company. She’d driven herself. Lin Cheng turned to Xu Wanyue nearby and said softly, “Let’s go. Time to see your sister.”
Xu Wanyue drove, with Lin Cheng in the passenger seat. White clouds drifted by outside, the sunlight warm.
“You two make up?” Xu Wanyue asked suddenly, focused on the road.
“Nah… Heh heh, just mutual convenience. Not that close.”
“Oh.” Xu Wanyue nodded. “You’re so tsundere. She is too.”
“You’re the tsundere one.”
“Fine, fine, I’m the tsundere.” Xu Wanyue’s voice was always so gentle. Lin Cheng looked at the clouds ahead and asked suddenly, “If she hadn’t come last night… would you have slept in with me?”
“Just sleeping, nothing else.”
“And after? Can I still have big sis cuddle time later?”
“No way. You can ask her, right?”
“She’s super busy with work.”
“I won’t be a stand-in.” Xu Wanyue’s tone stayed gentle, but it pushed Lin Cheng firmly away all the same.
“You’ve never been a stand-in. I’ve never seen you that way. Xu Wanyue is Xu Wanyue.” Lin Cheng’s voice was earnest.
“Oh…” Xu Wanyue nodded. “If you’re really, really lonely… I can cuddle for a bit. But no naughty stuff.”
“You’re the best, sis.”
“But… no more saying you like me from now on,” Xu Wanyue said softly.
“Why take away even the right to say I like you?”
“Because…” Xu Wanyue fell silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled. “Not telling. Guess for yourself.”
…Because your affection is like a little flame that could flicker out with a single gust of wind. By then, what would I do, having grown used to its warmth?
