Chapter 89

Chapter 89: A Night of Indulgence

Xiao Man released Lin Qing Xuan. Blood smeared her lips.

The dream was too real—so real she could taste iron and feel the sting where she’d bitten him.

But with Devil qi chewing at her thoughts, she couldn’t cling to sense. Resentment and longing coiled together, feeding each other until only a bright, reckless obsession remained.

She lifted her eyes to Lin Qing Xuan’s face—too beautiful, too calm—and wicked heat flared inside her.

“You made all the pretty boys Sister picked out disappear,” she said, savoring the word. “So tell me—how are you paying that debt?”

She leaned in, voice turning deliberately shameless. “Remember this. From now on, I’m Sister. You’re Brother.”

The space around them was blank, misted over by Buddhist power, as if the world had been washed clean and left unfinished.

Xiao Man frowned, displeased. “Good Brother, make that sofa from earlier appear for Sister. Standing to talk is exhausting.”

A trace of helplessness flickered in Lin Qing Xuan’s eyes. With a thought, the curved booth from the bar formed in the dark—soft, wide, inviting.

Xiao Man’s smile returned. She patted his shoulder, then tugged him down to sit with her, bold as wine. Her fingers traced his brows and eyes, lingering as if she owned the right.

“Lin Qing Xuan,” she murmured, “where did you learn to talk like that? How many girls have you said those sweet lines to?”

Then she gave a small, sly laugh. “No… you probably only ever said them to me. You don’t even spare other girls a glance.”

“And yet you tease me every day—quietly, shamelessly.” Her fingertip slid along his cheek, her tone turning honeyed and sharp. “Sometimes you tease so hard that even Sister’s heart starts to stir.”

She leaned closer, voice low. “You call yourself an enlightened Buddhist Scion? You’re a fox spirit in a robe.”

Her hands moved to his white sleep robe, tugging at the ties, intent on undoing him.

The knots were complex, refusing her impatient fingers. The more she pulled, the more stubborn they became.

Frustration snapped. She slapped her own hands away. “Sister orders you—take it off yourself.”

Heat rushed to Lin Qing Xuan’s ears, flushing them red. He caught her wrist before she could reach again, his voice rough.

“You really want me to?”

“If I do, you won’t be able to leave even if you change your mind.”

“Who said I’m leaving?” Xiao Man’s smile sharpened. “You owe me a muscle man. I’ll take you as payment.”

Lin Qing Xuan’s breath hitched.

Her fingers hooked under his sash, grazing the firm heat of his waist. Her eyes were bright with stubborn flame, like she meant to burn him down.

“What?” she taunted. “Buddhist Scion, official—are you scared?”

Something in Lin Qing Xuan finally gave.

He seized her wrist, grip tight enough to make her inhale sharply. She refused to cry out, biting her lip, eyes still challenging.

Then the world tilted.

He pushed her back onto the wide sofa, his body following, shadow and heat swallowing her whole. His breath brushed her ear, hot and controlled.

“Xiao Man,” he said, voice low as thunder, “look carefully. Who is pinning you down right now?”

Her heart pounded so hard it hurt, but she refused to yield.

She dragged her fingers over his open collar, deliberately touching the hard plane of muscle beneath.

“Oh?” she said with a cruel little smile. “Your abs are harder than theirs.”

She tipped her chin up. “Lin Qing Xuan, I’m not your Xiao Man. I’m Jiang Yi Yi. In here, I decide what happens.”

“Mm. Jiang Yi Yi.” Lin Qing Xuan’s reply was quiet, the end of it curling into danger. “Remember—tonight, you started it.”

He lowered his head and captured her mouth.

“Mmph…!”

The kiss was fierce and punishing, sharp enough to make her gasp, the taste of blood blooming between them like a warning and a promise.

Xiao Man clutched at his shoulder, body trembling, but his hand held the back of her head, insisting—letting her hide nowhere, dodge nothing.

When he finally pulled away, both of them were breathing unevenly.

Lin Qing Xuan’s thumb brushed her lips, his eyes dark with a storm he barely held.

“Still want that muscle man?” he asked, voice strained.

Xiao Man’s chest rose and fell. She met his gaze and, at the last second, let a sly smile curve her mouth.

She grabbed his collar and pulled him close, lips near his ear, breath warm and shaking.

“I want you.”

The dream stretched long and blurred after that, heat and hunger folding into the dark until time lost its shape.

Morning came.

Xiao Man woke with her waist aching, limbs heavy, and the last scattered flashes of the dream burning behind her eyes.

“I… I dreamed…”

“Dreamed what?”

A cool voice answered from above, unhurried.

She snapped her head up.

Lin Qing Xuan leaned against the doorframe, still in white, still calm, still untouched—

If not for the unmistakable red mark at the side of his neck, too vivid to hide.

Xiao Man’s mind went blank.

Then her face went up in flames.

“I carried you back,” Lin Qing Xuan said. His tone was flat, almost careless. “Do you remember?”

He didn’t dodge what had happened.

Shame and fury collided in Xiao Man’s chest.

At that moment, heart demon Tuan Tuan—rested enough to regain a bit of strength—leapt onto the bed, tail flicking.

“Oh?” it crowed, baring tiny teeth. “You two are impressive. Lighting fires behind my back, huh?”

It huffed, clearly offended. “If I hadn’t been out of it last night, I would’ve barged into your dream to add some atmosphere—watch a little, learn a little…”

“Shut up!”

The roar came from Lin Qing Xuan and Xiao Man at the exact same time.

Lin Qing Xuan’s brows drew tight.

Xiao Man wished the floor would open and swallow her whole.