“It’s getting late. I should get going. I probably won’t have time tomorrow, but I’ll come back the day after.”
After finishing his phone call and stepping out of the bathroom, Ling Chen glanced at his phone screen. 10:30 PM.
An Xin kept her hands in her pockets, her fingers unconsciously tightening around the medicine bottle. ‘Can’t come tomorrow… As expected, he’s going to see another woman.’
She suddenly smiled softly, her voice as sweet as cotton candy. “Leaving so soon? Why not try some of the chocolate I just bought? I remember you really like it.”
Ling Chen looked at An Xin with some surprise. Even though the two had grown closer, she rarely showed this much enthusiasm.
Thinking it wouldn’t hurt to have a piece, he picked up a dark chocolate bar from the table and took a bite.
“Wow, that’s sweet.” Ling Chen hadn’t expected the dark chocolate to be so cloyingly sweet. He quickly grabbed the glass of water on the table and gulped it down.
Seeing that Ling Chen had not only eaten the chocolate but also drunk the water, An Xin’s lips curled into a satisfied smile.
To be safe, An Xin had laced both the chocolate and the water with a strong sleeping pill.
After drinking the water, Ling Chen began to feel something was off. His whole body went limp, his mind felt like it had crashed, and he couldn’t muster any energy—just a heavy drowsiness.
“I… I… my head is so dizzy. Have I been too tired lately?”
Seeing this, An Xin took the initiative to support Ling Chen, speaking gently. “You must be exhausted. Why don’t you just sleep over at my place tonight?”
“No, I…” Before Ling Chen could finish, he collapsed into a deep sleep.
“Now, you’ll be mine forever… A Chen.” An Xin showed a smile like Yuno Gasai’s, staring at the boy sleeping in her bed.
“Tonight, I’m going to leave so many marks on A Chen that no other thieving cat can ever steal him away.”
“Oh, I need to take good pictures.” Having already shed her clothes, An Xin wrapped herself around Ling Chen like an octopus, hugging him tightly.
She opened her phone camera and took a picture of the two of them embracing naked.
An Xin immediately set that photo as her phone wallpaper. A powerful wave of happiness kept crashing over her heart.
The satisfaction that threatened to overflow from her chest almost made An Xin faint.
‘So happy… It turns out possessing someone completely is this joyful. I’ll never, ever let A Chen leave me.’
…
“So sleepy. Why is my head so heavy?” Ling Chen groggily crawled out of bed, still half-asleep, habitually fumbling for his phone.
“Good morning. Would you like some breakfast?” The sound of An Xin’s voice instantly jolted Ling Chen awake.
It was then he realized he was only wearing his boxers, lying in An Xin’s bedroom.
And An Xin was wearing the apron Ling Chen often used, seemingly having just finished cooking breakfast, carrying a steaming plate.
“Ah, sorry, I… I…” The thought of lying half-naked on someone else’s bed sent a wave of embarrassment through his entire body. Ling Chen awkwardly grabbed the blanket covering him. After all, in his mind, he was still a ‘boy.’
“It’s okay. You must have worn yourself out running around with that game project. Today, let me take care of you.” An Xin sat on the edge of the bed, placing the plate on her lap. She scooped up a spoonful of congee and gently blew on it.
Whether it was his imagination, Ling Chen felt that An Xin seemed more mature today, and she wasn’t as reserved or shy around him as before.
“I guess so. I hope I didn’t cause you any trouble,” Ling Chen said, thinking that he had indeed been too busy—running system tasks while also focusing on the game project.
After all, he still felt drained, as if a lich had drained his life essence.
“Thanks to you, you gave me a really good night’s sleep. Super comfortable~” An Xin smiled gently, tilting her chin toward the messy sofa bed.
An Xin’s home had a sofa bed. Originally empty, it now had a blanket and pillow on it.
“Sorry…”
“Eh, don’t overthink it.” An Xin brought the cooled congee to his lips. “Come on, open up.”
But just then, his phone rang with a ding-dong alarm, reminding him it was now 9:30.
Ling Chen suddenly remembered his appointment with the yakuza boss’s daughter, Lin Wanfeng. He still had to go home to get clothes. By the time he rushed over, he was definitely going to be late.
He could already imagine being interrogated by Miss Lin for being late, and finally trembling as he confessed that he had spent the night at another woman’s house, causing the delay.
Miss Lin would smile and say in a sinister tone, “So it’s those useless spiritual roots causing trouble. I’ll just remove them for you.”
With a wave of her hand, two bodyguards in black would pin him down…
“No way! That can’t happen!” Ling Chen quickly grabbed his clothes and phone from the bedside table, putting on his clothes while heading for the door.
“Sorry, An Xin. I appreciate the kindness, but I just remembered I have something urgent. I have to go now. You can eat breakfast yourself.”
Ling Chen glanced at An Xin, who was wearing her pajamas with her hair loose. Something felt indescribably strange.
‘An Xin now doesn’t seem like the timid, shy little rabbit I first met. More like a cat toying with her prey.’
But thinking about the ferocious yakuza boss’s daughter from the college legend, Ling Chen had no time to dwell on it. He just wished he had an extra pair of legs, running so slowly.
“Okay. Bye~” Watching Ling Chen disappear, An Xin stretched lazily and began tidying up the messy sheets.
Looking at the photos on her phone, An Xin couldn’t help but show a dazed smile.
‘A Chen, with these photos, you’ll never be able to escape me.’
…
While Ling Chen was rushing to his destination as fast as he could, at the villa, Chu Xiaoxiao had just woken up.
As soon as she opened her eyes, Chu Xiaoxiao grabbed her phone and checked her chat messages with some anticipation.
But the person who used to ‘bother’ her every day hadn’t sent a single message today. Chu Xiaoxiao’s heart immediately sank.
“Fifteen hours have passed, and he hasn’t sent me a single message! This Ling Chen!”
She tossed her phone aside irritably, refusing to get out of bed.
‘He’s so annoying, why should I even care about him… Always acting so self-important, sending all sorts of nonsense. Who wants to see that.’
The thought that she was actually getting upset because someone who had been pursuing her suddenly went cold made her feel both embarrassed and angry.
“Hmph, just a pathetic dog, trying to play hard to get with me? He’s read too many novels. Who cares about him.”
To prove she didn’t care at all, Chu Xiaoxiao rolled out of bed and called for her maid to help her change.
‘I’m not going to get worked up just because some annoying guy didn’t send a message.’
Annoyed, Chu Xiaoxiao changed with the help of the maid, but she couldn’t even eat breakfast. She decided to go out and clear her head.
Normally at this time, Ling Chen would send Chu Xiaoxiao all kinds of funny pictures or videos, strike up conversations, and keep her company—while Chu Xiaoxiao would mercilessly mock him.
But today, or more precisely, since she rejected him yesterday, he hadn’t sent a single message. After three months of this routine, Chu Xiaoxiao felt especially uncomfortable.
The maid, Su Qingwan, also noticed Chu Xiaoxiao’s unhappiness. Thinking about how she had terminated Ling Chen’s employment contract yesterday, she suddenly had a bad feeling.
‘Could it be that our young lady is actually interested in that guy Ling Chen?’
After all, this was the first time in over a decade that her young lady had skipped breakfast just to go to a café to clear her mind.