Swallow You in One Bite

Nan Xingyu lowered her head. "I can't just think about myself and ignore my parents' feelings. They wouldn't be able to take it."

"All you care about is what they think,"

he said, unwilling to accept it. "What about what I think?"

If he hadn't been mindful of the fact that her mother still worked at the Xi Family Manor,

he would have made their relationship public long ago.

After a long while,

she finally said in a low voice, "I can't worry about that."

Xi Jin asked, "Nan Xingyu, do you love me?"

"..."

Every time she said she loved him, he had forced it out of her.

She didn't even know the answer herself.

If she didn't love him, why did she compromise again and again, willingly entangling herself with him?

If she did love him, why did she always want to run away, to end this game with no future in sight?

She avoided his gaze.

Instead, she stared at the water, her fingertips unconsciously tracing ripples across its surface. They spread out and gathered again, like her tangled thoughts.

"I don't know."

"..."

Xi Jin stared at her profile for a few seconds.

He released her wrist and rose, bracing himself against the edge of the bathtub.

Droplets slid down his taut muscles.

He picked up a bath towel and wrapped it loosely around his lower body, his black eyes still fixed firmly on her.

There was unwillingness to accept it, and obsession.

And a smoldering anger her "I don't know" had worn into him.

"Nan Xingyu,"

he said calmly, "whether you love me or not, you're mine."

That night,

Nan Xingyu dreamed of her first time with Xi Jin.

He had returned from abroad after winning a shooting championship.

The driveway of the Xi Family Manor had been packed with luxury cars.

In the reception hall,

the clink of glasses, congratulations, and laughter mingled together.

It was a lively scene.

As usual, Nan Xingyu hid around the bend in the staircase.

Her "safe corner."

From there, she could see everything in the hall without being noticed.

Her gaze fell on Xi Jin, not far away.

He wore a simple white shirt, the top two buttons undone to reveal a hint of his collarbone.

Black casual trousers set off his long, straight legs.

He held a wineglass in one hand, the other tucked casually into his trouser pocket, as he spoke with several elders.

Everyone praised him as heaven's favored son.

Yet there wasn't a trace of pride on his face. He simply nodded slightly and responded with gentle politeness.

He was completely different from the Xi Jin Nan Xingyu usually saw.

Nan Xingyu usually saw.

He knew she was afraid of bugs, so he deliberately caught cicadas to frighten her and watched her curl up in fear.

He knew she had no sense of direction, so he mischievously pointed her the wrong way and watched her turn in anxious circles.

When she got stuck memorizing vocabulary, he lost his temper and threw her book down, demanding if she'd donated her brain to the country since she wasn't using it.

But at that moment,

he was composed and modest,

like a shining light far beyond her reach.

She couldn't help wondering

whether the Xi Jin who played tricks on her was an illusion hers alone.

Xi Jin seemed to notice something.

He lowered his eyes slightly and took a sip of red wine.

But Nan Xingyu clearly saw his gaze drift over the crowd and land on the corner where she was hiding.

Startled, Nan Xingyu pulled her head back.

It had always been this way since they were children.

Whenever she hid in the shadows and secretly watched him, he would find her every time, without fail.

Frightened, she hid.

Before long,

he came around behind her, poked her shoulder, and said, "Caught you."

It was like a game of "Wild Dog Catches Butterflies" that only the two of them knew.

The dinner party ended late.

The guests left one after another.

The manor grew quiet.

Nan Xingyu had just finished bathing and was about to return to her room when someone suddenly grabbed her wrist, a familiar force pulling her toward the end of the corridor.

As before, he took her to his bedroom.

She remembered the day before he had gone abroad, when they were in the glass greenhouse.

He had said, "Xiaoyu, if I win the championship, I want to make love to you when I come back."

As she recalled, the first time he had said something so risqué to her was on a weekend afternoon in early autumn the previous year, also at their secret hideout.

Few people ever came to the glass greenhouse.

But someone did occasionally.

The two of them were hiding in the narrow space behind a flower rack.

Nervous at the thought of being discovered, Nan Xingyu pressed herself against him without realizing it.

After the person left,

she realized how close she was to him.

His deep voice came from above her head. "I'm hard."

Nan Xingyu took half a step back and looked up at him blankly. "What do you mean?"

A smile gleamed in Xi Jin's dark eyes. "What do you think?"

She ran away, her face red.

And that day, in the glass greenhouse again, he had said it even more plainly: "I want to make love to you."

She had thought he was trying to scare her.

But now,

she wasn't so sure.

With a click,

he locked the bedroom door behind him.

Nan Xingyu's palms broke into a nervous sweat. Pretending to be calm, she walked to the bookshelf and pulled out The Little Prince.

She knew it was his favorite book.

She pretended that, as before, she had only come to his room to tell him a story.

"Today... today, should I start from the beginning, or tell you about the fox..."

Before she could finish,

a warm breath suddenly enveloped her from behind.

Xi Jin reached around her from both sides and gently embraced her waist.

Nan Xingyu tensed instinctively.

It was the first time he had held her like this.

"Xiaoyu, caught you."

His warm breath brushed over her ears, already crimson. "Are you ready?"

"..."

Nan Xingyu didn't dare answer or turn around. She could only pretend she hadn't understood.

"L-let's start from the beginning. You said before that you liked the opening..."

The next second, something warm and soft touched the tip of her ear.

A tingling numbness instantly spread through half her body.

Xi Jin brought his face closer, his breath brushing her neck as he sniffed it.

"I like the way you smell, Xiaoyu. Like a freshly ripened white peach, so sweet it makes me want to swallow you in one bite."

"Y-young Master, don't do that..."

Nan Xingyu clutched the book tightly in both hands, her voice trembling uncontrollably.

She had called him "Young Master Brother" since she was little.

There was a touch of awe in the way she addressed him.

But spoken now, it sounded coquettish.

"Call me Brother."

"..."

Nan Xingyu bit her lip, not daring to answer.

"Xiaoyu, from today on, I'm not the young master."

"Then what are you?"

"The man who wants you."

"..."

Nan Xingyu's heart raced as she felt the hand around her waist slip under her clothes, his cool fingertips touching her skin.

Startled, she immediately reached down and caught his wrist. "D-don't..."

"Be good. Let go."

Xi Jin's voice was seductive as he coaxed her softly by her ear.

His fingertips stubbornly tried to venture higher.

Nan Xingyu's eyelashes trembled as she stammered, "Young Master Brother... d-don't do that..."

Xi Jin teased her in a playful voice. "Don't do what?"

"..."

Nan Xingyu swallowed nervously.

His invasive presence was so intense, lingering at the tip of her nose, that even though she was frightened, she couldn't help wanting to draw closer.

"Do you want it?"

he asked again.

His smile grew.

His fingertips gently tickled her side, making her tremble.

Nan Xingyu closed her eyes and shook her head. "N-no, I don't."

Xi Jin's hand paused. "Are you sure?"

Nan Xingyu shook her head vigorously in response, not daring to open her eyes.

Xi Jin turned her around in his arms to face him, his fingers gripping the back of her neck to keep her from escaping.

"Look at me."

"..."

Nan Xingyu's fingertips curled against his chest.

"Be good, Xiaoyu,"

Xi Jin coaxed her. "Open your eyes and look at me."

He lowered his head and kissed her fluttering eyelids.

Nan Xingyu instinctively shrank back.

Only then did she shakily open her eyes.

The wall lamp cast his austere features half in light, half in shadow.

His dark eyes stared straight at her, as if they could see through to the depths of hers.

Xi Jin continued venturing farther inside. "Xiaoyu, do you want me?"

His voice was very, very soft, like a feather floating through the air, tempting away what little reason she had left.

He was heaven's favored son.

A man at the top of the pyramid.

She had never thought of becoming involved with him.

But at this moment, she looked into those eyes of his, always so cold and indifferent, now burning because of her.

She opened her mouth to refuse, but the words caught in her throat.

Suddenly, she felt something.

She frowned and drew her legs back nervously.

A low laugh rumbled in Xi Jin's throat. He leaned close to her ear and whispered:

"Xiaoyu wants it too, doesn't she? You're so... here."

"..."

Nan Xingyu's head went boom.

"We're adults. Don't be shy."

"Open your mouth. I'm going to kiss you."

"..."

Before Nan Xingyu could react, he gripped her chin and pulled it down.

His kiss was possessive, stealing her breath in an instant.

Her eyes widened as she stared into his dark eyes, which reflected her flustered face.

His kiss was gentle at first, then grew fiercer and fiercer, as though he would suck everything from her mouth.

She couldn't breathe and pushed against him.

Xi Jin pulled away, his lips glistening with moisture as he breathed lightly.

Unsated restlessness and desire filled his eyes.

He bent down, slid an arm beneath her knees, and lifted her into his arms.

The feeling of weightlessness made Nan Xingyu instinctively drop the book and wrap her arms around her neck.

Xi Jin laid her on the bed and, before she could sit up, leaned over and pressed down on her.

He tugged at her collar.

Nan Xingyu panicked.

She pushed at him instinctively.

Xi Jin didn't stop because of her resistance.

His gaze grew frighteningly dark, and he used more force.

Before long, he had pulled hers completely out of shape.

Nan Xingyu struggled at first, but he soon caught both her hands, raised them above her head, and pinned them to the pillow.

"Be good. Cooperate."