The Child Who Lied

"..."

Nan Xingyu's body was taut as a fully drawn bow, every inch of her skin crying out with desire.

She wanted to pounce on him and bite, to scratch him hard.

Xi Jin moved again. "Speak. Do you want it?"

"..."

That tingling sensation was just beginning to rise when it was snuffed out again, leaving only a hollow itch that crept up her spine.

It tormented her until she was nearly mad.

It was killing her!!!

"I want it..."

The broken, trembling words finally squeezed through her teeth, thick with a nasal whine.

"Are you still going to leave me?"

"I won't leave... sob, sob..."

Xi Jin tilted his head, an eerie chill in his eyes. "Say you love me."

"Sob, sob..."

"Be good, Xiaoyu."

Xi Jin sounded as though he were coaxing something, his voice low and husky. "Say you love me."

"Brother, I love you, sob, sob..."

She knew he liked her calling him that.

Just as she knew she had long since suffered a crushing defeat in this tug-of-war.

She desperately wanted release.

Xi Jin's eyes darkened, the pad of his finger rubbing over that wet heat.

"Good girl."

"Baby Xiaoyu."

"Brother loves you too."

He watched her gradually melt in his arms, the clarity in her eyes swallowed up entirely by a watery haze.

Nan Xingyu felt as though every bone had been pulled from her body.

She was as limp as a puddle of water.

Xi Jin bent down and scooped her up in his arms.

The expensive carpet soaked up all the shame.

Outside the window, neon lights flashed tirelessly.

They lit up the triumphant smile at the corner of his lips.

In the bathroom.

Xi Jin rinsed her body for her.

Nan Xingyu could still feel a lingering ache and weakness between her thighs.

Her eyes were vacant as she lay against the side of the bathtub in resignation, like a kitten left to its owner's handling.

A white towel, folded into a neat square, sat on her head.

Her freshly sated body was still burning, but she felt hollow inside.

She couldn't even muster the strength to resist.

After the bath, he lifted her out of the water, and she sat on the sink counter with her head hanging down.

Xi Jin rubbed the bath towel wrapped around her against her head.

He liked bathing her.

As though he were carefully tending to something he cherished.

He would help with her skincare, apply body lotion, and rub hair oil into her hair after blow-drying it.

At first, Nan Xingyu had enjoyed it.

Because she was lazy.

But later, she felt like a marionette. Though she enjoyed his care, she was also subjected to his control.

She had to report to him wherever she went, and she couldn't speak to other men, or he would get very angry.

Once he got angry, he would bully her until she cried.

Even if she wanted to change her body wash, she had to get his permission first.

He had an almost neurotic fixation on scents.

For instance, he wouldn't let her use floral body wash, only fruit-scented ones.

And he always said he liked the scent inside her body.

Like the white peaches at the Manor in summer.

Sweet, sticky, and belonging to him alone.

Nan Xingyu called him a pervert.

She couldn't stand kissing him.

It wasn't that she thought he was dirty. He was a clean freak and didn't smell bad.

She just thought the act was lewd.

But he said it was an expression of love.

"—that mouth's had its fill, so this one can't go hungry either."

Xi Jin set her dinner in front of her, rested one hand on the back of her chair, and bent down to kiss her forehead.

Nan Xingyu couldn't stand him acting like this.

She really wanted to record it and let everyone else hear.

To strip away that utterly deceptive facade and show them how evil he was inside.

When faced with good food, Nan Xingyu wouldn't make her stomach suffer.

She picked up her knife and fork and began wolfing it down.

She couldn't be blamed for having no backbone.

That dog of a man really did know how to take care of both her mouths.

Hmm?

Pah, pah, pah!!!

Xi Jin noticed her indignant little gesture. His hand, its knuckles pale and cool-looking, reached over and pinched the back of her neck.

"Xiaoyu, are you bad-mouthing me?"

"..."

Nan Xingyu was still eating the dinner he had made her. If she didn't placate him, he really would dump it in the trash.

She had learned that lesson before.

"I wasn't."

"Little liar."

Xi Jin held the back of her neck, his grip neither too tight nor too loose. "We haven't seen each other for a month. Did you miss me?"

Nan Xingyu felt the warmth of his palm and nodded stiffly.

Xi Jin watched her bob her head like a chick pecking at rice, and a scoff escaped his throat.

"Lying to me again."

"..."

Fuck.

Then why did he ask?!

She could only wish he would stumble into a romance in Iceland.

And then let her go.

Of course, Nan Xingyu didn't dare say that outright. She played dead, bowed her head, and noisily wolfed down her food.

She was terrified he would suddenly lash out and snatch the steak from her mouth.

Once before, he had gone out of town for a week of intensive training and asked her the same question when he returned.

She had casually replied, "I missed your cooking."

Without another word, that dog of a man had dumped the four freshly made dishes and soup right in front of her.

Was there a difference between missing his cooking and missing him...?

She felt his grip on the back of her neck tighten, and her body moved toward him beyond her control.

The next second, his soft, warm kiss landed on her cheek.

"I missed you so much."

With that, Xi Jin got up and went to the kitchen to cut some fruit.

"..."

Nan Xingyu slowly breathed a sigh of relief.

She secretly raised her eyes and saw him standing at the kitchen counter, selecting fruit.

He seemed a little thinner.

Actually, when he wasn't acting crazy, he was still very pleasing to the eye.

Like now.

He wore a clean white shirt, its collar slightly open, his eyes lowered as he concentrated on cutting fruit.

He was handsome enough to have stepped out of a comic.

She had known Xi Jin since she was seven.

At the time, her mother worked as a gardener at his family's Manor, while her father ran an auto repair shop back home and had no time to look after her, so she was sent to live with her mother at the Manor.

Her mother said she couldn't wander around the Manor as she pleased.

Although Mr. Xi had made an exception and allowed her to bring her child to live there, they had to behave themselves when someone had done them a favor, and couldn't cause trouble for their hosts.

But no matter how obedient children were, they were bound to forget what they had been told.

One day.

It was early summer.

The Manor had been lively all day.

Nan Xingyu was curled up in the servants' quarters, playing a prince-and-princess dress-up game.

That day, she wore a puffy blue dress.

Looking back now, it was a lot like the blue dress from the live-action "Cinderella."

It was a birthday present from her father.

She held up her skirt and spun in circles.

Suddenly, she heard fireworks bursting outside.

She peered out curiously and followed the fireworks across the lawn beneath the night sky.

Before she knew it, she had reached the forbidden area her mother had told her about.

After the fireworks ended.

She was just about to flee back to her little nest.

Bang.

A firecracker exploded at her feet.

She jumped in fright, and before she could react, another strike-anywhere firecracker was thrown at her.

Another explosion rang out.

She was so scared she cried, but she didn't dare make a sound.

Several little boys surrounded her, laughing in a most unpleasant way.

Then came two bangs in quick succession.

One boy cried.

Then another boy cried.

The other boys all turned to look at the person lying on the swing.

Nan Xingyu's eyes were red from crying as she followed their gazes.

Xi Jin was wearing a black sweatsuit then, almost blending into the night.

There was none of a child's innocence in his eyes, only a cold stillness.

He lay on the swing seat with his head resting on his hand and one foot dangling, swaying gently with the swing.

In his right hand was a black toy gun, aimed at the next boy's leg.

"Bang."

Another cry followed.

The boys were terrified and vanished in the blink of an eye.

"Stay away from my territory from now on."

Those were the first words Xi Jin said to her.

Distant and cold.

He got up and jumped off the swing, his gaze passing over her face. He might not even have gotten a clear look at what she looked like.

He turned and walked toward the brightly lit villa.

Nan Xingyu knew she had gotten into trouble. She was afraid he would tell Mr. Xi and worried she would be kicked out.

She didn't know his name either; she had only heard her mother talk about a young master.

So she said ingratiatingly:

"Young master brother, thank you. You looked so cool holding that gun."

Her voice was soft and sweet.

Xi Jin's steps faltered.

He didn't turn around immediately.

Two seconds later, his dark eyes finally turned slowly toward her.