Heavenly Mandate Operation

Xia Qiange walked back to the villa slowly with her head bowed.

She was pondering her relationship with Lin Ao; before she had regained her memories, it was Lin Ao's looks that had attracted her—a case of falling for someone at first sight.

After regaining her memories, she realized he was vastly different from the Lin Ao of the past, and she felt as if she had been sent by the heavens to save this pitiable man.

Ever since they had poured their hearts out to each other on the beach, she discovered that Lin Ao had actually possessed memories of those timelines all along, struggling alone against the Fate of Zi. In that instant, she felt his loneliness, breakdown, and helplessness even more deeply.

That kiss had been initiated by her—was it because she felt he was pathetic? Even today's arrangements were intentional on her part. What was her goal? What was it?

Xia Qiange slammed her head with her hand.

"Xia Qiange! What is your goal? In this world, only men are allowed to covet women, but can't a woman covet a man? So what if you just liked his looks? It's the 21st century; what's wrong with wanting to date? That other person is just a fiancée, not a wife, so why are you being such a nag! Honestly!"

Xia Qiange hit herself with a barrage of self-justifying theories until she was dazed, and it all seemed to make perfect sense.

Just then, footsteps sounded from behind, and before Xia Qiange could turn around, she was embraced by the figure behind her.

Xia Qiange closed her eyes, savoring the familiar scent.

"What's wrong? Did you break up with your fiancée? So you came to find me? Lin Ao~ you're being a bit too unfaithful, aren't you~ I'm not even anyone to you yet~ Hmph!"

Xia Qiange didn't resist; instead, she said this with a sour tone. It wasn't exactly jealousy, but she felt uncomfortable if she didn't let it out.

"Qiange."

Lin Ao slowly turned Xia Qiange around, looking down at this woman who could topple kingdoms.

Xia Qiange looked up at Lin Ao; her heart raced. She wanted to possess the man before her.

Without waiting for Lin Ao to say anything, Xia Qiange took the initiative and offered a sweet kiss.

They kissed passionately on the beach, gasping for air again and again.

Xia Qiange's eyes were misty with desire, and her body could no longer stand steady. She leaned against Lin Ao, stroking his face with her hand. The sound of the crashing waves could not drown out her words.

"Carry me to... your room."

Hidden away in the Qin Family mansion, sleeping soundly, Xiao Fan felt the aura of the Heavenly Mandate within his body dissipating, a process that continued until the middle of the night.

At dawn, the morning sun rose over the beach.

Xia Qiange stared in a daze at the sleeping Lin Ao.

"Pfft~"

Thinking of the slightly clumsy Lin Ao from last night, she couldn't help but laugh.

It was a good thing Xia Qiange had seen plenty of miscellaneous things thanks to her little assistant, otherwise, she would have been just as flustered as Lin Ao.

Lin Ao's eyelashes fluttered, and he slowly opened his eyes, only to close them again immediately.

His heart rate jumped straight to 160 beats per minute.

"Qiange... please... put your clothes on."

He had almost been blinded by the sight before him first thing in the morning.

Lin Ao's mind was racing wildly; he never imagined he would be so bold last night. It felt like a dream.

If he hadn't seen Xia Qiange lying next to him the moment he woke up, he would have truly thought he had been holding back for too long and had such a dream.

Xia Qiange laughed again as she watched the flustered Lin Ao.

"What? Are you shy even after that? Then what about this?"

Xia Qiange gave a mischievous smile and pulled the covers off both of them.

"Ah--!"

Lin Ao seemed startled and let out an involuntary shout, then quickly covered his mouth.

Xia Qiange was amused by his reaction and burst into laughter. Lin Ao watched the naked Xia Qiange shaking with laughter; under the morning light, she looked incredibly holy—truly a combination of an angel and a devil. Lin Ao couldn't help but swallow hard.

After laughing for a while, Xia Qiange noticed Lin Ao had gone quiet. She opened her eyes to see that Lin Ao had become very spirited, and a flush of red suddenly stained her cheeks.

"I was just teasing you, don't you dare do anything reckless, I'm still sore."

Xia Qiange realized she had gone a bit too far, so she quickly grabbed the clothes on the floor and, with a bashful gait, fled toward the shower room.

Lin Ao looked speechlessly at that smooth, alluring back; she was the one who started it, and she was the one running away.

Afterward, Lin Ao recalled last night with a sense of disbelief. At first, he had been a bit clumsy, but such things were an innate skill; once you got the hang of it, you learned without a teacher, and later on, things had become completely wild.

"I'm really not dreaming, am I?"

Listening to the sounds coming from the shower room, Lin Ao still felt the need to pinch his thigh to see if it hurt, just to be sure.

Confirmed: Lin Ao had officially left the ranks of the wizards, and he had done so with the help of the nation's goddess.

Once the realization hit, all that remained was an endless, lingering aftertaste.

It seemed impossible to suppress.

After a while, Xia Qiange walked out wearing a bathrobe, drying her wet hair.

"You should go take a shower too. You were sweating all over last night; if I hadn't been truly unable to move, I would have dragged you into the shower already."

"Mm-hmm."

Lin Ao dazedly picked up the thin quilt to cover his body and walked toward the shower room.

"Pfft."

Xia Qiange couldn't help but laugh again, then she stared blankly at the plum blossom stains on the bedsheet. After pausing to make sure there was no movement outside, she snuck out, found a pair of scissors, and cut that section of the fabric out.

"You got a bargain! You stinky Lin Ao!"

She changed her clothes and quietly slipped back into her own room.

When Lin Ao came out of the shower and found Xia Qiange gone, he rushed to open the door to look for her.

He happened to bump into her just as she came out dressed.

"What's wrong? You're so flustered, did you think I'd eat and run after cleaning you out?"

Xia Qiange watched the panicked Lin Ao and chuckled to herself; it seemed last night's pain hadn't been in vain.

"No, I was just hungry and wanted to come out to grab some breakfast."

Lin Ao scratched his head in embarrassment.

"Um, Qiange, about last night..."

Lin Ao wanted to talk to Xia Qiange about what happened last night; since it had happened, he had to take responsibility.

Before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by Xia Qiange.

"Why! It's the 21st century, don't go pulling that feudal superstition stuff. We're both adults, don't say things like 'I will take responsibility for my actions.' I don't need you to say anything about responsibility!"

Xia Qiange knew what Lin Ao wanted to say. She admitted there had been an element of impulse last night, but she didn't regret it.

"But..."

Lin Ao still wanted to finish his thought.

"There are no 'buts.' I don't need you to be responsible for a lifetime. Let's just date, that's enough. We can talk about the future when we get there."

Seeing that Lin Ao wanted to say something else, Xia Qiange quickly cut him off again.

"Don't be such a nag. As a woman, even I'm not as sentimental as you. Just focus on how to deal with Xiao Fan and the others. If you don't want me to live like a widow, just try your best to stay alive. Otherwise, I'm going to go find someone else!"

After hearing this, Lin Ao stopped dwelling on last night. Xia Qiange was right; he needed to think about how to handle Xiao Fan and the others.

He definitely couldn't let the woman who loved him live like a widow. Since things had reached this point, he would just quietly take responsibility for her—or perhaps, for them.

"Qiange... then... will you stay and keep me company for a few days?"

Lin Ao looked at Xia Qiange with anticipation; he had developed a taste for it.

Xia Qiange rolled her eyes at Lin Ao.

She took her phone out of her pocket.

"Hello, Director~ You guys go ahead, I won't be leaving with you. Mm-hmm, right, I've arranged for a friend to pick me up."

After hanging up the phone, Xia Qiange crooked her finger at Lin Ao, signaling him to come closer.

"Once I've rested for a day and feel better, just wait and see how I deal with you!"

Lin Ao: "!"