Lan Jinghe tilted her head slightly, an alluring smile curling at the corners of her lips. Her voice was low and husky, brushing across his eardrums like feathers. "My partner, aren't you the one trying to get something for nothing now?"
"If you don't put down a deposit, why should I tell you all these closely guarded secrets?"
Her fingertips were cool, carrying the chill of the deep sea. Yet when they touched his skin, they inexplicably burned.
Their gazes met, and the temperature in the air seemed to rise a few degrees.
An ambiguous atmosphere, like the tide rolling in, silently surged forward and completely enveloped them both.
Zhong Shenxiu came back to himself. Not only was he not embarrassed, he even let out a soft laugh.
Rather than retreating, he leaned closer, shortening the distance between them even further. The youth's scent carried the crisp freshness of a recent bath, mixed with the rich heaviness of ambergris. It rushed over her, disrupting Lan Jinghe's breathing for half a beat.
"A deposit?"
Zhong Shenxiu raised a brow, his voice carrying a hint of teasing. "What sort of deposit does Lady Demon Empress want?"
"Do you want my body, or my life?"
As he spoke, one hand slowly rose and loosely encircled her waist. Through the thin fabric, his palm could clearly feel the slender curve of her waist and the faint warmth beneath her skin.
He seemed not to be exerting any force, but he had firmly sealed off her route of retreat.
Lan Jinghe's eyes darkened slightly, and she was secretly surprised.
She had thought that by taking the initiative and drawing close, she could use the pressure of a level-one-hundred true god to gain the upper hand and curb this youth's sharp edge. Yet she had not