Don't Mistake Xiang Qian for a Good Person

Early in the morning, a red fireball leaped up from below the horizon, scattering light and heat across the awakening Hu City.

Behind the veil of thin morning mist, the fiery red glow had yet to reveal its full power; sunlight filtered through the glass, spilling onto the massive circular waterbed in the center of the room. Two bodies lay intertwined beneath a thin quilt, and soon, the petite, curvaceous figure among them began to stir.

Her eyelashes fluttered gently as Vector struggled to open her eyes. Sunlight poured in through the floor-to-ceiling windows that replaced an entire wall, bathing the room in brilliant light.

Dazed and groggy, she felt the solid, thick chest of a burly man within reach. Vector pulled her hand back as if electrocuted; she sat up abruptly, scrambling to pull the sliding velvet quilt up, but her smooth, toned back remained completely exposed to the air.

As Vector struggled to clear her muddled brain, she searched for memories of the previous day, and various fragmented images began to piece themselves together.

She remembered that after being scolded on the plane, the matter of her impulsive attack on Xiang Qian's computer had finally been downplayed and was no longer being pursued.

After the plane landed, she had first returned to the bureau to submit her report, then received orders to take three days off and remain on standby—a standard procedure after returning from field duty.

Then, how had she ended up in this man's bed?

She recalled that when she left the bureau, she had run into Xiang Qian just as he was coming out of the director's office, and he had invited her to the Five Elements Laboratory to experience the country's latest supercomputer. She had been genuinely interested and agreed.

Then, while in the car, they had somehow struck up a conversation and chatted more and more happily. Later, she had tested the supercomputer at the lab, and she remembered being very excited at the time.

And after that?

Damn it, she couldn't remember exactly what this man had said; she only remembered that her interest in the supercomputer had inexplicably shifted to an interest in the entire Five Elements Laboratory, and then to an interest in Xiang Qian's daily life. Finally, she had been led by some strange impulse to Xiang Qian's apartment on the top floor of the lab.

Subsequent memories became fragmented. In the scattered images, there were glimpses of the entryway, the living room carpet, the bathroom, and of course, the waterbed in the bedroom; all of them filled with an atmosphere of indulgence and wildness.

As her memory slowly returned, Vector let out a whimper and buried her flushed face in her hands. Her well-proportioned back curved into a beautiful arc.

A warm breath sprayed against her back, traveling from her shoulder blade upward, lingering at the nape of her neck. Vector didn't dare move, keeping her face buried tightly in her hands.

The prey's passive, submissive response only emboldened the hunter; when Xiang Qian's hands began to move as well, Vector jumped up like a startled fawn.

Facing the man's face, which was inches away and closing in, Vector felt flustered and helpless. In her panic, she spotted her phone flashing with a notification light on the nightstand and grabbed it like a lifeline.

"Eek!" she cried out, dodging the man's advances while opening her phone, only to gasp at what she saw.

"Sky Team says she's finished negotiating the extradition procedures for Temugin and is coming back immediately," Vector exclaimed in shock. "Oh no, this message is twelve hours old; I didn't see it."

Thinking about what she had been doing when the message arrived twelve hours ago, Vector's face burned bright red, but it was quickly replaced by a look of panic. "Oh my, twelve hours—Sky Team might have already arrived. I have to get back immediately."

Summoning her courage, Vector threw off the quilt and, heedless of her exposure, scrambled to put on her clothes.

Xiang Qian felt deeply disappointed and stopped reluctantly, his eyes still seizing the chance to feast on the beautiful sight. Vector was naturally gifted, and as a member of the Special Task Force, she had undergone long-term training; her figure was toned and slender, possessing a healthy, vibrant beauty that was exceptionally alluring.

"Where's my T-shirt?" Vector asked, blushing as she only found her undergarments.

Xiang Qian tried to recall, saying with a grin, "I remember tossing it onto the sofa outside."

Vector stomped her foot in frustration, her curves swaying, and hurried to pull open the bedroom door, only to let out a sharp cry that startled Xiang Qian. Looking over, he saw Vector standing frozen in the doorway, stiff as a board, as if someone had grabbed her by the throat, unable to make a sound.

Xiang Qian felt a jolt of alarm. He shifted his neck slightly, his gaze passing by the curve of Vector's slender waist to see a corner of the sofa in the living room.

Weather Witch Xiang Tian was sitting there with a blank expression, her cold eyes fixed on Vector at the door.

Xiang Qian gasped and scrambled out of bed to get dressed, but he encountered the same problem Vector had—his outer clothes were piled on the carpet outside the bedroom.

He hastily grabbed a bathrobe and threw it on in a panic. Outside, Vector had already put on her clothes with flushed cheeks and was standing trembling beside the female captain of the Special Task Force, posture rigid as if she were being punished.

"Sis..." Xiang Qian greeted awkwardly.

Xiang Tian remained expressionless, casting a sharp glance at Vector. "You go down to the car and wait. We're heading back to the bureau in a moment."

Vector looked up at Xiang Qian, wanting to say something but hesitating, and finally walked out without a word under Xiang Tian's piercing gaze.

Once Vector left, a deathly silence filled the living room.

Xiang Tian stood up and walked toward Xiang Qian, closing the distance step by step. Xiang Qian was terrified; before he could beg for mercy, Xiang Tian reached out, and a familiar, sharp pain shot through his ear. A massive force yanked his ear, pulling him along stumbling until his head was slammed onto the coffee table in front of the sofa with a "bang."

After being siblings for over twenty years, she knew exactly how much punishment Xiang Qian could take; any less force and she wouldn't have been able to pin his head down.

Xiang Qian slapped the coffee table wildly with both hands. "Sis, Sis, easy, my ear's coming off, it's coming off..."

"Even a rabbit doesn't eat the grass by its own burrow—how dare you lay a hand on my people!" Xiang Tian's fingers tightened, and her other hand twisted Xiang Qian's wrist backward.

"Ow!" Xiang Qian slapped the coffee table repeatedly with his free hand, signaling his surrender.

"From now on, if you dare to mess with the girls in the bureau again, I'll kill you!" Xiang Tian gritted out the words. "Did you hear me clearly?"

"I... I heard you!"

With a "bang," Xiang Tian slammed the door and left.

Xiang Qian climbed up, wincing and rubbing his nearly numb ear, feeling as if his arm had been dislocated. Looking at the messy coffee table and the door frame shattered by the impact, Xiang Qian collapsed onto the sofa with a groan.

It seemed his sister was truly angry this time.

On the other side, Xiang Tian drove back to the Spear Bureau herself.

In the passenger seat, Vector kept her head down, nervously stealing glances at the captain from the corner of her eye, too terrified by her cold expression to make a sound.

After an unknown amount of time, Xiang Tian suddenly spoke. "Vector, I need you to promise me one thing."

"W-what?" Vector was so startled by the sudden voice that she nearly jumped.

"I want you to promise me that if Xiang Qian doesn't call you again in the future, you will forget him."

"Huh?"

Xiang Tian turned her head to glance at Vector, seeing the look of confusion and displeasure on her face, and felt quite helpless.

"I know my younger brother; to put it nicely, he is a typical playboy, and to put it bluntly, he is a scumbag," Xiang Tian rebuked indignantly.

"In front of a woman, he will be tender and affectionate, making you lose your head; but the moment you leave his bed and disappear from his sight, he will cast you to the back of his mind. Perhaps long after, if you happen to meet again one day, he will be tender and affectionate once more, making you feel as if he is still the perfect lover."

Vector did not want to believe it, asking aggrievedly, "Is, is he really that kind of person?"

Xiang Tian glared at Vector with a look of exasperated disappointment until Vector lowered her head in guilt, then warned her with ironclad certainty, "Never think of Xiang Qian as a good person, and certainly never think of him as a good man."

"Then, then what if he calls me?" Vector still seemed unwilling to give up.

Hearing this, Xiang Tian was almost angered into laughing out loud. She let out a bitter "hmph" at Vector's lack of resolve, took one hand off the steering wheel, and pointed at the street outside: "Can you count how many advertisements for female celebrities are on this commercial street?"

Vector looked outside. This was one of the busiest commercial streets in Hu City, where the skyscrapers were covered in all sorts of giant advertisements; handsome men and beautiful women vied for attention.

"How could I possibly count those?"

Xiang Tian said coldly, "Then let me tell you, among those female celebrities on the ads, as long as they are young and unmarried, nine out of ten are waiting for Xiang Qian's call."

Vector found it hard to believe, yet she dared not argue further, lowering her head in grievance.

The car fell into silence until an internal communication from the Spear Bureau Director's office rescued the atmosphere.

"Director, this is Xiang Tian."

"Where are you now, and is there anyone with you?" A calm yet firm voice came through the communicator.

Upon hearing this question, Xiang Tian immediately tensed up; she knew that the following conversation would inevitably involve classified information.

"I am here, along with Vector."

"Come to my office immediately upon your return; from this moment on, switch all your communication devices to the secure channel."