I was half-awake. I thought. Damn. My head hurt.
Memories rushed through me. Of course, I remembered. The sensation was crowding out my brain in a blur, even I had to bit my lip to stop the tingling effect. Jie Moshu. I. We... Suddenly I realized my mind was replaying the scene all over again. Mouth to mouth. His lips on mine. Pressed together.
Oh, God! Was that a kiss? Well, sort of. A kind of.
It was just there was this tiny voice inside me kept on yelling out loud: "I didn't want a kiss! And on top of that, that was my first. My very first. But that no-brainer opportunist had..."
I gulped, almost felt like crying.
Stay calm, Huayu. Look on the bright side. At least, Jie Moshu's a handsome guy. Don't dwell.
I was impressed by my positivity. Or so, I thought.
The moment my hand touched the sheets made of linen, I knew that I was still in that luxurious mansion. I was lying, not quite daring to open my eyes.
It was unnerving. My heart raced so fast I thought it would beat out of my chest. I clenched my fists, trying to calm myself down. I opened one eye a chink and get an eyeful blueish duvet. Ah yes. The same room I first arrived in this mansion. Reality hit me realizing that I'd passed out. Again.
"Liu Huayu." The sound of Jie Moshu's rumbly voice finally brought me back to reality. He was here. In the room.
I hastily closed my eyes again and rolled onto my back, pretending I was still asleep. Why would he be here? Did he watch me sleeping the whole time? After what he did, it was too embarrassing.
"Wife, I know you're awake. We need to talk."
Shit. Double shit. This is no good. Despite myself, I was getting more and more acquainted with him calling me his wife.
"Um..." I raised myself with an elbow, playing for time, rubbing sleep from my eyes. "How long I've been asleep?"
"Not long. Only for about half an hour."
Some of the tightness in my chest eased. At least, it didn't pass on to five days like last time. At a rate like this, I could be a sleeping beauty in no time. Just need to prick my finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel. And voila! Asleep.
Pulling the duvet around me, I sat up, trying to pull a smile, although my face felt creaky. Jie Moshu had changed into an expensive-looking shirt that emphasized his broader, firmer frame. (For God's sake. Look at him! Maybe I was biased but he was looking all devastatingly gorgeous). He was leaning against the wall, so he could face me. I blinked, trying to reconfirm whether he forced a kiss on me earlier. Did we just share a kiss, or it was all on my head?
"What do you want to talk about?" I asked, playing dumb. A part of me was filled with dread. Maybe Jie Moshu wanted me to take responsibility as he did before. Maybe he'd want to apologize instead. Maybe—
Jie Moshu crossed his arms over his chest, his brows furrowed questioningly, "I was hoping you can tell me, wife."
Oh, good heavens. I was starting to feel genuine panic here. What was I supposed to say? Because he told me to?
He sighed as he eyed my tight face and stiff shoulders. "I'm saying, don't get too acquainted with Si Ming."
"Why?" I found myself asking. My panic mood had vanished. Instead, anger surged through me, and my hand curled around the duvet.
"Trust me, you wouldn't want to go near that man."
A thought occurred to me, which made me snorted. "Are you feeling this possession of yours being snatched? Aren't you being a bit ridiculous right now?"
Jie Moshu knew it anyway, but he ignored my sarcasm. "I can assure you, I'm perfectly serious. Stay away from him."
"Why?" I sniped. "Why should I trust someone who just stole my kiss and drugged me with some sleeping magic?"
It was a low, nasty blow, and Jie Moshu winced before he could stop himself. But he recovered quickly.
"Wife, there are things that you'd better off not knowing."
Jie Moshu pinched his lips together, and a glimpse of hurt flickered in his eyes before he could hide it—hurt and the same deep, aching look when we had first met. Guilt.
The blood was beating hard in my ears. Jie Moshu was keeping things from me, like what Baba did. I didn't understand why. All I knew was, I needed to aim for the truth. No more secrets. Especially, not by him.
"Try me," I snapped in a harsh voice. "I couldn't be more surprised than any of this."
"Initially, he was here to tell me in about the Goddess of Souls," Jie Moshu said. "But seems like there are some changes in his plans."
I narrowed my eyes. Seriously? Jie Moshu meant that I'm the cause for that dandy god to change his mind. Me? I admitted that I wasn't some type of natural beauty, so why would that dandy want me? With that disbelieving thought, I raised my chin and met his stare. "What information did he provide you for?" I asked again, suppressing the tensed edge in my voice. Goddess of Souls, that would explain a lot.
Seemed like he had known my cure was related to that goddess since he basically knew that I was dying actually.
"Her whereabouts." He spoke in a quiet voice, his gaze grew even colder. I got the distinct impression that he was carrying around a heavy burden that he could never, ever be free from. "But now he's asking a higher price for that."
"What do you mean? You're not going to pretend to sell me off and then coming back to me, are you?" I tried to make my voice light, as though it were a joke, even though my hands were trembling with fear of his answer.
Jie Moshu shook his head. "Of course not, I couldn't risk that. Especially when what matters the most is you."
I should have been relieved Jie Moshu wasn't going to sacrifice me. Well, I did appreciate it. Still, I chose not to let my guard down. This whole Goddess of Souls thing was related to me; the ultimate beauty poison warred inside me, made me a step closer to the brink of death every single day. I thought I'd seen him and Baba were acting all fishy when Si Ming came. He must have had promised him something in exchange, otherwise, he wouldn't have explained this to me. That was the only reason I could think of for him acting like this.
So, it wasn't jealousy that I detected earlier in the living room—he was worried about me. Maybe I should ask him what he had promised Si Ming about.
Or maybe not.
"Now that dandy god—" I cleared my throat, "—Si Ming is aiming after me. He kept saying I had something fascinating to him. My brain."
Jie Moshu reached up and rubbed his temple. "I know. He wouldn't just change the terms by just thinking you're fascinating to him. It was strange."
"I thought as much."
I hesitated for a moment. Even if he was worried about me, he seemed to be so calm like everything was under control. The thought suddenly crossed my mind. "Jie Moshu, don't tell me that kiss from before was to assure Si Ming."
"I'm sorry," he said. "And I'm sorrier for not asking your permission first."
Blood was pulsating around my head. Underneath the duvet, my legs were trembling. I was so angry with him that I almost didn't know where to start. Sorry never changed anything. Not my feelings. Not my first kiss. This was where my patience reached its limit.
"You! No-brainer opportunist!" I spit in an undertone, so shaken and angry. "I've had enough with you making me paralyzed. And now this?!"
Madness had already controlled my system. As my reflexes worked faster than my brain, I threw whatever my hands could reach around me. Pillows. Duvet. Everything!
"How could you when that's my first?!" I shouted at him. I tried to aim those things at Jie Moshu, flung them across the room. But no success.
He didn't budge an inch. With a motion from his hand, invisible magic clamped those pillows and duvet. Those things stopped right in front of him, all but floating to the thin air. As he moved his hand down, the things followed in suit. My supposed-to-be-bullets-pillows landed hopelessly on the floor.
I waited for his answer but I only got silence in return. The next second, Jie Moshu appeared in front of me like magic, sitting beside me.
I winced but before I could turn, his arms already found themselves wrapping around my waist. I stared at him, trying to tear away but it was hard. I had never seen anyone that looked as handsome as him. Movie stars, models, even my fellow athlete friends, all paled in comparison. He was staring back at me—his dark eyes stirred with emotions.
Suddenly all my senses heightened, I had felt everything more clearly. Feel his rapid heartbeat pounding on my skin. Hear his ragged breathing. Smell his scent spreading all over me. I gulped hard. Shit.
"I'm your first?" He asked in a low and melting voice, almost unintentional as his dark eyes drank me in.
Just the sound of his voice had turned me into a nutso. My heart stuttered in my chest, sending a rush of heat all over my body. Why the bloody hell did he have to do that? Now how could I concentrate on cursing, hitting him when he was looking at me all that passionate? Too much pressure. Too many sensations.
I wet my dry lips. "I... It just that—"
Jie Moshu lowered his head. "If I had known, I'll do it more properly."
I didn't even know what to say to this. Proper?
"Since Si Ming has known you as my wife, sooner or later, everyone would know about your presence. If that happens, it'll put you in danger."
"Then... why you lied to him? That I'm your wife."
"Because you are, and you'll always be."
There was no time for anything else but I sensed Jie Moshu was descending his mouth to mine. Shit. He was going to kiss me. Again?
Without thinking, I closed my eyes, and my hands clamped so tightly over my face. My ears caught the sound of a tiny laugh escaped from his mouth. I thought he had stopped from his intention until I felt his soft lips pressed against the back of my hand. I could feel my cheeks staining red. Luckily, I had my hands covering them.
Hiccup! Oh goody. A hiccup of surprise betrayed me.
I opened my eyes. Really looking. Extremely gobsmacked. Nothing had ever provoked a reaction like this.
"You should get used to this, wife," He gave me a charming grin. "Because I'm not planning to do this just as a mere act."
What could I say? My hiccups had explained it all. I thought I might start crying if I let myself. But I wasn't going to. I was "the pool survivor", Liu Huayu. I could be tough. Seems like I'd probably need to immerse myself in the role of becoming his wife. For the sake of that ultimate beauty, to my own survival. But why I had this feeling like go along with Jie Moshu was going to take my breath away? Hiccup!