The Price of a Kiss

“Oh my! That young lady is certainly bold!”

“How scandalous…”

Witnessing Liuxia’s unsolicited kiss, a murmur swept through the crowd. Female guests, in particular, covered their faces, peeking through their fingers.

“Indeed, it seems the young lady holds the dominant position in their relationship, doesn’t it? Just look at the esteemed Paladin; he appears utterly subdued by her kiss!”

“Forgive my ignorance, but do you think they’re into ‘four loves’?”

“Skip ahead to…”

“Shh, don’t let the Paladin hear you…”

[I already heard you, damn it!]

Li Chunsheng glared fiercely in their direction. Then, his eyes glazed over, resembling a salted fish, as he allowed Liuxia to cling to him like a koala.

At that moment, the young woman was completely draped over him. She vigorously sucked out the food Li Chunsheng had been chewing. Once the food was swallowed, she began to draw out Li Chunsheng’s saliva.

[My soul is being siphoned away, what misery.]

Frankly, such an act was rather disgusting. However, when performed by a beautiful young girl, it took on an incredibly vivid and alluring quality.

Thus, even though he could have pushed Liuxia away, Li Chunsheng refrained.

[To be honest, I truly can’t see Liuxia as that incredibly masculine Senior Sister anymore.]

[Coming back just now, seeing Liuxia’s tear-streaked face, it truly tugged at my heart… Senior Sister would never have been so prone to tears before; they were always such a strong person.]

Li Chunsheng felt a pang of confusion.

[Though she claimed her tears stemmed from feeling wronged for not being able to help me… was that truly all there was to it?]

Li Chunsheng’s heart pounded in his chest.

[Was she jealous? If so… did she… like me?]

Li Chunsheng felt deeply uncertain. If that answer truly held, how was he supposed to treat this ‘Senior Sister’?

[Li Chunsheng, I think you’re having one of Xiao Chunnan’s classic delusions! Senior Sister used to be a man, and it hasn’t been long since they became a girl. How could they possibly fall for me?]

[More importantly, I should focus on the anomalies surrounding Senior Sister!]

He forced himself to shift his attention. Indeed, the ‘gold content’ on his body was once again wildly fluctuating between positive and negative.

[It seems something has happened to Senior Sister… They must have expended a great deal of stamina, otherwise, why would they be so ravenous?]

[Did they activate their ability again? But isn’t Senior Sister’s ability a healing one? They looked perfectly fine just now, without any visible injuries, so how could they have lost so much ‘gold content’?]

Just as Li Chunsheng was lost in thought, Liuxia, at last, finished sucking.

“Ah!” the young woman exclaimed, leaping off Li Chunsheng.

“I-I-I… Y-Y-You…” Liuxia stammered.

[How could I have done something like that! Even if it helps restore my state, kissing Chunsheng like that is completely unacceptable, isn’t it?]

[But… I’ve already kissed him…]

The young woman’s face was flushed crimson, her mind reeling.

[I must have lost my head just now…]

At that moment, Li Chunsheng spoke.

“Senior Sister! You are truly despicable now! How could you forcibly kiss an innocent young man!” Li Chunsheng’s indignant outburst caused Liuxia to fluster.

His words weren’t an accusation, merely a jest. In the past, he would never have dared to speak to Senior Sister like this. However, with Senior Sister having taken the initiative, Li Chunsheng had grown a little bolder.

[Senior Sister can’t handle jokes at all; I’ll surely make them cry, won’t I?]

“N-N-No… that’s not it, I-I…” Tears welled up in the young woman’s eyes. The earnest Liuxia had indeed taken his words to heart.

[Wuwuwu, is Chunsheng going to hate me? Oh no… it’s all my fault, I was too disgusting!]

[No… I can’t just admit I was wrong like this! If I admit it, I’ll truly lose…]

And so, Liuxia, her face flushed, quietly retorted, “This is… revenge!”

“Hm? Revenge?”

“Don’t forget you forcibly kissed me last time, Chunsheng!”

“Eh?! Senior Sister, didn’t you already forgive me for that?”

“You got a good deal and now you’re acting innocent!” Liuxia huffed softly.

“In any case! A verbal apology isn’t enough; an equal counter-measure is necessary!”

“Furthermore, even this isn’t an equal exchange! After all, a man’s kiss and a woman’s kiss hold different values! A maiden’s kiss is even more precious!” As the young woman argued, she even spontaneously decided to escalate her counter-attack.

“Senior Sister, didn’t you just say you were a man (⊙_⊙)?” Li Chunsheng was stunned.

“Oh, really? I seem to have forgotten?” Liuxia feigned ignorance, though her face was bright red.

“You must be mistaken!”

“Blast it!” At this point, Li Chunsheng realized Liuxia was joking.

[But Senior Sister is actually joking and arguing with me now…]

[The old them was honest and gentle, with a remarkably low bottom line; they would surely have silently endured any injustice.]

[The current Senior Sister…]

A slight smile touched Li Chunsheng’s lips.

[Feels even cuter, doesn’t she?]

Li Chunsheng shook his head, sighing. “Alright, Senior Sister, you do have a point!”

“A man’s kiss and a woman’s kiss indeed hold different values.”

“Exactly!” Liuxia put her hands on her hips, a smug look on her face.

“In that case, Senior Sister, you’ll just have to kiss me a few more times in the future to repay your debt!” Li Chunsheng gritted his teeth, as if suffering a great loss.

“Well said!” The young woman nodded in satisfaction. Then she suddenly froze. “Eh?”

[Something feels off here! Is this right?]

An angelic Liuxia and a devilish Liuxia appeared in her mind.

The honest angel chimed, “That’s right, that’s right! You yourself said a maiden’s kiss is more precious, didn’t you?”

“Not to mention he stole your first kiss, so you must kiss him many more times for the value to be balanced! Balance is justice!”

The wise devil argued, “No, no! You kissing him, him kissing you—there’s no difference at all!”

“Besides, this was just a joke you made up yourself; don’t take it seriously first!”

Liuxia, considering the combined opinions of both sides, being an earnest young woman who wasn’t very good at joking and whose mind was a little rigid, ultimately adopted the angel’s suggestion.

And so, Liuxia nodded innocently.

“Alright then, Senior Sister will kiss you from now on, so don’t run away, okay?” The young woman looked up at Li Chunsheng, speaking earnestly.

She resembled a small, earnest animal.

Her incredibly pure gaze shone so brightly it made Li Chunsheng’s heart pound wildly. It was he who flushed, turning his head away in slight embarrassment.

[I feel so guilty for tricking such an innocent person…]

Despite this, Li Chunsheng didn’t refuse. He merely hummed a soft affirmation.

[Only a fool wouldn’t take advantage of a good deal!]

[Wait? Am I actually considering being kissed by Senior Sister as ‘taking advantage’…?] Li Chunsheng suddenly snapped back to reality.

This thought clearly indicated he was genuinely starting to perceive Senior Sister as a girl.

[Sigh, I’m… becoming strange myself…]

“Oh, right, should I kiss you a few more times now?” Once Liuxia accepted the logic, she adapted quickly. She asked with a calm expression.

[This is a perfect opportunity to raise my ‘gold content’ limit! By strengthening myself, I can help Chunsheng even better!]

Now it was Li Chunsheng’s turn to feel shy. He quickly waved his hands, saying, “Enough, enough! Even the power of blessings has its limits!”

“Senior Sister, you’re practically draining me dry! Let me rest for a bit!”

He was lying, of course; the truth was that public kissing, even for him, was a bit embarrassing.

Hearing this, Liuxia looked somewhat disappointed. “Oh, right… Senior Sister wasn’t thinking carefully enough…”

Li Chunsheng lifted a hand to his forehead and sighed.

[Senior Sister! You’re too cute!]

Meanwhile, the people in the hotel lobby had been observing the intimate interaction between the two from afar. Though they couldn’t hear what was being said, at this moment, they all shared a common sentiment!

[What an overly affectionate couple. Thankfully, they aren’t my parents, or I’d be mortified.]

“Oh, right! What exactly happened during your secret meeting with Miss Liao? What was the outcome? Don’t leave out any details; tell me everything!?” Liuxia suddenly remembered, asking with a serious expression.

For some reason, Liuxia was particularly concerned about the details of the secret meeting. Logically, the young woman was merely meant to be an identity prop; the execution of the subsequent plan had nothing to do with her, and she shouldn’t need to know so much.

Yet, she cared deeply, to an extreme extent.

[I’m Senior Sister, he’s a junior; the more I know, the better I can help him.] The young woman told herself this, but was it truly the case?

[Well, I’ve gone in a circle and ended up back where I started.]

“N-No… nothing happened, really? We just… just set a date for the next meeting? For the plan, right?” Li Chunsheng averted his gaze, turning his head to the side.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Liuxia’s suspicious gaze. Instantly, the voice of a divine figure echoed in his mind.

“Then why are you turning away? Look at me! Look my eyes!”

“Tell me! Why! Why!”