A Confession, a Bargain, and a Troubled Night

“I’m incredibly sorry, Senior!”

Afterwards, Li Chunsheng bowed ninety degrees to Liuxia, offering a sincere apology.

“Ah…? Oh, it’s fine?” Liuxia blinked her bewildered eyes, still seemingly processing the situation.

‘Why is Chunsheng apologizing to me? I should be thanking him for the meal instead, shouldn’t I?’

Liuxia’s rationality slowly reawakened from the pleasure of tasting her junior’s blood, plunging her immediately into profound shame.

‘No, how could I think such a thing? Had I already started seeing Chunsheng as food just now?’

The girl’s face began to pale, her body trembling, betraying her deeply unsettled mind.

Seeing her distraught state, Li Chunsheng felt even more self-reproach, thinking, ‘I was too impulsive. If I had just told Senior directly about this, she probably would have cooperated, right?’

Yet, he chose to be clever, exploiting Senior’s trust to uncover the truth.

Wouldn’t such an act wound Senior if exposed?

‘Could it be that my subconscious has already begun to see Senior as a lofty, untouchable girl, subconsciously distancing myself from her?’ A pang of deep regret struck Li Chunsheng at this thought.

‘Damn me! Senior is Senior, always the Senior I, Li Chunsheng, respect. How could I treat Senior as a girl? That’s disrespectful to her!’

However, Li Chunsheng had not anticipated that Senior’s healing ability would be so remarkably effective; the wounds covered by the girl’s saliva miraculously recovered in the blink of an eye.

This effect far surpassed the Bronze-tier abilities Li Chunsheng had witnessed in hospitals, appearing to be at least Silver-tier.

A minor disappointment, however, was that for now, this ability seemed only to activate upon contact with Senior’s saliva.

As for the cost of consuming his own ‘gold content’ or whatever it entailed, that was not an issue he needed to consider at all.

‘But with such immediate results, Senior will surely discover this herself soon, won’t she?’

Consequently, having confirmed the effects, Li Chunsheng promptly apologized on the spot.

Following this, Li Chunsheng voluntarily explained his recent thoughts and intentions, and Liuxia, after hearing everything, felt no resentment towards him.

‘So that’s it. It seems I… still have some use to Chunsheng now…’

‘Yet I was merely exploiting his trust, wanting only to consume him… while Chunsheng was simply misled by my appearance, telling a small lie out of embarrassment to ask for help… Compared to him, my motives are truly wicked…’

After a moment of profound self-reproach, Liuxia, seeing Li Chunsheng still bowing, said to him, “Chunsheng, I don’t blame you. If you ever need anything in the future, just tell me, your Senior. Don’t worry about me misunderstanding…”

“Even though Senior looks like this now, I’m still the Senior you know on the inside, alright? So… you don’t need to treat me any differently.”

“I understand, Senior.” Li Chunsheng nodded. Following this amicable conversation, both parties reaffirmed their fraternal bond.

“However, please allow me to make amends!” Li Chunsheng declared. “I believe Senior needs some properly fitting clothes right now!”

Up until this moment, Liuxia was still clad in the oversized garments she had pilfered from someone else.

“Hmm? There’s no real need…” Liuxia instinctively tried to demur, but seeing Li Chunsheng’s earnest expression, she could only nod. “Alright then… do as you see fit.”

The subsequent cooking session proceeded without further incident.

Soon, the dinner Liuxia had prepared was served.

The meal was, as expected, incredibly delicious; Liuxia, for reasons unknown, had become quite adept at cooking at some point.

However, both individuals, burdened by their thoughts, had no inclination to converse during dinner.

Later, when the discussion turned to where Liuxia would sleep, the girl proactively offered to take the sofa.

“Chunsheng, you only have a single bed, don’t you? It would be uncomfortable for two people to squeeze in together, wouldn’t it? Senior is a boy, so sleeping on the sofa is absolutely no problem!”

Liuxia glanced at the sofa in the living room, remarking, “Speaking of which, this sofa is quite spacious. Your landlord is truly a good person to have left you so many nice things!”

Li Chunsheng offered to sleep on the sofa himself, but Liuxia, asserting her role as Senior, refused his request.

“Honestly, Chunsheng! Haven’t I told you? Senior is a man, you know?”

Liuxia fixed him with a dangerous gaze, huffing, “Could it be… that Chunsheng no longer sees Senior as a brother?”

Li Chunsheng conceded defeat, dutifully returning to sleep in his bed.

Watching Li Chunsheng slink away, Liuxia let out a soft chuckle, finding it rather amusing to tease him like this.

Yet, as she continued to smile, her expression slowly faded.

‘Brothers? Yes… but now… are we still brothers…?’ the girl whispered softly.

In the deepening night, Li Chunsheng lay on his bed, phone in hand, beginning to select suitable clothing for Senior.

“Hmm? Why are women’s clothes so expensive?” Li Chunsheng frowned, thinking, ‘This is quite an expense.’

However, upon browsing the men’s clothing pages, Li Chunsheng discovered there were no garments suitable for the current Liuxia.

This was simply because Liuxia’s current figure was far too exaggerated, especially those two magnificent snow peaks.

If she were to force herself into men’s clothing, he feared… Li Chunsheng himself would be the first to lose his composure!

This made him involuntarily recall the scene of Senior, freshly showered and dressed in his clothes, moving about the living room before bedtime.

The ‘boyfriend shirt,’ the occasionally trembling peaks, and the fragrant, subtly milky scent of her freshly bathed body…

All of this profoundly shocked Li Chunsheng, who was known as Chu Nan in two lives.

Even now, Li Chunsheng was attempting to forcibly suppress the impact of this mental upheaval by focusing on other tasks.

“No, no, I absolutely cannot keep thinking about this!” Li Chunsheng admonished himself. “This is sacrilege against Senior!”

‘I must quickly choose the clothes I’m going to buy for Senior!’

“Damn it… they’re all so expensive!”

“Let me check the specials…”

“Seriously? Is it that easy for girls to earn money? How are even the specials so pricey?”

After a long while, Li Chunsheng sadly realized that he couldn’t easily afford women’s expenses—at least not overtly.

In reality, Li Chunsheng had amassed a considerable secret stash of money, but these funds couldn’t be spent casually.

Suddenly, amidst countless product images, a particularly striking price anomaly caught his eye.

“Hmm? Only 99 Black Iron coins? That cheap?”

“But… this style…”

Li Chunsheng’s throat twitched slightly as he added the item to his cart.

After comparing it and finding no cheaper alternatives, he decisively placed the order.

‘If Senior wears this kind of clothing, she won’t get angry, will she?’

‘However, if I explain it properly, Senior should be able to understand…’

Li Chunsheng relentlessly tried to convince himself, yet the mere thought of Senior in that outfit sent a shameful thrill through his body.

“Ahhhhhh… I can’t take it anymore!”

“Senior, I’m sorry!”

Li Chunsheng skillfully opened a certain website, performing a series of actions that soon filled the entire room with a peculiar floral fragrance.

After a long while, Li Chunsheng tossed aside the crumpled tissue and wiped his sweat.

“That was satisfying…”

Following this, Li Chunsheng sank into profound guilt.

“I really am despicable!”

That night, the two ‘brothers,’ each burdened by their own guilt, drifted into slumber.

****

Meanwhile, Investigator Liao found himself unable to sleep.

“Damn it! What in the world is going on with those two?!”