Chapter 101

Chapter 101

Qinchi held Xu Qiao once again with both arms.

But his head was pressed tightly against her chin, forcing her to tilt her head back.

His nose nudged aside Xu Qiao's collar as Qinchi kissed her shoulder line, inch by inch, beginning from the outer edge, moving from her throat to her right shoulder.

Xu Qiao experienced the legendary passion of a Fire Element partner.

It was so hot; she needed water.

Her arms weakly held Qinchi's head as Xu Qiao managed to regain some composure, summoning a small stream of water above her parted lips.

The stream of water fell into her mouth, cooling the inside that had been scorched by the heat, and Xu Qiao greedily savored the coolness, only beginning to swallow as the water warmed to her body temperature.

As soon as she completed this action, Qinchi kissed up her taut neck again, blocking her voice for the second time before she could speak.

The water Xu Qiao had just taken was soon reclaimed by Qinchi, and she instinctively tried to take it back.

The roles of attacker and defender quietly switched, just as Qinchi changed his stance. He held Xu Qiao and turned around, his back now against the wall, his face lifted.

When Xu Qiao had struggled until she was exhausted and Qinchi didn't press further, she belatedly realized her right hand was pressed against Qinchi's cheek. Her forehead was pressed against his brow from above, and Qinchi's hand supported her, her legs dangling on either side, as if she were seated on his waist.

An S-rank Fire Element user wasn't afraid of the cold. On an early November night, when the weather had noticeably cooled, he still wore a summer white shirt. Through the thin fabric, Xu Qiao could clearly feel the contours of his abdominal muscles, and what embarrassed her even more was the small area of Qinchi's shirt she was sitting on...

Xu Qiao was grateful she still had her eyes closed, pretending not to notice.

She lightly pressed her lips against Qinchi's again, and when Qinchi took the initiative, Xu Qiao supported herself by placing a hand on his shoulder, while distractedly using her ability to remove the moisture from his shirt—sweat or otherwise.

The man kissing her suddenly laughed, and Xu Qiao's embarrassment and frustration immediately burned hotter than the flames of an S-rank Fire Element user. She bit his lower lip and used the opportunity to push off his chest and leap down.

Her legs were unexpectedly weak, causing her to stumble as she landed.

An arm instantly wrapped around her waist, pulling her back into his arms and turning her to press against the wall.

Just as Xu Qiao was about to break free, Qinchi lowered his head next to her ear and whispered, "Can you accept it?"

Xu Qiao: "...No."

Qinchi: "Then maybe the experimental method just now wasn't right. Let's try again."

Xu Qiao immediately covered her mouth.

The wristband lit up, and both of them looked over. The screen showed that it was five minutes until ten o'clock.

Xu Qiao's heart skipped a beat. "Lotus is going to come back."

Qinchi: "It's bound to be known sooner or later."

No one could avoid recalling intimate moments with their partner. Once the thought arose, it would trigger the synchronized perception of spiritual beings. Therefore, deliberately avoiding spiritual beings for such things was pointless.

Xu Qiao: "...I need to wake up early tomorrow."

Only then did Qinchi let her go.

Xu Qiao quickly returned to the bedroom, closed the door, and then threw herself onto the bed, pulling the blanket over her head.

The wristband beeped, and Xu Qiao tapped it open.

Qinchi: "I really enjoy it, and I've gained the confidence to gain your recognition as a partner."

Xu Qiao: "...We agreed on just one hug."

Qinchi: "I did say I wanted to hold you once, but I never said that was all I wanted."

Xu Qiao: "[\"Let's take our time to develop our feelings; I'm not in a hurry for other aspects,\" that was you, right?]

Qinchi: "I'm indeed not in a hurry for other aspects, but it bothers me that my suitability as a partner is questioned because of my personal attributes. This makes me eager to prove that I'm not so bad as a partner in other aspects."

Xu Qiao bit her lip: "It’s up to me to decide if you’re good or not."

Qinchi: "Was my performance really that bad?"

Xu Qiao: "Yes, my neck is sore."

Qinchi: "The place tonight wasn't ideal; next time on the sofa, maybe it will help."

Xu Qiao: "...No next time, goodnight, and don’t come back!"

Qinchi indeed didn't come back.

Xu Qiao lay in bed a bit longer, then got up and planned to take another shower before Lotus came back. When she turned on the light, she noticed an additional piece of paper on the floor near the door.

Xu Qiao looked at the door and walked over to pick up the note, finding only two simple words: "Goodnight."

Xu Qiao smiled and put the note in her spatial storage before heading to the bathroom.

The bathroom lights were particularly bright. Xu Qiao looked in the mirror; her face was predictably red. What startled her were the two noticeable red marks on her neck.

The scene flashed through her mind, and she quickly used her ability to erase any unusual marks.

Once her neck was back to its usual color, Xu Qiao stepped into the shower.

When Lotus returned, Xu Qiao was still rinsing off. Her mind was empty. After finishing, Xu Qiao released Lotus and said, a bit helplessly, "I need to wake up early tomorrow, but I'm not sleepy at all. Later, can you help me sleep?"

Lotus: "Sure."

Xu Qiao chatted with her while using her ability to dry the water droplets on her hair: "How's the fire dragon? Did it really not want to go?"

Lotus: "Yes, it insisted on sleeping on my leaves."

Xu Qiao, surprised: "You agreed?"

Lotus: "I put a pool of water on the leaves. It shrunk and soaked in the water, making it less hot."

Xu Qiao imagined the scene and was even more determined not to let Lotus know about her "farewell" with Qinchi, which was far from innocent.

The shuttle was scheduled to depart at six in the morning. Xu Qiao woke up at five and directly changed into the A-grade battle armor that Sun Xuan had just sent her. The collar of the armor reached all the way to the middle of her neck. Even if Xu Qiao hadn't used her healing ability on herself the night before, the armor's collar would hide the marks left by Qinchi.

Of course, Xu Qiao calmly glanced at her neck without thinking of anything.

After looking at the bedroom, which she wouldn't be staying in for some time, Xu Qiao left.

Qinchi was in the kitchen. Just as Xu Qiao was about to head toward the sofa, she suddenly remembered Qinchi's message about "improving things on the sofa," so she paused and turned toward the dining table.

Lotus curiously poked her head out: "What can be improved on the sofa?"

Xu Qiao: "...Nothing. Go back into the blue vat; let them have another look at you."

The lotus cooperatively landed inside the green vase beside the dining table.

The fire dragon flew out of the kitchen. Its dragon body, over a meter long, coiled around the green vase containing the lotus, and after raising its head, it immediately looked at Xu Qiao.

Xu Qiao couldn't describe her mixed feelings at the moment. She couldn’t discern the emotions in the fire dragon’s vertical golden pupils either and spoke first: "Qinchi said he would teach you the social etiquette of spiritual beings. Have you started learning?"

Fire dragon: "I’ve read the book twice and memorized everything."

Xu Qiao: "If something might embarrass someone, you shouldn’t say it, right?"

The fire dragon nodded.

Xu Qiao smiled: "Alright, say goodbye to the lotus before you leave."

The fire dragon indeed turned to look at the lotus. Water flowed between the dragon and the lotus, forming different characters. Xu Qiao watched for a while until Qinchi came over with breakfast, wearing a grey shirt.

Xu Qiao’s gaze swept past his waist for a moment, then she picked up her water cup and drank, keeping her composure.

Qinchi set up breakfast for both of them and sat down opposite her. As soon as he looked up, he realized he hadn’t said anything yet, but his girlfriend’s face had already turned as red as an apple.

Qinchi smiled: "Still thinking about it?"

Xu Qiao glared at him.

Qinchi: "Eat up, we don’t have much time this morning."

Xu Qiao pretended not to understand the deeper meaning in his words and focused on eating with her eyes down.

After about ten minutes, Qinchi released the car outside the villa. Xu Qiao glanced at the back door and then at her boyfriend, who was about to part ways with her. She still sat in the passenger seat.

Buckling up, she continued to let the lotus stay outside, with the fire dragon still coiled around the small green vase.

The car ride lasted about twenty minutes. The black car slowly drove into the parking lot next to the Mercenary Association in the central district. It was 5:43 AM.

Xu Qiao gently stroked the fire dragon’s horn and whispered: "Go back, I need to get off."

The fire dragon rubbed its horn against the lotus’s leaves and disappeared.

The lotus also returned into Xu Qiao’s body.

Xu Qiao put away the small green vase and retrieved a helmet from her space. Considering her photos had already gone viral on forums, to avoid drawing unnecessary attention on the way to the aircraft, Xu Qiao prepared to put on the helmet now.

But just as she raised her hand, an arm reached out and held her hand down.

Xu Qiao turned around in confusion, and Qinchi was already right in front of her, one hand pressing her wrist and the other lifting her chin. The passionate kiss of an S-rank Fire Element Master descended upon her.

He wasn’t as forceful as last night, only traced his lips across hers, and when Xu Qiao involuntarily opened her mouth, he pressed in further.

The lotus panicked and sprang out, its four leaves and ninety-nine petals trembling slightly, as if it had just experienced a gust of wind.

Qinchi had his eyes closed and didn’t notice the lotus emerging, so the fire dragon didn’t see it either.

Normally, the fire dragon could sense the lotus’s appearance, but at this moment, it was overwhelmed by the synchronized sensations and emotions it was experiencing for the first time—one moment feeling like it was soaking in warm water, the next moment making it restless and eager for Qinchi to move faster and more intensely.

However, Qinchi ignored it.

The fire dragon, growing increasingly anxious, leaped out, spotted the lotus, and dived into the familiar water. Its entire body wrapped around the lotus’s main stem.

The lotus, still shocked by the scene, was taken by surprise as the fist-sized dragon head burrowed into its petals.

The lotus knew it couldn't shake off this S-rank dragon and had no choice but to return to Xu Qiao's body. But as soon as it returned, it lost all its strength, and the lotus leaves and flower disk simultaneously sagged downward, eventually floating in the mental-energy condensed water mass.

Driven by rationality, Xu Qiao pushed Qinchi's shoulder. Rationality also made Qinchi release the warm, smooth face in his hand.

Xu Qiao immediately put on her helmet, which automatically aligned with the collar of her armor, the lock snapping into place.

She lowered her head for a few seconds to gather herself, then looked at Qinchi and said in a low voice, "I'm leaving. Don't come with me; I need time to adjust."

She had a mission in an A-rank danger zone and couldn't afford to think about him.

Qinchi said, "Go. I'll leave after the aircraft lifts off."

Xu Qiao opened the car door and stepped out, closing the door behind her. She took one last glance inside before walking quickly toward the aircraft without looking back.

Qinchi sat in the driver's seat, watching his girlfriend in the rearview mirror.

At six o'clock, three aircraft—one large and two small—took off on time, passing through the protective shield nearly simultaneously. The entire process, from closing to reopening the shield, took less than ten seconds.