Chapter Nine: Exposed

Ye Feng slept soundly, and when he woke up, it was already past nine in the morning. He was used to living alone, so he strolled to the bathroom in nothing but a pair of little Shin-chan boxers. Squinting against the light, he stepped into the bathroom, shivered from the chill, and flushed the toilet when he was done. Still half-asleep, he wandered back toward the master bedroom, intending to catch another nap.

He pushed the door forcefully, only to find it locked. That was when he remembered his master bedroom had already been commandeered. Shaking his head in resignation, he turned to leave.

“Wait, that can’t be right. It’s already after nine, and I’m up—why is there no movement from Ling’er?” Ye Feng perked up his ears and listened carefully, but there was not a sound from inside.

“Something’s wrong!” Even through the door, in this state, he should be able to hear her breathing.

“Ling’er! Ling’er!” Ye Feng called out, but there was still no answer.

He pushed hard a few more times, but the door wouldn’t budge. Without hesitation, Ye Feng leapt from the living room balcony to the master bedroom’s balcony. The curtains inside were still drawn. On the balcony, the air was cool, and he noticed that Xia Ling’s underwear and clothes, washed the previous day, were hanging out to dry.

“Something’s happened!”

Ye Feng climbed in through the window onto the master bedroom balcony. The scene before him nearly made his nose bleed to death.

Xia Ling was sprawled on the bed, the covers kicked to the floor at some point. She was wearing nothing but a white sport bra and the pink cartoon panties Ye Feng had bought her the day before. Her skin was pristine and fair, the delicate lines of her collarbone, the subtle curve beneath the white bra, the perfect contours of her figure—all of it lay unveiled before Ye Feng’s eyes.

“Damn, that’s tempting! Vixen!” Ye Feng cursed under his breath, but he had no time to appreciate the sight. Xia Ling’s breathing was so faint, it was barely there.

Ye Feng scooped her up at once, his own state of undress—still just in boxers, out of habit—meant their skin pressed directly together.

“So cold! So smooth!”

Her body felt as flawless as jade. Ye Feng had never imagined a woman’s skin could be so smooth; compared to his own, it was like heaven and earth—his roughness was like sandpaper against her. The chill of her body filled him with worry.

He pressed his palms to hers, and his pure blue energy once again poured into Xia Ling, slowly raising her body temperature.

After some indeterminate time, Xia Ling finally stirred, drifting back to consciousness, though she couldn’t open her eyes. She only felt a warm current of energy flowing through her.

“Looks like taking out those three scumbags yesterday was too much for my body! Is that Ye Feng?”

As the blue energy coursed through her, she sensed a green energy within her own body slowly awakening. “The interplay of opposing forces in this world truly is marvelous.”

Some time later, Xia Ling finally forced her eyes open, wincing in pain. The first thing she saw was Ye Feng’s torso—not as exaggerated as a fitness trainer’s, but still well-defined.

“You’re in my room in nothing but your underwear—are you looking to die?” Xia Ling’s tone was icy.

Seeing her awake, Ye Feng felt a surge of relief. “What did you do last night? You scared me to death! This morning your breathing was so faint, I thought you were dying! I was just trying to save you!”

Looking at the anxious expression on his face, Xia Ling’s heart unexpectedly softened—a dangerous thing for an assassin. Then she realized she herself wasn’t dressed. “Did you see everything?”

The look in her eyes could have killed Ye Feng a thousand times over.

“N-no... I go intermittently blind every morning. Today I just couldn’t see a thing.” Ye Feng quickly shut his eyes.

“Am I good-looking?”

“Yes!”

“So you did see! Maybe I should make your blindness permanent.”

“Forget it. I think things are fine as they are. You’re okay now, so get up already.” Ye Feng darted out the window as he said this.

As his palms left her skin, Xia Ling was hit by a wave of dizziness.

“Did he see everything?” she murmured, staring at his vanishing figure. “I thought I’d heal quickly, but that bastard ‘Xingtian’ was ruthless!”

She lay on the bed a while longer, then got dressed and came out.

Ye Feng had just finished cooking a few dishes and made some millet porridge, which he set on the table. “Come eat. Your body’s weak, so I made millet porridge just for you.”

All her life, Xia Ling had faced everything alone—every hardship, every pain, she’d overcome by herself. To have someone care for her, even for a moment, brought an unfamiliar warmth. She hesitated, then sat down. A steaming bowl of millet porridge was placed before her.

“You’re too frail. Drink up. Tonight I’ll make black chicken soup to help you recover.”

Xia Ling sipped the porridge carefully.

“Oh right!” Ye Feng suddenly adopted a serious tone, making Xia Ling pause and look at him.

“You looked really cute in those little panties.” For some reason, an image of the lively Han Shanshan popped into Ye Feng’s mind.

At his words, Xia Ling flushed with anger, her cheeks turning red. She stabbed her chopsticks toward Ye Feng’s eyes with unerring accuracy.

But she was too weak—she had neither the strength nor speed to harm him. Ye Feng dodged with ease.

“Are you really trying to blind me?” Ye Feng could tell she truly meant it.

“You saw what you shouldn’t have. Sooner or later, I’ll kill you!” Xia Ling muttered, lowering her head and sipping her porridge.

“Ling’er, let me tell you a story. It’s called ‘The Farmer and the Snake.’ Once, a farmer found a frozen snake in winter and, feeling sorry for it, took it home and warmed it against his chest. Revived by the warmth, the snake regained its vitality—then immediately returned to its nature and bit its benefactor with poisonous fangs, dealing him a mortal wound.”

“You’re the farmer? I’m the snake?” Xia Ling retorted.

“That’s right. I’m saying a person shouldn’t be ungrateful.”

“Fine, I’ll tell you now: once I’m better, I’ll kill you. Would you still save me?” Xia Ling fixed him with a serious look.

“I would!”

“You’re not afraid to die?”

“I am!”

“Then why save me?”

“Do you know why the farmer died?” Ye Feng asked.

“Because he saved someone he shouldn’t have?”

“No. Because he was too weak! I’m not afraid because I’m strong. Even if you recover, you can’t beat me. Ha ha...” Ye Feng laughed, full of self-satisfaction.

Xia Ling snorted. “Don’t regret it later.”

Ye Feng buried himself in his meal. “For the next few days, stay home and rest. No running around. If you get hurt again, you’ll be done for!”

“Are you ordering me?”

“Call it what you want.”

“No one can order me!”

“If you want to die, I won’t stop you. If you run into that old man or the fat and thin duo, you’ll be fine. But if you meet someone really dangerous, you’re finished.” Ye Feng kept eating as he spoke.

“You figured it out?”

“It’s all over social media—two murders early this morning. Hard not to notice. And those three all pissed you off yesterday. Then you wake up this morning so weak? It’s hardly a coincidence.” Ye Feng looked up with a faint smile.

“They deserved to die.”

“I’m not in a position to judge whether they did or not. I didn’t like any of them. But if I ever catch you doing something truly heinous, I won’t go easy on you!” Suddenly, Ye Feng’s aura shifted, pressing in on her.

Xia Ling was startled; it was the first time she’d seen Ye Feng so serious. Something stirred within her. “Getting lectured by a rookie kid? Once I recover, I’ll show you just how formidable I am, show you how big the world really is.”

“What would you do if I crossed that line?” she asked, genuinely curious. No one had ever spoken to her like this—she wanted to know what would happen if she ever did something truly evil.

“I’d... spank you!” Ye Feng replied, grinning lecherously.

“......”

“I should’ve known you couldn’t stay serious.”

“This afternoon, come with me to buy a blanket and some daily necessities,” Xia Ling said.

“Blanket? Don’t we already have one? I bought that duvet cover just last year! You can use my toothpaste and toothbrush too.”

“Your blanket smells disgusting! Gross!”

“......”

“You’ve got twelve million and you’re still this stingy!” Xia Ling sipped her porridge, her tone teasing.

“How do you know that?” Ye Feng was stunned. They’d only just met, and he was sure he’d never mentioned his finances. “Don’t tell me you climbed into my bed last night and did something unspeakable to me?”

“Ye Feng, nineteen, freshman in the Economics Department at HB University. Turned ten thousand into twelve million in the stock market—not bad!” Xia Ling blinked her big eyes at him.

“You...”

“Your ID and admission letter are on your desk, password’s your birthday. Pretty childish security!” Xia Ling shook her head.

Ye Feng dashed to the computer, hit the power button, and waited anxiously for it to boot up.

“That’s my life savings. If you touch it, you’ll have to pay with your body!” He shot Xia Ling a glare.

“Twelve million isn’t enough for me to bother,” she said with a smirk. She hadn’t brought anything with her this time—she could only check out his assets.

Seeing his twelve million sitting safe in his stock account, Ye Feng finally relaxed. He quietly clicked to change his password.

“No need to change it. It won’t help. If I want in, it wouldn’t take me a minute,” Xia Ling said coolly, but with chilling confidence.

Ye Feng ignored her. No way he’d let his hard-earned fortune slip away; he quickly typed in six new numbers.

“864835!” Xia Ling stated calmly.

“You peeked!” Ye Feng hurriedly deleted it, then typed another six digits, shielding the keyboard with his hand and glancing back at her for reassurance.

“436672!”

“This isn’t fair!”

For the first time, Ye Feng saw real fear of her in his own face. In their line of work, making others afraid was the ultimate achievement. “I’m not interested in your money. Otherwise, it would’ve been gone already.”

Ye Feng just exited out and gave up on changing it. She was right; if she’d wanted to drain his account, she would’ve done it already.

“You figured it out by sound?” Ye Feng was now certain she hadn’t looked—so it had to be her hearing.

“Based on the volume and position of your keystrokes, it’s not hard to deduce,” she replied.

“You win.”

“Anything I spend, consider it a loan. Once I’m recovered, I’ll pay you back.”

“You need to be healthy to pay me back? Or do you mean...?” Ye Feng leered at her.

“I’m fine with that!”

A line of blood trickled from Ye Feng’s nose—she was just too tempting.

“If you’re still alive, that is!”

“By the way, the two outfits and daily necessities I bought for you yesterday cost over two thousand. Add in labor, let’s call it three thousand. I’ll just put it on your tab.”

“Shameless!”