Night — 8:40 p.m.
Outside a luxury apartment building
"Today was absolutely insane. Thanks, Swire."
Chen Mo wiped at sweat that didn't exist and flashed a radiant smile—under the streetlights, the silver-haired Draco man looked almost unfairly dazzling.
Then he grinned again at the blonde, curly-haired Feline woman beside him, who was practically buried under shopping bags.
"Want to come up for a bit before you head off?"
"Then I'll accept your kind offer," Swire replied with a polite smile, stepping toward the elevator first—despite the fact that even her tail had several bags hanging off it.
But unlike the smile on her face, Swire felt a bit… regretful inside.
Spending an entire day out with Chen Mo had genuinely been enjoyable. It was the kind of fun that left you relaxed and in a good mood.
Still, she hadn't forgotten her original goal: using Chen Mo to flush out Ch'en Hui-chieh.
Partly for work reasons—but also because she was curious about why Wei Yenwu wanted to speak with her.
Instead, she and Chen Mo had shopped until it got dark, and that brother-obsessed "damned dragon" hadn't shown her face once.
Worse, Swire had dropped over ten thousand Lungmen Dollars.
Her heart ached.
She sighed quietly. People thought she was loaded—and she was—but that didn't mean she liked hemorrhaging money.
If that impulsive, competitive "I'm a woman, I'm not losing face in front of a man" instinct hadn't flared up earlier, she never would've spent this much.
"Why are you frowning so hard?" Chen Mo's teasing voice came from close by. "Hurting that much?"
His warm, slightly damp breath brushed her ear.
Swire jolted, took several quick steps back, and rubbed at her suddenly hot ear, staring at him with a mix of irritation and embarrassment.
"Now I finally understand why that rice-roll dragon keeps saying she needs to 'teach you a lesson.' Keep acting this shameless and one day some woman's going to force you into bed, Chen Mo."
Chen Mo laughed without a shred of concern. His thick, scaled tail swayed with confident ease.
"Then I'd really like to see who's capable of that."
Swire's breathing turned noticeably heavier.
What a tormenting little demon.
Even she had to admit—his little stunt just now had made her heart race.
She couldn't even imagine what kind of woman could truly "tame" a man like this.
After forcing her breathing back under control, Swire lifted a foot and lightly kicked the door.
"Hurry up and open it. Are you seriously going to watch me stand here holding all this?"
"No choice," Chen Mo said, cheerfully slipping into the "weaker party" role without shame. "You're a woman, and I'm a man."
As he spoke, he pulled out his keys and opened the door.
Click.
"Come in. And don't even think about staying the night," he added casually. "Ch'en will come after you."
"I'm not that Exusiai chasing you around," Swire shot back. "Relax. I'll rest for a bit and leave."
Swire leaned forward and peeked into the dark interior. It was her first time visiting a man's home.
Pitch-black. Nothing special—except the place smelled oddly nice.
Chen Mo didn't seem to care that the room was dark. He looked down to change his shoes and reached over to switch on the living room light.
"Sit wherever. I'll make you a drink—"
A voice, cold as an Ursus snowfield, cut through the air.
"So you're back this late, Brother. And it turns out you were out going wild with this char siu cat?"
Chen Mo froze instantly—like someone had hit pause.
Swire, however, strode past him as if she owned the place, dumped her mountain of bags to the side, and pointed straight at the woman sitting on the sofa.
"You little—! So you've been hiding here the whole time! Do you have any idea how many times you've skipped work already?!"
A stream of furious swearing followed—exactly the sort of profanity you'd expect from Swire when she was truly mad.
She was still going when Ch'en cut her off without even standing.
"That's enough, char siu cat. I don't have time to argue with you."
Ch'en flicked Swire a warning look, then turned her gaze to Chen Mo—who was very quietly trying to slip toward the bathroom.
"Brother. Where do you think you're going?"
Chen Mo didn't stop. He bolted into the bathroom in a blur.
"I've been out all day—I'm taking a shower! Ch'en, don't wait for me. Sit for a bit, then go back with Swire."
The bathroom filled with the loud rush of running water.
Through the slightly translucent frosted glass of the shower door, hazy steam billowed and blurred everything into suggestive silhouettes.
Ch'en glanced once—then immediately turned her head away, avoiding it on instinct.
Swire, on the other hand, kept glancing in that direction, clearly distracted.
Ch'en's voice remained flat and controlled.
"Every time I leave work, it's because my tasks are already done. Did you only notice me leaving in a hurry… and never bother checking my progress?"
Swire stiffened, suddenly awkward.
She really had been watching Ch'en's strange behavior lately without paying attention to the details.
"...I-I guess, but that still doesn't mean you—"
"Enough," Ch'en interrupted. "Swire, you're still here because you have something you want to ask me. Right?"
"It's Inspector Swire, you damned—!" Swire snapped back, then crossed her arms and dropped onto the sofa beside Ch'en.
"Fine. I'll be direct. Do you know about Chief Wei wanting to see me?"
Ch'en's brows tightened slightly.
"...Why would he want to see you?"
Swire's posture collapsed in disappointment. She leaned back and sprawled on the sofa.
"Guess you don't know either. Whatever. I'll deal with it when it comes. It's not like he's going to call me in just to scold me."
Ch'en watched Swire casually turn on the TV like she was at home, and her expression turned thoughtful.
For some reason, what Swire had just said… felt connected to what Ch'en was planning to discuss with that man later.
But she wasn't here to chat with Swire. She had been waiting for hours.
Just as Ch'en was about to tell Swire to leave, the sound of a door opening drew both their attention.
Click.
"Huh?" Chen Mo stepped out, surprised. "You two are still here?"
He was wearing only a clean white bathrobe.
He clearly didn't care that parts of his damp skin were visible. Heat and mist clung to him, and the fresh scent of shampoo and body wash instantly filled the entire living room.
"...Gulp."
The sound of someone swallowing in the sudden quiet was unmistakably clear.
Chen Mo was casually towel-drying the water from his tail, completely unbothered by the way Swire was staring at him as if she'd been hypnotized. He walked into the kitchen and—putting on a very fake tone of hospitality—started preparing drinks.
"Want something? Soda? Tea?"
Ch'en snapped back to herself and immediately slapped a hand over Swire's eyes, leaning in close and whispering viciously into her ear.
"Leave. Now. How long do you plan on staring?"
"Ah—okay, okay!" Swire protested, squirming. "Stop squeezing! You're going to pop my eyeballs out!"
Bang.
The front door slammed shut.
Chen Mo watched it in satisfaction. Quietly pleased with himself, he grabbed only his own drink and sat right where Swire had been lounging. He took a sip.
Then immediately spat it out.
"Ugh—this is expired."
....
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