A dozen or so minutes later, the car stopped steadily at the villa gate.
At this moment, Bai Xiaoxiao felt as though she'd cried herself blind.
She told herself she was being utterly useless.
She had wanted to leave Jiang Cheng with a beautiful memory.
But she was too full—so full it was unbearable.
Midway through, she'd even gone numb.
Only near the end did things start to feel a little different.
So even if she wanted Jiang Cheng to think she was happy,
Her body wouldn't cooperate.
Bai Xiaoxiao clenched the crumpled hem of her skirt; the fabric still carried the marks of their intimacy.
"Onii-chan…" she murmured, voice thick with tears, timidly poking Jiang Cheng's shoulder.
It came out as soft as a drenched kitten: "I'm sorry…"
Jiang Cheng was adjusting his cuff when the words made him freeze.
Turning, he saw her tear-streaked face and pulled her straight into his arms.
"Did… did I ruin the mood?" she whispered, burying her face in the hollow of his neck, breathing cedar cologne.
"I just think I spoiled it. Online tutorials show Girls looking blissful like blooming flowers…"
His throat bobbed; a low laugh vibrated through his chest. "Don't worry, you did great—your crying was beautiful."
Bai Xiaoxiao didn't believe him.
She'd already checked her face in the compact mirror: blood-shot eyes, messy bangs, lipstick smudged, a dab of white at the corner of her mouth—
Where was the beauty in that?
Even after Jiang Cheng bent down to kiss her,
She was still dissatisfied with her performance.
Mainly because she hadn't managed any of the expressions she'd practiced online.
She answered, a little dejected, "Onii-chan, thank you, you were amazing~~ I'm very satisfied too."
She was clearly trying for a sultry, seductive tone.
But the Girl was simply too cute: tears on her cheeks, bangs damp,
The perfect image of a Japanese AV heroine.
Seeing her like that made Jiang Cheng want to start all over again.
He caught her hand.
"Silly, let me carry you inside?"
The real reason she'd cried so hard
Was that Jiang Cheng had lost control and gone a bit wild.
Partly because Bai Xiaoxiao's favorability value had goaded him, partly because of beginner's excitement.
Everyone knows men love color—
Especially bright red.
So what had just happened would have been tough even for Yu Xiaoxiao to take in stride,
Let alone rookie Bai Xiaoxiao.
That she hadn't protested or called for a stop already showed remarkable endurance.
When Jiang Cheng helped tidy her clothes and discreetly adjusted the seat,
Warmth flooded her heart at his thoughtfulness.
The instant the car door opened, night air heavy with rose scent rushed in.
Before she could take in the villa, a tall figure filled her vision.
Like a brilliant star in the night sky, the figure stood only three steps away.
Xia Li wore a black maid dress
Cut to accent her slender waist,
With a skirt to the knee, stockings sheathing long, sculpted calves that gleamed like art.
Most stunning was her face: skin porcelain-white under moonlight, almost translucent,
Amber eyes like two pools of frozen honey, mesmerizing.
In seconds, Bai Xiaoxiao was awestruck by the maid's cold beauty.
My god, how can a maid be this gorgeous?
The 170 cm Xia Li in uniform looked worlds apart from her own disheveled self.
Suddenly Bai Xiaoxiao realized how wretched she appeared in comparison.
She instinctively shrank behind Jiang Cheng—and heard the woman speak.
"Young Master Jiang, welcome home."
The instant the car door opened, Xia Li's nose twitched.
Her sense of smell had always been sharp.
One sniff, and her gaze slid past Jiang Cheng to the Girl behind him—Bai Xiaoxiao.
Under normal circumstances she never left the house; tonight was an exception.
This was the first time Xia Li had ever seen Bai Xiaoxiao.
After only a few seconds she had catalogued every detail of the Girl's appearance.
"This is Bai Xiaoxiao," Jiang Cheng said, draping an arm across her shoulders. "Xia Li, have some calming essential oil and warm milk ready."
"Already prepared." Xia Li dipped in a small curtsey.
When she straightened, Bai Xiaoxiao noticed her lashes flutter wildly, the woman's gaze fixing on the red mark at the hollow of her collarbone.
For a heartbeat the two Girls stared at one another.
To Xia Li the newcomer looked like a little tabby cat that had been crying—baby-fat cheeks still clinging to childhood, yet her curves rose and fell in a way that made the heart skip.
Right now, wrapped in Jiang Cheng's coat, she resembled a child playing dress-up in an adult's clothes.
As far as Xia Li could recall, her boss already kept two specimens of this exact type around.
One was Xia Meng, the other Xia Zhiqiu.
Of the pair she saw more of Xia Meng;
back when they'd been at the river-side villa in Modu, Jiang Cheng had brought Xia Meng home.
Though the three Girls looked nothing alike, they shared a single defining trait: a child-like face paired with a voluptuous body.
So the boss has a thing for loli types, she mused.
"Shall I carry you in?" Jiang Cheng's voice broke the delicate hush.
Before Bai Xia Xiaoxiao could answer she was airborne.
From her princess-carry vantage she caught Xia Li's jaw tightening—and, more dismaying, the fuller swell of the woman's bust.
The teasing words of her live-stream viewers suddenly echoed in her ears:
Cuteness collapses at the first blow of sexiness.
Yet for all this beauty, Jiang Cheng treated Xia Li with nothing more than polite warmth, sparing her no extra glance.
The realisation stung Xia Li with a strange mix of inferiority and relief.
In the space of a few seconds both women arrived at much the same thought.
Xia Li envied Bai Xiaoxiao her childish fragility, her bird-like dependence;
Bai Xiaoxiao, in turn, coveted Xia Li's statuesque height and icy poise.
"Xia Li," Jiang Cheng paused in the entrance hall, voice low, "there's nothing more tonight—get some rest."
"Yes, sir." The odd ache inside her eased at once.
She had witnessed scenes like this countless times.
Ever since that particular incident, whenever Jiang Cheng brought someone home she felt no jealousy—only a nameless restlessness.
She watched him carry Bai Xiaoxiao up the stairs.
Her gaze settled on the Girl curled against his chest.
Bai Xiaoxiao was hiding her face in Jiang Cheng's shirt, only a pair of damp, doe-like eyes showing, shy and blinking.
Mechanically Xia Li turned toward the kitchen.
As she lifted a glass to drink, the faint red fingerprints circling Bai Xiaoxiao's wrist flashed again and again across her mind.
A soft crack rang out.
A fracture raced along the rim of the porcelain cup.
Porcelain sliced her exposed hand.
She frowned at the cut.
It wasn't the sting that bothered her.
What shook her was the realisation: somewhere amid the countless "No need to stand watch tonight" and "Turn in early" remarks, she had handed her heart over.
Upstairs, in the master bedroom, Bai Xiaoxiao was being lowered onto the king-size bed.
When Jiang Cheng leaned down she pressed a hand to his chest. "That… Miss Xia Li…"
"Mm?" He raised an eyebrow.
"She's so beautiful," Bai Xiaoxiao whispered, twisting the hem of her dress. "Like… like a black swan."
Jiang Cheng chuckled, nipping her earlobe. "She is lovely—but right now I only want to eat my little white rabbit."