Lu Cheng held Yukino Shita Chizuru's hand, walked through the spacious living room, and pushed open the door to the master bedroom of the presidential suite.
Several warm yellow wall lamps cast soft light into every corner of the room.
A faint, calming scent permeated the air.
The enormous, soft bed... This place felt like a sleeping chamber prepared for a deity.
And she was the offering, about to be presented to the deity.
Yukino Shita Chizuru's heart beat even faster.
Lu Cheng didn't speak; he released her hand, then gently cupped her face.
His fingertips, warm and dry, with a thin layer of calluses, caressed her cool cheek, sending shivers of ticklish sensations through her.
He leaned down.
A gentle kiss landed on her forehead.
Then on her closed eyelids.
Her upturned nose.
Finally, on her slightly trembling, cool lips.
The kiss was soft, like the gentlest breeze of spring.
Yukino Shita Chizuru's mind went completely blank.
She felt like a feather, floating on clouds, all her senses reduced to the comforting scent of the man.
And the warmth on her lips that made her feel as if she might melt... Was this what kissing felt like?
To be treated with such tenderness by a man was a happiness that made her soul tremble.
She clumsily, almost frantically, responded to the kiss.
And her inexperience seemed to please the man before her.
The smile on Lu Cheng's lips deepened; he smoothly lifted her into his arms and gently placed her on the soft, large bed.
Lu Cheng was not in a hurry to proceed to the next step.
He simply lay beside her, propping his head with one hand, quietly gazing at her with his deep eyes.
That gaze held appreciation, exploration, and even... a hint of something that made her mistake it for 'love.'
Yukino Shita Chizuru felt her body grow hot under his gaze, instinctively wanting to curl up, but his other hand gently pressed down on her waist.
"Don't move."
His voice was low and husky, carrying a seductive magic.
"Let me look at you properly."
His hand, as if admiring a peerless work of art, slowly traced the curves of her body, moving upwards.
From her slender ankles to her rounded calves, and then to her slender waist that seemed too delicate to grasp... Every inch of skin he touched felt as if a flame had been ignited, instantly becoming scorching hot.
Yukino Shita Chizuru's breathing became utterly chaotic.
All her rationality, all her vigilance, crumbled under that large hand.
She even began to actively yield, her body uncontrollably moving closer to the source of that warmth.
Seeing her utterly infatuated and completely lost, a flicker of satisfaction crossed Lu Cheng's eyes.
He suddenly whispered, his tone cold, like a judge commenting during a sword forging competition... "Hmm... not bad. The grip of this blade feels very good."
Yukino Shita Chizuru's body stiffened abruptly!
However, the increasingly intense, irresistible, domineering tenderness that followed prevented her from thinking.
Her consciousness was torn in two.
One half felt Lu Cheng's tenderness and affection.
The other half, because of that whisper, was lost in wild thoughts.
Lu Cheng seemed oblivious to her reaction, his movements never pausing.
His lips moved to her ear, his warm breath caressing her sensitive earlobe.
But the words he spoke became even more cruel.
"Let me see where your sharpness lies..."
Yukino Shita Chizuru's mind felt as if it had been struck by a bolt of lightning!
Is he still treating me like a demonic blade?
A convenient weapon, a tool?
Does he love me?
But why... does it feel so strange?
Just as her thoughts plunged into this confusion, Lu Cheng spoke again.
"Now, I am going to quench the blade."
His voice echoed in her ear, cold and indifferent, like a blacksmith forging a divine weapon.
"A good blade, only by enduring the most extreme flames, can become even more resilient..."
"And more..."
"Obedient."
Yukino Shita Chizuru couldn't distinguish whether she was a "woman in love" or a "tamed tool, a demonic blade..."
She didn't know, but... this conflict gradually eroded her last shred of "demonic blade" pride.
In its place was a more twisted, more pathological... surrender!
"Tell me..."
"Could that inferior scabbard called Kamiya Makoto give you this feeling?"
Kamiya Makoto... that name, like a distant and ridiculous symbol, flashed through her muddled mind.
No... he couldn't... That good-for-nothing didn't even have the right to touch her blade!
Only this man before her!
Only this man, who spoke the cruellest words with the gentlest actions!
Only he was worthy of becoming her master!
Her "demonic blade" soul was completely reshaped at this moment!
At the same time... mentally, her fantasy of "love" and her perception of herself as a "tool" were twistedly combined.
Her spirit no longer struggled, no longer wavered.
She gradually began to actively embrace Lu Cheng's "forging."
She yearned to become a divine weapon perfectly suited for her master.
As for that good-for-nothing... Kamiya Makoto, he was merely a temporary means to an end!
"Master..."
"Please, let me be more... handy."
"More, to your liking..."