"Glug, glug, glug..."
Xiaotong spent a long time blowing bubbles beneath the surface of the water, yet the abnormal heat in her body showed no sign of subsiding.
Though her exhausted body felt somewhat soothed, she also felt rather dizzy from soaking for so long.
It must have been because the water was too hot.
It certainly wasn't because of *him*...!
Tens of minutes passed. Xiaotong stretched out to her heart's content in the bathtub, scrubbing her body and using the luxury toiletries provided by Kowloon Residence—products she wouldn't normally even dare to look at—one after another, sparing no expense.
Her body was clean, but a fiery, stifling frustration deep within her refused to be extinguished.
Like a freed and frolicking Husky, Xiaotong splashed around in the spacious tub, but playing in the now-cooling water was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable.
*Do I really have to wear that kind of undergarment when I walk out of this bathroom?*
Xiaotong hesitated—besides, the bathrobes provided by Kowloon Residence were rather oversized.
Xiaotong glanced back down at the clothes she had shed. She knew that she had been running around and hadn't taken a bath or changed clothes for two whole days...
Those clothes of hers were definitely not clean.
Xiaotong took one look and immediately averted her gaze—she was a clean girl, after all!
She glanced toward the other side: the pristine, wonderfully comfortable-looking silk-cotton blended knit bathrobe, and resting right on top of it, the black... whatever kind of fabric it was, which felt exceptionally soft to the touch...
Xiaotong just took a single glance, then immediately shifted her gaze back to her dirty clothes—*I'm a girl with a sense of shame, too!*
Ummmmm...
It was so hard to choose.
When it came down to it, she was actually just afraid to leave the bathroom and face Min Moyou.
Should she soak in the tub a little longer, then?
That wouldn't do either; she had already soaked for too long and was feeling a bit dizzy.
Cold water was uncomfortable, and she was afraid she might pass out later if the water stayed hot.
Even for a Dragon Descendant, the physical strength and energy available for consumption were limited. Having been busy for a whole day in the truest sense without much rest—even with a late-night snack and a bath to soothe her physical and mental exhaustion—Xiaotong's bodily and mental state was now so fragile it was on the verge of collapse.
After a hot bath, the exhaustion faded, but sleepiness surged up. Her eyelids were already fluttering. If she kept wasting time in the bathroom, she would probably become the first water-attribute Dragon Descendant to drown in a bathtub...
That would truly be too humiliating!
Forget it!
Whatever!
Xiaotong hardened her heart!
Who's afraid of whom?!
I am a Dragon Descendant!
Could she possibly be afraid of a pampered, ordinary young master of a wealthy family?
What did he have besides some money?!
She doubted he would dare lay a hand on her!
If he couldn't control his eyes, she would naturally help him control them!
Having figured it out, Xiaotong drained the water from the bathtub and gave herself a final rinse with the showerhead.
Drip, drop...
Outside the bathroom, Min Moyou muttered to himself, *Do women really take this long to bathe? Well, you learn something new every day.*
At the same time, he couldn't help but open up his five senses, listening to the pleasant sound of water droplets falling to the floor...
Vaguely, Min Moyou felt as though he could use the intervals between the dripping sounds to deduce the exact moment water droplets slid across Xiaotong's body, imagining her proud figure in his mind's eye.
The subtle wonders of this were not to be shared with outsiders~
*(Why does it sometimes feel like I'm turning into a pervert while writing this...)*
The sound of water stopped after a few minutes, followed by rustling noises—probably Xiaotong hesitating. The friction of clothing, the sound of garments being picked up and put down, went on for a full ten minutes.
"Clang—"
A soft door-opening sound rang out, and Xiaotong poked her clever little head out from the bathroom, looking all around.
She saw Min Moyou still seated on that luxury single-sofa, staring at the bathroom door with a look that carried a tiny, tiny, tiny... bit of expectation (Min Moyou's inner excitement could not be concealed), alongside a gaze brimming with considerable annoyance and warning.
Xiaotong knew she couldn't run now, nor did she have the chance to find somewhere to wrap herself up while he wasn't looking.
Resigned to her fate, Xiaotong walked out of the bathroom, shuffling in disposable slippers with thick, soft cotton-fleece uppers. The oversized bathrobe wrapped her from head to toe, leaving visible only her fair ankles, a rosy-white neck, and flushed cheeks.
Her damp hair was draped casually behind her like a wronged little thing whose rebellious spirit was laced with provocation, adding a touch of cuteness to her aura of a pure yet arrogant maiden.
Very good.
Full of spirit.
Min Moyou was immensely pleased.
He could already tell that Xiaotong had been a good girl and listened to him, not wearing her own dirty set of clothes.
He nodded approvingly, and the warning look in his eyes vanished.
Xiaotong didn't give Min Moyou a pleasant look—she was truly sleepy and exhausted, to the point where even her expression management had collapsed. With slanted eyes and a pouting mouth, not caring about money or anything else anymore, her tone lacked its usual deference or playfulness as she said flatly:
"If nothing's going on, I'm going to find a place to recharge my batteries. I still bear the mission of protecting you from the influence of the Dragon Domain's power, after all. I need to get some proper rest."
With that, Xiaotong looked around the room with total abandon, as if searching for a comfortable place to rest—deliberately keeping her gaze off Min Moyou.
From start to finish, she maintained a safe distance of at least five meters from Min Moyou and intended to find a spot far away from the bed—though not too far, in case he figured out that her so-called "protection" was just a lie.
Tch, what a pain...
"Wait."
"Did I say you could rest?"
?
Was there still something else?
Wasn't it just time for a bath and sleep?
Did he have some sort of bedtime activity left?
Xiaotong looked at Min Moyou with surprise and wariness, a bad premonition spreading to her heart.
"Then what else do you want, big ~ young ~ master ~?"
Enduring the pressure of Min Moyou's gaze, Xiaotong tried her best to control her overflowing dissatisfaction and replied limply.
Min Moyou stood up from his seat and walked toward Xiaotong step by step.
With every step Min Moyou took forward, Xiaotong couldn't help but step backward...
Min Moyou's face darkened, and he said with annoyance:
"Since you want to stay and earn an hourly wage, honestly do your job for me."
"I-I-I don't provide that kind of service!"
Xiaotong waved her hands frantically, refusing firmly!
"What kind of service?"
"Just... just..."
"Come here and undress me. That is all."
"Ah!... Ah? Oh..."
Min Moyou stood in place, raising his hands slightly without approaching Xiaotong further, and asked with an aloof, reproachful look: *Do you think you deserve the high salary you're getting?*
Xiaotong felt a slight pang of conscience for a split second, but immediately snapped back to her senses—*Undress you? Don't you have hands of your own? You need someone else just to take off your clothes?!*
And *that is all*?
Heaven only knew what kind of beastly things he'd do after stripping!
Besides, undressing a grown man...
She had never done that before...
She got embarrassed too...
This wasn't right! Was... was this proper?!
"I... I've never done this before, I don't know how..."
With a look of complete failure to catch Min Moyou's meaningful glance, Xiaotong stood in place and gave an awkward laugh:
"Hehehe... Um, well, why don't you have someone else help you? I've never undressed anyone before, I'm afraid I won't do it right..."
"It's just taking off clothes. What is there that you don't know how to do? I won't blame you even if you don't do it right."
Min Moyou insisted, unmoved by Xiaotong's little tricks.
"I don't know how, I just don't! You either call someone else to help you, or do it yourself! I simply don't know how!"
Xiaotong stood firm, yielding not an inch.
"Sigh... Then I suppose I have no choice but to call someone else to help me?"
Min Moyou seemed to be thinking of backing down?
Yet Xiaotong suddenly felt a tightness in her chest—was he thinking of calling that receptionist from Kowloon Residence?
Tch, that bootlicking creature! If he called her, she'd surely come running up on all fours...
Whatever, let him call whoever he wanted!
What did it have to do with her?!
Who cared!
Screw him!
"Oh, go ahead and call her then."
Xiaotong tried to look indifferent, though her tone came out a bit strange.
Min Moyou took it all in. It seemed his efforts were bearing fruit after all.
Speaking of which...
He hadn't met the Min Family's six-member Death Guard squad yet.
Min Moyou was quite curious.
Why not call them out for a meeting?
"Yeying?"
Min Moyou called out softly.
"What is that?"
Xiaotong was extremely confused. What had he just said?
But Xiaotong's confusion instantly turned to shock:
The shadow cast by Min Moyou under the light suddenly rippled like a muddy pool into which a stone had been cast.
Immediately afterward, a dark figure drilled out from it with lightning speed. Before Xiaotong's eyes could even adjust, the dark figure was already kneeling on one knee, head lowered, submissively prostrated before Min Moyou.
"Master, you called for me?"
A crisp, cold female voice came from the capable-looking woman dressed in black form-fitting combat attire, wearing a blackish-brown patterned bird-beak mask.
Great figure, pleasant voice, obedient attitude.
Min Moyou was very satisfied.
"Raise your head and take off your mask."
"Yes, Master."
The woman called Yeying neatly and decisively removed her mask and raised her head so Min Moyou could have a good look at her face.
Willow-leaf eyebrows, phoenix eyes, a straight bridge of the nose, thin lips, and a fierce, sharp gaze—a standard mature beauty.
Min Moyou was even more satisfied, a smile in his eyes as he looked uninhibitedly at Yeying's feminine face.
Xiaotong's expression changed again and again.
First, shock—*No way? He can actually conjure up a Dragon Descendant out of thin air?*
Now Xiaotong understood why Min Moyou had been so unfazed when she told him earlier that the room was affected by the Dragon Domain—he had probably just been toying with her like a fool back then!
Then, fear—*It's over, that woman seems to obey him, and her strength looks greater than mine. Is he going to force himself on me now?!*
*We're doomed...*
Yet seeing that Min Moyou's attention was entirely focused on Yeying, Xiaotong secretly breathed a sigh of relief—*He probably just called her here to undress him, right?*
Keeping quiet, Xiaotong lowered her head once more and played possum, hoping Min Moyou wouldn't notice her.
Yet how could Min Moyou let her have her way?
"Didn't you say you didn't know how to undress someone?"
Min Moyou withdrew his attention from Yeying and turned it back to Xiaotong.
"Yeying."
"Subordinate is here."
"Go help teach her how to undress me."
"Yes!"
Xiaotong froze for a second—*No??? Your idea of "help me" meant THIS "help me"?*
But in that very second, Yeying closed the distance with terrifying speed. Moving too fast for Xiaotong to react, she slipped behind Xiaotong and pressed a short dagger against her lower back.
Xiaotong felt the sharp edge pressing into her lower back, along with the intense, unmasked yin-attribute Dragon Power emanating from Yeying. Her inner self roared frantically:
*What is this?! Is this your idea of teaching? You call this teaching?!?*
However, lacking comparable strength and with her weapon not on hand, Xiaotong didn't dare act rashly—she was still young, had no death wish, and really didn't want to die...
Just like that, Xiaotong's body stiffened in place as she forced out a dry laugh.
"Aiyo~ Young Master, what are you doing~?"
"Um... Big Sister behind me, could you move the knife away just a tiny bit? Little Xiaotong is afraid you might accidentally slip, you know...?"
Min Moyou smiled as well, obviously much happier than Xiaotong.
"I specifically called someone here to 'help me'! Teach you! Ah~ how is it, feeling touched?"
Xiaotong: *I don't dare move, and I'm not touched at all.*
Min Moyou walked up in front of Xiaotong—now Xiaotong didn't dare step back.
Instead, he spoke to Yeying behind her:
"Yeying, what do you think? Do you think she's learned?"
Yeying gave a reply that sidestepped the question:
"Master, in this subordinate's view, this hussy does not know what is good for her, shows no respect for superiors, and has repeatedly offended you—she is simply out of control! We should execute her with the force of thunder, skin her, and stuff her hide with straw to make an example to others."
"Hey! Don't—!"
Xiaotong cried out in immediate panic—*Am I some kind of heinous criminal?!*
Was that really necessary—?!
It was over, completely over! This was a life-or-death crisis!
She'd really walked right into it this time!
Yet as a Dragon Descendant, how could Xiaotong be willing to entrust her life and death to someone else?
Watching Min Moyou look as though he were genuinely considering Yeying's suggestion, Xiaotong panicked to the extreme...
*Wait?*
*I have a plan!*
*He's only ten or twenty centimeters away from me right now. I'm still a Dragon Descendant, while he's just an ordinary human...*
*Even though the woman behind me is a bit stronger than me, she isn't overwhelmingly stronger...*
*At this distance, if I suddenly burst into action—!*
*And take him hostage, wouldn't that be like holding the emperor to command the lords?*
*You started this unfair game first, right?!*
*Then don't blame me for being unrighteous, alright?!*
Xiaotong's body suddenly tensed, her gaze locked onto Min Moyou—but as someone without professional training, her intentions were detected by Yeying in an instant.
"Hmph."
Yeying let out a cold snort. In an instant, five strands of Dragon Curse auras, each no weaker than Yeying's own, locked onto Xiaotong from different directions, scaring her so badly that every hair on her body stood on end.
*What the hell?!*
*Dragon Descendants stronger than me—and he has six of them around him?!*
*Now I really am a clown...*
In her heart, Xiaotong was already weeping in a storm of despair:
*Boss Shen! Old Master Du!*
*I'm terrified!*
*I miss you guys!*
*I think I've messed with something filthy.........*
Moreover, Xiaotong could clearly sense that one of those auras carried a particularly fierce intent to kill, as if it would tear her into a million pieces the moment she made even the slightest movement...
Xiaotong racked her brains, completely unable to figure out what she had possibly done wrong to make that person want to kill her so badly...
*(In the shadows, the hot-tempered Peacock had only two thoughts:*
*1, Move? Why aren't you moving? Why don't you fucking move already?! I've been wanting to kill you for ages!*
*2, Why didn't the Master summon me?! If the Master had summoned me, the moment I appeared I would have hacked you to pieces first, then undressed the Master myself, and then... wouldn't that be a wonderful thing~?)*
While Yeying played the bad cop, Min Moyou played the good cop, putting on a compassionate expression and shaking his head slightly to veto Yeying's proposal:
"Who says I'm not merciful? I still want to give her another chance."
Just like the first time Min Moyou had laid eyes on Xiaotong, he pinched her chin, lifted her head up, and locked eyes with her.
"Now then? Have you learned how to undress someone?"
"D-Don't be rash! I... I can learn too..... hehe........."
..............
[Congratulations, Host! Using force to compel another to submit. Dominant CEO persona immersion increased by 2%: Current immersion: 30%.]
[Acquired immersion increase reward: Preliminary materialization of the fictional Min Family background in Qinmin District.]