The Sunken Islands

Hearing that Ming Cizhuo was flirting with another girl, Xia Jinteng finally understood: matters don't stay unchanged in a vacuum just because you choose not to look at them as they grow and spread.

On Ming Cizhuo's birthday, his friends gathered downstairs to celebrate, their excited chatter filling the air.

He was leaning back on the sofa, taking a nap. His short black hair was still damp, not yet blow-dried, and the hem of his thin T-shirt had ridden up, revealing the elegant line of his waist and back.

She slowly moved over and sat at the edge of the sofa. The faint, warm glow of the aroma lamp fell across his fine, pale profile. His long lashes framed an air of cold, untouchable beauty.

She whispered, "You like her."

"Which her?"

Ming Cizhuo's voice was heavy with exhaustion. He was so sleepy he couldn't even be bothered to open his eyes.

"You weren't asleep..."

"Could you sleep with someone staring at you like that?"

Xia Jinteng turned her face away, but a slender hand suddenly held her in place. Ming Cizhuo gently gripped her chin and leaned close, studying her face. "Who do you mean? Who do I like?"

Maybe he had been drinking a little, or maybe he was worn out from his busy schedule these past few days. Ming Cizhuo's voice was lower than usual, lazy and dangerously seductive.

After a moment, Xia Jinteng heard herself ask, "...If I suddenly kissed you, would you get mad?"

The room was quiet. Steam curled from the aroma lamp, and water murmured softly. Xia Jinteng's fingertips tingled, and her heart felt ready to leap out of her throat.

His dark eyes were as cold as a deep pool. Ming Cizhuo curled his lips into a smile.

"Yes."

- Upcoming Novel: "Waiting for His Fever to Break" -

After her parents remarry, Ying Jia gains a younger brother, just one year her junior.

Ying Jia gently disinfects his wound. When the cotton swab touches it, his muscles tense instinctively.

The boy lowers his eyes, his thin lips pressed together.

Feeling sorry for him, Ying Jia finishes wrapping the bandage, then opens her arms and draws him into a hug. "We'll be a family."

Lost in her concern for him, she doesn't notice his Adam's apple bob, his gaze deepen, or the excited tremor in the hand he wraps around her waist, like a greedy snake anticipating its slow, delicious conquest.

-

As family, Ying Xu is beyond reproach. More than a younger brother, he is like an older one: taking care of her in every way, protecting her every moment, driving off the drunken debt collectors, handling her troubles. He's thoughtful, patient, practically perfect.

Ying Jia falls for him, confesses, visits his room late at night, and starts a relationship with him behind their parents' backs.

-

He grows more and more clingy, always finding chances to touch her. His fingertips leave a burning warmth, and his hands leave repeated red marks around her waist.

His desire for her is frequent and intense. He pins her wrists down with irresistible force, kisses and licks the side of her neck, marking her as his own like a beast.

Ying Jia becomes afraid. Carefully, she suggests that they return to being siblings as they were at first.

Ying Xu looks at her quietly, then smiles and agrees.

Ying Jia thinks it's all over, but she has no idea that Ying Xu is even more twisted than she imagined.

Theme: Love life and stay positive