A Kiss on Her Butterfly Bones

Jian Xia didn't know how to describe him.

A Taoist priest from Yuntai Mountain, a mysterious Southeast Asian magnate, a top young master from the capital...

He even had several names.

They first met at a Taoist temple on Yuntai Mountain.

The wind was strong and the fog thick that day. Beneath the green pines, he stood tall and elegant in a white Taoist robe, untouched by the dust of the world.

She stood before the incense burner, trying and failing to light her incense for a long time.

A large, slender hand reached out, took the incense from her, and stirred it in an oil lamp. It caught fire in a second, the flame bright and dazzling.

She knelt before the Hall of Longevity and drew the worst fortune stick.

He grabbed a handful of sticks from the holder, picked out the best one, and handed it to her. "Congratulations, Miss. May you live to a hundred and enjoy peace and happiness every year."

They met again on the filthy, chaotic streets of a Southeast Asian slum. She stumbled and fell in front of him, then grabbed the leg of his suit trousers with trembling hands. "Sir, save me."

She was his temporary wife for more than seven months. There was no wedding and no well-wishes.

After they parted, they never contacted each other again.

Later, they crossed paths in Beicheng, when he showed up at her engagement party.

Her fiancé raised a glass to him and respectfully called him Uncle.

"Xia Xia, go toast him too."

She lifted her glass with trembling hands. "A junior offers you a toast."

He crooked a corner of his mouth, his smile roguish and sharp. "What are you toasting me for? For letting someone play me, or for my wife getting engaged to someone else?"

Her hand shook, spilling the wine. She parted her lips, but couldn't get a word out.

He patted his thigh. "Come a little closer and say it. I can't hear you."

After the banquet ended, he pinned her down on the table.

His large hand stroked her slender waist. His hot breath brushed her ear as he spoke in a low, husky voice. "You should be wishing me a happy wedding night and a child soon."