Chapter 7: Kiss Her

"Sister Jian Tong, now that you're out of prison, what do you want to do? I want to go to Erhai. The beauty of Erhai is so clear and clean. The waterbirds there are adorable, and the fish and shrimp in the lake are so fresh. The sky is bluer, the water clearer, and even the sunshine feels warmer than in this city.

I'm going to work hard to make money, a lot of money, and go there to open a small guesthouse. I'm not looking to make a fortune; I just want to face Erhai Lake every day, with its rising and falling tides. I don't aim to earn a lot, just enough to live a comfortable life with a little extra, and occasionally watch backpackers come and go.

Sister Jian Tong, I feel like I'm about to die. What should I do? I haven't had the chance to see the beauty of Erhai Lake yet."

That was a voice of sorrow that Sister Jian Tong would never forget in her lifetime. She held the girl, constantly trying to warm her gradually cooling body with her own warmth.

As the girl lay dying in her arms, her clear eyes filled with longing, looking out at a small patch of sky through the tiny iron window of the prison, she said, "Sister Jian Tong, I've never actually been to Erhai. All those beautiful images of Erhai were from television and magazines and newspapers. I know, even if I got out of prison, I wouldn’t have the money to open a small guesthouse at Erhai. I just wanted to dream a little before I die, about doing something that can never come true."

To this day, Jian Tong still remembers the longing look in the girl's eyes before she passed away.

The memory is still painful, and unknowingly, the corners of her eyes became moist. She stretched out her hand and secretly wiped away the moisture. Crouching on the ground, her hand quietly moved to the left side of her lower back, where there was an emptiness, she was missing an organ that normal people have.

Because of this, she couldn't drink alcohol, she had to stay alive.

She had debts that were unpaid!

She had sinned and had not yet redeemed herself!

No!

She couldn't die yet! 

These vivid scenes evoke powerful emotions and depth of character, capturing the universal human experiences of hope, loss, and the burden of unfulfilled dreams. The use of imagery and the character's introspection provides a moment of profound reflection and an intimate glance into her internal struggle.

Jian Tong lifted her head to look at Shen Xiujin and shook her head, saying, "Mr. Shen, as long as you don’t make me drink alcohol, anything goes."

Anything goes?

The man’s eagle-like eyes narrowed, and the corners of his mouth slowly curled up. "Anything goes?" He spoke with an undertone of danger.

Has the proud and confident Miss Jian of the Jian family cast aside all her pride?

He wanted to see if the Miss Jian he remembered had truly become someone else.

"As long as I don't have to drink. Anything goes."

"Good!" A fleeting harshness flashed across the man's face as he sat on the sofa. He then snapped his fingers in the air, and with that snap, a figure slowly emerged from a dark corner of the room: "Sir." The man, dressed in a black suit with a clean buzz cut, bowed his head respectfully at a 45-degree angle. He must be Shen Xiujin's bodyguard.

Seems we are deep in a scene that illuminates complex relationships and underlying tensions. The choice of words and details offer insights into each character's mind, revealing the heavy weights they carry, be it past pride, present dependencies, or future uncertainties. It provides a striking snapshot of the precarious balance between power dynamics and individual will.

Jian Tong looked at Shen Xiujin, puzzled under the dim light. The man's perfect face shone with a golden glow, and a slow smile bloomed like a spider lily; his thin lips moved slightly, "Kiss him."

Following the direction of his long fingers, Jian Tong's gaze settled on the silent bodyguard in a black suit standing behind him... Suddenly, her eyes widened in shock!

"How about it? Can't do it?" Shen Xiujin's playful laughter echoed next to her ear, "Either drink or start your performance right here, right now."

Splash! A basin of ice water was poured over her head, and Jian Tong felt utterly lifeless and cold to the core, with a buzzing in her ears. She looked up blankly at the kingly man seated on the sofa... What did he say?

A performance? Oh... to have her, like a lady from the world of the mundane, enact a vague and intimate kissing scene right here?

She slowly pursed her dry lips; so, her first kiss was so cheap. Despite the fact that all she had left for him were fear and horror, and though she had long sinceJian Tong looked puzzledly at Shen Xiujin under the dim light. On the man's perfect face, plated with a gleam of gold, a smile bloomed slowly like a Manjushahua, and his thin lips moved slightly: "Kiss him."

Following the direction of his slender finger, Jian Tong's gaze fixed on a silent bodyguard in a black suit standing behind him... Suddenly, her eyes widened in shock!

"How so? Can't you do it?" Shen Xiujin's teasing laughter came from beside her ear: "Either you drink or you start your performance here and now."

Splash! A bucket of ice-cold water was poured over her head, leaving Jian Tong's body feeling devoid of any warmth, her ears buzzing. She raised her head, her eyes blankly fixed on the man sitting on the sofa like a deity... What did he say?

A performance? Oh... To have her, like a lady of the night, perform a suggestive act of an intimate kiss here?

She slowly moistened her dry lips, realizing how cheap her first kiss was. Even though all that was left for him was fear and dread, although she had long ago cleaned up her feelings for him and buried them neatly in the tomb of her heart, she couldn't help but feel a bitter pain well up uncontrollably.

She slowly looked at Shen Xiujin, her eyes neither cold, hateful, nor loving, only filled with a thick, undissolvable despair.

Shen Xiujin took pleasure in seeing the despair in her eyes. This woman... she should reject his ridiculous request, right? Choosing between drinking and performing a kiss with a stranger in public, any woman would choose the former, wouldn't she?

And yet, she was once Miss Jian. That Miss Jian who carried herself with pride.

“Can I choose another option?” After all, it was her first kiss. It might be something trivial in his eyes, but to her, it was precious.

She didn’t want to lose her first kiss like this.

She had already lost everything else.

The man lifted his wine glass and drained it in one gulp: "You have no right to bargain with me." The corners of his mouth curved up into a pleased smile, as he wanted to see just how low and degraded Miss Jian of S City could be!

"Alright, I understand." Jian Tong stood up woodenly. Her legs were stiff and achy from kneeling too long, almost causing her to fall to the ground again. She raised her hand and pounded her thighs several times to soothe the pain in her muscles and meridians before she limped towards the bodyguard in black.

The men in the box assumed her leg-pounding was just because her legs had gone numb from kneeling too long, but Qin Mumu knew the limping woman was enduring a pain that most people couldn't stand.

Qin Mumu felt regret because it was because of her that Jian Tong got involved.

"Jian Tong... sister..." Qin Mumu couldn't hold back and spoke up, only to be silenced by a warning look from Xi Chen who was playing it cool beside her. Scared, she closed her mouth, her eyes filled with remorse, but she felt powerless as she watched the limping, pitiful woman.

With a wooden expression on her face, Jian Tong walked up to the bodyguard. She took a deep breath quietly, exhaling slowly. After a long moment, she pretended to be calm and raised her arm, reaching out to grasp the shoulder of the bodyguard in black.

She appeared composed, but the bodyguard in black, whose shoulders she was clutching, could distinctly feel Miss Jian's tremors.

The black-clad bodyguard recognized Miss Jian Tong - he couldn't believe, that the woman in front of him, now so disheveled and low, was the once proud and vibrant heiress of the Jian family.

Rising on her tiptoes, Jian Tong's ashen lips, trembling, moved closer to the lips of the black-clothed bodyguard before her...

Losing her first kiss wouldn't cost her any flesh, but the odds of surviving if she drank that bottle of wine were virtually zero.

She wanted to live. What was a first kiss in comparison?

Shen Xiujin's face was a complex tapestry of emotions as she finally chose the latter option.

The man on the sofa narrowed his eyes slightly, his thin lips parting to speak, when suddenly a voice from the door exclaimed, “Oh, it's you? Haven't you left yet?”

As the voice sounded, everyone in the private room turned their attention towards the door, where a tall man had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

Jian Tong flinched slightly, then turned her head to look towards the door. "It’s you..." she said.

Xi Chen glanced at the tall and upright man at the door, then back at Jian Tong, his peachy eyes crinkling with amusement. "Yo, Xiao Heng, you know her?" he said, finding it odd. Since when was a cleaner someone that Xiao Heng would bother to know?

Xi Chen rubbed his chin, clearly anticipating the unfolding drama.

Shen Xiujin's gaze also fell on Xiao Heng, a faint shadow flickering in the depths of his eyes.

Xiao Heng, for his part, seemed indifferent to the stares directed at him by everyone else in the room. He looked oddly at Jian Tong... What was that woman trying to do? It almost looked like she was about to force a kiss on Shen Xiujin's personal bodyguard.

Blinking carelessly, Xiao Heng curved his lips into a smirk. "Strange, I only left for a moment, and this room has gotten lively," he commented. His hands in his suit pockets, he sauntered casually over to Jian Tong, asking as he walked, "What's going on here?"