QT: Against My Will

186 4.10 – Headache – Dangerous Angels

Looking him in the eyes, Bing Shi pointed at her heart, “Sir’s doing?”

Catching her curious gesture, Ru Quan looked down at his chest plate, at the little bend from the knife, saying, “An accident.” If he answered yes, wouldn’t he be seen as a mentally ill person? Roaming mindlessly around the street, he spotted this stall and decided to wait here. Wasn’t this little monster’s favorite food? “Do you like sweet potatoes?” He asked Bing Shi the moment he spotted a guard giving her a sweet potato.

Thanking the guard, Bing Shi nodded in anticipation, “I love them.” Tasting every kind of sweet potatoes in the universe became one of the things on her bucket list, “They are my comfort food. Do you have one too?”

Before Ru Quan could answer, the sweaty, old man stopped him. “Tian Shi, as a courtesan, your job is to seduce influential men, not a mere guard,” Hasan reprimanded disapprovingly. At least on the outside, he could take his grudge on Bing Shi.

“Mr. Hasan. Even a mere guard can become someone of great importance,” Bing Shi took a step towards the blond man, and sent him a hypnotizing smile, “Am I right, Sir?”

Ru Quan, ‘A courtesan?’

“Right,” Ru Quan responded with a similar smile and answered her question, “My comfort food...Bananas?”

“What a coincidence...” Bing Shi scrunched her eyebrows suspiciously. Did HQ throw an upgraded Victor before a sweet potato stall? Roaming down his chest, she declared truthfully, “I’m looking for a soul with similar taste to Sir’s.”

Before Ru Quan could respond, he was interrupted again, “...” Without a ripple of emotion, his hands were itching to break Hasan’s neck on the spot, his emperor’s might was pushing through.

.....

“Tian Shi, that’s enough of training,” Hasan called out and handed her a veil, “Stop wasting your time on a man who obviously isn’t rich enough to afford your services.” He didn’t believe that this untouchable angel could seduce anybody, and requested her to at least train a few times before going to that place. Along the way, he pointed at a few serious-looking men. But who was Tian Shi?! Did she use some magic? She was able to keep their interest, almost effortlessly.

“Alright,” Bing Shi covered the lover part of her face with a veil, following Hasan, she began to munch on the sweet potato.

‘Everything sounds too good to be true.’

Could someone tell him what in the world just happened? Did she mention a soul? Before she could disappear, Ru Quan called out, stifling at how flirtatious his words sounded, “Would you believe it? I’m looking for a soul too. The only thing I know about her is her love for sweet potatoes and her name.” Comparing the impression of little monster and this girl, they were quite different. But similarly, both came to him first and asked indirectly for a favor. There’s no way he’ll ignore it again.

Bing Shi was under the impression that she’d be the only one looking for Xuan Mu. He looking for her without any memories? How was that possible? Waving at a guard, she took out a banana, a few sour candies, and a bottle of lemonade from his crossbody bag. Lifting her gaze, she gifted them to Ru Quan, “That’s so sad. I know a lot about mine. He is very possessive. An overly jealous... Anyway. It sounds impossible to locate a soul Sir knows nothing about.”

“It’s alright. I’ll wait until she finds me,” Ru Quan accepted the strange gift. Were courtesans in this world that good at their job? He couldn’t tell if she was telling the truth, seducing him, or simply taking him for a joke. Just then, he could feel little monster’s vibes. “My name is Ru Quan.”

“Tian Shi, we are going to be late,” Hasan urged.

“I know,” answering to Hasan, Bing Shi made a slight bow towards Ru Quan, “Sir, forgive me, I’m a bit busy right now,” Seeing his nod, she gave him a mischievous smile, “I give no discounts.” Turning around, she disappeared in the crowd.

Ru Quan’s mouth twitched. Gulping down the sour water, he looked at his occupied hands. She was telling the truth. Why would she keep all these items in the bag then? Under the belief that he remembered all his lifetimes, he didn’t think that he was the one she was looking for. The only contact he had with her was during his first lifetime. She didn’t react to his name at all. If he could remember his past lives, why not others? The man she mentioned had to be another soul, meaning, she was not little monster.

There might be a chance that they remembered only a few lifetimes. If yes, what was their relationship? Peeling of the banana, he took a bite, while recollecting their first kiss. There was a limit to so many coincidences. There was no such thing as comfort food. It was just another thing which reminded him of little monster. To look for one another, everything they said was intentional. Ru Quan continued to walk mindlessly, his eyes void of any desires. When he started to get sick of everything, sex included, he knew that things had gone shit.

His steps brought him back to the estate. Passing through the front gates, a petite girl called out to him, “What would my father say if he knew our guard ran away during his working hours?” Stepping before him, revealing her face, Fei Lan showed him a smile, mesmerizing enough to cause a downfall of a city, “If you accompany me to the arena, I’ll take it upon myself.”

Ru Quan looked dazedly at the foreign face, a familiar feeling surged from within his body, telling him to hold onto this girl and never let go. His thoughts of Bai Meili never ceased, her imprint was just too deep, he was unable to move on. In the following lifetimes, she would select the other man, always the better one. He couldn’t blame her, causing her death, who would want this broken shell? The all-powerful man was gone. This was the current him – damaged on the surface, dead and empty on the inside.

Only towards one woman would he feel such an emotion. Now, that woman’s soul was in the body of an underage girl. Wasn’t she only twelve or something? “Find someone else,” the old spirit within Ru Quan’s body was disgusted by his feelings, “I don’t have time to babysit a little kid,” saying, he went to resign from his post as a guard.

Hearing his sarcasm, Fei Lan didn’t back down, “Judging me by my age, how... childish.” Disappearing on a whim, he didn’t act like a guard at all, which could mean that he remembered something. When she ordered her system to switch the target from Ru Quan to Tian Shi, it malfunctioned – the only person she could monitor was Ru Quan.

“Say whatever you want,” Ru Quan’s voice came out as indifferent, “I have no time for bickering.”

Fei Lan reacted immediately, “Are you leaving?” When it came to Bing Shi, he always took his time. So why, when it came to her, he always run away?! She cried at the injustice. ‘As expected of the heroine’s halo.’ Tears started to trickle down her face, her tone muffled, “Take me with you, please...” Lifting her head, she showed him her teary eyes; her strong facade a while ago, evaporated, “I don’t want to be married off.”

Ru Quan bit his bottom lip; he halted at his steps, “Pack your things. Meet me at midnight, behind the willow tree.” What could he say? He couldn’t ignore his ex-lover’s pleas for help, ‘I’m so pathetic.’

“Y-Yes,” Fei Lan hurried towards her courtyard, a delicate smirk replaced her tear stricken face.

‘Bai Meili, why won’t you let me go?’ Ru Quan observed the disappearing figure. Taking out little monster candy from his pocket, he placed it inside his mouth. Was this what she meant by comfort food? His focus completely switched to the sour taste of the candy. He started to cough abruptly. The candy fell out of his mouth.

Opening his eyes wide, gasping for air, he pumped at his chest. Just a second ago, he felt another tongue invading his mouth. No. It was him, who tried to leave his traces all over that slick territory. The texture of her wet tongue pushing the candy back, her nails scratching his hands, holding her face at place, he could feel it all. Only after she tasted the same as him, did he took the sour candy back in satisfaction.

The shocked Ru Quan stared at the wasted candy in the grass. ‘Little monster, what sorcery was that?’