Back to the present. After Lin finished organizing his memories, he started putting on his clothes without a word. Eden watched him calmly as he searched through the bras and jackets scattered all over the floor for his clothes. She walked unhurriedly to the small refrigerator in the bedroom and took out a bottle of red wine, opening it and pouring it into a decanter.
Only then did she sway her graceful body to stand behind Lin, placing her hand on his shoulder and laughing softly. "Leaving so soon?"
Smack. Lin swatted her hand away and gave her a look of fury. "I'm not that close with you. Honor your agreement and delete that video."
Eden wasn't angry. She sat on the bed naked, making no attempt to cover herself, not even removing the "balloons" from her stockings. She looked at Lin with a smile. "You felt very good last night too, didn't you? Compared to others, even your little girlfriend, our compatibility is much better."
"It wasn't good at all! Don't compare her to you!"
Lin face was a bit unsightly. He forced himself not to look at the parts of Eden below her head, but a certain strange stirring in his body made him look at that seductive body intentionally or unintentionally.
Last night...
At the very beginning, Lin maintained his reason, telling himself it would be over soon. But when it actually started...
Later on, he didn't know what he was doing anymore. He was just instinctively seeking pleasure; his brain felt so good it was as if it were melting. He had never felt this way before. Even Yama... no, it was just an illusion, don't think about it... Eden was only a beginner, so why...
"Lin, how about dating me?" Eden asked with a meaningful smile, as if she had seen through his thoughts.
"That's not funny." Lin gritted his teeth, putting on a fierce expression. "Hurry up and delete those!"
"Mmh... okay." Eden took out her phone and deleted those videos right in front of Lin. Under Lin supervision, she also made those forty-odd people delete the videos one by one. Thus, their deal was concluded.
Lin watched her finish everything, then quickly put on his clothes and tried to walk out.
"Wait a moment, my friend. Are you really leaving just like that?"
"Hmph." Lin gave a cold snort and didn't answer.
"Then what about your girlfriend's studies?"
"..."
Lin stopped with a frown. He stood at the door, and Eden, anticipating he would turn back, smiled radiantly and spoke leisurely. "Your girlfriend is a graduate student and secretly an assassin, making a living while pursuing knowledge. It's truly heart-wrenching... but unfortunately, her advisor has recently noticed something wrong with her and is considering whether to..."
"You did it, didn't you!"
Lin interrupted Eden roughly. Under his gaze of extreme fury, Eden tapped her lips. "Mmh... did I? I don't know. but if she's expelled and exposed, not only will she face prison, but the research she's dreamed of since childhood will be lost... After all, I am a global superstar; everyone is willing to do me a small favor, rather than pity an assassin, aren't they?"
"What exactly... do you want!"
Eden laughed softly and weighed the thick, tempting fruits on her chest. She tilted her head and asked, "You know what to do, right?"
"..."
...
"Hello? Lin?"
"Mmh, it's me. What's wrong?"
Lin spoke incoherently into the phone with Yama. His breathing was a bit heavy, as if he were panting against something. Yama said to Lin happily, "The doctor said I can be discharged. Can you come pick me up this afternoon?"
"..."
"Lin?"
"Ah? Oh, okay." Lin snapped back to his senses and quickly responded, "I'll come pick you up this afternoon."
"Mmh, then let's go out and play!"
"Ah—" Lin suddenly let out a suppressed low moan, as if he had lost his strength. Then came a heavy sound of a head hitting the bed.
"Lin, what's wrong?" Yama was a bit worried. Did Lin hit his head?
"...No, it's nothing." Lin voice sounded normal. He even laughed with a bit of ease. "Where shall we go? Is the amusement park okay?"
"Sure."
"Then wait for me at the hospital this afternoon."
"Okay..."
Beep—
Yama wanted to chat with Lin a bit more, but she heard the busy tone. she froze, looking at the unresponsive phone in her hand.
"That's nice. Going out to play together this afternoon? How loving. Can I come along too?"
Eden leaned over and licked Lin earlobe on her chest, gently stroking his hair. The movements of her other hand didn't stop for a second, making Lin let out low groans.
Helpless to resist, Lin shook his head hard. "You... aren't allowed..."
...
"Lin, you're a bit distracted today. Is something bothering you?"
The zoning-out Lin was snapped back by Yama. He returned to his senses and gave her a gentle smile.
"No... maybe I didn't sleep well last night, hehe." Lin tried his best not to let Yama notice anything. He picked an exciting activity. "Let's go on the roller coaster?"
"Is it my fault? Should we just call it off today..."
"No, no, no, it's not." Lin shook his head quickly, not wanting Yama to worry. "Don't worry about so much. Let's just have fun today."
Yama looked blankly at Lin profile, then nodded hard. "Mmh."
Exciting activities couldn't be done consecutively. After doing two, they decided to take a break. While chatting happily with Yama, Lin phone suddenly buzzed. He took it out and glanced at it.
"..."
"What is it?" Seeing Lin frozen, Yama leaned in to see the content on his phone, but Lin put it away first.
Lin said with a smile, "Nothing, just spam. I'm going to the restroom. Wait for me here for a bit."
"Okay."
As Lin rose, Yama grabbed his hand, gave him a peck on the cheek, then waved her hand with a blush. "Go ahead."
Lin patted her head with a bit of a smile, then turned and walked slowly toward the public restroom...
...
"Hmph..."
Lin covered his mouth tightly, staring coldly at Eden, who was sitting on his lap with her hands braced on either side of his ears. She didn't care about Lin gaze at all, gently blowing a pleasant scent onto his face and into his nose.
In this crowded place, the public restroom was full of people. Fortunately, it was cleaned quite well and didn't have much odor. But at this moment, people were still walking past the stall they were in. Lin could even see their feet passing under the partition. The thrill and immorality of potentially being exposed at any second made their bodies exceptionally excited.
Lin endured; he just wanted it to end quickly so he could return to Yama. But just then, he heard a familiar voice from outside the door: "Lin? Are you there?"
"!"
Lin eyes widened, while Eden showed a look of great interest.
"Not there? Where did he go after all this time?" Yama, who was looking for Lin, walked in front of their stall. She looked worriedly at the people coming out of the stalls; Lin hadn't been in good shape today, and she was very concerned.
Bang!
The door of the stall next to them made a loud noise, startling Yama. She looked over with a frown. Sniffing her nose and smelling a certain scent, she snorted and whispered, "How uncivilized..."
Lin leaned against the door, and Eden launched a frantic assault on him. He closed his mouth and eyes tightly, but Eden leaned in and caught his lips.
"Mmph—mmph—"
Yama left to look for her boyfriend elsewhere. And the person she was looking for was currently in the stall she had just checked, lying on the floor with vacant, strengthless eyes and a silver thread of saliva hanging from his lip.
Special: The Singer and the Deal (Part 3)
"Mm-hmm... used up again."
Eden shook the empty box in her hand. She looked at Lin, who was slumped against the headboard, struggling to focus his scattered pupils. She curled her lips, wrapped her arms around his neck from behind, and pressed her soft body against his back.
"Then want to try without one?"
"No!"
Lin snapped awake quite a bit upon hearing that. Even Yama hadn't...
"What does it matter? Anyway, even if someone gets pregnant, it won't be you."
"You're a singer, and a superstar at that." Lin gritted his teeth and warned her. "Are you really planning to give up your dream like this? Just for your private desires? You once said you would devote your life to art, but look at what you've become now."
He didn't understand why the girls around him had all torn off their masks within this year. They used to be so normal, but now they wanted nothing more than to tear him apart and consume him entirely.
"Is this not good?"
But Eden showed a different expression for a rare moment. she rested her head on Lin shoulder, greedily enjoying this moment of peace and Lin scent, speaking softly. "Retiring, getting married, having children... living another kind of life."
"Many races are lost in the last few steps. It is not easy to run 'the path one should run,' and even harder to 'run to the end'." These were words spoken by Socrates, and Eden had studied much philosophy. Eden had already reached the last step of this race. What she needed to do was no longer to strive upward, but to maintain the nobility of art and life until she stepped into the grave.
"You're actually about to lose control, aren't you?" Eden's teeth nipped gently at his neck. Her golden eyes, watery and blurred, were so captivating. "Why bother resisting, my friend? Your body is very honest~"
"It is not..."
When Eden heard Lin unconvincing and baseless refusal, she laughed completely. She easily pinned Lin to the bed, her exaggeratedly large fruits covering Lin eyes. Lin mind was blurred, and his vacant gaze watched Eden's approaching body. The heavy scent made his dopamine secrete rapidly...
"As long as you agree, you can do whatever you want..." The demon whispered in his ear, and Lin could no longer resist...
"Hehe..."
He didn't know if it was Eden laughing, or him. Then, his consciousness vanished completely, leaving only the softness that melted his entire body and those unspeakable whispers.
"Tell me, who feels better?"
He didn't remember what he said. He only remembered that after he spoke unconsciously, Eden became even more delighted and excited as she entwined with him...
...
"Planning to go back to school?" Yama asked with some surprise as she watched Lin busy in the kitchen. "Didn't you say..."
"The situation is resolved. Mobius is temporarily out of the country, and Prometheus is also going somewhere else for a while. I can go back to school for some peaceful days." Lin poured hot oil over the meat slices; the aroma was intoxicating. He added a few green onions and brought it out.
The two dangerous figures had temporarily stopped searching for him. Lin could finally return to school. Although the principal was Mobius and his studies would suffer if she intended, after going through so much, Lin still felt that being in school was relatively safe.
"Mmh... okay." Yama wasn't that clingy. She was a very independent woman. Although their relationship was currently in its rising phase, she wouldn't stick to Lin all day and never leave. "I happen to need to go back and organize my project too. My advisor probably has quite a few complaints about me disappearing for so long."
Hearing Yama mention her advisor, Lin movements of picking up food paused. Then he smiled naturally. "Probably not? I heard the advisors at your school are quite lenient."
"Please, little brother Lin, you're only a high schooler. How would you know what an advisor is really like?"
"Okay, okay, I don't understand. Big sister Yama, I'll send you to school after dinner, okay?"
"Hehe..."
The two turned on the living room TV while eating. A news report about global superstar Eden was currently playing. "Eden's manager says Eden is composing a new movement and needs to go into seclusion for a while. In fact, this is not the first time..."
"Eden's in seclusion?" Yama said with some regret. "Last time she just signed her name and left in a hurry. I wanted to shake her hand or something... Speaking of which, you actually know Eden. You never mentioned it before."
"Her?" Lin spoke calmly while eating, answering thoughtfully. "Strictly speaking, I haven't seen her in several years either. Meeting her last time was just a coincidence."
"Childhood friends?"
"I guess so. Our families were quite close when we were little. She was from an artistic family. Later, there was an accident in my family, and she planned to enter the entertainment industry, so we went our separate ways." Lin couldn't help but sigh, recalling that time. "At the very beginning, the management company and the manager felt that classical music was outdated. They had her sing pop music first. She complained to me over the phone. I told her that art wouldn't go out of style and that starlight wouldn't be buried by dust. So she persisted."
"Oh~ Then Eden's fans should thank you."
"I just said some common sense that everyone understands. In the end, it was her own hard work."
After dinner, the two huddled intimately on the sofa, whispering sweet nothings. Then, seeing that the time was about right, Lin sent Yama onto the train back to school.
"Don't be fooled by other girls while I'm away." She stood inside the train, waving goodbye to Lin with a grin.
Lin patted her head helplessly. "You too. Don't be fooled by bad people."
The train pulled out of the station. Lin heart gradually cooled. He gazed at the departing train and turned away silently.
Don't be fooled by bad people...
Lin had said that sincerely. He hoped Yama could doubt him a bit more and use more of the vigilance she had when performing missions as an assassin, rather than trusting him wholeheartedly. If that were the case...
"How long have you been following?" Lin suddenly looked up and asked.
"I've been following since you two left the house. What's wrong? Not happy that your girlfriend's gone?"
"Mmh. It'll be a long time before I see her again." Lin tone couldn't help but hold a sense of loss. "She's a good girl."
"Then let's do something happy with a bad girl now."
Eden gave Lin a gentle push, sending him onto a bench at the station. This was the last train, so there was no one on the platform now, except for two burning bodies. She reached into Lin clothes, caught his arm, and guided it onto herself. "It's okay. The security cameras here are broken..."
In Eden's lingering whispers, tonight was spent in unrestrained tenderness.