And so, under Swire's relentless insistence, Lucian was dragged into the Grand Plaza Hotel.
This was Lungmen's highest-tier hotel, and she'd brought him straight into the top-member Presidential Suite. A whole wall of floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the entire city. Just taking a picture here would be enough bragging rights for years.
"How much does one night here even cost.?" Lucian felt his liver quiver in despair.
Swire—who didn't even need a black card, gold card, or rainbow card, just her face—sat at the edge of the king-sized bed and patted the spot beside her.
"Come on. Sit."
"Swire, you're really not afraid your own people will misunderstand?"
Lucian was honestly impressed—he admired her courage so much it bordered on worship.
This was her family's property; everyone here knew her.
And yet she had the nerve to openly bring a man into her family's hotel.
Even if she didn't do anything, this alone was going to spark gossip. Tomorrow's Lungmen tabloid headlines were practically guaranteed.
But Swire wasn't the least bit worried. In fact, she looked perfectly at ease.
"Listen, I'm not some underage schoolgirl. I'm an inspector of the Lungmen Guard Department."
"I'm at the age where being single automatically puts me in the tabloids. Even just handing off assignments to my subordinates gets spun into scandal by the media. At this point, do you think I care anymore?"
Lucian said, "Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Sounds rough for you."
Against his will, Lucian felt a twinge of sympathy for her.
With her background and social position, the scrutiny and pressure she'd lived under since childhood were unimaginable to normal people.
If she were like other heiresses, she might have enjoyed the attention and thrown her weight around.
But Swire was disciplined.
As the sole designated heir of a conglomerate rich enough to rival nations, she chose to take the entrance exams, climbed the ranks properly, and only after years made it to where she was now.
The common media would, of course, claim it was all due to her family.
But anyone with half a brain could tell—if Swire really wanted to use her family's influence, she could buy all of Lungmen outright. Getting a promotion would be trivial.
Unfortunately, most people didn't bother to think that far. They just wanted juicy rumors.
So Swire had long since gotten used to it.
It was because Lucian respected that side of her that he didn't want to overstep.
He didn't sit beside her on the bed.
Instead, he sat cross-legged on the thick carpet in front of her.
"Be honest. What are you trying to do? Why do something that'll wreck your reputation?"
"I told you already. If reality doesn't match what I want, I'll fix it until it does."
Swire's expression was deadly serious. Her legs swayed under her dress.
"I was planning to work harder, to try and become the number one in your heart. But after hearing that bargain-bin romance line of yours, I got more flustered than I expected. So I made up my mind. No matter what happens, I'm making this a done deal."
Her eyes were blazing—like a general charging onto the battlefield.
Lucian was honest with his own feelings, and Swire was the same.
At first, her interest in him had been: beat the girl in his heart and force him to marry into her family.
But after his embarrassingly cheesy confession, Swire realized her feelings were much stronger than she thought.
And the thing she'd been most worried about had disappeared.
Lucian's evasiveness toward her wasn't because he was head-over-heels for some first love—it was for a far more practical reason.
That was something Swire couldn't hold back from responding to.
She puffed out her chest, as bold as if she were declaring independence.
"Lucian, I like you! Whether you like someone else, whether you don't have me in your heart—none of that changes the fact that I like you!"
"I know you still care about Exusiai. Maybe Texas, maybe Croissant. Heck, even Ch'en might rank higher than me in your heart!"
"But I don't care! The more rivals I have, the more fired up I get. No matter how hard it is, I'm not backing down! As long as I have even the tiniest spot in your heart, I'm going to snatch you away! I'll outdo every single rival—you won't be able to help falling for me!"
Lucian said, "Calm down, Swire. don't get so worked up."
He had no idea how to deal with her intensity.
He was starting to wonder if he had some kind of innate older-woman-charm buff.
Seeing him still holding back, Swire closed in even more.
She crouched in front of him and grabbed his hand.
"What else do you need explained? I'm not going to force you. If you say you really don't like me—that you don't feel anything—I can still cry and run home. You'd even unlock the achievement of making the Swire heartbroken and shut herself in for half a year. You could brag about it to people."
"Wow, that's. extremely realistic. Is half a year long or short, exactly?"
Even now Lucian almost laughed. Her predictions of the future were absurdly detailed.
Of course he didn't dislike her.
Just like he'd confessed—he liked her more than enough.
And she'd said it herself: she wasn't asking him to shoulder any responsibility.
She genuinely liked him. Her overflowing passion was starting to shake him.
But he couldn't be irresponsible.
Lucian might be trash in terms of the number of people he liked, but he refused to be trash about consequences.
So he held her shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes.
"Wait, Swire. I don't want something fleeting. If we're together, it's for life."
".!"
Swire let out a tiny squeak, freezing up instantly.
For all her boldness, she was surprisingly pure—words like "for life" hit her like a truck.
Taking advantage of her pause, Lucian sat up and gently moved her back so they were face-to-face on the carpet.
He spoke sincerely.
"I've been brushing you off, and that's my fault. I didn't want you getting dragged into trouble because of me. You're the Swire family heiress, and a Senior Inspector in Lungmen. You already get enough rumors as it is. I can't be the guy who adds fuel to that fire."
Anyone could see it—the Swire family was Lungmen's number one Capitalists group. Their heiress becoming a cop was already enough to get tongues wagging.
Forget the Guard Department; the average jealous citizen wasn't going to care how capable she was.
Everything she did would be dismissed as networking. People wanted her to be a spoiled heiress.
If Lucian could always support her, it would be fine—when you're clean, shadows don't matter. Rumors fade with time.
But right now, he wasn't capable enough. That was why he'd been avoiding her.
He continued firmly, "Someday I'm leaving Lungmen. I have to go after my Childhood Friend. That's a job I can't give up."
"And even if I stayed, I'd still be running to the Slums every few days. It wasn't a big deal before, but once I'm tied to you, it'll get magnified hundreds of times. Unless Lungmen accepts the Slums, the only effect I'll have on you is negative."
Swire carried responsibilities she couldn't abandon—far heavier than most.
Even Ch'en Hui-chieh, when she decided to charge ahead, could ignore her relatives and do what she wanted. Her burden was lighter.
But Swire could never abandon her family or elope.
If she threw away the name Swire, she wouldn't be herself.
She knew that better than anyone, and that only frustrated her more.
She bit her lip. "When is Lungmen ever going to accept the Slums?"
"Of course I'll work hard! Once I climb higher in the Guard Department—once I take full control of my family—I'll drag Wei Yenwu off his throne! . But that's going to take years. What if you get married in the meantime? What if you suddenly decide to settle down and be a good husband? I'd be totally screwed!"
"Well."
Lucian had no idea how to respond.
Also—what did she mean he wouldn't be a good man otherwise?!
Whether he'd get married wasn't the point—she made it sound like marriage guaranteed he wouldn't cheat. What, did she think he was that kind of guy?
He pushed aside the unnecessary commentary in his head and coughed.
"I won't, I won't. I'm not getting married. If you're that worried, let's make a promise—until you reform Lungmen, I won't get married."
"You mean it?"
Swire's eyes sparkled instantly.
She grabbed his hand tight, terrified he'd take it back.
"I promise! It's a deal! I'll take control of all my family's businesses as fast as possible, then knock Wei Yenwu out of power! I'll get in touch with Yuxia and her father about the Slums—we'll turn the Slums into part of Lungmen soon! And we'll absolutely bring the Infected in too!"
"I believe you."
Lucian smiled, feeling like he'd nudged history forward a little.
…And right when the mood was perfect.
Lucian and Swire were holding hands, sharing a rare moment of mutual understanding—
The door to the Presidential Suite burst open with a bang.
"Lungmen police! Room inspection! Hands on your heads and get on the ground!"
The pride of the Lungmen Guard Department, Senior Inspector Ch'en Hui-chieh—Inspector Ch'en—stormed in alone.
She glanced at the two of them, who were very much too close together.
Her gaze toward Lucian was colder than looking at kitchen trash.
She lifted her chin. "We received a report of illegal activity. Please cooperate with the investigation and come to the station for a talk."
"You damn rotten Lung! You ruined everything!" she pouted.
Enraged at having her moment destroyed, Swire immediately attacked an officer. The two cops started wrestling in the hotel room, leaving Lucian as the world's brightest third wheel.
As he watched, half amused and half speechless, Hoshiguma walked over, patting him on the shoulder.
"Popular men have it rough. You really should learn to protect yourself when you're alone with women."
"Isn't that backwards? Am I really that in danger?"
Being comforted by Hoshiguma left Lucian stunned, almost reconsidering everything he believed about life.
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Note: Can I get some powerstones....? or reviews...? If you want me to maintain this update streak..