Chapter 63: Temptation

Chapter 63: Temptation

Gao Yang thought he had heard it wrong. After a pause, he said, “You go through all these troubles to befriend me?”

“Haha, there’s more to it, of course.” Liu Qingying stopped beating around the bush. “I have a proposal for you.”

Gao Yang didn’t respond. He was thinking.

“I’m not going to force you, of course. You’re free to reject me. If that’s your decision, I hope you’ll keep what happened tonight a secret. Telling others will do neither of us any good. It’ll be best for us to pretend that nothing happened.”

“I understand.” Gao Yang nodded. “But why me?”

“Because you caught my eyes in the crowd.” Liu Qingying winked at him. Strangely, it made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside, but he didn’t allow himself to get lost. He knew Liu Qingying was full of shit.

Liu Qingying had four options: Qing Ling, Officer Huang, Wang Zikai, and Fat Jun.

Qing Ling would be the first to be excluded. She was strong, and she was a girl. Liu Qingying’s Seduction wouldn’t be that effective on her, and the negotiation wouldn’t be that fruitful.

Officer Huang wasn’t a good choice either. He was also strong, and he was a police officer. With all his experience and his devotion to his wife, Liu Qingying wouldn’t have much sway on him.

Then there was Fat Jun. He was obviously timid and far from strong-willed. That would make it easier to steer him away from his companions, but he wouldn’t necessarily be the best mole.

And Wang Zikai was a monster, a not very intelligent one at that. Liu Qingying wouldn’t even take him into consideration.

“Yeah, it’s as you thought.” Liu Qingying smiled. Ëxpłœrę thë ørîgîn øf thïš ďåtå, ðëëplÿ røøtëd ïn n0v[lb¡n★

Can she read minds?!

“I can’t. I can only sense the signals going through your brain while you’re dreaming and infer your thoughts based on that. I can’t do the same in reality.” Liu Qingying sighed. “I wish I were a mind reader. That would make things easier.”

Mind reading?

It seemed that Liu Qingying wasn’t looking for anything tangible, but...information.

He pushed aside the thought as soon as it flashed through his head. Liu Qingying was able to read minds to a certain extent in dreams. He didn’t want to unintentionally reveal his companions’ secret.

“Anyway, the coins are very useful. Even if you don’t make them into special weapons, you can trade with other awakeners with the coins. I’m not going to go into the details. I’m sure you’ll get to know the world of awakeners soon with you joining the Twelve Zodiac Signs.”

Gao Yang nodded.

Liu Qingying put their hands back on their knees. “That’s the deal.”

“Fair.” Gao Yang couldn’t identify any problems with it.

“Moreover.” Liu Qingying stood up from the chair. Under the moonlight, they looked seductive with the crimson qipao wrapping around their body. Their silver hair gave them an air of mysteriousness and gracefulness, arousing the instinctual desires in men.

“You’re a man. Perhaps, in the dreams...” Liu Qingying didn’t spell it out, but instead made the suggestion with an alluring look. “Don’t worry. It’s not part of the deal. The night we spent together will be long, and I can’t leave before you wake up. We might as well do something to kill time while solidifying our bond and partnership.”

“Um, that won’t be necessary.”

What the heck.

You’re a man!

“Ha, I knew White Rabbit would tell you that.” Liu Qingying didn’t seem surprised by his reaction.

“Are you not a man?”

“To be precise, I’m both.”

“You’re intersex?”

Gao Yang was surprised. Intersex people were those with the sex characteristics of both male and female. Only one out of 7500 people were intersex[1], and there were only a little more than 400 humans in Li City. Yet there was an intersex person right before him! That further cemented Gao Yang’s belief that it was possible for his family to turn out to be humans.

“Although I’m intersex, I identify as a woman a hundred percent, and I can remove my male characteristics here. There’s nothing for you to worry about. Besides, this is just a dream.”

“So.” Liu Qingying walked up to him and reached out a hand gently. “Won’t you consider it?”

1. The percentage usually cited is 0.05% to 1.7%, so at the lowest it’s one out of 2000. While there’s debates about the definition of intersex, I’m not entirely sure where the author gets the figure from. Perhaps it’s a fictional ratio in the fictional world. ?