Chapter 18: My Color

✈️.

In this world, they were still sold. They were regulated items for men. Women could buy them freely, but men had to be accompanied by a female partner or a guardian and sign a voluntary purchase agreement to buy them.

Lin Yi felt a familiar sensation in his ear.

Shen Xixi bit his earlobe, her enchanting voice whispering lowly from her moist, pink lips into Lin Yi’s ear,

“A year ago, the boy who liked to sleep leaning against my body, the boy who liked to drink milk, why has he disappeared today? Is it shyness? Or is it because another woman has satisfied your other desires?”

Hearing these words, Lin Yi’s gaze actually calmed down.

The boy in Shen Xixi’s words was, naturally, him.

The female protagonist was also naturally Shen Xixi herself.

In the early days of knowing Shen Xixi, the gentle and kind Shen Xixi had not revealed her true self, like a crazed Mita wearing the skin of a kind Mita,¹ she had induced him bit by bit, comforted him, giving him the strength to strive and live in this other world.

Until one night, the crazed Shen Xixi grabbed him, dragged him into a narrow basement, and completely changed his mind.

“Shen Xixi, is there any point in doing this? No matter what you do, there will be no future for the two of us. I’ve already made my attitude clear to you. I have a wife.”

Then, Lin Yi’s hand, which was holding the small cup, suddenly paused.

Because under the table, a pair of firm and round legs were rubbing against his trouser leg, coiling around him like a python.

Then they were precisely captured by him. Using all his strength, he fiercely grabbed and kneaded.

‘The quest originally required me to think about what to do, but since you’ve delivered yourself to me, I won’t be polite.’

“Mmm!”

Shen Xixi moaned, her whole body trembling.

[Side Quest Complete]

[Stamina +2]

Phew.

‘Simple.’

Lin Yi glanced at Yun Ling. His beautiful editor was already completely drunk, swaying as she leaned against the back of her chair, completely unaware of what was happening under the table.

“Sorry, I’m going to the restroom. I’ll have to trouble you to look after Teacher Yun Ling. Men and women should maintain a proper distance. It’s not appropriate for me to take care of her, and it’s even less appropriate for me to get too close to you… This is work time. Let’s continue discussing work matters later.”

Lin Yi stood up, looking down at Shen Xixi.

Shen Xixi propped up her cheek, her peripheral vision observing Lin Yi’s direction, the corners of her lips turning up slightly.

…

In the private room’s individual restroom.

A cool evening breeze blew in from the restroom window, dispersing the smell of alcohol and the feeling of discomfort.

Lin Yi pushed back his hair and washed his face with cold water.

The face in the mirror was cool and handsome, his cheekbones sharp and defined, exuding a masculine aura.

In this world where women were superior and men were inferior, besides women bearing the responsibility of childbirth, were many situations where the roles of men and women were swapped the same as in his previous life?

Having experienced Shen Xixi, Lin Yi knew very well that these were all superficial. A civilized society needed a layer of superficial rules and harmony. The mandatory provisions of the law provided a certain degree of protection for men, making society less skewed.

Even women as gentle as his wife Yayun were few and far between.

They all wore the skin of disguise.

Once you truly came into contact with them, the rampant desires beneath the human skin would swallow you whole.

Even with Yun Ling, who was quite friendly to him, Lin Yi couldn’t be sure that she was truly that kind.

As for Luo Tianyou, Lin Yi wasn’t sure either.

A sound came from outside the restroom door.

“Sorry, the restroom is occupied.”

The sound from outside the restroom door persisted. Lin Yi looked up at the frosted glass of the restroom door.

Outside the door, a figure rustled, and the sound of a lock being picked could be heard.

Creak—

Lin Yi subconsciously knew who was coming, and at that moment, he saw the person’s face.

Shen Xixi smiled, dignified yet flamboyant. In her hand, two iron wires of medium length swayed back and forth.

“Little Yi, if you don’t lock the door, a woman like me can easily pick her way in, you know.”

The next second, Shen Xixi squeezed right in, closed the door, and locked it behind her.

Her expression was excited, eager to try, and she licked her lips brazenly. The spot she licked glistened pink under the incandescent light.

Shen Xixi’s expression was wild, her red lips hooked into a wanton, unrestrained smile.

“Shen Xixi, we’re over. We ended a year ago. We’re no longer in a relationship. The only relationship between us now is a professional one.”

Lin Yi was a little angry. What was it about him that this crazy woman was fixated on? Could he not just change it?

“Is that so? But, you don’t get to decide, Little Yi. There’s no law that says a couple can’t get back together after breaking up. What you say will only be seen as you throwing a tantrum.”

Shen Xixi smiled, her eyes glowing with a feverish light, slightly drunk.

“Besides, the Little Yi of today is even more charming than before. That married-man vibe fascinates me, makes me addicted, makes me unable to resist making you my own. You’re like a fine wine now, fermented by time and baptized by marriage, making you even more intoxicating, more addicting.”

The woman’s footsteps grew closer. Lin Yi retreated to a corner, a problem he had to face and think about.

It was the same old story. In this world, a woman’s stats were 1.5 times stronger than a man’s, and some special women’s stats were more than two or three times stronger than an ordinary woman’s.

Shen Xixi was one of these special women.

Under this exaggerated power difference, if he didn’t find a way and chose to escape now, he would be knocked to the ground by Shen Xixi in a moment, becoming the toy she most desired, the most delicious one.

Lin Yi took a deep breath, his gaze burning as he stared at the wicked woman before him.

Shen Xixi bared half a fragrant shoulder, hooked her red lips, and reached out her hand, wantonly stroking Lin Yi’s cheek, caressing his jaw.

“Little Yi, don’t be so nervous. First, answer a question for me. Have you really forgotten everything about what happened between us before?”

“You said it yourself, that was before…”

Lin Yi paused for a second, his lips sealed by slender fingers.

Shen Xixi stood on her tiptoes, her stunningly beautiful face pressing against Lin Yi’s, exhaling a warm breath, smiling wantonly.

“Little Yi, do you like your current woman that much?”

The man and woman pressed even closer.

Between breaths, Lin Yi could feel a rich fragrance and vitality, and see a familiar shadow from the past.

The woman’s moist, full red lips fell in a kiss, sealing his mouth with the speed of lightning, as unstoppable as trying to plug one’s ears while stealing a bell.

At this moment, Lin Yi was momentarily stunned, his brows deeply furrowed, a bit of 😡 in his heart.

His other hand, which was not being held down, went straight for Shen Xixi’s fair thigh, and kneaded!

Shen Xixi’s delicate brows knitted slightly, her body trembling violently.

A flash of surprise and astonishment crossed the depths of her eyes. The plundering of her lips became even more frenzied, but her body relaxed its guard at this moment.

Then, Lin Yi used the opportunity to push her away directly.

“…You, you’re so strong. Have you been working out ever since we broke up?”

Shen Xixi quickly concealed the surprise in her eyes.

“I’ve been working out specifically for my current wife.”

Lin Yi looked at Shen Xixi provocatively.

Shen Xixi was stunned for a moment, her eyes gradually turning a few shades colder.

“Is that so? Then you’re quite good to your current wife. For her, you even specifically worked out. I don’t think I ever got that kind of treatment… But the situation is, you say she’s your wife, but in reality, you’re only engaged to that woman, right? Whether you two can actually get married is still not a certainty.”

Lin Yi stepped past Shen Xixi.

“Oh, right. In that case, please come to my and my wife’s wedding.”

Shen Xixi leaned against the sink, watching Lin Yi’s departing footsteps. Just as Lin Yi touched the handle, she said coldly:

“Little Yi, if you insist on talking like that, you wouldn’t want others to know about our old recordings, would you?”

Lin Yi stopped in his tracks, his hand falling from the handle, his face stiff. The pleasant mood from just now instantly soured to the extreme.

‘Just as I thought!’

‘This woman really didn’t delete all of those things from before!’

‘She kept those things from the very beginning, all so that she could find me again in the future!!’

“Heh heh, you really do dote on your wife, don’t you! I wonder how your wife will react when she sees those videos of us playing before, those blush-inducing, heart-pounding movements and poses?”

Shen Xixi smiled smugly, walking over to Lin Yi’s side without a shred of restraint. She locked the door again, her soft and warm palm pressing against the nape of Lin Yi’s neck.

She gradually unbuttoned the collar of his shirt, her fingers slowly delving deeper.

“What on earth do you want to do? We’ve already broken up. What is it about me now that you’re still interested in?”

Lin Yi finally sighed. There was no way out. No matter what he did, he could only compromise for now.

Shen Xixi was slightly taken aback. She seemed to have never expected Lin Yi to ask her this, nor had she ever thought about the answer to this question.

It seemed that from the very beginning, she wasn’t clear on what exactly about Lin Yi had attracted her.

Was it the sorrowful sigh as he sat alone at the entrance of the editorial department?

Or the way he sat alone in the coffee shop, anxiously and nervously waiting for the editor’s reply?

Or was it the way he secretly watched readers read his novel in the bookstore?

Perhaps, it was the sight of Lin Yi typing away on his computer under the shade of the cherry blossom tree, all alone.

All those images stacked together, giving rise to a thought in Shen Xixi, an inseparable emotion, a desire to hold Lin Yi tightly in her hands, to make him a toy that belonged solely to her.

This emotion was extremely strong. Ever since they broke up, it had spread from the base of her spine, straight up to her spinal cord, and then deep into her brain. It was already carved into her bones.

‘I so want to see Lin Yi come back to my arms seeking comfort. I will be a good mother, a good older sister, a gentle lover, comforting him, consoling him, enveloping him tightly in my warmest embrace, and then…’

‘Play with him fiercely…’

But, Shen Xixi would never say these words out loud.

She leaned her head against Lin Yi’s neck, her pearly teeth grinding against it.

“Little Yi, because… I want to dye you with my color, to make you my thing.”

‘Be dyed with my color.’

¹ “米塔” (Mǐ tǎ) is the Chinese transliteration for “Mita.” The phrase “善良米塔皮的疯狂米塔” (shànliáng mǐ tǎ pí de fēngkuáng mǐ tǎ) literally means “a crazy Mita in the skin of a kind Mita.” This is a metaphorical way of saying Shen Xixi was like a “wolf in sheep’s clothing.”