Outside the second-floor guest room, Wen Ran casually fiddled with the diamond bracelet on her wrist.
An obsidian stone was set into it.
Inside the room, You Bufan had long since smelled the scent of rose juice.
Hidden in a corner behind the door, his golden eyes narrowed into slits.
“Time to eat.”
The moment she pushed open the door, he shot toward her like an arrow released from a bow.
The girl’s face showed no trace of panic.
She tapped the obsidian on her bracelet with a delicate, pink nail.
Just a light scrape made the ferocious man before her turn pale.
You Bufan shot Wen Ran a look as cold as a blade of ice.
Wen Ran wasn’t the least bit afraid.
On the contrary, her smile was exceptionally sweet.
“I knew you wouldn’t behave.
I guess you don’t get to eat, then.”
She tilted her wrist, and the tray fell to the floor with the crisp sound of shattering porcelain.
“You!”
“Bad little dogs that won’t behave don’t get to eat.”
“Why?” You Bufan grabbed Wen Ran’s wrist, his voice hoarse.
“Why what?”
“Why are you doing this to me?
We have no grievance between us.”
You Bufan truly couldn’t understand why this delicate and adorable girl was so full of malice toward him.
As far as he could remember, he had never even met her before.
Wen Ran pulled her arm free.
“Couldn’t it just be that I don’t like the look of you?”
You Bufan leaned against the wall and sneered, “Is it just because you don’t like the look of me?”
Wen Ran’s gaze flickered away.
“KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.
Miss, the item you ordered has arrived.
Where would you like it placed?”
A golden cage stood next to Hunter.
“Bring it in,” Wen Ran said, pointing at the room.
“But…”
“Hm?”
Resigned, Hunter had no choice but to push the golden cage into the guest room.
A sense of unease rose in You Bufan’s heart as he watched it.
“What are you standing there gawking for?
Get in.” Wen Ran deliberately raised her voice, but it sounded less like a command and more like she was pouting.
You Bufan stood his ground, his arms crossed over his chest.
Wen Ran stroked her diamond bracelet.
“Looks like you want another ‘reward’.”
Hunter looked at his young miss and sighed.
‘Oh well.
The Young Master said not to stop the Miss when she wants to play, as long as nobody dies.’
Just as Wen Ran’s patience was about to run out, You Bufan obediently ducked into the cage.
The cage was only fifty centimeters wide and one-point-eight meters tall, its bars covered in a dense web of inward-facing spikes.
For the one-point-nine-two-meter-tall You Bufan, it was difficult to even turn around inside.
The slightest carelessness would cause him to be snagged on the spikes.
Wen Ran had this cage custom-made.
The person inside could neither sit down nor stand up straight, forced to stay hunched over, head bowed and body stooped.
Seeing the man’s miserable and constrained posture, Wen Ran was overjoyed.
She locked the cage door and tapped a few times on her Smart Brain.
“Bad doggies who aren’t good get locked in cages.” She stepped forward and poked You Bufan’s muscular chest.
You Bufan flinched away in disgust, but his arm knocked against the spikes at his side.
“HISS.”
“If you’re a good boy and listen, I’ll let you out.” With a devastatingly beautiful smile, Wen Ran turned and left the room.
Hunter said helplessly, “The young miss is a bit spoiled.
Please try to bear with her, Young Master You.”
‘He’d already gotten into the cage obediently,’ You Bufan thought, clenching his fists.
‘Wasn’t that bearing with her enough?’
In high spirits, Wen Ran returned to the third floor, applied some exquisite makeup, and went out with her handbag.
She took a spaceship to Black Earth Star.
Black Earth Star was the most dilapidated planet in all the star systems.
Its inhabitants were a motley crew.
As a result, a black market had sprung up.
You could find anything there; as long as you could afford the price, you could take it away.
It was said that the black market could even procure a female for you if you wanted one.
But that was only a rumor; the Empire had never found any evidence of females being sold.
But just because they weren’t caught didn’t mean it wasn’t happening.
The black market was located in an old district of Black Earth Star.
The ground was filthy, covered in mud and murky puddles.
Wen Ran looked down at the yellow mud staining the surface of her pristine white high heels and pouted.
‘Great.
Just great.
Another pair of shoes, ruined!’
Wen Ran started to regret coming.
She should have sent her family’s bodyguards instead.
‘But since I’m here already…’
So she could only bite the bullet, endure the muddy water seeping into her shoes, and continue winding her way through the dim alleyways.
But she hadn’t gone far before she noticed someone was tailing her.
She quickened her pace in fear and started running blindly, which only made the person behind her laugh brazenly.
Just as she was about to run out of the alley, a long, strong arm snatched her into the shadows.
“Mmph—”
Wen Ran opened her mouth to bite the large hand clamped over it, and she also raised her leg to deliver a low blow.
Her waist, slender enough to be encircled by a single hand, was gripped tightly, preventing her from putting any force into the move.
Despair filled Wen Ran’s heart.
‘It’s over.’
Warm breath tickled the back of her ear.
“Where’d you learn such a dirty trick?
Scared now, are you?”
Her shapely bottom was slapped, and Wen Ran’s eyes flew wide in terror.
“Bro… Brother.”
In the dim, filthy alley, a tall man held a slender girl in his arms.
With wide, nervous eyes, Wen Ran glanced outside, hearing disorderly footsteps pass the alley’s entrance.
Ize saw her nervous little expression, and his thin lips curved up slightly.
“Don’t look.”
He pinched the girl’s delicate chin, turning her head toward him.
His voice was clear and cold, leaving no room for argument.
Wen Ran nodded meekly.
“Fuck, where’d she go?
How’d she disappear?”
“Where the hell is she hiding!” a man’s cursing voice rang out, and footsteps drew closer.
Terrified, Wen Ran spun around, wrapped her arms around Ize’s waist, and pressed her head tightly against his chest.
The soft, fluffy crown of her hair brushed against his jaw.
She was like a frightened ostrich burying its head in the sand.
The scent of the girl’s rose juice pheromones washed over him, an alluring fragrance that begged to be plucked.
Ize’s powerful waist tensed, and his deep blue eyes, unseen by Wen Ran, held a predatory light.
He lowered his head to look at Wen Ran’s slightly parted lips, a flash of desire crossing his mind.
“It’s hard.
It’s digging into me.”
The girl grumbled in dissatisfaction, poking a finger at the metal belt around Ize’s waist.
The buckle was pressed right against her stomach.
Ize… clenched his fists.
He slowly pushed her away.
“They’re gone.”
“What are you doing here?”
Wen Ran lowered her head, not daring to meet the man’s interrogating gaze.
She stammered, “I was just curious.”
“They say you can find anything here, so I wanted to come see for myself.
I saw there was a Butterfly Storage Ring at the auction, and it’s really pretty…”
The more she spoke, the more flustered she became, until she was practically tripping over her own words.
Ize cut her off.
“Follow me.”
Wen Ran let out a breath.
Watching the man’s departing back, she thought, ‘He must have believed me, right?’
Soon, the two arrived at the entrance to a basement.
It was pitch-black, like the gaping maw of an abyss.
“Put this on.”
Wen Ran snapped back to reality and looked at the fox mask in her brother’s hand, her eyes filled with suspicion.
“?”
“To hide your identity.”
“Oh, right.”
Wen Ran obediently put it on.
The fox mask was exquisitely made, especially the painted eyes, which were bewitching.
Paired with the girl’s innocent, beautiful eyes, the look was both pure and sultry.
Ize felt a pang of regret, but he kept a cold expression as he straightened the slightly crooked mask for the girl.
He placed a large hand on the small of Wen Ran’s back, his long arm guiding her down the stairs.
“Brother, I can do it myself.”
“Are you sure?”
A cold draft blew past, carrying the scent of male pheromones.
The overlapping smells were not pleasant.
Wen Ran, who had grown up coddled and privileged, was naturally not used to such smells.
She wanted to say she’d rather stay behind, but was afraid of making Ize angry.
Ize saw the girl’s troubled expression and smiled.
He released his own pheromones, enveloping her and blocking out the scents of the other males.
The pleasant scent of cedar washed over Wen Ran’s senses, and she was deeply moved.