Phoenix Ascending

Rong’er stilled. She didn’t expect Nan Xun to hold a grudge against her still. She twisted her lips and sucked in a deep breath. “I’ve been wrong. I admit my mistakes. I want to buy you two dinner as apology. I hope you won’t turn me down.”

“There’s no need,” Nan Xun snapped. He didn’t care about what she said at all. “Please go away.”

“Why must the gentleman treat me this way?” Rong’er said, tilting her head up to look at Nan Xun with red eyes. She tugged at Nan Xun’s sleeve pitifully, very much unlike her usual snobbish self. “Rong’er has realized my mistakes. Is the gentleman not willing to show me any mercy?”

It was dinner time. Many guests were coming into the inn. Jun Huang noticed that they had attracted a lot of attention. It wasn’t a good idea for them to keep arguing with Rong’er here. She reached out to Nan Xun, trying to calm him down. Before she could touch him, however, Nan Xun flung Rong’er’s hand away and knocked into Jun Huang accidentally.

Jun Huang had not fully recovered yet. She staggered and fell out of the door.

In panic, Nan Xun rushed toward her and helped Jun Huang up. He had let his anger get the better of him. “Are you hurt? I – I didn’t mean it.”

Jun Huang gave him a small smile and shook her head. She stood up with Nan Xun’s help.

Rong’er scoffed inwardly, but she didn’t let it show. She knew how much Nan Xun cared about Jun Huang. “It’s all my fault, gentleman Feng. I came to you to apologize. I hope you’ll let me make amends to you. I’ve arranged our dinner as my apology.”

Jun Huang hummed. Rong’er was a woman after all. She had gone through the troubles to reach out for them. Jun Huang would like to resolve this conflict between them once and for all. She nodded. “Then we’ll accept your apology.”

“Great. Come with me.” Rong’er glanced at Nan Xun reflexively. Nan Xun lowered his head and turned to Jun Huang, who gave him a pointed look. He reluctantly nodded. The three of them made their way to the booth Rong’er had reserved.

Rong’er told the servers to bring them their food. Soon, the table was covered by a great variety of dishes. Jun Huang, however, didn’t feel like eating at all. She had just been through a difficult fight. She could still smell the blood.

Nan Xun, similarly, had lost his appetite. He took a few bites before putting down his chopsticks.

Rong’er turned to Jun Huang, than to Nan Xun. She was puzzled, but she didn’t dwell on it. She put on a smile and poured Nan Xun a cup of wine. Neither Jun Huang nor Nan Xun noticed that she had tampered with it.

“Is the food not to your taste? Then have some wine.” Rong’er handed Nan Xun the cup earnestly. She relaxed when Nan Xun took the cup and poured another cup of wine for Jun Huang.

She wasn’t going to do anything to Jun Huang’s cup. She wanted nothing more than to throw Jun Huang out.

Nan Xun was used to having a drink after a battle to forget about the cruelty he had witnessed. He had been through a bloody fight today. He would like to drink to push away the dark thoughts plaguing him. Without thinking, he downed the cup of wine in one go.

Jun Huang, on the other hand, smelled the wine to make sure there was nothing wrong about it before taking a sip.

Rong’er’s smile grew deeper seeing that Nan Xun had drunk the wine. She knew it wasn’t time yet, though. She suppressed her excitement and had a drink herself.

After three cups of wine, Jun Huang was starting to get light-headed. Her wine had not been tampered with, but she was somewhat of a lightweight. She got to her feet and did her best to steady herself. “I’ll go back to our room.”

“Do you need me to go back with you?” Nan Xun got to his feet. Jun Huang seemed a little drunk.

Before Rong’er could say anything to stop him, Jun Huang waved a hand and said, “You haven’t eaten much, have you? You should get more food in you. There’s no need for you to follow me. I’m not drunk yet. I can find my way back.”

With that, she turned and walked away.

Nan Xun felt a sense of loss as he watched Jun Huang go. Rong’er’s eyes lit up in delight. Her smile grew seductive as she poured Nan Xun another cup of wine. “Come on, have another cup.”

Nan Xun was reminded of Jun Huang’s conversation with Ji Bo. He was frustrated that Jun Huang knew about his feelings, but refused to let their relationship change. Normally he was a disciplined drinker, but now he was drinking with abandon. He wanted to dull his emotions with alcohol.

Before he could get drunk, a ball of heat rose from his heart and burned through his body. His face was tinted with red and the coldness in his eyes gave way to scorching heat.

Rong’er had been keeping an eye on Nan Xun. She could tell that the aphrodisiac was working. She pulled her lips into a smile and sauntered toward Nan Xun with a leer.

She put her hand on Nan Xun shoulder and rubbed at his muscles suggestively. Anyone else would have yielded to the temptation. Nan Xun, however, wasn’t just anyone. He seized Rong’er’s wrist before she could reach into his clothes and tried his best to keep his head clear.

“You’re hurting me, gentleman Nan.” Rong’er flinched as if she was in pain, but she didn’t try to pull away at all. Instead, she used her other hand to caress Nan Xun’s hand.

Nan Xun took a deep breath and shot up to his feet, pushing Rong’er down to the table. Rong’er’s heart fluttered. She assumed that Nan Xun had surrendered to his desires. She blushed and bit her bottom lip meekly.

What she imagined would happen had not happened, however. Nan Xun pushed her away and bit out, “You should learn what shame is,” before storming away.

Rong’er’s pupils contracted. Before Nan Xun could leave the booth, she tackled him from behind and held onto him. Nan Xun froze. She thought that Nan Xun must have been hit with arousal. She clung to him like a snake. As long as she could have Nan Xun, she was willing to abandon her shame and her dignity. She would abandon everything.

Nan Xun scoffed and pried Rong’er’s hands off his waist. He pinched Rong’er’s chin tightly and threatened with his eyes narrowed, “Get away from me, or I won’t go easy on you.”

There was an urgency to his tone. Rong’er could tell that he was losing control. She couldn’t possibly let this opportunity slip. Throwing all her reservation out of the window, she tried to hold onto Nan Xun again.

Nan Xun’s eyes darkened. Without hesitation, he kicked Rong’er away. She fell onto the table with a pained huff, unable to get up.

Scoffing, Nan Xun stumbled out of the room, rubbing at his eyebrows.

Rong’er couldn’t do anything but to watch him go. She punched the floor hard, causing her hand to bleed. It was clear how angry she was.

Nan Xun tried his best to maintain his composure, but his legs were getting weak. The aphrodisiac was potent. He got to Jun Huang’s room on autopilot and put a hand on the door. He didn’t immediately opened it.

Maybe this would be an opportunity to get to know what Jun Huang was thinking. Nan Xun had his pride. He couldn’t accept the fact that Jun Huang would just throw away her feelings like that. Ji Bo and Jun Huang’s conversation rang in his head. It refused to leave him alone. Anger and frustration turned his eyes red. He pushed open the door.

Jun Huang had been feeling a little dizzy. After a short rest, she felt much better. The creak of the door told her that Nan Xun had returned. She propped herself up, about to talk to him, but before she could sit up properly, Nan Xun tackled her. His body was a solid weight on her.

Jun Huang startled, her face going pale. She tried to push Nan Xun off herself, worried that something had happened to him.

“Don’t... don’t move. I was hit by aphrodisiac.” Nan Xun took Jun Huang’s hand in his and stared down at her.

He was able to turn Rong’er away no matter what she had tried. Now, however, even though Jun Huang had not done anything, his self-control was already slipping. He lowered his head and tried to kiss her. Jun Huang turned away. His lips landed on her cheek.

“Jun Huang,” Nan Xun murmured, lifting her chin with his fingers and tilting her head back to face him. He wasn’t forceful; he didn’t want to hurt her. He lowered his head again and kissed the corner of her mouth, biting her lip gently.

Jun Huang widened her eyes at Nan Xun. With his eyes shut, Nan Xun looked so attractive with that tender smile of his. Her heart fluttered and soared for him.

She had made up her mind to let go of her desires for Nan Xun. She didn’t expect him to seduce her like this. Her heart skipped a few beats as she stared dumbly at Nan Xun.

That was what Nan Xun saw when he opened his eyes – Jun Huang staring at him, unblinking. He let out a low chuckle and brushed his hand over her eyes. “Close your eyes.”

Jun Huang closed her eyes obediently, her long eyelashes bushing against his palm. He couldn’t take this fire burning through his body anymore. He yanked out the blanket between them. Their bodies fit together like puzzle pieces. Jun Huang could feel his arousal, his hot breaths hitting her face. Nervousness seized her heart. Her cheeks became as red as an apple.