C36 Caught A Cold

“Remember the promise you made last night.”

It was daybreak, and they could hear the crowing of cocks in the distance. A long night had left her feeling sore between her legs. Zhan Peng had such a strong endurance, that they had done it over ten times that night.

It was safe. She was sure of it. Zhan Peng suffered from an illness that gave him a strong sexual desire, and made him capable of lasting a very long time in bed. She liked the feeling, but she was exhausted.

What had she done? She had given him her word that she would satisfy him, and while they were at it, she would let him be the one in charge.

Not to forget, she had relinquished her future as his wife, because she needed to stall Lang Juan for the time being. Zhan Peng had stared at her blankly for what felt like forever.

“Yuxi, is it all worth it? Giving up what we have been through for him?”

He paused suddenly.

“Right, you’re not just mine. You belong to every man, just as Booyeong has said. No matter what, I’ll never belong to you. You’ll only be a slave in my harem.”

She gnashed her teeth and held her tears back in. Her heart was breaking into pieces, and she thought she almost heard Xima speaking to her again.

“Patience, my subject. Everything will soon change. He will eventually be yours.”

She answered, “It’s just in the name of duty.”

“Right, but let me make it to you loud and clear. Even if you become my slave to fulfil my desires, you’re not to let him have your body. Because he is-”

Something made Zhan Peng stop abruptly, and he just said, “Because I don’t share. I may have Yonghe and you, but I won’t allow him to have you.”

What if he forces himself on me?

Those words stayed in her head for a long time, but she never said them aloud. If that happened, she could either lie, threaten to kill herself or defend herself with her dagger.

“He won’t.”

“I’ll forget I saw what happened between you and him. I’m warning you, Qian Yuxi. No more games, or I’ll disappear and you’ll never see me again.”

She swallowed and nodded.

He spread her legs apart, circling her breasts with his fingers. She thought she could see a tinge of jealousy in his eyes. He hadn’t wanted her to have anything to do with Lang Juan. She was a woman of her word. Since she had hired Lang Juan, she couldn’t just kick him out. But she could reject him. It would just take her a long time to do it.

She really loved Zhan Peng, but she had to make this sacrifice for her mission. Other than Lang Juan, she couldn’t find anyone strong in a short while, and for some reason, something inhibited Yang Tian in his recovery. So, she had to keep Lang Juan until Yang Tian made a fuller recovery.

“I don’t want you to go.”

“Not enough? I said, you’re the one who’s supposed to satisfy me, not I satisfy you. But since I’m in a good mood, I’ll let you have what you want now.”

He lifted up the blanket, and entered her. It happened so quickly that she wasn’t ready, and it barely registered in her head that they were doing it. She panted so heavily as he went in and out of her like she was his toy.

Her head was spinning. She felt an intense urge to vomit, but she held it in. These days, she wasn’t feeling quite herself.

“We can keep it discreet, you know,” he whispered deviously in her ear. “In the daytime, I listen to your orders. At night, you become my whore.”

“I already promised you,” she said wheezily.

“Don’t regret. I’ll be waiting until the day you sever ties with your fiance. Until then, don’t think of having me at all. You’ll only be my whore.”

He pulled his member out of her and squirted messily over her naked body. She coughed and threw up just as he walked away.

She had just been demoted from his lover to his whore. Her heart broke at the thought of it. She could toughen up and tell Lang Juan to leave, but the fear of failing the mission debilitated her. She pulled herself up and dragged herself into the bathroom, where she wept tears of sorrow. When she leaned over the low mirror to look at her pathetic reflection, the bitter taste of acid in her throat led her to throw up again.

She only felt this way during the mornings, but felt fine throughout the day. So, she blamed it on her depression for Zhan Peng’s change of heart towards her. Between tears, she scrubbed the sticky mess off her body and dressed quickly, heading downstairs for breakfast.

Yang Tian and Zhan Peng were helping themselves to the rich spread of food on the table. She recognised the bright orange fried river prawns, boiled greens and many other delicacies that were often salivating to her.

But today, she just didn’t feel they were appealing to her. She had suddenly lost her appetite.

Damn Zhan Peng. She looked away when Yonghe returned to Zhan Peng’s side carrying a small bowl of peanuts.

“Do you want any, Miss Qian?” She feigned kindness, and Yuxi just glared at her. Looking at her just made her want to throw up.

She felt a burst of emotion, and answered the girl rudely.

“Not as if it’s the business of some low-class wench like you.”

The two men’s eyes enlarged as if they couldn’t believe what she had just said. Just then, she felt the strong hold of a man’s hand on her waist, pulling her to him.

“Yuxi, if these common foods are not to your liking, I’ve instructed the kitchen staff to prepare more.”

She looked into the lustful eyes of her ex-fiance, and fell backwards on the ground, before throwing up over the floor in a mess. Quickly, the waiter came to her with a towel and offered her help. She declined his help and stood up.

“Apologies, I’m not in the best health. I think I might have caught a cold last night. It’s best you keep your distance from me since I’m not well.”

She walked some tables away and sat down, cleaning the mess off her clothes with the towel from the waiter. All of a sudden, she was craving something sour. She called the waiter, and made her order. The local breads the waiter offered her comforted her stomach as well.

Just what was happening?

She heard the rustle of cloth, and Yonghe took her place beside her.

“Sister, I didn’t know my attention towards your mercenary made you want to vomit. If anything, I'd like to apologise.”

“Get your filthy body away from me!” She shouted instead.

“Miss Qian, you don’t have to think too much about our relationship. He just used me a few times, that’s all.”

She fumed when she heard those shameless words. But she couldn’t say anything to provoke her further, because soon, she was vomiting again on the floor.

In the end, it was Yang Tian who had come to her, offering to take her to a physician.

Where can you even find a physician in this rural area? She thought, but didn’t have the strength to respond to him. If not that they had to keep going, she figured some rest would change the situation. In the least, she could just lie down in the carriage and everything would get better soon.

“There should be a physician at our next stop,” Yang Tian said convincingly.

“It’s just the weather. I have a bad headache,” she feigned with a large smile. “It’ll be fine soon.”

“As you wish. We’re on track.”

She looked about them to catch sight of Zhan Peng staring angrily at them. That fool’s jealousy knew no bounds. But if he was jealous of the male attention she received, did it mean he cared about her?

Her heart sank again seeing him with his arms around Yonghe.

“Baby, I can’t wait for later,” he whispered loudly, knowing she could hear him.

She got up and headed for the latrine.

“Seeing your filth, who wouldn’t want to vomit?” she taunted the wench as she passed them, laughing hysterically.

It hurt so hard.