Nineteen

Li Yuxi shook her hand to try to release the copper chain around her wrist but it only zapped her arm. She hissed and grunted from the pain of the shock and looked around the room, hoping to find where the voice was coming from.

"Zhao Ling," Li Yuxi said and tilted her head to look at him. "Who is in this room with us? Tell that person that I am not interested in this joke."

Zhao Ling stayed quiet while clenching his jawline. She eyed his face in expectation before huffing and looking away.

"Listen, whoever you are. I am not at fault for whatever your ghost friend did. Can you leave me out of this, please? I have a life to focus on and being attached to a ghost isn't part of it."

"Good things or opportunities do not come and go without a condition, Zhao Ling," the voice said, ignoring Li Yuxi who growled.

"Hey! I am talking to you!" She yelled and tried to yank her right arm, but shook when her body was shocked.

"Li Yuxi!" Zhao Ling held her other arm with his free hand and turned her so she was facing him. "Stop this!"

Li Yuxi stopped shaking from the shock and fell against his chest. She exhaled and spasmed for some time before stopping.

"I have said what I wanted. Use this opportunity to focus on building your chi and paying attention to the tulip I gave you. If you are lucky, your savior will be born in this generation and you may end up waiting for a few years until they mature. Make use of your time and do not become a weak man."

Li Yuxi shivered when the room's temperature dropped, followed by a gust of wind. She slowly moved away from Zhao Ling's chest and looked at him.

"What is happening, Zhao Ling?" She asked and the ghost stared down at her with a frown on his face.

"All this is your fault." He accused.

"My fault?!" She pushed him in the chest, which barely made him move. "How is it my fault that we are trapped?"

"If you had not found that vase, none of these would be happening!"

"Don't you dare!" Li Yuxi barked and pressed the tip of her index finger on his chest. "Maybe if you just rest in peace, none of us would be in this situation but no, you want to hold a grudge for hundreds of years to kill off your brother's bloodline. Evil people still live and do bad deeds and even those who have died wish to receive the treatment you have but at what cost? What's the need when they will still die?!"

Li Yuxi could see the realization cross his face but a second after, a deeper frown marred his face.

"What I have with my brother is nothing I will compare to what other people do. I have a destiny and it is either I choose to ascend to my paradise after my revenge is done or continue to live in this generation or whatever generation with my trapped body. There is more than one thing involved, mortal."

Li Yuxi sighed, feeling too tired to exchange more words with him. He was too stubborn and would not listen even if she made the most logical sentence. She eyed the rope tied around their wrists and bit her lip when a thought crossed her mind.

"How can we live like this?" She asked.

"What do you mean?"

Li Yuxi rolled her eyes and glared at him. She was in a pissed-off mood to condone uneducated or foolish questions.

"Have you forgotten that I live with my husband? That I go to work?" She asked and waited for a reply. When she did not get one, she scoffed. "Did you also forget that we are different? I am female, you are male. You may not have any need to clean yourself but how can I do that when you… ugh! Don't make me say it!"

Zhao Ling chuckled. "That is not my business."

"Excuse me?!"

Zhao Ling smirked and took a step closer, making her back away and collide with the sink. She gulped when his eyes darkened a bit as he leaned downward.

"I have said this one too many times; I am not attracted to you so looking at your body or being too close to you isn't my business. The least I can do is look away when you are doing your hygiene duties."

No matter how unattached she was to the ghost, she would always feel a painful sting in her chest from the way he saw her. It always made her realize that Lee Qiang was always right whenever he body-shamed her.

"Li Yuxi?"

The woman flinched from fear at the sound of her husband's voice and pushed Zhao Ling slightly out of the way. Lee Qiang's confused expression made her hope he did not see Zhao Ling or suspect what she did.

"I have a guest… My real woman is coming over. Kindly take yourself out of my house for the night as I want her to stay the night. I do not want your useless self ruining my relationship."

"Why don't you take your woman out of the house instead?"

Li Yuxi covered her mouth after she spoke. Her eyes widened from shock as she knew she had not been the one to speak. She side-eyed Zhao Ling and wondered if he had been the one responsible.

"You have started growing wings. Continue and see what happens. Start packing and don't show yourself until you are called back."

"I don't have anywhere to go. You can't do this, Lee Qiang!" Li Yuxi marched up to her husband and stopped at a safe distance.

"Do I look like I care? Find a hotel and leave right now."

After that, Lee Qiang walked away, leaving a sulking Li Yuxi. She heard a shuffle behind her and remembered Zhao Ling was still with her.

"Your husband is the most useless man I have ever seen. A man that openly defiles his marriage needs to be punished," Zhao Ling said and made a move to walk, dragging Li Yuxi who stopped their movement.

"Enough," she said in a wavering tone. "Leave him alone. I'll just sleep at a hotel. Let him have fun. After today, you will cash in on the promise you made to me. I want to deal with Lee Qiang."

‡‡‡

It was night time and Li Yuxi was sitting on her hotel room's sofa with Zhao Ling who was in a meditating position; legs crossed, eyes closed and their hands on his thighs. Li Yuxi was tired and sleepy but did not want to disrupt what he was doing. But another reason to disrupt him had her pressing her thighs together— She needed to use the bathroom.

Li Yuxi tucked her other hand between her legs and curled her legs around each other. Ever since they got tied together, she had not done anything that would need his eyes away from her body and now, she desperately wanted to use the bathroom.

"Your body movements annoy me."

Li Yuxi groaned. "I am so sorry but I need to… how do I put this? Zhao Ling, I need to ease myself."

Zhao Ling opened his eyes and looked the other way while clearing his throat. She bit her lip harder when her bladder triggered her more.

"Please…"

Zhao Ling sighed. "Fine."

Li Yuxi rose from the sofa and watched Zhao Ling rise before rushing to the bathroom. Once she got to the toilet, she paused and looked down at her denim pants. Her cheeks flushed when she realized she would not be able to do everything with one hand. She was about to change her mind when she felt a little trickle of her pee.

"Zhao Ling, I need your help." She faced him and he hesitantly turned his head.

"What is it?"

She bit her upper lip while thinking of if it was going to be a good idea or not. She took a deep breath and exhaled.

"Can you help me take off my jeans?"

Zhao Ling was already pale but she could have sworn he went paler from her request. The way his eyes skimmed her body made her want to smack herself for even asking but there were important matters to deal with.

"Please. I'm going to pee myself if you don't help, which will be embarrassing," she said, pleading, and even placed her hand on his chest.

Zhao Ling audibly gulped and blinked hard before nodding. She smiled and slowly grabbed his hand.

"Do the button and I'll do the unzipping," she said and directed him to the button.

She stiffened when the pads of his fingers brushed her stomach when his hand went under her shirt. He struggled with the button while the spot between her legs throbbed from the action. Why she reacted the way she did confused her. She suspected it had to do with how intimate it was.

Snapping out of her reverie, she unzipped her jeans and he undid the button. She blushed and started pulling the jeans down her waist but struggled a bit. Before she could say anything, Zhao Ling held the other side of the jeans, tucking his cold fingers in the spot between her waist and the waistline of the jeans. She froze at the contact.

"I apologize," he said in a low and deep voice then tugged his side down.

Li Yuxi swallowed and followed suit. They pulled the jeans down to her lower thigh and stopped. Li Yuxi glanced at Zhao Ling and found his eyes closed. She stared at his face for a few seconds, admiring his sharp facial structures and how gentlemanly he was.

At that moment, Li Yuxi felt like she was attracted to the man— attracted to a ghost.