Chapter 116: I Can Be Even Worse...

Xue Tian'ai muttered unintelligible words under his breath as he emerged from Qin Mengxue’s office, clutching his neck.

During the brief time he had spent inside, Xue Tian'ai had once again fallen victim to the violent tendencies of Qin Mengxue’s mouth. To his slight relief, however, she had only bitten areas covered by his clothing, sparing him from any visible "strawberry marks."

As he walked toward the elevators, lamenting his miserable fate, his path was blocked by a woman.

Yu Xiaoxiao blinked her beautiful eyes, her hair cascading over her shoulders, and asked expectantly, "Assistant Xue, have you noticed anything different about me?"

"…Is there something different?" Xue Tian'ai, caught off guard, paused and began looking her up and down, though his hand remained firmly pressed against his neck.

"Look closer!" Yu Xiaoxiao said, her face flushing slightly as she tilted her head.

"Hmm…" Xue Tian'ai kept one hand on his neck and rested his chin on the other, leaning forward slightly to stare intently at her chest. "Did your breasts get smaller?"

"Ah! Assistant Xue, what are you saying!" Startled by his fixed gaze, Yu Xiaoxiao instinctively covered her chest, stepped back a few paces, and scolded him with a shy, indignant look.

"Hm? Isn't it that? Did you take out the breast pads?" Xue Tian'ai furrowed his brow, taking a few steps forward and keeping his eyes glued to her chest.

"Ah… no… that’s not it! I never use things like that." Flustered, Yu Xiaoxiao bit her tongue, resulting in a string of garbled words.

In truth, Xue Tian'ai had hit the nail on the head. After hearing about it while watching a TV drama the night before, she had bought breast enhancers in an attempt to look more voluptuous. However, she had ultimately given up; having never used such things before, she found them incredibly uncomfortable and had snuck off to the restroom to remove them just moments ago.

But still! That was not the change she wanted him to guess! There should have been something much more obvious to notice!

"Then where is the change?" Xue Tian'ai straightened up and asked with utmost sincerity.

"I took down my low ponytail! Honestly, Assistant Xue, you didn't even notice?" Yu Xiaoxiao glanced up at him shyly, then quickly lowered her gaze, grabbing a strand of her loose hair and twirling it with her fingers.

"Oh, heaven! So that’s it! I was just wondering why the beautiful Miss Yu’s aura had changed so suddenly! It turns out that Miss Yu looks this stunning with her hair down!" Xue Tian'ai exclaimed, clapping his hands together as if in a sudden realization.

"Is… is that so? Hehehehe…" Hearing Xue Tian'ai’s praise, Yu Xiaoxiao felt as if a honey pot had spilled over in her heart. She looked at him with bashful eyes, but suddenly, she noticed something.

"Indeed, indeed! If the ancients had their beloved beauties, today I have the stunning Miss Yu!" Xue Tian'ai continued with his sweet-talking flattery.

"Assistant Xue, what happened to your neck? Why is there such a large red mark…?" Ignoring his words entirely, Yu Xiaoxiao stared curiously at the red bruise on his neck.

"Ah… ah!!!" Xue Tian'ai gasped, realizing he had carelessly let his hand drop. "A mosquito… a mosquito bit me!"

He was forced to lie.

"Can a mosquito bite leave such a large mark?" Yu Xiaoxiao, ever the curious child, persisted.

"Ah… hahaha, maybe the mosquito went to outer space and mutated," Xue Tian'ai joked, offering an utterly absurd explanation.

"Hmm?" Yu Xiaoxiao clearly didn't believe him and took a few steps closer, determined to get to the bottom of it.

Cold sweat began to bead on Xue Tian'ai's forehead. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him. He pointed out the window and shouted, "Whoa!! Miss Yu, look out the window! A UFO!"

"Where? Where?" A glint of excitement flashed in Yu Xiaoxiao’s eyes as she followed his finger toward the window…

But where was there any UFO? The sky outside was clear and the sun was blazing… though a sparrow did seem to have dropped a bit of white bird droppings.

"Assistant Xue, there’s nothing—" Yu Xiaoxiao turned her head. "Assistant Xue?..."

Behind her, there was no sign of Xue Tian'ai. The empty corridor and the dust motes stirred up by a sudden gust of wind seemed to silently testify that a man had just used a skill known as "Flash" to escape.

Xue Tian'ai clutched his sturdy chest as he huddled in the corner of the elevator, congratulating himself on his ridiculously high IQ and his superb escape skills. He really was something! He was so handsome that he almost wanted to fall for himself!

However, the elevator’s sudden stop interrupted his wild and impossible fantasies.

The elevator reached the twentieth floor, the doors opened, and a beautiful woman in a pure black professional OL outfit stepped in.

Xue Tian'ai squinted slightly as he saw her, then whistled flippantly. "Yo, Miss Qiu, what a coincidence. We meet again! Don't you think there’s a special fate between us?"

Qiu Zhiruo’s eyelids twitched when she saw him, her expression turning slightly unnatural. But the look lasted only a fleeting moment, and soon she wore a radiant smile. "Isn't this the handsome Mr. Xue who spent his morning staring at my chest and then gave me two cream buns?"

"Wow, to be remembered so clearly by the beautiful Miss Qiu, I, Xue Tian'ai, am truly honored!" He bowed like a gentleman, though he stretched his neck forward as if trying to dive into the waves of her chest.

"Mr. Xue, you’re still as lecherous as ever. That’s not quite what I heard!" Qiu Zhiruo didn't retreat shyly like Yu Xiaoxiao, but she did lean back slightly.

"What did you hear? Who did you hear it from? Was it a man or a woman?" Xue Tian'ai asked with a keen, playful interest.

"I heard it from my colleagues in the fashion planning department. Most of us there are women. They all said a super handsome guy came to the company last week—refined, elegant, and dashing… Tsk tsk, I wondered who it could be, but when I heard the name, I realized it was just the lecherous Mr. Xue who spent his morning staring at my chest."

Qiu Zhiruo leaned in closer, bringing her face toward his, and said with a smile, "And I also heard that Mr. Xue is incredibly, incredibly, incredibly capable!"

"Has my true identity finally been exposed!" Xue Tian'ai raised an eyebrow. "But I’d still like to hear exactly how capable I am!"

"Some say that Mr. Xue was once a legendary soldier king! And since President Qin happened to need a bodyguard, you gave up that status and returned to the city! All for the sake of a beauty!" Qiu Zhiruo said, pressing against him with an expression of pure adoration.

"…Miss Qiu, have you been reading too many urban soldier king novels on Zongheng Chinese Network?" Xue Tian'ai said in surprise. "Besides, the current trend is the 'son-in-law war god' genre! Why didn't you say I was a live-in son-in-law? You could have said I was a Shura Dragon King War God who went on a rampage for a lover!"

Qiu Zhiruo’s expression went blank. She had no idea what he was talking about. What son-in-law? What War God? What was all that?

"Then what did you mean by your identity being exposed?"

"I thought my identity as a 'seven-times-a-night' man had been exposed!" Xue Tian'ai said with a straight face.

"Pfft!" Qiu Zhiruo seemed amused by his crude joke and covered her mouth, laughing. "Mr. Xue, you really are interesting. Seven times a night? Can that small frame of yours really handle that?"

"Damn, who are you looking down on? I’m famously known as the 'Golden Spear That Never Falls'!" Xue Tian'ai bragged shamelessly.

"Really?" Qiu Zhiruo pressed her body tightly against his.

Xue Tian'ai inhaled her fragrance, his eyes narrowing as he flashed a lecherous, wicked smile. He reached out and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Actually, Miss Qiu, you’d know if you just tried it."

Qiu Zhiruo pouted coyly. "Oh, Mr. Xue, why are you so direct? You didn't even ask if I have a boyfriend!"

"So Miss Qiu does have a boyfriend!" Xue Tian'ai feigned disappointment and released her waist.

"Oh my, I never said that!" Qiu Zhiruo shot him a charming, flirtatious glance.

"Oh, is that so?" Xue Tian'ai raised an eyebrow. With a sudden *thump*, he pinned her against the wall of the elevator and traced the back of his hand along her smooth, fair cheek. "Miss Qiu is quite the actress. I almost believed you."

"You’re so bad! We’re in an elevator, you know!" Qiu Zhiruo clenched her fists.

"I never claimed to be a good man. Do you want to see my wicked side?" Xue Tian'ai smiled devilishly.

Qiu Zhiruo didn't speak; she simply closed her eyes and tilted her head back slightly…

The wicked gleam in Xue Tian'ai’s eyes intensified. His hand, which had been caressing her cheek, slid down to hold her chin. He leaned in closer, but instead of kissing her pink lips, he whispered softly into her ear:

"Something so delicious shouldn't be eaten so early!"

At that very moment, the elevator *dinged*!