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n”Do you live alone?” Ying Sheng inquired as she removed her shoes.

n”Yeah, but my brother sometimes comes here.” He replied calmly.

nYing Sheng nodded as she took in the sight of his apartment. It was simple and fitting for him. Suddenly she heard him gasped loud and sprung around to kick away Lucas’s boxer he had dropped onto the floor behind a sofa.

n’That stupid man, he wouldn’t let him into his house again!’ Liam humped inwardly as he cussed his brother.

nLucas suddenly sneezed and furrowed his brows. He felt like someone was cussing him.

nWith an embarrassed face, he looked at Ying Sheng, who was laughing; her hands clutching her stomach. He stood fascinated, undoubtedly her laugh was the best melody he has ever heard.

n”I—I—I,” he cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck. His ears were slightly red.

n”Let me prepare a hot bath for you.”

nYing Sheng tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and nodded.

n”Okay.”

nLiam offered a soft smile at her. The moment he motioned towards the bathroom, the light went out.

nLiam froze. He had always had a phobia for darkness since he was a kid.

n”Liam..” Ying Sheng muttered, but he was too shaken by the sudden darkness to speak.

n”Liam!” Ying Sheng yelled, snapping him out of his stupor.

n”Ye-ah,” he said with a shaky voice. Ying Sheng raised her brows.

n”Are you afraid of the darkness?”

nLiam swallowed and nodded.

n”Y-yes.”

nSighing, Ying Sheng turned on her phone’s flashlight and strode towards him. She held his hands and realized they were cold and clammy.

n”Hey, don’t be afraid. I’m right here by your side.”

nLiam looked at their locked hands and looked up to meet her eyes flickering with an unknown emotion.

nYing Sheng smiled softly at him.

n”Do you a rechargeable lamp or a solar lamp?”

nLiam nodded.

n’Yeah, I had one installed because I’m afraid of darkness.

nWith the aid of Ying Sheng’s phone flashlight, Liam turned on a switch on the wall which caused the whole house to lit up.

n”Cool.” Ying Sheng nodded.

nLiam smiled sheepishly. “Thank you.”

nHe said as he walked towards the bathroom and brought a towel.

n”Dry off and wait for me to prepare the bath.” Ying Sheng nodded and took off her leather jacket. Underneath, she had a strapless black dress with short sleeves, which accentuated all her curves.

nShe turned her back at him and started drying off her hair with the towel. Liam realized she had a snake tattoo on her left shoulder. It was a mixture of black and red ink. It was beautiful. He wonders what it represents.

nYing Sheng turned around and found him staring at her. Liam swallowed as he stared at her curvaceous body, which could be seen since the rain drenched her dress. Liam felt his cheeks heating with a familiar warmth as their eyes met. Ying Sheng lips curved into a naughty smile.

n”Like what you see?” she purred sexily as she threw a wink at him.

nLiam blushed, ” I—I—I,” he murmured nervously.

n”Let me prepare the bath for you, or you might catch a cold.” He said as he dashed out of the room without waiting for her response.

n’Does she even know what she is doing to me?’ Liam thought to himself as he quickly went inside the bathroom.

nLiam came back with a gigantic sweater for Ying Sheng.

n”The bathroom is the second door of the right.”

nYing Sheng nodded

n”Thank you.”

nThe bathroom was neat. Ying Sheng took off her wet dress that was already sticking to her body and stood in front of the bathroom mirror

nShe looked like a hot mess with her disheveled hair, and her lips were blue, probably because of the cold. Ying Sheng stood before the mirror. Naked and emotionless.

nHer eyes dropped on the razor blade, and she swallowed. She could hear them calling her. She ran her fingers on her inner thigh, feeling the marks the blade had caused over the years.

nYing Sheng knew people will call her crazy, a lunatic if they saw her scars. Others will accuse her of doing it for attention. She knew how judgmental humans can be. But only she knew how each scar had helped her sleep at night.

nShutting her eyes, she tried to block the sounds out, then she got into the bathtub.

nLiam made two cups of ginger-tea for them after he took a bath in his bedroom. As he was coming from the kitchen with the cups, the door to the visitor’s bedroom opened, which caused him to instinctively turn around his head.

nHis breath hitched when he saw Ying Sheng coming out of the room wearing his baggy sweater, which reached her mid-thigh, showing her long smooth legs.

nHis mouth subconsciously opened as he watched her wiped off her wet hair with a towel; droplets of water falling down.

nLiam nearly had a heart attack. His hands loosened, making him lose grip of the cups.

nThe cups hit the floor, making a loud sound that snapped him out of his daze.

n”Liam!” Ying Sheng called out worriedly.

n”Uh..” Slowly he averted his gaze from her and looked down. He saw blood dripped on the floor.

nHe frowned as his brain finally registered that his nose was bleeding.

nHe hurriedly tilted his head back and placed his index finger under his nose.

n”Are you alright? Make sure not to stand on the broken glass.”

nWithout warning, Ying Sheng came to stand beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder, which sent electric jolts through him.

n”Go and sit down. Let me clean this mess up.”

nLiam awkwardly nodded.

n’For the second time tonight, he had disgraced himself in front of the woman he secretly loves. Way to go, Liam.” He mentally scolded himself.

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