Archive of Our Own

"Oh, so good! One more, one more!"

"But, mistress, I don't think I can anymore…"

"Too bad, I'm not done with you yet~."

"Maomao, are you paying attention?"

"No, I'm not." Maomao answered bluntly, ignoring Pairin's pouting.

Pairin paused the movie, freezing the screen in an image of her lasciviously licking her lips as she cornered a trembling man on a bed. Maomao, sitting close to her in front of Pairin's dining table, had been openly reading her book for a few minutes, the second of them to stop pretending to watch another one of Pairin's adult videos.

"It does get a bit repetitive after a while." Meimei said halfheartedly, the only one who had still been looking at the screen.

Or at least pretending to. Maomao thought, looking at Meimei's phone, carefully laid on her lap under the table and hidden from Pairin's line of sight. It was open on an online Go game.

"It got repetitive after the third movie, not the thirtieth." Joka, who had tapped out five minutes into the movie, said, scrolling on her phone while laying on Pairin's sofa.

"Aren't you exaggerating?" Pairin said, lips still pouting as she closed her laptop.

"It's always the same plot: you meet a guy, he wants to do you, he fucks you but finds out you're actually too carnivorous for him, it's too late for him and you suck the idiot dry like a vampire." Joka said, not looking up from her phone. "You need a new agent."

Pairin looked at Meimei and Maomao, raising an eyebrow. Maomao shrugged, she stopped watching after the second one, accurately titled "My superior with big tits wants to share the room with me, a cherry boy intern, during a work trip!". She had no idea why Pairin still called her for "premiere night".

"She's not wrong." Meimei said kindly, patting one of Pairin's hands.

Pairin's petulant look turned thoughtful. "I'll try to talk to the Madam about it."

Meimei winced. "Stop calling her 'the Madam', it makes it sound like Grandma runs a brothel."

"Jury's still out on that one, I maintain that she's running one in secret." Joka said.

"I think if Grams were, she would have already tried to recruit one of you." Maomao said, turning a page of her book.

Joka clicked the side of her phone, dropping it one her lap. Maomao felt a shiver run down her spine when her older sister's eyes pinned her down.

"One of us? Not you?" Joka asked casually.

"I don't think Grams would try to sell chicken bones when she can sell delicacies with a lot better quality." Maomao said, gesturing in front of her chest to mimic her sisters' assets.

"Aww, Maomao, don't say that! There's very high demand for girls who look like you." Pairin beamed. "There's this director about to shoot a movie that just wasn't suited for me, but I can give him you number if —"

"Pass." Maomao closed her book, it had been easier to study tuning out Pairin's moaning.

She saw Meimei look at the cover of her book from the corner of her eye and smile. Turning away from her sister, Maomao placed it inside her own bag.

"Don't be like that, maybe you should try it out. You act like you don't care about sex at all, it's weird for a girl your age. When I was in my twenties—"

"You care way too much about sex, Pairin, for a girl of any age." Joka interrupted, sitting up.

"It's rude to not let people finish." Pairin huffed. The scowl growing on her face might have been enough to scare off any of her fans. "You should listen to someone if they have something to say."

Her words were familiar and rang around Maomao's head. She shook them off, if she couldn't remember them well, it probably wasn't important.

"She's right, you know, that was rude." Meimei scolded lightly. "And everyone has a level of preference for sex, Joka, that's normal. But if Maomao doesn't have an interest in it, Pairin, we shouldn't bother her about it."

Both women seemed put out, but quieted down. Maomao frowned.

"I just don't see the point of it." Maomao said.

"The point of sex?" Meimei asked, pointedly ignoring Pairin's theatrical gasp.

"I used to think I would have to do it if I wanted to eat the placenta." Maomao felt a smile grow on her face. Her sisters, however, were looking a little green. "But insemination is highly successful now, so I don't see why I should bother."

"Well, it feels good and it's fun, for one." Pairin licked her lips before smiling.

Maomao shuddered. As much as she cared for her older sister, they hardly shared the same definition of "fun".

"Sex isn't just about 'feeling good' for everyone." Meimei said, a sympathetic smile on her face as she looked at Maomao. "Being intimate with someone you trust is very satisfying."

Joka snorted. The inelegant sound didn't match her flower-like beauty.

"Don't tell me that's what you were looking for with all the men you took home from the club."

"Work is work and intimacy is intimacy." Meimei said firmly.

Meimei wasn't a sex worker, technically. She worked as a hostess in a high-end club in Capital City, so she didn't need to touch any of the men hiring her. Didn't mean she wasn't finding means beyond good conversation and expensive champagne to fidelize some of them to her, however.

Regardless, Meimei's pitch of sex was somehow less appealing than Pairin's.

"I'm actually surprised by you, Maomao." Joka said. "Sex is a lot like those experiments you love."

Unwillingly, Maomao felt her ears perk up. Joka smirked and Maomao suddenly had the impression she was like a kitten caught under the paws of a ferocious tiger.

"It's not only about pleasure, definitely not about intimacy either. You can try out any sensation you want, including pain and discomfort, on you and on whoever else is in."

Maomao looked down at her closed book, thoughts whirling around her head.

"I thought a woman as curious as you would be eager to get rid of her virginity and get on experimenting." Joka continued, eyes piercing Maomao.

"Virginity is just a social construct, it's not real." Meimei said, but her words sounded lukewarm.

"Virginity is real as long as you have it." Pairin giggled. She got up from her chair and ruffled Maomao's hair, who batted her hand away.

Pairin moved closer to Joka, talking about which food they should order. As her sisters debated between mapo tofu and dan dan noodles, Maomao barely remembered to offer her opinion. In her mind, a plan was beginning to form.

"Maomao, what do you think?" Xiaolan asked, shoving a phone screen on her face.

Maomao gently moved her hand away, not looking up from the screen of her laptop.

"It's fine." She said, typing.

"Fine? I was going for dazzling. Charming. Ohhh, maybe powerful? That's a great idea, Maomao!"

Maomao nodded absentmindedly.

"Let's go for it then, Shisui! From the beginning!"

"Xiaolan, she's not paying attention." Shisui rolled her eyes, but a smile still settled on her face.

Shisui approached Maomao, who didn't look up from her typing. Carefully, Shisui swiftly pulled Maomao's laptop from her hands and turned the screen so she could read. Finally, Maomao jolted.

"Shisui, what the hell?!" Maomao glared, getting up from her seat.

Shisui didn't react at first, her eyes wide as she read the words on the screen. Then, she burst into laughter. The tips of Maomao's ears warmed and she tried to lung for the laptop, but Shisui gracefully moved out of the way. Tilting her head to the side, Xiaolan approached them and Shisui turned the screen to her. When she saw what was written, Xiaolan's face turned red.

"M-Maomao, is that what you were writing? Here?!" Xiaolan stammered, waving her arms around as she gestured to their surroundings, the grassy outdoor area of the their university campus.

Maomao crossed her arms. "You shouldn't be reading my private research."

"Oh, you have been researching alright." Shisui chucked, scrolling thought the document.

Xiaolan took another look at the screen and managed to turn an even deeper red.

"Is that even possible?" She asked, voice faint.

"Yes, you just need a flexible partner and some patience. Make sure to stretch, too." Shisui said, patting Xiaolan's shoulder.

"Maomao, what is all this for? Are you helping your sisters with their work?" She continued, handing the laptop back to Maomao, who sat back down on the grass.

She laid the laptop on her lap, scrolling through the document to make sure nothing was accidentally deleted in her struggle. Shisui and Xiaolan sat by her side, peeking at the screen. Maomao didn't bother moving away. They had already seen the worst of it, anyways.

For a moment, Maomao contemplated saying this was for her sisters. However, between Xiaolan's trusting, lamb-like eyes and Shisui's deep, analyzing stare, Maomao sighed.

"It's for me."

She waited for Shisui to laugh or for Xiaolan to blush again, but both just had twin confused expressions on their faces.

"This isn't a very funny joke." Xiaolan said awkwardly, after a long moment of silence.

"It's not a joke." Maomao frowned. Did anything about her careful research resemble a joke?

"But you don't fuck, Maomao." Shisui said, matter of fact.

Xiaolan flushed again. "Shisui!"

"What? It's true. Why are you searching for positions I've only ever seen in porn if you're a total virgin?"

"I already studied the basics so this felt like a natural next step." Maomao said blandly.

Shisui nodded thoughtfully. Xiaolan looked faint.

"I don't think there was anything natural about that." She said timidly, earning a ruffle of her hair from Shisui.

"Alright, Doctor Fangzhongshu, are you planning to put this in practice too?" Shisui leaned her face against her own hand. "Need a volunteer?"

Maomao didn't react to Shisui's words and joking leer, but Xiaolan started to fan herself with a paper fan she fished from her bag.

"I decided to start out with men first."

Artificial insemination was expensive, after all. If Maomao could get used to having sex with a man, she could save a good amount of money getting pregnant that way when the time comes.

Xiaolan lit up. "Do you have a guy you like?"

"No, where did you get this idea?" Maomao frowned at her.

"You just said you wanted to do this—" By then, Maomao was sure she could heat up tea on Xiaolan's face. " —with a man, so doesn't that mean you like a guy?"

"I don't 'like a guy', Xiaolan, I just have to find a compatible, healthy man to have experimental intercourse with."

And get her sisters off her back about her "virginity", too. Maomao was a practical woman, if she could have one arrow go through two condors , all the better.

"Do you have a list of candidates?" Shisui asked, smiling. She looked as if she was having just as much fun as when she had been dancing with Xiaolan moments before.

"I do." Maomao nodded, moving to a different section of the document.

She had spent more than a week compiling information about the men she interacted with who were fit for the task. She wasn't familiar enough with her classmates to ask any of them. Lihaku was out, as he was desperately in love with Pairin. Ukyou was too old and would probably never agree since he watched her grow up. Although insistent and inconvenient, Rikuson was a good candidate. Pity he had an undesirable connection that ended his prospects.

In the end, Maomao had narrowed it down to a sole name.

"Mr. Jinshi?" Xiaolan gasped, eyes wide. Beside her, Shisui was quiet, the glow of the screen shining on her dark eyes. "But you said he was disgusting."

"He can be sometimes." Maomao shuddered. The memory of honey-covered fingers flashed in her mind, but she shook it away.

"You said you hated it when he touched you." Xiaolan said, tone almost accusing.

"I can get used to it to save money on the placenta." Maomao shrugged.

Xiaolan's face paled while Shisui began to giggle.

"What?!" Xiaolan cried out.

"Nothing." Maomao waved her away. "I analyzed more than fifty candidates and Jinshi is the ideal one to try for a one night stand. After the first time, I can look for other partners."

"Why do you think Jinshi would agree to a one night stand with you?" Shisui asked, smile on her face at odds with her dark eyes. "Do you believe the rumors?"

Xiaolan looked down, face strangely guilty. "You heard about them, Maomao? I didn't think you cared for rumors like that so I didn't say anything…"

Maomao really didn't care for rumors, but it was impossible to not hear about the various lovers of the campus prince. It was basically a rite of passage for any pretty girl in the campus to be bedded by him and then skip around the next day, blabbering to anyone that would hear. Maomao had no opinion of this until she started her search for a candidate and, incidentally, got the confirmation of Jinshi's dalliances.

She could still see it clearly in her mind: the memory of Jinshi walking around the expensive neighborhood Meimei worked in. He had a woman Maomao didn't recognize in his arm, a dark-haired beauty, and he had been grinning boyishly at her, far from his usual carefully crafted smiles. They had disappeared together inside a fancy hotel and he had seemed clearly familiar with the place.

Not that it mattered beyond confirming he was more likely to accept a one night stand, since he was clearly taking lovers.

Maomao explained he reasoning to the two, watching as the dark of Shisui's eyes melted back to her usual glint and Xiaolan look surprisingly devastated.

"So it's true? But I really thought…" Xiaolan said, looking at Maomao like a wounded lamb.

"It's better for you to not involve yourself with a playboy, Xiaolan." Maomao said, patting her head.

Xiaolan frowned, opening her mouth. Then, she looked at Shisui, who shook her head, and closed her mouth again. Maomao decided to set this weird interaction aside.

"How are you going to get Mr. Playboy into your bed, then?" Shisui grinned.

"I have compiled a simple list of the steps to seducing a man, according to external sources." Maomao said proudly, presenting that section of her document.

Xiaolan's eyes widened as she read it.

"This is a little familiar. Hey, is this why you agreed to take Craze's 'Ways to make your crush notice you' quiz with me?"

Maomao avoided her gaze.

"Doing magazine tests with your friend with second intentions? That must be a violation of girl code, Maomao." Shisui, who probably never read a magazine that wasn't about insects, said. "As punishment, you should dance with us."

Xiaolan's eyes lit up. "Yes, Maomao, do the 303 (New Path) dance with us!!"

"I don't dance." Maomao said. The lessons Meimei pressed onto her probably didn't could, right?

"We can teach you." Shisui grabbed her in a surprisingly strong grip and pulled her up.

Maomao sighed and resigned herself to an afternoon of sugary pop.

Maomao's simple plan had five infallible steps.

Step One: Flirting

Jinshi was a predicable man and that's how Maomao easily found him during lunch break at the Quack's university cafe.

That was his favorite spot, even though it wasn't particularly close to the business department. He could be found there every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, dates proudly posted on the university forum no matter how many time the administrators took them off. Even if she had doubted he would be there, the gaggle of girls surrounding the cafe were a damning tell.

Xiaolan was telling her and Shisui about which drinks were the day's special when Maomao phone's rung, a special ringtone that had her immediately accepting the call.

"Pops, is everything okay?" Maomao asked rapidly. Beside her, Xiaolan and Shisui paused.

"Maomao, everything is fine." Her father said, already withered voice flattened by the line. "I am calling to ask you to pick up the list of supplies I sent you. I was slotted to go, but my knees have been bothering me. Might I trouble you?"

"Yes, of course, pops, no problem." Maomao said, waving away her friends. The two nodded, going inside the cafe to save their seats. "Is there anything else you need?"

"No, I'm all set. Work has been slow today." He said vaguely. Maomao wished she could be there to see for herself. "And your classes?"

Maomao blinked slowly. Her father usually saved this type of small talk to dinner.

"We identified thirty types of herbs today. I got full marks." She tried to say it as indifferently as she could, but she wasn't sure she managed.

In the Traditional Linise Medicine (TLM) department, there were no students that could compare to her knowledge of plants and herbs .

Her father hummed. "Have you already signed up for next semester's classes?"

Maomao shifted around her feet. The pleasant breeze of the day seemed to be growing colder as the afternoon arrived.

"Not yet." She said, feeling detached from her words. "The deadline is still a few weeks away and I have been busy with a side project."

"It's a very important one, this time around." Luomen said and Maomao could hear him move around the clinic, the shuffle of material. "There's a lot to think about."

She wanted nothing more than to be there, helping her father handle medicine. But it was still the middle of the day, so she continued:

"Yes, I know, pops. I won't forget."

"Have a good day at university, Maomao. I will see to a client right now."

"Don't forget to have lunch." Maomao managed to say before her father hung up. They had never been a family of many words, especially not lately.

Maomao made her way inside the cafe, thinking about what drink she might order. Maybe it was all the talking, but her throat felt dry. However, as soon as she got inside, she was stuck in the middle of the crowd of women, each trying to take a peak into a private nook in the corner of he cafe. Their campus prince's booth, probably.

"Maomao!" She heard her name being called and felt a pull on her arm. She found herself sitting on a booth with a grinning Shisui handing her a cup of tea.

"Thank you." Maomao said and took a sip. Bitterness flooded her mouth and she felt her shoulders loosen. "How much do I owe you?"

"Nevermind that." Shisui smiled, waving her hand and handing Maomao a plate of rice crackers.

Maomao shrugged. She wasn't about to say no to free food.

"I don't think we're reaching Mr. Jinshi with this crowd." Xiaolan grumbled, lips pursing around her brown frappe's straw.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that." Shisui's smile widened and she reached behind their booth.

They were sitting in the second to last booth close to the bathroom, an undesirable place due to the distance from Jinshi's usual sitting place. Shisui rudely tapped the head of the person in the last booth beside theirs, making them wince and turn towards Maomao's table. Maomao was ready to scramble an apology for Shisui as Xiaolan dragged the troublemaker back to her seat, but paused when she saw their booth neighbor's face.

"Maomao?" Jinshi said, pulling a pair of earphones from his ears. It seemed almost like a crime to see his dark, long hair tucked under the hood of a sweatshirt that didn't match his usual clean style.

"Sir." Maomao nodded, still unsettled. Shisui sat down, looking unbearably smug. "I thought you were sitting on the other side of the room."

Jinshi smiled wryly. "What gave you that idea?"

"The screaming and the phone cameras." She gestured to the girls still crowding the far away booth.

Jinshi grimaced as he followed her hand. Maomao noticed that he was uncomfortably twisted trying to face them as he still sat in his booth.

Better get to work. Maomao thought, getting up from her seat and taking her cup of tea in hand. Jinshi's eyes followed her as she made her way to the seat in front of his and, before she boldly sat down, Maomao saw Shisui's smug face and Xiaolan's beaming one.

Jinshi stared at her, mouth hanging open.

"So?" Maomao said, a moment away from snapping at the stupid look on his face.

"So what?" He asked dumbly, still looking at her like the last Emperor of Li sat down in front of him.

"Why are you sitting here, sir?"

"Oh, that. I sent Basen to sit there and tell everyone that I was talking to a professor but was coming back soon." Jinshi said, before taking a sip of his huge cup of coffee.

If those girls don't rip him apart first, this caffeine addiction is going to kill him. Not that it's Maomao's business, so she shoved down the medical instincts her father cultivated in her and drank her tea.

Jinshi was looking at her as he put down his coffee, but didn't seem inclined to say anything else, just stare at her with this strange, relaxed expression. It's just Maomao's luck that he would do that the moment she needed him to blab as he always did. However, she had accepted she would need to go beyond her comfort zone for this experiment, so she put down her tea and took a deep breathe.

"Isn't that too much trouble, sir?" She asked, deciding that continuing the conversation was safer than trying for small talk. "If you have to hide from your fans, wouldn't you rather have lunch somewhere else?"

"I would, but I have been trying to meet someone here for a while. It used to be pretty quiet too."

Meeting someone? Probably one of his lovers. At least Maomao wasn't in uncharted territory at the moment.

"It did, I used to come here for lunch after my physiology classes when I had the time."

The cafe was close enough to her department and it was always easy to bully the Quack into giving her a discount, so Maomao usually found herself there during lunch time every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. When Jinshi started to do the same, Maomao seriously contemplated poisoning his coffee so she could have her peace and cheap lunch set back.

Looking at him now, it didn't look like he was having fun either, so Maomao officially put those plans to rest.

"Used to?" Jinshi deflated from the comfortable position he had been in. "So you don't come here anymore?"

Maomao shrugged. "Not in a while and I don't think I'm coming back anytime soon."

Jinshi slumped back on his seat, muttering things Maomao couldn't be bothered to understand. Feeling like she wasn't getting anywhere, Maomao recalled the advice of Xiaolan's magazine.

"Make sure to show off your interest! Bat your eyelashes to draw him to your eyes and make it clear how attracted to him you are while reminding him how attractive you are!"

Looking at Jinshi, Maomao began to calmly bat her eyelashes. When he didn't demonstrate any reaction, she started to do it faster. He might not have noticed, after all. Slowly, Jinshi straightened up, frowning.

"Is everything okay?" Jinshi asked, leaning towards her. Yes! That was a sign of interest, according to the body language she studied. Yet, the frown wasn't particularly promising.

"Of course, sir, why would you ask that?"

"You're blinking really fast. Is there something in your eye?" Jinshi seemed concerned, taking his messenger's bag from the cushion of the booth seat and rummaging through it.

Then, he set an eye drop bottle on the table.

"You can use this if you want, my doctor recommended it to me since my sight got tired easily."

Maomao stared blankly at the bottle. From the other booth, she could hear Shisui and Xiaolan giggling.

This is my fault, I should have been more prepared. Maomao thought bleakly. I knew I should have practiced in front of a mirror.

She could still salvage this. There was equal evidence that eye contact during conversations was also a sign of interest and a good attempt at seduction. So, Maomao widened her eyes and focused them on Jinshi.

"Thank you, sir, but I don't need them."

Jinshi flushed. "Are you sure?"

Maomao sighed, trying to not throw the towel of sheer annoyance.

"Yes, I'm sure. My eyes are fine."

"Well, you aren't blinking."

Maomao couldn't stop a glare from forming. "I thought the problem was that I was blinking too much."

"Yes, but now you aren't blinking at all."

Both Shisui and Xiaolan burst into laugher.

"Forgive me, Jinshi, but I have to leave for my next class." Maomao said through gritted teeth, feeling the tips of her ears burn. She downed the rest of her lukewarm tea and got up from her seat.

The bitterness on her tongue didn't feel as comforting as before.

"Wait, I didn't mean to upset you." Jinshi said, also motioning to get up.

Maomao lifted her hand, almost as if to touch his shoulder. Both froze in place.

She snapped out of it first. "You didn't do anything, I just have to go."

Maomao did have lectures to attend and it was better to be early than late to cellular biology. She didn't need to mention it was about an hour early. So she grabbed a still chuckling Shisui and a sweet-hoarding Xiaolan and left the cafe.

First step: failed.

Step Two: Feeding him

Maomao watched as Zulin stared despairingly at the pile of locusts on the table.

"I'm not happy about it either." Maomao said, throwing a bunch of them inside the restaurant's oven.

"Stop whining, Zulin, it's not that bad." Chou-u said, munching on a bunch of nuts.

Maomao snatched the bag out of his hands. "This is coming out of your pay, brat."

Chou-u stuck out his crumb-covered tongue out at her, before resuming his loud chewing. Zulin also glared at him, slapping him on the back of his head as she passed by with a pile of trays. Chou-u glared at her, but had enough sense to not hit her back while she was carrying restaurant propriety.

The restaurant where she worked, one of the Madam's business, was technically closed for the day while they entertained the owner of the building. The dinner party was already over, the man having left with the Madam to the definitely-a-karaoke-club on the upper floor.

Maomao was left with her brat coworkers, who probably shouldn't even be working at night, and the owner's generous present: a huge tray of locusts. The Madam ordered them to prepare it however they could before they closed up the place or they wold have to eat them all. Nothing else needed to be said, they immediately got to work.

"I used to eat these all the time with Shisui." Chou-u said and Maomao nodded. She had seen Shisui devour a locust skewer with gusto before berating the seller for giving her a grasshopper in between her locusts. "It's not that bad."

Zulin looked unconvinced, but just signed I want to go home, not roast insects.

"It's not like we can leave in this storm." Maomao said, looking out of the kitchen window to the falling rain. "You would have to be insane to go out in this weather."

In that moment, the bell by the door rang. Someone had come inside the restaurant.

The three groaned in unison.

"Can't they see the closed sign?" Chou-u grumbled, crossing his arms. "Freckles, send them away."

Maomao scowled. "Why me?"

"Zulin can't and Grams says I need more customer service training." Chou-u grinned, hauling himself onto a counter. Zulin smiled and imitated him, swinging her legs once she sat down.

Maomao glared at them and left to the front. Her mouth was already open, standard spiel on the tip of her tongue. However, once she saw the figure who had come in, the words died before she could speak them.

"Maomao?" Jinshi said, eyes wide as he looked at her.

He had been clearly caught in the rain. His wet hair was sticking to his face and his clothes were soaked, a coat thrown over his elbow. His pants were clinging to his legs and his lavender-colored shirt was almost see through, glued to his muscled torso. Maomao had no reaction to that.

"Jinshi, sir." Maomao answered, looking away to the side. "We're closed."

"I'm sorry, my car died and there was no signal so I couldn't call a mechanic. I got out of the car to make the call and got caught in the rain while I walked. This place was the closest with the lights on." He blurt out, fiddling with his coat.

Maomao nodded slowly. "I can get you a towel and a change of clothes, if you don't mind wearing a spare uniform."

"That sounds great, thank you."

Maomao made her way to the back, grabbing one of the spare towels in the changing room and rummaging until she found a uniform around Ukyou's size. The pants would probably be a bit short on Jinshi, but the rest should fit well enough. Chou-u came from the kitchen, frowning.

"Weren't you going to send the guy away, why is he still here?" Chou-u grumbled.

"Where is Zulin?" Maomao asked, ignoring his question.

"Making eyes at Mr. Prettyboy." He answered, face dark.

Maomao rolled her eyes. "It's not Zulin's fault that she has eyes."

"He's not that pretty." Maomao raised an eyebrow at him. "Okay, fine, he is pretty, but a guy like that has to be, I don't know, a playboy or something."

Maomao shrugged. Chou-u wasn't wrong, but Maomao wasn't about to indulge his jealousy fit. She moved past him and found Jinshi nursing a cup of steaming tea and offering Zulin one of his patented sparkly smiles. As Maomao handed the clothes to him, he turned to her with that smile and she glared at him.

Immediately, the plastic look on his face melted and he gave her a sheepish expression.

"Sorry, I will dry myself and change now." Jinshi said, moving towards the bathroom.

Maomao turned to Zulin, intent on asking her to mop the floor to dry the water Jinshi brought in, but paused at the look on her face. The lovesickness Chou-u had groused about wasn't to be found, instead making way to the quizzical look she was shooting directly at Maomao.

"What is it?" Maomao asked. Zulin's fingers moved as if to communicate and yet she stopped and shook her head. "Fine, just mop the floor."

She already had too much to think about without Zulin's strange behavior.

"Sorry for the trouble." Jinshi said, coming out of the bathroom. The pants were indeed a little short and the shirt strained around his chest, the towel thrown over his shoulders.

"Just make sure to give it back to me as soon as you can." Maomao would have to wash it at home as soon as possible if she didn't want the Madam to notice.

Jinshi nodded at her and sat down on the chair beside Maomao, both facing the counter. His shoulders were slightly slumped and there were dark circles under his eyes, his wet hair darkening the towel. He looked different from the composed Jinshi she would see gallivanting around campus and yet Maomao couldn't say it was worse.

Jinshi took out his phone from his pocket, looking gloomily at the screen.

"Still no signal." He groaned.

"I don't think we're getting any in this rain, sir."

"I had a really important meeting to get to." Jinshi said, slumping even further.

The neighborhood wasn't exactly a good one and there no buildings that could hold a meeting with someone of Jinshi's caliber. Unless it wasn't a work meeting, but a personal one. Maomao could think of some of the women from university who lived around here, she often saw a few decently pretty girls in the same commute as her in the subway.

"You can always try to reach the meeting place by foot, sir. Unfortunately, we don't have any umbrellas we could loan."

Jinshi looked outside through the glass window, a (admittedly rusty) metal street sign being ripped up from the street by the strong wind and flying away, and at the wall, where five umbrellas were leaning.

"I can wait." He said meekly.

Zulin came out of the supply closet, mop tucked away. She lighted up as she saw Jinshi and signed Would you like something to eat?

Maomao opened her mouth to translate but Jinshi shot Zulin a honeyed smile. "Would that be possible? I didn't get to eat before."

"The kitchen is closed." Maomao said firmly. She wasn't going to clean everything all over again just because Jinshi was hungry.

"Don't be like that, Freckles! We have something big bro here can eat if he's hungry!" Maomao heard Chou-u's cheery voice and the clang of a metal tray hitting the counter.

It was full of the roasted locusts.

Maomao caught Zulin before she could jump over the counter and strangle Chou-u. Not that the little shit deserved it, smirking as he set down a pair of metal chopsticks in front of Jinshi.

Jinshi looked at the tray and at Maomao and, after a brief moment, nodded and picked up the chopsticks.

"Thanks for the meal." He said, voice faint.

Still, he didn't move, looking blankly at the locusts with his chopsticks poised in the air. Chou-u was looking unbearably smug and Zulin was gritting her teeth so hard it could be heard even through the sound of rain.

Maomao stared between him and the plate of locusts. If Jinshi insisted on eating insects, maybe she could try another tip from Craze?

"A way to a man's heart is through the stomach! Make sure to feed him well, not only with food, but with love! Is there a better feeling for a man than a woman feeding him by hand?"

Slowly, Maomao took the chopsticks from Jinshi's hand, who barely noticed as he was still staring blankly at the locusts. Then, she picked up a locust and brought it to his mouth.

"Say ahhhh." Maomao said, trying to inject cheer in her voice.

Jinshi hesitated for a second, looking between her and the locust. It didn't last much as he quickly clamped down on the locust. Zulin and Chou-u's faces immediately went slack. Maomao watched as he chewed and swallowed before opening his mouth again.

Zulin fell to her knees near the counter and Chou-u rushed to support her. Maomao fed Jinshi another locust.

"Can I get some water?" Jinshi asked after swallowing and Maomao got him a glass with a straw.

She tried to hand it to him and he just stared at her like a kicked puppy, earning a scowl from her. No, remember that it's for the experiment. Maomao dropped a straw inside the glass and fit it in Jinshi's mouth. His wet lips closed around it, his dark eyes looking at her as he sucked.

Only the beauty of a heavenly nymph could make even something so mundane exhale so much sex appeal. Zulin was staring wide-eyed, but thankfully Maomao was immune.

She tore the straw from his mouth and stuck another locust in it. Jinshi obediently chewed. After a few minutes, the locust platter was halfway gone, a fainted Zulin had been taken to the break room so Chou-u could lay her on the couch and Jinshi was looking slightly green.

Maomao winced.

This wasn't very seductive, was it? Oh well.

Step Two: failed.

Step Three: Make Up

Maomao blinked widely at her reflection.

"Xiaolan, this wasn't what I meant."

In the mirror, Maomao could see Xiaolan tilt her head to the side.

"What do you mean, Maomao? I think you look amazing!"

"I look like a courtesan from Imperial Li."

Xiaolan puffed up. "Thank you, it's some of my best work."

Maomao stared blankly at her. When she asked Xiaolan to do her make up, her friend had been incredibly excited and eagerly reserved the room of the Traditional Linise Make Up Club for a private session.

This is my fault. Maomao thought blandly. She should have guessed that Xiaolan, who only engaged with traditional make up and never wore anything beyond a bunch of flavored lip glosses on a daily basis, could only do this type of make up.

"It's really well done." Maomao said sincerely. Compared to the reference pictures scattered around the room, she didn't have any criticism. "It's just not what I was looking for."

The make up was heavy, the white powder caked on her skin turned her at least five shades paler. The perfectly placed rouge on her lips and dark lining around her eyes made the contrast even stronger. If an unattractive girl like Maomao walked around the campus looking like that, a shaman would be called in minutes to exorcise her.

Xiaolan deflated, looking down at her sparkly pink plastic strap shoes. Maomao patted her arm.

"I'm sorry, Maomao."

"It's alright, I'll just try again another day."

Xiaolan shifted on her feet. "Hm, I think I messed up."

The moment she said that, the club's door opened. A man with stylish, navy clothes walked into the room, his silky black hair pulled up into a ponytail. A messenger bag was slung over his shoulder while a hand carried a paper bag.

Xiaolan chuckled weakly. "Mr. Jinshi, you came."

"I really needed to return this, thank you for telling me where to find Maomao." He shot her a sparkly smile and a wink, lifting the paper bag in his hand.

Probably Ukyou's spare uniform. They didn't have time to meet since the day a green-faced Jinshi left the restaurant in a sleek, black car.

Xiolan giggled, flushing red. When she caught sight of Maomao's face, however, the red quickly flushed out and turned into paper sheet white.

"I just remembered Yaku needs some help with supplies downstairs." Xiaolan said, inching her way towards the door as she avoided Maomao's glare. "I will help him and come back later to clean up and lock up the club. Take all the time you need!"

Offering Maomao a weak smile, Xiolan left the room. Jinshi stared at Maomao, the sparkly smile replaced by a thoughtful expression. Maomao's mind went to the Craze's advice she had been trying out.

"Enhance your beauty, a full face of make up can make anyone feel more confident in themselves! Who doesn't want to show their man their best side? With the basics of primer, foundation, concealer, highlighter, bronzer, contour, face powder, eyeshadow, mascara and lipstick, you can become your ultimate version!"

Maomao really should have suspected something was off when Xiaolan picked up a paintbrush instead of any of those things.

"I didn't know you had interest in traditional make up." Jinshi said, finally.

"I was helping out Xiaolan with a project, but I don't think it suits me."

He nodded. "It's pretty, but I think the freckles look better on you."

Jinshi got closer to her, squinting his eyes.

"You have a smudge right here." Jinshi said, pointing to her cheekbones.

Maomao was about to shrug when Jinshi fished a handkerchief from his pocket and caught her chin with his left hand. With the other hand, he brought the handkerchief to her face and gently dabbed her cheek. She swallowed hard, throat closing. Was she getting an allergic reaction to all that make up?

She flinched away, causing his handkerchief to drag through her skin an leave a black trail across her cheek. Jinshi winced.

"I think I made it worse."

"Oh, did you, sir?" Maomao deadpanned.

"Well, you shouldn't have moved." Jinshi huffed.

She looked at her reflection, the dark smudge across her face made her look even more ghostly. Now all she was missing was some blood. Looking at the vanity, she picked up the small pot of rouge Xiaolan had left open and dipped two fingers into it.

"What are you…" Jinshi's words trailed off as Maomao drew around her mouth with rouge, looking like a blood-sucking demon.

She bared her teeth to the mirror, picturing a menacing vampire. Jinshi burst out in laugher.

"That looks awful." He said, slapping a hand against his knee. Maomao swore she could hear a snort in there.

It sounded nothing like the charming laugher he offered when one of the girls that surrounded him would tell him an anecdote. Maomao started to draw around her eyes as soon as he regained his composure, Jinshi breathing deeply to rein in his laugher.

When Maomao finished, she grinned at her corpse-like reflection and got up from her seat. She slowly moved closer to Jinshi, hands mimicking claws. The poor man was doubled over, desperately trying to not laugh.

"Jinshi, did you—" Basen, Jinshi's best friend, walked into the room and took in the scene.

Jinshi doubled over as if in pain and Maomao apparently covered in blood, menacingly advancing towards him.

Neither Jinshi and Maomao said anything. In the end, neither could Basen, as Jinshi pinned him down while Maomao stuffed Jinshi's handkerchief in Basen's mouth. While Maomao made sure Basen didn't choke on the fabric, she thought about how make up didn't work out how she wanted at all.

Strangely enough, she didn't feel all hung up over it. But maybe some professional advice would help?

Step Three: failed.

"That's certainly a well researched document." Meimei said kindly, eyes locked on the screen of Maomao's laptop.

By her side, Joka was quietly reading along. Pairin was unhelpfully doubled over the table, laughing against the wood.

"These are really sweet." Meimei continued.

Maomao's eyebrows knit together. "Sweet? My objective was 'seductive'."

Pairin lifted her head and opened her mouth as if to say something, but just burst into giggles and leaned her face on Meimei's shoulder. Maomao's frown turned into a proper scowl.

"All of these would probably get you a date, not make him want to fuck you." Joka said. "You said none got a response?"

"Not the one I was looking for."

Pairin straightened up, laugher slowly turned into sparse, breathy giggles.

"Maomao, give me this. I'll get you some steps that will make that pretty boy lose his mind and pounce you."

Meimei sighed, looking at the reference photo of Jinshi in the document. "And he really is pretty, you've got good taste, Maomao."

"It's not about taste, he was just the candidate with the most ideal parameters."

"Oh, I would love to have those ideal parameters all over my—"

"Pairin." Joka and Meimei scolded in unison. Pairin smiled breezily.

"Don't worry your pretty little head anymore, Maomao. Leave it to your older sister." Pairin got up from her seat and took the computer to the couch, grinning as she typed.

"I'll make sure she doesn't put anything in there that might get you arrested." Joka said, moving from her chair to the seat beside Pairin.

Meimei watched them go with a smile on her face, staying in her seat. Then, she turned to Maomao.

"That's a really interesting project you're working on. I hope you don't feel like we're pressing you about sex. You should only do it if you want it."

"I want to finish the experiment, Meimei, don't worry about me."

In the beginning, despite the desire to shut her sisters up about her lack of experience and the curiosity of a new experiment, Maomao wasn't too excited to actually execute her plan. However, once the final piece of the puzzle was decided, the identity of her partner, Maomao felt her mood lift.

Nothing like a fully planned experiment to encourage scientific curiosity, after all.

Meimei nodded. She snuck a glance to the other two and then leaned closer to Maomao.

"So, I saw the book you were reading the other day." Meimei said. Maomao blood ran cold. "Have you decided yet?"

"I haven't had the time lately."

"Well, I know the deadline is coming up. It's a good opportunity."

"It is." Maomao agreed. That had never been in question. "I'm just not sure it's doable."

Meimei frowned. "It's a fully paid scholarship and a spot for a brand new medical program, Maomao, I would say it's more than doable. It's perfect for you."

"It's not even in my area. I entered my program because I wanted to learn about Traditional Linise Medicine, not western."

"You looked pretty interested in that book about western medicine the other day."

Maomao looked away from her prying eyes. "The basics are part of my curriculum."

Meimei sent her a flat look.

"I read the curriculum for your program, Maomao, and that was far beyond what you need for TLM." She sighed. "This is the first integrated program for TLM and Western Medicine in the University of the Capital and they're offering you a fully-paid ride. You should be static!"

"They prioritized the students from both TLM and Western med, they had to offer this to someone."

"Only four people got it, why are you trying so hard to downplay it? You're the only TLM student who was offered!" Meimei placed her hands on Maomao's shoulders, shaking her lightly. "Think of your future!"

"Meimei, I don't even know if I'll be able to accept it. It'll double my hours and I won't be able to take shifts anymore." Maomao said firmly, shaking off her sister's hands. "Pops doesn't make much, we need the money."

"If you need money, you can always ask us. We're all getting paid much better now."

"Not enough."

No matter how much Meimei, Pairing and Joka earned now, they were still paying off the accumulated debt from their time as amateur cam-girls trying to help Maomao and Luomen stay afloat in a red zone neighborhood. Asking them to set aside money they needed would accumulate a debt towards them that Maomao would never be able to pay off.

Meimei hesitated for a second, then continued.

"You know, if you really need the money, you could always ask your—"

"I would rather drop out than ask that man for anything." Maomao snapped, her face turning dark.

Her older sister looked at her with soft, sorrowful eyes. Then, she forced a smile on her face, albeit a wobbly one.

"Alright, let's change the subject." Meimei clapped her hands together, turning to Pairin and Joka. "If you two are done, maybe we could go out to dinner?"

The two were looking directly at them, not even bothering to pretend they weren't eavesdropping.

"Mostly done, yes. We can eat and come back here, I'm going to change first." Pairin said casually, standing up.

She sent a lascivious smile in Maomao's direction that made her shiver.

"When we come back, let's have a dress up session! I have some clothes that might fit you~."

"No, thank you." Maomao said flatly.

Pairin waved a finger at her. "No, no, you said you needed advice, so you're taking it."

She left the room giggling to herself, which definitely didn't help Maomao's peace of mind.

"I'll go hurry her so she actually gets dressed and doesn't spend an hour sorting out the clothes she wants you to wear." Meimei left with an apologetic smile, feet quick.

Alone with Joka, Maomao could feel her older sister's gaze burn her neck.

"Can we not do this right now?" Maomao sighed.

Joka smiled, sharp and ironic. She stood up and moved closer to the open window, bringing out a pack to smoke.

"You're an adult woman, Maomao, I can't tell you what to do." Joka said, leaning against the windowsill. "I'll leave the coddling to Meimei, Pairin and Luomen."

Cautiously, Maomao walked closer to Joka, looking out of the window. The sky was clear, a half-moon high among the stars.

"About this little experiment of yours, Maomao." Joka started, after blowing smoke to the wind. "I always thought you were more like me than any of the others and I'm glad to see I was right."

Maomao turned to her and Joka smirked.

"Pairin thinks sex is a fun hobby to indulge, she thinks too little and loses herself into it too fast. I don't really care as long as she enjoys it. Meimei is even worse, she thinks of emotional connections and intimacy, of finding someone on a white horse to spend the rest of her life with."

Joka dragged another breathe and blew out the smoke. Maomao watched it float out of the window.

"But you're like me, you understand it's just something to experiment with. Punctual and isolated, not something to lose yourself in and definitely not for 'intimacy'." Joka scoffed. "When it comes down to it, we're all girls from the slums, not relationship material. I wish Meimei understood that"

Maomao had no idea how Joka could stand all that smoke in her lungs. Just standing near her, Maomao could already feel her throat burn and eyes sting.

"You'll never find some perfect prince whose heart will never change. How can you trust something like 'intimacy'? Or even 'trust' itself?"

"Don't you think that's enough smoking?" Maomao asked, frowning.

Joka rolled her eyes, walking away. "You've gotten more nagging since you got into med school."

Maomao watched her go, no particular feeling in her mind. Indifferently, she leaned against the windowsill, turning her back to the moon.

Step Four: Showing skin

Maomao scurried along the paths of the campus, narrowly avoiding bumping into other students. She had barely woken up for class after a late shift at the restaurant and her first period professor hadn't let her tardy arrival go during the whole lecture, calling on her for every single question. She knew all the answers, but the petty harassment was getting to her nerves. Her whole day had felt off balance since and now she was late to meeting Xiaolan and Shisui.

As if looking for the best timing to piss her off, her phone rang. It wasn't any of the personalized ringtones, so likely an unknown number. Still, Maomao had a good idea of who could it be and the chance to take out her frustration on someone convinced her to pick up the call.

"What do you want?" She bit out.

"Ouch, so harsh. I only wanted to congratulate you on getting into the integrated medical program." An oily voice rang from her phone in an unbearably smug tone.

"I told you to never call me again."

"The only one on your entire TLM department, too. But I heard a rumor that such a honored student still hadn't enrolled, I wonder why is that?"

"Stalking me now? And here I thought your only interests were numbers and home-wrecking." She said dryly.

The weasel-like voice continued as if she hadn't spoken.

"The integrated program adds a 90% workload on top of the hours you already have. You can't keep working on that run down restaurant and can't pay for our honorable uncle's medicine, is that it? You finances were always abysmal."

"I'm hanging up." Maomao snapped, stomping on her way to the meeting place like it was a certain person's toes.

"There's a new treatment that can vastly improve uncle's quality of life. I can get it for him."

She stopped walking.

"There isn't." Maomao would know, she checked the medical updates that could show ever a sliver of hope for her dad everyday.

The greasy little man chuckled. "It's an experimental treatment that's only been recently approved for public use. The news haven't spread yet, but I have my contacts. My dear uncle's pain will be greatly reduced and you will be able to enjoy the fruits of your labor."

"I don't want anything from the freak." The words tasted like ash in her mouth, it always felt like she was condemning her dad to a worsening condition and chronic pain.

But accepting their help would ask for a price she couldn't willingly pay. Pops stood his ground with her, refusing any side offers. Yet, whenever she thought of her dad's grimace as he walked, Maomao felt her chest grow cold.

"Oh, this offer isn't coming from my honorable father. It's better if he doesn't know anything about this, in fact. You know how excitable he can get."

That's an understatement. Maomao pursed her lips as she thought of that slobbering man child.

"And what would you get in return?"

"What, you think I can't offer medical treatment to my dear uncle out of the goodness of my heart?"

She scoffed.

"So cruel to your older brother. Fine, I'll need a favor, but it's better if we discuss it in private."

"Just tell me now, I don't even know if the treatment will be worth it."

"Oh, but it was developed by the Ka Medical Industries. Sounds familiar?"

How could it not? The leading pharmaceutical corporation in Li, owned by the same conglomerate that owned a good amount of the country. Including the university Maomao attended.

"I'll think about it." She said through gritted teeth, the words coming up her throat like glass.

"I'll eagerly wait your response, my dear little sister."

"Call me first again and I'll get a restraining order." She hung up the phone, shoving it inside her bag.

When Maomao finally arrived near the student lounge, Shisui and Xiaolan were outside waiting.

"Maomao, did something happen? You took so long!"

"Sorry I ran late."

"Forget it. What is that?" Shisui said, pointing at Maomao's legs.

Maomao looked down. "My pantyhose."

Shisui glared at her. "That's not what we planned."

Maomao took a step back.

"I decided to try a different approach."

"Maomao, we're supposed to get him to look at you! We already compromised on no cleavage—"

"There's nothing to show, anyways."

"—but we got you that skirt to show off your pretty legs! You're supposed to look sexy, not go out all covered up like a nun!"

"Pantyhose are generally considered sexy by the male population and a very popular fetish."

"Yours look like leggings." Shisui said blandly, taking a step forward. "Look, you either take it off or I take it off of you."

Maomao gulped, Shisui didn't make empty promises. She begrudgingly took off the pantyhose, leaving herself in a skirt that fell around her mid-thigh. Maomao pulled it down as far as she could, already missing her usual long skirts.

She had little faith in that plan, as her legs weren't very attractive. Maomao had spent her early years rolling around grass as she looked for interesting plants, her knees skinned so often that the skin was permanently discolored. Recently she also acquired a scar running down her left leg from an unfortunate accident involving her experiment candidate.

Still, she walked inside the student lounge with Shisui and Xiaolan and her eyes immediately found Jinshi.

He was tucked away in a corner table, similar to when she found him in the Quack's cafe. His hoodie was pretty recognizable once you had already seen it before, but most people didn't seem to associate the guy all covered up in the corner with the sociable, well-dressed man that usually flounced around the campus.

Maomao unceremoniously sat on the empty seat beside him, startling him from his computer screen. Xiaolan and Shisui sat on a table diagonal from theirs, the latter sending her a thumbs up.

Jinshi blinked at her before a small smile graced his face.

"Maomao, what are you doing here?"

"Shisui and Xiaolan wanted to study together, so we chose the lounge with the easiest access from out departments."

That wasn't true, of course. While the business department building was relatively close to the medical school one, it was quite far from Xiaolan's culinary school. And Shisui— well, Maomao wasn't even sure what she studied, she never talked about her classes and always seemed free to hang out. Likely something to do with entomology.

"I understand, we have a pretty good structure here. I hope you have a good study session." Jinshi nodded at her, turning back to his computer.

Maomao frowned. Jinshi continued to type as if she wasn't sitting near him, not even glancing in her direction. Was he actually working on something important? Maomao used to think Jinshi was a layabout, never in class and always in the perfect place to annoy her. She only understood how overworked he was when she had to nurse him through an spontaneous collapse, which led to a fever.

Maybe I should leave? She wouldn't want her experiment to get in the way of his work.

She discretely looked over at Shisui and Xiaolan, who were making huge, incomprehensible gestures to her. Maomao was about to walk over to make them stop, as other people in the lounge were already looking at them, when Jinshi himself started to look over. Immediately, Maomao pushed her bag to the ground, the loud noise startling Jinshi into looking at that instead of the unsubtle performance of her friends.

"Let me get that for you." Jinshi said, getting down from his chair to kneel on the ground. Her bag had fallen close to the legs of the table and her feet, forcing him to crawl a little before grabbing a hold of it.

He looked up to her as he did and she could see him freeze. From his place in the ground, her bare legs were straight in Jinshi's field of vision and he stared at them, eyes wide. He was so close she could feel his breathe on her left leg, a shiver going down her spine. In the shadows the table cast, his eyes looked dark and intense. He wet his lips and opened his mouth, as if to say something

Then, suddenly, he stood up and the heavy atmosphere was broken. Jinshi carefully placed her bag on top of the table, before starting to pack his laptop in his own bag.

"I have a meeting to get to." He said, voice rougher than before. Was he coming down with a cold? "It was good to see you, Maomao."

He hurried out of the room, leaving her feeling cold in a stupidly short skirt.

Step Four: failed.

Step five: Skin contact.

Maomao wasn't unfamiliar with failing experiments, yet it didn't mean she couldn't be frustrated with them. Her latest endeavor wasn't turning out the way she wanted, despite how much she recalculated. However, she wasn't about to give up before she employed all her methods. So she found herself walking, completely alone (Shisui and Xiaolan were benched after their latest stunt), towards the forested area of the campus where a grinning Maamei had pointed him out to be.

Maomao shuddered, she cold still feel that sharp, bird of prey gaze following her.

"Miss Kan?" She heard as she got closer to the dirt path, making her pause.

"Professor Liu." Maomao bowed respectfully.

The old man, around her dad's age, was the head coordinator of the new integrated medical school program. Maomao had known of him even before, as he had been the head of the western medical department and the older brother of the other Professor Liu, the woman who was the head of the TLM department.

"You haven't signed up yet." The man said bluntly, eyes pinning her down.

"I have been analyzing the curriculum and the pros and cons of switching programs, sir. I'm aware of the deadline."

Professor Liu's eyes narrowed. "You still haven't decided? It's a great honor to be chosen."

"I'm aware, sir."

"If you aren't interested, you should notify the faculty so we could offer the scholarship to someone who will actually take it."

"I'll inform the faculty as soon as I make a decision, professor." She said, voice monotone.

He clicked his tongue. "As I'm sure your guardian instructed you when you enrolled in the TLM program, some people aren't suited for all curriculum. There's no shame in admitting if something is above our capacity."

Maomao clenched her fists, an unpleasant fire brimming in the pit of her stomach.

"I'll keep that in mind, sir." She bit out, a vivid image of dropping potent laxatives in the old man's tea flooding her mind.

"See that you do." He nodded at her and left.

Maomao made her way inside to the dirt path before another uninvited guest could try to talk to her. She followed the directions Maamei had given her and sure enough she found Jinshi sitting down and leaning against a tree, typing away on his computer. By his side, his usual bag and a metal tumbler were laying on the grass.

He's gonna need glasses if he keeps using his computer like this. Maomao thought, ignoring how much her own eyes were straining from her workload.

She approached him, making sure her steps weren't particularly quiet. Before she could reach him, he looked up, surprise evident on his face.

"Maomao." He said, wide-eyed look quickly melting into a weirdly soft smile. "I feel like I'm seeing more of you these days."

"Just a coincidence, sir." She sat down beside him, leaning against the large tree.

"A good one." Jinshi closed his laptop, turning to her. Then, he grinned mischievously at her. "It's also a plausible excuse to take a break from work."

"Lest you collapse again. If you faint out here, Jinshi, no one would be able to get you first aid fast enough."

"Thank heavens you're here, then." Jinshi said, smile turning soft again.

Maomao nodded. She should take advantage of being alone with him to execute her final shot, but the rush between classes, work and now the looming deadline had her exhausted. She leaned against the tree and looked up at the leaves over her head. They sat in silence for a moment, long enough for Maomao to feel like she would fall asleep, before Jinshi started talking.

"It's nice here, isn't it? I used to come here when I was young. My brother was getting his masters' degree and I would beg my mother to visit him sometimes, otherwise I would never get to see him."

"Sounds like you were always clingy then, sir." She blurted out.

Jinshi huffed out a laugh. "My brother would say the same thing, but he always gave me piggyback rides when I came over and took me here, even if that meant he was cutting class."

That was a distant experience to Maomao. Her sisters cared for her very much, but work always came first for them, as it was the difference between surviving and starving in the red zone district.

"I guess it didn't matter, in the end. When my mother heard he was missing classes for me, she forbade me from coming over." Jinshi's smile turned bitter. It was far more real than its honeyed counterpart, but Maomao found that she didn't like it much either.

"Well, we get to come here now anyways, sir."

He turned to her, wide-eyed once again. Then, the bitterness drained from his smile, leaving only a light, warm curve of the lips.

What's with this guy? He keeps running hot and cold.

"You're right." He nodded. "I'm surprised people still don't come here often. It's a good place for private meetings."

He was looking straight at her, head leaning back against the tree and dark hair falling over his shoulders, looking more like a painting than an university student. But what was he talking about? Private meetings? Oh, of course. If it had anything to do with work, he would use one of the rooms in the business department building or even an off-campus office. He was probably referring to a more personal business.

No matter how tender he looked at the moment, Maomao couldn't forget she was alone with the biggest playboy on campus. He probably had this conversation every other day with a different girl before adding another notch to his bedpost. Well, that was exactly what Maomao wanted.

However, even as he traced her face with his eyes, he made no move to touch her. When they first met, she had a hard time getting him to stop. He would run his fingers through her hair, blow on her neck and, on a particularly disgusting occasion, try to make her lick his honey-covered fingers. The more they interacted, though, the more Jinshi started to respect her space.

I never thought I would actually need his clingness. I guess I'll just have to make the first move.

"It's a little warm today, isn't it? Do you want something to drink? I have some juice with me." Jinshi said, taking a tumbler and a glass from his bag.

Maomao scooted closer to him on the grass, an idea brewing in her mind. She took the glass and downed the juice in one gulp, ignoring Jinshi's baffled "I didn't realize you were so thirsty" and ran a finger down the condensation on the glass before she set it down.

She moved her finger to Jinshi's left hand, which had been on top of his leg. She took her damp finger and placed it on his wrist and felt him freeze. Her finger drew a path down his wrist to the length of his hand until she slid it along his middle finger and pressed down on his nail. It left a glistening trail on his skin and Maomao felt the inexplicable desire to lick it away.

Maybe Pairin is getting to me. She thought, dizzy.

Suddenly, a hand grasped her wrist and pulled her forward. She felt halfway across Jinshi's lap, torso almost touching his side. Maomao looked up and met Jinshi's intense gaze, his face much closer than it had been before. She stood still, holding her breathe. He licked his lips and Maomao drew her face closer to his.

Instead of leaning down, however, Jinshi released her from his grip and she fell backwards, on her ass. He looked away from her and collected his stuff, standing up. Jinshi offered her his hand, but Maomao didn't take it, still staring at him.

"It's getting dark, we should go back to the main campus." His eyes didn't meet hers.

Step Five: failed.

"Are you sure you don't want to come, Maomao?" Xiaolan asked. Maomao sitting was behind her on bed, pulling her hair into an intricate braid.

At least all that playing around with Meimei was useful for something.

"I'm sure." She said, finishing up the hairstyle with a bow. "Done."

Xiaolan held up a hand mirror and beamed at her reflection.

"It's so cute, thank you!" She gushed, turning around and hugging Maomao.

Maomao patted her head before pushing her away.

"When was Shisui supposed to be here again?" Maomao asked, putting away Xiaolan's hair accessories. They were both at Xiaolan's student dorm, waiting for Shisui so the two of them could leave for a party.

Xiaolan huffed. "Half an hour ago! I can't believe her!"

"You know how Shisui is, you should have told her to be here an hour before you actually had to leave." Maomao shrugged and Xiaolan pouted. "At least we had time to do your hair."

"Oh, she'll see. When she gets here, I'm going to give her a good scolding!" Xiaolan said, waving her fist around. In that moment, the bell rung and she perked up. "That's her!"

That's the good scolding? Maomao thought dryly, watching Xiaolan hug Shisui tightly and get whirled around by her.

"Wait, wait, put me down!" Xiaolan complained and, when she was set down to her feet, continued: "Where were you? You're so late!"

"I needed to meet a friend." Shisui smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to take so long."

Xiaolan deflated. "Fine, just don't do it again."

"You're really not going with us, Maomao?" Shisui asked, fiddling with her jacket.

She shook her head. "I'm not in the mood."

"Because of Jinshi?"

Maomao's good mood sank. "Experiments fail all the time, I can just try again with another candidate."

Since Jinshi's strange behavior during their last encounter, Maomao decided to shelve him as a candidate for the experiment. As stubborn as she could be, she wouldn't insist on someone who clearly wasn't interested. Scrapping her original plan had been a disappointment, but she could easily move on and find someone else.

Shisui sent her a flat look. "You've been brooding all week."

"I don't brood." Maomao said. "Right, Xiaolan?"

Xiaolan looked away.

"Look, if you want to 'experiment' or whatever you want to call it with him so bad, you can't give up. Since when did you become a quitter? Where is the Maomao that went into a burning building to save a bacteria sample?"

"It was a scientific breakthrough, it could be used to produce—"

"Where is the Maomao that slapped Professor Lihua's TA silly when she insisted on taking that ancient face powder sample home?"

"That's different, she was going to get Professor Lihua killed handling it like that." Maomao grumbled.

"Where is the Maomao that saved Mr. Jinshi's life?" Xiaolan piped up, eyes shining.

Maomao looked down at her lap. She wouldn't have told them about that if she knew they were going to use it against her. It had been just a passing commentary until Xiaolan's badgering became so annoying the story spilled out.

"Maomao, if you want that man, go for it!" Shisui said, leaning down to hold Maomao's shoulders. "At least give it one last shot, for your own experiment's sake."

Shisui looked triumphant, obviously proudly of her spiel. Beside her, Xiaolan was nodding, hands clapped together.

Maomao sighed. "I used everything I had planned, I would have to start over and make a new plan."

"Leave the planning to me this time around." Shisui grinned. "How about you begin by returning his work phone to him?"

"Shisui, how would I even get his work phone?" Maomao scowled.

Abruptly, Shisui throws a small object in her direction. Maomao catches it reflexively, taking it the shiny, clearly expensive phone now in her hands.

"Shisui!" She and Xiaolan gasped in unison.

Shisui winked at them. "Now you have an excuse to see him tonight."

"How did you get this?" Maomao asked.

"A magician never reveals her secrets." She grinned. "Now chop, chop, let's get you to his apartment. He's probably at home looking for his phone, such a workaholic."

"I don't know where he lives."

"Don't worry about that, I got it covered. Your kiki ride gets here in five minutes."

"Shisui." Xiaolan said, face pale. "Did you stalk Mr. Jinshi?"

"Nah, that guy would notice if I did. He got at least ten active stalkers."

Maomao studied the phone in her hand as the two talked and carefully placed it inside her own pocket.

"I'll go. What's the kiki's license plate number?"

"GXK7869, all paid for." Shisui smiled, but her eyes were unreadable. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"I'm starting to think there isn't a lot on that list." Maomao said dryly. She moved towards the door, then paused. "Shisui…"

"You can thank me by telling me all the sordid details later."

No way in hell I'm doing that. Still, Maomao nodded, leaving the door and her friends behind.

Jinshi's apartment building wasn't far from the university, and yet it certainly wasn't anything like the student-focused dorms usually found around the neighborhood. It was shiny, sleek and Maomao had to go through two metal detectors before she was allowed into the reception room and able to send a message to Jinshi's apartment. They registered her ID and took her picture before they sent her up with questioning gazes.

Maomao pushed the rooftop button in the elevator and watched her reflection on the polished ceiling as it went up, thinking about what she could say when she saw Jinshi. When the doors opened, she was faced directly with an obviously high end living room and Jinshi looking straight at her.

"You couldn't imagine how surprised I was when the reception called and said a 'Kan Maomao' was here to see me." Jinshi said, his eyebrows knit together. "I had no idea you knew where I live."

She stared a him silently, all the words she had been mentally rehearsing drying up in her tongue. Jinshi's hair as in a messy, low ponytail and he was wearing a robe over a pair of pants. She couldn't see even a peek of a shirt. There were dark shadows under his eyes and he looked even paler than usual.

"Are you sick, sir?" She blurt out, stepping closer to him. She touched the skin of his neck, humming at the warmth and touched his chin so she could examine his face better. "Where do you keep your thermometer?"

"I'm not sick!"

Maomao glared. "Your skin is on fire, get me a thermometer so I can check you for a fever."

Moments later, Maomao was nodding as the thermometer showcased a safe temperature. They were both sitting on Jinshi's unnecessarily long couch and he had a cold, wet towel on his forehead.

"Can I take it off now?" He whined, sounding like a small child.

"Alright, sir." She watched as he threw it aside on a glass, decorative table. Maomao glowered at him until he got up and placed it on the kitchen sink.

When he came back to the couch, he collapsed on it like a puppet with its strings cut.

"I told you I'm not sick, I'm just exhausted." He said, slumped against the couch's backrest. "I misplaced my work phone and I still haven't got an answer from the satellite tracker on it."

Maomao took the phone out of her pocket. "This phone?"

Jinshi's snatched the phone out of her hand so fast Maomao flinched. He didn't seem to notice, desperately scrolling through it. After a few minutes of Maomao sitting awkwardly, he locked the phone and placed it on a side table. He looked at her, puzzled.

"Shisui found it and asked me to return it since she and Xiaolan were going to the Friday Fest in campus."

"Found it? Is that what she calls it?" Jinshi scoffed, scowl on his face. "I'll need to have a serious conversation with that girl."

Pretty people are scary when they're angry.

As he looked at her, his face softened. "Thank you for returning this to me, Maomao. Did you miss the party because you came to return this? I can give you a ride if you still want to go."

Maomao shook her head. "I wasn't in the mood."

Jinshi nodded and took his work phone, disappearing into a room. He came back with no phone but a chilled bottle of wine. Maomao perked up.

"Would you like a drink?"

"If it's not a bother, sir." Maomao said, making grabby hands at the bottle.

Jinshi chuckled and handed her a wine glass, filling it halfway. Maomao breathed in the smell, she wouldn't call herself a connoisseur or anything, but she knew enough to recognize the high quality of it. The taste itself was dry and strong.

"This is really good." It certainly was different from Jinshi's usual tastes, which she knew ran to mildly sweet. She wouldn't have guessed he had such a bottle in his apartment.

Must be my lucky day.

"It's an special occasion, so I decided to bring out the good stuff."

"Are you celebrating something, Jinshi?"

He grinned. "Well, I heard from the faculty that a certain cat from the TLM department was selected for a spot on the Integrated Medical Program and for the scholarship too."

The wine in Maomao's mouth turned unbearably sour.

"Congratulations, Maomao. I knew you would get it."

She set her glass down. "I'm not sure if I'll change programs, sir."

Jinshi frowned, spilling a bit of wine on his lap. She tried to rise from the couch to get him a rag but he caught her wrist.

"What?" He asked, baffled.

"I don't have the time, sir. It's just my dad and I, we need the money I make taking shifts at the restaurant. I don't have the full time the integrated program would need from me."

Maomao paused. That last sip of wine must have gone down the wrong pipe, her throat felt swollen.

"In fact, I think I will have to decline the spot."

It was the first time Maomao had said the words out aloud and she was surprised my how hard they were to say. Jinshi looked as if it was even more difficult for him, a devastated expression on his face. Maomao had to look away.

What's wrong with him? This is my problem, not his.

Maomao had known she had struck gold when she got the scholarship for the TLM program after the entrance exams, it was the perfect workload so she could still work and study. As someone who grew up watching those around her have to choose between hours of sleep or another shift so they could all eat, Maomao knew she was unlikely to get everything she wanted.

She couldn't stop working, couldn't let her dad support them by himself when she knew they wouldn't make enough to afford his treatment. And she would do that for what? Better job opportunities? Open doors for the research field? Her own curiosity? All of those paled in the face of the man who took care of her after the woman that gave birth to her was too lost to even feed her.

"Maomao… Let's talk to the university. Maybe you could receive a grant!" He said, a tad hysterical.

"The budget for this year is already fully distributed between departments, Jinshi. There's no way I could get a grant now."

"But you can't just—"

"I can't just what? Give up a good scholarship? An unprecedented opportunity?" She snapped, the frustration building up these last few weeks exploding. "I have to. No everyone has food and medicine guaranteed for them, sir."

Jinshi looked at he as if she had slapped him on the face, pale and wide-eyed. Completely struck. The anger drained quickly out of Maomao, as it usually did. There wasn't any use being angry about something you couldn't fix.

Maybe I was too harsh with him, it's not his fault.

Maomao opened her mouth to apologize, but nothing came out. Jinshi was still staring at her, slumped shoulders and somber eyes the definition of defeat.

"I'm sorry, Maomao. I just thought… you could be happy with this." His lips formed a horribly self-deprecating smile. "I really don't know much about anything, do I?"

She blinked slowly at him.

"I don't think I understand what you're saying, Jinshi."

"When I found out you got the spot, I was so excited. It made sense, who else could it be but the top student in the TLM department? Nobody deserved it more than the most brilliant girl I had ever met."

Jinshi spoke those words as if they were a simple fact of the world: the sky is blue, the grass is green and Maomao was the most brilliant girl he had ever met. She shifted on the couch. Maybe they should open a window? It was too warm in there.

"But I was so happy because I thought that would make you happy too, Maomao. I didn't even consider all the other details."

"It's just a degree, sir." She said, tugging on her sweater's neckline. "I would take it for the prospects, not because it would make me happy."

Jinshi snorted. "Yes, of course. Who was it that almost didn't allow Professor Sousa to leave after the special lecture on radiation?"

Maomao felt her ears burn. The students on the TLM program were offered extra credit if they showed up to pad out the lecture on the application of radiation in western medicine from foreign guest professor, Dr. Sousa. Naturally, Maomao showed up, which led to her keeping the professor an hour past schedule with some questions. Dr. Sousa insisted she didn't mind, but Maomao was still embarrassed to remember the incident.

"She was really disappointed when she found out you weren't in the western medicine program and couldn't join the student exchange with the University of Pindorama, you know?"

"I just needed some answers for my report, sir." Maomao said, her voice sounding faint even to her ears.

"Maomao, you love this. Yes, the herbs and traditional methods too, but you show more interest in all types of medicine than all your peers together." Jinshi said, eyes burning. "The integrated program would make you happy, wouldn't it?"

Make her happy? Maomao didn't do anything thinking about happiness. She worked and studied and experimented for survival and curiosity, and if she received any enjoyment out of it, it was simply a collateral effect. Never the goal.

Jinshi's hand was still on her wrist, but the hold was much looser. His thumb was working circles around her skin. Why is he looking at me like that? In the low light of his apartment, stripped of his polished shoes and fancy clothes, Jinshi looked incomprehensibly raw. What would make me "happy"…

Maomao moved forward before she could think and leaned closer to Jinshi, crashing her mouth on his. At first, he froze, unmoving as she licked the seam of his lips. When he finally opened them, Maomao dipped her tongue inside, searching for his. As if a switch flipped, Jinshi let go of her wrist and cupped the back of her head, leaning into the kiss.

It was much wetter than she thought it would be, their tongues meeting clumsily. Maybe Maomao was so bad at this that even the experienced Jinshi wasn't sure what to do, so she slowed down and trying to guide them into a semblance of rhythm. It was fine, nothing like those passionate kisses in the romance movies she watched with Meimei nor the lewd ones in the adult videos Pairin starred in. Yet, Jinshi's hand on the back of her head was firm and the heat of his body was comforting in the cold, so it wasn't bad either.

When they separated, both were panting.

"Maomao, what are you…" She didn't let him finish, climbing into his lap.

"Jinshi, I want to." Maomao said, grinding down on his lap. That earned her another wet kiss, better than the last one.

"Are you sure?" He asked, kneading her hips. She nodded, giving him a peck on the lips.

Jinshi smiled brilliantly at her and got up with her still on his lap. On instinct, she wrapped her legs around his torso. Maomao watched him take her into the darkened hallway, entering a room before dropping her on a bed and carefully lowering himself on top of her and kissing her. The light on the room was low and warm, but Maomao could still see Jinshi's intense, dark eyes.

He made his way down her throat, pulling the collar of her sweater open wider and off her shoulder, nipping on the skin of her neck and then biting down on her shoulder, hard. She yelped and glared at him, but he didn't seem to notice as he chewed on her neck. Did he do this with the other girls he sleeps with too? Annoyed, Maomao grabbed the silken strands of his hair and pulled.

Jinshi looked at her, eyes blown wide.

"Stop biting me like a dog." She glowered at him and he licked his lips, hair straining against her hand.

Is he enjoying this? What a masochist. Maomao shuddered, a foreboding feeling in the back of her mind.

"As you wish, Maomao." He purred. She didn't let go of his hair but allowed him to kiss her again.

Each time, he seemed to get better at it. Maybe the first few times really had been too awkward with an inexperienced girl like her, but Jinshi apparently was finally able to show off his technique. Whenever she let a sound escape, he repeated a move until she was moving away from him, breathing heavily. She swore that if she found a smirk on his face, he would get kicked off the bed.

Jinshi, however, only looked at her with a proud smile and shining eyes whenever they separated, his pale skin flushed and lips wet. It was an almost unbearable sight, but thankfully Maomao was immune. He tried to sit, wincing when he realized she was still grabbing a fistful of his locks. She let go and he straightened up, tugging on the bottom of her sweater.

Maomao helped him take it off of her, staring at his slack face with satisfaction. She hadn't planned this, of course, yet after Pairin threw out more than half of her old underwear and replaced it with new lingerie ("I didn't buy all of it, Maomao, it's mostly PR that didn't fit me." Her older sister blatantly lied, winking), there were few pieces she could wear that weren't rather suggestive. At least they were pretty comfortable too.

Her bra was black, the black fabric cup supporting the bottom of her breasts barely covering her nipples. Decorating the top half of her breasts was a sheer tulle spotted with the long petals of naudicale blooms. Maomao tried to scape through the window the first time Pairin made her try it on, but she grew used to how nice the fabric felt on her skin.

It has other uses, too. She thought smugly, observing Jinshi's open mouthed look transform in an expression more easily found on a starving street dog. His hands were firm as they touched her breasts, kneading while Jinshi leaned down and licked a strip in the middle of her cleavage. Maomao moaned at the unexpected move, biting down on her lips to make sure no other sound would scape while he nipped and sucked at the exposed top of her breasts.

She felt him trying to pull down the bra and tugged on his hair.

"Keep it on." Maomao didn't want want to lose interest when faced with her straight as board chest, free from the buffer of the pretty lingerie.

Jinshi pursed his lips and nodded. Yet, Maomao still felt him pulling on the fabric. She was about to grab his hair again when she realized he only pulled the fabric down until her nipples became visible trough the sheer black tulle. He moved his mouth to a nipple and sucked hard, Maomao's legs clenching around him.

This isn't supposed to feel like this. She thought, arching her back while he lightly bit down on a nipple. Maomao had never been particularly sensitive on her chest, so the liquid fire running down her spine was a surprise. Maybe it's the skills of an experienced hand?

Maomao glowered and yanked on his locks again until his mouth crashed on her. She could still feel one of his hands plucking her nipples and kneading her breasts and the other was pulling her skirt down. She helped him kick it off the bed, watching him move down the mattress and take a good look at her.

Her pretty bra was all askew now, fabric cups pulled down permanently and exposing her nipples to the cold air through the sheer material, straps falling off her shoulders. Jinshi, however, was now focused on her matching thong, made almost completely from the same sheer black tulle decorated with the naudicale blooms except for the dark fabric covering the lips of her cunt.

Maomao herself wasn't paying attention to either piece, focused on the wet sensation her skin. Her inner thighs were glistening and she didn't need to see her panties to know they were completely ruined by her slick. Jinshi caught sight of it too, opening her legs and immediately licking the wet skin her thighs. Maomao tried to shake him off and close her legs

He looked up at her, licking his lips. "Do you want me to stop?"

She hesitated, then shook her head. It was embarrassing, but it didn't feel awful. Jinshi shot her a sunny smile, completely at odds with the sight of him leaning against her between her spread legs. He played with the straps of her thongs, looking at her with puppy-dog eyes.

"Can I take it off?"

Maomao looked away from the scene. "Fine, if you want to."

Jinshi slowly pulled it down her legs, releasing a low groan at the sight. Maomao stared at the ceiling, feeling the back of her neck burn. She didn't see where he threw the panties, but with his now free hands he spread her legs and buried his face in her cunt. Maomao gasped, kicking out her legs before she felt his hands on her upper things, guiding them to wrap around his back.

She closed her eyes, rubbing her hips against his face. Jinshi's tongue lapped up her slick, running all over her labia and thrusting against her vagina. It seemed like she couldn't stop getting wetter and wetter and Jinshi was right there to happily clean it up, as if she tasted like the sweet wine he favored.

When he finally found her clit, Maomao couldn't hold back a loud moan. Her toys which focused on her clit felt nice, yes, but nothing like this. Jinshi started to suck on it, occasionally going down to lap at more of her slick. Maomao opened her eyes, trying to peek at his technique, only to find his heated gaze meeting hers.

Her legs spammed around his back, hips bucking on his face as she came. Jinshi drank it all, only moving away from her pussy when she pushed his face away. He was licking his lips and smiling widely, wiping his mouth with his hand, which came away wet with slick. Maomao had to look away. He started to press kisses all over her knees and thighs, smile pressing against her skin.

"Maomao, you are amazing."

"I didn't do anything, sir."

"Don't call me 'sir' in bed." He whined, mushing his cheek against her bent knee. His hands were caressing her legs, one tracing the scar on the left one.

This feels nice. Maomao thought, feeling her eyes grow heavy. She shook her head. No, I'm not done yet.

She sat up and tugged on his robe, wincing as she realized he was still fully clothed while the only piece she had on was her now wonky bra.

"Let's keep going."

He frowned. "Are you sure? I don't want to force you."

She nodded, crawling to where he was now sitting on the bed. Jinshi pulled her on his lap with dark eyes, undoing the knot of his robes but not taking it off. His concentration was on touching Maomao's body, groping from her chest to her ass and then leading his fingers to her cunt.

Maomao hid her face against his chest, feeling his fingers move around her pussy. Unlike his tongue, Jinshi's fingers seemed a bit lost, not settling in any part of her cunt. She scooted back a little, moving her hand along his and placing his index and middle fingers in her hole while she grinded her clit against the palm of his hand.

Jinshi quickly caught up, rubbing his palm along her movement and dipping his middle finger inside of her. Once she was loose enough, he started adding more, and before she realized, he was pumping three fingers inside of her as she grinded down on them and on his palm. Maomao could feel the orgasm building up and caught his wrist, stopping him.

"I want to be on top." She said bluntly and he flushed a bright red. "Do you have condoms?"

He nodded, taking out his fingers and moving her off his lap before he crawled to the beside table and opened a drawer, setting a box of condoms on top of it. Jinshi took one out and handed it to her, pulling down his pants just enough to take out his cock. Maomao wasn't fully unfamiliar with it, an unwelcome memory making her wipe her hand on the sheets.

This isn't a very decent-sized frog. She grimaced at she looked at the monster in front of her.

She steadied his dick, carefully pulling a condom over it as he groaned. Maomao had contemplated trying out a more performative move, like rolling it over with a blowjob, but the last thing she needed was a surprise pregnancy from a crooked condom and Jinshi had stuck his dick inside way too many girls for her to take any risk. She pressed on his shoulders and he took her cue.

Jinshi didn't argue with her, laying down on the bed and observing her as she climbed astride him. Maomao rubbed the tip of his cock against her wet cunt before slotting it on her vagina. Jinshi's hands were on her hips, following her movements. She started sinking down, biting her lips. Halfway through, however, Maomao paused.

It's not going down anymore. What had Pairin said to go down smoothly? Or was Maomao not listening? No, Pairin wouldn't have this kind of trouble. Did Meimei say something? No matter how much she tried to recall the information, her mind was still blank.

"Maomao, are you feeling okay?" He asked, gingers caressing her hips. Maomao nodded jerkily, trying o move down again and wincing. "Hey, don't force yourself. Let me help."

Maomao could feel Jinshi steady his feet on the mattress and slide one of his hands from her hips to her ass. Then, he started to move her slightly, a subdued back and forth movement. Soon enough, Maomao was taking him to the root and they both moaned in unison. Taking advantage of his position, Jinshi started bucking into her, groping her ass while gripping her hip.

She moving her hips to match his movement, supporting herself on his abdomen and bouncing on his cock. Maomao had chosen this position for its optimal opportunity for control, but she was starting to regret it. Jinshi's trusts were fast and strong, throwing off any sense of rhythm she was trying to create, and the heady feeling had her head spinning.

The state of him didn't help. Maomao could deal with the ridiculously handsome face twisted in pleasure, the glistening skin, the silky air spilling across the sheets and the powerful muscles flexing as he moved inside her. His dark eyes moving from her destroyed bra to the place where they were connected, however, had her closing her eyes tightly to escape the moment.

On top of that, he just wouldn't stop talking.

"Maomao, you're so pretty."

"Maomao, it's so wet, so warm."

"Maomao, do you like it? Please, tell me you like it, please, please—"

"Maomao, you're red all over, it's so cute."

"You feel so good around me, especially when I do this—"

The last one was followed by a diabolical pinch of her clit which had her clenching around the monster inside her. Jinshi had been playing with her clit sparsely, but as his thrusts grew quicker and harsher, his thumb wouldn't leave it alone. Finally, Maomao's mind went blank as she came around his cock. Beneath her, Jinshi groaned and stilled.

Maomao collapsed against his chest, spent. He carefully maneuvered her until she was laying on the bed, legs spread. Jinshi got up, removing the condom and tying it off as he disappeared from her field of vision. When she saw him again, he was holding a fresh condom and pinning her down with puppy dog eyes.

How could you affirm the success of an experiment if you didn't repeat it at least once?

The second time, she was on her back, Jinshi thrusting between her legs as he observed her cunt swallow his cock. He was moving much slower, purposeful and deep. When he tried to touch her clit, she slapped his hand away so she could do it herself as he focused on feeding her his dick.

I wish he wasn't wearing the condom. She thought, mind dizzy. I know he would give me the best placenta.

This time, she came so hard her vision went black, smiling wide at the thought.

When Maomao's vision cleared, she found herself laying limply on the bed, breathing heavily. Jinshi, with a monstrous amount of stamina, had gotten up and left, probably to the bathroom. Jinshi was a surprisingly methodical man, he likely had a routine to dealing with his one night stands.

I hope he gives me at least half an hour before I have to leave. It was reasonable amount of time instead of the six hours of rest her body was begging for. Maomao closed her eyes. Just five minutes and I'll move.

She startled as she felt something warm and soft touch her thigh. Opening her eyes, she saw a sheepish Jinshi with a damp towel in hand.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up. I just thought you wouldn't want to wake up dirty." He said awkwardly.

Maomao nodded slowly at him and sank back on the bed. Of course he dealt with the aftercare too, no wonder no woman in campus had anything bad to say about him. Wasn't this why Maomao sought him out, his "ideal parameters"? It would be counterproductive if she didn't enjoy the full experience.

After cleaning her up, Jinshi put the towel away and climbed beside her on the bed. He pulled her against him, nudging her until she rolled her eyes and rested her head against his chest.

"You know, you had a really creepy smile on your face when you came the last time." Jinshi said as he ran a hand through her hair.

Maomao glared at him. "You have a real talent for pillow talk, sir."

"I never said I didn't like it." He grinned at her, kissing the top of her head. "Good night, Maomao."

She didn't answer, watching him settle down until his breath slowed down, arms still wrapped around her. Clingy, even in his sleep.

He probably does this to all the other girls, too.

In the dark of the room, Maomao watched Jinshi's face illuminated by the moonlight. It was an unparalleled beauty that didn't match the practical and hardworking man underneath it. Still, even with those qualities, he wasn't a serious guy at all, retaining a childish streak and an easiness to smiling. Not the honeyed one he offered around campus, but a soft smile that she could see when they were alone. It was disarming, in a way.

Maybe that's why Maomao didn't notice the warmth creeping up on her until it was too late. She had never been a girl who could feel anything fully, someone so out of touch with feelings that her family had worried since she was very young. It was no wonder Maomao didn't catch the lukewarm feeling on the back of her mind until it threatened to boil over.

And Joka thought I was just like her.

No, Maomao belonged to the hall of women who allowed themselves to be afflicted by such a feeling. Like Meimei, who had an old set of Go stones hidden away in her room. Like the woman who gave birth to her, who lost herself in her own mind.

Maomao had always known she wasn't as smart as people like her sisters or her friends touted her to be, but even she wouldn't have guessed that she could be so foolish.

The next morning, Maomao left the sleeping man on the bed without a sound. She didn't look back.