Reborn: The Return of the Villainous Mr. Liu-Chapter 1254: Pot calling the kettle black?

"It’s not Grandma," returned Nian with unexpected news.

Nuying pondered. "Hmm, then who would the real owner mean here?"

"What! That’s preposterous!" Liu Hai’s nostrils flared. "How dare my wife not be the owner? Who else would have the next riddle then?"

Alix raised her hand. "I can take a guess. Anyway, I will go and take a look if it turns out to be right."

"Good, good. Go, go, quickly, Alix!" Nian held her shoulders, speeding her away from the rest of the gang.

"I was already leaving."

"Yeah, you still have to be a little quicker than your current speed."

"Why?"

He sweated. "There’s a tiny chance that I accidentally - ACCIDENTALLY, okay - spilled out our riddle a bit..."

"Ah," her brow raised. "So you are worried someone else will figure out the place and steal it away from us."

"Not if you are a little faster," his beads of sweat increased. "I will lose my reputation if this comes out!"

What kind of a reputation do you already have...

Then came Jun’s voice from the back. "What are you two whispering?" His eyes narrowed. "This feels suspicious. What did you do, Bro?"

"What? Nothing! I was just giving her tips! Why are you always so quick to accuse this innocent man?"

"Because you are never innocent."

"Shut up!"

Alix took the cue and left the gang, being the only hope to prevent a possible robbery of their victory fate. Casually opening the door to her bedroom, her eyes scanned to find the Liu villa’s owner. She did find the owner, along with the participation of an unnecessary rival.

Alix walked over and folded over. "Huh. That was quick."

Jin turned with a gasp, his hand carrying the Red team’s envelope - which he just picked from under Jun-kun in his royal cat bed - or as the riddle called, the throne. Ai-chan softly purred and meowed, nestled beside Jun-kun.

"I was right. Who could be the true owners other than the cats?" Her brow arched. "You figured it out too."

He cleared his throat. "Yes. Now I will take my leave."

Before he could escape, Alix stepped her foot in between and smiled. "Why are you in such a hurry? You have something of mine which I need it back."

Jin straightened righteously. "I am from Team Blue."

"And this is a room with closed doors, husband so what Red, what Blue?"

She approached closer and closer and even though his tall figure was the ultimate stop, she kept pushing forward, making Jin push backward.

"Um...I have to leave..."

Her hands tugged at his shirt once, then unbuttoned the first button. Then the second, making Jin’s breath hitch every time.

"Look, I am not going to fall for your seduction tricks. Not when I blamed sister-in-law Ai doing the same!"

"So you have to keep your dignity?"

He nodded, albeit a strange anxiety ramping in his chest.

"Will you choose to shed that dignity if I shed my clothes right now?"

Jin was about to respond a vehement no but halfway, he swallowed back his words.

"We must k-keep our distance."

"Hmm..." her finger tracing the curve of his chest muscles was making it harder for him to keep his distance.

"A-Also, no se-sex until you heal. That’s what the doctor says! So I won’t yield no matter what!" He got more and more confident about his self-control.

"True, but pleasure can have many different forms, you know?"

Alix tilted her head, studying his expression with far too much curiosity and joy to his liking. The room felt smaller all of a sudden, the air dense with something that had nothing to do with the treasure hunt anymore.

She said lightly. "You look like you are about to sprint out of the window."

"I might...if you take another step," he replied hoarsely.

"You are already against the wall. I don’t have any more steps to take."

"..."

She smiled. "You exaggerate too much."

He did not. Her presence had always had that quiet, relentless and impossible to ignore effect. Jun-kun only ever lifted his head to watch the show.

Alix said, glancing down at the cat. "Even he disapproves of you stealing things."

"I didn’t steal," Jin defended. "I solved the riddle."

"So did I," she replied calmly. "Which means the envelope belongs to the person who got here first."

"And that would be me."

"Barely," she said, leaning in just enough that he could smell her shampoo. "And yet you haven’t left."

"Yo-you are blocking the exit."

Silence settled, punctured only by Ai-chan’s lazy tail flick and a soft yawn. Alix’s hand paused at Jin’s chest, not moving further, not retreating either.

"I won’t! I won’t give in to your temptation!"

"Yeah, let’s see about that," and with that her lips were on his, with his body freezing to the spot. Fireworks sparked everywhere in his chest as her lips danced a passionate tango across his, not giving even a chance to protest. Then his sanity snapped apart further when her teeth played with him, teasingly biting to no end. The heartbeats betrayed him every step of the way.

Okay, fuck it!

Jin finally pushed his trapped body to respond when Alix took a sudden step back, breathing out, satisfied.

"Thanks for both."

She waved the envelope in her hand, which he had no clue when had slipped from his hand to hers. He stared at her back, torn between relief and something dangerously close to disappointment.

At the door, she paused and glanced over her shoulder. "You did well."

"With the riddle?"

"With restraint," she corrected, then laughed. "Liu men are so gullible~"

Jin stood there for a full five seconds before dropping onto the edge of the bed, covering his face with his hands.

Jun-kun meowed, apparently with disdain and mockery.

"...Don’t look at me like that," he muttered. "I tried my best, you know!"

Jun-kun looked away, not convinced by his defense.

"Damn it, sister-in-law will chew me alive...I am so dead."