novelraw Chapter 23
Chapter 23
Chapter 23
What exactly did I do yesterday?
Her head hurt badly.
It felt as if her brain had been stuffed with a lump of water-soaked cotton, swollen and heavy.
Her throat felt even worse, like she had swallowed blades; even the slightest swallow brought tearing pain.
“Water…”
Ling Xi unconsciously let out a low murmur, her hand groping blindly at her side.
Her fingertips didn’t touch the bedside table, but instead sank into a patch of soft silk.
She groggily opened her eyes.
The room was very dark. Heavy deep-red floor-length curtains sealed off everything outside without a gap.
Only a piercing beam of sunlight slipped through a crack in the curtains, casting a bright strip of light across the floor.
Dust floated in the air, dancing wildly within the beam.
With this intensity of light, it could only be noon.
Ling Xi’s mind had not fully awakened yet.
“Noon already? Did I sleep that long?”
A faint fragrance drifted into her nose.
It was Scarlet Moon’s scent.
And it was stronger than ever before.
No, not just in the air.
Ling Xi lowered her head and pulled the blanket up to her nose, sniffing it.
This smooth black silk blanket was filled completely with her scent.
Ling Xi suddenly sprang up from the bed. The abrupt movement tugged at her hangover, causing her vision to go dark for a moment.
It was an absurdly large bed, and she was like a doll casually tossed at its center.
More importantly, she glanced down at herself.
That elaborate Lolita dress was gone.
What she wore now was an extremely thin black silk slip nightdress.
There was very little fabric, and it was a size too big on her.
“Th… this is her room?”
What exactly happened last night…?
Her memories felt like a shattered mirror, leaving behind only illogical fragments that stabbed at her mind.
The restaurant… a tasty drink… Scarlet Moon’s face…
And a vague sentence: “so soft.”
Ling Xi struggled to move her body, and only then did her hand finally touch the cool water jug on the bedside table.
She didn’t bother with a cup, grabbing the water jug and tilting her head back to gulp it down.
The stream of water rushed down her throat, finally easing that burning dryness.
“Ha…”
She set the jug down and wiped the water from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand, forcing herself to calm down.
“It’s fine. As long as I’m still alive, it’s not a big problem…”
Taking a deep breath, she called up the system panel, wanting to confirm her current situation.
A semi-transparent blue screen appeared in the dim room.
The next second, the water Ling Xi had just drunk almost sprayed out.
【Beacon System】
【Holder: Ling Xi】
【Current Fate Points: 100】
She stared fixedly at that bright red number, almost glaring.
100.
She clearly remembered that before eating at the restaurant, her points had barely reached 38.
In other words, during the few hours after she blacked out from drinking, she had gained a wild 62 points?!
Where did those 62 points come from?
What kind of intense emotional fluctuations would that require?
Ling Xi’s hand began to tremble, her gaze falling blankly onto the nightdress she was wearing—one that belonged to Scarlet Moon.
Then she looked at the large bed that seemed to still retain lingering warmth.
“Damn… what the hell did I do yesterday!!!”
“Did I, with alcohol boosting my courage, actually… push the Witch?”
No, no, no, impossible.
If that were the case, she would be a pile of remains right now, not lying in this heap of expensive velvet.
And given her current condition, it was far more likely that she had been the one pushed.
At that moment, the sound of a lock turning came from the door.
Click.
Ling Xi’s whole body stiffened. She instantly shrank back under the blanket at lightning speed, leaving only a pair of frightened eyes exposed.
Scarlet Moon walked in.
She had changed back into her casual home clothes and was holding a steaming white porcelain bowl.
Seeing Ling Xi curled into a ball, she raised an eyebrow—a gesture that made Ling Xi’s heart race.
“You’re awake?”
Scarlet Moon leaned closer, her eyes fixed on Ling Xi.
“Aren’t you supposed to be the maid? And now I have to take care of you?”
“I—I don’t know!”
Ling Xi pulled the blanket higher, trying to hide herself as a way to escape.
“Yesterday you blacked out. I didn’t blame you, so today shouldn’t you explain instead of hiding?”
After that, Scarlet Moon said no more. Shadow tentacles rose from beneath her, grabbing Ling Xi’s ankles and hoisting her into the air.
Her vision flipped upside down again.
That familiar sensation of blood rushing to her head struck instantly.
Worse still, what she was wearing now wasn’t the tightly wrapped maid outfit, nor the layered Lolita dress.
It was a silky slip nightdress with no resistance at all.
Under the pull of gravity, the thin black fabric slid smoothly downward.
Large patches of soft, pale skin were exposed without reservation to the slightly cool air.
Scarlet Moon curled a finger lightly, and the tentacles pulled Ling Xi’s body closer in front of her.
“Mm!”
Ling Xi instinctively tried to raise her hands to cover herself, but her arms were limp and powerless.
That was the weakness after a hangover, and also the stiffness from being stared at by someone in a superior position.
Scarlet Moon was in no hurry to hear an explanation.
Her gaze traveled along Ling Xi’s tensed feet, down the slender lines of her calves, and finally stopped at the girl’s flushed face, reddened from being hung upside down.
“This view is rather nice.”
Scarlet Moon let out a soft laugh, gently stirring the hot porridge in the bowl with her spoon, producing a crisp clinking sound.
“Alright, if you don’t want to stay hanging like this, then think carefully.”
“Last night, how did you evaluate me?”
Evaluate?
Ling Xi’s mind raced, but under the wash of alcohol, her memories were like a mess of paste.
She only remembered that delicious drink, and Scarlet Moon’s face so close to hers.
“I… I praised you for being beautiful?”
Ling Xi spoke cautiously, her voice trembling.
“Not quite.”
Scarlet Moon scooped up a spoonful of porridge, brought it to her lips, and gently blew on it, but didn’t feed Ling Xi.
“Although that’s also true, last night you were far more honest than you are now.”
She stepped forward. The hand not holding the bowl extended a finger and lightly tapped Ling Xi’s nose.
“You reached out your hand and gestured above my head.”
Scarlet Moon’s voice was soft, yet it made Ling Xi feel a chill all over her body.
“And then, with a wronged expression, you said…”
Scarlet Moon mimicked Ling Xi’s drunken tone from last night,
“Clearly you don’t look that much taller than me, so why are you so scary?”
Fragments of memory pieced together halfway.
She really did that!
She not only gestured about height, but even stood on tiptoe to compare more carefully.
But… something wasn’t right!
She remembered this part—it was right before she blacked out.
Even poking her cheek, she still vaguely remembered those actions.
These behaviors alone couldn’t possibly have earned that many points?!
Otherwise, she would have sobered up on the spot.
Then where did the remaining sixty-plus points come from?
Could it be that afterward, she did something even more shocking?