Lin Lue returned to his small home.
As soon as he opened the door, the cramped living room felt dark and gloomy, and a faint, sour stench hit him.
He frowned and immediately opened the window for ventilation, then cleaned up the filth on the floor.
After that, he practicedly walked into the tiny bathroom and lifted out the little girl huddled inside.
The girl was pitifully thin, as if a gust of wind could blow her away.
Her face was pointed, but her eyes were exceptionally bright.
She had beautiful white hair and shimmering pink eyes.
“Brother…” she murmured softly.
“I just wanted to help you clean…”
“I told you to wait for me to come back.”
Lin Lue pinched her chin.
“You’re not allowed to push yourself next time.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Alright, I’m not blaming you.”
Lin Lue pulled the money out of his pocket and waved it in front of her.
“Look, I made more money today.”
“Really?!”
Lin Xue’er’s eyes lit up, and she lunged into his arms, her voice full of admiration.
“Brother, you’re the best!”
Lin Lue’s heart softened.
Fortunately, he had carefully cleaned the scent off his body before coming back.
However, Lin Lue didn’t know that his adopted sister had an incredibly sensitive sense of smell.
She could smell the one or two wisps of fragrance lingering on him.
In truth, Lin Xue’er vaguely knew what her brother was doing, but she was powerless to stop him.
What right did she have to stop him?
She was just a clumsy, useless person who relied on him for everything.
But she secretly swore that she would become stronger in the future.
She would awaken and become a Witch.
She would protect her brother well, and no one would be allowed to bully him.
She would remember every single person who had ever hurt him.
“Brother, I warmed up the food for you.”
“Yeah, Xue’er is the best.”
They sat around a small wooden table with a chipped corner, sharing the leftovers.
***
At night, the tiny room was cleaned up.
The dining table and other furniture were put away, and the floor bedding was rolled out.
Lin Lue lay on the floor.
On the only small bed, the little girl slept with her back to him, covered by a thin blanket.
The living room served as both the dining area and the bedroom.
He stared at the ceiling, raised his hand, and tapped the air.
A faint blue, semi-transparent system panel appeared before his eyes.
[Witch Conquest System]
He looked at the Magic Power Points on the panel, which were almost maxed out, and whispered in his heart:
‘It’s almost full… Just a little more, and I can break through to a Rank 1 Witch.’
The Witches of this world were divided from Rank 1 to Rank 9.
Above them were Great Witches, and even further up were the legendary Titled Witches.
And yet he, a man, could become a Witch? It was unheard of.
Lin Lue hoped there wouldn’t be a gender swap involved.
Lin Lue turned his head to look at the little girl sleeping peacefully on the bed, his gaze instantly becoming incredibly tender.
In his previous life, he had no family or relatives.
In this life, he had found this sister.
This rare kinship was something he cherished immensely.
Tuition, living expenses, medical bills…
He carried all the pressure himself, and he could handle it.
His two guests were big spenders.
As for the “conquests,” or whether he felt even a hint of attraction toward them, Lin Lue only considered them customers.
It was just a matter of each party getting what they needed.
In the darkness, Lin Lue slowly closed his eyes, his voice so low only he could hear it:
“Xue’er’s unpaid tuition… I’ve finally saved enough. Leave everything to your brother.”
Fifteen minutes later.
The little girl on the bed slowly turned around.
Her open pink eyes reflected the image of him, now fast asleep.
She hadn’t been asleep from the beginning.
She crawled down from the bed with her bedding, hugged him, covered them both, and rubbed against his chest.
“Brother, Brother…”
‘I will definitely do it.’
A Witch! She was going to become a Witch! She absolutely had to! Then, she wouldn’t let anyone bully her.
She would take care of him and provide for him, spoiling him until he became a useless person so he would never leave her sight again.
After returning from the Lower District and walking along the clean streets of the Upper District, Molly’s heartbeat still hadn’t returned to normal.
Unlike the dirty, chaotic winds of the Lower District, the gentle breeze here made her hair flutter, each strand seemingly glowing with light.
But the breeze couldn’t cool the heat on her cheeks.
Her legs felt weak, and the soles of her feet were burning.
With every step, the rhythmic, rhythmic clicking of her high heels on the ground caused the scenes of what she had done to Lin Lue in that small room to flash repeatedly in her mind.
How intimate, how absurd.
The softness of his hair when he bowed his head, his palm when he held her ankle, his deep voice as he spoke softly, the red footprints left on his face…
Every image was terrifyingly clear.
She could even vividly recall the warmth of his palm pressing through her thin white silk stockings.
It was a feeling Yuexue had never given her.
It wasn’t the polite mutual respect of a married couple, but a strange thrill that made her heart race out of control — a feeling of shame and indulgence that made her want to flee, yet left her unable to stop herself from getting closer.
Molly quickened her pace, not daring to look back or think too deeply.
The sunlight falling on her felt overly stimulating.
Her heart was a complete mess.
She was clearly a noble Witch.
She had a marriage that everyone envied and stood high above the clouds, yet here she was, losing her composure over a man from the Lower District.
They were clearly just a financial transaction.
Her actions were… nothing more than a vent that bordered on humiliation.
The feeling terrified her, filled her with guilt, and made her blame herself.
But it also… made her unable to pull herself away.
Would she go back? She didn’t know. Did this… count as betraying her wife?
The faster she walked, the louder her heart pounded.
Molly returned to the entrance of her home in the Upper District with a panicked heart, her fingertips cold while a faint, lingering blush remained on her cheeks.
The smart lights in the foyer slowly brightened, illuminating her slightly disheveled skirt, her subtly wrinkled white stockings, and her snowy-white high heels.
She instinctively stopped, her fingers tightening around her handbag as her heart leaped into her throat.
A familiar blonde figure was sitting on the sofa in the living room.
Molly’s breath hitched for a moment.
She felt incredibly guilty.
She kicked off her high heels and walked in slowly.
Yuexue was just sitting there quietly, wearing a red qipao.
Her golden eyes were slightly lowered, making it impossible to read her expression.
“Yuexue.”
“Mm.”
“I’m back.”
“Mm.”
Molly spoke softly, her voice lower than usual, carrying a slight tremor she hadn’t even noticed herself.
Yuexue slowly raised her eyes.
Her golden gaze landed on Molly, her expression calm.
She didn’t ask where she had been or what she had done.
It was just a simple “mm.”
But that very calmness made Molly’s chest feel tight.
Molly changed her shoes with some stiffness.
Every step felt like she was stepping on cotton, making her feel light-headed.
As she passed in front of Yuexue, a faint, light scent drifted toward her at the moment they brushed past each other.
Molly almost stumbled.
Was the scent belonging to Lin Lue on her body not fully cleaned off?
Her thick hair hid her ears, which were flushed with a crimson that she couldn’t let her wife discover — like a hidden secret.
“Molly, I… also went out.”
“I just got back a little while ago.”
“Mm.”
The two of them, though inches apart, communicated with such stiff coldness.
They ran out of things to say.
The silence in the air was terrifying.
Molly secretly clutched her skirt.
Yuexue’s fingers hooked around the black silk stockings on her thigh beneath her qipao.
They were bound by marriage; they were supposed to be each other’s one and only.
Yuexue looked at her gentle and dignified wife, her golden eyes flickering as she thought about what that handsome man in the Lower District had told her:
‘Show your wife a bit more concern. Most misunderstandings between couples come from a lack of communication.’
Yuexue pursed her lips, which were as red and full as rose petals, and said, “Be careful when you go out next time, Molly.”
Molly’s body stiffened imperceptibly.
Her eyes stung, and a wave of intense guilt, shame, and self-reproach surged in her heart, wrapping around it like rapidly growing vines.
She shouldn’t be like this.
She shouldn’t go to the Lower District again.
She should love her wife with all her heart.
“Yuexue.”
“Mm?”
“Tonight… let’s share a bed again. It’s been a long time.”
“…Alright.”
Yuexue stood up, but she suddenly remembered something.
Her elegant body stiffened slightly, and she walked toward the bathroom.
“I’ll take a shower first.”
Inside the bathroom, she unlatched the fastening cord.
The qipao slid down, revealing skin as white as mutton-fat jade.
However, her fair back was currently covered in marks from being tightly bound by ropes.
Yuexue looked at herself in the mirror, a faint blush appearing on her cold, elegant face.
She let out a soft, mocking “tsh.”
‘How on earth… did he see through my fetish? I thought I hid it so well.’
She channeled her magic, condensing frost to begin removing the traces that a refined and dignified wife should absolutely never have.
Since she was going to share a bed with Molly after so long, she had to get rid of these marks.
She felt a bit of guilt toward her wife in her heart.
But… she hadn’t truly betrayed Molly.
She was only venting to Lin Lue.
It wasn’t like other Witches who went to the Lower District to satisfy their lusts.
To this day, the distance between them hadn’t crossed that final physical line.
Yes, it was just a paid transaction.
How could she possibly have strange feelings for a man from the Lower District?