Unashamed

Liyana had never been one for knocking.

Time seemed to freeze in that moment.

Liyana stared at the scene before her: Xia Lun’s right hand was gently passing through Aina’s hair, caressing her cheek, while Aina had already risen onto her tiptoes...

The moment Liyana pushed the door open, Xia Lun and Aina swiftly pulled apart.

“Uh...”

Liyana scratched her head awkwardly, realizing she had come at a rather inconvenient time.

Still, she strode purposefully over to Aina and handed her the magic staff in her hand.

Aina accepted it with a frosty expression, her face tight, though a telling blush still reddened her ears.

“Ah, come on, you’re an old married couple! What’s there to be shy about? It’s just a little flirtation—just make sure Mo Lini doesn’t catch you next time...” Liyana blathered on cheerfully.

Xia Lun shot her a look of annoyance, and Liyana immediately shrank her neck in retreat.

“Alright, then, you two carry on, carry on—I didn’t see anything, ha...” Liyana gave a sheepish laugh before scurrying away like a gust of wind, not forgetting to close the door considerately behind her.

Xia Lun wasn’t particularly bothered, but Aina had a thin skin. As the Demon Queen, her dignity would not allow her to lose face in front of others, and her shoulders were now trembling faintly.

“It’s fine, it’s just Liyana,” Xia Lun comforted her, as if Liyana were an insignificant insect. “Tomorrow, she’ll have forgotten this completely.”

“Xia Lun! This is all your fault!” Aina raised her head, glaring at him with indignation and embarrassment.

“Yes, Aina, it’s all my fault,” Xia Lun promptly admitted his error.

“Making me look so foolish... I’m going to have to punish you properly!” Aina puffed out her cheeks fiercely.

“Is that so?” Xia Lun’s interest piqued. He leaned in until his nose almost touched her forehead. “I’m at your disposal, Your Majesty the Demon Queen. How do you wish to punish your loyal hero?”

They were a couple of equal standing, deeply in tune with each other, so mutual demands were only natural.

Aina leaned close to Xia Lun’s ear, first nipping it in annoyance, then lowering her voice to whisper a string of words that would make anyone blush.

Gibberish, gibberish, gibberish.

“Ah, this...”

As she spoke, the smile on Xia Lun’s face gradually froze, replaced by a look of embarrassment. “Aina, asking me to do something like that... isn’t that a bit too humiliating?”

“I already agreed to your request!” Aina said angrily, poking her finger into his chest.

“I only asked you to call me ‘Brother Xialun’ and then... ahem, that’s all. What you’re proposing is just going too far,” Xia Lun tapped her on the head.

“And I’m only asking you to do this and that, and then some other stuff,” Aina retorted with a stubborn pout.

Xia Lun covered his face, his voice muffled through his fingers. “Do you even hear what you’re saying?”

How Aina could say such things.

Aina’s cheeks puffed out even more, like two buns stuffed in her mouth.

Then, she huffily turned around, her silver hair tracing a graceful arc through the air. “Fine, then forget it. Don’t come looking for me tonight.”

“I didn’t say I’d refuse,” Xia Lun coughed lightly, quickly reaching out to grasp her wrist.

“So you were just pretending to be modest,” Aina said, looking as if she had seen through him, a hint of satisfied smile appearing. “I knew it—you love this sort of thing.”

“Aina, don’t slander my innocence!” Xia Lun tried to put on a righteous expression. “I’m a hero, after all.”

“But no one ever said a hero can’t be perverted or lecherous,” Aina snorted, her maidenly pout brimming with charm.

Xia Lun’s face stiffened slightly as he made one last denial.

“I’m not...”

“Say that again, Xia Lun. Can you deny that you’re lecherous?” Aina suddenly pressed his shoulders, forcing him to meet her eyes. The Demon Queen’s pupils flickered with a blood-red gleam, as if she could see straight into his soul. “Look into my eyes, and deny it again.”

Xia Lun’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. At this close distance, he could count every one of her eyelashes and see his own reflection in her pupils.

He couldn’t lie to Aina.

“And what about you, Aina? Can you deny it?” Xia Lun then challenged her, refusing to back down. “You’re a lecherous girl too, Your Majesty the Demon Queen.”

Aina immediately retorted, “I am not!”

“Then look into my eyes and say that again?” Xia Lun mimicked her tone, taunting her.

“I... I’m not...” Aina slowly averted her gaze, her voice suddenly becoming much softer.

“You are!” Xia Lun didn’t let up just because she had backed down. He pressed his advantage, reaching out to gently pinch her burning earlobe. “You’re no different from me, Aina.”

“I only do those things because I love you so much! It’s not your body I desire, Xia Lun... whereas you’re just plain lecherous,” Aina declared with a straight face, suddenly raising her voice again, having found a reason to reclaim her confidence.

“Huh? You’ve got that exactly backwards, Aina,” Xia Lun raised an eyebrow, refusing to give in. “It’s obvious that I love you more, and that’s why I adore everything about you.”

Aina lifted her chin, striking the proud pose of a Demon Queen to cut him off. “And that’s exactly your excuse for liking my feet?”

Xia Lun leaned in just as aggressively, his warm breath brushing against her cheek. “Aina, don’t forget, who it was that, when I hadn’t yet been resurrected, used my fingers to...”

Seeing Aina’s cheeks turn crimson instantly, Xia Lun couldn’t help but feel a smug sense of victory. This round was clearly his...

Until magical chains coiled around his body.

“Xia Lun, feeling proud, are you?” Aina grabbed his collar, her voice snarling close to his ear. Her tone was dangerously sweet, like honey-coated poison.

“I’m sorry! My darling, I’m really sorry!” Xia Lun immediately surrendered, trying to win her over with the most sincere look. “I’ll agree to anything!”

But Aina was still not satisfied. She lifted her foot and kicked his backside hard several times. Xia Lun twisted and dodged awkwardly, looking quite pathetic.

“Darling, could you let me go?” Xia Lun put on a pitiful expression that softened Aina’s heart.

“If you ever bring that up again, I’ll really teach you a lesson.”

Aina snorted softly, and the magical chains dissolved with a sound. As she was about to turn, Xia Lun gently wrapped his arms around her from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder, his warm breath brushing against her neck.

“I have never regretted falling in love with you,” Xia Lun’s voice suddenly became utterly serious. “Whether as a hero falling for a demon queen, or as Xia Lun falling for Aina, it is the most correct decision of my entire life.”

Aina’s heart skipped a beat. All her feigned anger melted away in an instant. She relaxed, leaning back into his warm embrace.

After that, the two of them spent a night of unbridled passion.