Chapter Eighteen: Dysfunction

After a while, he still hadn’t left. I said, “Stomach hurts.”
He let go of me, grabbed a coat from nearby, wrapped me up like a rice dumpling, and asked, “Still hurts?”
I nodded. He reached out and gently rubbed my lower abdomen. Startled, I tried to pull away, but he held me fast. “Don’t move. A little massage will help.”
His touch was gentle, actually quite comfortable, but the doctor had warned me—my stomach hadn’t fully healed, and I couldn’t withstand any external force.
I took a deep breath and clutched his hand. “I’ve had surgery on my stomach. Don’t use force.”
He nodded, helped me adjust my clothes, then rose and walked to the bow of the boat, stretching lazily. Turning his head, he smiled at me.
I was momentarily dazed. His smile was so beautiful, like an angel—or rather, a Satan wrapped in gauze.
Dawn was breaking. Mist, water, and clouds gathered together. He pointed ahead. “Look, what’s that?”
Curious, I leaned out to see. At the highest peak, a fiery red sphere was slowly rising.
I climbed out, shaking his shoulder in excitement. “Hey, sunrise! I’ve never seen one before. It’s amazing!”
He grunted. “Didn’t you say your stomach hurt? Where’s all that energy coming from?”
Embarrassed, I withdrew my hand. He brushed off his clothes—a simple gesture, but somehow full of charm when he did it.
The sunrise ended, and Zhu Bang came to fetch us. Seeing the lunatic’s gauze-covered forehead, Zhu Bang’s jaw nearly dropped. He pointed at me. “You… you… you actually…”

I slapped his hand away. “What ‘you’? Haven’t you seen a beauty before?”
He sulked like a wronged wife. “You’re nothing but a female rogue.”
I gave him a sweet smile. “Thanks for the compliment.”
As we rowed out, a sudden impulse made me say to the lunatic, “Someday, give me all your lotuses. I want to brew the best floral wine in the universe.”
He nodded. “Alright.”
Zhu Bang sulked beside us, his gaze like poison. I ignored him and asked the lunatic, “Hey, are we even now?”
He glanced at me, pulled out a box of cigarettes, quickly bit one and lit it, exhaling sharply.
The way he smoked was captivating, like a painting. Seeing me watching him, he held the cigarette between his fingers and beckoned me over.
I was drawn in as if bewitched. His lips brushed my ear, sending shivers through me.
He whispered, “I’m afraid we can’t call it even.”
I turned abruptly to him. “What do you mean?”
I kicked you, but you pushed me into the water—and molested me! I’m the one at a loss, so why can’t it be even?
Is he trying to extort me?

His hand pressed on my head, keeping me close. His lips warmed my ear again, and I froze.
His voice was low, meant only for us. “You have to take responsibility for me.”
I shoved him away. “Lunatic, you’re the one who should take responsibility for me—you molested me.”
He laughed, resting his hands behind his head on the edge of the boat canopy. “Are you sure you want me to take responsibility?”
I’d spoken without thinking. What’s the point of playing word games now? Once we’re ashore, I’ll run—what can he do?
I sat there, annoyed, silent. He kicked me twice but was actually speaking to Zhu Bang. “Show her the medical report.”
Zhu Bang took a few sheets from his briefcase—men’s health exam reports from a certain five-star private hospital in Kangcheng. I glanced over them. When I saw the words “male sexual dysfunction,” my mind went blank.
Summer Qi’s crow mouth—she really guessed it?
Of course, I couldn’t admit it was my fault. I quickly found my excuse. “Lunatic, how can you say it’s because of me? Maybe you messed around too much before and weakened your kidneys, or maybe you were born that way… Anyway, it’s not my problem.”
He didn’t get angry at my evasions; his expression didn’t even change. He kept his arrogant pose, legs swinging. “If that’s the case, then we’ll settle it in court. Don’t say I didn’t warn you—if it goes to trial, you can forget about ever making it in Kangcheng.”