Meilin, a rising Esports player, is torn between two worlds: an unusual visitor---a deadly demon king who falls in love with her, and her charming teammate Ningshun, a man with a profound mystery...
Matian Meilin is an 18-year-old girl with a passio...
Ningshun backed out of Meilin's room, his breath unsteady, his heart racing as if he had just run a marathon. He leaned against the wall, running a hand through his straight hair, which fell to his lower neck. "What was that?"
The adrenaline from the sudden closeness had not worn off. He could still feel the heat between them, his body demanding him to calm down, but the throbbing in his heart made it hard to think straight. The way his hands had pinned her against the wall, her wide eyes full of surprise—he could not shake the vivid memory.
With a deep breath, he pushed himself off the wall and walked down the hallway, his pace faster than normal, as if he could outrun the thoughts that bothered him. As he moved, he tried to clear his head, but his mind kept spiraling back to Meilin—the way her cheeks had flushed when he got too close.
Han stood in the hallway, scrolling through his phone. When he saw Ningshun, he looked up with a curious expression. "Hey, did you just come from Meilin's room? Did you two—"
Ningshun froze, his heart hammering in his chest. "NO!" The word shot out like a dart. "No, I mean, yes, we were just talking." He forced a grin, but it felt uncomfortable.
Han arched an eyebrow and quipped, "Why are you answering like I'm holding a gun to your head? I just wanted to ask you if you two spoke about what kind of pizza she wanted." He spoke in a slow manner, as if to someone who did not quite get it. "We're ordering tonight, remember?"
Ningshun blinked, scrambling for an explanation. "Oh, yeah, right... we did." His eyes shifted to the side. 'And more...' he reminisced, forgetting Han's presence for a moment.
"Uh... Ningshun?" Han repeated.
Coming to his senses, Ningshun's voice rushed out, "She wants a slice of everything..." He nodded with excessive enthusiasm, feeling the walls closing in on him. 'Ah, I need... to take a shower...' He took a deep breath. "So, uh, let's order everything. I'll pay for it."
Han's mouth fell open in shock. "A slice of everything? Fair enough. After all, we're celebrating her joining the team."
Ningshun could feel his cheeks getting warm as he recalled how Meilin held his arms and yanked him closer with a rough grip. "She's... adventurous like that."
Han blinked at him, dumbfounded. "She sure is!" He rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I guess I'll just... order a pizza buffet, then... since you're paying."
"Good," Ningshun's voice sounded thin. 'Get a grip,' he told himself in his thoughts, but he scoffed in disbelief, realizing his body refused to obey. He needed to get out of there. "Okay, I'm going to... go shower now." He backed away, but it felt like he had tripped over his own feet.
"But you already took a shower an hour ago," Han pointed out, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.
"Another one won't kill me!" Ningshun snapped, then regretted his outburst. He needed to escape, evading the embarrassment of even Han noticing what bothered him, and exit with some dignity.
Han watched him go, shaking his head. It was rare to see the leader so flustered. "What's going on with you?" he called, but Ningshun was already halfway down the hall, refusing to look back.
"I'm fine!" Ningshun waved his hand without turning around. "Just a little... tired today." He rounded the corner, bumping into a plant and almost toppling it over.
Han tried not to laugh. "This guy... 'We were just talking' he says... Yeah right, you can't fool me," he muttered, watching his flustered friend stumble off.
~*~
Ningshun stood beneath the hot spray of the shower, seeking solace in the rhythm of water hitting his skin and running down the contours of his chest. The steam filled the air, but he felt as if the heat radiated from within him. His heart pounded hard against his ribs, yearning to break free.
The warmth of the water should have been comforting, but his mind was anything but at ease. The fact that he could not control his emotions, rattled by his interactions with Meilin, caught him off guard. His mind continued to drift back to Meilin—the way her warm breath brushed against his cheek as his face came so close that he could almost taste the tension, her lips mere inches away.
"No, no way," he muttered, his voice low and raspy. He attempted to dismiss the unsettling sensation, but the tension clung to him, intensifying with each passing second.
As he dwelled on his loss of composure, the image of her flooded back, uninvited. He recalled her soft whisper—"Wow..."—and the way her foxy eyes gazed at him with tenderness, roaming over his face. The more he thought about what it meant, the harder it became for him to control himself. His pulse quickened, and his breaths grew shallow and rapid, each inhale drawing the vivid images back into his mind.
"I've never..." He scoffed. "No, just no. She's my teammate. I can't allow this. It's just a temporary feeling. It'll pass..."
With a firm grip, he twisted the faucet to its coldest setting and gasped as the icy water ran down his sculpted back and broad shoulders, sending shockwaves through his body. He closed his eyes, focusing on the sharp coldness, hoping it would wash away the intense feelings burning inside him that threatened to overwhelm him.
After a moment, Ningshun forced himself to refocus, taking a deep breath as he turned off the water. "Good thing I left," he whispered, a sigh of relief escaping him, determined to put the incident behind him. "I can't let this mess with my head."
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