Deviant: No Longer Human

"Ah… looks like my old man needs me for something." He sighed, getting up reluctantly. "Sorry to bail, guys. You know how he is. I\'ll catch up with you both later."

With an apologetic grin, Chen Li waved and headed out, leaving Wang Xiao and Chen Meili alone. As the door swung shut behind him, the atmosphere suddenly felt a lot more… intimate.

Clink.

Wang Xiao\'s fork tapped against his plate as he hacked into his French toast, each slice aggressive, like it had personally wronged him.

Across from him, Chen Meili\'s eyes flicked toward the door where Chen Li had just exited, her expression a mix of discomfort and silent contemplation. She looked like she was already plotting a polite escape.

Too bad Wang Xiao had no intention of letting her slip away that easily.

"He seems to like you…" he remarked, stuffing a piece of toast into his mouth and nodding toward the door where Chen Li had disappeared.

"Huh?" Chen Meili blinked, clearly caught off guard. A faint, resigned smile curved her lips as she shook her head. "He\'s… a bit too hopeful, that\'s all."

Wang Xiao nearly snorted, imagining Chen Li\'s reaction if he\'d heard that. The poor guy would probably hurl himself into the Huangpu River on the spot.

"Guess you got picky now that you\'ve got some cash?" he teased, a smirk pulling at his mouth. "Too good for an innocent puppy like Chen Li?"

Chen Meili blinked, taken aback by his bluntness, and let out a soft, reluctant laugh. "That\'s… not it," she replied, trying to keep her composure but clearly flustered.

"Oh?" Wang Xiao leaned in, tapping his fork against the plate again—tap, tap— giving her a playful, knowing look. "So what\'s the issue?"

Chen Meili hesitated, tracing her finger along the rim of her teacup, her gaze dropping. After a moment, she sighed. "He\'s… too young," she murmured.

Wang Xiao didn\'t miss a beat. "So was I," he replied instantly, eyebrow raised.

Chen Meili looked away, a faint blush creeping up her cheeks as she muttered, "That… was different." She clearly didn\'t want to go down that road, her fingers fidgeting with the napkin in her lap.

But Wang Xiao wasn\'t about to let it go that easily. He remembered every detail. This was the same damn place where they\'d once talked about everything—right be before she ended up in his bed.

Her first time, and, if he remembered correctly, her only time with anyone. He could tell by the way she kept stealing glances at him, as if fighting off memories she didn\'t want stirred up.

"Different, huh?" He grinned, watching her reaction. "Don\'t worry, I\'m not here to judge you for making a \'strategic choice.\' You took a shot and leveled up. I can respect that."

Chen Meili\'s lips tightened, clearly trying not to look at him. If the same situation happened now, she\'d probably refuse outright. Back then, it had been her ticket out of a tougher life, and she\'d taken it without a second thought.

People only crave what they don\'t have. Now that she\'d built her own stability, she didn\'t need those shortcuts.

Sensing her reluctance to keep digging into the past, Wang Xiao shifted the topic with a light chuckle. "Anyway, speaking of old friends… What\'s Lin Xue up to these days? Did she shut down the show and skip town?" He smirked, recalling the faint memory of her. "Stopped by Velvet Shadows the other day, but the place was shut tight."

Chen Meili tensed visibly, her hands stilling on her cup. "You… you didn\'t hear?"

"Hear what?" Wang Xiao\'s brow furrowed, curiosity sparking in his eyes.

Chen Meili hesitated, then said quietly, "She\'s… in jail."

"What?" Wang Xiao was bewildered. Lin Xue, in jail?

He couldn\'t wrap his head around it. Lin Xue had always been smart, running her brothel quietly, keeping herself under the radar, and maintaining enough connections to stay out of trouble.

She wasn\'t the type to make enemies who\'d throw her behind bars, especially with the security net she\'d spent years weaving.

"Jail? How the hell did that happen?" he muttered, more to himself than to her, still trying to process it.

"That…" Chen Meili took a deep breath, clearly uneasy as she began to explain.

"Right after you disappeared, a couple of months later, it hit the news—Lin Xue got herself mixed up in some serious trouble. Apparently, she… well, she \'murdered\' the city mayor." She paused, letting that sink in.

Wang Xiao\'s eyes widened. Murder? Lin Xue? That was already shocking enough, but Chen Meili wasn\'t finished.

"And before she did it… she sold off everything she owned and transferred most of her assets to me and a few of her close aides..."

\'The biggest portion came to me, with the instructions to \'take care of the child,\' She added inwardly, carefully leaving out that last part to avoid Wang Xiao\'s probing gaze.

Wang Xiao leaned back, crossing his arms as he processed the news, his expression a mix of surprise and frustration. \'What the hell were you thinking, Lin Xue?\' he cursed inwardly, shaking his head.

She\'d done a lot for him in the past, and now this…

He sighed, deciding he\'d have to pay her a visit eventually. Whether he\'d free her or not—that was a whole other question. But knowing Lin Xue, he couldn\'t just leave her to rot there… at least, not without understanding what happened.

Chen Meili, meanwhile, was watching him with a wary eye, clearly uncertain of his next move. Her tension spiked when he casually asked, "By the way, where are you introducing me to Zhenxi\'s mother?"

"!"

She tensed, scrambling for excuses, but her hesitation only seemed to amuse him. Before she knew it, Wang Xiao had managed to drag her along, and they found themselves near the riverside villa where Zhenxi and her mother were staying.

Chen Meili resigned herself to it—she knew this couldn\'t be kept hidden forever.

Even Fu Yuxin, after a few weeks of wrestling with the situation, had given her the go-ahead, agreeing to step into the role of Zhenxi\'s mother.

Chen Meili clenched her fists.

She didn\'t need any more reason to want to strangle Fu Yuxin, but it was too late now. Wang Xiao was already stepping up to the villa door.

Knock, knock.

Her heart pounded as they waited outside.

_______

"Mummy!"

"Mummy!"

"Daddy\'s outside!" Zhenxi squealed, her voice bouncing around the room as she tugged at her mother\'s arm.

"??"

Fu Yuxin sat on the sofa, rolling her eyes as she attempted to tame Zhenxi\'s hair, braiding the soft, messy strands that seemed to resist all her efforts.

Dressed in her crisp school uniform, Zhenxi looked every bit the adorable troublemaker she was—wide-eyed and full of boundless energy.

Her face glowed with excitement, cheeks flushed, while her two dragon cubs napped on top of the snoring panda in the corner, blissfully unaware of the morning commotion.

Fu Yuxin let out a long, frustrated sigh, pausing her work to give her daughter a flat look.

With her dark, silky hair cascading down her back and her sharp, beautiful features, Fu Yuxin looked as if she\'d stepped out of a magazine cover—if only she didn\'t have that "done-with-this-kid\'s-nonsense" expression.

"Zi\'er, how many times are you gonna call every random car \'Daddy\'s\'? Go to school, come back, and maybe Meili will actually take you to see him. But right now, just sit still and stop driving me up the wall!"

But Zhenxi stood up suddenly, huffing, hands on her hips as she declared, "No, Mummy! Look outside! It\'s his car!" Her little finger pointed straight at the window with all the confidence of someone who\'s already won the argument.

"Hm?" Fu Yuxin frowned, glancing out the window. Sure enough, a sleek Porsche was parked outside, shining under the morning sun. \'Since when did he get a Porsche?\' She shot a look at Zhenxi, a flicker of doubt creeping in.

Still, she wasn\'t convinced. "Zi\'er, not every fancy car is \'Daddy\'s,\' alright?" she muttered, shaking her head.

Knock! Knock!

But as she tried to settle back down, a loud knock echoed from the door.

"!"

Fu Yuxin froze, her heart skipping a beat. She looked over at Zhenxi, who was grinning like a little devil, her face practically saying, \'Told you so.\'

With a reluctant sigh, Fu Yuxin straightened up, casting a quick glance at herself in the mirror to make sure she looked at least halfway decent.

She pushed a stray lock of hair back, her eyes narrowing slightly. \'Great,\' she thought with a twinge of anxiety.

Despite herself, faint trace of nerves stirred in her chest. Most likely, it wasn\'t who she was thinking of. Some random visitor or delivery, maybe. But if it \'was\' really Wang Xiao… how was she supposed to face him now?

After all, this was the man who had, once upon a time, drugged her, bedded her, and turned her whole life upside down.

Thanks to him, she\'d been tossed from her own house, left to scrape together a life out of the mess he\'d created.

Her fingers tightened on the edge of her sleeve as she remembered it all.

\'Bastard.\' And yet, despite everything, she couldn\'t deny the uneasy thrill simmering beneath her frustration. \'If it really is him… he better be ready...\'