25 Choose One 1

The pink ceiling greeted Li Nuxie when she opened her eyes. She blinked. Her bedroom ceiling was colored white. When she tried moving, she accidentally pressed on her left arm.

"Ouch!" she muttered, staying still.

"Xiexie, you're awake?" Li Chanying approached the bedside. She was already in her peach pajamas.

"Why am I here?" Li Nuxie supported her body weight with her right hand to sit. Her cousin arrange the pillows in her back so she can lean comfortably.

Li Chanying lifted her shoulders in a shrug. "I can't let you go back to your house alone with that arm. So, I brought you here," she patiently explained.

"You brought me here?" Li Nuxie knitted her brows. The last thing she remembered was leaning on Black Emperor's chest. With that thought, her cheeks felt hot. She glanced at Li Chanying who was sizing her up, the corner of her lips rose.

"Why? Are you expecting someone to bring you here?" Li Chanying leaned towards her. "Dream on, Xiexie. Dream on," With a smirk, she stood up and headed towards the door.

Li Nuxie's mouth contorted as she reached out for a pillow. She threw it towards Li Chanying's back. It fell short, drawing out a mocking laugh from her cousin.

A moment later, Hong Chi took a step inside. She was still in her black power suit. "Xiexie, how are you?" She picked up the pillow from the floor and threw it back to Li Nuxie.

Li Nuxie's right hand caught it. "How come you are here?" She raised an eyebrow. "It's not even five pm. The HDS is losing money on you."

Hong Chi occupied the chair Li Chanying vacated earlier. "Hmmmp. Don't think you can save yourself with that," she told Li Nuxie.

Li Chanying appeared at the door. Her one hand was holding a bowl of grapes while the other was throwing a grape in the air, her mouth catching it. "That's right," she said in between bites. She sat on the foot of the bed, with one leg hanging on the edge.

"Details," the two women said, with arms crossed.

Li Nuxie inclined her head. "About?"

Rolling her eyes, Li Chanying picked a grape from the bowl and threw it towards Li Nuxie. She caught it and put it in her mouth. "About Black Emperor, of course."

Hong Chi waggled her eyebrows. "Spill the beans, Xiexie. It's long overdue. Whatever happened to our motto 'The secret of one is the secret of all'?

Li Nuxie raised her right hand in the air. "Okay, okay. What do you want to know?"

"Me first," Li Chanying raised her hand as she nibbled on the grape. "How did the two of you meet?"

"We met during the pre-launch," Li Nuxie started. "He was the first place. I mean, he was the representative," she continued while Li Chanying and Hong Chi were eyeing her seriously.

"Oh. He was the representative of Chang Lianna," Hong Chi interjected.

The cousins stared at Hong Chi. "You know her?" They said at the same time.

Hong Chi shook her head. "Not particularly. Remember, I processed the papers of the Blood of the Night? I met her."

"So, what happened?" Li Chanying asked, turning to Li Nuxie. She laid down near the edge of the bed, her right arm was supporting her head.

"Ah, he kissed me?" Li Nuxie's lips twitched. She lowered her head when the two women gaped at her.

A muffled scream went out of Hong Chi's mouth as soon as realization took over. She went over to Li Nuxie's side. "You already had your first kiss?" She glanced at Li Chanying. "Ying, the younger generation already overtook us," she jumped from the bed and twirled around while laughing. Her arms were raised delicately in the air.

Li Chanying dropped her jaw at the news. Her cousin has already her first kiss? "Was there tongue involved?"

Li Nuxie slapped her chest when she choked on her saliva. "What the hell, Ying?" Her eyes were wide. "I'm not telling!"

"Oh my gosh! Our youngest already had her first French kiss," Hong Chi stopped moving. She put her hands on her cheeks as she screamed. "Is he a good kisser?" She went back to Li Nuxie's side.

"That's private!" Li Nuxie whined as she reached for the pillows in her back.

Hong Chi wiggled her forefinger in front of Li Nuxie. "Ah, ah. Don't try. You'll just lose."

"Just wait until my arm heals," Li Nuxie glared at her.

Hong Chi just stuck her tongue out.

"Are you going to make him your boyfriend, Xiexie?" Li Chanying asked.

Hong Chi linked her arm with Li Nuxie's. "Since it was the guy who kissed you, then that means he likes you too, right?"

Li Nuxie kept her mouth closed; her free hand wrung the hem of the comforter that covered her lower body.

Li Chanying studied her cousin who seemed to be conflicted about something. "What is it, Xiexie? I thought you like him? You even told me to investigate him."

"Really? Wow," Hong Chi's mouth formed an 'O'. Who would have thought that Li Nuxie was decisive when it comes to the guy she likes?

"I like someone," Li Nuxie finally said.

"What?!" Li Chanying, who already put a grape in her mouth, dropped it to the bed when Li Nuxie said that. "Please enlighten us," she sat upright, picking the grape and throwing it at the trash bin not far from the bed.

"I met a man before him. And he's the first one I like," Li Nuxie confessed.

Hong Chi pressed her lips. "But you like this Black Emperor, right?"

Li Nuxie nodded.

"When did the two of you meet?" Li Chanying asked her cousin. She was not aware that Li Nuxie met a man. Wait, was it the reason she blushed way back at Chang Condominium?

"Right before I go back here," Li Nuxie answered.

Li Chanying closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Okay, it's normal to meet different kinds of people and evoke feelings from them," she said, opening her eyes. "Don't dwell on him. He is in the past. Black Emperor is in the present. Go, Team Black Emperor!"

"No!" Hong Chi objected, crossing her arms. "Listen, Xiexie. Follow your heart. It doesn't matter if the guy is in the present or past. As long as your heart yearns for him, you should go for it."

Li Nuxie bit her lower lip as she looked at Li Chanying.

"What is it?" Li Chanying asked, blowing out her cheeks. Her cousin was killing them with suspense.

Li Nuxie sighed. "I like both of them. And I just saw Mr. Book earlier this morning," her mouth curled into a half-smile.

Hong Chi's hand went to her throat while Li Chanying coughed.

"If that's the case, choose Black Emperor. He already kissed you," Li Chanying's suggestion drew a chuckle from Li Nuxie.

"Mr. Book also did. Am I too shameless if I say both of them are good kissers?"

Hong Chi stood up abruptly. She paced back and forth inside the room; her hands were fanning herself as she blew air intermittently.

Li Chanying slumped her shoulders as she stared at her cousin. Did Li Nuxie just tell them that she kissed two men who were practically strangers to her?