My Dearest General: It Has Always Been You

What was the best interaction between a master and slave that had been together for more than a month? Surely, her awkwardness and stiff limbs were out of place. 

Lei Liqiu's eyes turned determined as she fell softly into Xu Binchen's embrace, twirling his tie around her slender fingers. "You look quite scary, I can't get used to that, Young Master. Usually, your eyes contain nothing but affection and desire for me."

Lei Liqiu licked her dry lips. Seeing that, Xu Binchen brought his glass onto her mouth. With her head tilted, she drank from his hands, holding the man's wrist as the red wine slipped down her throat, a few drops trickled down her jaw. Xu Binchen leaned in and gave a lick from her jaw up and halted before he reached her lips, his wine scented breath brushing against her cheek. The taste surrounded her senses, making her dizzy, pink tinged her fair skin.

Everything seemed to have faded away and what remained was only him. Xu Binchen's eyes locked onto hers for a few moments until they slowly travelled down her nose and landed on her rouge that was imprinted on the mouth of the glass, right where the man had drank it before. She grabbed the hem of his suit jacket, out of breath without doing anything in a true sense. 

And when their eyes met once again, there wasn't anything she expected within. Only pure, clear and sharp eyes that held a faint warning. 

In an instant, it was as if cold water was poured all over her head, sobering her up within seconds. Xu Binchen's eyes were warning her to focus on her job, but Lei Liqiu couldn't help but read more into it, something like...to hold a clear boundary between them, a warning for her not to catch any feelings.

He tucked a lock of hair behind her ears, his movement was utterly gentle as if he truly cherished her. 

As if.

"I don't mean to scare you." His low voice rang out. "It's all Manager Si's fault that caused me to lose the beauty's favor. Tell me, what should I do to make it up for you?"

Lei Liqiu pushed down the heaviness in her chest and mustered her best smile, one that could even fool herself. "How can I make Young Master suffer because of me?" A brilliant idea popped up in her mind. "How about this? If Young Master can answer a riddle from me, then I will count us even."

"A riddle?" He raised his brows, intrigued. "If I answer it, I get nothing?"

"It depends." She smiled mysteriously with a hint of seduction. "Perhaps, you can also get what you want from me the most."

"Hmm…" Xu Binchen rubbed his fingers. His eyes met with Lei Liqiu's pleading ones. Please, please get my hint! Her eyes brightened up when he gave a nod. "Sure, let's hear that."

From Lei Liqiu's peripheral vision, she could catch Yu Li'er widening eyes, shock was palpable on the latter's face. Nonetheless, she paid it no heed and proceeded to tell the riddles that Yu Li'er had just told her back in the restroom. 

"There's a farmer whose hobby was to grow all kinds of crops. One day, he brought his money to the market, wanting to buy a few new seeds. But it turned out that his money was only enough to buy one kind of seed. Then, he bought the most expensive one and planted it on his land. The seed slowly grew into a very beautiful exotic flower. 

"The farmer was very excited and planned to buy a few more. However, ever since then, his crops, other than the exotic flower, all died one by one. He was desperate and tried to loosen the soil. However…" Lei Liqiu paused and took a breath. "He found that his soil was dry and barren, it's practically dead already. The exotic flower had sucked all of the nutrients not only from the soil but also from all of the plants nearby. It's a poisonous plant!

"The poor farmer regretted the day he bought the seed. However, he was helpless against the flower. It could neither be killed nor be dug out. When the farmer wanted to chop it down forcefully, he later realized that...the exotic flower was almost as strong as him. It had mutated into a monster."

Lei Liqiu smiled and threw out the main question. "So, how can the farmer get rid of the poisonous flower and save his land?" 

"Pfft!" Director Wang choked on his saliva and burst out laughing. "What kind of riddle is that? First, can a plant be stronger than a human? Are you talking about the apocalypse era that's filled with mutated plants?"

The bodyguards and waiters also hid their laughter with soft coughs. Only Yu Li'er frowned, gazing at Lei Liqiu and Xu Binchen in disbelief. 

Lei Liqiu also felt ridiculous when she first heard the riddle. It was very fantastical and abstract, seemingly as if every answer could be accepted but there's also no definite solution to that.

What kind of farmer couldn't recognize a poisonous seed? Why hadn't he realized anything until the exotic flower ate all of his plants? Was it so strong that it couldn't be killed no matter what? 

Lei Liqiu had discussed it together with Yu Li'er in the restroom. They came up with numerous kind of answer but in the end, who could tell them which one was the accurate one?

When she relayed it to Yu Li'er, she was told than Wan Biwen only left that riddle behind before she was called away by Madam Lan. And then like she had said before, Wan Biwen disappeared afterward. The riddle was shrouded in mystery and perhaps, it cost Wan Biwen's life to pass it on to Yu Li'er.

"How about it, Young Master Xu?" Lei Liqiu smiled sweetly but inwardly, she was sweating buckets. "Can you answer this? If you can, I guarantee I will give you what you desire the most." The mystery regarding Dreamscape Bar, the owner, the person behind human trafficking. If you could solve this riddle, then you would be able to find out everything!

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A/N: Surprise! A double update!

So, what do you think the riddle mean and what does it have to do with the person behind human trafficking and the mysterious owner of Dreamscape Bar?