The darkness of the night slowly dissipates as the first ray of sun spreads across the dawn sky, painting it with reddish orange hues. The still quietness of the city at dawn stands in sharp contrast to its peak hours, when people and vehicles rush by in a hurry. While the tall buildings and apartments remained silent, a symphony of chirps and trills outside announced the arrival of the morning glory.
The serene atmosphere of the dawn didn't last long as a blood-curdling shriek resounded in a room located at the third floor of a prestigious apartment in the city. The golden sunlight filtered through the window, illuminating the soft features of a person sitting on the bed with a bedsheet wrapped around them. The person beside them had their head rested on their hand, leaning sideways with a wicked smile plastered on their red lips.
Zhu Lian, who had fallen into an exhausted deep sleep last night, didn't expect she could be greeted with such a scene. She remembered that last night she was with Long Yuzhou and expected to see him first thing in the morning but didn't expect to see a strange woman beside her. But what made her shocked is the fact that they were both without a stitch on themselves. She looked around the room and noticed the randomly thrown bathrobe lying at the corner while the entire room and bed was the evidence of what had transpired between them last night, air inside filled with the heavy musk of the after-scent. She tried to remember about last night's incident but all she got was a piercing headache, making her scream in frustration.
The person beside her finally sat up against the headboard. They moved their hands towards Zhu Lian, gently tugging the stray hair behind her ears. Zhu Lian flinched at the cold touch, glaring at the person beside her. She couldn't hide her anger anymore as she bellowed,
"Who the hell are you? Why the fuck are you by my side? How the heck did you even get here? Where the hell did Long Yuzhou go after spending a night with me?"
Zhu Lian was breathing heavily with red eyes when she looked at the person beside her, noticing their features. Long silky black hair, ruby eyes, sharp nose bridge, plump red lips, their beauty a testimonial for a beauty that was both lethal and alluring. Suddenly she remembered something from yesterday as she gave a pained laugh, saying,
"So you must be that person who made Mr. Long blush like that. Are you jealous that Mr. Long spent a night with me so you came here to give me a warning?"
The person beside her laughed darkly as they leaned closer to Zhu Lian, tracing her jawline with their sharp claws when saying,
"Oh! Sweety~ Look how wild your trains of thoughts work, it's so funny to look at you right now."
Zhu Lian couldn't resist their touch as if her muscles had been commanded by them, refusing to obey her. Their hands continued tracing downwards till it stopped on her lower belly where a strange red pattern resided now. Their hand pressed firmly on it as they continued speaking in a mocking tone,
"Hottiee~ You really have a bad memory. It was you, who summoned me and agreed to form a pact with me for your beloved, Mr. Long. And now you're acting as if you don't know me and didn't enjoy what happened between us, as it's what you willingly gave to me. It's not like I forced you to give it to me. You have done everything and now you're turning the table against me. You are hurting my feelings, hottiee!~"
That person started to sniffle. Zhu Lian was so shocked to see someone older than herself act like that. She didn't have any other choice but to comfort them. She pulled them into her arms, rubbing soothing circles on their back as she whispered.
"Shh! It's alright! I admit, I have a bad memory but could you explain how you came here and who you are so that I could compensate you?"
That person had a smirk on their lips as their voice filled with sorrow when they said,
"I don't want any compensation, I just want you to fulfill the pact we formed last night."
Zhu Lian's brows furrowed as she couldn't understand what they meant.
"Pact? What pact? I don't remember anything like that."
She said genuinely. That person broke from her embrace as they looked down at her lower belly saying in a serious tone,
"That Euphoric Ruin in your body is the reminder of the pact we had last night. The pact of Night's Whisper, where you agreed to exchange your purest mana to be with Long Yuzhou."
Zhu Lian had a shocking expression as a cold sweat formed on her forehead as she looked down at her belly noticing a red strange pattern she couldn't understand was embedded on her once clear skin. She looked up at the person with fear as her voice wavered when she asked,
"Wh… What are you te… telling? How do you know Mr. Lo… Long? How did th… this strange pattern appear on me?"
That person laughed darkly as the room was once again engulfed in darkness, revealing their true form to Zhu Lian. When Zhu Lian saw this form, she felt a piercing headache as the memories of last night came rushing into her mind but the only difference is that, the person she thought as Long Yuzhou was all along this person in front of her with whom she had spent her first pleasurable moment.
Zhu Lian started with big eyes, still not believing what's standing in front of her in horror. Soon everything returned to normal as the person in front turned to their human form, sitting beside her in a flashy dress. That person couldn't hide their smirk looking at her shocking expression. They said with a dark chuckle,
"Looks like the sweet surprise for you worked out well. So let me introduce myself officially. I know you still don't believe it but it's the truth. I'm Scarlet, a Succubus, a demon who feeds on sexual desire and eventually got attached to you because of your extreme energy level and you willingly formed a pact with me so from now on, you can't get rid of me from your life."
Zhu Lian who was blank for a long while, finally had a spark in her eyes as she turned to look at her asking,
"So you're telling me I formed a pact with you and as long as I give you my mana, you will help me get Long Yuzhou for myself, is that right?"
Scarlet's smile even deepened as she nodded her head agreeing with her.
"Absolutely, as long as I get my mana regularly then you could have Long Yuzhou for yourself."
Zhu Lian's eyes darkened as she said in low serious tone,
"Since you already had my mana last night, I want you to help me gain Mr. Long's attention at tonight's party even though he brings along his beloved for the party tonight."
Scarlet laughed darkly at being questioned of her loyalty to the pact. She pressed her hands on the red pattern on her belly saying,
"Listen carefully, hottiee! As long as you have this Euphoric Ruin on yourself, no one, literally no one will be able to resist your charm and eventually fall head over heels for you. So don't worry! You will have that Long Yuzhou for yourself tonight."
Zhu Lian smirked darkly, still confident of gaining Long Yuzhou's attention tonight.
"Let's see if this person who makes Mr. Long's heart race can withstand my allure. I want to see their face twist in jealousy when I win him over and command his full attention tonight."