Alright, this was one place he really couldn’t follow.
The hand resting on her waist grew restless. Thinking of Mike watching them from behind, Sienna Johnson warned, "Remove your hand."
"You heartless woman, burning the bridge after crossing it! I brought you such a golden goose, and this is how you treat ?"
"Co on, I’ll treat you to dinner."
"That’s more like it."
...
After working up a sweat playing ball, the two returned to their room to change. A certain man insisted on them taking a bath together. Thankfully, this ti it was only washing and so caressing; the man was considerate of her delicate state and gave her a break.
Adrian Desmond wore only a tight black tank top, his robust upper body exuding strength. On his right shoulder was a dark blue tattoo: dove-like wings clutching a string of artistic letters, "jernih."
Seeing her gaze fixed on the tattoo on his right shoulder, Adrian was rather unhappy. He knew how disgusted she had initially been by the snake tattoo on his back, which he had since had removed.
"Let’s go!" he said.
"Adrian, they say you used to be in the Underworld. I guess it’s true," she said with certainty after examining his tattoo.
"Why do you say that?"
"Because you have tattoos."
Adrian laughed heartily. "If I got this tattoo to be in the Underworld, I’d be a laughingstock!"
"So what kind of tattoos do people in the Underworld usually get?"
"A full-back dragon signifies supre authority and dignity; a green dragon over the shoulder, boundless wealth; auspicious Koi Fish, great luck and prosperity; a leaping carp, unparalleled fortune and blessings; a large tiger on the body, imnse fortune is assured; a lion on the back, the majestic bearing of a king; divine turtle and golden toad, attracting wealth for a thousand years; a green dragon coiled around the thighs, wealth like a flood; an eagle on the shoulder, grand ambitions take flight; a soaring divine eagle, ambitions reaching far and wide... Of course, the specific tattoo one gets depends on their seniority and credibility. For example, Xiao Hua from Himakati has a ’shoulder-clasping dragon’."
Sienna was very curious. "What’s a ’shoulder-clasping dragon’?"
"The dragon’s design generally has the head starting from the right shoulder blade, extending over the back to the right chest. The entire dragon’s body coils on the back. Its two front claws grip the muscles where the shoulders connect to the arms, and the two hind claws grip the thighs. The dragon’s tail extends from the lower left side of the waist down to the left ankle! In the underworld, only an ’eldest brother’ can get this kind of tattoo!"
Sienna looked at Adrian and muttered, "And you still say you weren’t in the Underworld. Look at you, knowing so much."
"I run a diverse range of businesses, so I need to know all sorts of people. Just because you know people in the Underworld doesn’t an you’re part of it, alright?" Adrian’s hearing was very sharp, and he caught her muttering.
"What businesses are you in?"
"Shipping, various high-end clubs, arms dealing..."
"You deal in arms?" Sienna looked at him in shock.
"Yes. Arms dealing is the most profitable; the profits are exorbitant!"
Sienna reassessed the man before her. She felt she didn’t know him well enough yet.
"What’s with that look on your face?"
"I’m a woman who runs a legitimate business. You tell , what kind of expression am I supposed to have when I hear my child’s father is an arms dealer?"
"..."
"Adrian, I’m warning you, if any of your business enemies dare to harm Curly, I’ll hold you responsible!"
Adrian laughed. "Rest assured. Over these years, aside from looking for you and Curly, I’ve been seeking revenge. Those people are either dead or injured, just barely hanging on by a thread."
"Business is about creating wealth through harmony. All this fighting and killing isn’t good," Sienna said.
"I know what I’m doing."
...
Sienna treated Adrian to a al at the food stalls on West Street in Sileria City. West Street was a long stretch of these stalls, offering all sorts of snacks. You could eat your way from one end to the other until you were stuffed, and it was very inexpensive.
"I’ve noticed you really like these snacks."
Sienna had brought him here once before.
"Yes, I do love them. When my adoptive father was alive, he often took and my brother to eat at food stalls. However, after returning to the Johnson Family, I stopped. Madam Johnson used to say they weren’t hygienic, and that it wasn’t ladylike for girls to eat such things," Sienna said with a bright smile. "Actually, things like steak and foie gras aren’t nearly as tasty as the food here."
Sienna knew Adrian couldn’t handle spicy food, so she was very considerate this ti, ordering non-spicy dishes for him. They ordered a pitcher of beer. Sienna ate spicy crayfish with her cold beer, her lips turning a vibrant red.
"Cheers! I really need to thank you for today’s incident with Mike. Honestly, you’ve helped solve a huge problem. I’ve been at my wit’s end over this recently. I was even considering asking Kenneth for help."
Ask Kenneth Brown for help? Hmph! She can forget about that.
Adrian clinked his glass against hers, then threw his head back and downed his drink. He said disdainfully, "Stop with all this empty talk. Give sothing tangible."
Sienna had had a bit too much to drink. Her beautiful eyes were hazy with intoxication, and her speech lacked its usual composure. "Didn’t I already give you sothing ’tangible’ in the woods today?"
"Not enough!"
"..."
"Greedy!"
"You’re still young; you don’t understand the delights of it yet. When you’re older, you’ll appreciate how good I am," Adrian said, his tone like that of a mischievous uncle coaxing a little girl.
"Pfft, what’s so great about that?"
"Stop drinking, you’ve had too much."
"It’s my treat today!" Sienna thumped her chest and declared boldly. She started to pull out her wallet, revealing a thick stack of cash. "See? Eat whatever you want. I’ve got money."
n at a nearby table caught sight of the cash in Sienna’s wallet, a flicker of greed in their eyes.
Adrian laughed. "In that case, should I order more?"
"Sure, don’t hold back."
Sienna ate and drank, eventually filling her belly with beer. Resting her cheek in her hand, she looked at him with drunken eyes. "Do you know what my life plan is?"
"What is it?"
"Graduate from college, find a stable and respectable job, then find a man I love, have a passionate, storybook romance, get married, and have one or two children."
"Passionate, storybook romance? Romantic love?" Adrian scoffed. "Sienna, how old are you?"
"Twenty-five!"
"Sienna, you’re not a little girl anymore. Only little girls have such daydreams. And, not to burst your bubble, but as a man who deeply understands the base nature of n, let tell you—when n act all romantic with you, they only have one goal!"
"What goal?"
"To get you into bed and have their way with you!"
"Adrian, what on earth is all that garbage rattling around in your brain?"
"My mind is filled with you! And you are definitely not ’garbage’."
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