The Devil's Contract Lover - Chapter 6

“Who?”

“Me!” A very deep male voice, completely unfamiliar.

“Who are you?” she asked back impolitely.

“The guy next door. Need to use the restroom.”

If it weren’t for Xingkong (Starry Sky), Yao Yuan would one thousand percent not share an apartment with a strange man. Who would dare open the door when alone in such a situation?

Glancing at the demon standing behind her, she didn’t bother wasting words and directly opened the door. It wasn’t her facing the danger anyway.

The man outside was half a head taller than Yao Yuan, with dark skin, not exactly handsome but definitely not good-looking. His eyes darted down her body, making her feel uneasy.

“Dinner smells good,” he said, his eyes glancing towards the soup as he entered, leaving half a mud print from his shoe.

Yao Yuan turned around and noticed the demon’s expression was different than usual: the corners of his mouth weren’t slightly curved up like they usually were when looking at her, and there was a layer of dark red surging in his eyes.

For the sake of human life and safety, she had no choice but to step forward and block the space between the two of them: “Are you going to the restroom or not? If not, I’m closing the door.”

“Tch.” The man squeezed a few words through gritted teeth: “So stuck up…” then he slipped into the restroom and slammed the door shut with a clang.

Even though the restroom he went to wasn’t the one she usually used, Yao Yuan still felt a pang of disgust: a stranger was using the toilet, while she was drinking soup in the living room…

“Let’s go out to eat. I finished the soup.” The demon raised the empty soup bowl, not a single drop left, as clean as if it had been washed.

“Okay~” With the last trace of sunset as a backdrop, the two strolled in the peaceful twilight, streetlights illuminating the way.

Holding hands felt natural, and their strides were in sync as they walked. Just looking at these little details, one wouldn’t imagine they had only met two days ago.

Even though she knew it was just the demon’s trick, a tingle of warmth and security still rose in Yao Yuan’s heart: “I’ll pay for this meal. Just around the corner is a whole street of snack stalls~”

Xingkong embraced her shoulder: “Don’t shortchange yourself anymore. I want to take you somewhere that feels more like home.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Reason? You clearly love beautiful things.”

Yao Yuan knew what Xingkong meant; who doesn’t like beautiful things?

She certainly didn’t have the conviction to ‘absolutely not spend a penny of her lover’s money’. When shopping, her mind would immediately get heated if she was coaxed a little.

But not having that conviction didn’t mean she could rely completely on another person. That was too dangerous. Moreover, the one making the suggestion wasn’t a lover, but a demon who coveted her soul.

The contract was still ahead of them; being led by the nose by a demon was not a good idea.

“Xingkong, I told you yesterday that this place is not my territory, it’s the landlord’s.” She took a deep breath, gazing seriously into the starlight in his eyes: “No matter how beautiful a place Xingkong takes me to, it will be Xingkong’s territory, not mine.”

“Is that so? But I heard humans are very happy to share the same territory with their loved ones, and many long to draw happiness from family.” Xingkong spoke with a hint of human-like longing: “They are even willing to sign unbelievable contracts to blur the boundaries between them. Why can’t we?”

“Legend says that demons cannot lie, or perhaps they simply dislike lying. So, I have a question for you.”

A gust of wind blew, and leaves heavily hit the ground.

“Do you love me?”

“I understand. It’s not the time yet.” The demon promised a future with a gentle tone.

Yao Yuan wasn’t bothered by the clever evasion; she was busy being surprised: the snack street around the corner was completely empty, only a deserted stall frame remained in the corner, crudely covered with a large plastic sheet.

Were they driven away by city management, or had they collectively moved to a new location?

“That’s strange, I just saw it a few days ago… Should we go further away to eat?”

“No need.” The empty frame instantly encased itself in a transparent plastic shell, iron utensils stacked in piles.

As they approached, various meats and vegetables swiftly threaded themselves onto skewers and lined up in rows. The charcoal under the iron plate suddenly turned red, and quiet glass bottles containing chili and cumin spices crouched in the corner.

“Wait a moment, I said I would treat you.” Yao Yuan leaped behind the stand, her speed faster than a wild cat’s this time.

The black and white wild cat that had leaped out of the bushes carried the raw chicken drumstick she threw and scurried back.

As Xingkong sat down, spotless tables and chairs materialized.

“Owner, twenty skewers of anything, please.”

“Coming right up~” Everything felt new; it was her first time trying to run a small stall.

When Yao Yuan was in elementary school, she really wanted to open a BBQ restaurant and sit inside grilling and eating. Today, she was somewhat fulfilling an abandoned dream.

Looking closely at the skewered items, the quality was definitely not something that would cost one or two yuan. The price list next to them was exceptionally reasonable.

The seasoning bottles, lined up behind the rose salt, had names she couldn’t pronounce, and she could see tiny crushed herbs inside the clear containers.

She decided to just sprinkle some on, treating it like cumin powder.

“How much are these skewers?” A raspy, sleazy voice suddenly rang out.

Yao Yuan didn’t panic; it was normal for an outdoor stall to have other customers.

She imitated the tone of previous vendors: “Loin is 2 yuan, lamb skewers are 3 yuan each. For the rest, you can check the price list right here.”

“1000 skewers of loin.”

“I’m sorry, we don’t have 1000 skewers…” Yao Yuan looked up, her smile freezing on her face.

These people were definitely here to cause trouble. Not to mention 1000 skewers would literally explode their stomachs if they tried to eat it all, the three or four malicious faces were a dead giveaway that something was wrong.

“Cut the crap, pay the stall fee.” The leader stretched out a dirty hand: “If you can’t pay, leave the stall and get lost!”

This was the ‘white face’ (the reasonable one), while a thug behind him started playing the ‘red face’ (the aggressive one): “Pretty girl, you must be new, don’t know the ropes around here. How about this, you pay a thousand bucks today and recognize us as your big brothers, then make up the rest in a few days.”

She didn’t expect running a stall would bring such trouble… Suddenly, a shadow fell behind her.

“You don’t need this kind of experience, do you?” The tone was both gentle and patient. Yao Yuan could feel the weight of a hand on her shoulder.

“Of course not.” No normal person wants to be extorted when they’re seriously working.

“Hey, why are you spacing out when I’m talking to you?! Did you hear me or not!” Another thug yelled hysterically, punching the cutting board to intimidate her.

A piercing shriek cut through the night sky. Several metal skewers had brutally pierced through his palm. Only the man who was impaled understood how abnormal the pain was.

Black mist permeated the small wound, causing agonizing, heart-wrenching pain.

Half a second later, the other thugs who wanted to mock or help also fell into the same terror—only they could see the guillotine descending heavily in the night sky, blood splattering from the spinal cord—the agony of having one’s neck severed was so real, and the rule forbidding unconsciousness was so cruelly false.

“Ah, ah ah ah ah!!!”

“What’s wrong with them?” Yao Yuan quickly pushed away the hand covering her eyes, utterly confused as she watched the thugs disappear in distorted fashion down the street. They ran away looking more exaggerated than madmen in a TV show.

“Nothing, they’re pitifully timid.” Xingkong casually picked up a skewer and placed it on the iron plate. The aroma spread with the sizzling sound of meat meeting high heat. The metal surface was perfectly clean, without a trace of blood or fragments.

“So many difficult things can happen when running a stall.” Yao Yuan turned around, wanting to talk to Xingkong more, but saw a streak of darkness deep in his eyes.

Was that the lingering echo of annoyance and disdain? An intuition whispered in her ear: No, it wasn’t that deep… it was even lighter than a human squashing an irritating mosquito.

“…Xingkong?”

“Hmm.” The demon raised his eyes, the starlight dispelling the weariness, and interest returned: “Don’t worry, they won’t have a chance to bother anyone again. Ah~” A small piece of chicken was fed into Yao Yuan’s mouth, and the metal skewer crumbled into the void.