A spontaneous, carefree laugh burst from Cixi’s lips, making her shoulders shake. "Stop joking," she managed between giggles. Either she had heard wrong, or Cassian had lost his mind, she mused.

The situation felt ridiculous—he—serving her forever... With that thought, her laughter grew louder, her shoulders shaking as those words played in her mind again and again.

Meanwhile, it was the first time Cassian had ever witnessed Cixi laugh so heartily. In fact, he had never even witnessed her smile during their encounters. During those moments, she had either frowned at him, yelled at him, pouted, or glared in his direction. But this new side of her, the one that laughed so beautifully, was a refreshing wonder.

Her laughter reminded him of the gentle tinkling of a flute.

"I am as Serious as your kissing demand from me."

And Cixi’s laughter died at once when she noticed Cassian was watching her bemusedly, and even when he spoke of serving her, his tone still held a dangerously commanding note, and yet that clearly said he meant every word of it, Cixi pondered silently.

"You complained before that I was not being penalised," Cassian added quickly. "So let me add this, Lousy Kisser." His eyes fell on her rosy lips. "This is me actively punishing myself."

Without wasting another second, Cixi took the pen that rested on top of the document and rapidly wrote his exact verbal promise directly beside the fifth clause.

She would not let such an incredible offer slip away from her. If she was doomed to remain permanently cursed forever because of his one mistake, then the Mafia Devil definitely deserved to officially suffer total subservience as her servant.

She pressed the pen down hard, writing the letters noticeably larger and bolder than the previous ones, making sure they could be read and understood clearly.

Feeling immensely satisfied, Cixi moved on to read the sixth clause, which was entirely blank, to her shock. She looked at Cassian, then back at the stark blank space. "There was nothing written here."

"That was intentionally left blank in case you wished to add something else," he replied confidently, knowing he would compel her into agreeing to his own terms if her addition did not suit him.

Cixi did not need long to think. She knew exactly what she desperately wanted from him. "I completely refused to step in front of any cameras or media with you. I wanted to remain entirely anonymous from the public eye."

It would be wrong to claim that Cassian had begun to intrigue Cixi. No, Cixi, too, had caught him off guard numerous times as well.

The first time had been when he was about to throw away the coffee, and she had stopped him and simply asked him whether she could have it.

Then, when he had generously handed Mark’s sandwich to her, she had not thanked him at all because, in her view, it had only been food that would otherwise have gone into the dustbin.

The second time had been when he entered her apartment, drenched in blood after killing those lowlifes. Her face had turned ashen. She feared him,yes; he had seen it clearly in her face, and yet she had not run away from him. Instead, she had stayed, cleaned the apartment, and then asked him outright whether he had killed those people.

She was definitely bold. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

The third time had been when she walked into his torture chamber in the Casanova building, slapped him, bit his lip, and then lied to his face that she was his fiancée. He couldn’t deny that she had fire inside her.

The fourth time had been when she arrived with a kissing contract. Even after he had spoken of cutting off one of her limbs, she had not fled from him like any sensible woman might have done. Instead, she had wanted to demonstrate how good a kisser she was.

His lips twitched faintly at the memory, as though he were still restraining a smile.

Lousy kisser, he repeated inwardly. Those words brushed through his mind with private amusement.

And today would be the fifth time...

Every woman wanted to be seen with her partner. They wanted the world to know that the handsome man at their side belonged to them, especially when that man possessed money, power, and a name that made people turn their heads. They wanted to flaunt their boyfriend, fiancée, or husband because being chosen by such a man gave them a triumph of their own.

But Cixi was asking him to keep her out of the limelight. Especially after declaring before so many people in Crown’s Hotel that she was his fiancée, she was now asking for the opposite.

"Why was that?" Cassian simply asked. "Why did you not want others to know?"

"Because I do not like too much attention," Cixi answered firmly. "I do not want the media following me everywhere. I want to live freely, without always looking around and wondering which of my actions will catch their attention and then be used against me—and against you. It would make it difficult for me to breathe. " She paused only briefly before continuing. "And also..." she added, "what would people think if, despite having a fiancee, you were still sleeping with other women? Those women would look down on me as if I were not enough for you. And who knows..." Her fingers tightened slightly around the pen. "Other men might start thinking they can sleep with me too. I want to spare both of us that kind of complicated situation."

Cixi spoke every word with such firmness that Cassian knew at once she would not change her mind, no matter how skilfully he turned his words.

Still, something in him tightened unpleasantly when she spoke of other men thinking they could try their luck with her. He would simply pluck their eyes out of their sockets. That thought made him feel better.

"Very well. If that is what you want, I shall not drag you into a spectacle against your will."