The birds chirping outside the window woke the person up lying in bed.

For a moment, Xiao Lin didn't understand where was he and what happened. He took a moment to sort out his thoughts.

Pain shot thorough the bitten spot as he got up. Disgruntled, he placed a hand lightly on the swollen spot.

Spotting the mirror on the other side of a room, he walked over. Moving the robe aside, he looked at the injury. Teeth marks. It was swollen red.

Damn that beast! I should disinfect it asap. What if I get an infection!

He was infuriated when he remembered his first kiss was stolen by a an unknown person. A man at that, dammit!

Suddenly, blood drained from his pretty face. He hurriedly looked at his body, finding his clothes in its original condition, and not feeling pain in any other part of his body; he released a sigh of relief.

That means nothing happened when I fainted, right?! If it was discovered that I'm a male... But why did I faint?

His memories weren't all clear so he gave up on thinking too hard.

Knock! knock!

The door opened after being knocked twice, revealing a young boy Xiao Lin met yesterday.

"Ah, Lady Xiao Lin, you're awake. Please get ready, Madam Mu has asked for your presence."

"Ah, yes."

Shouldn't you be offering me breakfast first, boy!

"What's your name?" Xiao Lin asked After a pause.

"It's Su Ming, my Lady."

***

A week had passed.

Xiao Lin started to work as a dancer at Red Tulip. At least, the initial bad luck of meeting those two Lords brought something good as Fu Liwei praised him in front of madam Mu which made the further process easier.

He had to work four days a week; other days there would be performances by others.

Madam Mu also gave him the reward money from Fu Liwei which Xiao Lin immediately sent to his sister accompanied by his letter.

Time went by and few more weeks passed. And Xiao Lin's popularity rose. Madam Mu was quite happy as there were more regular customers on Xiao Lin's performances. Most just came to watch performance, drink wine and relax.

Since it was a brothel, quite a few wanted to taste this new flower. Xiao Lin already talked to Madam Mu beforehand that he would only and only work as a dancer or leave. So, he got popular by the title 'untouchable flower'.

He always veiled half of his face during dance performances and slipped right away after they ended as he didn't want to attract much attention or want people to recognize him when he roamed the city in his undisguised self.

Learning from his first experience, he remained cautious and refused every request of serving - whether wine or not - from anyone no matter how much money they offered. Better safe than sorry. He felt these rich noblemen were much troublesome and dangerous than normal people.

Seated at one of the table, alone, while sipping wine, a handsome man gazed at the beautiful dancing figure on a stage. Since the first time he saw, he couldn't take his eyes off and now he came every day Xiao Lin's had performance on.

Of course, Xiao Lin had also noticed this man's stalking behavior and his unsettling gaze.

Done with the performance, Xiao Lin immediately called Su Ming over.

"Su Ming who is that man sitting in the left corner table, wearing light blue robe?"

Su Ming glanced over. "That, my lady, is lord Kang Heng. Your lady is new in the capital, so probably don't know. Kang family is one of the strongest family in Rong Empire because they are rich, contributed in war and have connections with the Royal family "

"What connections?" Xiao Lin asked while walking through the corridor to tearoom.

"Lord Kang's elder sister is His Majesty's imperial concubine." Looking around his surroundings, Su Ming continued in low voice. "My lady, you should be careful of him. I've also noticed his frequent presence at your lady's performances. He is a dangerous man. Popular in using underhanded means."

Xiao Lin nodded. His gut feeling also told him to stay away from him.

Just as they turned a corner, Xiao Lin's path was intercepted by some man. Looking up, he recognized this cold face. This man was the one standing behind that man called Kang; he's probably his attendant or servant something.

"Lady Xiao Lin, I apologize for blocking your path. My Lord, Kang Heng, has invited you to have tea with him. On his order, I'm here to escort you to the room."

"Your lord probably doesn't know but I don-"

"My lord doesn't like hearing 'no'. If I were you, I would think of consequences before refusing. I advise your lady to make a wise decision."

You dare threaten me, Mr.! Ahhh! Xiao Lin shouted internally but on the outside kept a blank face.

Feeling the tension in the air, Su Ming quickly moved closer to whisper. "Lady, please go. It's just a tea. I'll be standing outside the door. Call me quickly if anything goes wrong."

Xiao Lin looked at Su Ming skeptically. What a skinny boy like you can do!

Turning to look at the stone-cold face man in front, Xiao Lin reluctantly acquiesced. "Let's go."