Smells Good...

For a brief moment that stretched like forever, only an utterly terrifying silence remained.

Jin Jiuchi sensed the jade doll growing tense, eyes sharp in alert and vigilance as if preparing to attack should the paper dolls make a move. They pressed their little hand on Jin Jiuchi's mouth harder, preventing him from making the slightest sounds. Both of them had stopped breathing altogether – although for very different reasons.

Jin Jiuchi felt the weight of the paper dolls' stare like a cold and sticky sensation running across his skin, and he had to resist a shudder. He would have laughed out loud had his mouth not been blocked. Those gazes were awfully similar to the one he had sensed when he entered the apartment earlier; weaker, but still unpleasant nonetheless.

It's been so long since something evoked such an unpleasant feeling in him. To think that he would encounter it again here…

The paper dolls were still staring at the window, not showing any signs of moving. Jin Jiuchi was certain that he could hold this position for the rest of the night without moving, but… there was a problem. A very, very big and grave problem he had to address at once.

He was quickly losing his breath.

Even if his lung capacity was greater than average, it was simply impossible for him to hold his breath for so long! His fingers twitched as he patted Nian on the back, drawing a surprised jolt from the other.

However, Jin Jiuchi could not care less about the jade doll's anger because he was soon dizzy from the lack of oxygen. He wanted to breathe so badly… but he did not want to take in that disgusting stench for the second time! The only option was to move further into the room in hope of taking in a lungful of fresh air, but all of a sudden, the little jade doll in his arms became a heavy and unmovable boulder, not allowing him to budge even an inch.

'I can't bear it anymore…!' Jin Jiuchi tried to convey his desperation as he looked into Nian's furious purple eyes. 'I am really not trying to make trouble this time!' A sharp pain seared through his chest. His ears were ringing with white noises and his head felt like it was going to explode in any second.

Nian must have seen something in Jin Jiuchi's eyes for the rage in their features quickly faded to be replaced with slight hesitation. However, they still did not dare to take their hand off in fear that it would be another trick Jin Jiuchi was playing.

Just as Jin Jiuchi was going to pass out, he suddenly heard a bloodcurdling screech coming from a far distance, echoing all around the atrium. It did not sound humane and if he had to be honest, more like the chaotic shriek of a group of chickens flocking together.

No matter what it was, it had successfully diverted the paper dolls' attention away and they soon continued their journey down the dark corridor, the upbeat music restarting yet again.

Jin Jiuchi's knees abruptly gave up beneath him and he collapsed to the floor together with Nian, gasping desperately for air. The repulsive stench still lingered on the tip of his nose but now that the paper dolls had left, Jin Jiuchi began to take in another scent that was subdued under the overpowering odor. It was a waft of cold and mild fragrance, slightly sweet and sugary… coming from the jade doll in his arms.

"What happened to—ah!" Nian opened their mouth to ask about Jin Jiuchi's sudden turn of condition, only to end in a surprised cry when they were abruptly yanked into a crushing embrace.

In a fit of madness, Jin Jiuchi pulled the jade doll to him and buried his nose into the crook of their neck, ravenously gulping in the scent that was nothing but heavenly compared to the paper dolls'. His broad frame was still shaking from the rush of adrenaline, heart thundering fast and loud inside his ribcage. He tightened his grip around the jade doll when he sensed them squirming in protest.

"Just… Just a moment…" he gasped, still unable to catch his breath. He chuckled breathlessly, "Bad Nian'er… you almost killed me, you know?"

He had read somewhere that humans could not die from suffocation due to holding their own breath because no matter what, their innate self-preservation would kick in at the last moment to ensure their survival, causing them to release their breath. However, Jin Jiuchi almost proved them wrong. Just now, if the paper dolls had not gone away, he was sure that he would have died from suffocation. He swore he could already see a silver-haired and purple-eyed angel coming to reap his life. He was very close to dying because of a stupid reason… and it was all Nian's fault for trapping him against the window!

Nian sounded utterly incredulous when they demanded, "How did it become my fault? It's clearly you who almost got us killed! Let me go, you pervert!!" They began to thrash around wildly in Jin Jiuchi's arms.

Laughing hoarsely, Jin Jiuchi rubbed his face roughly on the crook of Nian's neck like a large animal leaving its scent. "It's your fault… so you must make it up for me…"

"You're insane!" Nian became even angrier when they heard this. Alas, Jin Jiuchi's arms were akin to two thick steels around their body, ensnaring them in an overly warm embrace just like how they had pinned him against the window earlier.

"Hmm…" Jin Jiuchi took in another inhale of Nian's scent and felt himself liking it more and more. It soothed him like nothing before. He was almost dazed when he commented, "You didn't smell like a child at all…" Not realizing that Nian's body had gone perfectly still, he continued to murmur under his breath, "Smells good… Nian'er, how can you smell so good? I like it so much."

Jin Jiuchi heard the jade doll's pulse jump beside his ear at the same time they gritted out, "Stop calling me that!"

"Hmm?" Without the risk of dying of suffocation, Jin Jiuchi quickly regained his bearing and lifted his head from Nian's neck, not without reluctance. "Then how am I supposed to call you? By the way…" he grinned when he saw that Nian's fair cheeks were suffused with a tint of crimson. "I thought that you're a girl, but it turns out you're a boy all along, huh?"

Taken aback, Nian blurted out, "How do you know?!"

Again, Jin Jiuchi leaned in to sniff their – ah no, it should be his – neck, more properly this time. This time, Nian did not push him away, presumably too shocked that Jin Jiuchi could see through his disguise. "Do you know that you can discern a lot of things based on someone's scent alone? For example you…" he had to stifle a chuckle when he sensed the jade doll's thundering pulse beneath his skin. "You don't smell like a child at all. You're a boy but there's a sweet scent clinging on you. Do you own a lot of flowers in your house, perhaps?" He leaned in a bit further to take in more of the enthralling scent. "There's also another… something dark and wicked…"

Nian abruptly pushed him away and covered his own neck with his silver hair, glaring viciously at Jin Jiuchi as if wishing to chop him into pieces. "Stop doing that!"

"What? Don't believe me?" Jin Jiuchi jutted out his bottom lip into a pout of dissatisfaction. Nian must have thought that he was lying. Otherwise, why else would he be glaring so hard? "Then let me give you another example. Let's see…" he racked his brain to recall what the other five people smelled like and his eyes lit up when he recalled a particularly strong odor on a certain someone.

"Aha! That woman who told us to call her Sister Hong, do you know what she smells like?"

Skeptical yet unable to hold back his curiosity, the jade doll asked with narrowed eyes. "...What?"

Jin Jiuchi gave a wide grin upon seeing that he had managed to hook Nian in. He leaned forward and whispered in a mysterious way. "She smells of men."

When he saw the jade doll blanking out, Jin Jiuchi chuckle and elaborated in a deep and mirthful voice, "The viscous liquid men discharge from their sexual organ when they're fucking… the so-called sperm… she reeks of them. And it doesn't come only from one person alone. Do you know how hard it is to keep my face straight when she's practically walking around wearing that unpleasant odor like a trophy?"

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A/N: New book event is on!

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