The hum of the SUV's engine was the only sound filling the cabin, a low vibration that felt like a purr of a massive beast. I sat huddled in the corner of the passenger seat—a seat so wide that I felt like a grain of rice on a dinner plate. My feet dangled far above the floor mats, and the seatbelt was more of a harness, threatening to swallow my neck if I moved too much.
Next to me, Su Qian drove with a terrifying calmness. Her long, elegant fingers tapped rhythmically on the steering wheel, and her knees were so high they nearly touched the dashboard.
"We're here," she said, her voice cutting through my panic.
She didn't wait for me to figure out the door handle. She walked around the car, opened my door, and before I could even blink, her arms were around my waist. She lifted me out as if I weighed nothing more than a bag of groceries.
"I can walk by myself!" I squeaked, my face flushing a deep crimson.
"The floor in this parking lot is dirty, and your clothes are already a mess," she replied flatly. She didn't let go. Instead, she tucked me under her arm like a decorative pillow.
The elevator ride was a blur of chrome and my own reflection looking pathetic in her grasp. When the doors opened to her penthouse, my jaw hit the floor.
Everything was... titanic.
The ceiling was at least five meters high. The sofa in the living room looked like a sprawling landscape of white leather, and the coffee table was at the level of my chest. Su Qian set me down on the kitchen counter—a surface so high up that looking down made my head swim.
"Stay there. Don't fall off," she commanded, turning her back to open a refrigerator that was the size of a small shed.
I sat there, my tail twitching nervously. "Why did you bring me here? I'm not... I'm not a kid. I'm Li Yuan, and I'm twenty-five!"
Su Qian paused, a carton of milk in her hand. She turned around, leaning her hip against the counter. The way she loomed over me, even while I was sitting on the counter, was suffocating. She reached out, her thumb brushing against my pointed ear.
"Twenty-five?" A small, predatory smirk played on her lips. "In this world, Li Yuan, a man of your size is a 'treasure' that needs to be locked away for his own safety. Especially a... unique one like you."
Her eyes drifted to my small wings. "Do you even know what happens to 'little things' like you out there alone at night? The women in this city aren't as patient as I am."
She poured a glass of milk and pushed it toward me. The glass was the size of a pitcher in my hands.
"Drink. Then we'll talk about your 'repayment' for me saving your life."
My heart hammered against my ribs. Repayment? As a Succubus, I knew exactly what that word usually meant, but looking at this two-meter-tall woman who could probably crush me with one hand, I wasn't sure if I should be excited or absolutely terrified.