After a couple of seconds of silence, Kaze looked to the pool and then back at Evalyn. "Do you like the flamingos? I thought they were a nice touch."
"No, I don't like the fucking flamingos." Evalyn replied in exasperation.
"Hoh? You look at them a lot." He chuckled, "It's okay to like them. Everyone else does too."
The women in the hot tub giggled at his words, blushing slightly, trying to capture his attention.
Each looked like a love-struck kitten willing to do [anything] for him without a second word.
"I see…." Evalyn chuckled under her breath, "Compared to normal women, I wasn't doing that bad."
"Hmmm? What was that?" Kaze asked with a charming smile.
"Nothing." She scoffed. Then she looked at him, and she realized something horrifying—
"You seem to have sought me out." He remarked with a magnetic voice, "Is there something you need?"
—she couldn't talk about the issue publicly!
Evalyn looked down at his chest and then back into his eyes, discreetly communicating her intentions.
"You needn't work so hard to examine my body." Kaze asserted with a charming smile, "You can join us in the hot tub. Surely everyone will make room for the great Evalyn [Skye].
It is your name on the faction, after all."
All the women in the hot tub stared at her as if noticing her for the first time. Some immediately trembled, realizing that they mocked a founder of the faction with snide giggles!
Kaze looked down at the women. "There's no reason not to giggle. She's a remarkable college girl with an enchanting appearance—"
Evalyn blushed slightly, throwing her off.
"—surely you don't think I'd partner with a woman if she'd eat our members." He chuckled, bending his fingers in a claws gesture.
Everyone burst into giggles except Evalyn, who was bewildered beyond comparison.
She finally confirmed it.
Kaze's infuriating arrogance and actions cut through any emotion like a hot blade—even trauma.
That wasn't a good thing.
Flashbacks of the apocalypse preparation flashed through her mind when she realized that.
He had the same charming, carefree expression, flirting with his teacher and sleeping with women as if there wasn't a care in the world.
Yet he was acutely aware of what would happen in twenty-two days.
No. Things would get far worse, and he knew that, yet he was throwing a decadent party while people suffered—while she suffered.
Evalyn didn't resent or blame him for her woes; that wasn't the problem!
It wasn't personal; it was global. Somewhere amid the Meridian City hellscape was a eutopia housing ignorant men and women partying without a care in the world.
The idea itself was deplorable; heinous even.
Despite that, she couldn't hate him because she was staring at proof that Kaze Lexicon was a naturally absurd individual.
He was corroding from the inside out with a wound that would kill him in an unknown, horrifying way. Yet he was relaxing with two women in his arms with ten in reserve.
Evalyn snapped out of her mental labyrinth when water splashed her face. Her eyes immediately filled with murderous intent, and she locked eyes with the emperor.
"You look stressed; that's what hot tubs are for." Kaze smiled playfully, "There's no reason to squander that beautiful face with a scowl."
She chuckled and rolled her eyes. "Classic; men telling women to smile. After all your years, even you're not exempt."
"Ah, yes. The classic [he told me to smile; it's proof of the patriarchy] argument." He laugh-scoffed arrogantly.
"Unlike women, men are typically hideous, poorly dressed, despicable creatures.
If a smile were all it took for people to look past our reprehensible nature, we'd get told to smile too."
All the women in the hot tub burst into giggles.
The laughter layered Evalyn's eyes with humiliation. Despite her adept social skills and business training, she couldn't contradict a thing the man said!
"Come now, don't you want to meet your faction members?" Kaze mused, flicking the water around playfully.
Evalyn blinked twice with exasperation. She couldn't remember why she even showed up or what she planned to do.
All she knew was that she planned to lay into him, yet somehow ended up in a position she wanted to escape from but couldn't without looking unsultry!
She was in a vice grip; she didn't have a publicly available reason to sass him, so anything she said to the man would result in a negative impression.
Kaze rolled his eyes and lifted his hand. Water from the hot tub swirled in a water spout; it moved to the top of his hand and congealed into a water sphere.
"Kaze, I swear to god. If you—"
A hot ball of water crashed into the blonde's face, immediately drenching her blonde layered bob cut. Thankfully she was wearing a thick white t-shirt, or it would have exposed her pink bra.
That would result in Kaze's instant murder. He knew as much, so he acted with common sense.
"Seriously?" Evalyn asked in a dry, exasperated voice, looking at his grinning face and everyone's shocked expressions.
"What?" Kaze grinned widely, "You're seeking a justification to be furious with me yet lack one, yes? So I've just helped you out."
The awkward silence shattered as the women burst into involuntary giggles.
Evalyn closed her eyes to calm her raging heart. "You're unbelievable."
"And so is your cultivation progress." He quipped.
She snapped her eyes open and found her skin free of frost. The emperor's compliment made her blush and made things worse somehow.
Evalyn closed her eyes and took a deep breath again. "Can I leave?"
"Hoh? You just got here!" Kaze argued with a charming voice.
"Please." She asked awkwardly, triggering another round of giggles.
The faction members pitied the poor woman because they knew they'd be in the same place.
However, they were inspired by her bold approach, asking permission seriously to drive in the lose-lose situation she was in.
Somehow she managed to find a way out of the situation with her reputation intact, something no one else was confident they could manage.
It was deceptively meek yet strangely bold, confident, and charming.
"It's a shame, but yes." Kaze smiled, "Come find me tomorrow, and you can decry my irresponsible actions and scandalous behavior in private."
Evalyn opened her eyes smoothly and looked into the playboy's eyes. She could see a glint of seriousness behind them; it was all she needed to be satisfied.
"Goodbye, everyone." She said to the women in the hot tub, "Our next meeting will be far more pleasant. This asshole's throwing a surprise rager when [I'm] the one who needs to clean it."
Kaze frowned at her blatant lie but chucked when she walked away. She was following his directive to pretend nothing was wrong; that was what mattered.
Evalyn strode out of the room with a blank mind, unsure of what had just happened. While she wasn't pleased, she was partially grateful.
Somehow she was free of worry or pain for the first time in three days, if only for a few minutes.
Unwilling to squander it, she grabbed a red plastic cup, filled it from one of the dozens of kegs lying around, and walked back to the cultivation haven.
The emperor watched her carefree state with a gentle smile before turning back to the women in the hot tub. "Hoh? Where were we? Oh, yes. As I was saying, you're all gorgeous."
All the women in the hot tub blushed and burst into giggles, staring at his charming, confident smile.
"I thought Mr. Skye was the reason behind the name. Is that not true?" A cute brunette with straight hair and a sexy black bikini asked.
"No-pe." Kaze smacked, "That woman is half the reason this absurdly lavish faction exists. Her uncle is only involved because he's her uncle; thankfully, he's surprisingly competent and his resourcefulness is astounding."
Everyone's eyes widened in surprise.
"Is… she your girlfriend?" The same brunette asked.
Kaze smiled mockingly and then looked at the two women in his arms. "Do you think me a person that would put a woman's name on a faction and deface her person before its members, Riley?"
Riley blushed bright red to the tip of her ears. "I…."
"You needn't answer that question." He chuckled, lifting his hand playfully, "I'm [clearly] not the most virtuous man. However, I am respectable enough to treat women the way they [wish to be treated]."
Kaze slightly narrowed his eyes at Riley in a predatory expression. It sent a ripple of passion and thrill pulsing through her, making her desire him.
While the other women giggled, she made eye contact, silently pleading, hoping she was the person he'd choose.
Something told her she was the person he'd choose—the first, anyway.
After chatting with the group of women in the hot tub for a bit, he whispered something into the woman in his left arm's ear.
The blonde blushed, stood up, and then walked out of the hot tub and across the room.
"Riley, I have a question to ask you, but I'm afraid it may be a bit embarrassing to speak aloud. Would you mind stretching your legs with me?" Kaze asked with a charming smile.
She immediately blushed and then scanned the resentful faces of the women in the hot tub, especially the woman in the emperor's right arm moments before. "Y-Yes, of course."
"Excellent. Come find me later if you want to continue sharing this lovely evening, ladies." Kaze requested with a charming, predatory smile.
While such a statement would usually indicate rejection, his eye contact suggested that he was sleeping with the two women, and he'd oblige anyone else as well.
It was a stunning, bold declaration that was as raw as it was shameless. Yet—
Every woman in the hot tub gave him wry smiles that they had to work hard to maintain.
The idea that they'd wait in line for Kaze to sleep with them as if he was an amusement park ride was perverse, indelicate, and made them feel like clout-chasing groupies.
Yet not a single one was unwilling; they just didn't want to voice their consent.
By the time someone was ready to speak, Kaze had already started walking, waving his hand from behind. "It's an inspired action not an answer, ladies. Hope to see you later."
The women in the hot tub look at each other to validate their thoughts, each seeing everyone else's input. When they saw nine other women with the same face, they burst into giggles.
"I call dibs." The woman who was on his arm but left out giggled.
"You're shameless." Another scoffed in disbelief.
"I'll remember what you said after you get in line." She replied.
Everyone burst into awkward, bewildered giggles when they saw the scoffing woman turn away in shame.
They knew they couldn't say anything contrary without being mocked for being hypocrites later.
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