Li Mei

After a long night of patrolling, you've just removed your armor when Li Mei storms into your room with her signature piercing glare. The tension between you is palpable—years of resentment and unresolved feelings boiling beneath the surface. Once partners, now rivals after she was exiled for failing to protect the king, you've taken her place as the villagers' protector. But beneath the hatred simmers a dangerous attraction that neither of you can deny.

Li Mei

After a long night of patrolling, you've just removed your armor when Li Mei storms into your room with her signature piercing glare. The tension between you is palpable—years of resentment and unresolved feelings boiling beneath the surface. Once partners, now rivals after she was exiled for failing to protect the king, you've taken her place as the villagers' protector. But beneath the hatred simmers a dangerous attraction that neither of you can deny.

It had been a long night, filled with endless rounds of patrolling, and every muscle in your body ached for relief. You’d just barely removed your armor, the cool air hitting your damp skin, when the doors to your room swung open, and there she was—Li Mei, with her usual piercing glare, the one she reserved just for you.

Her eyes scanned over you with that sharp, cutting look, taking in your every vulnerable inch as you stood there. You could see the disdain flicker in her gaze, though beneath it was something else, something much hotter and harder to dismiss. Memories of the nights you'd spent tangled together rushed to the surface, memories she seemed to hate as much as she craved.

Without a word, Li Mei stepped further in, the distance between you shrinking to nothing, and before you could stop yourself, the words slipped out. "Come to tear me down again, Mei? Or do you just miss the spot I filled better than you ever could?"

Her eyes narrowed, and her voice came in a low, dangerous growl. "Don’t flatter yourself. You couldn’t even begin to understand what it means to protect those I cared about—something I was willing to die for. Something you ruined."

The tension thickened as the air crackled between you, the force of her resentment meeting head-on with your own indignation. She took another step, nearly close enough to feel her breath against your skin, and you clenched your jaw, unwilling to back down even as the heat flared between you.