"Why didn’t you wait for ? Why? Is five minutes your limit? You think I can’t make it in ti? Would you get impatient? Huh?"
So be it, then, Zhou Luchen thought, remaining silent. He’d never made a habit of waiting for anyone. Had he? Even if he had, it wouldn’t have been for her, Shen Jing. Ten minutes was more than enough ti for him to close a deal worth over a hundred million. He had no interest in wasting it on won. Romance? Only when he was in the mood. He never liked keeping troubleso won around. Compliant, obedient, low-maintenance—those were easier to deal with. They were never like Wenxin.
Shen Jing’s eyes reddened. Tears stread down her face as if they cost nothing, soaking his shirt patch by patch.
Even after getting into the car, she clung to Zhou Luchen, weeping, biting his clothes, and tugging at his buttons, her choked sobs conveying her dissatisfaction.
Zhou Luchen’s expression was calm. "Rember which hand it was?"
Shen Jing’s voice was broken. "The hand... with the wedding ring. It pressed... pressed against my cheongsam until it snagged. It was definitely the hand with the wedding ring."
Zhou Luchen cupped her face in his hands. He could see clearly that this was different from when she cried in bed.
In monts, her tears, wet and warm, coated his fingertips. This annoyed him slightly, and he chided, "Stop crying."
Shen Jing didn’t listen, continuing to vent her emotions and grievances.
"He almost... touched ."
I know, Zhou Luchen thought. I know he almost touched you *there*. This struck at a primal taboo of a man’s possessiveness. She was the woman by his side. What was his, other n couldn’t easily touch.
Zhou Luchen leaned back in his seat and slowly lit a cigarette, one hand firmly gripping her slender waist.
It seed the more brokenly Shen Jing cried, the more pitiful she appeared, the harder Zhou Luchen inhaled from his cigarette. He then leaned down and cruelly exhaled the thickest part of the smoke into her mouth.
Seeing her choke, Zhou Luchen finally looked satisfied, his gaze disdainful. "If that makes you feel better, it saves a lot of trouble."
Clearly, a flicker of deep interest showed in his inscrutable eyes.
The driver focused on driving, this ti raising the privacy partition.
Her crying was so shattering, it tugged at one’s heartstrings, almost making him lose focus on driving. And who knew what the Second Young Master was thinking? Why not just hold her tight and comfort her until she cald down? Who knew what was happening in the backseat now. Couldn’t he just buy a book and learn how to console a girl, that Second Young Master?
「By the ti they reached the hotel.」
Zhou Luchen carried the beauty in his arms into the elevator. Her crying had finally stopped; she was as limp as a drowned kitten in his embrace.
As soon as they entered the room, Zhou Luchen tossed her onto the bed as usual.
Exhausted from crying, she had no energy left to argue with him.
Zhou Luchen tucked her in. "I fucking took care of it for you, so what’s with all the crying?"
Her face pressed against the soft pillow. "But my tear ducts are overactive."
He chuckled softly, a sowhat abstracted look in his eyes as they fell on her. "Don’t cry in front of . I don’t do coddling."
That kind of laugh truly held an extra asure of heartlessness.
He hates girls who cry and make a fuss, doesn’t he? Well, let him hate it. Crying is a natural human instinct, and Shen Jing had no intention of changing that for him.
That night, Zhao Zhiqiang was determined to find out who the distinguished young man that had kicked him was.
He found out it was Zhou Luchen.
But Zhao Zhiqiang’s backer was the boss of Party A from the Ao Area.
The issue escalated, eventually reaching the Zhou Family, and an overseas call reached Zhou Zhengliang’s ears.
"The Second Young Master has a young woman with him. He hit soone because of her."
During that phone call, Zhou Luchen was sitting on the terrace, smoking.
Zhou Zhengliang’s voice grew heavy. "You damn fool! Do you have any idea how many international headlines it would take to expose your philandering even before you get a promotion? Besides won, don’t you have anything better to do? Who are you shaming? As a man, you can’t even maintain basic propriety. What else are you good for?"
Zhou Luchen flicked the ash from his cigarette, his voice exceptionally light, betraying no emotion.
"I do as I please."
From the other end, "Achen!"
"Secure the deal with Party A. Everything else ends here. I’ll clean up your ss," Zhou Zhengliang said.
A lazy smile still played on Zhou Luchen’s lips. "What did I do wrong?"
Zhou Zhengliang retorted, "You laid a hand on soone from Yi Lian—an employee of one of my closest friends! I’m your father. If you don’t listen to , who will you listen to?"
With the cigarette still in his mouth, Zhou Luchen said, "Zhou Zhengliang, don’t try that ’family ties’ crap on ."
That tactic was useless on Zhou Luchen.
Coming out of the shower, Shen Jing had clearly registered Young Master Zhou’s flippant attitude.
So that was it. He trusted her. And, as it turned out, he hated Zhao Zhiqiang too.
There were no surveillance caras. Without them, it would be hard to handle. Retaliating in kind was indeed wrong, an immoral act. No one had any evidence, so what could they prove anyway? In places like that, if you could avoid installing caras, you did. Those shrewd bastards—who among them would install a cara to monitor their own dealings?
Lost in thought, Shen Jing subconsciously glanced up at Zhou Luchen.
She wondered what he would do. Even his own father didn’t trust him.
Zhou Luchen tossed his phone aside, his gaze landing lightly on Shen Jing. "Co here."
Shen Jing turned her head away, but Zhou Luchen reached out, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her back.
"Throwing a tantrum now?"
Shen Jing averted her face. "No. I just don’t want to disturb you."
But she was clearly still angry.
Shen Jing looked at the fading neon lights outside. Dawn was breaking. "I’m tired. I’m going to sleep."
Zhou Luchen pulled her back onto his lap. "Can you stop making a scene?"
Shen Jing sighed. "If it’s too much trouble, then just drop it. There are no caras anyway."
Zhou Luchen’s fingers pinched her stubborn chin. His voice was very low, his breath fanning her neck. "Coercion."
「The early autumn sun rose. A private villa.」
Chen Yao sat casually on the owner’s sofa, unwrapping a newly arrived cigar.
Young Master Zhou had no appreciation for the finer things, stubbornly refusing to smoke cigars.
Chen Yao slowly toasted the foot of the cigar until it glowed an even red before placing it in his mouth.
Lighting a cigar is different from lighting a cigarette. It must be toasted slowly to bring out the flavor.
Zhao Zhiqiang sat opposite Chen Yao, having anticipated his arrival.
A young master was still a young master. Their fathers, the ones pulling the strings from behind, held the real power. Since their elders hadn’t intervened, Zhao Zhiqiang had cald down sowhat. They had no evidence, none at all. Who saw him, Zhao Zhiqiang, try to take liberties with that woman for his amusent?
Chen Yao got straight to the point. "Go turn yourself in."
Zhao Zhiqiang was startled. "What?"
"Let repeat myself," Chen Yao said patiently. "Go. Turn yourself in."
For now, Chen Yao was still speaking calmly.
Young Master Zhou had instructed against physical altercations, deeming it improper.
They should sit down like civilized people and discuss things properly. Anyone could put on an act; they just disdained playing such gas.
Zhao Zhiqiang chuckled. "We’re always happy to have you visit, and we’ll always offer our best hospitality. But Young Master Chen, let’s not be rash, alright?"
Chen Yao said seriously, "You sexually harassed Miss Shen Jing."
Rash? Who did he think he was kidding? He was just quietly toasting his cigar; it didn’t an he lacked a temper. In fact, his temper was even more explosive than Zhou Luchen’s. But at this mont, Chen Yao was indeed the picture of politeness and refinent.
Reviews
All reviews (0)