After the rain, the sky was brilliantly clear.
The first rays of morning sunlight carried a cool freshness as they streamed through the window into the second-floor lounge, falling across Shen Nanyue’s jade-white face.
The bright light disturbed her sleep.
Mumbling softly, Shen Nanyue pulled the blanket over her face and burrowed deeper beneath the covers to continue sleeping.
The bathroom door opened.
With only the lower half of his body wrapped in a bathrobe, Zhou Yushen walked back into the room while drying his hair.
Droplets of water slid down the defined lines of his muscles.
As he stepped from shadow into light, his refined features emerged clearly within the shifting glow.
Seeing the blanket lumped into a small mound, a faint smile touched his lips.
A knock sounded at the door.
He turned to open it.
Assistant Zhao Xuan stood outside, handing over two bags containing clothes.
His gaze landed on the ambiguous marks visible on Zhou Yushen’s body, and he teased with a grin, “President Zhou, if the old master asks about this, should I answer truthfully?”
Zhou Yushen accepted the bags and cast him a calm glance.
Just that single look made Zhao Xuan’s heart tremble.
Flustered, he mimed zipping his lips shut. “Don’t worry, President Zhou! Until you give the order, I’ll keep my mouth sealed tight! Absolutely no unnecessary words!”
Ignoring him afterward, Zhou Yushen closed the door amid Zhao Xuan’s endless promises.
Zhao Xuan rubbed his nose awkwardly before turning and leaving.
Back in the room, Zhou Yushen changed clothes.
Seeing no movement from the bed, he sat down by the sofa, took out his phone, and began handling some simple work matters.
As the sun climbed higher, a bird swooped past outside and suddenly crashed into the glass window with a loud thud.
The abrupt sound drew Zhou Yushen’s attention.
The bird landed briefly on the windowsill, shook its head and wings, then flapped away again.
At last, movement came from the bed.
Shen Nanyue lifted the blanket and turned her head just in time to see the bird flying farther into the distance.
The space beside her on the bed had long since lost its warmth.
Her hand unconsciously grabbed at the nearby sheets before she blinked a few times and slowly sat up.
The moment she did, she met Zhou Yushen’s dark eyes from where he sat on the sofa nearby.
“You didn’t leave?”
Shen Nanyue sounded slightly surprised as she asked instinctively.
Zhou Yushen calmly set down his phone, one brow lifting slightly.
“You wanted me to leave? Sleep with me and refuse to take responsibility afterward?”
“I was just casually asking.”
Shen Nanyue scratched at her seaweed-like messy hair, avoiding Zhou Yushen’s heated gaze.
Her eyes swept around the room, searching for her clothes.
Only to realize they were gone.
Frowning, she looked toward Zhou Yushen. “Where are my clothes?”
Only then did Zhou Yushen stand up with the clothing bag in hand and walk over to the bed, handing it to her.
“Your clothes were thrown away. Wear these instead.”
Thrown away?
Still groggy, Shen Nanyue vaguely recalled how intense the night before had been.
Her clothes had apparently been torn to pieces.
Silently, she accepted the clothes Zhou Yushen handed her while complaining inwardly.
She had been wearing sportswear yesterday—high-quality sportswear at that.
After washing up, the two of them went out together to find something to eat.
Shen Nanyue used to be a regular at the club.
She just hadn’t visited during the past three years.
Most of the longtime employees still recognized her.
When she entered the restaurant area, one of the waitress girls greeted her warmly.
“Sister Yueyue, the boss drank too much last night and still hasn’t gotten up yet.”
Shen Nanyue nodded. “It’s fine. I’ll head back after breakfast.”
The waitress’s gaze moved back and forth between her and Zhou Yushen before she gave them a knowing smile and ran off.
Shen Nanyue looked puzzled.
Following the waitress’s gaze, she reached up and touched her neck.
“I didn’t cover it properly?”
She had clearly used concealer over the marks on her neck.
Zhou Yushen let out a soft laugh and leaned closer, lightly tapping behind her ear with his fingertip.
“Here. You missed this spot.”
His slightly cool fingertips brushed faintly against her skin, making her shiver instantly.
She immediately pulled out her phone and used it as a mirror.
“You saw it earlier—why didn’t you remind me?”
She couldn’t help sounding slightly reproachful.
The soft muttering from her lips carried an unconscious trace of coquettishness, entirely different from her usual sharp attitude.
Seeing herself in the phone, she frowned before helplessly letting down her long hair to cover the marks near her ear.
Zhou Yushen chuckled softly, resting his chin on one hand.
Elegant music drifted through the restaurant.
Beneath the warm lighting, his sculpted handsome features looked lazy and relaxed.
He lifted his eyes toward her, amusement faintly lingering within them.
“So… were you satisfied last night?”
While adjusting her hair, Shen Nanyue looked up at him.
Maybe it was her imagination, but Zhou Yushen seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood today.
“It was alright, I guess. Pretty average.”
She answered casually, saying something entirely against her true feelings.
There wasn’t the slightest trace of embarrassment on her face.
Zhou Yushen paused briefly.
The smile on his face remained, though he sighed softly.
“Alright then. I’ll keep practicing and try to satisfy Miss Shen as soon as possible.”
Now it was Shen Nanyue’s turn to look at him strangely.
“I’m just giving you a chance to get ahead. If I’m satisfied, maybe I’ll agree to your proposal.”
Her own words from the previous night suddenly echoed in her ears.
She immediately felt somewhat awkward.
Although she was undeniably attracted to Zhou Yushen’s body, what she’d said last night had really just been to use him as a convenient solution in the moment.
He couldn’t possibly think there would be many more “opportunities” like this in the future, could he?
“You’re not going to take back what you said last night, are you?”
While spreading jam onto toast, Zhou Yushen asked the question casually, instantly forcing Shen Nanyue to swallow back the words she had been about to say.
After coating the toast generously with jam, Zhou Yushen handed it to her and smiled lightly.
“I believe Nanyue isn’t the kind of person who throws someone away after using them.”
His tone was gentle, and the warm smile on his handsome face softened his entire presence to the point that it was hard to look away.
Shen Nanyue’s heart skipped a beat.
Pressing her lips together, she accepted the toast Zhou Yushen handed her.
Taking a small bite, the cool fruity sweetness filled her mouth, strangely soothing the restlessness in her heart.
She didn’t answer him, but Zhou Yushen didn’t seem to mind.
Elegantly, he picked up his utensils and continued eating breakfast.
Shen Nanyue sighed inwardly.
Thinking about it now, she really had been the one who initiated things with Zhou Yushen.
Both times, she had practically forced herself on him first.
No matter how she calculated it, she definitely wasn’t the one at a disadvantage.
She couldn’t exactly take advantage of him and then kick him aside afterward, could she?
Her thoughts drifted to Zhou Yushen’s marriage proposal.
Maybe keeping him hanging like this would only make him sink deeper and deeper.
“Shen Nanyue!”
Just as she was about to speak to Zhou Yushen, an angry roar suddenly came from nearby.
Turning her head, she saw Zhu Yuan running toward them wearing a doll-collar nightdress, her hair loose, flip-flops slapping against the floor.
There weren’t many people in the restaurant, but the scattered gazes present all focused on their table.
“Do you have no shame coming out dressed like that?”
Seeing Zhu Yuan approach, Shen Nanyue disgustedly shifted farther inward in her seat to distance herself from her.
Fury covered Zhu Yuan’s face as she pointed at Shen Nanyue, seemingly ready to start yelling—
But the moment her peripheral vision caught Zhou Yushen beside her, her eyes lit up instantly.
“Y-you’re that handsome guy we met at the bar before?”
“Hello, my name is Zhou Yushen.”
Zhou Yushen calmly nodded toward Zhu Yuan, polite and gentlemanly as ever.
“Hello, I’m Zhu Yuan, Shen Nanyue’s friend.”
Zhu Yuan immediately dropped the aggressive attitude.
Smiling brightly, she sat down beside Shen Nanyue while openly sizing Zhou Yushen up from head to toe.
Zhou Yushen didn’t seem annoyed in the slightest and simply let her look.
Meanwhile, Shen Nanyue smacked Zhu Yuan hard once.
“What are you staring at him for?”
— The end of the Chapter–
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