Remembering how he had taken her savagely in bed, heedless of whether she could take it, Wen Yining felt her limbs begin to tremble despite herself.
She raised a hand and clutched his shirt. “Could we wait a few days…? I’m not feeling well…”
“What’s wrong?”
Pei Xiao reached for her, wanting to check for himself. “Are you swollen?”
“…”
Wen Yining pushed his hand away. Her face flushed uncontrollably, and she gave a soft “Mm.”
Pei Xiao noticed her trembling fingers and frowned. “Wen Yining, are you afraid of me?”
“…”
He even knew her name?
When it dawned on her, Wen Yining quickly shook her head.
Not afraid? Yeah, right.
He’d killed so many people on the ship without even blinking. Didn’t he ever have nightmares?
Pei Xiao pinched her chin between his fingers, stopping her from shaking her head and forcing her to look up at him. “As long as you behave, I can give you anything you want—except your freedom.”
“…”
Hah.
Was he going to give her his life, too?
Wen Yining suppressed the urge to slap his hand away. Looking into his dark eyes, she gave him a perfunctory reply.
She couldn’t provoke him. If she did, her chances of escaping would be even slimmer.
Hearing her agree, Pei Xiao released her chin and ran a hand over the top of her head, as if petting an animal.
“Come here. I’ll put some medicine on it.”
With that, he strode toward the master bedroom.
Wen Yining stood rooted to the spot. “I-I can do it myself.”
“…”
Pei Xiao turned around and frowned at her. “Is there anywhere on your body, inside or out, that I haven’t seen?”
“…”
His shameless remark left Wen Yining staring at him, eyes wide.
When she still didn’t move, impatience crept across Pei Xiao’s face. “Don’t make me say it twice.”
“…”
Fine. She was going to escape anyway. Wen Yining lowered her head and walked over to him.
She would escape. She absolutely would.
…
On the first floor of the villa, after Pei Xiao left, two maids chattered together.
“What mental patient? He’s obviously ridiculously handsome. Oh my God, the perks of working here are amazing!”
“Hey, did you hear them call him Eldest Young Master? Could he be the one the Lu family just acknowledged?”
“…”
The maid across from her heard the guess and hurriedly pulled out her phone to search the news.
“It really is him!”
The maid’s eyes lit up. “If I could get close to the Eldest Young Master, wouldn’t that mean…”
“Xiaomei, don’t do anything reckless. That Eldest Young Master looks like trouble. You could lose your job.”
“Oh, I know, I know. I’ve got it under control.”
Xiaomei brushed her off, the corners of her mouth lifting as she continued scrolling through the information online.
If she managed to get close to the Lu family’s eldest young master, why would she need a job?
At the thought, she put her phone away and said to the woman in front of her, “Tiantian, cover my shift tonight, will you? I’ll cover yours next time.”
“Huh?”
“Come on, it’s only one shift. You don’t have anything going on tonight anyway.”
“…”
Seeing how insistent Xiaomei was, Tiantian reluctantly nodded.
“All right.”
Hopefully it would be nothing more than a simple shift swap. Please, let nothing serious happen.
…
In the master bedroom, Pei Xiao finished applying the medicine to her. Ignoring the sticky feeling on his hands, he began to undress.
Shirt, belt, trousers… one after another, without pause.
As soon as he took off his shirt, Wen Yining buried her head under the covers.
Was this pervert going to want her again?
Looking at the crisscrossing knife scars and bullet wounds on his body, she could guess he’d fought his way out of a pile of corpses.
A man like him had too much stamina and energy. And those calluses on his hands… They’d rubbed her raw.
She really didn’t want to.
When she heard the sound of water trickling nearby, Wen Yining finally let out a breath. Her pounding heart gradually settled.
She’d escaped, for now.
She got out of bed, intending to go downstairs to the kitchen for a glass of water.
The enormous villa was utterly silent. Its metal furnishings only made the place feel colder.
Wen Yining wrapped her arms around herself and rubbed the outer sides of her arms.
Apart from knowing Pei Xiao’s name and that he was powerful and might be a criminal, she knew nothing about him.
On the ship, she’d heard him and his subordinates mention “the Lu family.” She didn’t know if they meant Jiangcheng’s richest family, the Lu family. If they did…
She couldn’t afford to get involved with anyone who was either allied with the Lu family or opposed to it. She might not even be able to stay in Country A.
Never mind. The most urgent thing was to get permission from that man to use the internet, then find a way to escape.
Wen Yining turned on the water dispenser and filled a glass with warm water. She’d barely taken a sip when a loud crash came from upstairs, followed by a man’s furious shout—
“Get out!”
The glass nearly slipped from Wen Yining’s hand.
Had someone angered him… or had a business deal been stolen from him?
Whatever it was, she absolutely wasn’t going to walk into the line of fire. It would be safer to stay downstairs for a while.
“Wen Yining!”
Another furious shout rang out from upstairs, like a mallet striking her hard on the head.
Was this about her?
What had she done to anger him?
Despairing, Wen Yining set down her glass and headed for the stairs.
From a distance, she saw a woman kneeling at the end of the corridor. She looked like one of the two maids who had watched Wen Yining earlier that day.
Pei Xiao noticed her and turned, his face cold. “Come here.”
“…”
Give it a little longer, and she’d probably get used to him calling her over like a pet.
“What is it?”
Wen Yining obediently stood beside him, head lowered as she waited for judgment.
“Where did you just go?”
Pei Xiao stared at her with his narrow eyes, as if trying to detect the slightest hint in her expression.
“I was thirsty, so I went downstairs for a drink.”
Wen Yining answered honestly.
“…”
Pei Xiao gave a cold snort. His tone was light, but his words were barbed. “You’d barely gone downstairs when a woman came barging into my room. What am I supposed to think?”
“…”
What was he supposed to think… Did he suspect she’d arranged for that woman to come?
He certainly thought highly of her.
To make it easier to ask him for things later, Wen Yining had to say something nice. “Uh… You’re so charming that women are always looking for an opening to throw themselves at you?”
She was disgusted with herself.
The flattery visibly improved Pei Xiao’s expression. He curled his lips and asked, “Is that so?”
“…”
Wen Yining nodded like a woodpecker.
Suddenly, Pei Xiao pulled her into his arms. “Then why don’t you throw yourself at me?”
“…”
Wen Yining gave an awkward, bitter smile.
Pei Xiao’s brow furrowed further.
The air turned tense.
“Xiao…”
Ling Yi hurried up to the second floor after receiving the message. Seeing that the timing was wrong, he turned to leave.
“Wait.”
Pei Xiao stopped him and pointed at the maid kneeling on the floor, his gaze full of disdain. “Drag this woman out of here for me.”
…