The instant the car door opened, Shang Wu closed her eyes and leaned against the seat.
The dusky evening sunlight streamed through the car window, casting her face in a soft, alluring glow.
Zhou Yanci froze for a moment before instinctively lowering his head to kiss her.
Sensing the man’s breath, Shang Wu opened her eyes. She yawned and pressed a hand against Zhou Yanci’s shoulder, her voice carrying a trace of drowsiness.
“I actually fell asleep… Where’s Sis?”
Zhou Yanci simply went along with it and smiled. He raised a hand and tapped the tip of her nose. “Why are you looking for her? She left ages ago. Let’s go somewhere else for dinner, all right?”
He was perfectly composed, without a trace of the discomposure he had shown moments ago.
A chill flickered in Shang Wu’s eyes, but she nodded.
As the car drove away, she couldn’t help glancing at the empty parking space beside them.
That man wouldn’t go around telling people about it, would he?
After all, no one would dare gossip recklessly about the head of Chengzhou Group.
Shang Wu sank into thought, and the absent look on her face took on an entirely different meaning in Zhou Yanci’s eyes.
His heart tightened inexplicably. He took Shang Wu’s hand. “Don’t worry. There’s nothing between Shen Mian and me. Even if she still has feelings for me, my heart belongs to you.”
Shang Wu’s gaze shifted, and she nodded.
Unable to read her emotions, Zhou Yanci felt vaguely uneasy.
After dinner, he deliberately took Shang Wu to the shopping mall, buying her bags and clothes and spending more than two million to appease her.
That amount of money was nothing to Zhou Yanci—not even worth a single strand of hair.
After returning home, Shang Wu watched Zhou Yanci leave. Then she kicked aside the pile of shopping bags on the floor and took out her phone to contact the paparazzo.
【Did you get anything good?】
The paparazzo replied: 【The news is already out, bro. Remember to come to me again next time something this good happens.】
Shang Wu curled her lips. 【Definitely.】
She switched back to her main account and opened the entertainment app.
Sure enough, the paparazzo’s article was already online.
Several photographs of Zhou Yanci arguing and tugging at Shen Mian had been reposted more than six thousand times in just five minutes.
The article’s headlines were quite interesting.
#Secret Rendezvous with a Beauty! Chengzhou Group’s Crown Prince’s Relationship in Crisis—Breakup Imminent?#
#Lincheng’s Biggest Scandal! Chengzhou CEO Caught Red-Handed Cheating?#
The two exposés quickly seized the headlines in Lincheng.
The paparazzo hadn’t mentioned Shang Wu in either headline. She silently gave the posts a like.
Chengzhou’s public-relations department had always acted at the first hint of trouble. By now, Zhou Yanci should already know.
This was merely a test. Shang Wu had no intention of pursuing the matter further.
First, she had to confirm how badly Chengzhou’s stock would be shaken if the devoted-lover image Zhou Yanci had built over the years began to crumble.
Everything had its advantages and disadvantages.
The three years Zhou Yanci had spent marketing himself as a man who had saved his true love had also placed him in shackles.
If he wanted to enjoy all the benefits and then simply walk away, he would first have to see whether he was prepared to bear the cost.
……
At the same time, Zhou Yanci was on the phone with the public-relations department. Dozens of messages flooded into his phone, while notifications repeatedly informed him that new calls were coming in.
His expression darkened. He knew something had happened. “What’s going on?”
The public-relations employee was so frightened that he stammered. “CEO Zhou, you—you were photographed pulling a woman around outside the restaurant, and the paparazzi exposed it. Everyone is saying you cheated. Chengzhou’s stock is falling. What should we do now?”
The news was so unbelievable that even the battle-hardened public-relations department was somewhat flustered.
Could Zhou Yanci really cheat?
What kind of joke was that? CEO Zhou was famous for his devotion to Director Shang.
Zhou Yanci’s brows drew together. After a brief moment of thought, he quickly made his decision. “Suppress the buzz first. I’ll issue the clarification personally.”
He hung up and abruptly turned the steering wheel, making a sharp U-turn.
Five minutes later, the car stopped outside Shang Wu’s apartment.
The moment Zhou Yanci got out, the door opened.
Shang Wu hurried out to meet him. “Yanci, so many photos of you and Sis have been exposed online.”
Zhou Yanci pulled her inside, looking around to make sure no one was there.
After closing the door, he immediately gripped Shang Wu by the shoulders and said earnestly, “A-Wu, there’s nothing between her and me. Really. You have to believe me.”
Shang Wu pushed him away, turned, and sat down on the sofa before picking up her phone.
A trace of irritation flashed through Zhou Yanci’s eyes as he followed her. “Shen Mian was the one who kept pestering me. To me, she’s just an ex-girlfriend who may as well not exist. Come explain things with me and issue a clarification—”
“Look at this and check whether there’s anything wrong.”
Shang Wu interrupted him and held up her phone.
It showed a video from the car’s dashcam.
In the video, after Zhou Yanci parked the car, the two of them walked into the restaurant with their fingers interlocked.
Zhou Yanci paused. “What is this?”
“Release the video and say that we went on a date, and you happened to run into someone you used to know and exchanged a few polite words with her. There was no cheating involved.”
Shang Wu’s expression was calm and indifferent. “That will resolve the scandal naturally.”
Zhou Yanci’s tense body relaxed.
He hadn’t expected that he wouldn’t need to coax her at all. Shang Wu had cooperated with him and clarified the matter with the public.
But what outsiders didn’t know was that Shang Wu understood the truth perfectly well.
That woman was his ex-girlfriend.
Zhou Yanci had been tugging back and forth with his ex-girlfriend outside a restaurant, and Shang Wu wasn’t angry?
Zhou Yanci took two steps forward and watched as Shang Wu sent the video to the public-relations department. His voice softened. “A-Wu, you don’t have to pretend to be so magnanimous. You can lose your temper with me. You can admit that you’re jealous.”
Shang Wu’s brows and eyes shifted slightly, and a trace of coldness slipped through her expression.
She curved her lips into a gentle smile. “I’m not jealous. I’m not angry.”
Zhou Yanci frowned. “…Really?”
When someone was in love, they became jealous and possessive.
Shang Wu loved him to the bone. How could she possibly not be jealous of Shen Mian?
“Really. Even if there’s still something unresolved between you, it can’t be helped. After all, you two once loved each other. I understand.”
Shang Wu turned, poured him a glass of water, and handed it to him. “Don’t worry.”
Zhou Yanci took it, then set it down again, feeling somewhat displeased.
Shang Wu was so calm now because his lack of scandals over the past three years had spoiled her. She thought he would never leave her.
She had no idea that two months later, he would call off their engagement and give Shang Wu a tremendous surprise.
Zhou Yanci narrowed his eyes.
“All right, don’t worry. It’s already been resolved.”
Smiling, Shang Wu showed him the video the public-relations department had posted.
The comments had preserved Zhou Yanci’s image.
【I knew it! CEO Zhou loves Shang Wu so much. There’s no way he’d have anything going on with another woman!】
【Those unscrupulous media outlets are so desperate for traffic that they’ve lost their minds! That’s Zhou Yanci we’re talking about—the man who loves his fiancée so much he’d give up everything for her! They’re true love. No one can come between them.】
Zhou Yanci smiled absently, his eyes fixed on Shang Wu.
Shang Wu had changed clothes after returning home. She was wearing a silk nightgown, and her fair, delicate skin shimmered alluringly beneath the light.
Over the past three years, no matter how intimate they became, Shang Wu had always refused to let him touch her.
He hadn’t completely possessed Shang Wu yet, and he was about to throw her away just like this. Somehow, it felt like a waste.
Zhou Yanci’s throat bobbed, and his gaze grew increasingly heated. “Shang Wu, you look beautiful tonight.”
Shang Wu keenly sensed his intentions and reminded him, “The stock price is fluctuating. You should go to the company and take a look.”
“No.”
Zhou Yanci tipped his head back. Sitting on the sofa, he took hold of her wrist. “I’m not leaving tonight. I’ll stay here with you, all right?”
Shang Wu stood rigidly still. The faint smile on her face nearly slipped. “Didn’t I tell you? We have to wait until we’re married for that sort of thing.”
“What difference is there between us now and being married?”
Unwilling to give up, Zhou Yanci gave her hand a slight tug. “Once your father recovers, we can discuss the wedding date in half a month at most. It’s been three years, Shang Wu. Don’t make me wait any longer.”
Shang Wu stopped smiling and pressed her lips together. “That’s right. We’ve waited three years. Can’t we even wait another half a month?”
She looked down at Zhou Yanci from above, the innate coolness in her bearing emerging like a crescent moon hanging high in the sky.
It left nowhere for Zhou Yanci’s thoughts to hide.
His expression darkened. Irritated, he yanked Shang Wu down with force.
Caught off guard, Shang Wu fell into his arms.
Zhou Yanci coaxed her beside her ear. “Let’s not argue, Shang Wu. Give yourself to me.”
Shang Wu turned her head away and shoved at him angrily. “Don’t do this. Let go first—”
“Shh. If you love me, then don’t refuse me.”
Zhou Yanci clamped an arm tightly around her waist. His index finger found the tie of her nightgown, and he gave it a hard tug.
The gown loosened. He thought he would see a glimpse of spring, but beneath Shang Wu’s loose nightgown was another tight-fitting camisole dress.
Shang Wu took the opportunity to push him away. She sat up and hurriedly retied the gown, her face filled with rejection. “Tonight really isn’t the right time, Yanci. I hope you can show me a little more respect.”
Zhou Yanci’s appetite had been thoroughly whetted. The more he couldn’t see or have her, the more he wanted her.
Shang Wu’s resistant expression, in particular, further inflamed his desire to conquer her.
He reached around Shang Wu from behind, ignoring her words as he continued to soothe her. “I’ll be gentler. I won’t hurt you, all right?”
A faint anger surfaced on Shang Wu’s cool face. “Didn’t you hear what I said? I don’t want this. I’m unwilling.”
The tenderness in Zhou Yanci’s eyes vanished instantly. He pressed his thin lips together. “Why do you insist on waiting? I love you this much, and I can’t wait to marry you. What else are you worried about?”
“I don’t want to. Can you understand plain words?” The temperature in Shang Wu’s voice dropped sharply.
It was also the first time in three years that she had openly argued with Zhou Yanci.
Zhou Yanci stared at her in astonishment. He froze, suddenly unsure how to respond.
The urgent ringing of a phone broke the standoff.
The phone on the table buzzed incessantly as it vibrated.
It was a call from a shareholder.
Chengzhou Group had experienced its first stock-price fluctuation in three years—enough to alarm the entire board of directors.
Irritated, Zhou Yanci picked up the phone.
Shang Wu rose at once and put some distance between them, her gaze falling on the keypad lock by the door.
It was time to change the lock.
At this rate, something like this would happen again within the next two months.
“All right. I’ll be there immediately.”
Zhou Yanci hung up. When he looked up and saw that Shang Wu’s face was flushed with anger, he finally realized that his impatience had carried him too far.
He stood, grabbed his coat, and stepped forward to take Shang Wu’s hand. “A-Wu…”
Shang Wu stepped back, avoiding his touch. There was unmistakable wariness in her eyes.
Zhou Yanci immediately felt uncomfortable. “I have to go to the company. You’re right—tonight really isn’t the right time. I was confused for a moment just now. Don’t hold it against me, all right?”
Shang Wu didn’t want to look at him for another second. Suppressing her disgust, she said, “Go.”
Zhou Yanci gave her a deep look, picked up his car keys, and left.
The apartment fell silent.
Shang Wu smoothed the creases he had pressed into the sofa, then threw the glass Zhou Yanci had used into the trash.
After discovering Zhou Yanci’s true nature, she found every minute and every second unbearable.
Just then, the doorbell rang.
Thinking Zhou Yanci had returned to retrieve something, Shang Wu walked over and opened the door—only to come face-to-face with Ji Yu’s radiant smile.