Duan Zhuo had always been this kind of carefree, unruly person—nothing serious ever came out of his mouth.
Unlike his unrestrained younger brother, Duan Xingning, as the elder, was much more mature and steady. His tie was neatly fastened, his demeanor meticulous and unsmiling, exuding refinement and composure in every detail.
“An Li isn’t that kind of person. She’s not like those women you fool around with.”
Duan Zhuo was a well-known playboy in Jingbei. He changed women faster than he changed clothes, and they were always improper female celebrities or internet influencers.
“Yeah, I like fooling around. Unlike big brother, who’s obedient and sensible—even letting our parents decide his marriage,” Duan Zhuo said, one hand in his pocket, a teasing smile curling his lips.
Hearing the mockery, Duan Xingning chose not to argue. “It’s getting late. Get dressed and come downstairs for breakfast.”
There were scratch marks all over Duan Zhuo’s collarbone.
What those marks implied needed no explanation.
Duan Xingning didn’t suspect anything. He knew his younger brother well enough—those marks must have come from fooling around outside.
“Come out. My brother’s gone.”
After Duan Xingning had been gone for quite a while, An Li, who had been hiding under the blanket, remained half doubtful. She hesitated for a long time before finally lifting a small corner of the blanket.
Only after confirming he had truly left did she dare reveal half of her head.
The rest of her body was still wrapped tightly in the blanket.
Like a timid turtle hiding in its shell.
“What, afraid my brother will find out about us?” Duan Zhuo raised his hand and casually toyed with a strand of her hair. “Is your boyfriend really that shameful?”
“Y-you’re not my boyfriend…” An Li stubbornly shook her head.
“You slept with me and don’t plan to take responsibility?”
She still shook her head.
It had just been a misunderstanding.
It didn’t count.
She looked obedient and pure, soft and delicate—who would have thought she’d turn out to be the type to run away after sleeping with someone?
Duan Zhuo crouched halfway down, meeting her gaze at eye level. For once, his expression turned serious. “If you don’t take responsibility, I’m going to accuse you of sexual harassment.”
An Li blinked in confusion. “What?”
“You violated me last night. I’m going to report you.”
“…I-I didn’t…” she said in panic, like a startled deer.
“You did.”
“No, I didn’t… do anything… to you…”
How could he say something like that?
How could she have violated him…
Wasn’t he the one who had taken the initiative…
The more anxious she became, the more she stuttered.
It seemed like she was about to cry again. Her eyes shimmered with tears, the tip of her nose reddened, and her thin shoulders trembled slightly.
She looked pitiful.
So pitiful it made people want to comfort her—and also want to bully her even more.
Duan Zhuo found himself addicted to teasing her. He took out the love letter from last night and said solemnly, “Since you won’t admit it, I’ll tell my brother and let him judge. This love letter will be the evidence.”
With that, he turned and walked toward the door.
“W-wait…” An Li panicked and tried to grab him.
But she couldn’t even catch the edge of his clothes. Instead, she tumbled off the bed, her knee hitting the floor. She let out a soft cry of pain.
Duan Zhuo turned back. The person who had been hiding like a turtle just moments ago now looked completely exposed.
Her shoulders were slender and delicate, her skin smooth and pale like fine jade, glowing with a faint warm pink under the morning light—soft and tender.
With just one glance, Duan Zhuo’s throat bobbed as he suppressed his emotions.
He wrapped her back in the blanket and placed her on the bed again. His fingers accidentally brushed the corner of her eye, and the tear on her lashes smeared onto his fingertip, leaving behind a faint chill.
The little girl looked so aggrieved. Even though she had taken the initiative, it felt as if she had suffered a great loss.
After all, she hadn’t slept with the aloof “high mountain flower” brother she liked—but with his unruly younger brother instead. Anyone would feel wronged.
“Alright, I won’t tell my brother about last night for now. But you need to give me an explanation,” Duan Zhuo said, his tone unexpectedly patient as he coaxed her.
An Li clutched the blanket tightly. Her lashes trembled as she looked up slightly. “W-what… explanation?”
“What do you think?”
“I don’t know… I—I’m sorry…”
“And then?”
She shook her head.
She didn’t know what else she could do besides apologizing.
“You slept with me and all I get is ‘I’m sorry’?” Duan Zhuo asked.
“Mm.”
“…”
What a little heartless girl.
Where had she learned to act so shamelessly?
Duan Zhuo let out a soft laugh. “By your logic, if I say sorry to you, does that mean I can sleep with you too?”
She looked confused. “Huh?”
“Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry…”
She became even more confused.
He pinched her soft earlobe between his fingers. “Baby, count how many times I said sorry. That’s how many times I get to sleep with you.”
An Li hadn’t expected him to be so shameless. She bit her lower lip lightly and shook her head in a fluster. “I-I don’t know…”
“Don’t know? Then it’s unlimited.” His smile deepened as he deliberately dragged out his words. “Which means a lifetime.”
“No…” An Li panicked. She grabbed a shirt at random and threw it on. “I—I’m leaving…”
The moment her feet touched the ground, he blocked her.
Duan Zhuo was nearly thirty centimeters taller than her. His solid, well-built body stood like a wall, completely cutting off her path. With a casual lift of his strong arm, he wrapped it around her shoulders and pulled her into his embrace.
“I’ll give you two choices. Either I tell my brother you molested me, or you date me.”
The first option was absolutely impossible.
The second wasn’t acceptable either.
Lowering her gaze, An Li asked cautiously, “Is there… a third option?”
“Yes.”
“Then I choose the third.”
“The third option is—you choose both.”
“…”
Her brows knitted together. She tried to push him away, but the difference in strength between them was too great. Her fists were like cotton against him.
“Stop liking my brother.” Duan Zhuo’s tone was casual, but his eyes were unusually serious as they fixed on her fair face. “Like me instead. I’m taller than him, more handsome than him, and bigger than him.”
“Y-you’re younger than him…” An Li said, confused.
“I’m younger in age, but…”
He leaned close to her ear and whispered something.
An Li’s face, which had just calmed down, instantly turned red again. She hit his chest hard. “Let go of me! Y-you’re a jerk!”
“Last night you were calling me ‘brother,’ saying you liked me. Now that I’m dressed, I’m a jerk?” he said, restraining her hands again. “If I were really a jerk, I would’ve let my brother see you just now.”
The reason he hadn’t was because he wanted her to choose the second option.
To date him.
An Li stopped struggling, but there was still a trace of grievance and unwillingness in her voice. “W-why do you want to… date me?”
A playboy like him would never lack girlfriends.
Affectionate yet fickle.
He knew how to charm girls, make them happy—and also how to break their hearts.
He was known as Jingbei’s “most devoted lover,” yet the number of girls who admired him was equal to those who had been heartbroken by him.
She refused to become just another casualty.
“There’s no reason. I just want you,” Duan Zhuo said with a grin. “Don’t you want to try having a boyfriend like me? I reply instantly, I’ll be the first to apologize in arguments, I can sweet-talk, I can coax, I know when to stop, and I’m one hundred percent loyal to my girlfriend.”
An Li frowned. She wasn’t stupid.
His reputation had spread all the way to France.
Everyone knew Duan Family’s Second Young Master, Duan Zhuo—not only the heir but also the founder of an international trade group. He had more bank cards than ID numbers.
As if that wasn’t enough, he was incredibly handsome, with mixed ancestry giving him striking features. Not just domestic girls—some of his ex-girlfriends even had European royal blood.
Believing he was loyal was more absurd than believing she was the First Emperor of Qin.
An Li shook her head like a rattle drum. “I-I don’t believe you… you have more girlfriends than clothes…”
“How could that be? I’m still a—”
He hadn’t finished speaking when his phone suddenly rang.
As soon as he answered, a coquettish female voice came through, “Young Master Duan, did you miss me?”
With just those few words, the atmosphere in the room fell silent.
An Li already didn’t believe him. Hearing that made her shake off his hand and leave, glaring at him before she went.
Annoyed at the interruption, Duan Zhuo pinched the bridge of his nose and snapped coldly into the phone, “Amy, I told you not to call me.”
There was a moment of stunned silence on the other end before a hurt voice replied, “Young Master Duan, I’m not Amy, I’m—”
He hung up without waiting to hear more.
The room was left with only him. The clothes scattered on the floor were the only proof that last night hadn’t been a dream.
Duan Zhuo felt irritated.
Just moments ago, she had been like a timid little turtle—yet she ran faster than a rabbit, leaving without even listening to his explanation.
And she had taken his shirt with her.
Her own dress was left scattered on the floor.
He picked up a piece at random and realized it was a lace undergarment.
White.
Fragrant.