Afraid of being seen, An Li hurried back to her room to change clothes.
Lowering her head, she saw that her body was covered in kiss marks.
Her collarbone, her neck, the inner sides of her thighs—red marks as if she had been bitten by a dog.
Damn it, it was all that Duan Zhuo’s fault…
But he was the young master of the Duan Family, while she was only their adopted daughter. She couldn’t afford to offend him.
When An Li was twelve years old, she had come to the Duan Family according to her grandfather’s will and began living under someone else’s roof.
Grandpa An had once saved Duan Grandfather’s life, so the Duan Family treated her well. But she was not their biological child. On top of that, she came from the countryside and had a stutter, so she was inevitably bullied by peers of the same age.
They all called her “Little Stutterer.”
Only Duan Xingning called her An Li.
He had even saved her once when she nearly drowned in the swimming pool.
An Li had secretly loved him for four years. Because of her inferiority, she had never dared let him know. The greatest courage she had ever mustered was writing that love letter.
And it had ended up being intercepted by Duan Zhuo.
An Li went downstairs to the dining room for breakfast and saw both Duan brothers already there, sitting across from each other.
Duan Xingning and Duan Zhuo looked somewhat alike, but their temperaments were worlds apart—one gentle and refined like jade, the other wild and devilishly charming.
If she had been more careful last night, she wouldn’t have mistaken one for the other, nor would she have provoked Duan Zhuo, this huge trouble.
“Why are you just standing there? Come over and eat.”
An Li’s thoughts were interrupted by Duan Xingning’s cool, low voice.
Startled, she looked up. At that moment, both brothers were looking at her.
Duan Xingning’s gaze was filled with confusion, while Duan Zhuo’s was full of amusement.
Her palms began to sweat from nervousness. Lowering her head, shoulders slightly hunched, she walked over slowly.
Duan Xingning stared at her without blinking. “What’s wrong with your leg? Why are you limping?”
Already walking slowly, An Li became even more nervous. She froze in place, at a loss. “B-because…”
Because her knee hurt a little.
And there was somewhere else that hurt even more.
She couldn’t explain too much.
She couldn’t possibly say she had fallen off Duan Zhuo’s bed.
Seeing that she couldn’t produce an explanation for a long time, Duan Xingning frowned slightly and gestured for her to sit down first.
“Where did you go last night?” Duan Xingning asked as he cut into his steak, his tone rather stern. “The servants looked for you for hours.”
“I…” An Li lowered her head.
She hadn’t thought of an answer at all.
Disappearing for an entire night and suddenly showing up in the morning—anyone would question her whereabouts.
Across from her, Duan Zhuo watched with a half-smile, his long fingers holding a champagne glass as he took an elegant sip, enjoying the show.
“Last night…” An Li squeezed her eyes shut, gritted her teeth, and blurted out a random excuse, “I drank too much, so I…”
“So what?” Duan Xingning waited patiently.
“So I went out for a night run… and then I accidentally fell and hurt my knee.”
It was rare for her to say so much in one breath.
It was also the first time she had told such a huge lie. After saying it, she felt so guilty she didn’t dare look at them.
Duan Xingning seemed to believe her.
Last night’s birthday party had been lively, with everyone drinking. An Li had drunk quite a bit to help block drinks for him.
She couldn’t hold her alcohol and had left early. He still had many friends to attend to, so he hadn’t paid further attention to her.
She must have been drunk when she called him—there probably hadn’t been anything important.
“Is the injury serious?” Duan Xingning asked. “If it is, I’ll have the butler take you to the hospital.”
An Li was about to shake her head and refuse when Duan Zhuo finally spoke up, unable to hold back. “How about I take her? I just happen to be going to the hospital too.”
Duan Xingning frowned, not believing his younger brother had suddenly become kind-hearted. “What are you going to the hospital for? Are you sick?”
“There’s a problem that’s been bothering me for a while,” Duan Zhuo said with mock seriousness. “So I’m going to see a urologist.”
“What problem do you have?”
“I want to get a reduction surgery.”
“…”
Duan Xingning’s face darkened in anger.
He had thought his younger brother had some health issue at such a young age and was about to warn him to take better care of himself. He hadn’t expected him to be bragging instead.
“Can you be serious for once?” Duan Xingning said, slightly annoyed.
“How am I not serious? I’ve thought it through very carefully,” Duan Zhuo said, pushing his glass forward and pointing directly at An Li. “Little Li, what do you think? Should I get the surgery?”
“…”
An Li had a piece of jam bread in her mouth, her big eyes blank with confusion.
Why was this suddenly directed at her?
How would she know anything about that?
She stammered and shook her head.
“An Li, just eat your breakfast. Ignore him,” Duan Xingning said, stopping it in time. Then he added in a mild scolding tone, “Duan Zhuo, An Li is our sister. Don’t tease her so casually.”
“Oh.” Duan Zhuo only became more excessive, smiling in a dangerously charming way. “I won’t tease her.”
He would just sleep with her.
An Li really listened to Duan Xingning. When he told her to eat, she focused on eating and didn’t respond to Duan Zhuo again.
Even after Duan Xingning left, she didn’t look up at Duan Zhuo once.
Despite the fact that his gaze seemed hot enough to burn her.
“From now on, can you not sit with my brother when you eat?” Duan Zhuo said, his brows lowering in displeasure. “The way you act, your husband will get jealous.”
“You—” An Li choked in anger. “You are not my husband!”
“That’s only a matter of time.”
“…”
He stood up and slowly moved to her side, tapping the table lightly with his long fingers. “You can try calling me ‘husband’ first.”
She gritted her teeth. “Jerk.”
“I like that one too.”
“You’re shameless.”
“I like that too.”
The more recklessly Duan Zhuo smiled, the more frustrated An Li became.
She decided to ignore him completely, picking up a fresh strawberry and biting into it. Her lips became a vivid cherry red, glossy and moist.
He leaned slightly closer. “Baby, with lips that pretty, even your scolding sounds nice.”
An Li finally couldn’t take it anymore. “Duan Zhuo, what exactly do you want?”
“I want you to take responsibility for me. Be my girlfriend. Love me, sleep with me.”
“…”
She almost didn’t understand the last two words—it sounded like the name of a plant.
“N-no… I can’t…” she refused again. “I don’t like you, and you have too many girlfriends…”
Everyone said he never had a gap between relationships.
Duan Zhuo didn’t bother explaining anymore. “I’ll give you three days to think about it. Will you be my girlfriend, or my wife?”
Or would she let Duan Xingning find out that she liked the older brother but had slept with the younger one?
An Li was caught in a dilemma, truly at a loss.
“I have to go to work,” she said, standing up to leave.
In front of her, Duan Zhuo lazily stretched out his long leg, blocking her path. “Weren’t you going to the hospital? I’ll take you.”
“No need.”
“Your knee injury looks serious. You should get it checked.”
“I’ll go by myself.”
“I’ll go with you.” As he spoke, he grabbed her hand to pull her along.
Afraid of being seen, An Li quickly shook him off. “What are you doing?”
“We’ve already slept together. Can’t even hold hands?” Duan Zhuo said, grabbing her wrist again and pulling her forward.
“Be quiet!” An Li panicked, afraid someone might see or hear.
She raised her hand to cover his mouth, cautiously glancing around. “You’re not allowed to talk anymore.”
Duan Zhuo’s lips were blocked by her small hand, leaving him unable to speak. He could only narrow his eyes with a faint smile.
Her hand was so soft—softer than cotton candy.
And it smelled nice.
Using such a soft, fragrant hand to cover his mouth—wasn’t that just rewarding him?