“Don’t… mm… don’t touch there…”
Amid the rumpled bedclothes, a delicate voice spilled out, mingled with sobs.
“What’s wrong? Don’t like it?”
The man’s voice was low and muffled, his scorching breath brushing along her tender ear.
The girl’s chin was buried deep in the soft brocade quilt. Her skin glistened like jade, while the curve of her waist formed a breathtaking arc.
Her slender fingers clenched the bedsheets, and her pearly teeth unconsciously bit down on her swollen, cherry-red lower lip.
“Tsk. Biting again.” He gave an exasperated laugh. “Let go.”
His broad palm closed around her slender ankle, and the rough pads of his fingers made her body tremble faintly.
“Open up.” His voice was teasing and wicked. “Let me see.”
Su Qingmiao’s long lashes fluttered like butterfly wings, and the corners of her alluring eyes began to redden.
She silently told herself: The family’s debts have already been paid off, and Dad has found a new job, so he doesn’t have to work so hard anymore.
Mom’s surgery has also been arranged, and her younger brother can attend school without worry. Everything at home is getting better.
She would be fine.
It was only a year. If she endured it, it would pass.
Suddenly—
“Mm…”
Her teeth released her lip at the sudden pain, and a soft whimper escaped her lips before she could stop it.
The man’s Adam’s apple bobbed heavily, and he let out a low gasp. There was something indescribably sensual about him.
He coaxed her hoarsely, “Relax a little… good girl.”
“Make some noise.”
A thin mist gathered in Su Qingmiao’s almond-shaped eyes, and a tear silently rolled down her cheek.
Moonlight shattered into tiny glints in her eyes as intimate sounds continued without pause.
Until the man suddenly let out a low laugh.
His lips moved over the sweat-damp side of her neck with deliberate pressure—not too gentle, not too rough—as though he were enjoying himself immensely.
“Are you trying to drown me? Hmm?”
Su Qingmiao shut her eyes in shame.
How she wished this were only a dream.
…….
“Oh my God! Miaomiao, look! The financial news just pushed an alert—Jin Boyan is back!”
Tan Jingjing sat bolt upright in bed and shouted excitedly. The face mask on her face nearly fell off.
Su Qingmiao’s eyes flew open, and a clammy layer of cold sweat broke out across her back.
Her chest heaved violently. Her body still seemed to retain the inescapable sensation of being restrained from the dream.
Looking around at the familiar dormitory, she realized that she had somehow fallen asleep with her head on the desk.
She had dreamed about… him again.
That first time—painful, chaotic—the dream that had sent her plunging completely into the abyss.
Su Qingmiao wondered if she had imagined hearing it. Pressing her lips together, she asked uncertainly, “Jingjing, who did you say was back?”
“Jin Boyan!” Tan Jingjing said excitedly. “The heir to the Jin Group!”
“He suddenly flew to Europe to deal with that enormous mess. I heard the senior executives in his family’s European operations turned on them en masse, took the money, and ran. It caused a huge uproar!”
Su Qingmiao still had a pen in her hand. The tip faltered, dragging a long line across her workbook.
He… was back?
This soon?
Trembling, Su Qingmiao picked up the phone from the desk and opened it.
Sure enough, the number-one trending topic was about him.
In the candid photograph accompanying the financial news, the man wore a black suit. Tall, straight, and slender, he was walking out through the airport’s VIP exit.
His profile was sharp, his jawline taut. Even through the pixels, one could sense his cold, keep-your-distance aloofness and refined, untouchable air.
The accompanying bold headline read: “Jin Family Consolidates Power: Heir Jin Boyan Swiftly Resolves Overseas Crisis, Returns to the Capital.”
Tan Jingjing was still chattering away.
“The Jin heir really does live up to the title. It’s only been a little over a month, and he’s already dealt with the whole mess! Isn’t that incredible?”
“Tsk, tsk. His nerve, his methods, and that physique of his… all top-tier!”
“I heard that a man like him has a terrifyingly strong sex drive and an equally strong need to be in control, too. The kind who’s well-endowed and good in bed enough to leave you unable to get out of bed…”
Su Qingmiao stared at the face on the screen, with its flawless bone structure and hint of reckless, unrestrained arrogance. Her fingertips were cold.
She didn’t need to hear rumors.
She… knew all of it.
Tan Jingjing rattled on for quite a while. It was only when she saw Su Qingmiao staring blankly that she realized just how shamelessly explicit the things she had been saying were.
Miaomiao had a face that was both innocent and alluring, and she had no idea how many boys had fallen for her.
Especially Senior Lin from the chemistry department—gentle, handsome, and refined. Everyone said the two of them were a match made in heaven.
Unfortunately… Miaomiao had never dated anyone.
Tan Jingjing stuck out her tongue. “Ah—sorry, Miaomiao. I was just talking nonsense.”
“I absolutely can’t corrupt a good little angel like you! Otherwise, my sin would be far too great!”
As though only now realizing it, Su Qingmiao curved her lips into a faint smile. “It’s fine.”
Actually… she had already experienced all of that that night, and not just once.
She was no longer the good little angel Jingjing thought she was.
“Bzzz—”
WeChat suddenly vibrated.
The chat that had been silent for over a month lit up again.
Jin: 【Eight o’clock tonight. East Gate. The driver will pick you up.】
Su Qingmiao’s lashes trembled lightly, and her breathing grew somewhat hurried.
After that first night, Jin Boyan had rushed overseas.
To be honest, Su Qingmiao had been secretly glad about it. She had even felt as though she could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
But she knew there was no avoiding him.
From the moment she had agreed to be with Jin Boyan, she had already given up a year of her freedom.
Only a little over a month had passed.
There were still ten months and twenty days before the contract ended…
Seeing Su Qingmiao’s face suddenly turn pale, Tan Jingjing hurried down from her bed and asked worriedly, “Miaomiao, what’s wrong? You look a little pale.”
“Is your blood sugar low again?”
She turned toward the drawer. “I have some candy here. Do you want one?”
Su Qingmiao caught her by the arm and slowly shook her head. “I’m fine. Maybe it’s just a little hot.”
She smiled, then stood up and began gathering her things. “Jingjing, I’m not coming back to stay tonight.”
It was Saturday. They were already seniors, and the dorm no longer kept track of whether they returned at night.
But apart from going home, Su Qingmiao generally never spent the night anywhere else, so Tan Jingjing was a little concerned.
“Miaomiao, where are you going?”
Su Qingmiao’s hands paused as she packed. Pretending to be casual, she said, “I’m staying at a friend’s place for the night. I’ll be back tomorrow.”
Tan Jingjing did not think much of it. After all, Su Qingmiao was the most well-behaved girl in the dorm.
“Oh, okay. Be careful, then.”
“Mm-hmm.”
*
At eight o’clock that evening, Su Qingmiao arrived at the East Gate of Nan University on time.
She wore a white dress and stood beneath a streetlamp.
The night breeze lifted the hem of her dress, revealing her slender, well-proportioned calves. Her soft hair fell beside her shoulders, making her look like a fairy who had accidentally descended into the mortal world.
A black Maybach slowly pulled to a stop in front of her.
Chen Feng stepped out and greeted her respectfully, “Miss Su.”
Then he opened the car door for her.
Su Qingmiao lowered her eyes, her thick lashes casting trembling shadows across her pale cheeks.
She took a deep breath and was just about to bend down and get into the car when she suddenly saw the man sitting in the back seat.
The blood in her veins froze instantly.