“Shengsheng, we’re going to a party tonight.”
Outside the gates of Jing University, a girl turned around.
She wore a soft, feminine, spaghetti-strap dress. Her long hair cascaded like a waterfall, part of it loosely held back with a hair clip. Her petite features were delicate, her lips red and teeth white, and her skin as smooth as if she had bathed in milk.
She looked gentle and sweet, her clear eyes bright, though at the moment she seemed a little troubled.
Tonight wouldn’t work…
“I’m not going. Have fun, you guys.”
Even the girl’s voice was soft and sweet. She waved to the people across from her, then boarded the bus nearby.
As Jiang Wangsheng watched the scenery flick past outside the window, a handsome yet cold face came to mind. Her fingertips curled slightly without her realizing it.
Couldn’t he just stay away…?
Jiang Wangsheng had originally planned to go straight home.
But after a few stops, she stood up and got off the bus.
She went to a nearby shopping mall and bought a small cup of ice cream. As she slowly ate it, she watched people coming and going at the supermarket.
She dawdled, wandering through the clothing stores as well. It was only when she saw that it was already seven in the evening that she got up and took the bus home.
When she reached the building, she saw that the light on the third floor was off.
A hint of delight appeared on Jiang Wangsheng’s face for no apparent reason.
She hurried up the stairs, a complete contrast to how slowly she had been moving when she got off the bus.
When she reached her door, she quickly opened it.
The apartment was pitch-black, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
At the sound of that unmistakably relieved sigh, the man sitting on the sofa, as still as a statue, twitched the corner of his mouth. Darkness churned in his eyes.
She switched on the light, then jumped at the sight of the man on the sofa and let out a cry.
Xie Lan raised his large, well-defined hand to shield his dark eyes, as though adjusting to the sudden bright light.
A moment later, he lowered it.
The man’s features were sharp and handsome, his bone structure nearly perfect.
His short black hair was neatly trimmed, and his sharp jaw and angular features gave him an intimidating air. On his wrist was a watch that looked simple but was unmistakably luxurious. His shirt hugged his body, hinting at the powerful muscles beneath.
Xie Lan had undone several buttons at his collar, revealing collarbones that seemed to gleam with a cold, austere sheen.
“Baby.”
“Why are you so late?”
The man’s voice was low and magnetic. Jiang Wangsheng forcibly suppressed the urge to turn and flee before managing, with some hesitation, to say, “I went to the supermarket… I wanted to buy some clothes, so I took a while.”
Xie Lan listened, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly as his gaze deepened.
“I see.”
He held out a hand to her.
His rolled-up sleeve revealed part of his pale forearm, veins winding across it as he sat like a beast poised to pounce.
“Come here.”
Jiang Wangsheng swallowed and slowly walked toward him.
The moment he took her hand, he pulled her into his arms, and his rich, cool scent enveloped her.
Her legs were forced around his lean waist. Xie Lan shifted his position, bringing their bodies even closer together.
Leaning back against the sofa, he rested a broad hand on her waist and half-closed his eyes in contentment.
Xie Lan could feel her bracing herself, afraid to lean closer to him. A few strands of her silky long hair had fallen onto his shoulder, tickling him.
The man gave a soft laugh, his tone cold.
He wrapped an arm around her back and pulled her firmly against him.
“Did you miss me?”
Jiang Wangsheng nodded, but her body was unnaturally tense.
Xie Lan narrowed his eyes slightly and gave a brief snort through his nose. He seemed secretly pleased, though she probably hadn’t missed him at all.
“Kiss me.” He parted his lips slightly and fixed her with an unreadable gaze, as if tempting—and forcing—someone to commit a crime. Without giving her a moment to prepare, he rubbed the soft flesh at her waist with his cold fingertips, pressing harder and harder.
Jiang Wangsheng reached out, then wrapped her arms around his neck and lowered her head to kiss him.
A pleased smile tugged at Xie Lan’s lips, but his expression gradually darkened at her clumsy, perfunctory kiss.
“Did you forget what I taught you?”
Jiang Wangsheng seemed to remember something; her pupils contracted slightly.
Xie Lan bounced her lightly on his thighs. “Again.”
She lightly bit her lip, her eyes suddenly misting over. She didn’t like kissing that way…
But Xie Lan didn’t give her much time. He licked his lips, his eyes burning with a hungry heat that seemed ready to scorch her whole.
Jiang Wangsheng leaned in again. This time, she pressed her lips squarely against his, but her long lashes trembled, as though she were enduring something unpleasant.
The man’s eyes turned cold, while the curve of his lips grew wider.
“Open your mouth.”
“Stick out your tongue.”
*
Only after he had satisfied himself did the girl in his arms lean against his shoulder, panting, her lips covered in scattered marks.
“Didn’t I tell you I was coming over tonight, baby? Why did you keep your husband waiting so long?”
Satisfied with their kiss, Xie Lan had already slipped one restless hand beneath her skirt and was slowly sliding it upward.
He was in an excellent mood and casually shifted his body upward.
Jiang Wangsheng pressed her lips tightly together, trying to ignore that overwhelming sense of being invaded.
“Baby, say something.”
Because she was wearing a dress, his hand had already wandered to her waist and was still moving higher.
The pale skin exposed beneath her lifted skirt was fully on display before his dark, wolfish gaze.
“I… forgot.”
“Forgot? Your husband reminded you just this morning.”
He took her phone from her bag, opened the green messaging app with practiced ease, and immediately tapped the top pinned chat, labeled “Kissy Hubby,” without even having to scroll.
“Baby, your husband is coming over tonight to have dinner with you. Come straight home after class, okay?” A loud kissing sound followed the message.
There was no reply after that message.
“Oh, my baby didn’t reply to me at all. Did you forget?”
“Or did you not want to reply?” He sat up, pressing a hand to the back of her head.
Xie Lan held Jiang Wangsheng so tightly that she couldn’t move at all. She could only let him draw close until their noses touched. He kissed the tip of her nose suggestively.
“Wifey, say something, won’t you?”
“I… I forgot.” Jiang Wangsheng’s voice caught in her throat, and he fell silent at once.
He let out a helpless sigh, but his hand wandering over her only grew more brazen.
“All right. You must reply to my messages next time.”
The girl nodded.
The sight of Jiang Wangsheng looking so obedient, as though she’d been bullied, made the man’s throat bob.
Xie Lan leaned forward and kissed the corner of her reddened eye. “Baby, I haven’t eaten yet.”
Jiang Wangsheng had just started to get up when he pinned her firmly in his arms.
The girl looked at him in a panic. “Weren’t you going to eat?”
Freeing one hand, he expertly opened the cabinet beside him and took out two boxes.
He held a square-shaped object between his teeth, his eyes never leaving her as they burned with frightening desire.
“Yeah. I’m about to eat.”
He deftly caught the thin strap on her shoulder between his teeth and pulled it down. His cold, clammy lips traveled upward from her collarbone.
***
Xie Lan watched as her delicate, rosy neck arched far back and listened to her soft, broken whimpers. His ragged breathing was enough to make anyone blush and their heart race.
Only when it was nearly midnight did he lift her from the sofa, now in complete disarray. He kissed her face and lips tenderly, murmuring in utter satisfaction.
“Baby, you’re the best baby in the world…”
Jiang Wangsheng’s brow was furrowed. Tear tracks were half-dried on her face, and the tip of her nose was red.
With her eyes closed, she looked as though she were trapped in a terrible nightmare.
…
Jiang Wangsheng had met Xie Lan half a year earlier.
On her way home, she came across Xie Lan, who had been badly beaten.
There wasn’t another person on the road. Her hand trembling, she was about to call the police and an ambulance, but he suddenly woke and grabbed the hem of her skirt. She still remembered the look in his eyes—the sort that could kill.
“Don’t call an ambulance.”
She agreed. If he didn’t want her to call the police or an ambulance, then she didn’t have to help him.
But he wouldn’t let her leave, either.
“Let go.” The girl’s voice was soft and sweet, and her eyes were already reddening even though he had barely done anything to her.
Xie Lan stared intently at her and, almost on impulse, said, “Take me to your place so my wounds can be treated.”
Jiang Wangsheng refused, of course, but he clung to her and wouldn’t let her go. Then he offered her a sum of money that was hard to resist.
Xie Lan glanced at the run-down buildings around them. “Five hundred thousand.”
Jiang Wangsheng looked him over several times before realizing that his clothes seemed expensive. He was very handsome, too.
He probably wasn’t a con man.
Who could turn down five hundred thousand?
She agreed.
She never imagined that accepting those five hundred thousand yuan would leave her entangled with him.