003: He Blew Smoke in Her Face to Teach Her a Lesson
“If you’ve got the guts, just stomp me to death, Pei Jinye.” Wen Yan bit down hard on her lower lip, fractured sounds spilling from the corner of her mouth. “Beg for mercy? Don’t even think about it.”
“Refusing?” Pei Jinye raised an eyebrow. He abruptly released her chin, seized her wrist, yanked her up from the ground, and slammed her against the streetlamp.
“Then let’s try a different approach, shall we?”
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
The man didn’t speak at first, just quietly studied her face, now smudged with dust.
Standing this close, he could clearly see the lines of her lips and catch the faint fragrance emanating from the corner of her mouth.
A malicious idea popped into his head.
He took a deep drag of his cigarette, letting the smoke roll around in his throat twice, then grabbed her collar and blew the entire plume of smoke into her face.
The thick, pungent smell of tobacco hit her square in the face, choking Wen Yan so badly she squeezed her eyes shut and coughed heavily twice.
Filthy. This man’s scent was filthy.
She would rather be hit and cursed at by him than be “soiled” like this.
“Why are you closing your eyes? Open them! Look at me!” He pried her eyelids apart with both hands, refusing to let her shut them again. His low voice turned hoarse as he spoke, word by word, “Watch carefully how I dirty you up.”
With that, he took another deep drag and blew the smoke all over her face again.
Wispy trails of smoke drifted into her eyes, and before long, her eye sockets began to redden, bloodshot veins surfacing across the whites.
“Pei Jinye, what the hell do you want?!” Wen Yan trembled with rage. “Is this how you get back at me? How childish can you get?!”
Hearing her flustered and furious voice, Pei Jinye let out a light chuckle. He brushed the hair from his forehead with his fingers and asked, “Wen Yan, now that you’ve provoked me, do you regret it?”
“Pei Jinye, I haven’t done anything wrong!” Wen Yan raised her voice slightly. “You’re the one who did something wrong! You’re the one who should be regretting it!”
“Oh, is that so?” Pei Jinye’s gaze swept over her from head to toe before landing on the canvas bag at her side. “What’s in there?”
Wen Yan’s pupils trembled. She hastily reached out to cover the bag. “None of your business!”
That remark slightly provoked Pei Jinye. Without waiting for her to react further, he lunged forward, grabbed the strap of the canvas bag, and yanked it hard!
“Give it back!” Wen Yan shrieked, but she couldn’t match his strength—the bag was snatched away anyway.
He opened the bag and glanced inside, raising an eyebrow. “A thermos? Looks like you just went to the hospital to see your sick old man, huh?”
The contempt and malice in his tone sent a chill through Wen Yan’s entire body.
“Why didn’t you invite me along?” Pei Jinye tossed the bag carelessly to the ground, eyeing her pale face with a half-smile. “I ought to go pay my respects to the old man as well.”
With that, he turned and headed toward the hospital.
Wen Yan panicked instantly. She practically lunged at him, reaching out to grab the hem of his jacket. “Don’t go! Pei Jinye, don’t go!”
But Pei Jinye didn’t stop walking. He swung his arm back without mercy, flinging her off.
He sent her stumbling with the shove, and she watched as he was about to leave again. Desperate, she threw all caution to the wind—she spread her arms, rushed forward, and wrapped them around his waist, shouting at the top of her lungs, “Don’t go! I’m begging you, don’t go!”
Caught off guard by her fierce embrace, Pei Jinye actually halted in his tracks.
The girl’s body was very thin. Through the flimsy fabric of her clothes, he could clearly feel the violent rise and fall of her chest, along with the trembling she couldn’t suppress. A faint scent of soap wafted into his nose, catching him off guard.
The night breeze was cool as it blew across their pressed-together chests and backs, yet Pei Jinye only felt a wave of heat explode from where they touched, spreading instantly through every limb and bone.
“Let… go.” Pei Jinye gritted his teeth, forcing out those two words.
“I won’t let go, unless you promise not to cause trouble for my father!” Wen Yan clung to him desperately, even burying her face against his tense back to keep him from shaking her off.
The streetlamp cast its light over their embracing bodies, the shadow falling right in front of Pei Jinye—so intimate, with a hint of ambiguity.
His Adam’s apple bobbed. His breathing inexplicably quickened, and the veins at his temples throbbed.
After a long moment, he finally spoke slowly: “Let go. I’m not going.”
Wen Yan slowly released her grip.
The man whirled around and viciously grabbed her chin. “Next time you dare hug me, I’ll chop your hands off!”
After hurling those words, he flung her chin aside and walked away.
Wen Yan picked up her bag, composed herself, and brushed the dirt off her clothes where he’d stepped on them before heading home. But at the stairwell, she ran into Wen Qingyang, who was rushing down in a hurry.
Wen Yan was surprised. “Brother, where are you going this late?”
Wen Qingyang wrapped an arm around her shoulder, looked her over, and asked urgently, “Yan Yan, why are you back so late? I’ve been waiting at home, worried sick.”
“I just stayed a bit longer at the hospital.” Wen Yan looked up, flashing a bright smile. “You don’t need to worry about me. I’m fine.”
Wen Qingyang ruffled her hair, but his fingers caught a faint damp chill in the strands, and his brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
“Don’t stay out this late again—you must always let me know.” He took her hand, his palm warm and dry, carrying a reassuring grip. “Come on, let’s go home. I’ve already drawn your bathwater, and there’s milk warmed up for you too.”
“Thanks, big brother.”
With her brother around, Wen Yan felt she could get through anything, no matter how bad things got.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Pei Jinye returned home and rinsed himself with cold water twice, yet the heat still simmered beneath his skin.
He casually picked up the tank top he’d tossed aside, clenching it tightly in his palm.
It still carried the warmth of her embrace and the faint scent of soap.
Driven by some inexplicable impulse, he slowly bent down, burying his nose deep into the fabric.
Her scent grew clearer, seeping into every pore.
In the darkness, her face suddenly flashed before his eyes—
Pale, delicate, lips bitten until they’d lost all color, her gaze at him stubborn yet tinged with fear.
A fiercer surge of heat shot through him, and his hand slowly drifted downward.
Her face in his mind grew sharper with each passing second.
His breathing quickened, as if something were strangling him.
…
Finally, the heat subsided, and he returned to calm.
Realizing what he’d done, he tore the tank top away from his face and hurled it to the floor.
Damn it. She’d made him filthy—his whole body filthy.
That little vixen, daring to seduce him.
Tomorrow, he’d have to teach her an even harsher lesson.