Zhou Wanning’s startled cry never escaped her lips—it was silenced by Lu Jinzhou’s kiss.
He knelt half beside her bed, one hand pinning her wrist, the other gripping her chin, kissing her fiercely.
“Mmph… mmph… let…”
The word “go” never made it out, swallowed back by his lips and tongue.
This wasn’t a kiss—it was biting, tearing, like punishment.
Too rough, too violent. Zhou Wanning’s consciousness began to blur, her soul feeling as if it might tear free from her body.
Her hands no longer had the strength to struggle or resist.
When Lu Jinzhou finally released her lips, she gasped for air, having nearly fainted from lack of oxygen.
He watched her like a wolf in the dark night, his gaze burning into his prey.
“Ningning isn’t being good. Why did you lock the door? Who didn’t you want to come in?”
Her earphones had fallen out during the struggle.
She had locked the door—how had he gotten in?
Then she saw the set of keys on the nightstand.
They were the keys to every room in the house.
Zhou Wanning sat up abruptly, clutching her chest. “You… why haven’t you left yet?”
He crouched before her like a lurking beast, trapping her between the edge of the bed and himself.
Her fingers unconsciously clenched the bedsheet.
With nowhere to retreat, she was forced to meet his scorching gaze.
Zhou Wanning’s breathing grew faint; the air was filled only with his overpowering presence.
“I said I would examine you.” His warm palm rested on her knee.
Zhou Wanning pressed her hand over his. “I… I’m really fine now.”
“Fine?” His tone lifted.
She nodded desperately. “Yes, fine.”
“Not hurting anymore?”
“Not hurting.”
“Hah.” A derisive snort escaped the man’s nostrils.
He straightened, looming over her like a mountain.
His suit jacket was gone somewhere, and his slender fingers moved to the buttons of his shirt.
One by one, he undid them, slowly.
Zhou Wanning stared at his hands, then scrambled to her feet in panic. “I need to use the bathroom.”
“Ah!” She covered her mouth, stifling her gasp.
But Lu Jinzhou seized her arms, pressing her entire back against his chest. “Trying to run? Too bad… you can’t escape now…”
“Don’t… please, no.”
Zhou Leyu was still home—how could he not be afraid at all?
Lu Jinzhou’s arm reached around from the front, slipping past her abdomen to grip her waist tightly.
With his other hand, he cupped her chin, forcing her face toward him, and bit her lip.
“Mmph…” Zhou Wanning struggled even harder.
She was petite before him; enveloped in his embrace, she couldn’t break free.
When he’d kissed her enough, his hands began to strip her clothes from the front.
“No, Lu Jinzhou, Le… Le Yu is still here. Don’t be impulsive.”
“If you’re not hurting anymore, then you need my affection. Ningning, don’t reject me—it will make me unhappy.” His movements didn’t stop.
Zhou Wanning pressed her hands over his, her voice trembling with tears. “Please, not here. Not in my home.”
She didn’t want to return every day and remember how he had forced himself on her here.
Lu Jinzhou frowned, turning her around just in time to see a tear slide from her eye.
He leaned down and kissed the teardrop, tasting its saltiness.
“Tell me, are you really not hurting anymore?”
She nodded, her voice tinged with a nasal tone, “A little.”
“I’ll apply medicine for you.”
She shook her head, “I… I haven’t showered yet.”
“Go take a shower.”
She didn’t want to shower; she just wanted to run away.
“Either shower and I’ll apply the medicine, or… I’ll do it right here—” His crude words were cut off as Zhou Wanning covered his mouth with her hand.
“I’ll go shower.”
He patted her bottom, “Good, be quick.”
Zhou Wanning reluctantly grabbed her pajamas and headed to the bathroom.
When she came out of the shower, Zhou Leyu happened to emerge as well.
“Sis, do you know when Jinzhou left?”
Zhou Wanning stammered in reply, “N-no, I don’t know.”
“What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing, I’m going back to my room to sleep.”
She didn’t dare open the door fully, squeezing through the crack instead, afraid that Zhou Leyu would see the man inside her room.
Lu Jinzhou was sitting at her vanity, fiddling with her cosmetics.
He turned sideways, “Come here.”
Zhou Wanning shuffled over and was pulled onto his lap.
His left palm pressed against the small of her back, while his right thumb pressed and rubbed against her reddened lips. “Move in with me tomorrow.”
“I won’t go.”
“Hmm?” The man raised an eyebrow, looking at her.
Zhou Wanning lowered her head, “Your place is too far from my school.”
“Then I’ll buy a house near your school, so you can walk to work.”
Lu Jinzhou looked completely serious.
Was that the point?
Zhou Wanning whispered to him, “What exactly do you want?”
He lifted her chin, forcing her to look at him. “Ningning, you know what I want.”
“You’re my sister’s…” The word “husband” never made it past her lips.
“Shh…” He interrupted her.
His hand slipped under her nightgown.
She shamefully tried to stop his hand.
“Not being obedient, are we?”
How could he be like this? There was no reasoning with him.
She couldn’t hold back his hand anymore; his strength far surpassed hers.
In the end, she could only bite down hard on her lower lip to keep herself from making a single sound.
Knock, knock, knock.
Zhou Wanning’s heart skipped a beat. The knocking sounded like a death knell—if this door were pushed open, Zhou Leyu would see everything.
No matter how many excuses she had, she wouldn’t be able to explain it away.
“Sis, are you asleep?”
Lu Jinzhou withdrew his hand and whispered by her ear, “Ningning, say something.”
“I… I’m about to sleep. What’s the matter?”
Zhou Leyu: “I can’t get through to Jinzhou on the phone. I’m worried about him, so I’m going to check on him at his place. I won’t be back tonight.”
Zhou Wanning looked at Lu Jinzhou, her heart nearly leaping out of her throat. “Ah, okay, go ahead. Be careful on the way.”
Hearing the sound of the door closing, Zhou Wanning didn’t feel relieved—instead, she grew even more frightened.
Now, only she and Lu Jinzhou were left in her home, which meant he could do whatever he wanted.
“Aren’t you going back? Le Yu went to look for you.”
“I never asked her to look for me.”
Zhou Wanning felt a surge of anger. If he didn’t like Le Yu, he should just break up with her. What was the point of all this?
Bullying her while deceiving her sister—was he just toying with the two of them?
Seeing her puffed-up, angry expression, Lu Jinzhou found it amusing and carried her back to her bed.
Zhou Wanning immediately went into defensive mode. “Y-you said you wouldn’t touch me.”
“When did I say that?”
“You’re not keeping your word. You said if you applied the medicine, you wouldn’t—”
“Fine, I won’t touch you.” He paused. “But I never said you couldn’t touch me.”
In the bathroom, Lu Jinzhou was showering, scrubbing her hands vigorously until they turned red.
This man was truly detestable.
Lu Jinzhou, wrapped in her lavender towel, sat on the edge of her bed, placing her fallen earphones back into their case.
“Come to bed.”
“Le Yu went to look for you, and you’re here sleeping?”
“Say it again, come to bed.”
“I don’t want to. You leave, get out of my house.”