Zhou Wanning was immediately jolted awake by Mother Zhou’s furious shouting over the phone.
She panicked and hung up, terrified that Mother Zhou might recognize Lu Jinzhou’s voice.
She had slept deeply after being thoroughly exhausted by him last night. Glancing at the time, she saw it was past nine. Her mother must have called after arriving at the hospital and finding her absent.
Lu Jinzhou, still unaware of what had happened, reached over and gave her a playful squeeze.
Furious, Zhou Wanning shoved his hand away. Without caring whether he’d get angry, she threw off the covers and walked naked toward the bathroom.
The shove woke Lu Jinzhou completely. She certainly had quite the temper first thing in the morning.
Zhou Wanning’s phone rang again—still her mother.
Lu Jinzhou glanced at it and called toward the bathroom, “It’s your mom.”
Zhou Wanning grabbed a bathrobe from the bathroom, slipped it on, and hurried out, afraid Lu Jinzhou might answer and say something inappropriate.
She snatched up the phone and dashed back into the bathroom.
Her voice softened. “Hello, Mom. My phone died earlier.”
Mother Zhou was sharp. “Where are you? Did you abandon your father at the hospital to go out and have fun? Do you even have a heart?”
“I—I didn’t. Zhenzhen had something come up suddenly, so I went with her.”
“Hah. Zhou Wanning, do you think I’m a fool? Who was that man just now?” The more Mother Zhou thought about it, the angrier she became. All that talk about Luo Shuhang handing her over to another man—in her eyes, it was just Zhou Wanning having an affair, and she even dared to lie about it.
“You heard wrong. There was no man.”
The bathroom door swung open. Lu Jinzhou strode in, completely naked, and pressed himself against her back, wrapping his arms around her waist.
“Baby, what’s wrong?”
Zhou Wanning’s face instantly paled. She stared at Lu Jinzhou’s deliberately provocative expression in the mirror.
“Zhou Wanning! Get to the hospital right now.” With that, Mother Zhou hung up.
Zhou Wanning’s hand holding the phone dropped limply to her side.
She avoided his gaze and pried his fingers away.
Lu Jinzhou’s teasing expression faded into displeasure. He pulled her close again, his arm around her waist. “What are you throwing a tantrum for? I didn’t do anything to you.”
Didn’t do anything? Just look at her neck. Last night, she had begged him not to leave such obvious marks, but did he listen?
The more she pleaded, the more he seemed to deliberately oppose her, pressing harder.
And now, knowing she was on the phone with her mother, he had intentionally spoken up.
“Let go of me. My mom wants me at the hospital.” She tried to pry his fingers away again.
Lu Jinzhou gripped her waist and pinned her against the bathroom counter, lifting her chin. “Why take it out on me just because you have to go to the hospital?”
As if he didn’t know!
Zhou Wanning refused to look at him. She needed to figure out how to explain herself once she got to the hospital.
Even though she was an adult, Mother Zhou had always strictly forbidden such behavior.
Including her relationship with Luo Shuhang—Mother Zhou had repeatedly warned her not to engage in such acts before marriage.
To be honest, Zhou Wanning wasn’t that conservative. If it were a man she truly loved, she believed such things would happen naturally.
But now? It wasn’t natural, yet she couldn’t break free from this man.
“Why did you have to speak? You knew it was my mom, yet you deliberately said something. How am I supposed to explain this to her?”
“Explain? I’m your man. What’s there to explain?”
Zhou Wanning scoffed coldly. “Have you forgotten? You’re Zhou Leyu’s boyfriend.”
“Jealous?”
As if she’d drink soy sauce.
Zhou Wanning brushed his hand away and pushed hard against his chest. “Lu Jinzhou, do you think it’s fun to toy with us sisters like this?”
She felt that sooner or later, the Zhou family would find out about her and Lu Jinzhou.
There were no walls that didn’t let sound through, and she couldn’t keep making excuses to her family forever.
Lu Jinzhou, however, found her little mind quite amusing. She had accused him of treating her as a plaything before, and now she still thought he was just toying with her.
“Play? You’ve given me a good idea. Next time, I’ll bring Zhou Leyu along too, and I’ll show you exactly how I play.”
Zhou Wanning stiffened against the bathroom sink, her slightly parted red lips and the fear in her eyes betraying her forced composure.
Lu Jinzhou realized he liked her gentle side, her tears, and the way she resisted like a disobedient kitten.
He also liked this act of hers—thinking she was strong but having no choice but to submit to him.
Last night, she had been afraid he would go to her father and force her to yield. Today, she was confronting him, trying to break free. Lu Jinzhou knew she wasn’t truly obedient.
But he wasn’t afraid of a challenge. He leaned in, placing his hands on the sink and trapping her in his embrace.
His gaze met hers, watching her unease. “How about tonight? I’ll take you to the hospital first, and then you and Zhou Leyu can come back together tonight.”
Even though it was summer, Zhou Wanning felt cold—so cold that her toes curled.
He turned her around. “Go wash up. Aren’t you in a hurry to get to the hospital?”
Lu Jinzhou didn’t stay in the bathroom. Instead, he grabbed a bathrobe and walked out.
Zhou Wanning splashed water on her face and stared at her reflection in the mirror.
Should she compromise? Accept her fate? Obey? Would that make things easier?
But she was a person with free will. She had the right to choose.
She couldn’t just let Lu Jinzhou control everything while she could only submit.
After washing up, Zhou Wanning went to the walk-in closet and changed into a dress with a higher collar. Even so, the marks on her neck were still visible.
She had no choice but to keep applying foundation to cover them.
When she went downstairs, she realized Lu Jinzhou had already left.
He hadn’t said a word, which only made Zhou Wanning more anxious.
Would he really bring Zhou Leyu tonight?
With this uncertainty weighing on her, she went to the hospital.
When Mother Zhou saw her, she first sent the caregiver out of the room.
“Zhou Wanning, did I raise you all these years just so you could fool around outside?”
Father Zhou frowned. “Don’t speak so harshly.”
Mother Zhou glared coldly at him. “Am I wrong? Yesterday, she said she broke up with Luo Shuhang, and last night, she ended up in some man’s bed. Zhou Wanning, tell us.”
Her aggressive attitude reminded Zhou Wanning of Lu Jinzhou.
Why did everyone have to push her like this?
As her mother, she didn’t even care about what had actually happened. Instead, she immediately assumed Zhou Wanning had been fooling around outside.
“What, can’t say anything?”
Mother Zhou looked at her with disappointment. “Haven’t I always taught you that, as a woman, you must keep yourself pure and not be with men casually? Do you know how shameful it is to get pregnant out of wedlock?”
After saying this, she glanced at Father Zhou, who immediately pursed his lips and turned away without a word.
“If you give birth to another unwanted child, you’ll be laughed at for the rest of your life.”
Mother Zhou grabbed her arm, “You’re not becoming someone’s mistress, are you? You know how much I despise homewreckers, Zhou Wanning. Speak to me.”
Each harsh word felt like a knife slowly carving into Zhou Wanning’s heart.
Seeing her silence, Mother Zhou believed she had guessed correctly.
Zhou Wanning was just about to say no.
“Smack.” Mother Zhou raised her hand and slapped Zhou Wanning across the face.
“If you’re a homewrecker, I’ll beat you to death.”
She had lost count of how many slaps she had received. Ever since childhood, Mother Zhou would slap her for all sorts of reasons.
It only stopped after she became an adult.
“Wu Wanjun, why are you hitting her again!” Father Zhou was so anxious he wanted to get out of bed.
Zhou Wanning covered her stinging cheek, her eyes growing hot and the corners turning red. “Mom, I’m not.”