Zhou Wanning stepped inside but remained by the doorway, her gaze following Lu Jinzhou’s retreating figure. “No, I’ll just give the documents to Le Yu and head home.”
Lu Jinzhou adjusted his robe. “Could I trouble you to come in for a chat? I’d like to ask you a few things about Le Yu’s past, so I can understand her better.”
Zhou Wanning didn’t answer him directly. Instead, she asked, “Where’s Le Yu? Isn’t she here?”
“Hmm, she had something to attend to and will be back later.”
“Then I’ll just leave the documents here and go.” Zhou Wanning simply felt it was inappropriate to be alone with her sister’s boyfriend so late at night.
Lu Jinzhou paused while pouring water. “Not even for a few minutes? I just want to know Le Yu a little better.”
His tone sounded genuinely sincere.
“But…”
Her phone rang—it was Zhou Leyu.
“Hello, Le Yu.”
“Second Sister, have you arrived? Wait for me, I’ll be back soon. I have something to give you.”
“Alright, fine.”
Zhou Wanning had no choice but to change into slippers and step further inside.
She sat awkwardly on the living room sofa, a glass of juice Lu Jinzhou had just poured for her placed in front of her.
Lu Jinzhou sat in a single-seater sofa, leaning lazily with his elbow propped on the armrest, his head tilted slightly.
In contrast, Zhou Wanning sat ramrod straight, her entire posture radiating tension.
In her twenty-five years, she had rarely felt this tense.
“Has Le Yu ever been in a relationship before?”
Zhou Wanning wasn’t clear about Zhou Leyu’s romantic history. At most, she knew what Le Yu liked to eat, what she disliked, her favorite colors—these trivial details of daily life.
“I’m not really sure about that.”
“Oh, I heard from Le Yu that you met Mr. Luo through a blind date.”
Zhou Wanning looked at him, wondering why he was asking about her now.
But she still nodded. “Yes.”
“Did Le Yu ever go on blind dates in the past?”
Zhou Wanning relaxed slightly. “No.”
Le Yu had just graduated from university and started working. Mother Zhou hadn’t mentioned introducing anyone to her yet.
“Was it love at first sight with Mr. Luo?”
Zhou Wanning frowned. Why was he asking about her again?
“There’s no such thing as that much love at first sight,” she said, fidgeting with her fingers.
Lu Jinzhou raised an eyebrow. “All love at first sight is merely lust.”
“Then what about you and Le Yu?” Zhou Wanning didn’t know why she asked that question.
“It’s not.”
Zhou Wanning fell silent. Lu Jinzhou’s phone rang, and he went to answer it.
Once he was gone, she relaxed a little. Feeling warm—probably because the air conditioning wasn’t on and the windows were closed, making the room stuffy—she picked up the glass of juice on the coffee table and drank most of it.
The cool liquid refreshed her slightly. Lu Jinzhou’s call dragged on for a long time, so long that her eyelids grew heavy, unable to resist the drowsiness. She leaned back against the sofa and fell asleep.
Lu Jinzhou’s dark eyes fixed on the petite woman in the living room. He set down the phone and slowly walked toward her.
First, he gently patted her shoulder and called out, “Wanning.”
Zhou Wanning didn’t respond. Her long eyelashes cast a small shadow. Lu Jinzhou leaned in closer.
He inhaled her unique scent—not perfume, not shampoo, but something like body wash mingled with her natural fragrance.
“Ningning.”
In the vast living room, no one answered.
Lu Jinzhou picked up Zhou Wanning and strode steadily toward his bedroom…
“Sis, second sister, wake up.”
Zhou Wanning felt someone shaking her shoulder and slowly opened her eyes.
“Le Yu?”
Zhou Leyu sat up. “I didn’t want to wake you since you were sleeping so soundly, but it’s uncomfortable to sleep here. Go to a room instead.”
Zhou Wanning looked around. She was still at Yunding Yihao, in Lu Jinzhou’s living room, having fallen asleep leaning against the sofa.
This… was so improper.
“What time is it?”
“Almost two.”
Zhou Wanning rubbed her sore wrist. “Did you just get back?”
“Yeah, sorry for making you wait so long.”
It was quite rare for Zhou Leyu to apologize, but Zhou Wanning didn’t have time to dwell on it. She simply said, “I should head back now.”
“It’s too late, it’s not safe. Besides, it’s the weekend—you don’t have work.”
This was someone else’s home, and sleeping here just didn’t feel right to her.
“I’d rather go home.”
Zhou Leyu directly grabbed her and led her into a guest room. “Just stay here for the night. I’ll go home with you tomorrow.”
Her tone was somewhat forceful, so Zhou Wanning reluctantly nodded.
Zhou Leyu brought her a silk spaghetti-strap nightgown, a pale purple one that barely reached the top of her thighs.
A short while later, she came back in holding an incense burner. “Sis, this is a calming incense our company developed. I need to do some research—could you try it for me today?”
The incense burner was placed on the bedside table.
“Okay.”
Zhou Wanning changed into the nightgown and frowned—it was way too short.
Her clothes were neatly folded nearby, and she quickly slipped under the covers.
As she breathed in the fragrance drifting from the incense burner, she gradually drifted into sleep.
In her dream, a warm, large hand began creeping up from her waist.
She wanted to push it away but found both her hands bound by something, held above her head.
She tried to open her eyes, but her eyelids felt heavy, impossible to lift no matter how hard she tried.
The hand continued its mischief. She instinctively whimpered, arching her upper body slightly.
“No… don’t…”
She felt the hand sliding along her leg, stirring a wave of tingling sensation.
“Mmm…”
More soft moans escaped her lips as she squirmed, trying to escape this unfamiliar feeling.
Her hands were freed, and her fingers brushed against a firm, muscular chest before her lips were suddenly covered.
She could feel someone kissing her—deeply, tangling with her tongue, sucking until the base of her tongue went numb.
She mumbled incoherent protests, “No, stop…”
But her words were swallowed once more.
The kiss lingered for a while before wet lips trailed down from her chin to her neck, collarbone, chest, and abdomen.
Moving lower and lower.
Her hands gripped the man’s shoulders tightly, trembling.
A man?
Her eyes snapped open, lips slightly parted as she gasped for air.
She rubbed her forehead—there was no man in sight.
Yet the sensations felt so real, the lingering echoes seemingly slow to fade.
Glancing down at the bedsheet… her face flushed crimson all the way to her ears. How could this…
How could she…
In her sister’s boyfriend’s home, she… How was she going to explain this to Zhou Leyu later?
Zhou Wanning felt as if struck by lightning, wishing she could just disappear.
After changing back into her own clothes, she didn’t leave the room—she truly had no idea how to explain. Anxious, her eyes reddened.
Not long after, there was a knock on the door. “Sis, are you awake?”
Zhou Wanning was startled. “Awake, you’re awake.”
Zhou Leyu pushed the door open and walked right in. “Breakfast is ready, come out and eat.”
She grabbed Zhou Wanning and led her out. Zhou Wanning glanced back at the bedsheet. “Um, Le Yu, the bedsheet…”
“The housekeeper will change it with a new one, don’t worry about it. There are crab roe buns today—your favorite.”
Zhou Wanning was nudged into the bathroom. “Go wash up, all the toiletries are new.”
But as soon as she stepped inside, she saw Lu Jinzhou with his upper body bare, a few red marks visible on his light tan skin from his shoulder down to the middle of his chest.
“Ah, sorry!” she exclaimed, turning around and rushing out.