After Qiao Shuran finished taking her medicine, the female medical assistant quietly withdrew.
She pulled the blanket closer around herself and glanced up at the man on the sofa.
From beginning to end, his expression had remained indifferent. There was not a trace of emotion on his cold, stern face.
Fine then—not even a little concern for his newlywed wife.
Worse than an animal!
Qiao Shuran grumbled inwardly, but suddenly her heart skipped a beat.
Worse than an animal? Then wouldn’t he continue later?!
After all, no one would feel satisfied being interrupted halfway through.
But she truly had no strength left to deal with that now.
What should she do? Maybe she should just pretend to be asleep?
Surely, he wouldn’t have the heart to act against someone who was already sound asleep.
Thinking this, Qiao Shuran quietly pulled the blanket over herself, closed her eyes, and burrowed into the pillow.
Zhou Yannan kept his eyes on his phone screen, but his peripheral vision caught the movement on the bed.
At first, she had been staring at him blankly. After a while, she suddenly looked frightened.
And then, she covered herself with the blanket and lay down.
Pretending to sleep?
The man let out a soft scoff, easily seeing through her little trick.
Pulling this stunt for no reason—it was obvious she wasn’t treating him like a human being.
All that talk from Grandmother on the phone about cherishing and being gentle with her—
but now it seemed unnecessary. She was already quite good at taking care of herself.
Raising his hand, he turned off the lights in the room and walked next door with quieter steps.
After taking a shower and lying down, he still could not fall asleep.
That porcelain-white, flawless body kept appearing in his mind, whether he wanted it to or not.
It seemed he would not be sleeping well tonight.
He simply changed into another set of clothes and went down to the basement boxing room.
At eight in the morning, Aunt Lin paced anxiously at the bottom of the stairs.
According to the Zhou family’s rules, the day after the wedding, the newlyweds were supposed to return to the old residence early in the morning to serve tea to the elders.
Yesterday, the old madam had specifically reminded her that young people lacked restraint and discipline, and she should stay nearby to remind them.
But with her master’s temper, how could she dare to go upstairs and urge him?
Seeing that time was almost up, she was sweating from anxiety.
Just as she was worrying, her eyes suddenly caught sight of A Wen standing outside the villa.
As his name suggested, A Wen looked fair and refined. However, he was usually very quiet, almost like a mute—cold and unapproachable.
Nominally, he was Zhou Yannan’s driver, but those familiar with the situation knew that he was actually a personal bodyguard hired from Hong Kong at a high price.
After all, someone like Zhou Yannan, who acted ruthlessly and left no room for others, naturally had many enemies outside.
Without a few capable fighters by his side, who knew when something might happen?
Normally, Aunt Lin did not dare to speak to A Wen, but today she had no other choice.
Taking a deep breath, she gathered her courage and walked out.
At that moment, A Wen stood like a guardian statue at the gate, unmoving.
Hearing footsteps, he did not even turn his head.
Aunt Lin had no choice but to approach him and cautiously called out, “Brother…”
Before she could finish greeting him, his cold gaze swept over her, making her inhale sharply.
“Is something wrong?”
So he could speak—he wasn’t mute after all!
Aunt Lin silently cursed his entire family in her heart.
“Well… it’s already past eight. Why hasn’t Mister come down yet?”
“Soon.”
Just two short words again.
“Oh, alright, alright. Thank you.”
Bowing slightly, Aunt Lin returned inside awkwardly.
A Wen’s information was indeed accurate.
Less than two minutes after she stepped into the living room, footsteps sounded from the stairs.
Zhou Yannan came down in a shirt and trousers, his sleeves casually rolled up, descending the steps unhurriedly.
His presence was so commanding it was almost sharp. Even from a distance, it inexplicably made people feel intimidated.
Aunt Lin forced herself forward. “Mister.”
“Mm.”
Without even lifting his eyelids, Zhou Yannan walked past her and leisurely entered the dining room.
Aunt Lin hurriedly signaled to the other servants to bring him coffee.
She remained standing, still glancing toward the upstairs.
The second floor was silent, with no movement at all.
Strange—Madam still hadn’t gotten up?
She sighed inwardly.
Both of them were like ancestors—so difficult to serve!
She really shouldn’t have been so capable that the old madam picked her out from a crowd and sent her here to attend to the wedding room.
But since she was already here…
She gathered her courage again and followed into the dining room.
The man was leaning lazily against his chair, a cigarette in one hand while the other casually scrolled through the tablet in front of him.
There was an indescribable sense of ease about him.
He was even in the mood to read the news?
Not a trace of urgency.
Meanwhile, Aunt Lin felt like the sky was about to collapse.
“Mister,” she said respectfully, stepping closer. “It’s getting late. Has Madam not woken up yet?”
“No rush.”
The man slowly exhaled a puff of smoke, his tone relaxed. “She slept late yesterday. Wake her later.”
“But…” Aunt Lin hesitated, wringing her hands. “The old madam just called to urge us. The whole family has gathered and is waiting for the new bride to serve tea.”
“Then let them wait.”
Zhou Yannan’s voice tightened slightly, though his emotions remained unreadable. “She’s sick. Doesn’t Grandmother know that?”
“She does, but…” Aunt Lin smiled awkwardly. “Serving tea to the elders is the Zhou family’s rule.”
“Since she’s with me, then this rule can be changed.”
With a slight lift of his hand, he pressed the half-smoked cigarette into the ashtray.
He had always hated being constrained, and he despised these outdated, rigid rules even more.
The one who had the right to control him was not here, and those who wanted to control him had not even been born yet.
If anyone thought they could dictate his actions—not even the old madam, not even the heavens themselves, would be able to.
“Yes.”
Sensing his displeasure, Aunt Lin did not dare say another word.
In the second-floor bedroom, Qiao Shuran was awakened by the sound of her phone ringing.
Without opening her eyes, she groggily reached out and answered.
“Hello…”
“Shuran!”
“Aunt!” Qiao Shuran instantly became fully awake.
She jumped up from the bed, completely forgetting that she wasn’t wearing any clothes. “You finally called me! Where did you go? I’ve been so worried!”
“Hey, you brat, I’ve been worried sick too!”
Qiao Chu nearly jumped through the phone.
She had run away from home on the eve of the wedding. To avoid being tracked, she had kept her phone turned off.
Only this morning, after reaching a safe place, did she turn it back on—and what she saw made her feel like the sky had fallen.
The man that even dogs disliked had actually been married off to her well-behaved niece.
“Shuran, you silly girl! How could you marry that living demon? Tell me—did your father force you, or did the Zhou family pressure you into it?”
“No one forced me. I agreed to it willingly.”
Qiao Shuran rubbed her sleepy eyes.
Of course, she would not tell her aunt that she had agreed to the marriage because she coveted Zhou Yannan’s power and status… and, admittedly, a bit of his looks.
In Hancheng, although the Qiao family could be considered wealthy, they were nothing compared to the all-powerful Zhou family.
If she wanted to rise above others and hold her head high in her family, finding a strong backer was the quickest and most effective way.
“Aunt, when I was born, my mother was already gone. You were the one who raised me—well, not exactly fed me, but you took care of me. Dad and Aunt Ling treat me poorly. In our family, only you and Grandmother truly care about me.”
The more she spoke, the more fake it sounded even to herself. “Although you sometimes snatch my clothes and bags, I know you’re just worried I’ll attract trouble if I dress too nicely. Everything you do is for my own good. Now that you’re in trouble, how could I just stand by and do nothing…”
“You little brat, I was only eight when you were born. How could I have raised you? At least make your lies believable.”
Though Qiao Chu mercilessly exposed her, she still felt deeply moved inside.
Such a well-behaved, beautiful, smart niece—and now she had been handed over to that old man from the Zhou family!
“Wuwu, Shuran, I feel so guilty about this.”
“Wuwu, Aunt, it’s okay. If you really feel that bad, just transfer me some of your shares.”
“Hello? Hello? What are you saying? The signal in Hong Kong is bad, I can’t hear you clearly. Don’t you have to go back to your family today? I’m hanging up now!”
“Wait, Aunt, are you in Hong Kong—”
Before she could finish her sentence, the call had already ended.
“Plastic aunt and niece…”
Qiao Shuran muttered resentfully, tossing her phone aside.
When she suddenly lifted her head, she realized that the man known as the “living demon” had been standing by the bedroom door at some unknown time.