Now meant now—who was afraid of whom!
Her dignity was already gone anyway; she might as well throw it all away completely.
Qiao Shuran clenched her teeth, spun around with a sudden motion, and dropped to her knees toward him.
That had been her intention, but unfortunately, her dress was too tight and too long—her legs simply couldn’t spread properly.
She couldn’t kneel steadily either. Just as her balance faltered, the man reached out and steadied her by the waist.
Once he held her, he didn’t let go again.
He wasn’t some abstinent monk to begin with—let alone when the one tempting him right in front of him was his own wife.
His large hand slid along her waistline and moved upward, soon reaching the front. He tugged down the neckline of her off-shoulder dress. Qiao Shuran trembled in his palm and let out a soft moan.
Her body was enjoying it, but her mind remained stubborn: wasn’t an older man supposed to kiss first? Why wasn’t he following the usual steps, going straight to the point like this?
Whatever—she would enjoy it first and think later.
Qiao Shuran’s legs grew weaker and weaker, until she could barely keep herself kneeling.
“Zhou… Zhou Yannan…”
Her lips trembled as she spoke, “Hold me tighter…”
Just as her words fell, voices came from the corridor outside the study:
“A Wen, is Fourth Brother here?”
“Sixth Young Lady, Mister is busy. Please wait a moment before going in.”
“Oh, alright. Then what about Fourth Sister-in-law?”
“She’s busy as well.”
“Okay then.”
…
Qiao Shuran couldn’t take it anymore. She grabbed the man’s hand. “Someone’s outside—stop, quickly…”
“It’s fine. She wouldn’t dare come in.”
Zhou Yannan pulled her into his arms, with no intention of letting her off.
Every time, she stirred him up only to stop halfway—wasn’t that testing his limits?
But with his own wife, what limits did he even need?
“Mm…”
Qiao Shuran couldn’t hold back a cry. A wave of tingling sensation spread from her spine all the way to her scalp.
“No, no—there’s someone outside…”
She pushed him hard. “They’ll hear us.”
“If you don’t want to be heard, then keep your voice down,” Zhou Yannan said as he lifted her up and pressed her against the desk.
Her skirt was pushed up to her waist. Seeing the man free one hand and reach for his belt, Qiao Shuran was completely stunned.
“No… Zhou Yannan!”
She struggled fiercely. In her panic, her arm knocked into something.
With a loud bang, the crystal ashtray on the desk fell to the floor.
“Fourth Brother… are you done yet?”
Hearing the noise, the female voice outside spoke again. “Grandmother asked me to call you—she wants you and Fourth Sister-in-law to come to the front.”
“Got it.”
Seeing the frightened look on the person before him, he didn’t continue.
He fastened his belt again and adjusted her clothes. “Let’s go. We’ll go see Grandmother first.”
“Oh, okay.”
Qiao Shuran climbed down from the desk and tugged awkwardly at her skirt.
She admitted she was thick-skinned—but she wasn’t a pervert.
If someone outside heard that, she might as well find a crack in the ground and crawl into it.
After calming their breathing a little, the two walked out one after the other.
The gentle girl standing outside immediately stepped forward when she saw Qiao Shuran. “Fourth Sister-in-law, good afternoon! I didn’t mean to disturb you—it’s just that Grandmother and the aunts and sisters-in-law are all waiting in the front.”
“Got it. Lead the way.”
Zhou Yannan buttoned his suit with one hand, his voice indifferent.
A Wen followed behind them, secretly breaking into a cold sweat.
In a situation like today’s, if Mister decided to pursue it, it would be his dereliction of duty.
Fortunately, although Zhou Yannan was known to be ruthless outside, he was much more tolerant toward the younger members of the family.
Otherwise, having his mood ruined like that, he wouldn’t have let it go so easily.
The afternoon sunlight was warm and gentle. The group passed through the garden toward the front hall.
Looking at the girl beside her, who was about the same age as herself, Qiao Shuran couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
She was Zhou Yannan’s uncle’s daughter, ranked sixth in the family—her name was Zhou Mengdie.
Qiao Shuran had heard before that Zhou Mengdie had been kidnapped by enemies when she was young. When she returned, she had lost two fingers on her right hand.
The girl had even studied piano—it was infuriating just to think about!
Now that she had reached marriageable age, the family had arranged a match for her with the second young master of the He family from Nancheng.
Qiao Shuran had seen him once by chance—he wore glasses and looked gentle and refined. He seemed quite well-matched with the quiet and well-behaved girl before her.
“Sixth Younger Sister,”
Qiao Shuran couldn’t help but strike up a conversation. “That dress you’re wearing is so beautiful. Where did you have it made?”
“I made it myself.”
Zhou Mengdie turned back, smiling faintly. “When I have nothing to do at home, I pick fabrics and styles I like and make them to wear.”
Seeing Qiao Shuran’s surprised expression, Zhou Mengdie raised her left hand and waved it lightly. “Fourth Sister-in-law, this hand of mine is perfectly fine.”
“I’m sorry, Sister,” Qiao Shuran stepped forward and linked arms with her. “When you have time, help me make a few too—I really like them.”
“Alright.”
The two chatted and laughed as they walked ahead, as if they had forgotten Zhou Yannan’s existence.
The man didn’t mind. He pulled out a cigarette from his pocket, followed behind them, and leisurely lit it.
When they arrived at the front courtyard, before even entering, a lively noise could be heard inside.
Several young girls with childish faces were playing around, chasing each other, almost bumping into Qiao Shuran.
Zhou Mengdie stepped forward and scolded, “You girls—running around like lunatics, what kind of behavior is that! You don’t even know to greet your Fourth Aunt?”
“Fourth Aunt, Fourth Uncle, Sixth Aunt.”
The younger girls weren’t afraid of Zhou Mengdie.
But the person behind her was enough to make their scalps tingle.
They immediately stood neatly in place, at a loss.
Qiao Shuran wasn’t much older than them. Seeing how stiff they became, she grew nervous as well. “It’s fine, it’s fine—you can keep playing.”
“Thank you, Fourth Aunt.”
They thanked her verbally, but none of them dared to move an inch.
Only when Zhou Yannan stepped forward did he say, “All of you, disperse.”
“Thank you, Fourth Uncle.”
Only then did the girls scatter like startled birds.
“Wait.” The man called out again, and everyone froze on the spot.
“There are gifts your Fourth Aunt brought for you in the car. Go with A Wen to get them and divide them among yourselves.”
“Thank you, Fourth Aunt! Thank you, Fourth Uncle!”
The girls happily ran off again.
Gifts?
Qiao Shuran muttered to herself.
Right—the Zhou family had many younger members. As an elder, she really should have…
How had she forgotten about that!
Still, she hadn’t expected that this man, who looked so cold and unyielding, would be more thoughtful than her.
Meeting her grateful gaze, Zhou Yannan curved his lips slightly. “No need to thank me.”
With that, he strode toward the living room.
Qiao Shuran followed closely behind him, afraid of falling a step behind.
After all, there were so many people in the Zhou family that she couldn’t recognize them all. If she didn’t stick with him, she might embarrass herself.
“Fourth Brother, Fourth Sister-in-law, go ahead inside. I’ll check whether Grandmother has taken her medicinal meal,” Zhou Mengdie said before heading toward the dining area.
The old Madam was advanced in age, and the doctor had instructed her to eat smaller, more frequent meals.
So after every afternoon rest, she had to have another serving of medicinal food.
Qiao Shuran waved at her. “See you later.”
When she turned back, the living room seemed even livelier.
Before even stepping onto the stairs, she heard the loud voice of a middle-aged woman.
“She can’t even handle a bit of activity in bed—could she be some kind of sickly weakling? I heard her mother died from difficult childbirth when giving birth to her. Looking at her frail body, she’ll probably have a hard time bearing children in the future too.”