Shen Nianyi instinctively looked toward the distance, but Qin Jiming was nowhere to be seen.
A scorching sensation spread through her body, yet her heart was so cold that nothing could warm it.
She refused to believe Qin Jiming had failed to see what Wang Ruhai was trying to do!
When Wang Ruhai had been urging him to drink earlier, Qin Jiming had even discussed a few serious matters with him—a rare occurrence.
But, as always, the moment Lin Jiujiu called, he could put everything else aside to go see her.
Wang Ruhai laughed arrogantly as he looked over the woman leaning against the doorway. His greedy gaze traced the curve of her lower back.
“I’ve wanted to taste you for a long time.”
Shen Nianyi pretended to remain calm and said firmly, “Wang Ruhai, do you still want to work together or not?”
Wang Ruhai scoffed. “You really think President Qin still has you in his heart? I was watching you the whole time just now. Don’t you think men understand men?”
Shen Nianyi tried to move forward.
Wang Ruhai followed after her at an unhurried pace.
It was as though someone had already taken care of everything in the corridor. It was eerily silent, and even his original assistant had disappeared.
Shen Nianyi’s legs were so weak that she could barely walk. She only knew that she could not return to the private room.
The moment the door closed, she would truly be finished!
Suddenly, someone seized her arm. Wang Ruhai’s fingers were rough, and the sensation terrified Shen Nianyi into screaming, “Let go of me!”
“Bitch, why are you pretending to be so pure at a time like this? I’ve heard how you got those collaborations before! Before you came, I even specifically asked President Qin what your relationship was. Guess what he said?”
Wang Ruhai paused, as though he were telling some amusing joke.
“She’s just an insignificant secretary. Even when she resigned, he didn’t need to approve it personally!”
The pain in her heart left Shen Nianyi even more powerless.
Wang Ruhai dragged her by the arm and waist. The fingers she had braced against the wall slipped away one by one.
She was about to be dragged back into the room when Shen Nianyi spotted her phone lying on the floor and murmured, “Help me…”
The next second, the force dragging her suddenly released her.
The resulting momentum sent her pitching forward, and she nearly fell.
Instead, a pair of strong, solid arms caught her.
The familiar scent of agarwood filled her senses. Shen Nianyi looked up in surprise, but through her blurred vision, she saw another face.
The moment she saw Huo Yuqing, Shen Nianyi thought she was dreaming.
“Huo Yuqing…”
The man’s expression was so dark it seemed capable of dripping water. He steadied Shen Nianyi against his chest, and when he realized she could barely stand, he swept her up into his arms.
Then he ordered the assistant behind him, “Take hold of him. I don’t need to tell you how to deal with him, do I?”
“Yes, President Huo. Rest assured.”
A tremendous bang sounded as the door slammed shut. Shen Nianyi no longer knew what happened inside the private room.
She only vaguely heard Huo Yuqing give someone an order. After that, he carried her steadily out of the club.
The wind rushing toward her did nothing to clear her head.
Perhaps the drug had overwhelmed everything else. The pain in her stomach gradually faded, but the fire burning up from the depths of her heart grew fiercer and fiercer.
As Huo Yuqing held the restless woman in his arms, even his breathing nearly lost its rhythm. He hurriedly settled her in the back seat and climbed in after her.
Shen Nianyi was still far from calm. Her vision had already blurred, and she instinctively moved toward the source of warmth beside her.
For some reason, she was exceptionally nimble now. Her soft arms curled around Huo Yuqing’s neck like vines, and she climbed onto his lap of her own accord.
Huo Yuqing’s breath caught for a moment. His voice deep, he said, “To the villa.”
After speaking to the driver, he pressed a button, and the partition between the front and back seats rose.
Shen Nianyi was like a lump of soft mud in his arms, her body uncontrollably pressing closer against him.
Huo Yuqing clenched his teeth and tried to pull her back a little, but she rubbed against him again as though she had no regard for her own safety.
“Damn.”
His pupils contracted for an instant. Huo Yuqing clasped the back of Shen Nianyi’s head and kissed her fiercely.
Her red lips were soft beneath his. Their breaths mingled, and Huo Yuqing lost control, kissing her more and more deeply.
She carried the faint scent of alcohol, mixed with the floral-fruity fragrance of her shampoo. It nearly cost him his reason.
Huo Yuqing could more or less guess that she had been drugged.
Otherwise, there was no explanation for how limp her body was, nor for her unusually eager response.
She had clearly said at noon that it would be best for the two of them to sleep in separate rooms.
Huo Yuqing’s thoughts drifted. Reluctantly, he pulled away from her, thinking she might regain some clarity.
But the instant their lips and teeth parted, she leaned toward him again of her own accord and said in a soft, delicate voice, “I want…”
Her voice trembled faintly, and she did not finish the sentence.
Huo Yuqing abruptly turned his head, allowing her to kiss his cheek without any semblance of order.
Shen Nianyi had no idea what she was doing.
She only knew that she was about to go mad, yet the man in front of her stubbornly refused to continue.
Until the car stopped.
The man carried her out of the car and, once they returned home, placed her in the bathroom.
The cold water cleared Shen Nianyi’s vision somewhat. She lifted her eyes to look at him, a moment of confusion passing through them.
“Are you awake now?” Huo Yuqing stood beside the bathtub and spoke coldly, his voice unusually hoarse.
Shen Nianyi blinked. Before long, she had actually fallen asleep.
The drug had taken effect quickly, and it wore off just as quickly.
That left Huo Yuqing standing beside the bathtub. He instinctively supported her head and let out a bitter laugh.
What a nuisance.
When Shen Nianyi woke, it was already the next morning.
The memories of the previous night came rushing back. At the thought of Wang Ruhai’s lecherous face, she almost screamed and hurriedly seized the covers to wrap herself up.
But when she saw the dark-purple bedding, she realized that she seemed to be at Huo Yuqing’s home.
Last night… it seemed that he had once again rescued her from danger!
And it seemed he had done more than merely rescue her.
Shen Nianyi vaguely remembered that Huo Yuqing had thrown her into the bathtub. Several times during the night, she had woken in a daze and seen him standing guard beside the bed…
Thinking back further, it seemed that she had also crossed the line in the car.
They were only pretending to be married, while Huo Yuqing was a true gentleman.
As Shen Nianyi silently complained to herself, Huo Yuqing’s voice came from the doorway.
“Awake?”
She looked up in alarm and saw the man approaching with breakfast.
“Eat something.”
As he spoke, he placed the tray beside the bed, scooped up a spoonful of porridge, and held it out to her. Shen Nianyi hurriedly took it from him.
“Th-thank you.”
Huo Yuqing paused, and his gaze deepened slightly.
Fortunately, the woman only felt embarrassed and lowered her head to eat, completely missing the fact that he had almost instinctively tried to feed her.
*
Qin Jiming’s office.
“The Sanjin Project fell through? Didn’t the negotiations go well last night?”
He questioned Fang Zhou incredulously.
In truth, delivering the documents had only been a pretext. He had told Fang Zhou to summon Shen Nianyi.
Before Shen Nianyi arrived, he and Wang Ruhai had already nearly finished their discussion.
As Qin Jiming lost his temper, the office door opened, and Lin Jiujiu poked her head inside.
“Brother.”
“I heard about what happened yesterday… Secretary Shen isn’t still angry, is she? I shouldn’t have called you over last night.”
Lin Jiujiu pouted lightly, looking somewhat aggrieved.
“If I hadn’t asked you to come keep me company halfway through, Secretary Shen wouldn’t have been distracted, would she?”
Qin Jiming’s tightly furrowed brows relaxed.
That was right. It had to be Shen Nianyi! She had been the only one there last night.
“She’s still making a fuss even now. She’s being far too unreasonable!”