Even though her temper had come out for no real reason, and no one would care about it anyway.
The sound of running water stopped.
The bathroom door opened.
Footsteps approached at an unhurried pace. The other side of the bed sank slightly as the blanket was lifted at one corner. A cold pine scent mixed with damp steam drifted over.
An arm reached out and wrapped around her waist.
Wen Xi’s body instantly tensed.
She could feel his palm pressed against the side of her waist, the scorching heat seeping through the thin fabric of her pajamas like burning iron.
“Tonight…” Her voice was muffled beneath the blanket, quiet and stiff. “I don’t feel well.”
The person behind her paused.
That arm did not withdraw, but neither did it move any further.
After several seconds of silence, Fu Linfeng’s deep, calm voice came from above her head.
“What doesn’t feel well?”
“Just… not well.” Wen Xi buried her face deeper into the pillow, her voice vague and muffled. “My head hurts.”
A lie.
Her head did not hurt at all.
She simply did not want to.
She knew the excuse was terrible. So terrible that even she did not believe it herself.
But she truly could not think of anything else. She could hardly use “I still hurt” again—the marks were almost gone already, and she had seen it herself in the mirror that morning.
Silence lingered behind her for a while.
Then Fu Linfeng laughed.
It was not an open laugh. It could barely even be considered laughter—just a faint sound from his nose carrying an indescribable meaning.
But it really was laughter.
Since meeting him, it was the first time Wen Xi had heard him laugh.
She froze.
“Wen Xi.”
He called her name in a low voice, as though he were speaking about something amusing.
“Are you throwing a tantrum at me?”
Wen Xi’s back stiffened.
“I’m not.” Her voice sounded muffled, clearly lacking confidence.
“Because of that flower shop?”
“…I’m not.”
Fu Linfeng said nothing more.
He propped himself up, one hand crossing over her shoulder to press against the pillow in front of her as his entire body leaned over her from behind.
His chest pressed against her back, his body heat passing through the layers of clothing and making her whole body tremble.
His lips brushed against her ear, his voice low as if it had rolled out from deep within his chest.
“As long as you behave well tonight, I’ll agree.”
Wen Xi’s body instantly froze.
Her heart slammed hard against her chest before racing uncontrollably.
She had heard every word clearly, but it took several seconds for her brain to piece them together into a complete sentence—
Behave well tonight. He would agree.
He agreed.
She suddenly turned over onto her back and met his eyes.
Their gazes locked.
Fu Linfeng hovered above her, both hands braced at either side of her shoulders, completely enveloping her in his shadow.
He had just finished showering. His hair was still half wet, a few loose strands falling over his forehead and partially covering his brows, making his eyes appear even darker.
The corner of his lips curved slightly—not quite a smile, just faintly lifted, like the calm ease of a predator toying with its prey.
Wen Xi looked into those eyes, and her heartbeat skipped.
Not because she was afraid.
It was because she saw something there she had never seen before.
Not command.
Not scrutiny.
Not that possessive look of “I’m looking at something that belongs to me.”
It was something else… something she could not describe.
Fu Linfeng was looking at her too.
She lay on the pillow with her hair spread out around her. The pale pink pajamas made her skin look even fairer.
Her eyes were bright, carrying traces of lingering resentment and undisguised nervousness.
He could not explain why.
There were more than twenty women on the top floor more beautiful than her, sexier than her, more alluring than her.
Yet he had noticed her at first glance.
It was not because she was pure.
Nor because she resembled a blank sheet of paper.
Those were merely the reasons he used to convince himself, but they were not the real reason.
The real reason was that the moment he saw her, a voice inside him had said:
It’s her.
He could not explain where that voice had come from.
Maybe fate. Maybe something else.
He only knew that from the very first day she entered his life, he had felt something indescribable toward her.
Like an addiction.
Even though he knew he should not.
Even though he kept reminding himself this was only a transaction.
Even though he was the one who made the rules—
He still could not stop himself from wanting to get close to her, touch her, watch her blush, hear her speak, even if all she said were those cautious, clumsy little words filled with attempts to please him.
He was addicted.
Addicted to a woman he had bought for one million yuan.
Ridiculous.
“I…” Wen Xi finally spoke. Her voice sounded weak, but firmer than before. “I don’t know how.”
“Don’t know how to what?”
“Don’t know how to… behave well.” Her ears turned red, but she still forced herself to finish speaking. “I never learned.”
Fu Linfeng looked at her expression—both angry and embarrassed, obviously terrified yet stubbornly pretending to stay calm—and the curve of his lips deepened slightly.
“I’ll teach you.”
His voice lowered further, darkening like a stone sinking into deep water, leaving even the ripples silent.
Then he lowered his head and kissed her.
This night was different from before.
He no longer treated her like a fragile object that needed careful handling.
His kiss carried a force that allowed no refusal. His fingers slid through her hair and held the back of her head, pressing her entirely against himself.
Wen Xi was kissed until she could barely breathe. Her hands instinctively pushed against his chest, but he immediately caught her wrists and pinned them above the pillow.
“Keep your hands here.” His voice was hoarse and low, his lips brushing the corner of her mouth, his breath scorching hot. “Don’t move.”
Wen Xi curled her fingers slightly, not daring to move and not knowing where else to place them.
Her eyes stayed shut, her eyelashes trembling violently, her heartbeat pounding as though it wanted to burst from her chest.
His kisses trailed from the corner of her lips to her earlobe.
Her entire body shuddered, and a muffled sound escaped only to be bitten back between her teeth.
“Don’t hold it in.” His voice lingered by her ear, low and coaxing. “I want to hear it.”
Wen Xi bit her lip stubbornly, refusing to make a sound.
His fingers hooked onto the ribbon at the collar of her pajamas and slowly untied it.
Wen Xi clenched the bedsheets tightly. She could feel the changes happening within her body—those tense, resistant feelings gradually crumbling apart little by little.
“Fu Linfeng…” she called his name, her voice broken and trembling, carrying a trace of pleading she herself did not even notice.
He lifted his head and looked at her.
Her eyes were watery, her lips slightly reddened from his kisses, and a faint blush spread across her cheeks.
She looked at him with panic, daze, and something even she could not explain.
“You called my name?” he said, the corner of his lips lifting slightly. “That’s progress.”
Wen Xi grew both embarrassed and irritated at his teasing words. She turned her head away from him, her ears so red they looked ready to bleed.
By the time Fu Linfeng finally stopped, she could not even open her eyes anymore.
He turned over and lay to one side, breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling intensely.
He turned his head to glance at her.
She was curled up against the pillow, her hair spread messily across it. Faint tear tracks still lingered on her face, and her lips were slightly parted as she breathed lightly and unevenly.
He reached out and pulled the blanket over her.
Wen Xi did not move.
She no longer had the strength to.
Before her consciousness slipped into darkness, one blurry thought flashed through her mind—
He agreed.
Tomorrow… she absolutely had to remind him.