Xia Wanzhi swallowed nervously, turning her face away and biting her red lips. She looked delicate, soft, and sweet, with a gentle beauty.
Her heart pounded wildly.
Lu Zhuojin cupped her chin, turning her face back toward him.
His handsome face loomed above her, his gaze sweeping over her features inch by inch.
The crimson corners of his eyes, her clear, watery gaze, milk-like cheeks, and soft, rosy lips.
Especially when those lips were caught between her teeth, they looked particularly enticing.
Xia Wanzhi felt a flicker of fear, as if she might be devoured by him at any moment. Trying to break the intimate tension of his scrutiny, she stammered, “That man… he’s not dead.”
Lu Zhuojin narrowed his eyes. “Who?”
Xia Wanzhi said, “The police called me. They said three people were involved in the robbery. He’s not dead.”
Lu Zhuojin suddenly laughed. “Little one, this is a society governed by law. You can’t just kill people.”
“You actually believed that~~”
“But that night… you were so pure, so beautiful… so fragile, as if you could be broken with a single touch…”
His voice was low and seductive, desire flickering in his eyes. “When you begged, when you cried… it made me want to…”
Xia Wanzhi felt as if she were about to be consumed bite by bite.
Last time, she had been under the influence of drugs. The entire experience had been intense and passionate, her senses heightened, her mind hazy.
But now, this lingering tension and intimacy filled her with dread.
Last time had been unavoidable, but this time, it absolutely could not happen again.
Lu Zhuojin’s breath was hot, his wildness barely contained. “How about… I make you cry? I want to hear it… your crying…”
“It sounds good…”
“Soft, delicate, lingering…”
Listening to his suggestive words, Xia Wanzhi felt her body heat up, a mix of fear and flustered excitement.
She stammered, “Those two people… they left. Should we… go too?”
Lu Zhuojin whispered in her ear, “How about one more time?”
His voice was like a vine, coiling around her, threatening to tighten and choke her at any moment.
It was also like the enchanting song of a siren, seductive and alluring, drawing her into its depths.
Xia Wanzhi pushed against him, panicked and uneasy. “No, no more.”
Lu Zhuojin exhaled hotly. “But I want to…”
Xia Wanzhi turned her head away. “I don’t want to. You… you’re not good at it…”
She used the weakest tone she could muster to say the most rejecting words she could think of.
She was afraid of angering him, but even more afraid that if he continued, she wouldn’t be able to escape.
Lu Zhuojin let out a low, magnetic chuckle, his voice soft. “But that day, your voice told me you enjoyed it… The sound of you… singing… was so beautiful. It’s a shame I was too… preoccupied to listen properly… How about letting me hear it again…”
He whispered hot breath into her ear. “Do you remember? You clung to me, just like this…”
His hand slowly trailed down from Xia Wanzhi’s pale neck.
His fingers were burning hot, moving slowly over her wind-chilled skin, full of suggestion.
Xia Wanzhi abruptly grabbed his hand, stopping him from causing more trouble. Their hands clasped together, and Lu Zhuojin’s scorching heat seemed to flow through their joined palms.
She bit her lip hard. “I’m going to marry Lu Ruiqian.”
Lu Zhuojin’s hand paused, his voice low and laced with laughter, slow and gentle, carrying a faint chill as he leaned close to her ear:
“You think I care about that?”
Xia Wanzhi whispered softly, faint yet resolute: “Unless I die.”
Lu Zhuojin chuckled, his hand slowly moving to Xia Wanzhi’s neck, gently stroking the back of it, carrying danger and oppression: “Is that so? Want to die, baby~”
“What do they all say about me? That I’ll stop at nothing? Ruthless? Brutal? Sick?”
“They’re all right…”
“Sweetheart… you can’t escape. Why not just lie back and enjoy it…”
“I’ll make you feel good…”
But his hand shifted to the front of her neck, tightening relentlessly.
He murmured intimately: “I’ve told you before, I don’t mind… with your corpse… corpses are much more obedient…”
Xia Wanzhi shuddered. He was serious.
Lu Zhuojin’s gaze fixed intently on Xia Wanzhi’s eyes, waiting for her to beg for mercy, like a god judging sins, prepared to gently and mercifully forgive the sinner’s transgressions.
Xia Wanzhi felt a chill run through her body. This man was insane…
She couldn’t agree. If she did, her relationship with Lu Ruiqian would be over. She had hoped to marry Lu Ruiqian, have a baby, and have a happy marriage…
Her eyes grew unfocused, her body stiffening more and more, her breath cut off, feeling so cold…
She struggled desperately, but Lu Zhuojin easily subdued her, his eyes boring into her, his tone so gentle it could draw silk: “Good girl… why won’t you agree…”
“Hurry up and say yes…”
Xia Wanzhi suffocated, her body going limp, slowly closing her eyes.
Who would have thought… people were so fragile… alive one second, dead the next…
Lu Zhuojin suddenly released his grip. Xia Wanzhi slumped toward the ground, only to be caught by Lu Zhuojin and pulled into his embrace.
He lowered his head, pressing a searing kiss onto the soft, pale neck he had just choked.
His burning body warmth seeped into her icy frame.
Lu Zhuojin’s scorching palm pressed firmly against her chest.
Slowly, Xia Wanzhi’s body warmed in Lu Zhuojin’s embrace.
Suddenly, she took a deep, gasping breath and pushed Lu Zhuojin away.
Lu Zhuojin was pushed back two steps. He said nothing, hands in his pockets, standing quietly as he watched her. Moonlight bathed him from above, cold and still.
Xia Wanzhi panted, looking fragile and broken, soft yet resilient: “Lu Zhuojin, I will never sleep with you again.”
“I’m going to marry Lu Ruiqian.”
Under the moonlight, Lu Zhuojin, dressed in a dark blue suit, leisurely lit a cigarette, his voice casual:
“Little one, I was just joking. Why did you take it so seriously?”
“There are so many women out there. Why would I insist on sleeping with you… What’s so special about you?”
Xia Wanzhi’s breathing slowed as she gradually straightened up, moonlight brushing her face: “Good.”
Lu Zhuojin drawled lazily: “Besides, you… first, you need to get through the Lu family’s door before talking about marriage.”
“I suggest you don’t think that far ahead…”
“Just look at the present. Whether your boyfriend can handle his mother is another matter entirely.”
“Not to mention, he doesn’t hold any real power now. His projects all depend on others.”
“What does he have to get married with? What does he have to negotiate with his mother?”
“Why does he care so much about his parents’ opinions…”
Lu Zhuojin’s tone was teasing: “Because he needs money, projects, and support from them, sweetheart~~ Did you really think it was about filial piety?”
“Remember what I said? People judge right and wrong based on interests. Did you really think he didn’t realize his mother was deliberately making things difficult for you?”
“If he didn’t know you were being wronged, why would he keep apologizing to you while acting like he’s spoiling you?”
“Do you still believe he unconditionally took your side without knowing the truth?”
“He’ll have you apologize to his mother later~”
“Most of the time, people are just putting on an act for each other. And you actually fell for it, didn’t you?”
Lu Zhuojin sneered, “Little one, the waters of the Lu family run deep—they could swallow your bones whole.”
Xia Wanzhi froze, her mind suddenly connecting the dots. No wonder Lu Ruiqian apologized to her so quickly. So that’s how it was.
With a wicked, unrestrained smile, Lu Zhuojin lazily walked up to Xia Wanzhi, his voice as pleasant as a piano melody:
“Darling, the truth is always cruel.”
“Welcome to the real world.”
“Cruel, yet beautiful.”
“You’ll come to love it~”
…
(A line from a song in Friends: “Welcome to the real world! It sucks. You’re gonna love it.”)