Ji Qingtang lowered her eyelashes and said lazily, “The feeling you just gave me was like a high-class player who’s been with countless women.”
Using what little strength she had left, she turned over to face him and said fiercely, “Shen Jinyu, let me tell you, if you’re not clean and still dare to touch me, I’ll make sure you never have descendants.”
Ever since her father passed away and her mother moved to Canada, Ji Qingtang had understood that marriages of convenience bound by mutual interests were always beautiful on the outside but rotten on the inside.
Shen Jinyu looked at her with slight surprise. “Mm, that does sound like something you’d do.”
Ji Qingtang let out a sigh, as if compromising with herself. “If you really can’t resist temptation, don’t hide it from me. As long as the money is right, I’ll step aside cleanly and quickly. After all, you’re not short on cash, right?”
Shen Jinyu stared at her coldly for a few seconds, then countered, “Between the two of us, who do you think is more likely to keep someone on the side?”
Ji Qingtang was furious. “Who are you being passive-aggressive at?”
“Still know how to get angry, huh?” Shen Jinyu let out a light scoff. “Stop saying such nonsense.”
Ji Qingtang rarely refrained from talking back to him.
After thinking it over carefully, Shen Jinyu really wasn’t the type to cheat.
Not to mention that he was a workaholic who was best at weighing pros and cons, just the fact that he absolutely despised his father for keeping a mistress made it highly unlikely he would ever cheat.
“Fine, my mistake for saying that.”
Ji Qingtang’s apology lasted only a few seconds. “But you can’t blame me either—who told you to try so many different moves today? Before, you’d just get straight to the point, one position to get the job done…”
Shen Jinyu looked at her and smiled helplessly. He reached out, wrapped his arm around her waist, and carried her toward the bathroom.
“What are you—”
Ji Qingtang’s eyes widened as she stammered, “Shen Jinyu, don’t… don’t push your luck. I was just stating facts. I wasn’t complimenting you, and I definitely wasn’t asking you to show off more skills…”
When the warm water from the shower cascaded down, Ji Qingtang realized she had overthought it.
It was her first time experiencing the post-event benefit of skipping a few steps, so she couldn’t help being momentarily confused about the situation.
Afraid she might lose her balance, Shen Jinyu kept his palm firm on her waist while holding the showerhead to rinse her off.
Ji Qingtang lowered her eyes to look at him.
She knew Shen Jinyu and she were about the same in this regard—anything more advanced was probably beyond his scope of knowledge.
But Ji Qingtang didn’t dare provoke him with words again at this point.
…
Early morning, the sun was blazing.
The ringtone of the phone on the nightstand cut through the silence of the room.
Ji Qingtang frowned and irritably kicked at the blanket.
The movement sent a wave of soreness through her body, instantly sobering her mind a bit.
She reached for the phone and swiped to answer.
“Hello, who is this?” Who the hell calls people this early in the morning?
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end before an apologetic voice came through. “My apologies, Madam. I’m sorry to disturb your sleep. Is President Shen available?”
Ji Qingtang opened her eyes and realized she had picked up Shen Jinyu’s phone.
A strong arm was wrapped around her waist. Ji Qingtang endured the discomfort between her legs and kicked his calf before handing him the phone. “It’s Assistant Song.”
Shen Jinyu took the phone, a hint of displeasure in his brow. “Speak.”
Song Qikun: “President Shen, the ten o’clock meeting this morning has been arranged. Also, President Cao’s secretary just called to say that President Cao suddenly has something come up and won’t be able to attend the meeting.”
Shen Jinyu hummed in acknowledgment. “No matter. The meeting proceeds as scheduled.”
Ending the call, Shen Jinyu threw off the covers and got out of bed.
Standing by the bedside, he looked at the nightgown he had torn off and tossed onto the carpet, then swept his gaze over Ji Qingtang’s thin, smooth back. He called out, “Qingtang.”
Ji Qingtang was idly scrolling through her phone. At the sound of his voice calling her name, her hand paused as the wild scenes from last night flashed through her mind frame by frame.
Her lashes trembled involuntarily. She responded with a deliberately impatient tone.
Shen Jinyu asked, “Have you seen any dresses you like from the Paris haute couture atelier lately?”
Ji Qingtang turned over, looking at him with surprise. “Shen Jinyu, have you been possessed or something?”
Calling her “Qingtang” in that sickly sweet way was one thing, but now he was actually showing concern for her?
Shen Jinyu’s gaze fell to the carpet as he explained, “I tore the strap on your nightgown last night. I’ll buy you a new one.”
Ji Qingtang shot him a glare. This man actually had the nerve to bring up his beastly behavior from last night.
Perhaps because last night had been thoroughly satisfying, Shen Jinyu accepted her glare without complaint and turned toward the bathroom.
Just from looking at his back, Ji Qingtang could tell he wore a face full of contentment, beaming with smug satisfaction.
If she hadn’t enjoyed herself last night too, she would have thrown off the covers and gotten out of bed to fight him.
“With a face that looks like it’s sworn off women, all ascetic and pure—might as well hang a string of prayer beads around your neck and knock on a wooden fish while declaring you’re off to the Western Heaven to fetch scriptures. But the moment you get in bed, you’re no different. Lustful and hypocritical!”
After muttering her complaints in a voice neither too loud nor too soft, she grabbed her phone again, just as a message came in from Jinfeng Pavilion.
Jinfeng Pavilion: [Mrs. Shen, your custom dance costume and qipao are finished. You may pick them up at any time.]
The message was from the assistant of the embroidery master at Jinfeng Pavilion.
Ji Qingtang replied:
[Alright, thank you for your hard work. I’ll send someone to pick them up this afternoon.]
[Please convey my thanks to Master Jin.]
Jinfeng Pavilion: [It’s our pleasure. I will pass along your gratitude to Master Jin.]
Shen Jinyu came out of the bathroom and saw Ji Qingtang still lying in bed looking at her phone.
He buttoned his shirt as he said, “This Saturday is Grandmother’s birthday. Arrange your schedule in advance—we’ll go back to the south lane on the outskirts of the city together to celebrate.”
Ji Qingtang scrolled through her Moments feed and gave a lazy acknowledgment.
“I’ve already prepared the gift. You don’t need to worry about it—just keep your schedule free.”
Ji Qingtang gave a perfunctory “Oh.”
You give yours, I’ll give mine.
Unlike you—a straight man who wouldn’t know a sense of occasion if it hit him—letting your assistant pick out gifts that are expensive but utterly devoid of sincerity.
Ji Qingtang grumbled inwardly but didn’t voice it out loud.
She didn’t want her good mood ruined this early in the morning.
Shen Jinyu could tell her tone was dismissive but didn’t say anything more. He finished dressing and went downstairs.
Only after he had left did Ji Qingtang get out of bed and walk into the bathroom.
In front of the mirror, she stared at the large patches of marks on her body and slowly clenched her fists.
The spa appointment she’d made was as good as gone.
Leaving the bathroom, Ji Qingtang flopped onto the big bed, grabbed her phone from beside the pillow, and sent Meng Xiao a voice message.
[Xiao Xiao, I can’t make the spa this afternoon.]
[I’m not standing you up on purpose—there’s really a reason.]
[Let’s reschedule when we’re both free.]
In no time, Meng Xiao replied.
Meng·Smug Fairy·Xiao: [Okay, let’s meet another time.]
Ji Qingtang widened her eyes in surprise and listened to the voice message again.
Why are you being so agreeable this time?
[What’s going on? Your voice sounds so muffled, not like you just woke up.]
[Haven’t had the chance to ask you yet—what time did you finally wrap up last night?]
Ji Qingtang had just sent over two voice messages when she received a text reply from Meng Xiao.
The content of the text made it abundantly clear that she found the matter hard to broach.
Meng·Stuck-Up Fairy·Xiao: [I drank a bit too much last night, and it seems I got a male model for free…]
Meng·Stuck-Up Fairy·Xiao: [But I didn’t go all the way.]
Meng·Stuck-Up Fairy·Xiao: [Behaving and admitting fault.jpg]