1 – Quite the Guts
Deep in the night, the moonlight was alluring.
“Get off~”
Qin Zhiluo curled up, instinctively letting out a faint protest.
Her hands rested on solid muscle, and from beneath her palms came the steady, powerful thumping of a heartbeat.
A moment of silence.
A low, husky voice came from above her head.
It was scorching and restrained, carrying a hint of nonchalance: “Having second thoughts now? Too late.”
Immediately after, all protests were swallowed up in the hazy night.
…
When she woke up, it was already broad daylight.
“Hiss~” Qin Zhiluo barely moved before she noticed an arm draped across her waist, firmly restricting her movements.
The man was still asleep, eyes tightly shut, with short, tousled hair framing his strikingly handsome brows.
He was a man who, at a young age, commanded assets worth hundreds of billions, owned businesses across every industry, and held unrivaled power in the capital.
Zhuang Hezhi.
Also the man behind her archrival.
She had thought last night was just a dream!
She never expected it to actually happen…
Qin Zhiluo pressed a hand to her wildly racing heart, hesitated for a moment, then got up and changed her clothes.
The soft click of the door closing reached the bed, and the man’s eyes snapped open.
There was still a trace of warmth beside him, but she was gone.
“Bold one.”
Sleep and run?
Zhuang Hezhi reached for his phone, his fingertips accidentally brushing against a metal chain on the pillow.
He frowned, picked it up, and examined it closely.
It was a delicate women’s necklace with an intricate design.
The pendant was a small gardenia flower, with a pale yellow gem set in the center of the calyx, and words engraved on the back.
He rubbed the chain with his thumb, as if her scent still lingered on it.
After a long moment, Zhuang Hezhi let out a soft chuckle, then picked up his phone again and called his assistant.
“Ten minutes. Check the surveillance and find out who came into my room last night.”
…
This was insane!
By the time she got into the taxi, Qin Zhiluo’s legs were still trembling.
“Driver, to Jinxiu Garden.”
Her voice was a bit hoarse too.
Qin Zhiluo was completely numb, cursing under her breath—what a bastard!
So rough! Like he’d never had a meal in his life.
Did Alison usually starve her sugar daddy, keeping him hungry?
Not a shred of gentleness toward a lady!
Just as she finished cursing, a phone call interrupted her thoughts. Qin Zhiluo answered, only to get scolded by her best friend Lin Yue.
“Didn’t come home all night, didn’t answer your phone—who are you trying to worry to death?”
“If you hadn’t called back soon, I was about to file a missing person report.”
Lin Yue was her best friend and assistant. The two lived together at Jinxiu Garden and were very close.
There were hundreds of missed calls on her phone, most of them from Lin Yue.
Qin Zhiluo: “Sorry, I went and did something big last night.”
On the other end, hearing her strange voice, Lin Yue recalled her bold words from the night before.
“No way, no way—did you really steal Alison’s sugar daddy to get back at her?”
Qin Zhiluo calmly hummed in affirmation, and Lin Yue was stunned.
“Alison really is despicable!! She’s stolen your opportunities several times, leaving us with no money. She even stole your boyfriend, flaunted it in your face, deliberately trying to piss you off…”
“But they say her sugar daddy is old, ugly, and bald, with breath that stinks like crap—how could you even bring yourself to do it? To get back at her, you sacrificed way too much.”
By the end, Lin Yue’s voice even carried a hint of tears.
Feeling it wasn’t worth it for Qin Zhiluo.
Qin Zhiluo quickly said, “The rumors are fake.”
“Fake?”
“Yeah, fake. The sugar daddy… he’s young, handsome, and loaded.”
Lin Yue’s face instantly flushed bright red: “Are you sure?”
Is this something you can just say?
Qin Zhiluo smacked her lips, savoring the memory, and said with a faint smile, “Eight-pack abs, a V-line waist, long legs, deep-set features—he’s a textbook example of a striking, intense-featured handsome guy.”
Just hearing about him was enough to make one’s mouth water.
To be honest, Zhuang Hezhi was the type who looked like he knew exactly what he was doing.
Moreover, both his looks and his aura hit her aesthetic preferences dead-on.
She’d had a few drinks last night and her temper had flared, but she wasn’t so drunk that she couldn’t tell a person from a beast…
Qin Zhiluo licked her slightly dry lips.
“Besides, to get back at Alison and that scumbag, I wouldn’t go so far as to make that kind of sacrifice.”
Lin Yue pressed further, “Then how did you manage to charm the sugar daddy?”
“I’m attracted to his face, would you believe me?”
The kind of love at first sight that was really just lust at first sight.
Qin Zhiluo answered with unusual candor.
Lin Yue: “…”
“Like hell I’d believe you! Zhang Xuanyu is ridiculously handsome too, but in the six-plus months you two were together, why didn’t I ever see any progress?”
Qin Zhiluo felt a dull ache in her chest at the words.
Zhang Xuanyu had pursued her for over two years, and in the six-plus months they dated, the boldest thing he’d ever done was hold her hand.
He’d gotten together with Alison within a month of knowing her, and then went around saying that she was the one who’d knowingly been the third party—that was a grievance she couldn’t swallow!
Qin Zhiluo stayed silent for a long moment, and Lin Yue, realizing she’d misspoken, quickly changed the subject.
“Forget it, we’ll talk about the details at home tonight. Right now, you need to get to the company immediately.”
“What’s wrong?” Qin Zhiluo snapped back to attention.
“Sister Qiao has secured the collaboration with Fuli Jewelry, but they haven’t decided who we’re sending yet. If you don’t show up, the opportunity will definitely fall into Alison’s lap!”
Qin Zhiluo hung up in a hurry.
“Driver, step on it—go to Xinghui Company!”
On the way, she bought a dress and changed into it.
No sooner had Qin Zhiluo stepped onto the company elevator than Alison squeezed in right behind her, arm-in-arm with Zhang Xuanyu.
“What rotten luck!”
Seeing it was her, Alison couldn’t help pulling Zhang Xuanyu back a step, as if she’d spotted something filthy.
Zhang Xuanyu stole a glance at Qin Zhiluo.
She rarely wore such plain, minimalist clothes—ethereal and elegant, yet retaining a girl’s lively charm.
Her wavy chestnut hair, curling like seaweed, hung loosely over her fair, rounded shoulders, gently swaying with each breath. Her skin, so delicate it seemed it might break at a touch, was like congealed cream. Her lashes were long and curled, her lips red against white teeth, her smile radiant.
Her graceful figure was perfectly proportioned—supple curves balanced with slender limbs, a narrow waist and long legs, with soft, flowing lines that were both alluring and elegant.
Pure. Beautiful.
His mind couldn’t help but wander…
“What are you looking at?” Noticing Zhang Xuanyu’s gaze, Alison pinched the inside of his arm.
“Nothing!” Zhang Xuanyu quickly averted his eyes.
“Baby, with you right here, who else could I possibly look at? You’re the most beautiful little princess in the world—my eyes and heart belong to you alone.”
Alison pursed her lips in skepticism, then swept a contemptuous glance over Qin Zhiluo.
“Hmph, that tacky, frumpy dress—even my maid wouldn’t wear something like that when she’s eight months pregnant.”
Hearing this, Qin Zhiluo lifted her eyes.
There was no one else in the elevator—clearly, Alison was taking digs at her.
“So obsessed with whether other people are pregnant—are you in a hurry to be reborn?”
“You—!”
“What ‘you’? So excited to see your daddy that you forgot how to speak properly?”
Qin Zhiluo looked at her the way one might look at a mentally challenged child.
Who knows how much money her sugar daddy had spent behind the scenes to prop up such a fool to the position of Starlight’s top star.
What a pity…
The sugar daddy’s eye for people wasn’t great.
Alison couldn’t out-argue her, so all she could do was glare at her with resentful eyes.
What was she so smug about?
Wasn’t she still heartlessly abandoned by Zhang Xuanyu?
She was just a pitiful thing nobody wanted.
With that thought, Alison deliberately pressed herself against Zhang Xuanyu and whined, “Look at her~ She actually scolded me. Hurry up and scold her back for me.”
Zhang Xuanyu froze for a second, but before he could even open his mouth—
Qin Zhiluo crossed her arms over her chest, stared at him, and suddenly spoke up. “Try cursing me once. Let me see what kind of rotten dog shit your dog mouth can spew out.”
“You—vulgar!”
“I’m not just vulgar, I’m also crude. Believe me when I say I’ll slap you right into the wall so hard you won’t even be able to be pried out.” Qin Zhiluo seemed to think of something, then said with sudden realization, “No wait, your face is so thick—greedily eyeing the bowl while eating from your plate—I really can’t find a wall thick enough to slap you into.”
At her words, Zhang Xuanyu’s face turned dark and grim.
Just then, the elevator arrived.
Qin Zhiluo tossed out a “Good dogs don’t block the way,” and brushed past the two of them, striding out of the elevator first.
Having been completely ignored, Alison was about to lose her mind with rage.
“How useless are you? Why didn’t you scold her back for me?”
“You still have feelings for her, don’t you? You still want to rekindle things with her, right?”
“You must still be hung up on that little vixen! I shouldn’t have asked my uncle to give you that endorsement!”
“Hmph!”
Zhang Xuanyu was at a loss for words.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to scold her—
He simply hadn’t had time to formulate his words.
But his little princess wouldn’t listen to any explanation, and stormed off in a fury.
It was like this every single time.
Zhang Xuanyu watched the direction she disappeared in with irritation.
Helpless.
He lifted his leg and chased after her: “Alison~ Listen to me, baby.”
“It’s really not what you think~”
Qin Zhiluo listened to his groveling, placating voice gradually fading away around the corner.