Shuhua didn’t notice the tall figure at the bedroom door at first.
He had been standing there quietly, watching her with a faint smirk. The moment he stepped in, Shuhua froze, suddenly aware of his presence.
“Morning,” Pei Yanzhou’s voice was low and teasing, but carried an unmistakable authority that made her heart skip a beat.
Shuhua’s cheeks flushed violently. She fumbled with the blanket, trying to cover herself, but it was too late—he had already seen the red marks along her neckline, faint evidence of last night’s “punishment.”
“You’ve been sleeping long,” he commented, his gaze sharp yet filled with amusement. “Twelve-thirteen, huh?”
Shuhua swallowed, her throat dry. “I… I overslept.”
Pei Yanzhou didn’t move closer yet, just leaned against the doorframe, watching her with an unreadable expression. “Feeling sore?”
Her body tensed at the memory of last night, and she nodded slightly, unable to deny it. “A little… very sore…”
He pushed off the doorframe and walked toward her, slow, deliberate steps. “Good. Means you remember.”
Shuhua’s stomach fluttered nervously. “I… I really… won’t go to those places again,” she whispered.
Pei Yanzhou reached the bed, crouching slightly so his eyes were level with hers. “Hmm? That’s my girl. Be honest with me next time, or…” His hand lightly brushed her cheek, tracing the line of her jaw, sending shivers through her body.
Shuhua shivered instinctively, hiding her face in the blanket. “Or… or what?” she asked, her voice trembling.
He smiled darkly, leaning closer. “Or I’ll make sure you never forget me again.”
The words carried a dangerous promise, but also a possessive warmth that made her heart race.
Shuhua’s mind spun with embarrassment, shame, and a strange fluttering excitement. Her small body pressed into the mattress as she muttered, “Pei Yanzhou… you’re… such a man…”
Pei Yanzhou’s lips curved, satisfied by her admission. “Of course I am. A real man takes care of what’s his.”
Shuhua wanted to hide, cover herself, protest—but her body remembered, and her face burned hotter.
Pei Yanzhou leaned back slightly, letting her calm a little, but his eyes never left hers. The atmosphere was charged, intimate, and slightly dangerous, a silent claim that left her breathless.
She buried her face in the blanket again, cheeks blazing. Her mind couldn’t stop replaying the events of last night—the heat, the tension, the overwhelming feeling of being completely claimed by him.
Her body ached, her heart raced, and she realized… this man was utterly, overwhelmingly a real man.