It was the first time Li Rui had ridden in the passenger seat of his own boss’s car.
A McLaren Senna.
They were doing 120 miles an hour through the city.
Li Rui gripped his seat belt so tightly he could almost feel his heart trying to leap out of his chest.
Was he worried about the speed?
No—he was worried about his driver’s license!
“Third Young Master, I’m scared. Please slow dooown!”
A gorgeous drift, the car’s tail swinging out. Li Rui’s voice shook with fright, but the very next second he switched seamlessly to, “Holy shit! Boss, you’re so damn cool!”
Forget women—even a 24-karat, steel-hard straight man like him sometimes got weak in the knees when Siyu looked this cool!
The bastard was a bastard, but he really was handsome.
Siyu tossed him the car keys and strode into Ting’an, heading straight for the front desk. “Which room did Qiao Ning book?”
“Th-Third Young Master?!” The receptionist’s eyes lit up; she nearly sprouted pink hearts. Even now, though, she didn’t forget her professional ethics. “We can’t disclose our guests’ privacy.”
Siyu smiled. “If you don’t tell me, I’ll have to go door to door and look for her. And if I happen to see something I shouldn’t…”
It wasn’t an empty threat. When the Third Young Master went off the rails, he really would do something like that.
The receptionist surrendered on the spot. “I’ll take you there!”
**
Young Master had come to Ting’an.
The lobby manager wished he could flash straight to the Third Young Master’s side and personally show him the way.
He ran so fast his legs nearly blurred before he finally caught up with Tan Siyu. He hadn’t even caught his breath, but he was already laying on the flattery. “Third Young Master, what an honor to have you here. We’re sorry we didn’t greet you sooner. Are you here to see the girls today, or…?”
“To catch someone cheating.”
His thin lips parted, and two words came out.
The lobby manager immediately broke into a cold sweat. He shot the receptionist a look and lowered his voice to ask, “What kind of cheating is the Third Young Master here to catch?”
“Third Young Master, this is the room.”
The receptionist swiped the key card for the Third Young Master, then hurried over to the manager and waggled her brows, eager to gossip. “That young lady from the Qiao family came with the Third Young Madam. I heard she brought quite a few people in with her.”
The manager’s heart sank halfway through hearing that.
Young Master pushed the door open and went in.
The manager paced outside for a long time, not daring to get close enough to peek inside. He was afraid of getting caught in the crossfire when immortals clashed.
Inside the private room, Qiao Ning still had no idea Young Master had stormed in. She kept whispering in Tang Li’s ear,
“It’s just a massage, Baby. It’s not like I’m asking you to flirt with the masseur.”
“And even if you did flirt with him, so what? Young Master openly flirted with a female celebrity. We’re doing this behind his back, if anything, we’re showing him consideration.”
Tang Li sat cross-legged on the massage bed. No matter how she tried, she couldn’t bring herself to lie facedown like Qiao Ning and offer her back to the masseur.
It wasn’t really about flirting or not flirting.
It was just that if a stranger came close and touched her, she might react on instinct.
But in Qiao Ning’s eyes, Tang Li’s hesitant manner clearly meant something else.
“Oh, Baby, what are you still hesitating ab—”
Qiao Ning raised a hand to signal the masseur to stop, then climbed off the massage bed. She’d just sat up when she spotted Young Master behind Tang Li. She was so startled that the rest of her words died in her throat.
“What the hell!”
“What is it, Qiao Ning?” Tang Li asked, puzzled, following her gaze as she started to turn around.
Qiao Ning stopped her at once. “Don’t move!”
“…?”
When had this ghost gotten here? How had he made no sound at all?
How much had he heard?!
Qiao Ning’s head was buzzing.
Tang Li couldn’t help turning around. The moment she met the man’s eyes, her whole body stiffened.
It felt just like being caught cheating!
“Ta-Tan Siyu, what are you doing here?” Tang Li stammered, completely losing her nerve.
At least she managed to hold his gaze and not look away, forcing herself to seem calm.
Tan Siyu could flirt with a female celebrity at the airport, so what was wrong with her getting a massage?
She hadn’t done a thing to wrong Siyu.
“Obviously, I came to see whether the masseurs here could satisfy my wife.”
At a gesture from the Third Young Master, someone immediately wheeled over a chair.
He sat down in it without the slightest concern and lifted his chin. “Go on.”
“Whether they can satisfy me is another question. But they’re younger than the Third Young Master, and still innocent, so I’m sure they’ll be more fun.”
Tang Li reclined delicately on her side on the massage bed, a seductive allure in the corners of her eyes and the curve of her brows.
She had the face of a classic beauty: an oval face, elegantly arched brows, and a pair of expressive eyes, alluring at the inner and outer corners. The beauty mark beneath her right eye was unbearably sexy, and her features were sculpted and deep, with an exotic allure all their own.
Just lying there, she looked like the goddess of beauty herself had descended.
Qiao Ning stared, dumbfounded.
Was that really something her mysterious little friend could say? Where had that shy, timid little white flower from a moment ago gone? Had this woman eaten her?!
“Younger than me?” Tan Siyu murmured.
He shifted position, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, and looked up at the woman on the massage bed. “Baby, you like them younger and well-behaved?”
The way he said “Baby” made Tang Li’s ears go soft.
An enticing blush crept all the way down her neck.
She casually looked away and propped her temple on a boneless hand. “Who doesn’t like someone well-behaved? You tease them just a little and their face turns red. It’s adorable.”
“Like you are right now?”
Tan Siyu stood and moved closer.
He gestured for the masseurs to leave, then leaned over Tang Li from either side. His words were direct, but touched with a hint of teasing. “Baby, you’re so cute now, too.”
Tang Li: “!!!”
Could someone please do something about Tan Siyu?!
Qiao Ning: I should be under the bed, not beside it.
**
Tang Li had walked into Ting’an arm in arm with her best friend.
When she left, Tan Siyu was carrying her out over his shoulder.
Yes, carrying her out over his shoulder!
The dignity of Qiao Ning, a Young Miss, had been trampled under Tan Siyu’s feet without the slightest mercy!
Before she’d even made it back to Suhe Bay, photos of Tan Siyu carrying her out of Ting’an had already exploded across the headlines.
“Tan Siyu!”
Tang Li angrily hurled her phone at his chest.
Tan Siyu caught it calmly and set it on the coffee table, taking care to put a tissue underneath it first.
“Do you just love watching me embarrass myself?!”
Her little face was red with anger.
He ignored her protest, swept her up around the waist, and carried her to the sofa before removing the stiletto heels she’d worn all day.
Tang Li was devoted to these beautiful but useless things. They looked lovely, but after a whole day in them—even if she hadn’t walked much—her feet would be rubbed red and look painfully pitiful.
Tan Siyu examined them carefully and, once he was sure there were no blisters or broken skin, dissolved a packet of medicine in water for her footbath.
Having her feet handled had taken the edge off Tang Li’s anger.
Especially when she saw Tan Siyu kneeling on one knee in front of her with the footbath basin, she’d lost most of her temper.
She was used to the Third Young Master’s lazy, roguish side. This was the first time she’d seen his devoted-husband side.
It was… strangely tender.
Tan Siyu tested the water with his hand first. Then he took hold of her ankle and slowly lowered her foot into the water.
His veined hand encircled her slender ankle, her foot immersed in the brownish water. For some reason, the sight gave Tang Li a thrill.
Her heart began to beat faster against her will.
Tang Li gave an arrogant little huff. “Don’t think doing this means I’ll let you off for embarrassing me.”
But after the footbath had soothed her, her words had lost most of their force.
“What was embarrassing about it?” Tan Siyu asked lazily.
He was still half-kneeling on one knee. The hand around her ankle moved lower inch by inch, his neatly trimmed fingertips gliding over the top of her foot.
It tickled.
Tang Li’s breath hitched, and she instinctively tried to pull her foot back. The man immediately held it firmly in place. “Be good. Let it soak.”
“You…” Her voice gradually trailed off. A moment later, she muttered, “There are photos all over the internet of you carrying me out of Ting’an. I’ve lost face.”
“Oh. Baby doesn’t like being on top of me?”
“…?” How had he arrived at that conclusion?
Tan Siyu looked up; she looked down.
She sat high above him, gazing down at the man in front of her.
His coffee-brown hair softened the sharpness of his features. His cool, foxlike eyes drooped, making him look like a pitiful little fox spirit.
“Then next time, I’ll be on top of Baby instead, okay?”