Zhou Shu pressed one hand against his temple, his thick eyebrows furrowing tightly. His head was pounding, and the pain had left his reactions somewhat sluggish.
He remembered attending his grandfather’s birthday banquet. He had drunk a few glasses of alcohol during the meal. Normally, he had an excellent tolerance for alcohol, but something seemed wrong with the liquor. After drinking it, his entire body had become unbearably hot, and all he could think about was going to the river to cool off in the cold water.
And then…
Realizing what might have happened, Zhou Shu’s expression turned as though he had been struck by lightning.
After leaving his hometown, he seemed to have grabbed hold of a woman by the river.
Clothes were scattered messily across the floor. There was his shirt and trousers, as well as the woman’s clothing. Even beside his feet lay a piece of fabric barely larger than his palm.
Everything around him was telling him exactly what had happened.
Zhou Shu stiffly raised his head, only to awkwardly avert his gaze the next second.
Zhong Yi had also sat up. Naturally, she was wearing nothing, and all she could do was wrap herself in a dusty gray blanket. Much of her fair skin and her beautiful curves were exposed.
Calling the scene breathtakingly sensual would hardly have been an exaggeration.
Their eyes met.
It was impossible to describe the situation as anything but awkward.
Zhong Yi had no time to examine what the man looked like. Her entire body hurt whenever she moved. Seeing him standing there like a wooden post only made her anger flare.
What on earth had this man been eating to grow so strong?
He had far too much strength!
She was just about to speak when she heard footsteps approaching, followed by a tentative voice.
“Brother Zhou Shu, are you in there?”
That voice…
Zhong Yi did not actually recognize it. After all, apart from Grandpa Zhou and the family of Zhou Shu’s eldest uncle, who lived in the countryside, Zhou Shu’s father had moved to the city long ago. The original owner and Zhou Shu had barely met a few times, much less encountered Gu Qingtang.
However, Zhong Yi knew the storyline.
The only person who would show up at this moment was Gu Qingtang.
That girl was trying to take advantage of the situation again!
According to the novel’s original plot, the original owner had already suffered enough after being set up by her fiancé. Gu Qingtang’s deception only made things worse for her.
Since this woman was no good either…
Zhong Yi narrowed her eyes, deciding that it was time to settle some scores!
Zhou Shu also recognized Gu Qingtang’s voice. But given the current situation, he was practically naked, and the young woman on the bed…
Although he had not yet figured out exactly what had happened, he was concerned about the woman’s reputation. He was about to suggest hiding somewhere or simply refusing to answer.
Zhong Yi, however, wrapped herself in the blanket and jumped out of bed. Because she moved too quickly, she pulled a muscle somewhere and nearly stumbled when she landed.
Zhou Shu instinctively reached out to steady her.
Zhong Yi quickly dodged him and even shot him an angry glare.
“This is all your fault!”
Zhou Shu was startled at first, but then he understood what she meant. His weathered face flushed slightly.
Zhong Yi had no time to concern herself with him. While picking up the clothes scattered across the floor, she lowered her voice and spoke rapidly.
“Something was seriously wrong last night. I was simply walking past the river, but you dragged me into this little hut like a wild beast. It looks as though someone drugged you. If you want to find out who did it, keep quiet for now and lie back down on the bed.”
Zhou Shu reacted quickly as well.
“You mean that if someone really did drug me, their goal must have been to frame me. They’ll bring people here today and stage a scene of catching us in bed together.”
As expected of the male lead—his intelligence was right on point.
Zhong Yi gave him an approving look.
“Good. At least you understand. I’ll hide first.”
Zhou Shu actually wanted to ask why she needed to hide, but Zhong Yi gave him no opportunity to do so.
Holding her clothes in one hand and clutching the thin blanket around herself with the other, she bent low and crept away like a sneaky little cat.
She slipped behind the curtain.
Seeing this, Zhou Shu could only suppress his many questions. He quietly climbed back onto the bed and, almost instinctively, grabbed a pair of trousers and put them on, leaving his upper body bare.
The room fell completely silent.
After tentatively calling out once more, Gu Qingtang pushed the door open and entered.
Zhou Shu had not returned the previous night, and she had been worried about him. That was why she had come looking for him early that morning.
However, she could never have imagined that the first things she would see upon entering were a man’s shirt and undershirt lying on the floor.
Zhou Shu lay motionless on the bed, his upper body bare and his well-built muscles exposed.
Gu Qingtang glanced at him, and her face immediately flushed crimson. Out of courtesy and modesty, her first reaction was to turn around and leave.
But just as her hand reached the doorknob, she suddenly hesitated.
She remembered the fleeting glimpse she had caught of a smear of blood on the bedsheet.
She had taken sex education classes and knew exactly what it meant.
She had been adopted by the Zhou family at the age of twelve and had lived with them ever since. She had also been in love with Zhou Shu for a long time.
Unfortunately, Zhou Shu spent most of his time serving in the military, leaving her with almost no opportunity to get close to him.
But now…
Wasn’t this a heaven-sent opportunity?
Gu Qingtang was terrified. Her heart pounded wildly, and her reason told her that what she was considering was immoral.
Yet her feelings overpowered her rationality.
If she failed to seize this opportunity, Zhou Shu would return to his military unit, and she had no idea how many years would pass before he came home again. Meanwhile, she was getting older and could not remain in the Zhou household indefinitely as an unmarried woman.
Finally, a ruthless glint flashed through her eyes.
She withdrew her hand from the doorknob and clenched it into a fist, as though trying to summon her courage. Then she resolutely walked toward the bed.
With trembling hands, she first removed her shirt, followed by her trousers. She glanced at the man lying on the bed before beginning to take off her undershirt.
Hidden behind the curtain, Zhong Yi carefully lifted a corner to peek outside.
What she saw nearly made her eyes pop out of their sockets.
Gu Qingtang really was willing to go all out!
Her undershirt was almost off.
Just then, Zhou Shu, who had been lying on the small bed with his eyes tightly shut, suddenly fluttered his eyelashes twice.
He was clearly showing signs of waking up.
Gu Qingtang noticed it too. Her face instantly turned deathly pale, and she froze in place.
Zhou Shu slowly opened his eyes. His gaze wandered around the room before finally settling on the woman standing beside the bed.
He had heard the rustling sounds but had not been certain what Gu Qingtang was doing.
That was until a woman wearing nothing but her undergarments entered his field of vision…
Zhou Shu’s expression darkened instantly, and he quickly turned his head away.
“What are you doing?” he demanded in a low voice.
Gu Qingtang’s hands trembled uncontrollably. Her lips quivered as she struggled to speak.
“I… Brother Zhou Shu, I didn’t… I…”
“Put your clothes back on first.” Zhou Shu refused to look at her, his face turning an ugly, livid shade of green with anger.
After he finished speaking, however, Gu Qingtang did not respond.
Zhou Shu felt that the entire situation was utterly absurd.
Gu Qingtang was the orphaned daughter of one of his father’s comrades. She had joined their household when she was in elementary school, and he had always treated her like a younger sister.
Who could have imagined that she would do something like this?
Suddenly, a shadow lunged toward him.
Seeing that her intentions had already been exposed, Gu Qingtang decided to go all in. After all, there was no way she could ever hold her head high in front of Zhou Shu again after this incident. Since things had already come to this, she might as well fight for what she wanted.
With determination filling her heart, she threw herself toward the bed, attempting to embrace him.
However, she had seriously underestimated Zhou Shu’s abilities.
He was a soldier and a multiple-time champion of the all-around individual military competition. Subduing her was effortless.
He caught Gu Qingtang by the wrist with ease.
A sharp pain shot through her wrist, and the next second, she was thrown onto the floor.
Tears streamed down her face as she looked at him miserably.
“Brother Zhou Shu, please don’t treat me like this. I know things between us shouldn’t have turned out this way, but you must have been too drunk to remember what happened. If you don’t believe me, look at the bedsheet…”
During those brief moments, Gu Qingtang had made another decision.
Since there was blood on the bedsheet, she could simply pretend that she was the woman whose innocence had been taken.
Then she could force Zhou Shu to take responsibility for her!
If Zhou Shu had not woken up beforehand, he might actually have believed her.
But there was one problem: another person was hiding in the room, and Zhou Shu now knew perfectly well that the woman whose innocence he had taken was someone else entirely.
Zhou Shu could hardly believe that Gu Qingtang was capable of behaving this way.
Liking him was one thing. Feelings were not always something a person could control. But pretending to be someone else was an entirely different matter—it was a question of character.
As an upright man, he would never tolerate such behavior.
He got out of bed, his long, straight legs carrying him toward the scattered clothes. Bending down, he picked up his shirt and slipped it on.
At the same time, he tossed Gu Qingtang’s clothes toward her.
“Are you sure I’m the one who took your innocence?”
He spoke each word slowly and deliberately, his voice barely containing his overwhelming anger.
By now, the monstrous greed in Gu Qingtang’s heart had completely swallowed her reason.
Despite the icy stare Zhou Shu fixed on her, she nodded through her tears.
“Brother Zhou Shu, I know I shouldn’t blame you. You had too much to drink, too. I’ll go kill myself right now. I won’t drag you down with me…”