That night, violent winds and torrential rain lashed against the trees, branches rustling noisily, while flashes of lightning and peals of thunder lit up the entire night sky.
A low-key luxury sedan sped along an empty road, layers of water splashing up beneath its tires.
The overall atmosphere could not have been more gloomy and oppressive.
In the back seat of the car sat a man whose expression was so cold it carried not a trace of warmth.
His brows and eyes were sharp and severe, his lips pressed tightly together, causing the air pressure inside the car to drop to freezing point.
Casting a sideways glance at the time on the watch around his wrist, the man’s icy gaze showed not the slightest ripple. His cold, pale hand clenched the documents he was holding, faint blue veins standing out clearly on the back of his hand.
“Drive faster.”
A few minutes later, the car came to a sudden stop outside “Rongjing Villa.”
Beside the car he was riding in, a light pink compact car was parked steadily there.
And inside the pink car, there was no one at all.
Gu Qingshan’s deep eyes turned utterly sinister.
At the same time.
Qiao Qingman had her eyes closed, preparing to complete today’s kissing task.
Although she had braved the heavy rain to come here, and it was already deep into the night, there was one thing that was quite nice. The male lead had not locked the balcony tonight.
And once she completed tonight’s kiss, after waiting a few more minutes, she would be able to kiss him a second time.
That way, tomorrow’s task would also be completed. She would only need to kiss the male lead again the day after tomorrow.
As punishment, during the daytime tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, she would stay far, far away from the male lead, so that for two whole days in a row, he would not get even a single kiss.
She wanted to see how he would deal with that mysterious task of his.
Hmph!
So, should she take advantage of these two days to go traveling somewhere?
Just as she was thinking this, she suddenly felt that the man lying on the bed seemed about to move. Qiao Qingman’s heart tightened. Worried that the male lead might start sleepwalking again like last time, she reflexively opened her eyes.
She saw the male lead, Gu Qianshi, turn over, his back facing her as he shifted to lie on his side in the opposite direction.
Qiao Qingman: “?”
Gu Qianshi, you did that on purpose, didn’t you?
Qiao Qingman immediately raised the electric stun baton in her hand.
At that moment, there seemed to be a faint rustling sound outside the bedroom door.
Qiao Qingman subconsciously turned her head to look and saw that the corridor lights outside had turned on, and someone was walking in this direction.
No way. In the middle of the night, who could this be?
She lowered her head to look at the man lying on his side with his back to her, then turned back to glance outside the bedroom. Gritting her teeth, she had no choice but to hide outside on the balcony first.
Fortunately, there were still a few minutes before twelve o’clock. She could wait.
She had no idea who the person outside was. Who would wander into the male lead’s room in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?
Then she heard a series of knocks on the door, “thump thump thump thump~,” followed by a deliberately lowered voice calling out, “Young Master? Are you asleep? May I come in?”
It was Uncle Yuan, the butler of “Rongjing Villa”?
Very quickly, after receiving no response, the person outside gently pushed the door open and walked in.
Seeing the man lying on the bed, the middle-aged man who entered paused in surprise for a moment. After failing to notice anything unusual, he turned and walked back toward the door.
Qiao Qingman immediately let out a sigh of relief.
But she accidentally pressed the button on the electric stun baton. At once, a buzzing sound came from her hand.
Even though the stun baton was already set to the lowest volume, the room was simply too quiet.
So the moment the sound rang out, the butler, who had already reached the doorway, abruptly stopped in his tracks.
The butler lowered his voice and spoke toward the balcony, “Who’s there?”
Then he walked toward the balcony with a puzzled look.
Qiao Qingman, whose nerves instantly tensed even more, was speechless.
Seeing that Uncle Yuan was about to reach the balcony, Qiao Qingman steeled herself and, moving as quickly and as quietly as possible, jumped down from the balcony, hiding in the nearby bushes below.
She covered her mouth, not daring to make a sound.
Luckily, it was raining heavily. Otherwise, just climbing down from the balcony using the trees would have made quite a bit of noise.
But because of this, Qiao Qingman was drenched through by the rain yet again.
Qiao Qingman wanted to cry but had no tears left. In her heart, she hated the male lead, Gu Qianshi, to the extreme.
If he had not broken their agreement, she would not have ended up like this…
Wait. Thinking about it carefully, the male lead had not actually objected, but it seemed that he also had not directly agreed either?
But she thought he had tacitly agreed?
Soaked through and already feeling somewhat cold, Qiao Qingman was speechless.
Something was not right. She had brought an umbrella…
Ah, her umbrella…
Oh no, oh no. If the butler saw that umbrella…
At the same time, the system kept urging her relentlessly: [Host, there’s one minute left. Hurry up and kiss the male lead. Hurry up and climb back onto the balcony to kiss the male lead. You can’t wait any longer. It’s almost time.]
Qiao Qingman was extremely speechless: [Stop urging me. If you’ve got the ability, urge the male lead instead. Do you think I don’t want to kiss him? It’s just that…]
Qiao Qingman could almost imagine how unbearably awkward it would be if Uncle Yuan saw her hiding outside Gu Qianshi’s balcony.
Being embarrassed would be one thing. What she was really afraid of was whether she might get reported to the police and arrested.
On what grounds? Trespassing into a private residence?
Wuwuwuwu, no, please don’t.
“Qiao Qingman.”
A slightly familiar, low and deep male voice sounded above Qiao Qingman’s head.
Qiao Qingman, feeling utterly miserable, lifted her head and saw a familiar face, holding her umbrella in his hand.
The wide canopy of the umbrella blocked most of the rain from falling on her.
The man himself stood unhurriedly outside the umbrella. Before long, he was soaked through by the rain.
The man’s looks were exceptionally outstanding.
Even with his hair and clothes drenched by rain, he did not look disheveled in the slightest.
At this moment, his long, thick eyelashes were slightly lifted, and his deep eyes held a dark, cold intensity.
Gu Qingshan’s brows were clean and well-defined, his nose bridge high and straight, his lips gentle and pleasing to the eye, and his prominent Adam’s apple was both sexy and alluring.
His damp shirt clung tightly to his skin, faintly revealing the subtle lines of muscle beneath.
His figure was tall and straight, his presence powerful and captivating.
Everything about him was flawless. It was as if every detail of this man had been meticulously carved, perfect to an almost excessive degree.
Qiao Qingman swallowed unconsciously and asked with some uncertainty, “Gu… Gu Qingshan?”
She lifted her head to glance at the second-floor bedroom, where there was no longer any movement, then looked back at the tall, straight man in front of her. “Weren’t you asleep? Why are you…”
“Do you still want to kiss?”
The man interrupted her without any expression.
She did not know whether it was just her imagination or because the rain around them was too cold, but Qiao Qingman felt that the man’s voice sounded noticeably colder than usual.
It was as if… she had done something that wronged him.
Huh? Why did she feel that way?
Just then, the system’s countdown sounded in her mind: [Host, host, countdown… 10, 9…]
“Yes! Of course I do!”
Before the words even finished leaving her mouth, Qiao Qingman, once again drenched by the rain, had no time to think any further.
She stood up without hesitation, wrapped her arms around the man’s neck, rose onto her tiptoes, and kissed him.
As the system’s broadcast sounded in her mind, [Day nine kiss, check-in successful], Qiao Qingman finally let out a breath of relief.
Thank goodness, thank goodness. She made it in time.
After finally completing the kissing task, the tension that had her whole body wound tight instantly dissipated.
Honestly speaking, wasn’t today’s kissing time cut way too close?
Luckily, she still managed to make it in the end. Otherwise, wouldn’t all her efforts over the past several days have gone to waste?
But this was all Gu Qianshi’s fault…
“Don’t casually leave things behind again.”
The man’s emotionless voice sounded once more.
Qiao Qingman let out an “Ah?” and saw the man gesture for her to take the umbrella in his hand.
So Qiao Qingman took the umbrella.
Only then did she belatedly react. She could not let the male lead deepen the kiss, or she would not make it home safely tonight.
Qiao Qingman immediately covered her mouth with one hand and picked up the electric stun baton with the other.
But before the stun baton could get close to the man, he had already turned around and left without a trace of hesitation.
And the direction he left in was toward the wall, not his bedroom.
What was the male lead planning to do?
Qiao Qingman touched her lips. “?”
What was going on? Why didn’t Gu Qianshi deepen the kiss today?
Forget it. The male lead not deepening the kiss was a good thing. It meant she could go home peacefully and sleep.
To be honest, she was exhausted, sleepy, cold, and hungry right now.
And her clothes were soaked through yet again.
So Qiao Qingman also held up the umbrella and walked toward the wall.
However, just as she was about to reach the wall, the man in front suddenly stopped.
Then he extended his hand toward her and continued in that same cold, emotionless voice, “Do you want me to carry you?”
Qiao Qingman froze. “? What?”
Did the male lead mean carrying her over the tall wall? In the middle of a torrential downpour, late at night?
Was he serious?
No, what was wrong with the male lead today? Why did he feel off somehow?
Qiao Qingman instinctively wanted to refuse.
After thinking it over, she nodded again.
On one hand, she could not let the male lead, an outsider, know that she knew martial arts.
On the other hand, she was also curious about what the male lead meant by “carry you.” Did he really mean carrying her and jumping out over his own tall wall?
No way. Could he really be that capable?
Even if Gu Qianshi had the male lead halo, this still felt a bit…
At that moment, a broad hand suddenly settled on Qiao Qingman’s waist, cutting off her train of thought.
Seeing the man’s palm and arm exerting a slight force, Qiao Qingman was lifted into his embrace. With two light, effortless movements, he carried her over the tall wall.
“Ah—”
Qiao Qingman’s breathing stalled. Even after they landed steadily on the ground outside the wall, her heart was still pounding, her face full of bewilderment.
The male lead really… carried her out?
So easily? Even she would need to rely on some external force to manage it, wouldn’t she?
Qiao Qingman was stunned.
The male lead’s martial arts were this impressive? Why had the system never mentioned it?
Qiao Qingman lifted her head and saw the man still gazing at her with an indifferent expression.
As if carrying her over the wall like that had been the simplest thing in the world.
Wait. Something was not right.
She could understand why she needed to jump over the wall. After all, she was going home. But what about the male lead?
Was this not his home? Why was he coming out?
And the way they were like this…
No matter how she looked at it, there was an illusion that she and the man in front of her were a couple opposed by their families and forced to elope.
Qiao Qingman: “…”
Not far away, inside the second-floor bedroom of the villa.
The real male lead, Gu Qianshi, irritably pulled off his headphones and abruptly sat up from the bed.
Why was it that even listening to English vocabulary could not make him fall asleep?
Gu Qianshi felt like he was going crazy.
Even more ridiculous than the previous two days, after returning home tonight, Gu Qianshi had felt somewhat restless.
Although he was looking at documents, Qiao Qingman’s aggrieved yet still foolishly sweet image outside the cafe, not forgetting to make a big heart gesture toward him, kept flashing before his eyes.
At that time, rain had poured down outside the cafe. The cold rainwater mercilessly struck her body, yet as if she did not feel the cold at all, she had only looked at him with burning eyes.
Gu Qianshi knew clearly that Qiao Qingman was deeply in love with him.
Everything she did was merely playing hard to get.
He knew it. He knew it all too clearly.
Yet he was still thrown into inner turmoil by her playing hard to get.
And that invisible force kept suppressing the ripples in his heart.
Gu Qianshi felt helpless and irritated. The man who usually regarded work as extremely important had stayed in the study for a long time without even knowing what he had read.
It was not until the butler brought coffee that the image of the girl, drenched from head to toe, her rich eyes shimmering with moisture and pitiful enough to tug at one’s heart, reached its peak in his mind.
Gu Qianshi pushed away the coffee cup and returned to the bedroom to rest.
But once he closed his eyes, his mind was once again filled with the scene of Qiao Qingman standing in the rain.
With no other choice, Gu Qianshi put on his headphones and played English listening exercises.
Unfortunately, even English listening could fail. Gu Qianshi lay on the bed for a long time and still could not fall asleep.
However, his sudden action of sitting up from the bed truly startled the butler, who had just finished checking the balcony and found nothing.
“Oh my, Young Master?” The butler clutched his chest in lingering fright and turned on the bedroom light at the same time.
Gu Qianshi was also startled by the butler’s shout. “Uncle Yuan? You… why are you in my room?”
The butler replied, “I was just about to fall asleep when I heard some movement upstairs, so I thought I’d come up to take a look.”
What the butler did not say was that he was afraid that if he did not come up to check, he might once again find his Young Master inexplicably lying on the grass in the backyard early the next morning.
Gu Qianshi asked in confusion, “What movement?”
He had not heard any movement upstairs at all.
But then again, he had been wearing headphones and was distracted, so even if there had been noise, he might not have noticed.
“Like something being thrown in,” the butler recalled.
“Thrown in?” Gu Qianshi looked surprised. “Did you see what it was? Did you find anything?”
The butler shook his head. “No.”
Gu Qianshi was puzzled, but because his mind was in turmoil, he did not pursue the matter further.
He instructed, “…You may go out. Check the surveillance properly tomorrow.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
After dismissing the butler, Gu Qianshi looked at the dark, oppressive night sky and the torrential rain outside the balcony. As if guided by some unseen force, he lifted the blanket and got out of bed.
He walked to the balcony.
With both hands resting on the railing, Gu Qianshi looked at the rain curtain in the backyard. Even though the villa lights illuminated the area, visibility was still pitifully low. He frowned slightly.
Uncle Yuan would not speak without reason. If he said he heard movement, then he must have heard something.
Out of the corner of his eye, he casually noticed the junction between the balcony and the bedroom. There was a puddle of water there?
Strange. Why would there be a puddle of water there?
It seemed that tomorrow he really would have to review the surveillance footage carefully.
Qiao Qingman had not expected that the male lead not only did not deepen the kiss in return today, but even personally drove her home.
Although that explained why the male lead had accompanied her in jumping over the villa wall, honestly speaking, she still felt somewhat flattered.
And because of that, the small electric stun baton in her trouser pocket felt especially unnecessary.
Thinking again about how he had indeed never verbally agreed to anything she had said, and that it had all been her own assumptions.
At the very last critical moment, he had even held an umbrella for her and let her steal a kiss.
Qiao Qingman’s heart was filled with mixed emotions.
What made her even more depressed was that since she had not been deep-kissed by the male lead and therefore had not grown drowsy, she had actually forgotten to drive her own car?
Which meant that either she would have to come here tomorrow to retrieve it herself, or instruct the family driver to come and get it.
How troublesome.
And there was also…
The air inside the car was exceptionally silent.
Other than the sound of heavy rain pattering against the car windows, there was nothing else.
So, was the male lead planning not to say a single word to her the entire way?
Qiao Qingman rubbed her temple and could not help glancing sideways at the man in the driver’s seat.
The man’s profile was cold and sharp. The clean lines of his features, set against the dark night sky outside the window filled with torrential rain, made him appear especially aloof and clear-cut.
Invisibly, he exuded a heavy, oppressive chill.
As if she had offended him.
But if she remembered correctly, had she not come here today precisely because the male lead, Gu Qianshi, had not gone to the Qiao family villa?
So what exactly was he sulking about?
Seeing that they were getting closer and closer to the Qiao family villa, Qiao Qingman decided not to care whether the male lead’s martial arts were superior to hers. She had an electric stun baton anyway. What was there to be afraid of?
Qiao Qingman could no longer hold back. “Gu Qingshan, I thought you would come to my house to see me tonight.”
If the male lead had taken one step forward on his own, would she have needed to be drenched by heavy rain twice in a single day?
Even though the car’s air-conditioning was turned up high, wearing damp clothes still felt very uncomfortable, okay?
Then she suddenly realized the car made an unexpected turn and headed in a different direction.
Qiao Qingman’s heart tightened.
Could it be that the male lead, out of embarrassment and anger, was taking her to some deserted place and then…
Qiao Qingman’s eyes widened abruptly. She felt terrible all over.
Her whole body tensed. “Um, weren’t you taking me home? Where is this?”
Before she finished speaking, Qiao Qingman saw the car drive into an estate.
Passing various rare and valuable plants and rows of streetlamps that made the estate appear even more deep and tranquil under the rain curtain, the car finally stopped in front of a resplendent, palace-like building.
They had driven for so long, and this was only… the front courtyard?
Qiao Qingman stared at the imposing and luxurious scene outside the car window and was stunned.
“Where is this?”
“My home.”
The man finally spoke his first sentence since she had gotten into the car.
Yet his words made Qiao Qingman freeze slightly. “Your home? Isn’t your home at…”
Before she could finish her sentence, a shadow fell over her.
Very quickly, the man leaned closer. One hand braced against the back of the seat she was leaning on. His handsome face, enough to make one’s heart race, was suddenly close at hand.
In an instant, the man’s innate, imposing aura mixed with his familiar fresh scent and enveloped Qiao Qingman.
Her mind went blank at once. Her heart skipped a beat, and even her breathing unconsciously slowed.
“W-what is it?”
Gu Qingshan did not answer immediately. His deep eyes gazed down at her without blinking.
After a moment, the man asked in a cold tone, “Qiao Qingman, who am I?”