Qin Shuyi did not deny it.
She looked up at him, “I find it very troublesome, very annoying.”
Once, twice, always being picked on—even if they couldn’t bite her, the constant buzzing of mosquitoes was irritating.
Ling Jue gently stroked her face, “It won’t happen again in the future.”
Qin Shuyi pouted.
Ling Jue smiled, “Are you angry with me too?”
She pushed him away as he leaned in to nuzzle her face, “Mr. Ling, you’re the one to blame for all this.”
If it weren’t for his romantic entanglements, would there be so much hatred and resentment, so many lovelorn men and bitter women?
Ling Jue looked utterly innocent, “I never provoked anyone.”
Qin Shuyi sneered.
Ling Jue shamelessly planted light kisses on her face, one after another, “I apologize to my treasure.”
His kisses were ticklish, and Qin Shuyi couldn’t help but laugh.
A moment later, her laughter took on a different tone. She bit her lower lip, grabbed the man’s unruly hair, and as she tilted her head back, she saw the bright, swaying light in the bathroom before closing her eyes.
So be it—soberly going through the motions, embracing each other with intimacy yet pretense.
…
After stepping out of the bathroom, Qin Shuyi pushed the man with darkened eyes onto the bed.
The tall, robust man, with a smile on his lips, offered no resistance as she pushed him down.
Her pale fingers traced over his face, made even more alluring and captivating by desire—the flushed corners of his eyes, his high, straight nose, his thin, indifferent lips, the sweat-beaded Adam’s apple, his heaving chest, and the firm muscles of his abdomen…
His sculpted body was like a divine work of art.
Qin Shuyi leaned down and kissed his lips.
The man, having been granted a small taste, clung to it greedily, first testing the waters at the edges before pushing further, indulging recklessly.
The naughty dog was misbehaving. Qin Shuyi raised her hand and lightly slapped the biting creature.
On her pale wrist, bulging veins were visible, and a pair of handcuffs with a dark sheen clinked softly as she moved, “We agreed—you’re not allowed to move.”
Ling Jue’s eyes were filled with resentment, but he obediently lay back down, his intensely predatory gaze fixed on her like a hungry wolf king.
Qin Shuyi rewarded him with satisfaction.
Ling Jue’s body stiffened, and he narrowed his eyes.
All mortals have desires, and Qin Shuyi had always faced her own needs with honesty.
Ling Jue was no vegetarian—she had known that from the start.
But contrary to what others might have guessed, their first time was initiated by Qin Shuyi.
At that time, a series of perverse murders had occurred, with victims ranging from men to women, the elderly to children, many of whom came from wealthy families.
In the face of death, money had not granted them divine favor.
Qin Shuyi had been entrusted with performing Remains Restoration for several of the victims, allowing them to depart cleanly and with dignity.
But the flashes of blood and cries of anguish in her dreams kept her awake night after night.
After the case concluded, her supervisor, recognizing the immense pressure she had been under, offered her a leave of absence. Her aunt also suggested she stay with the Jiang Family for a while.
During another sleepless night, she cornered her cousin Qian Youyou in the living room in the early hours of the morning, catching her sneaking takeout.
Like a ghost, she stared at Qian Youyou, whose face was smeared with grease from devouring fried chicken and filled with panic, “Tell me, what’s the best way to relieve stress?”
At the time, Qian Youyou was deeply immersed in celebrity fandom. Recalling the bold talk her friends often shared in their group chats, she blurted out without thinking, “Just find a man and sleep with him.”
Immediately, she froze.
“No, sis…” Remembering her cousin’s relationship, she tried to backtrack.
That was definitely not the right thing to say.
Qin Shuyi drifted away again like a wandering ghost.
Qian Youyou: !!!
The chicken leg in her hand suddenly didn’t taste as good anymore.
…
The next morning, Qin Shuyi moved out of the Jiang Family home.
After she decided to stay in the Imperial Capital for work, her parents had spent their savings to buy her a small apartment there. However, her aunt often invited her to stay over, and she was close with Qian Youyou and Jiang Yuzhou, so during her time off, she usually stayed at the lively Jiang Family home instead.
When her aunt learned she was returning to her own place, she was quite worried. But seeing that Qin Shuyi’s mental state seemed to have genuinely improved a little, she could only urge her to rest well.
Qian Youyou, who knew the truth, was scratching her head in frustration, not daring to speak up.
If Qin Shuyi wasn’t planning to cheat, then the only option was to sleep with Ling Jue.
But while impulse was one thing, she still had to be cautious.
No matter how delicious the meat, if it wasn’t clean, eating it would still give you a stomachache.
Using the excuse of feeling unwell, she dragged Ling Jue to the hospital with her for a comprehensive health check-up, specifically opting for the expedited service.
Ling Jue had always indulged her in small matters, completely unaware that he was the main subject of the examination.
On the night the results came out, as the man was about to leave after seeing Qin Shuyi home, she grabbed his hand.
“Will you stay?”
Her tone was calm, as if she were asking him if he had eaten.
Ling Jue’s eyes suddenly changed.
That night, at 3:30 a.m., Qian Youyou—the night owl who was once again sneakily ordering takeout—received a generous red envelope from her cousin, sent just before she fell asleep, barely keeping her eyes open.
At the same time, Jiang Yuzhou, who had just finished gaming and gone downstairs for water, was about to scold Qian Youyou for being disloyal and eating alone. Instead, he saw his stepsister with a piece of grilled rib in her mouth, tears welling up in her eyes as she burst into loud sobs.
Jiang Yuzhou was utterly bewildered.
Huh? Did it taste so bad it made her cry?
Leaving aside the misunderstanding between the Jiang siblings, Qin Shuyi finally got her wish and slept the longest, most restful sleep she’d had in a while.
Purely from exhaustion.
Ling Jue was indeed delicious.
His muscles, narrow waist, and long legs weren’t just for show. More importantly, he had seemingly endless stamina—no wonder he was a regular in extreme sports.
Aside from the initial surprise, which made Qin Shuyi question her life choices and even seriously consider whether she should ditch the handsome but useless man and sneak some wild fun elsewhere, once the battle resumed, she had no time left to think.
Whenever Qin Shuyi felt stressed, she would ask him to stay over.
After experiencing it firsthand, Qin Shuyi had to admit that she was simply craving him.
A legitimate boyfriend with status, willingly letting her enjoy and play with him—why wouldn’t she take it?
Ling Jue cooperated one hundred percent, occasionally even helping out himself, closing his eyes and gently stroking her long hair.
He also loved how Qin Shuyi was in bed—honest and adorable, her usually distant and calm eyes clouded with desire, making him truly feel her infatuation with him, more captivating than ever.
When she was happy, he too felt an infinite sense of satisfaction, a thousand times more exhilarating than the moment of skydiving from high altitude or crossing the finish line in a race.
The only downside was her lack of stamina.
Once the storm subsided, the greedy and fierce wolf could no longer restrain its nature, breaking free from its shackles.
The world turned upside down as he looked down at her with mockery and self-satisfaction.
“My turn now.”
…
Harboring their own thoughts, the man and woman embraced a “live for today, forget tomorrow” mindset, indulging in wild pleasures in the dark of night. Meanwhile, the outside world was also in an uproar.
The news had already spread far and wide: Zhong Mingzhou had gone mad, gotten drunk, and laid hands on Jue Ye’s precious girlfriend, only to be kicked into the hospital by Jue Ye himself.
The Zhong Family had hitched their fortunes to the Tao Family's ship. After the incident, aside from frantically seeking connections and pleading for help, their first move was to approach Tao Wangxi.
They knew their own son’s character all too well—he was a hopeless romantic.
No matter what, the Zhong Family had worked for the Tao Family, and Zhong Mingzhou had acted on Tao Wangxi’s behalf. He shouldn’t have ended up with such a fate.
At seven in the morning, Xie Muchen’s phone rang, having just managed a few hours of sleep after dealing with troubles late into the night.
A calm woman’s voice reached him from across the ocean.
“Muchen, I’d like to speak with Jue Ye.”