Huai Yin froze, staring blankly at Xu Shiyan. By the time her mind finally registered what he had just said, her ears flushed a burning red.
Xu Shiyan was thoroughly incensed. His stunning, cold phoenix eyes were fixed unblinkingly on her, a frigid aura radiating from his handsome face as his tightly clenched fists popped and cracked.
She was actually wearing Shen Xiaozhou’s clothes. As his fiancée, how could she have such an utter lack of boundaries with another man?
Didn’t she realize she was getting far too close to Shen Xiaozhou?
Uncontrollable, frantic thoughts began spiraling through his mind.
Did she change right in front of him? Doesn’t that mean Shen Xiaozhou saw her completely naked?
As her fiancé, even he hadn’t seen her like that! Where on earth did that bastard Shen Xiaozhou get the nerve?
The more Xu Shiyan thought about it, the localized fire in his chest flared higher until he wished he could gouge Shen Xiaozhou’s eyes out right then and there.
And Huai Yin—was she an idiot? Did she not understand the basic concept of boundaries between men and women? She wasn’t a three-year-old child anymore!
She constantly claimed she only liked him, that she wanted nothing more than to marry him, yet she turned right around and ran off with Shen Xiaozhou.
She had even let another man see her body!
Since she was his fiancée, she ought to keep her distance from every man who wasn’t him.
Instead of doing that, Huai Yin had not only crossed the line, but she had also come straight to him to provoke him intentionally. Was she trying to anger him? Was she trying to make him jealous?
More importantly, no one knew whether anything else had happened between her and Shen Xiaozhou.
What if something had? Wouldn’t that mean he’d been cuckolded?
How dared they? Pulling these little stunts right under his nose—did they think he was dead?
Xu Shiyan ground his teeth so hard it was a miracle he managed to restrain himself from exploding on the spot.
“Take it off. Didn’t you hear me?”
Seeing Huai Yin make no move, Xu Shiyan clicked his tongue in irritation and repeated himself, his frustration boiling over.
“You want me to take it off?” Huai Yin asked, bewildered. She lowered her eyes and mumbled in a quiet voice, “Then what am I supposed to wear?”
Xu Shiyan hit a button on the side panel. A privacy partition rose behind Huai Yin, blocking the driver’s view completely.
The backseat became an entirely enclosed space, soundproofed from the rest of the car.
Whatever happened back here, no one else would ever know.
Huai Yin felt even more uneasy. Her fingertips nervously clutched her collar; she couldn’t fathom why Xu Shiyan had suddenly flown into such a rage.
“Take it off and put mine on.”
Xu Shiyan’s patience was practically threadbare, the agitation and annoyance between his sharp brows almost palpable.
Every second he looked at that shirt was an eyesore. He wanted nothing more than to reach out and tear the garment off her himself.
Huai Yin hesitated for a second before plucking up the courage to refuse him. “There’s no need. I’ll just change when I get home.”
Whether she wore Shen Xiaozhou’s clothes or Xu Shiyan’s made little difference to her, so there was no point in swapping back and forth.
It was far too much trouble.
An eerie silence fell over the interior of the car.
Listening to her words, Xu Shiyan’s cold face cracked, a wave of nameless rage instantly surging within him.
“It’s fine to wear Shen Xiaozhou’s, but not mine?” His tone was rigid, the corner of his mouth twitching twice.
Flustered, Huai Yin shook her head frantically. “N-No, that’s not it. Shiyan, you just need to drop me off at home.”
Xu Shiyan’s expression twisted into something downright terrifying, his whole face dark and stormy.
He had no idea Huai Yin was so adept at infuriating people.
If this had been before, she would have leapt at the chance to wear his clothes instead of making endless excuses like this. Could it be that something really was going on between her and Shen Xiaozhou?
At that terrifying possibility, Xu Shiyan gritted his teeth in sheer fury, nearly snapping the stem of the crystal wine glass in his grip.
He slammed the glass down onto the console. The red wine splashed across the back of his hand like glaring drops of blood, yet he didn’t seem to care in the slightest.
Picking up his phone, he speed-dialed a number.
“Pull over,” he commanded in an icy tone.
Huai Yin raised her head blankly, looking at the furious youth in front of her with complete confusion.
A few seconds later, the Maybach smoothly glided to a halt by the curb.
Xu Shiyan tossed the phone onto the tray table with a loud thud. Huai Yin flinched at the noise, shrinking her neck back like a frightened quail.
Crossing his arms, he looked down at her with a malicious, cruel smirk playing on his lips.
“Is that so? In that case, don’t even dream about going home.”
Huai Yin sniffled aggrievedly. This was completely out of nowhere—how on earth had she offended him?
Was it because she had bothered him for a ride home, and he was holding a grudge about it?
If he didn’t want to give her a ride, he didn’t have to! Her system task was already completed anyway.
Huai Yin tugged on the door handle, but it wouldn’t open. She turned to Xu Shiyan and said, “I want to get out. I’ll go back on my own.”
Xu Shiyan looked taken aback, the rims of his eyes reddening slightly—looking, absurdly enough, a little aggrieved himself.
“You want to leave?” Xu Shiyan enunciated every single word. “Huai Yin, are you really that unwilling to be around me?”
Huai Yin felt her head spinning; she couldn’t quite follow his logic.
Xu Shiyan’s countenance looked terrible, a flash of sinister cruelty crossing his striking face.
“Huai Yin.” His tall, broad frame loomed over her like a dark storm cloud. Reaching out abruptly, he grabbed her wrist and forcibly yanked her close to him.
The girl’s wrist was so fragile it felt as though it might snap under the slightest pressure.
Huai Yin’s brows knitted in pain, tiny beads of sweat breaking out on the tip of her delicate nose. Looking down, she saw that the skin where he gripped her had already turned bright red. Yet no matter how much she struggled or begged, Xu Shiyan refused to let go.
“Shiyan, what is wrong with you?”
She had never seen him like this before, and it genuinely terrified her.
Xu Shiyan ground his molars together, nearly driven mad with jealousy. His chest felt heavy and suffocating, making it hard to breathe.
“Huai Yin, do I need to remind you? You are my fiancé. Are you planning to parade through the streets wearing another man’s clothes?”
“Do you want the entire world to know that you cuckolded me? Is that it?”
Tears welled up in her dark almond eyes, and Huai Yin shook her head repeatedly.
No, that’s not it at all! What cuckold? What was he even talking about?
Xu Shiyan’s dark, demonic gaze roamed slowly across her body, finally landing on her scraped palm and knee.
His eyes paused. Suddenly, he spoke up, “Did Shen Xiaozhou treat these scrapes for you too?”
With tears hanging from her lashes, Huai Yin gave a sluggish nod.
“Wasn’t there a school nurse? Why did he treat you? Is he more qualified than a doctor?”
Huai Yin bit her lower lip, too terrified to speak.
Shen Xiaozhou. It’s always Shen Xiaozhou.
What was that guy trying to do? Was he addicted to playing the home-wrecker? Did he enjoy poaching other people’s women that much?
The flames of jealousy shot straight to the top of his head.
How had Shen Xiaozhou treated her injuries?
By holding her calf in his lap, running his fingers across her bare skin, their breathing intertwined in an intimate atmosphere?
Had he touched her anywhere else?
Could it be that Shen Xiaozhou had even helped her change into these clothes?
Xu Shiyan was nearly exploding with rage, the final shreds of his sanity barely holding him back from doing something extreme.
He leaned in closer to Huai Yin, his towering frame completely enveloping her. His shadow cast onto the ceiling of the car shifted and twisted like tree branches blowing wildly in the wind.
A faint, sweet scent brushed past his nose—something resembling a delicate jasmine blossom, subtle and far from cloying.
Xu Shiyan’s agitated emotions were miraculously soothed by the scent.
As if addicted, he moved even closer and inhaled deeply, acting like a starved dog craving a bone.
He wanted to claim every trace of her scent for himself.
It was his. All of it belonged to him.
With her back pressed tightly against the leather seat, Huai Yin didn’t dare to move. Realizing escape was impossible, she sat there like a poor, helpless prey.
Xu Shiyan’s head was buried almost against her chest. When Huai Yin looked down at him, her face instantly flushed bright red.
This position is so strange.
Oddly enough, a wave of maternal instinct washed over her, making her want to reach out and pat his head.
Xu Shiyan pressed in closer until his nose almost brushed against the soft fabric of her shirt. The intoxicating, sweet scent grew stronger, pulling him deeper into an inescapable trance.
The fragrance unique to her flooded his senses—yet mixed in with it was a cold, crisp scent. It felt like a freezing snow-capped mountain, utterly out of place against her naturally sweet warmth.
Xu Shiyan froze, realizing in an instant whose scent that was.
Without a second thought, it was the owner of this shirt.
He snapped his head up so fast he nearly struck Huai Yin’s chin.
Chest heaving heavily, he looked on the verge of losing control entirely.
Huai Yin blinked in utter confusion, wondering what had set him off this time.
He was fine just a second ago!
His prominent Adam’s apple bobbed violently. Through clenched teeth, Xu Shiyan squeezed out a command laced with pure ice:
“Take this off right now. You’re completely covered in that scholarship student’s scent.”
Xu Shiyan almost gagged. It was absolutely revolting.
Shen Xiaozhou’s scent was subtle, yet suffocatingly dominant—much like the man himself, marking Huai Yin as his own in a deceptive, gentle manner.
Xu Shiyan was livid. The mere thought of Shen Xiaozhou’s lingering scent permeating every inch of Huai Yin’s skin made his blood boil.
She was practically soaked in it.
“Hurry up. If you won’t take it off, I don’t mind helping you myself,” Xu Shiyan rasped, his voice hoarse as he desperately fought to keep his emotions in check.
Giving her no chance to escape, he pinned her against him.
With one hand clamping down on her wrist, his other hand slid slowly down from her waist, coming to rest gently on her knee.
An involuntary shiver ran through Huai Yin’s body.
His large palm gradually tightened, gripping her knee with force as the soft flesh of her thigh spilled through his fingers. His fingertips brushed dangerously close to the hem of her skirt.
Xu Shiyan narrowed his eyes, tracking her every reaction closely.
“As your fiancé, I’m more than happy to be of service.”
Huai Yin was completely dazed, her brain short-circuiting entirely.
What on earth is happening?
Xu Shiyan swallowed hard, letting out a silent, strained sigh.
Her skin was smooth and impossibly tender, delicate as fresh tofu.
Yet the instant he remembered that Shen Xiaozhou had also touched her, his expression darkened once again.
By the time he snapped back to reality, his fingers were already undoing the buttons of her shirt.
As the top two buttons gave way, a swath of porcelain-white skin was laid bare before him.
Xu Shiyan froze on the spot, his gaze turning burning hot. He knew he was being despicable, but he couldn’t bring himself to stop.
After all, he was her fiancé. Nothing he did could be considered crossing the line.