Su Nuannuan narrowed her eyes—another exceptional man. His physique and looks surpassed even the top male models of the 21st century.
[System, who is he?]
The System’s eyes turned into heart shapes, drooling uncontrollably. [He’s Lu Mingyuan, Ji Xiao’s good friend, the young master from the prestigious compound in the capital. His status is illustrious, and his Luck Aura is so deep purple it’s almost black. Host, go for it! Pounce on him and drain him dry!]
Lu Mingyuan?
So this was the male lead of this world, Ji Xue’s official partner.
The kidney-strong king who went from the beginning to the end of the entire story.
Su Nuannuan’s gaze traveled from his handsome face downward, past his sexy Adam’s apple, the well-defined chest muscles beneath his tank top, his firm waist and abdomen, finally lingering on…
What a sizable bulge… Su Nuannuan swallowed hard…
“Su Nuannuan, get out of the car now!” A voice tinged with irritation exploded beside her ear.
Su Nuannuan licked the corner of her lips and, under Ji Xiao’s murderous glare, slowly stepped out of the car.
She came face-to-face with a pair of sharp, peach-blossom eyes.
“Ah Xiao, who is this?” Lu Mingyuan’s lips curved into a smile, but his eyes were cold and distant. He glanced at Su Nuannuan only briefly before immediately looking away.
As if she were an eyesore, a piece of trash.
Ji Xiao instinctively stepped to Su Nuannuan’s side, his tall frame blocking her view. “Su Nuannuan, my… sister.”
Lu Mingyuan raised an eyebrow, the smile on his face vanishing completely. His gaze held nothing but disgust as he looked at her. “Surname Su? So this is the orphan fostered in your family who’ll stop at nothing to marry you.”
Ji Xiao shot his friend a glare. “Rumors aren’t to be believed. Let Nuannuan stay with you for two days. I’ll come pick her up the day after tomorrow.”
“Not accepting. Send her back where she came from.”
When it came to people he disliked, especially scheming women, Lu Mingyuan was always sharp-tongued and left no room for negotiation.
The incident where Su Nuannuan stripped in the middle of the night and climbed into bed, scaring Ji Xiao so badly he didn’t dare return home for two years, had long since spread throughout the military district.
Everyone knew that Regiment Commander Ji’s family had a shameless, vicious, and ugly foster sister.
Ji Xiao scratched his head, pulling Lu Mingyuan aside. “Just consider it a favor you owe me. She doesn’t have a work unit, so she can’t get an introduction letter and can’t stay at a guesthouse. Just let her stay with you for two nights. I’ll come pick her up on Monday.”
Behind his gold-rimmed glasses, the peach-blossom eyes stared at his friend as thin lips coldly uttered two words: “Not happening.”
Over the years, many women had pestered him, but he despised this kind of clueless fool the most.
“One week of socks. If you agree to take her in, I’ll wash your socks for a week.” Ji Xiao gritted his teeth and made the promise.
“Two weeks.”
“Fine, two weeks it is.” Ji Xiao paused, then added uneasily, “You… keep your distance from her.”
There was a kind of unsettling, quiet madness about Su Nuannuan now. He was afraid she wouldn’t be able to resist making a move on Lu Mingyuan.
Lu Mingyuan scoffed lightly. “If you’re that worried, then stay here too.”
A dried-up, ugly woman—was she really worth protecting like some treasure?
“Alright.” Ji Xiao agreed without hesitation.
Lu Mingyuan: “…” Who was it that squeezed into his dorm for two years just to avoid someone?
Su Nuannuan leaned against the car, her expression calm as she watched the two men’s lips move.
No one knew she could read lips.
Seeing that Lu Mingyuan had agreed, she didn’t wait for them to speak and walked straight toward the courtyard.
The two men, seeing this, hurriedly followed.
Su Nuannuan lazily yawned, tears welling up in her eyes. “Which room do I stay in?”
“You certainly don’t stand on ceremony.” Lu Mingyuan remarked with a light sneer, casually pointing to the guest room farthest from the master bedroom. “Stay in that one. Don’t come out unless necessary.”
The room was at the northernmost end of the courtyard. Its wooden door was old and drafty, with peeling, dusty red brick walls.
The floor tiles at the entrance were covered in moss, clearly showing it hadn’t been occupied for a long time.
Su Nuannuan didn’t mind at all. Without even glancing at Lu Mingyuan, she walked straight over.
With a creak, the rickety wooden door was pushed open.
Dust flew up, and a musty smell of decay hit her face. In the corner, a startled mouse turned its head and scurried into a hole.
Su Nuannuan covered her nose, standing frozen at the doorway.
The System was hopping mad. 【This is too much! The male lead actually wants you to live in a dilapidated shack. He simply doesn’t treat you as human!
Host, flip the table and go crazy! Either erupt in silence or perish in silence.
Endure for a moment and get ovarian cysts; take a step back and get breast hyperplasia! For the sake of your newly developed little steamed buns, beat the crap out of him!】
Su Nuannuan smiled, turned around, bypassed the two men, and strode into the master bedroom.
Lu Mingyuan frowned and quickly followed. “What are you doing? That’s my room…”
Clothes, towels, luggage bags—all belonging to him—came flying toward his face.
Lu Mingyuan scrambled to catch them, his cold and noble face filled with shock and disarray.
Su Nuannuan stood with her hands on her hips, panting heavily. A flush from exertion rose on her cheeks, adding a touch of allure to her appearance.
“I’m staying in this room. Go ask Ji Xiao for the rent.”
With that, she exerted force, and with a loud bang, the door slammed shut right in Lu Mingyuan’s face.
Lu Mingyuan, holding the clothes scattered on the floor, stared at the firmly closed door, his handsome face cracking.
He had been kicked out of his own room by a woman?
In his twenty-six years of life, this was the first time anyone had dared to treat him this way.
A storm gathered in his peach-blossom eyes behind his glasses. He squeezed out three words, one syllable at a time: “Su—Nuan—nuan!”
Ignoring the anger of someone outside the door, Su Nuannuan lay down on the clean, soft bed, kicked off her shoes, and lazily closed her eyes.
The crisp, pleasant scent of bamboo filled her nostrils. Her mind was muddled; she wanted to sleep but felt restless and feverish all over.
In a daze, she took off her shirt and pants, leaving only a floral-patterned underwear and a small tank top. The exposed skin was covered in bruises, blue and purple.
She had been busy for most of the night, only falling asleep near dawn. After waking up, she had been locked in a battle of wits with her malicious foster mother, exhausting her frail body to the point of falling apart.
Drowsiness washed over her. Listening to the noisy chirping of cicadas, Su Nuannuan fell into a deep sleep.
Outside the door, Lu Mingyuan radiated coldness, the glint in his gold-rimmed glasses sharp and icy. He raised his foot, about to kick the door.
“Hey, wait.” Ji Xiao hurriedly grabbed him, suppressing a laugh as he pulled him aside. “It’s the first time I’ve seen you this angry.”
His friend had always been mature beyond his years, calculating and unflappable, always composed and steady.
Back overseas, even when surrounded by enemies, his expression hadn’t changed.
Who would have thought he’d lose his composure in front of Su Nuannuan?
“She’s holding a grudge. Cut her some slack. Don’t stoop to her level. I’ll treat you to a meal another day.”
“Take her away. Now!” Lu Mingyuan said with a frosty expression, beads of sweat trickling down his fair, handsome face and landing on his seductive collarbone.
Ji Xiao rubbed the tip of his nose. “I’m afraid that won’t work. Our mission this time requires a woman as cover. I plan to use her.”
Lu Mingyuan narrowed his peach-blossom eyes, his pupils dark and cold. “No. Anyone but her. She’s too foolish.”
Ji Xiao ingratiatingly picked up the teapot and personally poured him a bowl of cold tea. “Elder Sun will arrive the day after tomorrow. Where do you expect me to find a suitable person for you in just two days? Although Su Nuannuan is a bit troublesome, her face is quite pretty. With some dressing up, no one would suspect her pretending to be your wife.”
Lu Mingyuan’s thin lips pressed into a straight line. He resisted inwardly, but the mission outweighed everything. He could only suppress his impatience and nod in agreement.
“Make sure she behaves. If she dares to ruin things, both of us will face punishment.”
“Don’t worry, she’s not foolish.” Ji Xiao restrained his smile, hesitated for a moment, then blushed and asked in a low voice, “Have you figured out what happened last night? Who… is she?”
This was a question they had both subconsciously avoided, as it wasn’t exactly a glorious matter.
Two grown men had taken advantage of a woman at the same time, and she had even jumped from a building to cover for them. No matter what, they owed her a debt of gratitude.