“Who sent you?”
All of Shi Qing’s expectations and curiosity were shattered by this firm and heavy question.
She fell silent.
Because she was afraid she would burst out laughing if she spoke.
It wasn’t that her sense of humor was low, but this question was just too sharp.
Why would a cold, fastidious, highly intelligent, and well-educated man start by saying “woman”? Shouldn’t the next sentence be, “You’ve caught my attention”?
Shen Jiyuan’s fingers still held Shi Qing’s chin, and as she remained silent for a long time, he slightly furrowed his brows.
His eyelashes were thick and long, and the irises under his lashes were a slightly lighter color, plainly flashing displeasure.
“Not going to say anything?”
He increased the pressure on his hand a little, leaned down slightly, and got closer to Shi Qing’s face.
The distance was very close; Shi Qing could smell the scent of Shen Jiyuan’s breath.
“You sneaked into my room, sat on my bed, and schemed all this out — and you’re still pretending now?”
His breath brushed lightly against her skin like feathers. From such close proximity, one could see his calm and indifferent eyes just by raising theirs.
Shen Jiyuan’s tone was very calm. Even when saying harsh words, there was no inflection. But that cold, emotionless tone, combined with his presence, was like a cat’s paw, tickling Shi Qing’s heart.
Shen Jiyuan seemed to mistake Shi Qing’s silence for fear.
He lowered his eyes, carefully examining Shi Qing’s face.
The woman sitting on his bed had a delicate, pretty face, with long, black, smooth hair falling behind her. She wore an ordinary white shirt, with fair skin, and under her long, dark eyelashes were moist eyes that looked soft and pure.
Being held by the chin, she simply cooperated and lifted her face obediently, as if she had no temper.
Had the person who sent her taught her exactly how to behave?
Shen Jiyuan was silent for a moment, his gaze lingering on Shi Qing’s face. So close, her long eyelashes fluttered slightly with her breathing.
His already bad mood worsened.
At today’s banquet, Shen Jiyuan had signed a major deal. Several business rivals kept toasting him, which annoyed him. He drank quickly and carelessly, not expecting to soon feel dizzy.
He knew his own tolerance for alcohol well — he shouldn’t have gotten drunk so fast. Along with the dizziness came a subtle feeling rising inside his body.
Shen Jiyuan quickly realized what was happening and felt disgusted.
By nature, he was fastidious and disliked people getting close to him. He hated strong odors, and when strangers approached, he felt unbearable.
Because of this, rumors spread that he was arrogant, cold, and avoided women.
These competitors, perhaps to embarrass him or for some other purpose, had spiked his drink.
The moment Shen Jiyuan sensed it, he immediately left the banquet. This city wasn’t his home, but he had business interests there.
This hotel was owned by his mother. The top floor was reserved exclusively for him — very secure and secretive. Those scheming against him shouldn’t have known he’d be here.
Yet, just as he stepped out of the bathroom, he saw such a big person sitting on his bed.
Don’t tell him this wasn’t arranged by those people. Could this woman have simply gotten lost and wandered into his room?
Spiking drinks, drugging, sending a woman — who did they take him for?
Shen Jiyuan was originally a proud man with a cold personality. The unexpected presence of another person in his room didn’t frighten him; it angered him.
The fury from being plotted against, his fastidiousness flaring up, and the restless emotions caused by his current physical condition all mixed together.
And because of this vague agitation, he felt even more annoyed.
They really put effort into this — the woman they sent this time wasn’t the same type as before. Did they think they knew his preferences inside out?
No hesitation on what to do — he wanted her gone.
The agitation caused by the drugs inside him intensified. If he didn’t get rid of her soon, something irreparable might happen.
Just the thought that if he had come out of the bathroom a bit later, he might have been pushed by the drugs into something with a woman he didn’t even know made Shen Jiyuan feel nauseous.
He was about to speak when the woman sitting on his bed suddenly lifted her eyes.
She had extremely dark eyes.
Just one look, and the surroundings seemed to fall silent. Those moist eyes shone so brightly—
Shen Jiyuan instinctively released his hand.
He suddenly took a step back, crossed his arms, and averted his gaze.
Hmm? What was happening to him?
Shi Qing blinked. She hadn’t done anything yet and was still waiting for Shen Jiyuan to say something interesting, but he had suddenly gone mute.
His posture, from a psychological perspective, was full of defensiveness and resistance.
Shen Jiyuan was disgusted by her.
If it weren’t for the fact that just before withdrawing his hand, his fingertip had lingered and gently stroked her chin, she would have fully believed it.
Shi Qing’s thoughtful gaze lingered on Shen Jiyuan.
Perhaps he didn’t even realize that his fingers, wrapped around his arms, were still stroking his own elbow.
The irritation Shen Jiyuan showed wasn’t directed at her — though he might think so.
Resistance often comes from attraction, and his reaction proved this.
But the rejection was real.
Rejecting her and rejecting his own body, Shen Jiyuan hated the uncontrollable feeling inside him right now.
He had indeed said just now, “Again with the spiked drinks, again with the drugs.”
That was true. When Shen Jiyuan held her chin, she had felt his fingertip’s cold temperature. The mist from the bathroom door was also temperatureless.
The post-shower steam around Shen Jiyuan seemed to have turned cold, almost aggressively so.
That was the most iconic CEO scent — cold and sharp, like cedar covered in white snow.
Obviously, during that overly long shower he was hiding in the bathroom rinsing with cold water.
In this novel world, the male lead apparently never considered going to the hospital. Shi Qing guessed he’d rather jump off the building than let anyone see him like this.
But in this novel world, there were no medicines that cold showers couldn’t fix.
From the moment he left the bathroom to the few moments talking to her here, Shen Jiyuan had been clenching his teeth.
Shi Qing stared at Shen Jiyuan.
He turned his face aside, lowering his thick black lashes. Though trying hard to stay calm, Shi Qing could tell he was very uncomfortable.
Counting silently in her mind, before she could reach ten, Shen Jiyuan suddenly turned his face and stared coldly at her.
This woman was just a gift sent by others. Why was she so calm and composed sneaking into his room late at night—
At that moment when their eyes met, Shen Jiyuan felt a sudden violent shock in his heart and strong anger.
It was a blow to his pride, and he even began to dislike his own reaction.
Why did he look away? Why did he instinctively take a step back?
In this kind of situation, the one who should be nervous and uneasy certainly shouldn’t be him.
Anger hastened Shen Jiyuan’s loss of control. The alcohol also clouded his judgment. Under the influence of the drug, his mind was foggy, and he made a choice he would never normally make.
Suddenly, he reached out and grabbed Shi Qing’s shoulder.
This choice had nothing to do with Shi Qing herself; Shen Jiyuan didn’t even consider her as a person.
He acted out of a sense of offense, desperately needing to strike back to protect his overly strong pride.
Shen Jiyuan was very strong, and Shi Qing could feel his hand gripping her shoulder tightly.
The icy coldness of his palm transmitted through the thin shirt to her skin, and that temperature made her faintly excited.
“Sitting on a stranger’s bed so late at night — don’t you have any shame?”
Here came the usual scolding line from the stereotypical harsh male lead in old romance novels. Shen Jiyuan’s tone was sharp and poisoned: “You were the one who provoked me first, so don’t regret it.”
No sooner had he finished his harsh words than he pushed Shi Qing’s shoulder, pinning her down on the bed.
Shi Qing’s black hair fanned out over the bed as she looked up at Shen Jiyuan.
Backlit, his expression was hard to see clearly. He stared at her for a moment, then leaned down. The cold cedar scent accompanied his approach, filling her senses.
Wait — a kiss right away?
Even though she had mentally prepared herself, Shi Qing was still startled by the unexpected action of the novel’s male lead. She tilted her head slightly and skillfully dodged.
The unexpected kiss landed only on the corner of her eye.
Unlike his usual harsh words, this kiss was as gentle as melting snow.
Rather than a kiss, it was more like a barely noticeable touch.
His lips were warm and very soft — like being touched by a puppy’s wet nose.
Shen Jiyuan was stunned. He never expected Shi Qing to dodge. He had no experience with such things and froze mid-motion for several seconds before twitching the corner of his mouth.
“Huh?”
“Trying to seduce me and even get me to the bed, and still pretending to be innocent?”
Shi Qing snapped out of the puppy-like illusion and looked at Shen Jiyuan with a half-smile.
Shen Jiyuan wasn’t wrong.
Compared to him… she was definitely less innocent.
Just as she was about to teach this icy and pure young CEO a lesson, the system, which had been silent, suddenly appeared.
“Host, I just contacted the main system…”
After trying to understand the current situation, it emitted static noise.
“Host… story… just received a message that childbirth is a key plot point and unavoidable…”
This story was designed around the female lead running away while pregnant. The female lead’s son is an important supporting character; without him, the story would no longer exist.
A small world that no longer fits the plot ceases to be a known “story,” becomes independent, and the system loses connection to it. At that point, the host cannot leave this world.
Upon receiving this message, the system immediately contacted Shi Qing. If she doesn’t want to give birth as soon as she enters the mission world, she should quickly leave and switch stories. Fortunately, the plot has just started, so no sunk cost.
But the moment she arrived, she saw this scene.
The system stammered for a while before finally organizing its words.
“Host, if you need props, I can provide them for free. I have items that guarantee pregnancy, and also items that can block labor pain…”
“Hmm, such interesting stuff?”
Hearing this, Shi Qing became interested, but these weren’t the props she wanted.
After an unknown number of touches, she suddenly grabbed Shen Jiyuan’s hand, flipped over, and sat on top of him.
The ceiling light was dazzling, and the soft, cool feel of the sheets was under her. Suddenly flipped over, Shen Jiyuan was stunned, not even struggling.
“You’ve been touching me for so long, and you still don’t know how to undo shirt buttons?”
This was the first sentence Shen Jiyuan heard Shi Qing say.
Her tone was gentle, like a breeze. Her eyes curved, dimples shallow, and she smiled softly.
“How are you so stupid?”
The tightly tied belt of the bathrobe was roughly pulled open by the woman. The robe loosened, and Shen Jiyuan was so surprised he forgot to breathe.
Shi Qing lowered her head slightly and leaned toward him like a snake.
Her smooth black hair fell over his exposed chest, cool to the touch.
Just being brushed by it made Shen Jiyuan shiver.
Shi Qing noticed his reaction and lightly stroked Shen Jiyuan’s face, pretending to ask casually:
“Did you drink a lot tonight?”
Shen Jiyuan’s body stiffened instantly. Without his answer, she already knew.
Since returning from the banquet, he had only taken cold showers and done nothing else.
Shi Qing smiled inwardly and said to the system:
“Open the shop. Let me have a look.”