Shao Kunye suddenly stopped in his tracks.
He slowly turned his head, his brows tightly knitted.
What had this woman just called him?
Yet Wen Xi was completely unaware. Thinking she had seized a lifeline, she tremblingly stretched her hand toward him and choked out, “Husband… save me…”
Her cry of “husband” stunned not only Shao Kunye, but also Chen Jinpeng.
He turned his head and happened to meet Shao Kunye’s strikingly handsome face from the neighboring balcony. Surprised, he said, “Young Master Shao?”
At that moment, Young Master Shao’s expression looked extremely unpleasant.
Thinking about the way Wen Xi had just addressed him, Chen Jinpeng’s tone became more cautious. “Young Master Shao, do you know her?”
Wen Xi stared at Shao Kunye eagerly, the pleading in her eyes almost overflowing, like a helpless little animal surrounded by ferocious beasts.
Shao Kunye suddenly curled his lips. “Do I know you?”
The hope on Wen Xi’s face was instantly replaced by despair. Tears fell heavily from her eyes, and the last bit of strength in her body seemed to vanish as well.
That was right. He hated her so much—how could he possibly help her?
Chen Jinpeng immediately understood. Wen Xi must have tried to call for help in the chaos, hoping to make him think she had some connection with Shao Kunye.
Unfortunately, she had misjudged the situation.
Shao Kunye had always been too lazy to meddle in other people’s business. Even someone like Wen Xi, who had a bit of beauty, could not stir even the slightest sympathy from him.
Chen Jinpeng sneered at Wen Xi’s little scheme. “Sorry for disturbing you, Young Master Shao. I’ll take her back right away.”
Hearing this, fear appeared in Wen Xi’s eyes.
Seeing that Shao Kunye had no intention of interfering, her shoulders slowly drooped. At that moment, perhaps she had finally realized deeply that no one would come to save her anymore. Without warning, she suddenly ran toward the balcony, preparing to jump down.
In a flash—
Wen Xi suddenly felt her waist tighten.
Half of her body hung outside the balcony, with the eight-story drop beneath her feet.
Shao Kunye’s hand had reached across the gap between the two balconies and grabbed her body in midair.
Wen Xi’s hair was blown into a mess by the wind, and her eyes were wet as she stared blankly at Shao Kunye.
The night shadows darkened his face, making it hard to read.
She was as thin as a cat, yet her courage was surprisingly large.
Shao Kunye exerted a bit of strength and pulled Wen Xi’s entire body back from outside the balcony.
The delayed wave of fear rushed over her. Before Shao Kunye could withdraw his hand, Wen Xi grabbed his wrist first. Her tears fell even harder.
“Save me… please save me…”
“I don’t want to sleep with him…”
From this angle, Shao Kunye could clearly see Wen Xi’s wet eyelashes. Her bright pupils were soaked with tears as she helplessly clutched his wrist and refused to let go.
Shao Kunye’s intervention caught Chen Jinpeng completely off guard. In his impression, Shao Kunye was not someone who pitied women.
Now, even a fool could see that the relationship between the two was not as simple as Shao Kunye had pretended.
Chen Jinpeng probed, “Young Master Shao, do you really know her?”
As if afraid Shao Kunye would deny it, Wen Xi suddenly found the courage to answer first, stammering, “H-he… he’s my husband…”
Shao Kunye raised an eyebrow and glanced at Wen Xi.
Wen Xi shrank her neck and didn’t dare meet his gaze. “What I said is true… he really is my husband…”
Naturally, Chen Jinpeng didn’t believe such words. Everyone knew that Shao Kunye was single.
But since Shao Kunye had rarely interfered in something like this, Chen Jinpeng became uncertain.
Could the two of them actually have some kind of relationship?
Wen Xi looked at Shao Kunye with watery eyes full of pleading, as if silently begging him not to abandon her.
Looking at her helpless and painful expression, Shao Kunye had no doubt that if he refused her one second, she would jump the next.
When he had forced her five years ago, she hadn’t seemed to have such courage.
This time, before Chen Jinpeng could speak again, Shao Kunye spoke first.
“President Chen, can you really stomach someone who cries like this? Why not change to someone else?”
Chen Jinpeng’s expression became somewhat unpleasant.
He had had his eye on Wen Xi for a long time. From the first moment he saw her at the Jiang Family, he had already developed intentions toward her.
Now that the Jiang Family had finally agreed to send her over, he hadn’t even touched her yet before Shao Kunye snatched her away.
But as a businessman, Chen Jinpeng had slept with countless women. There was no need to offend Shao Kunye over someone like Wen Xi.
After all, he still needed Shao Kunye’s help with his goods.
Chen Jinpeng’s eyes turned as he calculated. “Then about the commission we discussed earlier… could Young Master Shao lower it a bit?”
Shao Kunye’s eyes turned cold.
He suddenly had the urge to throw Wen Xi back and let her fend for herself.
She was just a woman he had slept with once. What did she have to do with him?
Even though Wen Xi didn’t understand business matters, she could still see from Shao Kunye’s expression that Chen Jinpeng was taking advantage of the situation.
She looked at Shao Kunye nervously, unsure whether he would really lose such a large sum of money for her.
She gently tugged at his fingers.
“Don’t leave me… please…”
Her voice was small and hoarse, pitiful beyond words—like a dying kitten by the roadside that would perish if someone kicked it once more.
Looking at the endless tears on Wen Xi’s face, Shao Kunye suspected this woman was made of water. She cried far too easily.
Impatiently, he said, “Sixty-five. Take it or leave it. If you can’t accept it, take her away.”
Chen Jinpeng had originally intended to push it down to sixty. Hearing Shao Kunye’s words, he hesitated.
However, Shao Kunye didn’t seem particularly fond of the woman. If he bargained further and ended up gaining nothing while offending Shao Kunye, it wouldn’t be worth it.
Besides, exchanging one woman for an extra five percent profit meant he was still making money.
Chen Jinpeng decided to stop while ahead and smiled. “Then thank you, Young Master Shao.”
Wen Xi watched Chen Jinpeng leave with a pounding heart. Before she could relax, Shao Kunye’s gloomy voice suddenly sounded in front of her.
“How long do you plan to keep holding my hand?”
Shao Kunye stared at her coldly.
Just thinking about how he had made concessions for a woman tonight—something that had never happened before—made him irritated.
That seemingly small five percent loss meant at least several million.
Although this amount of money meant nothing to him—he spent more than that casually in daily life—it still felt like a loss when wasted on Wen Xi.
He felt like he must have gone crazy tonight.
Perhaps because Shao Kunye’s expression looked so terrible, Wen Xi tremblingly let go of his hand. She watched as the man turned around and went back into his room, completely ignoring her.
Before long, weak knocking sounded outside the door.
There was no need to guess who it was.
Shao Kunye ignored it and leaned back on the sofa watching television.
Saving Wen Xi once had already been his limit. Did she really expect him to take her in as well?
After a while, the knocking outside stopped.
Shao Kunye thought the woman had left. Then came a dull sound, as if something had collapsed onto the ground.
He pulled the door open.
No one stood outside.
Lowering his gaze, he saw Wen Xi curled up on the floor, her body trembling slightly.
Shao Kunye looked down at her from above. “Failed to jump off the building, and now you’re pretending to be pitiful?”
The person at his feet didn’t respond for a long time.
Sensing something was wrong, Shao Kunye crouched down and turned Wen Xi’s face toward him. His fingertips felt burning heat.
Beneath her hair was a face flushed with unnatural redness.
Shao Kunye frowned.
Had the Jiang Family even drugged her?
Then again, judging from the way Wen Xi had acted like she would rather die than comply, she clearly hadn’t come willingly. Without drugs, how would she cooperate?
This little liar might look useless, but she was surprisingly stubborn.
While he was thinking, a soft and burning arm climbed onto his shoe.
Wen Xi’s voice trembled hoarsely. “So hot…”
Shao Kunye looked down coldly at Wen Xi, who struggled under the effects of the drug.
She looked as if she had been soaked in red wine. Her skin carried a faint pink hue, and her eyes gradually became dazed and unfocused, like a lost child.
Even the baby-powder scent on her body seemed to carry a hint of sweetness.
Although she looked decent, unfortunately Shao Kunye had no interest in goods that had already been played with.
From the way the Jiang Family handled things, this clearly wasn’t their first time doing it. Who knew how many men this little liar had already slept with?
Shao Kunye was not desperate to that extent.
He cruelly pulled her hand away. “I’m not interested in women who’ve already been used.”
“I haven’t been used…”
Wen Xi blinked, and tears immediately fell again. Her helpless and fragile appearance almost made one want to torment her.
Wave after wave of burning heat spread through her body until she could barely endure it. Instinctively seeking coolness, she clung to Shao Kunye’s arm and unconsciously rubbed against him.
“It’s true… I’m not lying…”
Shao Kunye suddenly remembered that night five years ago—the softness of her body, her pale skin, the way her limbs could be folded easily, how she would cry out like a kitten if he used a bit more force.
Just recalling it made a rush of heat shoot straight to his lower abdomen.
He glanced down.
The outline there was already clearly out of control.
An inexplicable irritation rose within him.
He actually had a reaction to the woman in front of him.
She clearly had a flat figure, not even fully developed yet—hardly what could be called mature or seductive.
Perhaps because Shao Kunye hadn’t pushed her away this time, Wen Xi gathered some courage and wrapped her arms around his neck, almost hanging onto him.
“Help me… please…”
Even under the drug’s influence, her conservative nature remained. She could only clumsily rub against him, her softness brushing his arm again and again.
Like a kitten that had just learned to knead.
Thinking of what had just happened on the balcony, Shao Kunye suddenly felt a malicious impulse. He grabbed Wen Xi’s hair and forced her to raise her head.
“What did you call me on the balcony just now?”
Wen Xi’s watery eyes widened, and her lower lip was bitten with faint teeth marks.
Even now, she still knew shame.
Shao Kunye sneered and grabbed her arm, about to pull her off his body.
The cool contact suddenly disappeared.
Panicked, Wen Xi hugged Shao Kunye’s waist. Looking at the coldness in his eyes, her eyelashes trembled nonstop as she spoke in a voice as soft as a mosquito.
“H-husband…”
Those two words ignited something inside Shao Kunye without warning. He almost suspected that someone had drugged the room as well.
Otherwise, how could a woman who had once schemed against him stir up desire in him?
After abandoning her sense of shame, it became easier for Wen Xi to speak again. Her rationality had already been overtaken by the drug’s effects. She buried her head in his neck, tears falling continuously as she pleaded softly.
“Husband… please help me… I’m about to die…”
Her tender skin and the warm, milky scent of her breath constantly stimulated Shao Kunye, making his breathing immediately grow heavier.
His gaze lowered.
That place was already completely out of control.
The last trace of rationality was swallowed up. Shao Kunye suddenly picked Wen Xi up and threw her onto the bed. Kneeling on one knee beside the bed, he unfastened the metal buckle at his waist. His voice was low and dangerous.
“You brought this on yourself. Don’t cry later.”
…