The night was heavy, and Wen Xi was cleaning the kitchen when she suddenly heard the sound of a keypad being pressed.
She turned and saw Shao Kunye walking in from the doorway.
He hadn’t appeared for several days, and Wen Xi had assumed he wouldn’t come back tonight.
She blinked. “Y-you’re back.”
The moment he entered, Shao Kunye noticed her slender figure. Wen Xi wore an apron, and the gloves on her hands were a size too large, making her wrists look even more delicate.
Perhaps it was the heat, but a thin sheen of sweat appeared on her forehead, and strands of hair stuck to her pale, rosy-cheeked face.
Shao Kunye walked over and sat on the sofa. “Can you make noodles?”
Wen Xi snapped back to reality and nodded. “Do you want noodles?”
He gave a short grunt.
Wen Xi took off her gloves and went to the kitchen.
From the sofa, she could be seen bustling about. Though young, her movements were practiced and precise. Most people her age had just finished school and were stepping into society; Wen Xi had already been forced to learn these most basic skills.
Within ten minutes, a steaming bowl of noodles was served.
The golden broth lifted the noodles, a clear yellow egg and bright green lettuce lay on top, sprinkled with a little chopped scallion. The dish looked presentable.
Wen Xi handed him the chopsticks.
Shao Kunye took them, his eyes catching the faint scars on Wen Xi’s wrist, which had already lightened.
Wen Xi was completely unaware and turned to head back to the maid’s room—a habit she had developed.
“Where are you going?”
Hearing Shao Kunye’s voice, she froze, confused. “To my room.”
“Come here. Sit.” Shao Kunye was blunt.
Wen Xi didn’t know what he wanted, but she stiffly moved over and sat across from him.
Shao Kunye picked up his chopsticks and began eating, graceful in every motion, exuding a noble air even in casual gestures.
Wen Xi watched him across the table. Under the light, his deep-set eyes, high nose bridge, and defined lines were flawless, like the sculptures she had studied in high school textbooks.
“What are you looking at?”
His voice made her jump back as if scalded, and she quickly lowered her gaze. “I wasn’t looking at anything.”
The black T-shirt contrasted sharply with her bright collarbones. Perhaps because the broth was too salty, Shao Kunye squinted, feeling a dryness in his throat.
He slipped his hand into his pocket and felt something hard and cold.
“Take a shower and come to my room.”
With that, Shao Kunye stood and went upstairs, leaving the noodles in the bowl completely eaten.
Wen Xi, no longer an innocent girl, understood the implication. She sat on the chair for a long while, head down, then carried the bowl back to the kitchen.
About ten minutes later, Wen Xi, hair damp, arrived at the master bedroom.
She hesitated at the door, lifting her hand several times but failing to knock.
She had no idea that her indecision was already revealed by the shadow slipping under the door.
Shao Kunye sat on the edge of the bed, seeing the shadow sway outside, reading her hesitation even through the door.
As Wen Xi finally mustered the courage to knock, the door swung open from the inside.
“How long are you planning to dawdle at the door?”
Shao Kunye leaned against it. He looked freshly showered; the smooth lines of his chest emitted a faint scent of male hormones mixed with soap, unlike anything Wen Xi had smelled before.
She felt guilty and muttered, “I wasn’t dawdling.”
His gaze fell on her. The black T-shirt had been replaced with a mediocre towel—probably brought from the Jiang Family—hinting at her delicate curves beneath.
A glass of water was suddenly placed in front of her.
Wen Xi looked up in confusion, meeting Shao Kunye’s clear, deep eyes.
“Drink it,” he said tersely.
Perhaps he feared she would be thirsty later.
Wen Xi was puzzled but obediently drank the water.
The door closed behind her, Shao Kunye tossed the glass back onto the bedside table and turned around.
In just a few moments, Wen Xi’s face had flushed pink, her body taking on a rosy hue.
The unfamiliar reaction left her flustered; she stood nervously, feeling her body heat up.
Shao Kunye smirked.
Teng Henshan’s drug was indeed effective—it was already working.
Wen Xi looked up at Shao Kunye, eyes wide. “M-my body feels so strange.”
Shao Kunye teased, “Strange how?”
Her voice trembled. “Hot… and itchy…”
He raised a brow. “Where’s itchy?”
Wen Xi fell silent, tears streaming down her face, lashes wet with shimmer, looking like the most delicate doll in a store display, evoking a cruel desire in him.
Within seconds, Wen Xi could no longer hear anything around her. She felt as if she had fallen into a scalding furnace, instinctively seeking something cool.
Shao Kunye watched her climb onto him, her heated skin pressing against his chest, soft and tender beyond belief.
Even drugged, her movements were clumsy, far from the refined control of an inexperienced girl.
Hearing her unconscious murmurs, Shao Kunye grabbed her chin, mockingly. “Not calling me husband anymore?”
“Husband… help me…” Wen Xi was unconscious now, her voice choking. “I feel… so uncomfortable…”
His gaze darkened, and he pinned her to the bed.
Even then, she worried about her clothing, instinctively clutching it, sobbing. “The clothes will get ruined.”
“They’ll ruin, I’ll buy you another.”
Soon, the room was filled with her sobbing and low moans.
Without much effort, Shao Kunye had Wen Xi tangled around him like a compliant doll, doing whatever he wished.
Watching her cry like water, he realized the toy was rather entertaining. Boring times could be alleviated with it. At least she was clean and obedient.
Morning came, sunlight flooding the master bedroom.
Wen Xi sat up, confused, taking in the unfamiliar room and the shocking kiss and bite marks on her skin outside the blanket.
Even she realized that Shao Kunye had drugged her water last night.
Why?
There was nowhere to hide.
She knew better than anyone that her leverage for survival was all she had. Even if Shao Kunye wanted to kill her, she would obediently stand still.
Footsteps approached outside. Wen Xi instinctively shrank under the blanket, wrapping her bare body, only her dark eyes peeking out.
The door opened. Han Tao froze when his eyes met hers.
Seeing no Shao Kunye, Han Tao approached the bed and set down clothes. “Young Master Shao told me to bring these.”
At first, he thought Shao Kunye wanted the clothes, but it seemed they were for Wen Xi.
Glancing at the black T-shirt on the floor, shredded like the night before, Wen Xi realized the clothes Han Tao brought were an exact replacement.
Shao Kunye kept his word, giving her a new one.
Wen Xi looked at Han Tao curiously. “How much is this? A hundred?”
Han Tao’s gaze was complex. “One hundred fifty thousand.”
Wen Xi froze, mouth agape. “F-fifteen… thousand?”
Holding the clothes felt heavy in her hands. She quickly pushed them back. “Mr. Han, you can take these back. My old clothes can be patched and worn.”
Fifteen thousand—her and Wen Liyang’s lives were worth far less than that.
Han Tao said, “For Young Master Shao, this isn’t much. Keep them.”
He placed them by the bed and left, closing the door behind him.
Seeing the clock on the wall, Wen Xi seemed to remember something and hurriedly dressed to do housework downstairs.
Shao Kunye didn’t return until evening.
When he entered the Villa, Wen Xi’s eyes in the corner immediately dropped. Clearly, she suspected he had drugged the water the night before.
Shao Kunye abandoned the idea of going upstairs and turned to her. “Come up later.”
He wanted her to accompany him to bed.
Summoning courage, Wen Xi asked, “C-could you not give me that kind of drug?”
That drug was agonizing, making one cling to the other like an animal.
She had already lost dignity; she didn’t want even the last shred of self-respect trampled.
Shao Kunye sneered. “Weren’t you the one who wanted to stay? Now you’re bargaining with me?”
“If you don’t want to, I can take your son and kick you out right now.”