Chapter 21: Hungry?

The warm, ambiguous breath drifted directly onto her face, his deep eyes gleaming with a wicked light. "I heard that on the night of your coming-of-age birthday, the president of Zhao Corporation hired the top star of the Brawny Men’s Club, Kuier, to spend the night with you. And now, acting so innocent—is that your way of telling me you’re still a pure and untouched girl?"

Tong Xiaoman’s head thundered, struck again by an unexpected blow. Damn it, even this stranger knew about it—who on earth didn’t?

Who was the blabbermouth? Her cousin, or that wretched Duck Duck?

Her whole body felt like it was on fire, burning with rage. She vowed to kill Zhao Yi and that despicable Duck Duck.

"Silence means consent? If that’s the case..." Nalan Che suddenly reached out, wrapping his slender waist with a firm grip, pressing her down onto the bed. His hot, thin lips could no longer hold back, covering hers. He had wanted this for a long time. Indeed, it was that sweet, soft tenderness he was reluctant to leave behind.

"You..." before she could react, he ambushed her again. This time, he went even further—recklessly and fiercely capturing her small mouth in a wild, desperate kiss.

His breath was domineering, forceful, as if trying to penetrate the depths of her soul.

Why did this kiss feel so familiar?

In her life, only two men had ever kissed her—the assassin and the man before her now. Their auras were strikingly similar, and their eyes bore an uncanny resemblance.

But their identities—one a killer, the other the chief of the Empire Group—were absolutely incompatible...

Suddenly, she bit down on his lips. Seizing his moment of pain, she slipped swiftly from beneath him.

Wiping the streak of blood from her lips, she sneered coldly, "What, as a soldier, do you want to break the law and violate a defenseless woman?"

Nalan Che extended his tongue to lick the blood away, chuckling lowly. "Your name was well chosen—you really are wild. But, I suppose you do count as a defenseless woman?"

"How do you know my name?" They should have met for the first time at the chapel, yet she eyed him suspiciously.

"Don’t you know? You’re quite famous in Jinse City."

Zhao Yi was afraid no one would know he had such an extraordinary beauty for a cousin. That business banquet he held was well known among the upper class—everyone knew, no one was unaware.

"That bastard cousin." The moment he mentioned it, she understood. She pressed her hand to her forehead, slightly pained. "I told him I like to keep a low profile, but he still flaunted me so openly."

She had planned to stay a little longer in Jinse City, but now it didn’t seem so enjoyable.

"Just accept having a showy cousin who loves to brag," he said with a sly smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

Tong Xiaoman ground her teeth, wanting to curse, when suddenly a rumble came from her stomach. She froze, stunned.

Nalan Che watched her with interest. "Hungry?"

She glared at him fiercely. "I came here without eating to attend your wedding. Can I not be hungry by now?"

It was all his fault she was starving. She couldn’t witness the ceremony properly and was instead kidnapped by the groom-to-be, who dragged her to the most terrifying place imaginable.

"There’s delicious food in the kitchen." Nalan Che straightened his slightly disheveled clothes and headed toward the door.

Tong Xiaoman followed his footsteps, but the moment her foot crossed the threshold, her body stiffened. She couldn’t take another step.