Chapter 56

Chu Tong shrank back reflexively, let out a soft whimpering sound, and abruptly opened her eyes.

The slap had landed with some force, but given the ample padding in that area, it didn't really hurt. Instead, the aggressiveness and sense of control hidden beneath the movement and strength made her heart flutter wildly.

Her entire body instantly went limp, and her heart felt as though it had been immersed in water, turning soft and powerless. She could only pout and fake a cry, "Wuwuwu, you're bullying me."

After delivering that slap, Shao Yihuai's hand did not withdraw. It remained right where it was, cupping her as his thumb absentmindedly stroked the outer edge of the lace.

His eyelashes were half-drooped. "...Still pretending?"

Chu Tong's breathing hitched. She froze for a moment, instinctively meeting his gaze.

Deep in the Hong Kong night, the city's neon lights and streetlamps flashed past one after another outside the car window. The gentle halos of light brushed softly across his profile, and amidst the shifting light and shadow, the fiery intensity in the man's eyes made her heart skip a beat.

The girl in his arms had misty eyes and long, fluttering lashes. She shrank her shoulders slightly and then slowly turned her face away.

She was still pretending not to understand.

The pressure of Shao Yihuai's thumb increased slightly, and he evaluated in a calm tone, "...You're not very big, but you've got quite some nerve."

Chu Tong thought to herself that this was terrible; she had no idea how to handle the situation.

Wasn't this man supposed to stop once he saw she was drunk? Oh right, what about his hand—why wasn't he taking it away yet?

She regretted wearing so little. There was no barrier whatsoever between his palm and her skin, fitting completely against her. His palm was scorching hot, transferring heat in waves, and the fact that his hand kept making subtle movements made it all the more agonizing.

Feigning that it was getting hot, she flailed randomly, intending to push his hand away in the process.

To her surprise, she actually succeeded.

Shao Yihuai moved his arm away and casually rolled down the car window by a crack.

Chu Tong let out a sigh of relief, her whole body relaxing.

Thinking of the scene just moments ago, she bit her lip with lingering fear.

Oh right, there was also the privacy partition. She turned her head slightly to take a quick look—good, good, he had already raised the partition and turned on the frosting effect when he got into the car.

Shao Yihuai took in all these little movements and glances, but he didn't point them out again. He just leaned back lazily against the seat and lit a cigarette.

Perhaps because of his "restraint," Chu Tong grew a bit bolder. She slowly wriggled out from under his arm, carefully shifted forward, and draped her upper body over the armrest box, adjusting into an awkward-looking yet actually very comfortable posture.

Post-alcohol sleepiness washed over her, and her eyelids grew heavy. She closed her eyes, and her breathing gradually became even.

Her warm and soft body gently rose and fell with her breathing.

Half-asleep and half-awake, Chu Tong became aware of her posture. With her eyes closed, she quietly and stealthily reached out, seamlessly tugging at the hem of her pleated skirt.

The skirt was short to begin with, and lying sideways like this, it barely covered anything.

Pulling it down a bit helped the bottom, but neglected the top—the hem of her top rolled up, exposing a slender section of her waist.

So she reached out to pull at her top instead.

Wriggling her hips back and forth while flashing pale, smooth thighs right before his eyes, Shao Yihuai maintained his composure. He even kindly helped her tidy up, picking up a blanket from the other seat to drape over her.

Chu Tong's heart finally relaxed completely, and she fell fast asleep.

The distance was short, and even with the traffic jam, it took only twenty-something minutes for the Rolls-Royce to drive into Elegant Garden.

Post-alcohol sleep is deep yet short. Sensing that the car had stopped, Chu Tong regained her clarity of consciousness, opened her eyes, and looked out the window. Sure enough, they had stopped right in front of the foyer.

Before she could make a move, Shao Yihuai had already picked her up and gotten out of the car.

She hurriedly faked being asleep again.

She heard the faint sound of the car door closing, walking up the steps, and stopping right in front of the door.

"Password."

"……Huh?"

Continuing to fake sleep was no longer appropriate. Feigning a hazy state of consciousness, she thought for a moment and said uncertainly, "...My birthday?"

She punched in the floor number, followed by 0404.

The door popped open.

Taking the elevator up and entering the foyer, she felt her spine press against something soft, and then the man walked away. Chu Tong quietly opened her eyes.

?

Why wasn't this the bedroom? He had put her down on the living room sofa.

Peering out to search for him, she didn't see Shao Yihuai's figure. Using both hands and feet, she crawled to the other end of the large sofa, stretched out her neck, and peered toward the open kitchen.

Across the spacious living room, in front of the island counter, the tall man wearing a shirt and vest with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows was stirring a cup of liquid.

He took a sip, grabbed a canned item from the side, added a spoonful, stirred it again, and walked back this way holding the cup.

Chu Tong immediately crawled back to her original spot and lay down properly.

The footsteps grew closer, and the bottom of the cup touched the tabletop with a faint clinking sound.

"Get up and drink this."

Chu Tong leisurely opened her eyes.

At that exact moment, the doorbell rang.

She found it unexpected—who could possibly be here?

Shao Yihuai went over and opened the door.

Outside stood Zong Liangzhi, his old face flushed red as he handed in a small box.

Being a chauffeur was so difficult; not only did you have to drive, but you also had to run to a convenience store outside the residential complex to buy condoms for your boss.

The sound of the door closing.

However, the man's footsteps didn't head back toward her. Chu Tong couldn't help but look over: Shao Yihuai was walking toward the master bedroom with his back to her, tearing open something like packaging as he walked.

When Shao Yihuai returned to the living room, Chu Tong wanted to pretend to sleep again, yet also wanted to ask who had been there and what they came for.

Seeing that the water in the cup hadn't decreased at all, Shao Yihuai said, "Drink some honey water, or your head will hurt tomorrow morning."

After waiting quietly for a few seconds, the girl didn't budge.

His tone deepened a bit, "...Want me to feed you?"

A chill ran through Chu Tong's heart, and she opened her eyes. "...Huh?"

Shao Yihuai slightly raised his chin in a gesture without speaking, showing no intention of handing the cup over.

He was usually super considerate, but right now, he didn't seem all that gentle.

Chu Tong propped up her upper body, reached out to take the cup, and slowly finished it.

After drinking, she licked her lips and let out another breathy murmur, "...So sleepy..."

As she spoke, she made to slowly slump back down.

At that moment, Shao Yihuai let out a soft laugh, stepped two steps closer, and used the web of his hand to clamp her jaw, cutting off her motion of falling back. He said unhurriedly, "...Since I didn't call you out, you've gotten addicted to pretending?"

Chu Tong looked up at him in a daze.

He stood by the sofa, towering over her, his dark eyes unfathomable.

She panicked and averted her gaze, but the moment her eyes lowered, they landed squarely on his suit trousers.

Deciding to brazenly push through with stubbornness, she muttered, "...I really am so sleepy. Of course I have to sleep after drinking alcohol. You should find somewhere random to sleep too, goodnight and goodbye."

Before her voice trailed off, she made to run.

How could she possibly escape? Shao Yihuai scooped her right back up into his arms.

She struggled a bit, "You don't need to carry me, I can walk to the bedroom by myself."

Shao Yihuai turned a deaf ear.

Arriving at the master bedroom, the pure white sheer curtains were tightly drawn, and the indoor lights were blazing bright. Chu Tong instantly spotted that several new items had been added to the bedside table—a box, with a few foil packets scattered beside it.
A few packets?!

Alarm bells rang wildly in her head. She no longer cared about pretending to be asleep or out of it. "What is this stuff?! I don't need it! Take it away right now."

"...I do."

His tone was calm, as if this were the most ordinary statement imaginable.

Placed on the bed, Chu Tong habitually reached out to turn off the lights.

Shao Yihuai didn't stop her.

As soon as the lights went off, Chu Tong instantly regretted it. In the dimness, the atmosphere seemed even more ominous.

She shrank back against the headboard, knowing when to yield and when to stand firm. "Aren't you a righteous gentleman? I've been drinking, you know. This isn't very good."

No answer came.

Her eyes gradually adjusted to the gloom, discerning the silhouette of the man standing by the bed, and her hearing became sharper, catching the faint rustle of him unbuckling his watch.

And then, he bent down, his presence instantly encroaching. Chu Tong hugged her knees, her heart beating frantically, not daring to move an inch.

His presence stopped right in front of her face. In a low, magnetic voice, he asked, "...What kind of alcohol did you drink?"

"L-Long Island Iced Tea..."

Her voice was as thin as a mosquito's buzz; if the room hadn't been so quiet, it would have been completely inaudible.

"Was the nightclub fun?"

"It's... alright..."

In reality, they had only stayed there for less than half an hour.

"How did you have fun?" His voice was also low, laced with a lingering, unfathomable undertone. "Dressed like this—was it a dress code?"

On the outside she was an obedient school belle, but on the inside, she was anything but well-behaved.

Chu Tong shook her head.

She felt his hand brush against the edge of the lace. "How come I don't remember buying this for you?"

She mumbled, "I bought it myself, duh. Am I not allowed to buy my own clothes?"

"You like this kind?"

Chu Tong immediately realized this was a verbal trap.

She kept her mouth shut.

"If you don't like it, take it off."

Such utterly bold and aggressive words.

Both angry and flustered, Chu Tong wanted to bite his arm. The moment she turned her head slightly, her path was cut off, and feeling his presence press in close, she froze instantly.

A gentle kiss landed on her lips.

"...Open your mouth."

She kept her lips tightly sealed, refusing to cooperate.

"...Still want to be punished?"

Crying internally, Chu Tong reluctantly parted her lips just a fraction.

This was clearly not enough, because he then said, "Stick your tongue out."

She poked out the tip of her tongue, holding it in that position for a few seconds before feeling it being captured.

She felt dizzy all at once, her consciousness growing even hazier than when she was first drunk.

A deeply oppressive, heavy kiss. Lacking the strength to support herself, she collapsed back against the pillow.

The kneading pressure of his hand lost its restraint. It felt as though fireworks were exploding inside Chu Tong's chest. She tried to hide beneath the covers, but when he exerted force, she instinctively leaned into his palm of her own accord.

The dull rumble of thunder outside matched the sudden high-pitched gasp that escaped her lips.

Why on earth was there so much rain in Hong Kong this early autumn?

Shao Yihuai asked in a low murmur, "...Baby, do you remember me?"

"A year and five months," his voice was deep and husky. "Did you miss me during this time?"

Chu Tong didn't want to admit it, but in the dead of night, she had actually missed him countless times.

She had even dreamt of him.

It was bizarre; the scene in the dream had been Professor Chen's restroom, where she and he had become hopelessly entangled during their second meeting.

The dream had been intense, yet it paled in comparison to the present. With an attitude of refusal to take no for an answer, he forcefully squeezed into the gaps of time, filling the blank void of that year and five months.

She burst into tears.

There was grievance, but also a bizarre, complex emotion bordering on being moved.

Moved by how someone could, with such simple and monotonous actions, make both her soul and body soar together.

It was Shao Yihuai.

Amidst this repetition, her heart was branded anew, over and over again—it was Shao Yihuai.

That damned scumbag of a man.

Weeping, Chu Tong scolded him, "You're heartless. I've been drinking, you wouldn't have been like this before."

He let out a low, husky chuckle. "...Before was fake; right now is your real husband."

"Say you missed me."

She refused to say it.

"...Not only do you remember, but you missed me a lot, right?"

He didn't hold back his strength at all, grinding against the sensitive tip of her heart over and over again.

The interrupted kiss pressed down upon her once more, tongue and tongue entangling. That overwhelming sense of plunder left her gasping for air.

Following the rumble of distant thunder came a fierce downpour.

Rain beating against plantain leaves, the rhythmic sounds of collision refusing to cease.