Chi Chen was about to speak when Bai Yuxing, untraceably, interrupted him. A spark flashed in his slender eyes, "She, oh, she angered Shen Dashao. Look, do you see it? That bottle on the table,” he casually pointed to the whisky on the coffee table, “Shen Dashao said she has to either finish the bottle or perform a kiss in public, just for a bit of extra entertainment."
"Oooh~" Xiao Heng drew out the sound, leisurely walking over to Jian Tong while lazily glancing at Shen Xiujin on the sofa, and nonchalantly stroked his chin:
"Shen Dashao really knows how to have fun. Since he wants to see a spicy kiss scene, why not let me play the leading man. I’m not boasting, but if I, Xiao Heng, claim to be second best at kissing, no one would dare claim to be the first.”
As he spoke, faster than lightning, he reached out his long arm and pulled the befuddled Jian Tong into his embrace.
Jian Tong, caught off guard, tumbled into Xiao Heng's arms. The next second, a warm touch on her lips suddenly made her eyes widen in shock.
She... was kissed?
Boom!
Her face instantly heated, blushing furiously from her ears down to the tips of her toes.
Xiao Heng was surprised by the tender softness of the small mouth beneath his lips. The sensation was... unbelievably good!
He hadn't intended to deepen the kiss – just a harmless peck, a teasing trick. But the touch of her lips was tempting, seductive.
Just as he leaned in to intensify the kiss, a strong force snatched the woman from his arms.
Xiao Heng, robbed of the sweetness he had anticipated, looked up unhappily at the person who had pulled Jian Tong away.
"Shen Xiujin, return her to me."
Shen Xiujin's expression was dark, his eyes sharp, "She has offended me. Until I have calmed down, no one can take her away."
Xiao Heng raised an eyebrow at Shen Xiujin. They had been both friends and rivals since childhood. Even after Xiao Heng went abroad with his parents, and Shen Xiujin stayed in the country, their relationship didn't change.
However, the fact that Shen Xiujin cared about this woman… Xiao Heng was very curious. He glanced at the woman Shen Xiujin had pulled behind him, and Xiao Heng was surprised to find her ears were glowing red.
It suddenly occurred to him that this might be the first time this woman was held by a man, perhaps even her first…
"Hey, is this your first kiss?"
Boom!
Jian Tong's face was redder than a monkey's bottom. Her ears were so red they looked as though they could drip blood. Nothing needed to be said; her blushing face was the answer.
Even Xiao Heng himself didn't realize how much his mood had lifted.
His lips curled into a half-smile as he looked at Shen Xiujin with an expression that was both teasing and serious: "What if I insist on taking her with me?"
The surrounding crowd, led by the chaos-loving Xi Chen, began cheering, whistles resounding through the air. "Bai Yuxing, get out your phone, record this! Xiao Dashao standing up for his belle, challenging Shen Xiujin – this news is going to be golden for the magazines! This is tomorrow's front-page headline, for sure!"
Meanwhile, Bai Yuxing, nonchalantly pouring himself a whiskey, raised an eyebrow and mockingly said to the excited Xi Chen, "I guarantee that if you do that, tomorrow's front-page headline will be about an unidentified body found in the Huangpu River."
"Hmm..."
Shen Xiujin was, of course, not unaffected by the sight of Jian Tong's blushing face. He suddenly found the shy look on her face extremely irritating.
The sharp gaze icily landed on her lips. Squinting, he seemed to be pondering something.
Feeling the weight of Shen Xiujin's unabashed scrutiny, Jian Tong awkwardly looked away, hoping to escape the unsettling attention.
However, to Shen Xiujin, her reaction sparked an inexplicable anger. His grip tightened around her wrist like a vise. With a swift motion, he hoisted her over his shoulder like a sandbag. Under the astonished gazes of Xiao Heng, Bai Yuxing, and Xi Chen, he strode out of the private room.
Xiao Heng was quick to react, anger fueled by embarrassment.
"Stop!" He didn't hesitate and chased after them.
Xi Chen's mouth fell open, still trying to process what he had just witnessed.
Bai Yuxing abruptly stood up from the couch, "Now this is going to be an interesting show." He didn't wait for Xi Chen; instead, he followed suit. Finally coming to his senses, Xi Chen scrambled to his feet, "Wait for me! Why enjoy the drama alone when we can all have fun together?"
Qin Mumu’s face turned pale, and her feet felt like they were glued to the ground, unable to move. She only knew one thing — she was in big trouble, and it was all her fault that Jian Tong was in this predicament.
Guilt wracked her heart, but she was at a loss for what to do.
If she went to tell Manager Meng, she would be the one finished. If Meng found out that it was because of her disrespectful words that such a big scene was caused, she would never be able to work here as a server again.
Torn between guilt and the fear of bringing the issue to Manager Meng and possibly facing dire consequences, Qin Mumu hesitated, struggling with her conscience.
Finally...
"It'll be okay, it should be fine. Sister Jian Tong is just a cleaner. That Young Master Shen is just angry, there's no need for him to make things difficult for a cleaner. Right, it should be okay." Qin Mumu mumbled to herself, repeatedly trying to convince herself that her self-deception would somehow make her feel less guilty.
Xiao Heng quickly chased out, but Shen Xiujin, who was walking ahead, suddenly turned around. His long leg drew a sharp arc through the air, delivering a kick swift and stylish that forced Xiao Heng to retreat. Shen Xiujin then hastened into the nearby elevator.
As Xiao Heng tried to follow, the elevator doors closed right before his eyes, perfectly sealed.
"Damn!" Just a fraction too late, Xiao Heng, unable to quell his anger, smashed his fist into the elevator door.
Xi Chen and Bai Yuxing, true to form as partners in crime, arrived one after another.
Xi Chen, ever the instigator, teased Xiao Heng, "No way, the elevator stopped at the 28th floor!!! Hey, Bai Yuxing, look quickly, what's Shen Xiujin up to? Taking a cleaner to the 28th floor?" The entertainment complex occupied the lower six floors of this building, commonly known as a nightclub, a place where only the rich and prestigious with high taste would spend their time.
And above the sixth floor was the hotel area.
Why it's designed like this... no need for further explanation, it’s clear to anyone who isn’t a fool.
With a flicker in his slender eyes, Bai Yuxing gave Xi Chen a cold smirk and said, "A cleaner is a woman too. Is it really such a big deal?"
It would have been better if Xi Chen had kept silent, but once he spoke, he couldn't help but snark to himself: "How unique can Shen Xiujin's tastes be? That seems too intense." Taking a cleaning lady to open a room? Xi Chen smacked his lips, shivering slightly as he remembered the cleaner's figure and face.
"Shit!" Hearing this, Xiao Heng punched the elevator door once again and began to press the elevator button desperately.
"Hey, Xiao Heng, you're not seriously thinking of chasing after them, are you? You've just returned to the country and may not know — the entire 28th floor here is Shen Xiujin’s. Without a key card, you can't get up there."
At that, Xiao Heng's entire face turned utterly dark.
The elevator moved rapidly, and with a "ding", the doors flung open. Shen Xiujin stepped out quickly, carrying Jian Tong effortlessly. He strode through the living room and into the bedroom with practiced ease.
Bang!
Jian Tong's vision blurred for a moment, and the next second she was unceremoniously dumped onto a Persian shag carpet. “Umm~” Before she could react, her jaw ached from the impact, and she was forced to open her eyes. Shen Xiujin’s face, as sharp and stunning as a deity’s sculpture, was only inches away.
"Jian Tong," the man's icy voice slowly rose, causing an involuntary shiver through her body, his tone continued, "Jian Tong, you truly have been an eye-opener for me today."
Jian Tong shuddered, her complexion turning deathly pale in an instant. But then she remembered something, and with her pale lips, she retorted, "The Jian family does not have a Jian Tong. I am nothing but a prisoner." Looking at the handsome face so close to hers, the one she once yearned for, she now wanted to avoid it as though it were something vile. "Mr. Shen, I am just a prisoner, and I hope you, as a nobleman, can forget the transgressions of someone so insignificant. Please, let me go," she pleaded, suppressing her fear of him, making herself as pitiful as possible, with the single hope of living in peace. What was dignity to her? After emerging from that dark hell and finally seeing the sunlight, she could not bear to give up the warmth she had found so hard to come by. Shen Xiujin's eyes narrowed dangerously, a fury simmering within them… How could this woman, so base and groveling before him, be the same Jian Tong who used to cling to him tenacious
Across from the residential area was an ATM. She inserted her bank card into the machine, and as the screen displayed the balance, Jian Tong clenched her teeth, fiercely withdrawing two thousand yuan. Holding the money, she hailed a taxi. "To..." She only realized after getting in the car that in her rush to escape, she hadn't thought of a destination. "Where to?" The taxi driver urged impatiently. Where to go... Jian Tong was stunned, suddenly realizing that despite the vastness of the world, she had nowhere to go. "Are we going or not? If not, get out. I need to pick up more fares," the driver frowned, giving Jian Tong a disdainful glance... Bad luck, not checking the almanac before leaving, and the first fare of the day was jinxed. "...Sorry, I haven't decided where to go yet," Jian Tong said slowly, without any resistance to the irritable and harsh-speaking taxi driver, even apologizing somewhat meekly, making her appear extremely weak.
A second later, the driver's side of the taxi was knocked twice with a "tap tap", and then Jian Tong heard a cold, official voice outside the window saying, "Sir, please open the passenger side door of the taxi." The tone was very formal, devoid of emotion, and despite the use of "please", the attitude was very forceful... All of Shen Xiujin's subordinates had learned from him. Jian Tong excitedly yelled at the driver, "Don't open the door!" She said, "I'll give you money..." Suddenly... "Bang!" Along with a loud noise, the glass of the taxi window next to the driver's seat shattered into pieces. This sudden event startled not only Jian Tong but also the driver sitting in the driver's seat. "I...I'm going to call the police! There is no law anymore..." right? "Swish!" A stack of brand new red bills landed on the driver, visually estimated to be about ten thousand or so. Outside the window, a bodyguard in black with a bu
With utmost seriousness, she challenged him, "Shen Xiujin, you're too strong, too excellent, with so many enemies. Surely, you have no vulnerabilities. Most of all, your woman cannot be your weakness. Wei Ming is too fragile, she won't do. I, Jian Tong, am fit for the role!" Every time, he would berate her with contempt, "Lowly, coveting even what belongs to a friend!" But every time, she would retort with her head high, "Shen Xiujin, you're single now. Since when did Xia Wei Ming become your girlfriend? I, Jian Tong, will walk away from you!" Such a proud woman! "Please, return my money to me," came the humble plea of a woman in need. Shen Xiujin's face turned an iron blue... Was this really Jian Tong? That proud and confident woman? Abruptly grasping Jian Tong's wrist, Shen Xiujin dragged her towards his car. "My money, let me go. Without the money, I can't leave." The woman's voice lingered in his ears, darkening his already cold ga
Jian Tong stood restlessly in front of Shen Xiujin. Shortly after, someone knocked on the door. Shen Xiujin’s calm and magnetic voice lightly said, "Come in." Jian Tong nervously eyed the person entering — Su Meng, who had interviewed her three months ago. "Ms. Meng," Jian Tong murmured anxiously, sneaking a glance at Shen Xiujin reclining on a single-seater sofa, and then at the suddenly-arrived Su Meng. Her heart trembled, uncertain of what schemes the unfathomable man might have in mind. "Mr. Shen." Su Meng, dressed in a tailor-fitted white suit that did not lessen her allure, with the top two buttons tantalizingly undone, stood composedly in front of Shen Xiujin. "What instructions do you have?" Jian Tong sensed something odd in Su Meng’s demeanor towards Shen Xiujin, as if he were her big-spending boss… What Jian Tong didn’t know was that Shen Xiujin was indeed Su Meng's big boss. Having been in prison for three years, she was unaware that the wo
Jian Tong's head violently shook as she became increasingly desperate. "I refuse, Mr. Shen, I do not wish to transfer to the PR department," Jian Tong pleaded frantically, "I admit my wrongdoing, Mr. Shen, please let me go. I’ve already served three years in prison and paid my price. Just give me my bank card and I will disappear forever, I promise, never to appear before you in this life again." Jian Tong could do nothing but beg. She hadn't noticed the shock in Su Meng's eyes when she mentioned her prison time. Su Meng had only recently arrived in S City two years ago and wasn't a local, hence she wasn't aware of Jian Tong's past. But if it were the old employees who had been with Shen Xiujin for a longer time, they would have been well aware of Jian Tong's history. Shen Xiujin's eyes narrowed dangerously... Did she think she could escape? Not appear before him in this lifetime? "Heh," with a scoff, the man pulled out his phone and gave an o
Three days had passed, and Jian Tong had been transferred to the Public Relations Department, yet she hadn't earned a single penny. Glancing at the time, it was the bustling hours of the night. The entire Public Relations Department was eerily deserted, with only her left in the lounge. Her colleagues had all gone out on assignments. Truth be told, in Donghuang's Public Relations Department, everyone seemed to be making substantial earnings. Those who came to Donghuang
"I..." She opened her mouth, instinctively wanting to refuse, but in the darkness, Shen Xiujin's lips quietly curved into a smile... He had said it: the proud Miss Jian couldn't let go of her dignity, enduring such humiliation. "So, if I really pick up all the money on the ground within a minute, it all becomes mine? And you will give me an additional reward of fifty thousand yuan?" The word "not" that was supposed to follow her "I" just couldn't be spoken. Before her eyes, she saw again that simple, kind-hearted girl in prison, her longing for dreams in her dying moments. In the midst of changing thoughts, Jian Tong forcibly changed her mind... Dignity? Did she have any left? Now, Jian Tong had nothing—no family, relatives, friends, or past. All she had left was herself. What need was there for dignity! The young master chuckled: "Of course, my word is my bond." A hint of mockery flashed in his eyes as he looked down disdainfully at the woman