Tần Tử Dục followed my gaze, the veins on his forehead standing out.
He had been leaning against the railing, speaking to me with his head bowed, but the smile at the corner of his mouth instantly froze.
“A business partner is looking for me. I’ll go say hello. Sorry, but I can’t keep you company.”
I smiled and nodded, watching him carry his glass into the crowd. After several people in a row asked him to drink with them, a man pulled him out into the foyer to talk.
He was probably trying to get away from the crowd to discuss business.
I tipped my head back, finished the drink in my glass, and followed them outside.
I crossed the dim hallway, but Tần Tử Dục disappeared around a corner.
Just as I was about to follow, someone suddenly grabbed my wrist. Warmth spread from it through my whole body.
I turned around and staggered slightly, nearly crashing straight into his chest.
He smelled cool and fresh, with a faint trace of alcohol. In the darkness, he stared at me without blinking.
He looked as if he’d just come out of a wine cellar.
“Why didn’t you answer my calls?” His gaze was icy, his voice furious. “Are you trying to get back together with your ex again?”
I opened my mouth to defend myself, but then I heard Mạnh Tinh’s breathless panting.
Just as Cố Tư Tư had said, these two really didn’t care where they were…
Tần Tử Dục panted as he explained to her, “She and I are just playing along. The closer I get to her, the more the Tần family will target her. That way, you’ll be safe.”
Mạnh Tinh sobbed softly. “But it hurts to see you with her…”
He stared straight into the darkness, his eyes growing a little more somber.
For some reason, I had the feeling that he looked like he wanted to kill someone.
A little scared, I rose onto my toes and whispered in his ear, “I only followed him because I wanted to hear how he planned to deal with you.”
He asked coldly, “You still want to listen?”
Tần Tử Dục seemed to move more forcefully, and Mạnh Tinh let out another soft cry.
I froze.
A second later, my feet left the ground, and Cố Ngôn Xuyên carried me out over his shoulder.
I thought he’d gone crazy.
I started struggling and pounded his back. “Are you crazy? What if someone sees us?”
He stopped and set me down.
Just when I thought he’d finally calmed down, he took off his tie and bound my wrists tightly with it.
Then he took off his jacket and pulled it over my head.
He picked me up in his arms.
He lowered his head and whispered in my ear.
“I won’t take any routes where there are people. As long as you stay quiet, no one will see you.”
The light before my eyes went dark, and my other senses grew sharper.
His hoarse voice made me tremble slightly.
A light night breeze blew, and everything around us was quiet.
I leaned against his chest, so tense I didn’t dare move.
I thought I heard him say, “Such a good girl…”
The last syllable seemed to blend into the night breeze, his voice so gentle.
6.
He tossed me into the back seat.
Only after pulling up the partition in front of us did he take the jacket off my head.
The top two buttons of his shirt were undone.
Under the light, the skin around his collarbone was faintly flushed. He must have drunk a lot to get like that.
He untied the tie from my wrists and warned me in a low voice:
“You’re not allowed to run off with him.”
He wearily closed his eyes.
It seemed he really was drunk.
I remembered that he was easy to talk to when he was drunk.
I slowly moved closer, leaned toward his ear, and asked softly.
“If you’re afraid I’ll run away, then keep me by your side forever. How about that?”
His eyelids trembled, and he slowly opened his eyes.
He put a hand on my shoulder, trying to push me away as he always did.
I put my hand over his and said softly, “Brother… If you push me toward another man, I’ll die.”
His movement stiffened.
“If you push me away again…” I smiled at him. “I’ll never care about you again.”
I felt the hand on my shoulder trembling violently.
He looked at me for a long time, darkness rising in his eyes.
“Cố Tích, what if the price of being with me is… dying by my hand?”
“Would you still want to be with me?”
My mind went blank, and I slowly answered him.
“Yes.”
The last trace of reason in his eyes crumbled instantly.
His hand slid down to grip my waist, and he lifted me straight onto his lap.
He suddenly gripped the back of my neck, lowered his head, and kissed me.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and instinctively tried to breathe more softly, but he sealed his lips over mine, rubbing them together with brutal force.
The heat and the drunken haze inside the car gradually intensified.
He kissed me for a long time, until I couldn’t breathe. Only when I let out a muffled sound did he finally let go.
He stared at me, breathing hard, the corners of his eyes red from the alcohol and his lips a vivid red. He looked just like a seductive fox spirit.
His eyes grew hazy with drink as he kissed his way down my neck…
Before getting out of the car, he used his warm fingertips to straighten my rumpled skirt, then wiped the moisture from the corner of my mouth.
It seemed this was the first time since he’d grown up that he hadn’t avoided me, but looked me straight in the eye.
He paid no attention to his wrinkled shirt. He draped his jacket over my shoulders, then pulled me out of the car.
The chill in the air dissipated the heat on my face.
My mind had been so sluggish from being kissed that I’d nearly fainted, but I gradually came to my senses.
I stared at our tightly clasped hands and asked him softly, “Brother, what do we do now?”
He said calmly, “Go to bed.”
I was instantly stunned. “Wait… Already?”
There was an emotion in his eyes I couldn’t read. He emphasized each word: “Go to your own room and sleep.”
7.
The next morning, I rubbed my eyes as I went downstairs.
My brother sat at the dining table, drinking coffee and looking at his iPad.
Cố Tư Tư was eating toast. She was about to greet me when she suddenly froze.
[That pinkish mark on her neck—is it a… hickey?]
[I called Cố Ngôn Xuyên last night, risking my life, and still couldn’t stop her?]
Cố Ngôn Xuyên stopped with his coffee halfway to his mouth and looked at me.
I hurriedly turned and ran back to my room. After changing into a turtleneck, I went back downstairs for breakfast.
Cố Tư Tư narrowed her eyes and asked me,
“Sis, are you dating someone these days?”
I picked up my glass of milk. The scene in the car last night suddenly flashed through my mind, and my ears slowly grew warm.
Cố Tư Tư coughed. “I read your horoscope. The man who’s been showing up beside you lately is no good. At best, he’ll drain your luck with money and leave you penniless…”
She paused, then sighed inwardly. [Bottom line, Tần Tử Dục is a walking disaster.]
Then she continued, “At worst, he’ll cost you your life.”
I was so embarrassed I wanted to crawl into a hole.
“I know who you mean.” I took a deep breath and told her, “I’m not dating Tần Tử Dục. I stopped having feelings for him a long time ago.”
Cố Tư Tư’s lips twitched slightly. She clearly didn’t believe me.
[She stopped having feelings for him, but then she still pressured him into marrying her?]
At that, his hand paused as he set down his coffee. He looked up at me.
“You really don’t have feelings for him anymore?”
His voice was calm, but there was a dangerous edge to it.
Cố Tư Tư looked at him, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly.
[Oh, oh, oh! Is big brother jealous?]
[But he’ll be engaged soon. Only the two of them know about this unrequited love.]
[Besides, is Cố Tích rushing to get engaged because Cố Ngôn Xuyên is getting engaged?]
That had to be it.
My gaze fell on the dark red wound on his lip.
I’d bitten him last night.
“Brother, are you seeing someone these days, too?”
“Who is she? How come I don’t know?”
His expression turned cold, and he said evenly, “It doesn’t matter.”
The phone in his other hand suddenly lit up. The contact name on the screen belonged to a woman.
He didn’t answer. Irritably, he hit decline.
As he headed for the door, he leaned down slightly and whispered in my ear.
“Go to school first. We’ll talk tonight.”
I looked at the neat tie at his chest and tugged it down in irritation.
“My school’s hosting an evening party today. I’ll be home very late.”