Chapter Eighty-Seven: Watch Out, or I’ll Ruin You

Mai Xijun’s shoulders were pressed down once more by Shen Yanlie. The corners of his mouth, wild and unruly, lifted into a beautiful curve. He bent to her ear, nibbling at her earlobe. His warm breath, the waves of tingling numbness, sent shivers through her again and again.

“I want you...”

Shen Yanlie was in no hurry. Unhurried, deliberate, he meant not only to give her the most exquisite and tender way of loving, but to conquer her inch by inch, to raise an entire sky above her, to make her yield to him willingly.

At some unnoticed moment, Mai Xijun’s blouse had already been stripped of every button by his hands. He paused only for a few seconds, then half rose and tugged off his T-shirt in a few swift motions. His firm chest, his handsome skin, pressed tightly against her fair body. The softness at her breast, springy and tender, was crushed against his lean, taut muscle. It felt unbearably good. His blood surged, every drop igniting at once, blazing into fierce desire.

A whistle sounded.

Shen Yanlie’s movements froze instantly. A faint crease appeared between his brows.

Mai Xijun, stirred half awake by everything he had done, finally came to herself, though she still had not quite grasped the situation. The room was steeped in springlike intimacy.

Shen Yanlie lowered his head and looked at the girl in his arms. Her cheeks were flushed, her skin smooth and pale as cream. Desire rose in him again; his throat worked once. Then, in one fluid motion, he snatched the cover from the sofa opposite. The gust of cool air made Mai Xijun jolt, but the cover had already fallen over her, wrapping and hiding her completely.

Well, his mood had been rather good. Yuwen Si walked with both hands in his pockets, head lowered, whistling all the way, taking the stairs two or three at a time. His face was bright with a smile.

“Get out.”

With a sharp smack, a magazine flew straight into Yuwen Si’s shin. He stared blankly for a moment, then lifted his head. The scene before him made him swallow hard. After struggling to steady himself, he suddenly burst out laughing.

“Well now, I was wondering why they wouldn’t let me come upstairs. So that’s what it was. I interrupted something good.” He laughed louder and louder. “Every time I show up, it’s at the perfect moment. I’m going to laugh my teeth out...”

“Has a dog eaten your conscience?”

Shen Yanlie sat on the edge of the sofa, his voice cold. His tall frame blocked the face of the person lying there, but there was no way Yuwen Si could miss such a conspicuous living body.

Only... who was it? Judging from the length of that body, from the pair of pale bare legs left uncovered, and from the scattered clothes on the floor, it had to be Mai Xijun.

“Wonderful!” Yuwen Si clapped his hands, delighted to stir up trouble. He whooped again on purpose. “Little sister, your big brother is here and you’re not even coming out to pay your respects?”

Shen Yanlie’s expression barely changed. He simply picked up another magazine from the table. The instant Yuwen Si hesitated and turned, he raised his arms to shield his face, but the magazine struck his shoulder dead on.

“Do you have to be this accurate every single time?”

Yuwen Si could not help grumbling. Was there anyone more miserable than him? Whenever Shen Yanlie decided to strike, he never once managed to escape.

“I told you to get out cleanly. You insisted on crawling and rolling around. Serves you right.”

Yuwen Si pouted in extreme displeasure. But with one lift of Shen Yanlie’s brow and one glare, his earlier bravado faltered. Still muttering, still unwilling to admit defeat, he nevertheless submitted under Shen Yanlie’s tyranny and went downstairs.

He was innocent too, all right? He had only wanted to see whether that woman really was that girl.

No wonder, when he had come whistling upstairs, the servants below had kindly tried to stop him, and he had ignored them all. Now look at this. He had ruined the two of them at the critical moment. He had sincerely wanted to bring them together. And now it was all spoiled. What was the difference between trying to steal a chicken and losing the rice used to lure it?

Mai Xijun could vaguely feel it. Shen Yanlie’s mood did not seem good at all. It was unsettled, restless, faintly irritable. She lay obediently on the sofa without moving. At a time like this, it was best for her not to say a word. Better yet, if she could vanish like a magic trick, that would be ideal.

Shen Yanlie rested his elbow on his knee and supported his forehead. More and more, he felt that the way he spoke was becoming like Mai Xijun’s. Besides, Mai Xijun had never once spoken politely to Yuwen Si. Most importantly, that fool Yuwen Si always had a talent for saying things that begged to be beaten.

Clutching the edge of the sofa cover with both hands, Mai Xijun cautiously poked her head out and looked around at the outside world.

Shen Yanlie’s brows were still tightly drawn. But the moment he turned back and saw that adorably dazed little scene, he could not help finding it funny. The clouds over his head instantly scattered somewhat, though the fire gathered inside his body could not be dispelled so quickly...

“Um... could you turn around?” Mai Xijun was deeply embarrassed. The elegant mood had been utterly destroyed. She wanted very much to sit up at once, all right? But Shen Yanlie was still sitting beside her, and one corner of the sofa cover was pinned beneath him. She could not get up at all unless she just went rushing out like that...

For a long while Shen Yanlie said nothing. On his broad, solid back was a conspicuous scar that made Mai Xijun stop short.

It was not as if she had never known. In the darkness before, she had touched it with her own hands. But she had never seen it plainly like this.

Now she saw it. So shocking that it made her heart ache. In that instant, she swore to herself that she would never let him be lonely again. So long as he stayed by her side, she would never let him be alone again.

Suddenly Shen Yanlie curved his lips, though the smile looked painfully forced. He raised his hand and flicked her forehead lightly. “I’ll let you off for today.”

The moment Shen Yanlie stood up, Mai Xijun, still wrapped in the sofa cover, tried to sit up as well. But with a thud, completely unprepared, she felt her whole world stall for a moment. Her chest took a hard blow and all her breath jammed inside her.

“Hey, Shen Yanlie, what kind of hooligan act is this? Get off me, quick. I can’t breathe.” Mai Xijun pushed at his head, only to find that he was sprawled over her like a dead pig, utterly motionless.

Hadn’t he just said he would stop teasing her? Then why had he suddenly dropped down on top of her without warning? No matter how she pushed him or called him, he did not move in the slightest.

Her breathing grew labored, and Mai Xijun was thoroughly enraged. Gathering all her strength, she gave him a fierce shove. Entirely unguarded, Shen Yanlie slid straight off the sofa, his head knocking against the edge of the table with a dull thump. Accompanied by his pained sound, Mai Xijun gave a cold snort, snatched up her clothes, and ran into one of the rooms.

In broad daylight, and Yuwen Si had seen it all. Good heavens. Such naked passion, laid bare before his eyes. And on the floor lay her little suit jacket, the light silk scarf from her neck. Every one of those things gave away her identity.

Mai Xijun hastily straightened her clothes. She deliberately cleared her throat, opened the door, and walked out again. At a glance she spotted Shen Yanlie still lying on the floor.

Pretending. Keep pretending.

“Mai Xijun, if you dare leave today, you’re dead.”

Shen Yanlie’s eyes were half closed, his arms folded across his chest. He looked utterly different from before, when he had sat smoking. Then he had seemed weathered, yes, but still vividly alive. Now he was another person entirely.

Mai Xijun could not help laughing at his words. She bent to slip on her high heels, though she wobbled a little. “What, so you’re allowed to set fires, and I’m not even allowed to light a lamp?”

As if. She was not falling for that act.

Besides, there was that woman, Xie Yunting. He had never once explained her to Mai Xijun. He had given her a promise, yes, but he still kept entangling himself with other women. She was not going to be as foolish as before.

“I’m sick. I ache everywhere. So you’re not going anywhere. Stay here with me.”

There was firmness in Shen Yanlie’s voice, but beneath it lay a faint, pitiable softness. It lacked some of his usual wild arrogance, yet it was not as though he had lost his power. He still sounded as if he could order her around, bully her, tempt her, force her.

“I’m not going anywhere? So I can stay here and let you infuriate me to death? Cheap man.” Mai Xijun finished putting on her shoes, rose to her feet, and looked down at him where he lay on his side between the table and the sofa.

There was no carpet on the floor. He lay there bare to the waist, and Mai Xijun could almost feel the cold climbing from the soles of her own feet.

She turned and walked a few steps away, but then seemed unable to bear it. Biting her lip, she turned back. Stretching out one leg, she gave his shin a few light kicks. “Cheap man, are you all right?”

“...No.”

“Oh.”

“...”

“Are you really okay?”

“...No.”

“Oh...”

“...”

“If you’re fine, then I’m leaving. And... don’t you dare dock my pay.”

“...I’m not fine. I’m not okay. If you dare leave, I’ll dock your pay.”

“...”

Mai Xijun frowned. Damn it, he really was a premium-grade scoundrel. But was he actually sick? He did not look like it. Not shaving just made him seem a little more haggard. Was that really such a big deal?

Still, why did his voice sound a little heavy? No, that was wrong. He always spoke that way, low and flat, without much emotion, overbearing and self-important, like he looked down on everything under heaven. He must be pretending. The moment she softened and went to pull him up, he would cling to her again like taffy.

Mai Xijun pursed her lips. Then her phone rang. It was Nian Yuchen.

She glanced at Shen Yanlie and decided to slip out on tiptoe. Yet somehow, she looked rather guilty, as if she were afraid Shen Yanlie might discover something.

“Mai Xijun, if you dare fool around behind my back, I’ll cripple you.”

Behind her, Shen Yanlie’s cold, sharp voice rang out suddenly. It was the same domineering tone as ever, full of force, but also outrageously arrogant, as though he disdained everything about her.

Mai Xijun puffed out her cheeks, thoughts whirling. Then decisively she lifted her brows and raised her chin.

As if she’d bother with him.