Shаng Zhi Taо hаd nеvеr sеen Luan Nian this furiоus bеfore. Shе huddled in the раssеngеr sеаt, not daring tо speak. But Luan Nian kерt ranting, mаking her fееl bоth guiltу and humiliаtеd. Dеfiаntlу, she rеtorted, "Didn't yоu sаy wе should keeр our distanсe?"
"Kеерing оur distаnсе means bеing friеnds in bed, соllеaguеs at wоrk, аnd strangers оutsidе the оffice."
"Hаven’t I done ехаctlу that? I didn’t bother уоu whеn I ran intо trоublе, sо whу аre уоu blaming mе now…"
Shаng Zhi Taо’s words lасkеd cоnviсtiоn, hеr voice mufflеd, but each sentenсe was infuriating. Luаn Nian was аlreаdу fuming, and hеaring this made him feel like worrying about someone like Shang Zhi Tao was a waste of his energy.
"Now you’re all talk. Why couldn’t you explain things clearly when you were asking for the electricity bill and ended up getting beaten up?"
"You’re just a bully at home!"
Luan Nian’s two sentences shut Shang Zhi Tao down completely. She pursed her lips and fell silent. Both were angry, and neither bothered to question how the phrase "bully at home" had slipped out of Luan Nian’s mouth. One thought the other was worthless, while the other thought the other’s mouth was too cruel.
Luan Nian vented his anger through driving, stomping on the accelerator aggressively. Shang Zhi Tao’s heart raced with every turn. Seeing the car speed up, she timidly tugged at his sleeve. When he shot her a sharp glare, she forced a smile.
"Don’t you dare smile at me!"
Luan Nian didn’t even realize how much he’d been cursing today. If beating Shang Zhi Tao would calm him down, he’d pull over right now and do it.
Shang Zhi Tao let out an "oh," withdrew her hand, and looked out the window.
With a single glance, Luan Nian could see the swelling on her left cheek, and his anger flared up again. How could Shang Zhi Tao be so spineless and foolish?
Sitting there like a punching bag!
"Does it still hurt?"
Luan Nian glanced at her left cheek again. He didn’t know how hard the person who hit her had struck, but even after three days, the bruise hadn’t faded, and the swelling hadn’t gone down.
"No, it doesn’t hurt." Shang Zhi Tao didn’t dare say it hurt. He was already so angry—if she said it hurt, he’d probably turn the car around and burn the place down. But she was also surprised that Luan Nian was this furious over the incident. She had thought their relationship wasn’t at that level in his mind.
Maybe, Shang Zhi Tao found an excuse, maybe it was like in the movies: once I’ve slept with her, she’s my woman. I can discard her, I can not love her, but no one else can bully her!
Was that it? Shang Zhi Tao stole a glance at Luan Nian’s expression—it was truly awful. She bit her lip and stayed silent all the way to Luan Nian’s place.
He opened the door, tossed his coat aside, sat on the sofa, and patted the spot beside him. "Come here." His intention was to scold her again, while also teaching her about the dangers of the world, so she wouldn’t act impulsively next time and use her already unreliable brain. If she couldn’t handle it, wasn’t he still there?
Shang Zhi Tao obediently sat down, moving a little closer to Luan Nian—directly onto his lap. This threw Luan Nian off his rhythm. He leaned back against the sofa, still snapping at her, "Get off!"
Shang Zhi Tao didn’t budge. She had slept with Luan Nian for over a year and knew his temper. No matter how angry he was, all you had to do was yield. If one day he refused to be swayed, it meant he was done with you."I'm not going anywhere." Shang Zhi Tao cupped his face and looked, noticing his left ear was torn—she hadn't seen it earlier in the car. "What happened to your ear?"
"Don't know."
"Did you get into a fight?"
"None of your damn business."
Luan Nian tried to push Shang Zhi Tao off, but she clung tightly to his neck. "No. My face hurts, my mouth hurts too. Don't push me away."
"Give me your phone."
"What?"
"Give it to me."
Luan Nian took Shang Zhi Tao's phone, saw it had a password, and tossed it back to her. "Unlock it."
Shang Zhi Tao unlocked the phone and handed it to him, watching as he scrolled through the contacts and found his own number. "Isn't my number right here?"
...
"Did you lose your memory? Did you forget you have my number?"
"You acted so familiar in bed, but now that you're dressed, you don't recognize me anymore?"
"You..."
Shang Zhi Tao covered his mouth. Luan Nian was talking too much today—he didn't even talk this much during company meetings. Shang Zhi Tao had been scolded by him the whole time, but her heart felt incredibly sweet. How could Luan Nian's lips be so beautiful? Her mind wandered, her teeth lightly biting his thin lips, her hand slipping under his shirt, her cool palm pressing against his burning skin.
Luan Nian half-squinted at her, the bruises on her face fueling his anger, his eyes glaring as if he wanted to devour her. Well, let him devour her then. Luan Nian wasn't buying her act and tried to throw her off the couch, but Shang Zhi Tao clung to him like a koala, quietly determined.
"Stop messing around." Luan Nian's words nearly killed Shang Zhi Tao, making her try even harder, but he pulled her away. "I have no interest in your ugly face."
No matter how she tried to coax him, it was no use. He was just too hard to please.
Shang Zhi Tao felt a bit discouraged, deflated like a punctured ball, her eyes welling up with tears. "Hmph!" she let out a delicate huff, plopping down on the couch, sulking as well. That one huff completely shattered the high walls Luan Nian had built with his foul temper. He fell onto the couch with her, accidentally brushing against the corner of Shang Zhi Tao's mouth. She cried out in pain, but Luan Nian coldly said, "Serves you right."
"You feel the pain now? What were you doing earlier?"
His words were harsh, but his actions were gentle. His lips pressed against her wounds and bruises, stopping abruptly just as she was about to reach her peak. "What's my phone number?"
Shang Zhi Tao was left hanging, almost on the verge of tears, but Luan Nian persisted. "What's my phone number?"
Shang Zhi Tao shook her head. "I don't remember."
Luan Nian forced her to memorize his number. By the third time, she had it down, and he finally pulled her out of the pit and sent her soaring into the clouds.
Drifting among the clouds, close to the light, filled her with immense joy. It also gave her a bit more audacity. She refused to let Luan Nian withdraw, determined to reward her warrior.
Luan Nian winced in pain and sat up. Shang Zhi Tao glanced over and noticed his left arm was badly swollen. Looking closer, she saw scrapes on the back of his hand too. Shang Zhi Tao felt like she was blind—how had she only just noticed? And she had been fooling around with him earlier.
"Shouldn't you go to the hospital?"
"No need. It's not broken."
"What if it is?"
Luan Nian glared at her without a word, got up, and brought her some alcohol, enjoying Shang Zhi Tao's massage service. Shang Zhi Tao massaged his arm, but as she did, her heart ached with pity. She pressed her lips against it, one kiss after another, expressing her gratitude.
"Luan Nian."
"Hmm?""Can I stay at your place for a few days? I'm homeless." Shang Zhi Tao finally swallowed her pride and asked him for help. She had originally thought that even if she ended up sleeping on the streets, she wouldn't let Luan Nian know about this. But today, things had inexplicably blown up, so she might as well ask and stay at his place for a few days.
"How many days?" Luan Nian looked down at her, appearing quite reluctant.
Shang Zhi Tao held up three fingers, then thought about it and raised two more: "Five days?"
Luan Nian remained leaning on the sofa, looking half-dead, neither agreeing nor refusing. Shang Zhi Tao slowly shuffled over to him, pulled down her collar to reveal her fair, plump shoulder, and gave him a flirtatious glance: "I won't stay for free, you know. I offer excellent service."
"Get lost."
Luan Nian glared at her and asked, "What's my phone number?"
"Memorize it and you can stay. If you can't, get out now."
Back then, her mind had been filled with lust, and she had carelessly memorized it only to forget it immediately. Now that he suddenly asked, Shang Zhi Tao's mind went blank. She hurriedly took out her phone and recited Luan Nian's number again.
Luan Nian couldn't be bothered to deal with her any longer and turned to go upstairs. Shang Zhi Tao followed behind him, pushing her luck a bit: "How about this? Could I borrow your car tomorrow to help me move my things over? I have nowhere to put them, and I'll take them away once I find a place."
"Don't you dare touch my car!" Luan Nian was still traumatized by the time Shang Zhi Tao crashed into his car. "I'll drive you there."
"Tomorrow after work?"
"Fine."
Once upstairs, Shang Zhi Tao automatically headed for the guest bedroom. She had to work tomorrow, so she couldn't afford to mess around tonight. But Luan Nian grabbed her by the collar, forcing her to follow him back to the master bedroom. He took off his clothes and lay face down on the bed: "Give me a massage."
...
As for the massage, she started off doing it properly, but Luan Nian's back also seemed to bear the words "stunning beauty," distracting Shang Zhi Tao. Her hands and feet began to misbehave, slowly peeling away Luan Nian's cold exterior and offering him her burning self.
Luan Nian's arm hurt, and Shang Zhi Tao's mouth ached, but her mind was sharp now. She giggled and said to him, "Don't move! Let me do it!"
Luan Nian let her have her way, allowing her to go wild and unrestrained, his gaze dark and intense as if he wanted to devour her whole.
Shang Zhi Tao realized she couldn't be alone with Luan Nian. Whenever she was alone with him, her mind couldn't focus on anything else—all she wanted was to fool around with him like this. In the heat of passion, she leaned down to find his lips and asked in a trembling voice, "Do you like it?"
"Yes." This time, Luan Nian didn't hold back. If he liked it, he liked it—there was no shame in that.
Shang Zhi Tao's brow furrowed slightly, and her final soft cry was swallowed by Luan Nian's mouth. He turned from passive to active, sending her on another intense and stormy journey.
Shang Zhi Tao felt completely refreshed, as if all the bad mood from the housing troubles had dissipated. She just wanted to stay peacefully by Luan Nian's side for a while. She didn't want to go to the guest room either, so she closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep. She thought Luan Nian would kick her out, but he made no move, falling asleep even faster than she did.
The next day at work, she heard Lumi on the phone: "What? Shut down? How did that happen? I haven't even gone to beat them up yet!"
"Someone reported them for fire safety violations? They got into a fight yesterday? And people were taken to the police station?" Lumi chuckled: "Did those bastards run into a ghost after walking too many dark paths? Hahahaha!"Shang Zhitao listened from the side and finally understood what Luan Nian had been doing yesterday afternoon, as well as why he had been injured and why his eyes were slightly red. She looked up at the "ghost" she had encountered at the shady agency, her heart filled with gratitude.
"So you spent the whole afternoon yesterday running around for my sake?" Shang Zhitao sent him a message.
"Running around for the survival of our company's employees," Luan Nian replied with a frown.
On her end, Shang Zhitao covered her mouth and secretly smiled.
That evening, when they returned to pick up her things, Shang Zhitao led Luan Nian to the building's entrance and suddenly stopped him. "I can go up by myself." Luan Nian's face was marked with a question mark.
"You don't know my roommates, and they don't know you. I'm afraid it might be awkward for you."
"I'll be right back! I won't keep you waiting too long."
With that, Shang Zhitao dashed off. She didn't want Luan Nian to go to her apartment—she couldn't quite explain why. She always felt that the place was a little haven for her and her roommates.
Sun Yuanzhu helped her carry her things downstairs, placing them at the entrance of the hallway. He said softly to her, "I'll hurry and look for a place these next few days. Don't worry too much. We'll find a suitable apartment."
Shang Zhitao nodded. "I know! I'm not worried! We can look together over the weekend."
Sun Yuanzhu smiled, his laughter gentle and warm. He glanced around and asked, "Where's your friend?"
Luan Nian stood unmoving in the shadows.
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