Volume One, Chapter 12: From Now On, I Won’t Help You with Any of Your Busywork

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“Hiss—”

It was not until Wen Yang bit through his lip and tasted blood between their lips and teeth that she finally broke free from his arms.

Between them, silence hung like a heavy curtain. The dim yellow light in the room brushed softly across her eyes and his.

That passionate, almost absurd pleasure had been severed by some invisible force, leaving behind only a suffocating stillness.

“Then who do you like? That affected little brother?”

“Do you want us to grow old without ever speaking to each other again?”

His gaze met hers like a sharp spear, his tone dripping with mockery. “Then why did you shamelessly walk into my room last night? Why did you let me sleep with you?”

Wen Yang froze for a moment. Each of his cutting questions drove her humiliation to the limit.

“I’m sorry.”

Her fingertips clenched until her knuckles turned white.

After learning what her circumstances meant yesterday, she had not wanted anyone to trample on her dignity.

But if it was Pei Yanchuan…

She bit her lip hard. Only then did she realize that the words of final severance she had just thrown at him made her look like a clown putting on a show for everyone’s amusement.

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes settling on her without the slightest trace of emotion.

“Your body is far more honest than your mouth, Wen Yang.”

Whenever he suppressed his anger, his voice became even deeper. He ground out the last two words—her name—through clenched teeth.

Wen Yang put some distance between them, trying to preserve the last shred of her dignity. She said nothing more, only turned and walked out.

As she stepped out of the bathroom, she heard him say, “Fine. From now on, I won’t help you with a single thing.”

“And don’t come looking for me again under the pretense of needing help.”

The door slammed shut.

Until her figure disappeared completely from view, Pei Yanchuan saw not the slightest hesitation in her.

She really was as heartless as ever. He gave a self-mocking smile and irritably returned to his room to look for his cigarette case, only to receive another call.

He answered it. Han Ting’s voice came from the other end. “Well? Which firm’s design are we choosing for the North District? Give me a definite answer, Your Highness.”

Pei Yanchuan said, “Whatever. Pick one that looks presentable.”

There was several seconds of silence before Han Ting exploded. “What? Brother, when I called you last night, you said you were still thinking it over. And now I’m supposed to decide? Then why did you make me wait all day?”

“Mm.” Pei Yanchuan did not want to say more. “Are you finished? If so, I’m hanging up.”

“Of course I’m not finished! Uncle Pei has been calling me nonstop, chasing me for the resort’s final design drafts. He’s called seventeen or eighteen times already, and I’ve been fobbing him off for you. So you mean I still have to stay late at the office tonight and choose another design?” Han Ting continued, “I thought you wanted to do Wen Yang a favor and choose her company’s proposal. But now you’re pulling this stunt?”

Han Ting continued grumbling on the other end.

Pei Yanchuan rubbed the bridge of his nose and replied with a single sentence: “I’ll pay you ten times the overtime rate.”

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“And another thing: from now on, anything concerning her has nothing to do with me.”

“Ooh, ooh.” The moment Han Ting heard “ten times,” his anger vanished. With some sympathy, he asked, “What happened? Did you throw yourself at her again only to be met with a cold shoulder?”

“Get lost.”

Pei Yanchuan ended the call.

…

There was only one suite on this floor, ensuring an exceptional degree of privacy.

By the time Wen Yang reached the elevator, she was still somewhat breathless. Her heart felt as though a corner had been torn away, leaving it hollow and empty.

Her dazed reflection stared back at her from the elevator’s glass doors.

That sentence seemed still to be echoing in her ears: Your body is far more honest than your mouth.

She closed her eyes, steadied her emotions, and pressed the button for the first floor.

The negative emotions churning inside her needed an outlet. She needed to play the villain for a while.

She walked all the way to the sofas in the lobby and found the person she was looking for—Xu Qiqi.

Xu Qiqi was idly scrolling through her phone to pass the time, sitting with one leg crossed over the other. Beside her was a delicately packaged little cake.

Wen Yang walked toward her. As though sensing her approach, Xu Qiqi looked up, and their eyes met.

Xu Qiqi had clearly not expected to see her here.

After running into Wen Yang two days in a row, she suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. She remained seated, making no effort to rise, and said with affected haughtiness, “What a coincidence.”

“Not really. I was planning to ask you to meet me anyway.” Wen Yang got straight to the point.

Then she made it even more explicit. “I happened to hear you acting coy on the phone, so I came down.”

The atmosphere turned subtle and tense. There was no need to explain how Wen Yang had heard her being coy over the phone. Remembering how thoroughly she had been rebuffed during that call, Xu Qiqi’s expression cracked slightly.

“Heh, I see… My godmother asked me to bring Yanchuan a cake. I was just about to go upstairs.” She did not want to engage with Wen Yang’s remark, so she deftly skirted around it.

Snatching up the cake bag beside her, she rose and forced a smile, placing heavy emphasis on the words “my godmother.”

“That’s unfortunate. He may be a little tired.”

Wen Yang continued without the slightest change in expression. “Oh, right. This time, I really did get a room with him.”

The vicious words Xu Qiqi had once used to slander her now came back like a boomerang and struck Xu Qiqi squarely in the heart.

The damage was confirmed by the pallor spreading across Xu Qiqi’s face—devastating.

As if afraid she might not believe her, Wen Yang pulled up the photograph she had just taken in front of the mirror and showed it to her. “Sorry. Things got a little intense.”

In the photograph, a distinct bite mark stood out against her snow-white shoulder, its suggestive effect impossible to miss.

It had been taken at five that afternoon—just half an hour earlier.

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Xu Qiqi’s vision went black, and jealousy surged wildly through her.

Why?

She had spent so many years circling around Pei Yanchuan without ever even getting close to him, while Wen Yang had managed to win his favor again and again!

She admitted that Wen Yang was stunningly beautiful. But with her lowly background and sordid past, how could she possibly be mentioned in the same breath as Xu Qiqi?

From childhood, Xu Qiqi had been the cherished jewel of the Xu family. Whatever she wanted, she had always been given; there was nothing she could not obtain.

Yet every hard obstacle in her otherwise smooth and privileged life seemed to have Wen Yang’s fingerprints on it.

The attention stolen from her in high school. The man she had fallen for stolen from her when she had first begun to understand love…

She had hidden in the shadows, smearing Wen Yang’s name and maligning her, but had never gained any satisfaction from it, because Wen Yang always wore that same indifferent expression.

Xu Qiqi no longer bothered to conceal herself. The deepest malice in her heart burst from her eyes, and she shoved Wen Yang viciously.

Wen Yang was prepared and merely staggered back a step.

“Just because you’re the stepdaughter of the Wen family, you think you’re worthy?”

Now that Xu Qiqi had dropped her façade, Wen Yang found her far more agreeable. She cut her off coldly. “Come to think of it, I should thank you for drugging me. Otherwise, I might not have had the courage to knock on Pei Yanchuan’s door.”

“What drugging…?” Xu Qiqi continued to feign innocence.

Only then did something seem to click.

She covered her mouth in disbelief. Could it be that she had indirectly delivered Wen Yang into Pei Yanchuan’s arms?

Regret and resentment churned together inside her, yet she still refused to yield. “You were the one who dumped Yanchuan back then. How could he possibly still want to be with you?”

“Oh? Shall I go upstairs and find out?”

With that, Wen Yang turned and began walking away.

Xu Qiqi stared at her in shock. When she saw Wen Yang heading back toward the elevator, alarm bells began ringing in her mind.

She had finally managed to win Mrs. Pei’s favor, and the woman clearly intended to take her as a daughter-in-law.

She had witnessed how deeply Pei Yanchuan had once loved Wen Yang.

And now they had slept together again today.

Would the favored son of heaven really bow his head for love?

She did not dare take the chance.

“Stop!”

The last thread of reason snapped. She hurried forward, seized Wen Yang by the wrist, and warned her in a low voice, “Do you think a man wanting to sleep with you means he still can’t let you go? He’s only treating you as a toy. He just wants to humiliate you.”