Chapter 6: In Need of a Lesson

After Si Yao finished speaking, she smiled meaningfully, leaving Wen Sui, who suddenly understood and rejoiced in the moment. Then, she paused at the doorway.

By the door, Xing Jue leaned against the wall, reaching out to close the door silently. A cigarette hung from his lips as he squinted at her.

Si Yao stepped forward to pass him, but Xing Jue stretched out his long leg to block her. “Since when did the matter of marriage fall under my control, Sister Yao Yao?”

The smoke from his cigarette was unusually thick. Even though they weren’t standing close, it made Si Yao crave a cigarette herself.

She suppressed a smile. “Just joking.”

Xing Jue pressed the cigarette between his fingers and approached her, his lips curved in a conspicuous smile. His eyes glimmered with wildness and a trace of desire.

Si Yao knew him well enough to guess what was on his mind—nothing more than those matters of the bedroom.

But Wen Sui was just next door, separated by a single wall. She had only just made an alliance with someone who, in Xing Jue’s heart, carried some weight. She had no intention of turning this useful ally into an enemy before she’d even had the chance to benefit from the connection. That would be too great a loss.

With her back against the wall, Si Yao had nowhere left to retreat. She shifted her gaze and said, “I’ll go get you some things for staying over tonight.”

Xing Jue let out a laugh, ambiguous in its meaning, and brought the cigarette to her lips. “You must be dying for a smoke, old fiend.”

Si Yao’s lips barely moved before she turned away. “You’ve got the wrong person; I never smoke.”

Xing Jue scoffed, “Have you forgotten? My first puff came from you.”

“I’ve forgotten.”

Such blatant lying… truly deserving of a lesson. Xing Jue narrowed his eyes as his hand slid beneath her sweater, cold and forceful, already covering her bra.

A flush crept up Si Yao’s cheeks, annoyance flickering in her eyes, especially as Wen Sui’s hurried footsteps began to sound from the other room, heading toward the door.

The whole of Qing City knew about Si Yao and Xing Jue’s engagement. Equally well known was their lack of harmony in the bedroom.

The year they got engaged, Xing Jue had drunk too much and talked about Si Yao.

“Tasteless. Dull.”

Just those six words stirred up a storm.

Si Yao was fair-skinned, gentle in appearance, and her smile was soft and warm. Her tender, homey temperament had attracted many admirers for a time. Xing Jue’s six words shattered countless hopes. After all, most men harbored fantasies—not just a woman who could play the perfect hostess, but who could also satisfy in the bedroom.

To make matters worse, Xing Jue had never ceased his dalliances since their engagement. Si Yao never quarreled or made a scene, always cleaning up after him, more like a servant apologetically serving a young master than a wife.

The rumors about their marital discord were as widespread as news of their engagement.

Before, Wen Sui had been of little consequence. Now that she held some place in Xing Jue’s heart, Si Yao was determined not to let her see Xing Jue—famished and indiscriminate as a stray dog—pressed up against her.

Without hesitation, she pushed away the hand that was nearly slipping inside her collar. The gentle smile vanished, replaced by a cold expression as she twisted his wrist and shoulder backward.

By rights, Xing Jue should have moved away from her.

He didn’t.

This was no longer the little boy she used to toss around with ease.

Instead, he pressed down with his other hand, bent his knee, and effortlessly lifted her half off the ground, pinning her there.

Xing Jue drew close, kissing her on the side of her face that was still flushed and swollen from defending Wen Sui. “No wonder you got slapped today—seems you’re regressing, Sister Yao Yao…”

Those two words, “Sister Yao Yao,” were drawn out with unmistakable mockery.

Si Yao’s face burned with anger. As his arm locked her waist, she heard Wen Sui fiddling with the door lock, unable to open it.

Before she could relax, Si Yao’s ears caught the sound of footsteps at the main entrance, just a few steps away.

Outside, a phone rang, followed by a woman’s voice, haughty and languid: “Just passing by, dropping in on Xiang Court.”

Si Yao’s pupils contracted sharply.

Xing A’ni was here.

Xing Jue clearly heard it too.

Si Yao pulled something from her pocket and waved it in front of Xing Jue’s face—a packet of contraceptives. Her gentle smile now brimmed with a sarcasm even sharper than his. “Care to join me?”