Chapter 29:

Lin Qiao had just said she was a bit scared of him earlier, and now she might have to say it again for the second time.

In fact, they hadn’t verbally confirmed their relationship yet—they both knew they liked each other, but had not officially declared it.

With Shen Qingzhou suddenly acting like this, Lin Qiao was almost tempted to jump out the window.

Apparently not wanting to hear her speak, after finishing his sentence, Shen Qingzhou turned on the music. Eason Chan’s “Red Rose” blasted loudly into the car. The lyrics, “What you can’t obtain will always stir unrest; what’s favored dares to be reckless,” kept echoing in her ears. Helplessly, she reached out to turn the music off, but Shen Qingzhou directly grabbed her hand, driving one-handed, which was extremely dangerous.

Lin Qiao tried to pull her arm back, but Shen Qingzhou frowned slightly and looked at her. His cold, stern face silently warned her not to act foolishly, or else they’d both suffer in a car accident.

Helplessly, Lin Qiao shouted loudly, “Turn off the music! I need to talk to you!”

Shen Qingzhou immediately let go of her hand and spoke a sentence in a calm tone. Lin Qiao tried to read his lips, and it seemed to be: Talk when we get home.

Looking at how close they were to his place, Lin Qiao figured it was fine to wait until they parked. Having a conversation while driving was definitely unsafe. Some things could wait until they arrived. He couldn’t possibly drag her into his room as soon as they got there, right?

Well, as it turned out, that’s exactly what he did. As soon as Shen Qingzhou parked the car into the garage, he got out without a word and went straight to the passenger side to pull Lin Qiao out. Lin Qiao resisted and tried to run back, but he simply reached out, scooped her into his arms, and pressed her against his chest as he walked toward the front door.

During the short walk to the bedroom, Lin Qiao kept trying to break free from his grip. But Shen Qingzhou was not only tall, he was also very strong. After a few feeble struggles, he impatiently threw her over his shoulder. His shoulder dug uncomfortably into her stomach, and she pounded his back with both hands, shouting, “Shen Qingzhou, let me go! You can’t be this barbaric! Listen to me!”

Shen Qingzhou entered the house, didn’t even glance back as he kicked the door shut, and carried Lin Qiao directly upstairs to the master bedroom.

Realizing she was about to arrive at the “scene of the crime,” Lin Qiao hurriedly cried out in panic, “Shen Qingzhou, I’m sorry! I won’t see Qin Muyao ever again! Please, have mercy!”

Hearing her finally admit fault, Shen Qingzhou let out a breath of relief as he tossed her onto the large bed in the master bedroom.

He roughly yanked off his tie and flung it to the floor, locked the bedroom door after turning on the lights, and walked toward her, causing her to brace her arms behind her and scoot backward in fear. Her beautiful, wide eyes were filled with terror and caution, as if he were a beast about to attack.

“Shen Qingzhou, let’s talk properly! Don’t come any closer…” There had never been a moment when Lin Qiao hated a bed more than now. The bed beneath her seemed endless, and no matter how much she tried to move, she couldn’t get off it.

Shen Qingzhou didn’t respond, nor did he seem in a hurry. He shifted his gaze from Lin Qiao to the window, strolled over, drew the curtains shut, and stood there watching her as he slowly unbuttoned his shirt.

Lin Qiao panicked completely. While he wasn’t close yet, she tried to crawl across the bed to escape. When she reached the door and turned the knob, she found it locked.

She froze for a moment, then turned around and leaned against the door, watching Shen Qingzhou, who had now completely unbuttoned his shirt, swallow hard.

“Ah.” Shen Qingzhou let out an ambiguous sigh, then took off his shirt and carelessly tossed it to the floor. He rubbed his throbbing temple, then walked toward her, saying as he approached, “Lin Qiao, I’ll take responsibility for you.”

Lin Qiao shook her head repeatedly, “No, no, I don’t need you to take responsibility! Just let me go! Shen Qingzhou, this is moving way too fast! We only thought we could give it a try, we haven’t even verbally confirmed the relationship ourselves yet! How did you jump straight to this step?”

Shen Qingzhou stopped in front of her, narrowed his eyes in thought, then said, “Oh, so the last time wasn’t confirming the relationship?”

“Of course not!” Even now, she couldn’t say it was. Otherwise, her innocence would be lost today, and she was nowhere near mentally prepared.

Clearly, Lin Qiao and Shen Qingzhou were on completely different wavelengths.

“Then that’s great. Let’s confirm it today. Actions speak louder than words.” Saying this, he placed both hands on her shoulders, pulled her back, and threw her onto the bed again. She landed face-down on the soft mattress, which bounced slightly from the impact.

Shen Qingzhou looked down at her back, casually unbuckled his belt, tossed it aside, and then climbed on top of her, pressing her firmly back down as she tried to get up.

“Mmm…” Lin Qiao let out a low groan as she tightly gripped the bed sheets with both hands, sweating coldly as she struggled helplessly, “Shen Qingzhou, don’t do this… please, let me go…”

Shen Qingzhou lowered his head and kissed the side of her face, then moved to nibble her earlobe. Lin Qiao, tickled and squirming, stammered, “No… I don’t want this…”

Shen Qingzhou exhaled deeply, then whispered huskily in her ear, “Lin Qiao, you might not want it, but I do.” He grabbed her hand and guided it downward. Lin Qiao felt the hardness through his pants, and her face flushed bright red.

“Shen Qingzhou, are you serious?” she cried out, close to breaking down.

Shen Qingzhou didn’t answer. He simply responded with action. He held her waist and pulled her skirt up to her hips. Her white lace underwear was now fully exposed to his gaze. The beautiful curve of her butt made him narrow his eyes slightly, and his hand instinctively gave it a couple of fondles.

At this moment, Lin Qiao realized deeply that Shen Qingzhou wasn’t joking. This dangerous man had decided to do something today, and the only thing she had left to use to resist him seemed to be feng shui.

“Shen Qingzhou, even if you want to do this, at least check the date first! You said the seventh of next month is an auspicious day. Can’t we just wait until next month? It’s not lucky right now…”

She was grasping at straws, hoping to survive this crisis first. She could deal with next month when it came.

Hearing Lin Qiao’s weak excuse, Shen Qingzhou let out a faint, indifferent scoff, “It doesn’t matter if it’s not an auspicious day. People have to go against fate a few times in their lives. Don’t you think so?”

He nibbled her earlobe as he spoke, his large hand sliding from her thigh down to the most private, soft part between her legs.

Instinctively, Lin Qiao squeezed her legs together and cried out, “Shen Qingzhou, you bastard! You don’t even like me!”

Shen Qingzhou thought this was absurd, “If I didn’t like you, why would I do all this to you? Silly girl.” He pried her legs apart, positioning himself behind her, his hard arousal pressing tightly against her warm, secret place. Lin Qiao struggled, her breathing becoming ragged, her face flushed red. She managed to turn her head with difficulty to glare at him, only to meet his increasingly entranced gaze.

Kneeling between her legs, he looked down at her and said, “Do you want to see what you look like right now? I can’t stop anymore. Lin Qiao, I can apologize, but today I need you to make an exception. Anyway, sooner or later, you’ll be mine.”

Lin Qiao frowned, “If you do this tonight, aren’t you afraid I’ll never speak to you again?”

Shen Qingzhou looked away for a moment, then after a short pause, as if he had deeply considered it, he turned back to her and said, “What’s so bad about that? Do I really have to say those three words for you to accept me? Then I’ll say them.”

He leaned down again, close to her face, and whispered, “Lin Qiao, I love you. You don’t know how scared I was today when I thought you might leave with Qin Muyao. I promise you, I will take responsibility for everything I do tonight for the rest of my life.”

Hearing these words from a man she had strong feelings for, it was impossible not to be moved. But beneath that emotion was the act of having sex, which made things more complicated.

Saying such words at a moment like this made it hard not to suspect they were lies told to achieve a goal.

Although Lin Qiao believed Shen Qingzhou wouldn’t lie about something this serious just for physical desire, his unpredictable behavior still seemed absurd.

“Since you said that, then just let me go. I’ll pretend nothing happened just now. Let’s be together properly, and when the time is right, we can…”

Before Lin Qiao could finish her breathless plea, Shen Qingzhou silenced her with a kiss. He deeply tasted her sweetness, spread her legs wider with his own, and his long fingers moved from her core to the edge of her underwear, pushing aside the barrier that covered the entrance he so desired. He lowered his pants slightly, exposing his already hard arousal, and pressed it against her entrance, which was already slightly wet.

Shen Qingzhou held the tip and gently rubbed it against her entrance, forcing her to slightly lift her hips. His voice was low and tender, “Lin Qiao, look at yourself now. Don’t tell me you really don’t want this.”

Ashamed, Lin Qiao covered her face and shouted, “Even if I do want it, not now! Shen Qingzhou, don’t regret it if you dare to enter me!”

Shen Qingzhou furrowed his brow, seeming genuinely conflicted, but his body acted on its own, pushing into her entrance. Lin Qiao let out a scream and threw her head back. Her long hair spilled over her shoulders, contrasting against her purple dress. Her skin was pale and smooth like high-quality jade, perfect in every way.

“Mmm… no regrets,” he rasped, placing his hand on her stomach to try to pull her body up slightly, but she clung tightly to the bed sheets, refusing to move.

The sudden penetration hurt her so much that she was covered in cold sweat, her face pale. Only her lips remained red, like fire, seductive and enticing.

“Lin Qiao.” He called her name, but she stubbornly bit her lip and refused to speak. He tried moving in and out slightly, and she let out a muffled groan without crying out loud, only gripping the bed sheets tightly, enduring his gradually accelerating rhythm.

Watching her furrowed brows, Shen Qingzhou gradually increased his force. Her body moved forward with each of his thrusts, until finally, during one particularly deep thrust, she couldn’t help but open her mouth and let out a cry.

That sound sent a thrill through Shen Qingzhou.

He let out a satisfied sigh and leaned closer to her back, gently thrusting in and out. Lin Qiao buried her face in the pillow. When she had to lift her head due to lack of oxygen, the pillow was already damp.

Seeing the traces she left, Shen Qingzhou hesitated for a moment, then gently touched her face and asked softly, “Does it hurt?”

Lin Qiao’s face was pale as she replied, “Not as much as my heart.”

Shen Qingzhou sighed, slowly slowing his movements, and kissed her cheek, saying, “Don’t be angry. What I said is all true. Am I not good enough? Is there someone better than me?”

Lin Qiao’s eyes were red and teary as she said, “You are good… but… mm…” She was interrupted halfway by his sudden acceleration, letting out a low moan, “Ah… no… you…”

Shen Qingzhou nibbled her earlobe as he whispered, “Not ‘no,’ it’s ‘yes.’ Say it again, be a good girl.”

Lin Qiao bit her lip tightly, ignoring his shameless teasing. She never got the chance to finish what she wanted to say next. What she meant was, even though you’re great, no one likes being forced.

Yes, who would like being forced to do something they don’t like? Even if it’s something you like, being forced to do it earlier than you’re ready can make you resent it.

She didn’t know when it stopped. When she woke up again, she found herself lying in Shen Qingzhou’s arms. The wall clock told her it was already past three in the morning. Recalling everything that had happened, it felt like a nightmare.

She moved slightly and carefully got out of Shen Qingzhou’s embrace. She stared at his sleeping face for a while, thinking whether she should slap him.

In the end, she did nothing, and carefully got out of bed.

Her body felt fresh and clean, probably because he had cleaned her up after she fell asleep. Suppressing the bitterness in her heart, Lin Qiao picked up the clothes he had neatly folded and placed at the edge of the bed and put them on quietly.

The underwear next to the clothes was new, still with the tag on it. Lin Qiao guessed that Shen Qingzhou might have gone out in the middle of the night. So she walked to the door and cautiously turned the doorknob, and surprisingly, the door actually opened.

She looked back at the tall figure lying on the bed, her mind filled with the crazy things they had done. Her lower body still ached from his roughness. She felt resentment and unwillingness toward him, yet strangely, there was no hatred or disgust. This realization made her feel deeply ashamed, and she couldn’t stay there for another second. She turned around, closed the door, and left.

What she didn’t notice was that Shen Qingzhou, who had his back to her, opened his eyes the moment she closed the door and sat up from the bed.

He quickly walked to the window, pulled open the curtain, and watched the slender figure appear at the gate. Finally, he felt a bit of regret.

Shen Qingzhou exhaled, then directly went downstairs in his pajamas, silently following behind her to send her home.

He didn’t drive, nor did he want her to know he was there. Because he thought, she probably wanted to be alone now. If he showed up again, things might get worse.

Actually, he was right. If he had gone out to send her home now, she would have felt even more unable to face him, even more ashamed. He had already made too many mistakes; it was better not to make more.

So, Shen Qingzhou followed Lin Qiao all the way home. She didn’t take a taxi, so he walked behind her the entire way. Fortunately, it was already very late at night, and there were few people on the road. Otherwise, if someone saw a grown man in pajamas following a girl late at night, they might have even called the police.

All the way back home, Lin Qiao didn’t realize someone was following her. After returning, she took another shower, then quietly went back to her room, crawled into bed, and still couldn’t sort out the tangled thoughts from her walk home.

Unconsciously, she bit her right thumb, her nose tingled, but no more tears came.

Actually, it wasn’t that big of a deal… Just pretend it was a bite from a little dog. After all, Shen Qingzhou… he is a man. How rational can you expect a man to be about these things? This is reality, not a romantic drama. There’s no such thing as a perfect person, right?

But still, her heart ached. And how was she supposed to face him now? How should she handle their relationship?

Meanwhile, Shen Qingzhou, equally confused, was now standing outside Lin Qiao’s house, smoking. Dressed only in light pajamas, his dark hair was messy, his expression blank as he stood in the curling smoke, occasionally glancing at Lin Qiao’s window.

The light in her room remained off. She was probably already asleep.

Recalling his own actions, Shen Qingzhou gradually felt a pang of guilt. It was precisely this guilt that kept him from appearing in front of her again when he followed her home.

Was he afraid?

Actually, he just wanted to turn uncertainty into certainty, to mark Lin Qiao as his, to let everything settle.

But his overwhelming possessiveness seemed to have made him forget that Lin Qiao was also a person, with feelings, who wouldn’t like being forced.

This time, he was probably truly, inexcusably at fault.