Chapter 23 One Time for One Time

Yan Shuang stood beside the champagne tower, her wine glass filled countless times.

Just as Mr. Zhang, the head of the marketing department, left, Mr. Li, the engineer from the R&D team, came over with a wine glass in hand.

Yan Shuang lowered her head and took a sip of wine, not daring to tell the other person that her vision was already a little blurry.

Her cheeks were burning hot; they must have turned incredibly red.

The wine glass was refilled. "Secretary Yan has a really beautiful smile," someone whispered in her ear. "You should smile more often in the office."

Really? She's actually smiling? Yan Shuang touched the corner of her lips in a daze and, sure enough, felt an upward curve.

She took another sip. Ah, it felt so good! This light, floating sensation, like walking on clouds, made all her worries temporarily disappear...

"careful!"

A warm hand suddenly supported her swaying elbow.

Yan Shuang looked up and met Chen Kai's concerned gaze from the R&D department.

This young talent, a Harvard graduate in his early thirties, always had a gentle smile in his eyes.

"Thank you..." she whispered, then suddenly realized she was almost leaning against the other person's chest, and quickly struggled to stand up straight.

But it caused even more blood to rush to the top of the head.

"You've had too much to drink." Chen Kai placed his hand lightly on her lower back, maintaining a perfectly gentlemanly distance. "Shall I take you home?"

Yan Shuang shook her head, and a stray strand of hair escaped from her hair bun and fell to her pinkish neck.

She raised her hand to try and flick it back, but found that her fingers were not very flexible and she failed several times.

Chen Kai considerately tucked her hair behind her ear.

"I'm fine..." Yan Shuang's voice was three degrees softer than usual, carrying a touch of coquettishness she herself didn't realize, "Just a little longer..."

From a distance, Yan Shuang could be seen chuckling as Chen Kai amused her.

The alcohol made her eyes exceptionally bright, as if they were filled with a pool of shimmering honey.

"Secretary Yan."

Yan Shuang looked up and met Lin Sheng's smile. "President Shang is waiting for you on the second floor."

Lin Sheng's gaze swept between her and Chen Kai. "It's urgent."

"Now?" she heard her own dry voice.

"The Chamber of Commerce wants to see the final data for the Southeast Asia project."

"Okay, I'll go get it." Yan Shuang put down her wine glass and hurriedly left.

The staircase leading to the second floor was covered with a thick Persian carpet, which swallowed up all footsteps.

Yan Shuang felt like she was walking on cotton in her high heels; the alcohol and nervousness had dulled her sense of balance.

The second-floor lounge area was much quieter than downstairs. Deep red velvet curtains kept the noise of the banquet hall out, and the only light source was the dark golden glow cast by a few wall lamps.

Yan Shuang stopped at the end of the corridor, took a deep breath, and straightened her collar.

She could see the figure inside through the half-open door; Shangqiu Zhu was standing in front of the French windows with her back to the door.

"Come in."

Before she could knock, that deep voice came through the door.

Yan Shuang's fingers paused on the doorknob for a second before she pushed the door open.

The aroma of whiskey and cigars immediately enveloped her, mixed with a faint hint of ebony.

"Mr. Shang, here's the Southeast Asian market data you requested." She tried to keep her voice steady as she handed over the tablet.

Yan Shuang noticed that his tie was loose, the top two buttons of his shirt were undone, the cuffs were rolled up to his elbows, revealing his strong forearms and the scabbed bite mark on his wrist.

Her bite marks.

Shangqiu Zhu didn't answer, but just looked up at her, his dark eyes unfathomable.

“You took a few days off last week.” He said casually, but Yan Shuang’s back tensed instantly.

"Yes, I want to rest for a bit," she answered softly, her gaze lowered slightly, not daring to look him in the eye.

Shangqiu Zhu's lips curved slightly, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.

He put down his wine glass, but his gaze remained fixed on Yan Shuang.

“Last week,” he began, his voice low, “you didn’t go to the Maldives with your family?”

Yan Shuang's breathing paused almost imperceptibly.

"No." She looked up, a polite smile playing on her lips. "I wasn't feeling well those few days and was recuperating at home."

Shangqiu Zhu's gaze was fixed on her face, as if trying to see through her disguise.

One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.

Finally, his gaze darkened.

"Then why are you in the hotel surveillance footage in the Maldives?"

Yan Shuang's pupils suddenly contracted.

impossible.

Zhou Yaqin must have taken care of everything; the surveillance footage should have been completely removed!

She maintained her composure and even gave a slight laugh: "Mr. Shang, are you sure you haven't mistaken me for someone else? It should be my sister, right?"

She deliberately emphasized the word "sister," as if to remind him, and also as if to remind herself.

The relationship between them.

Shangqiu Zhu did not answer immediately.

Yan Shuang's heart was pounding, but she maintained a calm expression: "If President Shang has nothing else, I'll go and handle the aftermath of the banquet."

She turned to leave, her steps quickening compared to usual, almost as if she were fleeing in panic.

"Stop." Shangqiu Zhu's voice rang out behind her.

Yan Shuang paused, but did not turn around.

“I have surveillance footage here. It can be released tomorrow, so that the whole world knows about this brilliant scheme orchestrated by the Yan family.”

Yan Shuang's back stiffened instantly. She turned around abruptly, and the color drained from her face.

Shangqiu Zhu smiled softly, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.

In reality, he didn't get any surveillance footage at all; he was too lazy to even have someone retrieve it.

He slowly pulled his phone out of his suit pocket, his long, slender fingers swiping lightly across the screen: "You said... you came out of my room, guess what people will say?"

Yan Shuang's face turned deathly pale. "President Shang, what do you mean by this?"

Her slender hands gripped the hem of her skirt tightly, the expensive silk fabric crumpling in her palms.

Shangqiu Zhu stared at her, his gaze sweeping over her face inch by inch, as if he were admiring her current panic.

"What do I mean?" He finally stood up and walked towards her step by step.

Every step felt like stepping on her nerves, the oppressive feeling was overwhelming.

Yan Shuang instinctively stepped back until her back hit the cold wall, leaving her with nowhere to retreat.

"Shouldn't I be the one asking that?" His eyes burned with terrifying rage. "What does the Yan family mean by this?"

Yan Shuang's breathing became completely disordered.

Her lips trembled slightly, eventually pressing together weakly into a pale line.

This subtle gesture is the most honest answer.

Shangqiu Zhu stared at her evasive gaze, her voice icy: "What, is the Yan family that short of money?"

His voice was deep and his words were like knives, "Selling one daughter wasn't enough, you want to sell a second one?"

Humiliation, embarrassment, anger—all these emotions surged within her chest, yet Yan Shuang was unable to refute them.

Because that's the truth.

Yan Zhenye and Zhou Yaqin did indeed use her and Yan You as bargaining chips, one for a marriage alliance and the other for "remedies".

She was merely a pawn in this transaction of interests.

She bit her lower lip hard until she tasted blood, barely managing to suppress the sob that threatened to burst from her throat.

"President Shang..." her voice trembled slightly, "Please don't release the video."

If the video is leaked, the Yan family will become a laughing stock, Yan You's marriage will be ruined, and she herself will suffer endless humiliation.

Shangqiu Zhu stared at her slightly trembling shoulders, a dark and ambiguous emotion flashing in his eyes.

Yan Shuang bit her lips until they turned white, and she trembled with fear.

His gaze fell on her tightly clenched lips.

That expression was exactly the same as that night.

That night, she bit her lip, suppressing her soft sobs, before finally losing control and biting his shoulder hard.

Her trembling, her awkwardness, her fingers unconsciously tightening when she was aroused...

Every detail was exactly as he remembered it.

Yan Shuang's fingertips gripped the hem of her skirt tightly, her knuckles turning white, and her lips were bitten so hard they almost bled.

Shangqiu Zhu coldly observed her flustered appearance and said indifferently, "Beg me, then what can you give me?"

Yan Shuang opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She didn't know how to beg him.

Money? Power? Dignity?

She had nothing.

Her vision blurred.

The pressure of the past few days, her tense nerves, and the overwhelming sense of humiliation finally broke her down completely at this moment.

Her legs buckled, and her body tilted forward uncontrollably.

The next second, a strong arm suddenly gripped her waist.

Yan Shuang's body was stiff, but she didn't even have the strength to break free.

Her forehead rested on his shoulder, her breathing rapid and disordered, like a drowning person finally grabbing onto a piece of driftwood.

But this piece of driftwood was about to drag her completely into the abyss in the next second.

Shangqiu Zhu looked down at her pale profile and suddenly let out a cold laugh:

"You can't even stand up straight, yet you're trying to negotiate with me?"

Yan Shuang used all her strength to break free from his embrace and staggered back two steps.

"I didn't feel well that night either!" Her voice trembled, but it carried a resolute air of "what's the use of trying?" "If President Shang insists on leaking this, then I'll tell everyone that you forced me to! Anyway, the Yan family is already finished, so if we're going to fall, we'll all fall together!"

Her chest heaved violently, her eyes were red-rimmed, as if she had been driven to the brink of despair. She was trembling with fear, yet she still had to bare her last fangs.

Upon hearing this, Shangqiu Zhu was taken aback, then chuckled softly as if he had heard an amusing joke.

"What are you laughing at?" Yan Shuang trembled with anger, her eyes red as she glared at him. "President Shang, you don't actually think I enjoyed it that night, do you?"

She raised her pale face and deliberately forced a mocking smile: "If it weren't for the Yan family, who would be willing to endure such awful..."

Before he could finish speaking, Shangqiu Zhu's eyes turned completely cold, and the pressure around him was terrifyingly low.

Yan Shuang looked up at him stubbornly, her pale face upturned.

Let him kill her or torture her, she has nothing left to lose anyway.

Shang Qiuzhu suddenly raised his hand, and Yan Shuang instinctively grabbed his wrist, twisting his arm backward with a swift grappling move. Her movements were astonishingly fast, as if her body had remembered the instinct for defense before her mind could process it.

A hint of surprise flashed in Shangqiu Zhu's eyes, followed by a cold laugh, and he pulled her into his arms.

She struggled, trying to pry his fingers off with her other hand, but she couldn't shake his control at all. "Let go!"

Her dress sagged and fell off her body during the shoving.

Shangqiu Zhu's eyes darkened.

"Let go...or I'll call for help." Her threat sounded completely unconvinced.

"Shout it out," Shang Qiuzhu's voice was deep. "Let everyone see how Miss Yan seduces her boss."

Yan Shuang's face flushed red.

She bent her knees to try and push him away, but he anticipated this and pressed her down with his legs.

Yan Shuang's struggle caused the thin strap on the other side of her dress to slip down, the silk fabric piling up around her legs and revealing large areas of her snow-white skin.

She frantically pulled up her slipping dress, and Shang Qiuzhu's gaze swept over her shapely body as if it were a physical object, finally settling on her chest, which was heaving violently with her rapid breathing.

Shangqiu Zhu suddenly lowered his head and bit her lips hard.

Her eyes widened, and his tongue seized the opportunity to pry open her teeth and forcefully invade.

Her protest was swallowed by him, gradually turning into muffled sobs.

Their bodies were pressed tightly together, and she could clearly feel the contours of every muscle in his body.

Yan Shuang's nails dug deep into his back, but Shang Qiuzhu seemed not to feel the pain, instead holding her even tighter.

Yan Shuang trembled when his hand slipped under her clothes.

A body speaks louder than reason. Shangqiu Zhu noticed her change and pushed her onto the sofa: "Didn't you say I was terrible? Then what is this?"

Yan Shuang was pinned down by him, struggling until she was almost exhausted, and finally gritted her teeth and squeezed out a few words:

"So this time... does it mean that President Shang forced me?"

She gasped for breath, her voice trembling with stubbornness, "Can it be one time for another...?"

Her lips were kissed until they were bright red, and her eyes were still glistening with tears, yet she stubbornly refused to give in.

Shangqiu Zhu paused, the desire in his eyes lingering, but a layer of coldness rose above them.

"Yan Shuang, get this straight, you're the one begging me now."

Yan Shuang's breath hitched, and before she could retort, he fiercely sealed her lips with his.