Chapter 35 "They want me to be a shady bed partner..."

Afterwards, Qiao Shu took a shower.

She dried herself in front of the mirror, her delicate eyebrows furrowed, her expression not too good. She didn't understand why her mind had gone blank in bed and she had actually agreed to his conditions.

It seems he suffered a great loss by maintaining a casual sex relationship.

Qiao Shu fastened her bathrobe belt, her long hair loosely tied into a bun with a shark clip, and she walked out in slippers. The bedroom was empty, the sheets had been changed by room service, the scattered clothes had been picked up and sent to the dry cleaners, and the window was open, releasing a strong, ambiguous atmosphere.

She went to the living room, where Yu Zeheng was sitting in front of his laptop, wearing headphones and attending an online meeting. The chilled wine had already been opened. She poured herself a glass and sat down on the recliner.

Qiao Shu opened Instagram and saw photos posted by her friend who had gone to a male model show today.

Via sent a message to Joyce: "[Joyce, you really left too early. The last ten minutes were the real MVP.]"

Qiao Shu could only reply, "That's a pity. Let's play together again next time."

Via jokingly suggested that she was being controlled too much by her husband.

Qiao Shu looked at her overbearing "husband." Beneath his high brow bone were a pair of deep eyes. When he was expressionless, he gave off a cold and serious vibe. The technical terms he used sounded dry and made him seem somewhat unfamiliar.

She's a completely different person when she's in bed.

It seemed that the dark gaze and the muffled groans emanating from the throat belonged to someone else.

"Are you hungry?" While she was lost in thought, Yu Zeheng raised his eyelashes and saw that she was drinking again, and asked her if she wanted the hotel to send some food.

It was such an ordinary sentence, but Qiao Shu inexplicably thought of him asking her in bed, "Why are you so hungry?" She took a sip of wine to cover up her discomfort, her cheeks flushed.

Yu Zeheng doesn't say anything too explicit, but sometimes he'll say something casual and suggestive that will make people realize what he's saying in a second or two.

Qiao Shu: "I won't eat it."

Although she's not so controlling when she's out having fun, she won't touch any food after dinner.

Qiao Shu watched him take off his headphones and close his laptop. She put down her wine glass and said, "After your meeting, I also have something I'd like to make clear to you."

Yu Zeheng picked up another wine glass: "You speak."

"From now on, you can't talk about things in bed, and you can't let the other person make any decisions." Qiao Shu stared into his eyes.

She kept a straight face and used "no" twice to make her stance clear.

The other party is mainly herself. At that time, her willpower is weak, and she is prone to making impulsive decisions.

Several meters away, Yu Zeheng calmly looked at her and then asked, "Does 'bed' refer to a specific space, or when we get into bed?"

He kept a serious face and asked about something he already knew the answer to.

Qiao Shu didn't respond. She leaned back on the bench, found a comfortable position, picked up a cushion in front of her, and said with disdain, "You weren't like this before."

He used to be a man of few words, but he did more than he said. He was never one to dawdle or deliberately go against her. The more she wanted something, the less willing he was to give it to her.

Yu Zeheng's lips still bore the marks of her biting, but there were no wounds, only slight swelling.

He leaned forward, clasping his hands together on the table: "Since you don't like the past, why do you want me to be the same as before?"

Qiao Shu was speechless. After a round of negotiations, she hadn't gained any advantage. She had a feeling that Yu Zeheng was using his business negotiation skills on her.

The urge to make him leave intensified.

She didn't like the feeling of him being superior to her, nor was she used to being outmaneuvered by men. After thinking it over, she realized it was all Yu Zeheng's fault.

Qiao Shu clutched the pillow tightly: "Yu Zeheng, are we chatting or debating?"

Yu Zeheng stood up, walked to the table, and leaned against the edge: "Go on."

Qiao Shu had to look up to see him. She impatiently gestured for him to come closer, her tone commanding: "Sit down."

There were no seats around for him to sit, so she bent her long legs, revealing her snow-white, straight calves, and generously gave him her seat.

Yu Zeheng sat down with a good temper, his eyes clear and bright, indicating that she could speak now.

Qiao Shu pursed her lips and said, "I don't want to move to the master bedroom. I have a lot of things, and it's too much trouble to move them around. But you can move them here. Anyway, the layout of the master bedroom and the second bedroom is not much different."

This was already the concession she could make.

He was the one who wanted to sleep in her bed, not the other way around.

Yu Zeheng didn't care where he lived, so he nodded and said, "Okay."

"One more thing, move the people first, and move the things later." Qiao Shu put down the cushion and patted the wrinkles she had made from it.

Yu Zeheng frowned, looked at her quietly for a moment, and then asked, "What do you mean?"

Qiao Shu originally thought his reasons were sufficient. Married couples have divorced, and dating couples may also break up. Their casual sex relationship was even more unstable. No one knew how long it could last. If it was too short, there would be trouble moving back and forth.

But now, being stared at by his deep gaze, she felt inexplicably uncomfortable.

Qiao Shu raised her foot and stepped on his leg, then lifted her chin and snorted arrogantly, "Do you understand the probationary period? If I'm not satisfied, you don't need to move anymore."

She had beautiful toes, each one rounded and with neatly trimmed nails. She would stomp on him rhythmically with every word she spoke, displaying the arrogant air of a young lady from a wealthy family.

The area where her ankle had swollen up last time had long since healed. Qiao Shu was afraid of leaving any marks, so she applied a blood-activating and bruise-removing ointment every day, and then carefully applied body lotion to take care of it. After a while, it was just like before, and there were no traces of the injury.

Qiao Shu stomped happily, and after she finished speaking, she stomped twice more: "Did you hear me?"

Without much arrogance, Yu Zeheng grabbed her ankle. The area around his thumb was burning her. She made a "uh" sound and tried to pull away, but he grabbed her instep instead.

"Yu Zeheng!" she called him by his full name.

Yu Zeheng lifted her leg, lowered his head, and his lips brushed against her ankle. Qiao Shu opened her eyes, her breath caught in her throat, and she couldn't understand how Yu Zeheng could be so perverted as to kiss her foot.

She held her breath, forgetting even to struggle.

However, Yu Zeheng opened his mouth, revealing his gleaming white teeth, and bit her fair ankle.

The force was neither too light nor too heavy, but it hurt the bone more than biting flesh directly; she felt mostly ashamed and angry.

Yu Zeheng bit her foot and then released it. Qiao Shu threw a pillow at him, and he caught it. His lips were very red. He said, "Just do as you say."

"Move people first, then move things."

—

My trip to Las Vegas came to an end as the sun rose once more.

On the morning of the day Qiao Shu boarded her flight back to China, she went shopping. Yu Zeheng was worried about her being alone, so he accompanied her to the Caesars Palace shopping center, which had an ancient Roman design and a ceiling with blue sky and white clouds. He had only received payment notifications from her shopping before, and this was the first time he had seen her shopping with his own eyes.

The phrase she repeated most often throughout the event was, "I want it."

Yu Zeheng thought that each of those deduction messages contained such a vivid picture.

Qiao Shu's legs were sore that she couldn't walk anymore. She returned home exhausted. On the plane, she put on her newly bought bracelet. The chain and bracelet clinked together, making a tinkling sound. There was also a different color of the same bracelet, which was a gift for Ming Wu.

At the end of the year, Mingwu will also take a holiday to return to China.

Qiao Shu also bought other gifts for relatives and friends in China. The most gifts were for Aunt Chu, with whom she had spent the most time and knew her preferences. The rest were for Song Yue and Guan Han. The first thing she would do upon returning to China was to compile a list, have Aunt Chu distribute the gifts, and then send them out according to the friends' addresses.

Qiao Yan received some toys and a fluffy Charlie Bear. The first thing he did after receiving them was to ask his mother, Chen Yi, to video call Qiao Shu: "Auntie, I received the gifts you gave me, and I like every single one of them."

The video shows a childlike face, and from an angle he couldn't find, his chin is resting on the screen, revealing long eyelashes: "I like this bear, it's a little unhappy."

"Then let Xiao Yan coax it." Qiao Shu was in South Bay. She had just finished dinner, one hand supporting herself on the marble countertop, with Xiao Xi rubbing against her feet.

Qiao Yan rubbed her eyes and smiled sheepishly, "Auntie, it's not really a bear."

The little guy is no longer two or three years old, at an age where he believes everything he's told.

Qiao Shu picked up Xiao Xi, who was already itching to get out of bed, and video-chatted with Qiao Yan. The little guy's happy laughter came from the other end of the phone as he greeted Xiao Xi through the screen.

In the video call room, Yu Zeheng returned.

But judging from the engine noise, there was more than one car. Looking out of the floor-to-ceiling window, she saw a large group of people behind Yu Zeheng, carrying shopping bags or cardboard boxes.

Qiao Shu frowned, unsure of what kind of situation he was in.

Aunt Chu and two other women walked over. Aunt Chu looked at the items, some of which were clothes, ties, and even daily necessities, all of which were men's items.

"Do I need to unpack everything before sending it to your room?" Aunt Chu asked.

Yu Zeheng nodded and told them to leave the things in the living room. Then he looked at Aunt Chu and said, "Send them all to the second bedroom."

"The second bedroom? Are guests coming?" Aunt Chu instinctively made the connection. If so, she would need to have the room tidied up and make various preparations in advance.

Yu Zeheng reiterated his point clearly, his expression calm: "It's Xiao Shu's room."

Qiao Shu finally came to her senses, but was then thrown into another kind of bewilderment, her brain freezing for a second.

She wasn't the only one taken aback; Aunt Chu was too. She opened her eyes, looked at Qiao Shu again, and frowned, "Send it to the young lady's room?"

"Yes, I'll wash, iron, and hang the clothes up. I'll wear them tomorrow." Yu Zeheng's tone seemed to have always been like this, without any problem.

Aunt Chu finally understood. Seeing that Qiao Shu didn't stop her, she realized that something had happened on the trip that she didn't know about. She coughed lightly and called the others to take the things up to the second bedroom on the second floor.

The housekeeper had almost gone upstairs, leaving only the two of them in the living room.

Qiao Shu smiled and said goodbye to Qiao Yan before hanging up the phone. She bit her lip, tapped the table with her finger, and asked, "What does this mean?"

Yu Zeheng loosened his tie and unbuttoned his cuffs, saying casually, "I'll follow your wishes and not move anything. These new things are just being delivered to your room."

It was a delivery, not a move, so it didn't violate their agreement.

He's playing word games with himself.

She frowned slightly, momentarily unable to find a way to describe his shameless behavior.

Yu Zeheng simply said, "Or do you actually not want others to know, and just want me to be a shady bed partner? To come and satisfy your needs when you have them, and then kick you off the bed after you're done?"

Qiao Shu was speechless; that was indeed what she thought.

The fewer people who know, the simpler it is; even if it ends, there won't be much trouble.

Yu Zeheng smiled: "Xiao Shu probably doesn't think that way, right?"

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Author's Note: A really bad, really bad, really bad man—imagine Cha Cha's tone.

I'll add an extra chapter next time we reach 5,000 nutrient solutions. Master is exhausted today.

50 random red envelopes, kiss kiss!