Chapter 12

The car drove to Dapu Bridge, and then Liang Shi was led by the hand. She had let him choose the location, and she just followed along the way. She was very curious about where Li Junqian would take her, since it was the place for their first real date.

It turned out to be a private cinema, not luxuriously decorated, even a little childish. After he paid, Liang Shi circled her index finger in his palm, and the man quickly gripped her hand tightly, causing her some pain.

"Li Junqian, the esteemed Vice President of Fanning Greater China, a mature and accomplished 32-year-old, you bring a girl here on a date? I'm starting to question your taste."

This was also Li Junqian's first time in a place like this, and indeed, the two of them clashed somewhat with the atmosphere. He suddenly wanted to buy out all the plane tickets from France back to Shanghai, not wanting to see that person's face again.

"Frankl recommended it the other day. Indeed, I shouldn't have had even the slightest hope for his taste or aesthetic sense. If you don't like it, there's a nice coffee shop downstairs..."

Liang Shi glared at him: "Young Master, you've already paid. Even if you're rich, you can't just spend money like this, right? Besides, we're already here. Maybe the VIP room you chose is nice? Let's go."

When the two of them opened the door to the VIP room, Liang Shi also began to doubt Gu Feng's taste. However, she had to admire him. Frankl was indeed a veteran in the dating game. Choosing a place like this for a date, he could easily flirt with any girl and still have her completely under his thumb.

Looking at the dim ambient lighting and the large double sofa bed inside, Liang Shi cleared his throat and said, "Li Junqian, you might as well just take me to a hotel."

Li Junqian looked terrible, his brows furrowed. Liang Shi knew he was proud and probably regretted bringing her along, since this was their first date. But since they were already there, they had to experience it.

"Karsten, you should stop learning Gu Feng's womanizing tricks. It's a real shame for Secretary Zhou to be with such a naive guy."

As she spoke, she tried to pull him inside, but he was too strong and stubbornly stood at the door, and she couldn't budge him: "What's wrong?"

"Xiaoshi, if you're not satisfied, we can leave."

She's not even bothered anymore, so why is this man still bothered?

"To be honest, the atmosphere here is really good; a normal movie theater is pitch black. Since we're already here, let's experience it. If Frankl is guilty, then let us put him on trial."

Afterwards, the two lay on the sofa bed, and Li Junqian gave Liang Shi the choice of which movie to watch.

There are many movies, but the only one that Liang Shih watches repeatedly is Anne Hathaway's "The Devil Wears Prada," a classic fashion lesson.

I never tire of watching it; this is the hundredth time I've watched it.

Clearly, the man beside her wasn't focused on this. He actually took her words to heart; the movie had barely started when he started asking about the schedule.

She took his left hand in her right: "Karsten, are you so eager to confess your romantic escapades? Please, have some respect for my goddess!"

Of course, as a newcomer to the fashion world, this movie served as her style guide, giving her the confidence to transform from an ugly duckling into a beautiful one, blending in with the swans. Just like Andy in the movie, she was already immersed in fashion the moment she put on those JC high heels. And she, from the moment she bought her first Dior lipstick, fell in love with this life that was so different from her previous one.

When watching the movie, her favorite character was Nigel, who was tolerant of the female lead from the beginning, listened to her rambling, and gave her candid advice and evaluations. Especially when he said, "You need Chanel now, you really need it," Liang Shi turned to the side and poked his right chest with the index finger of his left hand.

She was a second-degree black belt in judo; she couldn't possibly poke him a second time. Sure enough, he gripped her hand tightly: "Xiaoshi, there might be surveillance cameras here."

Tsk, what a jerk, his head is full of lewd nonsense!

"What are you thinking about?" She pointed to the movie screen. "I mean, those Chanel boots are really nice!"

He raised an eyebrow in agreement: "That's really good."

How clever! Someone who gets full marks on the Chinese essay in the college entrance exam, how could she not understand what she meant?

She pretended to be angry: "Fine, before we started talking, you were giving me a car and diamond earrings, but now that we're talking, you're being stingy with even a pair of shoes?"

Realistic as he is, he always finds a way to drive her crazy: "This movie is almost twenty years old. Do you think I can buy you the exact same one? Even if I could, dear Xiaoshi, I won't let you wear those vintage shoes. But it was definitely my oversight. I'll pay attention to these things in the future. Or maybe we can go shopping together this afternoon?"

Liang Shi deliberately ignored him, then pulled her hand back and changed the subject: "Li Junqian, why did you suddenly return to China from Paris two years ago? And then disappear without a trace?"

She seemed to take this question very seriously, even sitting up and staring straight at him. Li Junqian rested his chin on his hand, smiling as he watched her eager eyes for an answer: "Do you want the truth or a lie?"

This man is quite cunning. Liang Shi was taken aback for a moment, then flashed her signature smile: "What if I say I want to hear them all? Li Junqian, tell me, and let's see if I can guess which one is true and which one is false."

"I love my country."

Liang Shi couldn't help but give him an unladylike eye roll: "That doesn't count. Patriotism can't be a reason for any problem. It's a belief we should have from birth."

Li Junqian shrugged and laughed, "Facing those blond-haired, blue-eyed people every day, and having to speak French, not only are my eyes tired, but my brain is too."

Tsk, she went to study in France in her teens, speaks French as fluently as her native language, and even knows German and Spanish. How could it be because of this?

She wouldn't have it: "karsten, I want to hear the truth."

The man straightened up, no longer languid and casual, and Liang Shi leaned forward, listening attentively. She had inquired about it before, but all her inquiries had gone unanswered, which was the key reason she suggested they talk about it today.

This man has too many secrets. Even if she doesn't dig them all out, she should at least find out about one or two of them, right? Otherwise, wouldn't being his girlfriend be too boring!

“You know, nine out of ten men in the fashion industry are gay, and I just happen to be the tenth. I guess I’m too popular in the industry, because every now and then someone will come to my door to confess their love to me. I’ve changed apartments a lot in Paris, but obviously it’s no use. I’ve also had enough of constantly applying for jobs in New York and London because of this.”

He probably thought the whole thing was ridiculous, and he smiled helplessly: "As for disappearing without a trace, it's not that dramatic. I just gave them a little warning before leaving Paris, since this kind of thing isn't honorable."

Liang Shi covered her mouth in disbelief, her gossip instincts surging. This jerk's looks were undeniably stunning; in the gay community, he'd be a top heartthrob. Tsk, thank goodness he's straight, otherwise her rival would have to be transgender! And no wonder he was either on a plane or on his way to the airport all this time.

It turns out he wasn't avoiding her, he was avoiding those cunning gay men!

Seeing her so surprised, Li Junqian regretted bringing up this embarrassing memory. He pulled her hand away from her mouth, held it in his own, and said, "My turn."

Such things naturally have to be reciprocated. Liang Shi was a little flustered, not knowing what he would ask, and he couldn't concentrate on the movie.

She pretended to be fearless, with an expression that said, "Ask away, I've never done anything wrong." She replied, "Ask away, I'm not like you, I don't distinguish between truth and falsehood."

He suddenly pinched her cheek gently, probably because he thought what she said was too mischievous.

"Why didn't you date anyone all these years when you were little?"

Pfft, what a question. How can he be so sure she's never been in a relationship? Just because that was her first time? Tsk, is it wrong for others to have platonic relationships?

But his question makes sense, after all, she had lived in Paris for twelve years. In such open-minded countries, who would want to have that kind of platonic relationship with her?

But is it illegal not to date? Of course, Liang Shi felt humiliated at that moment, because she wouldn't tell the truth. Was she supposed to tell him that she did it all for him? To remain chaste for life for a man she once thought she couldn't have? She had her pride too. More importantly, she didn't want him to know how important he was to her.

Who knows, if she hadn't met him again, and instead met someone she truly loved, she might have hardened her heart and married him.

"You should know that foreigners have a lot of body hair, which I can't stand. Blonde hair and blue eyes are certainly pleasing to the eye, but when it comes to French, I'm not even a tenth as good as you. My brain gets tired from listening to you, and some words and grammar are too difficult to pronounce; they're practically burning my tongue. What are you laughing at? Stop laughing!"

What's so funny! Although it's not the truth, it's not entirely false either; her aesthetic sense is still biased towards Chinese people.

There are also quite a few Chinese people in France.

Tsk, is this man never going to stop? But she still answered seriously, after all, she had the right to speak on this matter.

"Forget it, you know how filthy the Chinese community is. There are tons of dirty people and dirty deeds in the international student circle. If I had gossiped more back then, I could probably have written a book called 'The Unavoidable Gossip of Studying in Paris.' Of course, it's not like I wasn't pursued. They sent me flowers every day, and I was almost moved to accept it. But reason kept me grounded. I did some research in the circle. The guy was very rich. His father was the CFO of a Fortune 500 company, and his family was rolling in money. They had villas, Rolls-Royces, and Phantoms. But you know what? He actually filmed every girl he dated—those kinds of videos! Luckily, I ran away quickly."

But clearly, Li Junqian's thinking was different from most people's. Instead of comforting her, he lifted her chin and said, "So, a few bouquets of flowers can move you like that?"

"I was young and naive back then. It was the first time I'd ever received so many flowers, so of course I was overwhelmed."

Li Junqian chuckled: "I have heard of the person you are talking about. Luckily you ran fast."

Liang Shi became interested, after all, she had deleted all those miscellaneous channels in the study abroad circle after this incident: "What do you mean by that?"

"I heard his father was brought down. How many CFOs are truly clean? Nobody helped him with those things, and he's apparently been sent to a prison in Paris. Ha, Rolls-Royce has truly become an illusion."

Hearing him ridicule others like that, Liang Shi poked his chest again: "Tsk, you know so much, could it be that you're in that circle too? Confess honestly, have you also taken photos with those women..."

Sure enough, a dark look appeared on the man's face, as if he were asking her, "Are you sure you're talking about him?": "If I were that perverted, I wouldn't have gone back to China in the first place."

Liang Shi scoffed, "This kind of thing doesn't necessarily have to happen abroad. You could do it in China too..."

Sure enough, he accidentally touched a nerve again: "Xiao Shi, I don't need to do this kind of thing."

Afraid that he would really get angry, Liang Shi quickly changed the subject: "Let's talk about you, Mr. Charming. You are handsome, rich, emotionally stable, humorous, and there are so many adjectives to use to describe you. You are experienced in love. Be honest, between me and your ex-girlfriends, who is prettier?"

Although it was an easy question, she wasn't sure about this man. After all, all his ex-girlfriends were fair-skinned, beautiful, with large breasts and long legs, which even Liang Shi herself couldn't compare to.

"Everyone is different when they are young, but you are the most special in my heart."

Tsk, if all his ex-girlfriends were there, this man could really manage to offend no one.

"Actually, I don't have much experience either. You don't need to exaggerate my abilities in that area."

Liang Shi gave him a look that said, "Go to hell" and "Men's words are deceiving": "How can I believe that?"

If you believe that, then there really will be ghosts. Although she didn't really care, after all, he didn't belong to her before; he was free.

"When I was young and impetuous, I did date two or three people, but we broke up because of personality clashes. Later, I got busy with work and stopped dating. After returning to China, as you probably heard, my mother arranged a blind date for me recently, with that guy, Cha..."

"Stop saying that! I didn't force you to ask about your romantic history!"

She cared more about the future. If this man cheated on her, she would definitely not be polite. If he didn't like her anymore and wanted to break up with her, Liang Shi thought she wouldn't try to stop him. Was her pride more important than a man?

Obviously not. You can find another man, but losing face is like running naked – so embarrassing.

The movie had been fast-forwarded at some point, and now it was showing a scene of Andy and the blond writer kissing on the streets of Paris. Although she knew the ending, she still thought this 'romantic encounter' scene was beautifully filmed.

The movie then cuts to the morning of the day after the incident. Hmm, there's a strangely familiar feeling to it. Having not experienced much in the past, Liang Shi blushes immediately.

As a thirty-year-old woman, having had a wonderful first experience, I'm definitely already thinking about the next time. Of course, the prerequisite is that the other person is Li Junqian.

She reached into her coat pocket, the square box inside brushing against her fingers.

He's flying to Oslo tomorrow and doesn't know when he'll be back. Christmas and New Year's Day are just around the corner, so not only he, but she will also be very busy.

So what if she's a lecherous woman? Last time he had her wrapped around his little finger, it was a give-and-take situation, right? This time she wants him, so why shouldn't he give it to her?

She took the box out of her pocket, the ambient light flickering. She leaned over and shoved the box into his hand. As he looked down at it, she quickly whispered in his ear, "Li Junqian, I wanted to do 'that' with you this morning. Take me home, okay?"

This is really bad. Li Junqian almost swore, but reason kept him calm. But no matter how rational he was, he was still a man. How could he resist his woman's teasing?

"So, on the way back, you said you were going to the convenience store to buy water, but actually you wanted to buy this?"

Liang Shi smiled and winked: "I'm thirsty, my mouth is thirsty, and so is that part."

The first time Liang Shi said something crude to a man, she felt like she was possessed by Su Daji (a legendary femme fatale in Chinese mythology). Embarrassed, she hid in his arms.

"Liang Shi, if it weren't for the fact that this place is difficult to deal with you..."

He took a deep breath and said, "Don't you want it? Aren't you leaving?"

The car was parked in the underground garage. As soon as Liang Shi got into the passenger seat, he pulled her head over with both hands. Clearly, her dirty talk had been too effective, and the man's kiss made her breathless.

A car drove by, and the commotion seemed to calm Li Junqian down a little. Liang Shi thanked his God.

"Come to my place?"

When Li Junqian said those three words, he felt he was being a real gentleman, asking her at the last minute.

Liang Shi straightened his disheveled hair: "No, come to my place."

Li Junqian turned the steering wheel: "Hmm?"

"You know we women are a hassle, we need to remove makeup and apply skincare products, and you don't have any of those things. Besides, if I go to your place and get exhausted like last time, will I have the energy to go home?"

After saying that, one of the men proudly said, "Thank you for the compliment. I will do my best later."

Liang Shi: "...I'm warning you, remember to be gentle later."

"I can't guarantee that, little one."

The implication was that it depended on the situation and was beyond his control, which made Liang Shi blush again.

“Little Shi, that apartment of yours was rented for you by Frankl, without using company funds. I don’t want my woman living in an apartment rented for her by another man. Move in with me.”

Gu Feng? Really?

Even so, I won't move in with you. I want my own private space. As for Frankl, I'll ask him about it when he gets back from France.

...

As soon as Liang Shi opened the door, she was pushed inside by a force. Soon her back was slammed against the door. She groaned. Luckily it was winter and she was wearing many clothes, but how could she take them off so quickly?

This man can kiss her while simultaneously and accurately undressing her. Tsk, is that what you call inexperienced? He's way too experienced!

Before leaving home in the morning, the central air conditioning was still on. Even though her clothes were stripped off, she didn't feel cold. She wrapped her legs around his strong waist and kissed him passionately. Then, the world spun around her, and somehow she ended up in the bedroom, where he threw her onto the bed.

The box of condoms she had impulsively stolen while paying for water on her way back was violently torn open by him and fell onto the white bedding, a stark contrast of black and white.

Looking at this man, he looks just like a Siberian wolf! Liang Shi regretted it; she regretted teasing him! She had a feeling he would devour her alive!

Liang Shi watched him methodically undress, especially when he reached for his belt; she couldn't help but swallow hard. "I'm a little hungry. It's lunchtime. How about we order takeout first, and then eat..."

He quickly got into bed, grabbed a condom, and forced her to the headboard: "When I was little, I was hungrier than my stomach is now...."

Sure enough, the man automatically started talking dirty in bed, and she surrendered!

For the next hour and a half, Liang Shi felt his throat was about to go hoarse. How could this man have inexhaustible strength?

Afterwards, Liang Shi opened his eyes and saw her handiwork. He felt a pang of heartache. This man had such good skin, yet she had bitten him so badly: "Does it hurt?"

He lowered his head and kissed her forehead: "That's what I should be asking you."

How dare he ask that! She begged for mercy so many times! He probably didn't hear a single word she said!

"It hurts and I'm exhausted. Li Junqian, you're a hypocrite!"

As he spoke, he made a gesture, and she pushed him away, saying, "No, no, there's no more of that."

Li Junqian didn't want to bother her anymore, so he pulled her into his arms again: "Xiaoshi, I never said I was a good person. Also, to accommodate you, all the positions today were me serving you, baby."

That one word, "baby," left Liang Shi completely bewildered. He closed his eyes and recalled the explicit scene from just now, and it seemed that she really hadn't moved much...

"Stop talking! You just pinched my back so hard it almost broke, I can't get up. Hurry up and order some takeout, or I'm really going to starve to death!"

Finally, Li Junqian carried her into the bath, but she still needed to apply skincare products and body lotion, so she urged him to leave first.

Liang Shi wrapped her hair in a bath towel and walked out of the bathroom naked for the first time. She stood in front of the wardrobe, thinking about what to wear. Finally, she chose a purple silk slip dress that only reached her upper thighs.

Hearing the sound, Liang Shi went out and saw Li Junqian sitting on her sofa watching TV. When he saw her, the man frowned noticeably.

What an expression! She's so beautiful, and she's frowning! Soon, Liang Shi straddled his lap with unsteady steps. It was exactly the same position they had been in on the bed just now, except this time they were both dressed.

"Why are you frowning so much when you see a pretty girl? You just had a good time in bed, and now you're ignoring her? You scumbag!"

He supported her back with both hands, and then with one hand he lifted the hem of her nightgown, which had reached her waist due to her sitting posture.

She had just finished showering, and the steam was making her feel cool. She could clearly feel the large hand moving towards her.

But soon, the hand came out from under her skirt, and then a blanket was draped over her: "Be careful not to catch a cold."

At the same time, the doorbell rang, and Liang Shi seized the opportunity to run away: "I'll go open the door!"

Soon, he pinned her to the sofa, his eyes flashing with malice: "You went to open the door for a stranger in these pajamas? Liang Shi, you've got some nerve."

Liang Shi: "...I forgot."

It was that hand of his that caused all the trouble!

"Listen, from now on you're only allowed to dress like this in front of me, understand?"

Wow, Liang Shi really likes this domineering CEO's speech.