Chapter 55 Shangqiu Bamboo's self-control instantly crumbled.
The hug lasted a long time until the DJ switched to a louder song.
"Tired?" Shangqiu Zhu's voice came from above.
Yan Shuang's breathing had not yet calmed down, and her chest was heaving violently.
She nodded gently.
Her hair was completely disheveled, and a strand of wet hair clung to the corner of her lips.
Shangqiu Zhu reached out and removed the colorful ribbon that had somehow gotten stuck to her shoulder: "Go home."
His suit jacket had somehow ended up on her shoulders.
Yan Shuang obediently followed him out. As they passed the bar, the bartender whistled, "Hey man, your girlfriend moves like fire!"
Shangqiu Zhu did not deny it, but simply pulled her coat tighter.
His hand remained on her lower back, like an invisible marker of territory.
The villa door was locked, cutting off all light and sound from the outside world, and also completely breaking the tension that Shangqiu Zhu had been holding all night.
Yan Shuang's fingertips had just touched the buckle of her high heels when she was lifted up by the waist in the next second.
"Ah!" She swallowed back half of her short exclamation.
Before she could even adjust to the dizziness, his kisses rained down on her.
His burning lips and tongue plunged deep inside, mercilessly engulfing her breath and swallowing all her overflowing protests.
He gripped the back of her head firmly with one hand, forcing her to endure the deep kiss, while his other hand had already torn that damned black velvet dress to shreds.
She must be a fairy tonight, otherwise how could she dare to step on his tipping point and set fire to the edge of his sanity?
Yan Shuang was jolted awake from the suffocating kiss and instinctively reached out to cover herself: "Shangqiu Zhu!"
He easily grabbed her wrist and lifted it high above her head.
Yan Shuang looked into his unfathomable eyes. Normally, those eyes were like cold pools, but now they were churning with a thick, lustful light that seemed to engulf her.
The moonlight slashed his silhouette, half bathed in its glow, half shrouded in shadow.
Shangqiu Zhu slightly pulled away, his heavy breath brushing against her lips.
"Why are you shaking?" he asked, his deep voice hoarse. "Weren't you jumping around a lot just now?"
With his free hand, he deftly unbuckled his belt.
The mirror in the entryway reflected blurry, overlapping figures. In the quiet villa, only suppressed breathing and the rustling of clothes could be heard.
...
The next day, Yan Shuang barely opened her eyes when the alarm clock rang for the third time.
"It's 7:40..." Yan Shuang stared at the alarm clock, her voice hoarse.
She rushed into the bathroom in a panic, and as the hot water washed over her body, a certain spot burned with pain.
The kitchen was deserted.
Yan Shuang looked at the Western-style breakfast on the kitchen counter and bit her lower lip in frustration.
At this time of day, she would usually have already prepared a Chinese breakfast for two.
Now I could only hurriedly pick up the milk on the table and gulp it down a few mouthfuls.
Milk slid down her lips, and as she wiped it with the back of her hand, she suddenly remembered a detail from last night.
Her ears suddenly felt hot, and she almost choked on her milk.
Yan Shuang was stunned when she pushed open the front door.
The black Maybach was parked quietly in the courtyard, with the rear window rolled down, revealing the sharply defined profile of Shangqiu Zhu.
He was reviewing documents on his tablet, exuding a cold and aloof aura that kept strangers at bay.
He was actually waiting for her?
"Get in the car," he said without looking up, his finger swiping across the screen.
Yan Shuang jogged over, opened the car door, and got in.
Lin Sheng's gentle smile peeked out from the front row: "Secretary Yan, good morning."
"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting..." she apologized softly.
"It's alright." Lin Sheng handed over the insulated bag, and the rising steam instantly condensed into water vapor on the car window. "Eat it while it's hot."
Inside the kraft paper bag lay a blue-and-white porcelain lunchbox, and the aroma of xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) wafted out when the lid was opened.
It was her favorite Chinese breakfast. She looked at the man beside her. Shang Qiuzhu didn't even flinch; he was still reviewing documents.
As she bit through the thin skin of the xiaolongbao and the soup splashed onto her hand, a neatly folded silk handkerchief was pushed to her side.
The car drove smoothly through the morning rush hour traffic. Yan Shuang sipped her soy milk and occasionally stole a glance at Shang Qiuzhu beside her.
The man was dressed in a sharp black suit, his long fingers flipping through the morning financial report. His eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses were calm and sharp, as if he wasn't the one who had made her cry last night.
She had just wiped her mouth with a wet wipe when she suddenly heard a soft sound, and the privacy partition in the back seat slowly rose.
Yan Shuang's fingers froze, and the wet wipe fell onto her lap. She turned to look at Shang Qiuzhu, whose well-defined hand had just withdrawn from the control button, and whose deep eyes were now staring at her with an unfathomable gaze.
"Mr. Shang..." Yan Shuang unconsciously shrank back towards the car door, her lower back pressed against the armrest of the leather seat, and a sharp pain immediately spread from the spot where she had been pinched the night before. The soreness from last night seemed to return all at once, especially in a certain embarrassing area below her waist.
Her ears burned instantly, and she whispered, "No... Assistant Lin is still up ahead..."
Shangqiu Zhu's gaze swept from her reddened earlobes to her clenched fists, and he raised an eyebrow.
What do you think I'm going to do?
Yan Shuang's ears turned even redder, almost to the point of bleeding. "I..."
"I'm not that desperate." Shangqiu Zhu scoffed and took out a paper bag with a pharmacy logo printed on it from the side.
Yan Shuang was stunned.
Shangqiu Zhu opened the paper bag; inside was a tube of ointment and several boxes of anti-inflammatory drugs. He unscrewed the cap of the ointment, and a faint herbal scent filled the car.
Yan Shuang then realized that he was going to apply the medicine for her. "No, no need, you give it to me, I can do it myself..."
Shangqiu Zhu looked up at her, her eyes deep and calm, but her tone left no room for refusal: "You can't apply it to your back."
Yan Shuang bit her lip, but... inside the car? Although the partition was up, Lin Sheng and the driver were right in front, what if...
Seeing her hesitation, Shangqiu Zhu softened his voice, which was unusual for him: "Don't be afraid, you can't see from outside."
His voice was deep and had a hint of coaxing. Yan Shuang's ears burned, and she finally let go of his hand.
Shangqiu Zhu's slender fingers touched the buttons of her shirt, one, two... The shirt slowly opened, revealing mottled red marks on her fair skin.
His eyes darkened, and he used a cotton swab to apply a small amount of the solution gently to her wound.
The ointment felt cool, but it couldn't compare to the warmth of his palm, which made her feel like she was on fire.
After applying the lotion to her upper body, Shangqiu Zhu's gaze shifted downwards, landing on her skirt. Yan Shuang immediately grabbed the hem of her skirt alertly, stammering, "I'll do the leg...I'll do the leg myself..."
Shangqiu Zhu raised her eyes indifferently: "You can't see it."
Yan Shuang: "..."
Shangqiu Zhu didn't give her time to hesitate, and directly reached out to lift her skirt. Yan Shuang immediately closed her eyes tightly, her cheeks flushed red, her fingers gripping the edge of the seat tightly, so ashamed that she wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
After applying the medicine, Shangqiu Zhu looked at her and gently stroked the tip of her nose, saying softly, "All done."
She was then relieved and opened her eyes.
Shangqiu Zhu lowered the skirt and straightened her shirt. The shirt buttons were fastened one by one, but Shangqiu Zhu's fingers did not leave. Instead, he gently put his hand around her waist and pulled her closer to his arms.
Yan Shuang was caught off guard and crashed into his chest. Just as she was about to struggle, she heard a deep male voice above her head.
"I'll be gentler next time."
Yan Shuang was taken aback and looked up at him.
Shangqiu Zhu lowered her eyes, a rare hint of gentleness, even... like guilt, showing in them.
He remembered how Yan Shuang had obediently curled up in his arms when he woke up that morning.
She rested her head on his arm, her breathing even and deep.
Shang Qiuzhu did not get up immediately. He quietly looked at the sleeping girl in his arms, his gaze sliding from her messy bangs to her slightly parted lips.
Memories from last night flooded back: her moist eyes as she was pinned beneath him, her little gesture of biting her lower lip when aroused, and her tearful pleas for mercy when she was utterly exhausted.
His gaze continued downwards, and Yan Shuang's nightgown strap slipped to one side, revealing mottled marks extending from her collarbone to her chest. Those red and purple hickeys looked particularly glaring.
Shangqiu Zhu's eyebrows furrowed unconsciously.
Was he really that out of control last night?
Shangqiu Zhu gently stroked the marks. Yan Shuang, still asleep, softly hummed in response and snuggled deeper into his arms.
This unconscious act of dependence softened Shangqiu Zhu's heart.
He carefully pulled his arm out from under Yan Shuang's neck, and as he stood up, he made sure to pull the blanket back onto her shoulder.
In front of the bathroom mirror, Shang Qiuzhu washed his face with cold water. Water droplets dripped down his jawline, and the man in the mirror had clear eyes, showing no trace of the passion of the previous night.
He turned and walked to the study, where he dialed Lin Sheng's number.
"Buy some medicine." After the call connected, Shangqiu Zhu went straight to the point, "Some medicine to reduce swelling and bruising, the gentlest formula possible."
Yan Shuang leaned against him, and upon hearing the man's assurance that he would be gentler next time, she couldn't help but roll her eyes and mutter under her breath, "Beast..."
The person in his arms was looking up at him with wet eyes, clearly very skeptical of his assurances.
Upon hearing this, Shangqiu Zhu chuckled softly. Far from being annoyed, he seemed to be praising her and gently pinched her cheek.
"Take a nap? We'll be at the office in twenty minutes."
Yan Shuang was indeed a little tired. She gave a soft "humph" as a sign of her barely forgiving him, then snuggled closer to him, found a comfortable position, closed her eyes, and drowsiness gradually crept in.
Shangqiu Zhu looked down at her, gently brushing away the stray hairs on her forehead with his fingers, his eyes filled with a tenderness he himself was unaware of.
The Maybach has entered the heart of the CBD. The rear seat partition remains closed.
Lin Sheng recalled the phone call he received before dawn this morning.
Very few American pharmacies are open at this time. He drove around half the city and finally had to use the group's connections in North America to have the administrative director of a partner hospital personally deliver the medicine to his door.
When he rang the doorbell breathlessly, only Shang Qiuzhu, dressed in a sharp suit, opened the door. As the shopkeeper took the medicine bag, his fingertip paused for a moment on the English instructions for "soothing and relieving pain," before casually instructing, "Go to Chinatown to buy breakfast."
Lin Sheng was taken aback: "Now?"
Shangqiu Zhu looked up at him, her gaze indifferent: "Is there a problem?"
"……No."
After buying breakfast, Shangqiu Zhu sat in the back seat of the car and glanced at his watch: "I'm going to pick up Yanshuang now."
Lin Sheng: "???"
So the boss had already tidied up himself and even went out to buy breakfast, but let Yan Shuang continue sleeping?
Lin Sheng: "..."
The car slowly stopped in front of the building. Lin Sheng waited for three minutes, then mustered his courage and knocked on the partition: "President Shang, we've arrived."
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