Chapter 30 (Combined VIP Chapters): "Hold me... the ground is so cold..."
"Say it again, I didn't hear you..."
Hearing the obvious amusement in Xu Shaoting's tone, Wen Jia felt a burning sensation in her heart. Deliberately, she hung up the phone before he could finish speaking and tossed it far away.
She buried her face in the pillow, feeling the coolness of the silk sheets, but even through her skin, the coolness couldn't dispel the warmth in her heart.
After calming himself down for a few seconds with his head covered, he stood up again, looking dazed yet smiling, with a slight glint in his eyes and his earlobes tinged with red.
Having acted in so many romance films and delivered so many ambiguous lines, how come just these three words are enough to make me so dizzy in front of him?
She shook her head, trying to clear her mind, got out of bed, went to the living room, put aside her wandering thoughts, and turned her attention to work.
What did Yu Jianshan say?
Yu Kaiqing looked up from her phone screen. "He said I could go for the audition in the next couple of days."
-
Wen Jia met Yu Jianshan the next day.
At ten o'clock in the morning, Yu Kaiqing dragged her out of bed. After washing up, she put on a casual sweatshirt and pants. Since she was going to an audition, she didn't use any makeup. She casually tied her hair into a high ponytail and headed to the address Yu Jianshan had given her with a bare face.
The audition was held inside a film studio. When we arrived, there was already a line of actors, not too long and not too short, outside the studio. Most of them were actors auditioning for second or third lead roles, as well as some supporting roles.
Wen Jia walked through the corridor, where the quiet passageway was filled with soft noises. Some people greeted her, while others whispered among themselves.
"If she comes for an audition, then there's basically no suspense."
"I think so too. What a strong team! The lead actor is so big, and the director is Yu Jianshan. I would be so grateful if I could get a supporting role." In the middle of the group, a young girl clasped her hands together, looking very devout.
“I used to do lighting stand-ins for her. She’s very down-to-earth and easy-going. She even gave us autographed photos. I was going to give them away, but I couldn’t bear to part with the last one, so I kept them all to myself.”
"That brat has such a lucky life."
...
Wen Jia didn't have to wait in line. Instead, she was politely led into the dressing room, where she would have to wait for the second, third, and supporting actors to finish their auditions before it was her turn. She sat quietly in the room for nearly an hour before someone came to lead her into the studio.
Yu Jianshan, the assistant director, the producer, and the production team were all sitting around the table. She greeted them one by one and went up to hand them the documents.
The information was taken by the assistant director, a woman with short, straight black hair and an extremely elegant and beautiful appearance. After scanning the personal information, she nodded and smiled at Wen Jia with great appreciation.
The character information and audition clips were sent to her email yesterday. She spent half a day working on them, going through them more than a dozen times, before she felt she could basically grasp the character.
Yu Jianshan's collaboration this time is with an original script team. Since the film and television industry has been in a downturn, the market has suffered a severe decline with no signs of recovery. The entire script took nearly five years to develop, with renowned female screenwriter Su Jianyun participating in the production, and it embodies the hard work of various creative talents.
In this film, Wen Jia plays a female painter suffering from ALS who paints her memories with her lover in the last moments of her life. The film's title is taken from this scene—"Before Freezing".
This is the climax of the entire film, and it's also the scene where Wen Jia is auditioning.
She gave a proper self-introduction as instructed, and then performed the scene according to the script, which took no more than ten minutes. After the performance, the entire studio was completely silent; you could hear a pin drop.
Her performance was so nuanced. The powerlessness, despair, and stiffness in her brushstrokes were all conveyed through her expressions and movements. She didn't utter a single word, as if she were performing a pantomime. She simply sat quietly in front of the canvas, her fingers trembling, but the trembling was just right. Her eyes were filled with extreme sorrow. No one had ever seen such a tragic expression in her previous works, yet it was mixed with a trace of relief, a comfort that came from being able to share the last moments of life with her loved one.
Along with the paintbrush falling, a tear slid down from the corner of her eye.
She handled her emotions perfectly; even though it was just a rehearsal, it took her a while to detach herself from the role.
Yu Jianshan had to admit that Wen Jia was an extremely talented actress. He deliberately arranged an audition for her for this scene, but he did not expect that her performance would be even better than he had imagined.
A discerning director judges acting skills most directly by watching crying scenes, and he's no exception. A smile only requires a grin, but tears don't lie. However, if all you see are tears, it's rather empty. He's seen crying scenes from various stars in the industry, and their flaws fall into two categories: one is overly exaggerated sorrow, with obvious acting; the other is numb stiffness, like a puppet on strings, only visible through the manipulation of someone behind the curtain.
Wen Jia's brilliance lies in the fact that even if the audience cannot see her tears, they can feel the character's sadness from her other actions and words. However, when the audience actually sees her tears, they wipe their faces and find that they have more tears than she has.
The studio was unusually quiet. The production company representative and the producer looked at each other without speaking, sighing inwardly that they had finally seen a great talent amidst the long and monotonous performances.
Only Yu Jianshan remained calm, nodding slightly as she finished her performance.
He beckoned to her, gesturing for her to come over. "How are you feeling?"
Wen Jia walked to the table, gently wiped away her tears, and gave a brief and confident answer, "Not bad."
Yu Jianshan finally smiled, as if pleased, "I didn't expect you to insist on coming to the audition in person."
"Director Yu, this is my job," she joked. "Besides, I'm afraid people will gossip if I get in through connections."
Yu Jianshan laughed at her frankness, "Tell me the reason, is it because I eliminated you last time?"
"That's certainly part of the reason."
"What about the rest?"
She raised an eyebrow. "I can't say that."
“Actually, the reason I didn’t use you before had nothing to do with your performance,” Yu Jianshan stared intently at Wen Jia, as if investigating, “was because of the aura surrounding you.”
“You know I rarely use popular celebrities; it’s just too tricky. It’s hard for them to get into character, and once they’re in character, it’s hard to get out. It’s one thing for TV dramas, but for us filmmakers, it’s a major taboo. If you can’t control your own emotions, how can you control the emotions of the character?” He became more and more agitated as he spoke. “Ninety percent of those with built-in popularity have this problem. What are they thinking about? Salaries, popularity, profits, and status. They’re too superficial and can’t settle down to act. At first, I also wanted to break this prejudice,” Yu Jianshan shook his head and then laughed self-deprecatingly, “and the result was that two or three of my films flopped.”
Wen Jia understood his underlying meaning. After a moment's consideration, she said indirectly, "I understand your concerns, Director Yu. That's why I insisted on auditioning this time. I wanted to dispel your idea. Besides," she looked around at the people sitting in front of her and said firmly, "I will absolutely not let this script flop again."
Yu Jianshan seemed to have been waiting for her to say that. He grinned, nodded appreciatively, and made the final decision, "The notification for the script reading will be sent to your assistant's email later."
Wen Jia extended a hand to him and smiled, "It's a pleasure working with you."
When they came out of the studio, the corridor was completely empty, except for Yu Kaiqing pacing anxiously back and forth. She heard Wen Jia's movements, but didn't rush to speak. Instead, she observed Wen Jia's expression for a while and asked, "How is it? How is it?"
Wen Jia paused for two seconds, then said, "It's a sure thing."
Yu Kaiqing jumped up and down excitedly, "I was so nervous for you. I heard that Yu Jianshan is fierce and ruthless."
Wen Jia deliberately shivered in agreement, "Indeed, he exudes an imposing aura without needing to be angry."
-
Wen Jia had just sat down in the nanny van when she received the voice call from Xu Shaoting.
The car drove away from the photography studio, preparing to return to the villa.
She reclined the back seat, draped a thin blanket around her waist, and spoke to Xu Shaoting in a low voice.
As was customary, the driver avoided the main road and discreetly turned onto another side road. Having worked alongside celebrities, he was used to being vigilant. After passing the intersection, the driver glanced in the rearview mirror and noticed a silver-gray Toyota van following behind. At this moment, the road was clear, and the Toyota not only did not change lanes to overtake, but also continued to follow at a steady speed.
The driver became suspicious, but did not accelerate. In order not to alert the suspect, he drove steadily for a while until the next intersection. Instead of going straight, he suddenly turned the steering wheel and drove into another side road.
This road leads to the suburbs and is not as lively as the city center. It was not rush hour at the moment, and the entire road was extremely deserted with very few vehicles passing by.
The driver turned the steering wheel and looked back again; the Toyota had followed him along the same route. He whispered to the back seat, "Sis, it looks like the car is following us."
Wen Jia was chatting casually with the man on the other end of the phone when she sat up and glanced at the rear windshield. "Get rid of it, don't drive too fast."
She was used to being followed in her car, and she would deal with stalkers about once every two weeks on average. Right now, Xu Shaoting's voice call had distracted her, so she turned around, pulled the blanket over herself, and lay down again.
Did you go to the audition today?
Xu Shaoting couldn't see her, but she still nodded honestly, "Yeah, it just ended," and then mischievously added, "but I still got eliminated."
He said casually, "Do you know that your voice becomes very soft when you lie?"
"Chairman Xu is so heartless... to expose me like this..." she murmured.
"Any plans for later?"
"No plans, I'm just getting ready to go home. What, you want to...?"
Before she could finish her sentence, she caught a glimpse of a car suddenly rushing into her peripheral vision—a silver-gray Toyota minivan roared to life, accelerated sharply, and instantly overtook her from the right lane.
Wen Jia suddenly sat up, the blanket slipping off her back, and she forgot to take her phone with her. She gasped and told the driver, "Be careful, don't crash."
Xu Shaoting was calmly sipping his black tea when he noticed her slightly unsteady tone. He looked up from the bone china cup, his smile fading. "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing, it seems..."
Before she could finish speaking, her gaze was completely fixed on the vehicle on her right. The Toyota was speeding up and getting closer and closer to the nanny van.
The two cars were already speeding side by side. The rear window of the Toyota rolled down, revealing the face of a man wearing a baseball cap and a black mask, obscuring his other features. In the shadow of the cap, his eyes, squeezed together by a grotesque smile, were narrowed into long, thin slits, revealing a covetous gaze that looked extremely lewd. He was frantically taking pictures of Wen Jia's side window with his phone.
Fortunately, the car windows were completely closed and covered with dark privacy film, so he was unable to take pictures of the interior.
Her heart skipped a beat, and her phone slipped from her hand and fell onto the seat. She didn't have time to pick it up; her heart was pounding faster with the car's speed, and her pupils dilated instantly. She grabbed the side handle, and as the two cars drew closer, she instinctively gasped.
The driver's face was ashen, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. Stalker fans are common, but such obsessive and relentless fans are rare. He suddenly turned the steering wheel to the left, trying to pull away to a safe distance, and the tires screeched sharply against the asphalt.
However, this action was undoubtedly provocative to the obsessive fans. Instead of slowing down, the Toyota squeezed in to the left, and the two high-speed cars almost brushed against each other's rearview mirrors. The ear-piercing sound of metal rubbing against metal was enough to make one's teeth ache.
Wen Jia completely forgot that she was still on the phone. She gripped the handle tightly with both hands, so tightly that her palms ached and her knuckles turned bluish-white. Yu Kaiqing held her in her arms and protected her head tightly.
The phone wasn't on speakerphone, so no one could hear the man's voice on the other end of the dropped phone, "Wen Jia? What happened?"
Xu Shaoting took the phone away from his ear and glanced at it. The call was still going on, but he couldn't get any response. He could only hear sharp noises and a woman's subconscious groans in the dead silence.
He didn't hang up the phone. Instead, he deftly pressed the landline button on his desk and succinctly instructed Lin Youzhe, his voice icy cold, "Go and find out where Yu Jianshan's audition is this afternoon. Be quick, go there now. It seems Wen Jia is in trouble."
He pulled the suit jacket off the hanger, but didn't even have time to put it on; he just draped it over his arm and left the board's office.
The door closed with a slightly loud sound, and the employees at their workstations looked up in twos and threes. They saw that he had a calm expression, but a series of hurried footsteps betrayed him.
He panicked.
In just three minutes, Lin Youzhe had driven the car to the elevator lobby on the basement level, and Xu Shaoting opened the door and got in.
He woke up the screen; the call had lasted fifteen minutes. He called her name anxiously a few times.
There has been no response.
Inside the van, the driver turned to look at the approaching Toyota, swore angrily, and slammed on the gas. The van lurched forward, temporarily shaking off the Toyota. But the other vehicle reacted quickly, its engine roaring again, locking onto the car and aggressively ramming up from the side and rear once more, attempting to force its way alongside again.
On the empty street, the two cars were locked in close combat. The silver-gray Toyota relentlessly approached and squeezed in, while the minivan swerved left and right as it saw an opportunity. Each daring dodge caused the car to shake violently.
The air was filled with the smell of burning tires and the roar of engines.
Just as the driver successfully avoided another collision and thought he had created half a car's distance, the obsessive fan inside the Toyota seemed to have completely lost his mind. He roared and slammed the steering wheel to one side, causing the car to lose control and crash violently into the left rear side of the van.
The metallic twisting sound was extremely sharp and piercing. Wen Jia's head was slammed against the car window due to inertia, and she instantly felt dizzy.
A faint male voice came from the receiver of her dropped phone. Unbeknownst to her, Xu Shaoting was almost growling on the other end.
He called her name several times, his voice almost trembling.
"Wen Jia?!"
However, all he received in response was the woman's heavy breathing.
-
The path returned to calm, with only the rustling of the autumn wind through the sparse branches and leaves remaining. The harsh, twisting crashing sound from just moments before had dissipated.
In the middle of the street, the Toyota was pressed tightly against the minivan, the latter's rear end was badly dented and deformed, looking quite horribly damaged.
Inside the car, Wen Jia's eyelids were tightly closed, her forehead pressed against the cold car window. Her long, straight, smooth black hair was slightly disheveled. She looked up, and the spot where she had bumped her head throbbed with a dull pain. Fortunately, Yu Kaiqing had one hand firmly protecting the back of her head, reducing the impact.
All three people in the car were stunned by the violent impact, but fortunately no one was sitting in the last row, so apart from the violent shaking caused by inertia, no one suffered any physical injury.
Wen Jia slowly opened her eyes, and it took her several minutes to recover from the violent impact.
With a loud bang, the car door was slammed shut, and the driver, his face dark with anger, walked straight toward the Toyota.
Wen Jia tried to stop him, but he acted too quickly, clearly enraged. She quickly glanced outside the car and calmly instructed Yu Kaiqing, "Go quickly, don't let him get into a conflict with the illegitimate child."
Yu Kaiqing's legs went weak as she ran off the bus.
Her heartbeat had calmed down, but her hands were still shaking. Wen Jia picked up her dropped phone, and the screen woke up. The call interface suddenly appeared in her view, and the number on the second hand continued to climb.
She completely forgot that she hadn't hung up the call.
Xu Shaoting's name was lit up on the screen, which was quite objective. However, when she looked at those words, it felt as if something swelled up and blocked her throat, pressing hard against the back of her tongue. A sour and astringent feeling rose in her throat, making her choke and unable to utter a single word.
A nameless, suppressed sense of grievance welled up unexpectedly from some corner of my heart.
It's a bittersweet feeling, like being suddenly struck by a familiar tenderness after recovering from a huge panic, when your tense nerves haven't yet relaxed.
She put the phone back to her ear, her fingertips trembling, and said, "Hello..."
The moment she made a sound, she realized that not only were her hands shaking, but her voice was also trembling violently.
The call continued, but there was no response from the other end.
There was two minutes of silence inside the car.
Afraid that he would hear her trembling, Wen Jia covered her mouth with her hand, using her breath to cover her fear. Her eyes were already brimming with tears, and she tilted her head back to hold them back. She called his name in a daze.
She thought she wouldn't get any response.
However, the next second, steady footsteps approached from afar, breaking the surrounding silence.
Through the dark glass window, a figure flashed into her peripheral vision.
Just minutes earlier, a Toyota had invaded her line of sight in the same way. She was still shaken and instinctively wanted to hide.
Her hand was on the seatbelt, but before she could fasten it, the car window was knocked on. She turned her head to look while still in the same position.
The man on the phone was standing right outside the car window.
His brows furrowed slightly, and his lips were pressed tightly together. He couldn't see inside the car through the privacy film, but the two gazes seemed to sense each other and converged along some invisible pull.
Seeing no response, Xu Shaoting knocked on the car window again, impatiently, with a short, unusual tone.
Wen Jia finally came to her senses, put the phone down from her ear, and opened the door of the nanny van.
The man's figure gradually emerged from the shadows and slowly appeared before her eyes.
Xu Shaoting remained silent, but the silence was incredibly oppressive. He looked at the woman before him, but not only at her; he also noticed her disheveled hair, fearful eyes, dry lips, and trembling hands.
Wen Jia looked up at him.
The sun was high in the sky outside the car, and Xu Shaoting was standing with his back to the sunlight. When she looked at him, she felt that he was surrounded by a golden halo, and his shadow was cast on the ground, which was very long.
She couldn't see his facial features clearly, only his outline.
She feared it was a hallucination, and slowly moved her lips to confirm his presence, "Xu Shaoting..."
She was clearly still reeling from the double shock, not yet recovered from the ordeal, when the man who had just been on the phone with her suddenly appeared in front of her.
His eyes flickered slightly, he hummed in agreement, and reached out to brush away the stray hairs clinging to her cheeks.
The next second, he put one hand on the back of her head and pulled her into his arms without saying a word.
He held her so tightly, as if afraid she would melt away at any moment. His warm and steady breath enveloped her, but Wen Jia didn't feel suffocated; instead, she felt a long-lost sense of security.
It's as if the drifting soul and the body have finally found a foothold, a place where they can settle down.
Xu Shaoting gently stroked her hair with one hand and asked softly, "Were you frightened?"
Wen Jia bit her lower lip so hard that it left a mark and turned bright red. She desperately tried to control her trembling body, her eyes burning hot, and tears kept welling up and filling her eyes.
It was strange. She didn't want to cry, and she especially didn't want to cry in front of him. Yet, tears welled up like a burst dam, following his phone call, his appearance, and his voice.
She always felt that sitting in the top position meant she should sacrifice something and be numb to such things. She was already numb; if Xu Shaoting hadn't come, she probably would have just acted as if nothing had happened.
But here he is, standing right in front of me.
She sighed, her voice trembling with tears, "...That was so dangerous."
Xu Shaoting lifted her face to look at her, and saw two lines of clear liquid sliding down her cheeks, flowing over her jawline, hanging on the edge of her chin, and dripping down.
These tears pierced a heart in two, one half soaked in endless heartache, the other solidified into suppressed anger.
Xu Shaoting looked at the person in his arms, took a deep breath. At this moment, there was nothing more important than comforting her. He tried his best to suppress the anger in his heart, turned to Lin Youzhe, and ordered in a frighteningly cold tone, "Call the police. You stay and handle this."
He then bent down and sat in the van, pulling her completely into his arms.
Wen Jia licked her dry lips. "How did you find it?"
"I asked for Yu Jianshan's address."
He knew she didn't like taking the main road, so he ordered Lin Youzhe to drive on the side road. Fortunately, the company was close to the audition location, and her nanny car hadn't gone far. After the Maybach passed two intersections, they could see the two cars locked together.
No one knows how much panic he swallowed on the way here to maintain his composure. In the moment when he couldn't hear her voice on the phone, he considered the worst-case scenario and imagined a million ways to handle the situation. Only when he confirmed her safety with his own eyes did he regain his almost out-of-control heartbeat.
Fortunately, none of what he had imagined happened. He gently pulled the woman out of his arms, took her arm, and looked her up and down.
"I'm not hurt."
Xu Shaoting looked down at her, seemingly disbelieving, "Not even a little bit?"
She nodded.
Xu Shaoting ignored her and thoroughly examined every visible part of her body. "Is she an illegitimate child?"
Wen Jia nodded, "They're really crazy stalkers, they keep ramming our car."
Xu Shaoting closed his eyes, suppressing the urge to imagine her helplessness. "Have you encountered this before?"
He wanted to ask, but he was afraid of getting a positive answer. He knew her life was shrouded in secrecy, but he never imagined that such secrecy concealed such danger.
The two sat in the last row. The driver and Yu Kaiqing had been sent back by Lin Youzhe. He took out his phone, made a call, and then said to her, "Go get a checkup."
Wen Jia wanted to shake her head, but his unquestionable tone came even earlier than her denial.
She was eventually taken to a private hospital after Xu Shaoting coaxed and persuaded her. He had given prior notice, so the whole process went smoothly. When the two of them walked out of the hospital, night had already fallen. The late autumn in Linzhou was getting colder day by day, a bone-chilling cold. Xu Shaoting put his suit jacket on her and protected her as they returned to the villa.
He carried her back to the room, gently placed her on the velvet sofa, smoothed the stray hairs from her forehead, and asked in an unprecedentedly tender tone, "Are you still scared now?"
Wen Jia wrapped herself in his suit, feeling inexplicably vulnerable, as if only he could bear her grievances. She nodded slightly, saying nothing, only expressing her fear through her body language.
Xu Shaoting looked at her quietly, his heart softening. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her forehead. "Do you often encounter this situation?"
Wen Jia sat on the man's lap, nestled in his arms. Her soft hair was ruffled slightly by the fabric of his suit, outlining a fluffy shape. Her eyes were moist as if they were filled with water, but this moisture was extremely fragile, carrying a hint of bewilderment and vulnerability.
“I encountered this when I first started out. At that time, Yu Kaiqing wasn’t around yet. I had to call the police myself.”
After listening to what she said, Xu Shaoting's expression was complicated. "Did I meet you too late?"
"Why do you say that?" Wen Jia lifted her head from his embrace.
“It’s nothing,” he glanced at the digital clock on the bedside table and changed the subject. “You should go to sleep and take a shower.”
She didn't want to move at all, feeling only comfort in his arms. Upon hearing his command, she immediately refused, "No."
Why not?
"I don't want to wash."
"Is it that you don't want to wash, or that you're too lazy to wash?"
"..."
Xu Shaoting's expression instantly softened, "Want me to help you wash?"
Wen Jia looked at him with teary eyes, "If you can control yourself."
Xu Shaoting chuckled, the darkness in his eyes instantly replaced by a burning intensity. "Miss Wen, haven't I told you not to think of me as such a gentleman?"
He tightened his grip on her, completely holding her in his arms, and lifted her up, walking towards the bathroom.
Unlike that night on the cruise ship, this time Xu Shaoting was very determined and showed no intention of letting the opportunity slip by.
Wen Jia felt the sudden weight lifting her into the air, and alarm bells went off immediately. She became restless in his arms.
Xu Shaoting looked down at her, the gentleness in his voice gone, replaced by an unquestionable tone, "Try moving again."
"Let me go..."
"Let you go?"
He seemed to have heard something out of the blue.
Xu Shaoting gently kicked open the slightly ajar bathroom door, placed her on the sink, and turned to fill the bathtub with warm water.
Wen Jia stared at his broad back, feeling that if she didn't run away now, she really wouldn't be able to escape. She braced herself on the counter with her arms and lightly touched the cold tile floor with one toe.
Carefully, trying not to make the slightest sound.
However, before her buttocks could leave the sink, the man in front of her suddenly reached out a hand and tightly gripped her slender wrist.
Wen Jia glanced up at him, only to find that the man hadn't turned around at all. His terrifying intuition reacted to her slightest movement, and then precisely restrained her restless body.
His aura was so oppressive that Wen Jia, gripped tightly by him, dared not escape no matter how much she wanted to. A strong aura emanated from him, as if he wanted to seize every last drop of hormones from her body.
Xu Shaoting slowly turned around, stepped closer to the sink, and looked down at the person in front of him.
He remained impeccably dressed, appearing as composed and serious as when conversing with others in business, if Wen Jia hadn't heard his next words—
"I told you a long time ago not to think so highly of me, why didn't you listen?"
Wen Jia's wrist was being gripped by him, but it felt as if her vocal cords were being squeezed as well. She couldn't utter a single word and could only look up at the man. The fear she had felt that afternoon because of the car accident had completely vanished.
But it didn't disappear without a trace; rather, it was completely transferred to the current situation.
She was afraid of him, not of him as a person, but of his current state.
This was the first time she had seen him so cold and hard, even more aggressive than that night on the cruise ship. The gentleness of the afternoon had vanished without a trace. If she weren't afraid to speak, she would have really wanted to ask him, "Mr. Xu, do you have a split personality?"
Xu Shaoting lowered his eyes, his gaze sweeping over her feet on the cold tiles. "Trying to escape?"
Wen Jia didn't respond. She was sensible enough to know that her nod or shake of the head wouldn't count at this moment.
She had prepared herself to be held captive by Xu Shaoting, but the next second, Xu Shaoting suddenly released her wrist and said in a light tone, "Run away."
She didn't get up immediately. She stared at Xu Shaoting's expression for a few seconds, figuring that he wasn't joking. Then she stretched out her other foot to touch the ground.
She moved cautiously, keeping a watchful eye on Xu Shaoting, until her feet were firmly planted on the ground before taking small steps toward the bathroom door.
The cold air made her hair stand on end as her bare feet touched the smooth tile floor. She moved with extreme lightness, and the only sound in the bathroom was the rushing water.
Wen Jia strained her ears, not daring to turn around and look at the man, and could only listen carefully to the sounds behind her.
She tiptoed to the bathroom door, hesitated, and turned her head slightly to feel Xu Shaoting. Seeing that he didn't follow, she carefully took the doorknob and turned it.
She was secretly pleased that she could escape Xu Shaoting's control, but she didn't expect that his scent would arrive even faster than the fresh air.
Xu Shaoting had somehow wandered up behind her, forcefully pushing back the door that had been slightly ajar, while wrapping his other arm around her waist. His hot, firm chest pressed against her slender back, trapping her between himself and the door.
Wen Jia shuddered in fright, then felt an unfamiliar weight on her shoulder—Xu Shaoting had leaned down, bringing his chin close to her neck. Seeing her uncomfortable expression, he spoke slowly and deliberately in a whisper, his hot breath brushing against her.
"You think you can just run away because I told you to? Why weren't you so obedient just now?"
His warm breath sprayed onto her neck, making her hair stand on end. She was tickled so much that she couldn't resist and her defenses completely collapsed. She surrendered in his arms.
She turned around, wrapped her arms around the man's waist, and looked up at him pitifully:
"Hold me... the ground is so cold..."
-----------------------
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