Volume One, Chapter 16: Just Collecting a Little Interest—Why Are You Panicking?

Ning Yu’s face was flushed, a mix of anger and mortification.

Come to think of it, this was already the third time she had been in his car. The first time was by pure accident. The second, she had been stiff and awkward. The third… she wanted to punch him.

She curled her lips into a smile. "I’m just afraid of offending the Fifth Master again, aren't I? After all, I’m ordinary from head to toe; I wouldn't want to be an eyesore to you."

The words were a velvet-covered needle, sharp and stinging. If anyone in the car ahead had heard this, they would never have believed these words could come from Ning Yu.

Li Shiyan curled his lips in silence; this was more like it. His long, elegant hands steered the wheel with practiced ease, his voice lazy. "What eyesore? It’s all the same once the lights are out."

Ning Yu: ...

"True enough. But why must the Fifth Master insist on entanglement with an ex?" Ning Yu countered, her smile not reaching her eyes. "What’s the point?"

He didn’t reply immediately. His expression remained unchanged, so calm that it made Ning Yu wonder if he had even heard her.

It wasn't until they entered the parking garage that he reacted. The indoor garage was dim, the air conditioning running at full blast. The man pressed a button to release his seatbelt, shifted gears, and pulled the handbrake.

Just as Ning Yu moved to leave, the man leaned over to block her path, his dark, bottomless eyes fixed on her. "What’s the point? The point is that the way you call me 'Uncle' is quite seductive."

With a click, the car doors locked.

Ning Yu had nowhere to retreat. She could only struggle to pin down the large hand he had placed on her thigh. "This is a parking garage! If we don't go up soon, they’ll notice!"

"So?" The man didn't care in the slightest, effortlessly pulling his hand free from her grasp.

Damn it! That dog of a man! Ning Yu scrambled to grab his hand. "Li Shiyan, what about the three days we agreed on?"

"That was said yesterday. It doesn't necessarily hold for today," he replied with a frivolous, casual tone.

"Can you be reasonable?! Don't—" Ning Yu started to scold him, but her strength faltered, and she cursed in shamed frustration, "You shameless scoundrel!"

He glanced at her. "Try some new insults."

Ning Yu: ...

She was so furious that her lovely face reddened, and the look she shot him could have killed. She looked truly fierce.

Li Shiyan chuckled, amused by her appearance. "Just collecting some interest, why are you panicking?"

Immediately, he pinned her delicate wrists, and his other hand slid along the edge of her cheongsam. Ning Yu had no choice but to be dragged into the abyss by him.

His hands were far too familiar with the human anatomy. And he, in turn, was far too familiar with her. At first, she managed to hold onto a shred of reason, but soon she was left helpless, her arms winding around his broad shoulders.

The parking garage was dim; he had chosen a secluded corner, and the surrounding spaces were filled with empty cars. The windows were rolled up, and even with the air conditioning on, the temperature inside the car climbed steadily.

Ning Yu grew hotter and weaker, biting her lip, afraid to make a sound. He lowered his head, glancing at her lips; the harder she bit them, the harder he bit into her shoulder.

"Hiss!"

Ning Yu gasped in involuntary pain. "Are you part dog, Li Shiyan??"

As soon as she finished, both of them paused. Their eyes met, and a second later, she immediately looked away. Ning Yu suddenly felt at a loss, clutching his lapel, her heart racing within her chest.

She regretted it. Why had those words slipped out?

Eight years had passed. A human life only spans so many eight-year periods, and they say time makes people forget many things. But some things, not even time can erase; instead, the longer the interval, the more deeply etched they become.

If she had said those words eight years ago, Ning Yu would have known exactly how Li Shiyan would have answered. But the Li Shiyan before her now? He likely wouldn't answer at all.

She hadn't guessed wrong. The man remained silent, intensifying his actions, like a starving wolf trying to tear her apart. She stopped making sound, silently enduring his madness.

Suddenly, her phone rang—a jarring sound like a thunderclap in Ning Yu’s ear, pulling her back to reality. She swiped the screen, and Lin Haoyu’s concerned voice came through.

"Xiaoyu, why haven't you and Uncle arrived yet??"

Ning Yu cleared her throat, struggling to steady her trembling voice. "There’s some traffic on the road, so we’re a bit late. We’ll be there soon—hiss!"

Li Shiyan bit down on the skin behind her ear, not holding back, and she gasped in pain.

The line went silent for a moment. Ning Yu felt as if her blood had frozen, and then she heard Lin Haoyu’s suspicious voice: "Xiaoyu, what happened to you??"

Ning Yu dug her nails into his sturdy forearm. "It’s nothing... A car suddenly swerved out at an intersection, and Uncle had to slam on the brakes. We almost collided."

As she finished, she heard Ning Yunyun’s voice from the phone: "Brother Haoyu, stop calling. Let’s order. What does Uncle like to eat?"

Lin Haoyu’s attention was drawn away. "Hurry up then, we’re ordering first."

He hung up the phone.

Ning Yu felt her body sag, and she turned to glare at him. "Shameless!"

"Say that again, and I’ll make sure Lin Haoyu hears exactly how I’m fucking you over the phone." He released her with a condescending air, taking her slender wrist into his palm. It was so fragile he could have snapped it with ease.

Ning Yu lost to him once again on the matter of shamelessness.

"So desperate to hide this bite mark?" Li Shiyan’s gaze fell on the red mark on the inside of her forearm, his thumb gently stroking the tooth mark behind her ear. "Then you'd better think of an explanation for this."

His tone was playful, like a malevolent god who feared nothing but chaos.

Ning Yu gritted her teeth, but could only watch his retreating back as he exited the car, smug and unrestrained. He had said he was collecting interest, and he hadn't gone all the way, but the buttons of her cheongsam were still undone.

Ning Yu quickly tidied her clothes, pulled her hair over her left ear to hide it, and reapplied some lipstick before stepping out of the passenger seat.

They entered the elevator, a confined space. Ning Yu deliberately stood behind him rather than side-by-side, watching his expression through the reflective wall.

The man’s clothes remained perfectly neat, his hair undisturbed, as if the person who had just been bullying her had nothing to do with him.

Looking human, but acting like a dog—he was truly a master of pretense. Ning Yu grumbled inwardly.

The man’s lazy voice drifted over. "It seems you haven't learned your lesson."

Ning Yu looked up in alarm, their eyes meeting strangely in the mirror.

His thin lips curled slightly. "Say it one more time, and I guarantee you won't make it out of this elevator."

Ning Yu: ...

She behaved herself for a moment and walked into the private room according to the number Lin Haoyu had given her. Li Shiyan scanned the table and ordered a few more dishes.

Lin Haoyu was a regular here, and the food arrived quickly. During the meal, Lin Haoyu kept serving food to Ning Yu, as if trying to prove to her that his previous promise to take care of her wasn't a lie—or perhaps to make up for the incident in the passenger seat.

"Xiaoyu, this is your favorite bass; they make it very well here. Uncle just mentioned that you don't eat at regular hours and you're too thin, so you must eat more," Lin Haoyu said with a smile.

"Thank you," Ning Yu replied. Just as she picked up a piece of fish with her chopsticks to put it in her mouth, she heard the man opposite her say coldly—

"She can't eat fish right now; it will increase the risk of an allergic reaction."