Su Banxia’s eyes darted around, unsure whether she should go for it directly or ask for his opinion first. Her anxiety made her body tense, and she even broke into a sweat.
“Uh…” She opened her mouth slightly, facing the man’s icy gaze, but the words got stuck in her throat, and she couldn’t utter them.
After a few seconds of silence, during which he didn’t say anything, Shang Lu calmly glanced at her for a moment and then turned away, ignoring her.
Su Banxia’s mind was in turmoil, and the countdown felt like a sword hanging over her head, ready to fall at any moment.
If she were to kiss him directly, Shang Lu would definitely consider her a major weirdo. He had told her to behave and not do any crazy things. If she offended him, she might not even know how she would die.
Su Banxia secretly glanced at Shang Lu, observing his indifferent profile.
Her occasional sneak peeks were hard to go unnoticed, and Shang Lu’s lowered eyelashes concealed the emotions in his eyes.
“Do you have something to say?” his cold voice rang out.
Su Banxia almost jumped out of her seat. What was going on? She hadn’t even made a move, and Shang Lu had already noticed her. It scared her.
She stammered, “It’s nothing.”
Shang Lu pursed his lips slightly and didn’t pay any further attention to her obvious calculations.
Su Banxia thought that tonight, she had helped Shang Lu force a business competitor to withdraw. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect a kiss as a reward, especially since they were technically married. She forgot that Shang Lu was always distant and reserved with everyone, even if she was his wife in name.
Su Banxia reached out and tugged at Shang Lu’s sleeve. “Shang Lu, look at me.”
Shang Lu turned his head slightly to look at her. His black eyes were calm, with a hint of distance.
He had never liked people getting too close to him. If it weren’t for Su Banxia’s unexpected actions tonight, which had affected him to some extent, he wouldn’t have allowed her to approach.
Su Banxia held his sleeve and spoke incoherently, “Shang Lu, I saved you tonight and helped you defeat a business rival. Can you give me a reward?”
Shang Lu’s gaze darkened slightly, and it confirmed his suspicion that she had ulterior motives when she saved him.
He felt an inexplicable discomfort in his heart but suppressed the faint restlessness. He pulled his sleeve out of her grip and nodded slightly. “Speak.”
As long as her request wasn’t too unreasonable or beyond his capabilities, he could grant her the reward she desired.
Well, there’s a chance.
Su Banxia blinked her eyes while looking at his face, tilting her head and saying, “You can kiss me.”
Shang Lu was momentarily stunned.
He had prepared himself for the possibility that she might demand a large sum of money, help for her father’s business, or other excessive requests.
Shang Lu’s face grew slightly colder, and his gaze turned sharp as he looked at her.
The girl gazed up at him, as if waiting for a prince to awaken a sleeping princess with a kiss. Her cheeks blushed like the crimson hue left behind after the setting of the sun, making her extraordinarily captivating.
Her gem-like beautiful eyes seemed to be veiled in a faint mist, creating a mesmerizing and seductive effect.
Suddenly, Shang Lu averted his gaze, fearing that staring for another second would lead to confusion.
Su Banxia had been waiting for a kiss for quite some time, and seeing him move his eyes away left her puzzled.
Why wasn’t he kissing her? Did he find her unattractive?
In the original story, it was described that Shang Lu’s character had become eccentric and reclusive after an unexpected leg injury, avoiding closeness with others. If that were the case, he had never been close to any other girl.
Perhaps he was just shy.
Su Banxia felt an inexplicable joy in her heart. The antagonist boss was turning out to be quite the innocent boy.
So, in consideration of his feelings, she closed her eyes and said, “Shang Lu, my eyes are closed now. You can go ahead and kiss me.”
Shang Lu initially thought he had misheard her, but to his surprise, she considerately closed her eyes.
The girl with closed eyes had slightly trembling eyelashes, resembling butterflies about to take flight. Her pale face gave her a fragile beauty that made people want to break her apart.
He remembered that she had consumed a lot of fruit wine at the banquet. Those fruit wines might not have had a high alcohol content, but they had a strong kick when consumed in excess.
Su Banxia was probably feeling the effects of the alcohol now, and she had started acting a bit tipsy in the car.
Shang Lu felt like he was being played with and said coldly, “You’re drunk.”
Su Banxia suddenly opened her cat-like eyes and stared at him with a slightly defiant look. “I’m not drunk.”
She leaned closer to him and grabbed his arm. “You just promised me a reward. Don’t think about reneging on your promise. Hurry up and kiss me, or I can kiss you too.”
Shang Lu pursed his lips. Her current behavior clearly indicated that she was intoxicated. People who were drunk often claimed not to be.
Su Banxia was too close to him, and the fruity scent of alcohol on her mixed with a subtle fragrance was quite enticing.
“Sit properly,” he said in an unenthusiastic tone.
Su Banxia was worried about her luck and didn’t want to let him off the hook. He had clearly agreed, and now he was going back on his word. She felt inexplicably wronged.
“I don’t want to. You already promised me. A promise is a promise,” she insisted.
Shang Lu was beginning to realize the extent of Su Banxia’s persuasive power. She was like a playful kitten, trying every possible way to attract attention and sticking to people so persistently that even Shang Jingyao couldn’t handle her.
He allowed her to pull at his arm but replied indifferently, “We’ll talk about it when we get back.”
The car had already entered the villa area, and they would soon be home. Once they got back, he would let her sober up, and she would behave.
Su Banxia believed him, and when she saw the villa gate open and the car slowly driving in, she let go of his hand and sat properly.
However, when they arrived home, Shang Lu instructed the servant with a cold expression, “Prepare a bowl of sobering soup.”
“Of course, Young Master,” the servant hurried to the kitchen to prepare it.
Su Banxia leaned against the shoe cabinet, having just kicked off her high heels. She saw him heading for the elevator without looking back and quickly followed.
The two of them returned to the bedroom, and she obediently followed him, wherever he went.
Shang Jingyao arrived at the Shang family’s residence a bit later, noticing the parked car outside. He knew that Shang Lu and Su Banxia had already returned home.
Entering the living room and not finding anyone there, he guessed that they had gone back to the bedroom.
A servant happened to come out carrying a tray and greeted him with a smile, “Young Master, you’re back.”
Shang Jingyao’s gaze fell on the tray with the sobering soup. He casually asked, “Who is the sobering soup for?”
He had just returned, and it couldn’t have been the servant’s timely action.
The servant explained, “It was ordered by Young Master.”
Shang Jingyao’s hand, which was removing his coat, paused. Shang Lu hadn’t consumed much alcohol tonight, and he never ordered the servants to prepare sobering soup, even when he had been drinking. Therefore, this bowl of sobering soup was prepared for Su Banxia.
Shang Jingyao recalled the events of the evening, particularly the moments when Shang Lu and Su Banxia had been together at the banquet. Shang Lu had been in his wheelchair, and she had been by his side, seemingly inseparable.
Initially, it had been his father’s and Shang’s support that had encouraged him to interact more with Su Banxia. Thanks to the backing of both his grandfather and father, Su Banxia had dared to take breaks and come to the company, attending various events, all under the pretense of being his girlfriend.
Yet, every time, he had mercilessly rejected Su Banxia without giving her any face.
Pastries she had personally made were casually set aside, even going to waste without a touch.
Gifts she had brought from abroad remained unopened, thrown into the trash.
Su Banxia had endured countless rejections and cold treatment from him, yet she had clung to him tirelessly, loving him to the point of madness, and even resorting to drugging him.
If it weren’t for that incident, Su Banxia and Shang Lu might have never crossed paths.
“Second Young Master,” the servant politely inquired, “you’ve also had some alcohol, would you like a bowl of sobering soup?”
Shang Jingyao snapped out of his thoughts and replied calmly, “No need, I’ll take care of it myself.”
In the upstairs bedroom, Shang Lu ignored Su Banxia and proceeded to collect some items, preparing to head to the bathroom.
Su Banxia blocked his way before he could close the door. “Are you a fish?”
Shang Lu raised an eyebrow, looking at her with his dark eyes.
Su Banxia bent down, supporting herself on both sides of the wheelchair’s armrests, and unhappily said, “I heard that fish only have a seven-second memory. You must have been a handsome fish in your past life because you’ve forgotten what you said in the car just now.”
Shang Lu: “…”
Su Banxia urged him impatiently, “It’s just a kiss, can you hurry up?”
Half of Shang Lu’s lifetime of speechlessness had been exhausted tonight. As he was about to push her away, there was a knock on the door, and the servant’s voice came through.
“Young Master, the sobering soup is ready.”
Shang Lu pushed aside Su Banxia’s hand and said in a cold tone, “Come in.”
The servant opened the door and entered the bedroom, placing the sobering soup on the table. “Young Madam, your sobering soup.”
Su Banxia glanced at the sobering soup and then at Shang Lu. She could tell that Shang Lu thought she was acting intoxicated.
She came up with a plan, leaned close to Shang Lu’s ear, and whispered softly, “I’ll drink the sobering soup, and then you kiss me.”
Shang Lu furrowed his brow slightly. He thought that if she drank the sobering soup, she would feel better, and she was using it as a ‘threat.’
He didn’t agree, would she refuse to drink it?
“Go ahead and drink it.”
Su Banxia rolled her eyes at his stern response.
She walked over, picked up the bowl, tested the temperature, and then drank it in large gulps. After finishing it, she stuck out her tongue, feeling like her entire mouth was salty. How much salt had the chef put in it?
After drinking it, she hurriedly ran up to Shang Lu and said, “I’ve finished it. Can you fulfill your promise now?”
Shang Lu felt that if he didn’t satisfy her tonight, she would surely pester him endlessly and make it impossible for him to rest. He spoke up, “Close your eyes.”
Su Banxia obediently closed her eyes, a smile playing at the corner of her lips as she awaited his kiss.
At this moment, she felt as if she had returned to her youth, riding her bicycle downhill from a hill in the summer, bathed in a gentle breeze. Her heart was racing, but her mood was exceptionally pleasant.
“I won’t peek, hurry up,” she said.
Since Shang Lu was sitting in the wheelchair and couldn’t easily kiss her, he reached out his well-defined fingers, pinching her chin and leaning down.
Then, he paused just above her red lips for a few seconds, and his Adam’s apple moved slightly.
Su Banxia felt a cool sensation on her cheek, and she suddenly opened her eyes, looking at the seated man. “You…”
She touched her face and said, “Why did you kiss my face?”
Shang Lu turned his wheelchair and calmly replied, “You didn’t specify where I should kiss.”
Su Banxia: “…”
It seemed like she got what she wanted, but not entirely.
Su Banxia quickly took out her phone, opened an app, and saw that her luck value was at 5%, with five empty stars. The first star had a different color.
She also checked her recently accumulated emotion points, which totaled around 100,000, enough to exchange for an item.
She opened the app’s store and browsed the items.
“Wow!” Su Banxia was astonished. “Linguistic Arts? Mind-reading? Mary Su Aura?”
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