Zhou Fengzhen felt as though he had been dreaming.
His memories were a complete blur. The only parts he could recall with any clarity were the instant the car had slammed into his and the few minutes he had spent fighting his attacker. Everything had happened in the blink of an eye. Although he had been injured and completely drained of strength, he was certain his opponent had not escaped unscathed either.
And then… what had happened afterwards…
He vaguely remembered a woman’s voice and indistinct, warm touches. Her hair had fallen from above, the strands brushing ticklishly against their bodies. He could faintly recall the shape of her lips, as well as the pain of his wounds splitting open when he had been gripped tightly.
Had he… done something with someone?
Zhou Fengzhen’s eyes flew open as though he had awakened from a nightmare.
Everything before him was dim. The lights in the room were off, and directly in front of him was a stretch of snow-white skin. A slender neck and collarbones were exposed, along with the hollow of her throat, which was covered in red marks left by sharp teeth.
…It looked as though he had bitten her.
Zhou Fengzhen’s brain crashed.
His gaze remained fixed there, not daring to wander. They were still lying beneath the same quilt, and judging from the hazy sensations under the covers, both he and this—this girl appeared to be completely naked.
This… This sort of thing…
Sleeping with a strange woman!
If a male fox did something like this, Great-Grandmother would have him drowned in the pond!
In that instant, Zhou Fengzhen had already imagined the entire scene of himself taking his own life to atone for his disgrace.
His heart hanging in suspense, he lowered his gaze to his right forearm.
Sure enough, the tiny scarlet dot had vanished.
The room was utterly silent, save for the slow, even breathing of the person beside him.
Zhou Fengzhen’s expression remained rigid for a long time.
Then he carefully climbed out from beneath the covers. Countless thoughts rapidly flashed through his mind before gradually settling upon a single conclusion.
There was no other choice.
If he did not make this woman his wife, half a lifetime of cultivation and his entire reputation would be ruined.
Great-Grandmother had always said that chastity was a male fox spirit’s finest dowry. Now that he had already lost his virtue, even if this was a melon that had to be forcibly wrenched from the vine, he would have to wrench it down first. Otherwise, he would have no face to return home alive.
Zhou Fengzhen quietly exhaled and forcibly pressed his wildly panicking heart back into place.
His body was covered in external injuries, all of which had been treated. However, some of the wounds had split open again because of the strenuous activity afterwards. As for the clothes scattered and torn across the floor, they looked far beyond saving.
The fox spirit glanced back at Song Zhixiang, who was still fast asleep.
She had helped treat his wounds under those circumstances. Surely she would not be too difficult to get along with?
…
Song Zhixiang slept extremely well.
She had truly exhausted herself the previous night. First, she had generously helped an adult man back to her house. Then she had treated his wounds and even verified whether he really was a virgin.
Miss Song had been terribly busy.
Once she had enjoyed herself to her heart’s content, she had overslept, remaining unconscious until nearly noon.
Song Zhixiang stretched and crawled out from under the quilt like a cat. A strip of lean, narrow waist, sleek as a leopard’s, was revealed as she stretched towards the wardrobe for something to wear.
Still half asleep, she changed her clothes while smacking her lips.
Mmm. Delicious.
Although he had been rather inexperienced, his equipment was excellent. His waist was strong, his legs were long, and his muscles had just the right amount of soft, springy firmness when squeezed.
Where was he?
He had probably already left, right?
That made sense. They had met by chance and shared a fleeting night of passion. What did they call that again?
This was what you called being fated to share a bed.
Not bad at all…
In a good mood, Song Zhixiang went out to wash up. She had only just finished wiping her face and had not yet reached the kitchen when she spotted a tall shadow cast against the old frosted-glass door in her home.
Her heart exploded with a boom.
She pushed open the door and was greeted by the sight of a smooth, muscular back covered in long red scratches.
Song Zhixiang glanced at her fingernails.
Then she raised her head and heard oil sizzling in the pan.
She did not speak immediately. Her eyes settled on the bandages around his arm.
Had he injured himself there last night?
Her gaze shifted again, and she noticed that he was wearing her white, long-eared rabbit apron.
It was extremely breezy beneath that apron.
The apron was also slightly too small for him. The two strings tied around his lower back looked precarious, barely managing to form a knot. They dug into the line of his spine, almost disappearing between his muscles.
Although he was tall, his shoulders were broad and his waist narrow. Finger marks from where she had gripped his waist were still visible along his sides, mixed in with the injuries he had suffered the previous day.
Bloodstains and fingerprints overlapped one another, making him look as though he had been abused.
Song Zhixiang licked her lips.
She forcibly withdrew her gaze and rapped her knuckles against the doorframe.
“You haven’t left yet?”
The man before her paused.
Calmly flipping the fried egg in the pan, he spoke without turning around.
“Miss Song, we slept in the same bed.”
“You know my name?” Song Zhixiang casually tapped her fingers against her arm. “Did you look at my identification?”
The situation had been urgent yesterday. Her identification, which she usually carried on her, had been mixed in with those inconvenient clothes and thrown onto the floor.
He had woken up early, so it was only natural that he had seen it.
“I washed the dirty clothes and hung them out on the balcony,” Zhou Fengzhen said. “I saw it when I emptied the pockets.”
“Oh? Then my…”
“I washed your underwear by hand.”
He transferred the fried egg onto a plate, the tips of his ears faintly red.
“I checked first. I used the detergent specifically meant for it.”
Song Zhixiang was rendered speechless.
She stared at the man before her, thinking it over with the portion of her brain that did not function especially well in the presence of beauty.
Then she naturally asked, “What is this supposed to mean? Do you want compensation? How much?”
Zhou Fengzhen turned around.
Now that he was awake, his amber-coloured eyes were even more beautiful.
The approaching-noon sunlight streamed through the kitchen window covered in translucent paper, enveloping his extraordinarily handsome face.
He looked at Song Zhixiang.
Their gazes met.
“According to my family rules,” he said with great solemnity, without the slightest hint that he was joking, “I must marry you.”
The two of them stared at each other for a full two minutes.
Song Zhixiang nearly began to doubt her own ears. She raised a hand and patted her forehead, then shook her head.
Even her dreams had never been this ridiculous.
“Huh?”
Wait…
Was this some kind of extortion scheme?
“Miss Song.”
Zhou Fengzhen walked over. He lowered himself slightly and looked up at her from beneath his lashes, gazing into Song Zhixiang’s lowered eyes.
“I’m telling the truth.”
“You… Look, you’re Young President Zhou of Shengtian Group. You appear in the financial news every few days. If you told me you were humiliated after being picked up by a stranger and wanted revenge—maybe extort money from me or kill me—I’d believe you.”
She reached out and touched Zhou Fengzhen’s forehead.
“But you’re saying you want to marry me… Did your fever get a little too high?”
Zhou Fengzhen hesitated.
“You know who I am…”
“I brought you home. Of course I had to check your identification,” Song Zhixiang said. “You might be extremely good-looking, but if you really had a wife and children, there’s no way I would’ve done anything with you.”
“You’re a man. It’s not like you can get pregnant. Just treat the whole thing as a dream. We’ll close our eyes, forget about it, and move on.”
Song Zhixiang had already verified his identity when she brought him home. She had even searched for him on her phone.
He genuinely did not have a publicly known wife or girlfriend. When she had asked him about it the night before, she had merely wanted to confirm that he was not secretly involved with anyone either.
After saying this, she tried to slip away.
However, Zhou Fengzhen immediately raised an arm and planted his hand against the other side of the doorframe. His arm blocked her waist, trapping her directly in the middle.
“Miss Song.”
Zhou Fengzhen stared at her with complete sincerity in his amber eyes.
“This matter truly is important to me. If I fail to follow my family rules, I’ll lose my right to inherit the Zhou family.”
And that was actually the lightest possible consequence.
Song Zhixiang was trapped within his arms.
She was just about to refuse when her gaze suddenly landed upon the part of his chest pressed beneath the edge of the apron.
Her brain froze, and she abruptly forgot what she had been about to say.
He was standing far too close.
Close enough for her to see the marks the apron had pressed into his chest, along with the fingerprints she had left there when she had squeezed too hard the previous night.
That texture…
That texture…
While Song Zhixiang stood there dazed, her gaze was so obvious that Zhou Fengzhen followed it and looked down at himself.
His expression did not change, but his earlobes burned bright red. His Adam’s apple shifted as he gritted his teeth and tried to prepare himself mentally.
He was a fox, after all.
This was a serious matter, and seducing a woman was supposed to be a fox spirit’s speciality.
Perhaps he should…
Zhou Fengzhen drew in a breath.
The hand resting beside Song Zhixiang’s waist moved. He reached over and clasped her wrist, slowly drawing it towards him before tentatively placing it against his chest—
Their hands hovered in mid-air.
Before he could lower hers completely, Song Zhixiang suddenly came to her senses. She yanked her hand away, turned, and ducked out from beside him, putting some distance between them.
“What are you doing? It’s broad daylight! Can’t you behave properly?”
“Look at you—you’re not even wearing any clothes! What is the most important thing for a young man? Self-respect!”
Song Zhixiang spouted a long stream of nonsense. Only after saying it all in one breath did she sit down.
She covered her face, rubbed it, and finally regained control of herself.
However, to Zhou Fengzhen, those words sounded almost identical to the things his great-grandmother constantly said.
The innocent fox spirit became even more depressed.
He sighed, poured the warmed milk into a glass, and carried breakfast over to Song Zhixiang.
“Miss Song,” he said softly, “eat first. We can discuss this matter slowly.”
“This matter is not open for discussion,” Song Zhixiang replied firmly.
He had studied cooking with great care ever since childhood. Even a simple breakfast was fragrant and perfectly prepared.
For the time being, Zhou Fengzhen stopped mentioning marriage.
“Eat first. Consider it my way of repaying you for saving me.”
Still suspicious, Song Zhixiang accepted the chopsticks.
She really was hungry. After all, everything she had done yesterday had required physical effort.
The instant she tasted the food, Zhou Fengzhen’s superb cooking skills took effect. As she continued eating, she gradually forgot all about the matter.
Until the doorbell rang.
It was truly strange.
Normally, no one came to visit her even once a month. Yet the moment she brought a man home, someone just happened to appear.
Song Zhixiang immediately became alert.
She glanced at the man beside her, who was wearing nothing but an apron, and hurriedly dragged and shoved him into the bedroom.
She pointed towards the wardrobe.
“There are some of my younger brother’s old clothes at the bottom. Make do with those for now. It’s probably one of my colleagues, so don’t make a sound.”
Before Zhou Fengzhen could say anything, the bedroom door slammed shut.
After hiding him away, Song Zhixiang tied her hair into a high ponytail and patted down her clothes.
“Who is it?” she called.
Someone responded from outside.
It was a familiar voice.
She opened the door. Most of the sunlight outside was blocked by the visitor’s figure, and with his face obscured by the backlighting, she could not see his features clearly.
However, she did not need to see his face to know who it was.
Song Zhixiang lifted an eyelid and stepped aside.
“Tsk, Xiao Duan. What are you doing here so early in the morning…?”
He was her former colleague, a subordinate who had once worked in the same department as her. They had known each other for several years.
“It’s eleven o’clock, Sister Song.”
Duan Xiao entered the house.
He was wearing a black shirt. After stepping inside, he removed his coat, hung it on the coat rack, changed his shoes with practised familiarity, and continued into the room.
His expression did not change until he suddenly noticed the half-eaten breakfast on the table.
“Finished with work?” Song Zhixiang asked. “There were endless yellow alerts a while ago, and everyone at the bureau was running themselves ragged. I heard your squad was even sent to support another city.”
“You’ve come back in one piece, so I take it everything’s been dealt with?”
She picked up the unfinished glass of milk and leaned against the cabinet as she continued drinking.
“Pretty much. I was busy for so long that I came to see you as soon as I got back.”
Duan Xiao’s gaze lingered on the breakfast for a moment.
Then he glanced towards the kitchen.
There was no one inside.
His eyes swept casually around the room.
“The fried egg isn’t even burnt. Did the sun rise in the west today?”
“Well…” Song Zhixiang guiltily sipped her milk. “You know how good my cooking is. I’ve improved by leaps and bounds, developed a school of my own, and reached the pinnacle of culinary mastery…”
“Give me a break.”
Duan Xiao laughed.
“I keep telling you to come and live with me in Zone Three. I’ll make sure you eat properly.”
He reached for Song Zhixiang’s hand.
“Let me see. You didn’t get splashed with oil, did you?”
He pulled her hand towards him.
Before he could examine it, a loud crash suddenly came from the bedroom, as though something had shattered.
Duan Xiao’s grip around her wrist immediately tightened.
He turned towards the sound.
“Sister Song, is there something in your house…?”
“I picked up a…”
Song Zhixiang dragged the words from the back of her tongue, stretching out the pause before finally deciding upon a species.
“…stray dog.”
Duan Xiao stared at her for a long moment.
Then he pointed towards the balcony.
Song Zhixiang followed his gesture and saw the freshly washed clothes fluttering in the wind.
They included Young President Zhou’s suit, his socks, and a pair of men’s underwear.
Song Zhixiang: “…”
“Good dog.”
Duan Xiao stared at her face, his expression difficult to interpret. Even his voice carried a strange, sour edge.
“It knows how to wear clothes.”
Leave a Reply