Chapter 15 (2/2): Sealed with a Kiss

Despair welled up inside her.

She could feel his gaze burning into her back, threatening to pierce a hole through her.

Helpless and at a loss, she turned to face He Yuzhou.

He remained calm and composed, leaning against the dining table, his arm draped casually to the side. The bite mark on his wrist still bled, but he paid it no mind, watching her intently.

“Yu…”

She almost called him Yuzhou-ge again, but remembered his earlier warning.

She swallowed the word.

Recalling their previous conversation about names, she tried to speak.

“He…Yuzhou…let me go.”

Her tears began to fall again as she spoke, her voice small and pitiful, like a stray cat in the street.

“I want to go home.”

He Yuzhou picked up the wooden box from the table.

“You forgot your birthday present.”

He reminded her kindly.

Cen Yingshuang shook her head, stamping her foot like a stubborn child.

“I don’t want it! I want to go home!”

At that moment, her phone started ringing again.

He Yuzhou glanced at it.

“It’s your mom.”

He picked up her phone and shook it.

“I’ll answer for you, okay?”

At his words, Cen Yingshuang panicked, rushing over to grab her phone—but He Yuzhou easily lifted it out of her reach.

“I’ll tell your mom that you’re with me now.”

He smiled softly.

“I like her daughter, and I’m expressing my feelings to her.”

The word “like” slipped from his lips as lightly as if he were talking about the weather.

But to Cen Yingshuang, it sent a chill through her heart.

“No!”

She shook her head desperately, lips trembling as tears fell again.

“No!”

“Fine. I won’t answer.”

He Yuzhou set her phone down, grabbed her wrist, and gently pulled her in front of him.

Once more, he patiently wiped away her tears.

“No more crying. Shall I put the necklace on for you?”

Even the dullest person would understand the meaning behind his words.

In that moment, the truth finally sank in—all the warmth and gentleness He Yuzhou had shown her before had been a lie.

The real him was a wolf that devoured its prey without mercy.

His words sounded casual, but the threat was unmistakable.

Some things are innate.

His aura, his power.

She had no way to resist, at least not at that moment.

Her phone kept ringing, making her even more anxious.

She lowered her head, barely nodding in submission.

He Yuzhou opened the wooden box and took out the pearl necklace.

As he fastened it around her neck, his breath brushed her skin.

Warm, yet as cold as a winter wind—sending a chill down her spine.

The pearl necklace was heavy, and as it settled on her neck, she felt a surge of humiliation, like a pet being fitted with a collar.

Shell.

But she could only bear it in silence.

Her neck no longer felt bare—the beautiful necklace gleamed, adding another touch of luxury.

He Yuzhou finally smiled in satisfaction, admiring her.

“It suits you.”

“But…..”

“In Fiji, I saw you picking up shells by the sea.”

She barely managed a sound when He Yuzhou pushed the wooden box toward her, displaying a sun-shaped shell inside.

“This is a shell I specially brought back from Australia while diving. Do you like it?”

Cen Yingshuang stared at the shell in the box.

If nothing had happened tonight—if he were still the gentle, approachable He Yuzhou she remembered—she would have answered happily that she loved the shell.

After all, it was unique and beautiful.

But now.

“….I like it.”

Even though her answer was the same, her feelings had changed.

She only felt as if she were holding a hot potato.

“As long as you like it.”

He Yuzhou closed the box and handed it to her.

Cen Yingshuang accepted it obediently, still looking down.

Her voice was soft and meek.

“Can I…go home now?”

“…”

“Knock, knock, knock.”

At that moment, the door was rapped.

A waiter pushed in a food cart loaded with Cantonese dishes.

Cen Yingshuang’s heart clenched, fearing He Yuzhou would force her to endure this suffocating meal.

She choked back her tears and hurriedly spoke.

“I want to go home, is that okay?”

Her voice was almost a plea.

“Of course.”

He Yuzhou agreed readily this time, picking up the handbag and phone on the table and handing them to her, making it clear there was no room for argument.

Cen Yingshuang quickly took them, clutching them tightly in her hands, afraid he’d snatch them back.

She almost blurted out a “no need,” but remembered she had no say in the matter.

She didn’t dare defy He Yuzhou now, only wanting to leave as quickly as possible.

So she nodded submissively.

He Yuzhou straightened up and walked out first.

Cen Yingshuang hurried after him.

The bodyguards finally stepped aside.

Cen Yingshuang at last escaped from the suffocating dining room.

She wanted to run, but couldn’t find the courage.

They walked through the living room, and He Yuzhou accepted Cen Yingshuang’s coat from a waiter.

He paused, and as she drew near, draped it over her shoulders.

The car rolled into the garden, stopping at the living room entrance.

The driver opened the back door.

He Yuzhou walked to the car, but instead of getting in, turned to look at Cen Yingshuang.

She understood, quickening her pace and climbing into the car first.

Just as He Yuzhou was about to enter, Zhang Rong suddenly approached.

“Mr. He.”

He called.

Zhang Rong leaned close, speaking in a volume only the two could hear.

He Yuzhou raised his brows with interest.

“冇人嚟過?”

(No one came?)

Zhang Rong nodded.

He Yuzhou said nothing and got into the car.

The car slowly pulled out of the garden, followed by the bodyguards’ vehicles.

Cen Yingshuang sat silently from the moment she got in, not making a sound.

She clutched her phone tightly.

Her mind was in chaos.

She had left just like that—what if Jiang Suian came and couldn’t find her? How would she explain everything?

Just then, her phone chimed repeatedly.

It was the sound of WeChat messages.

He Yuzhou also remained silent, appearing busy as he opened his notebook computer on the small stand.

The car was so quiet that even breathing felt too loud.

The WeChat notifications continued, one after another, persistent and jarring.

He Yuzhou finally glanced from his notebook computer toward her constantly buzzing phone.

He didn’t say a word, only glanced before looking away.

Even though he was silent, for some reason, Cen Yingshuang felt the temperature in the car plummet.

A suffocating pressure filled the air.

Her heart pounded anxiously, her fingers twitching as she hesitated to check her phone.

She quietly switched it to silent mode.

From that night on, every second spent with He Yuzhou felt endless.

She suffered in agony.

A short twenty-minute ride felt like an eternity.

At the gated, tightly controlled complex, He Yuzhou’s car drove straight through—no checks, no questions, the gates opening on their own.

The car drove directly to her apartment building.

Before the driver could open the door, Cen Yingshuang had already opened it herself, desperate to escape.

But just as she stepped out, her arm was grabbed unexpectedly.

Her heart leaped into her throat, her whole body trembling with fear.

She didn’t dare look back, didn’t dare make a sound.

She remained frozen, poised to flee.

He Yuzhou’s deep, calm voice drifted from behind.

“If you want to eat Cantonese food, just tell me.”

“I’ll take you next time.”

Next time.

Again, those words.

Now, even hearing “next time” made her want to recoil.

She was afraid he wouldn’t let her go, so she forced herself to nod obediently.

Then, at last, she felt the burning grip on her arm release.

Relieved, she jumped out of the car and ran toward the building.

He Yuzhou’s car remained parked in place.

The dark window lowered.

He lounged lazily against the seat, the interior dim except for the faint light from the garden outside.

His face turned in the darkness, watching the slender figure sprint away until she vanished from sight.

A spot of crimson glowed at his fingertips, smoke curling upward.

He extended his hand out the window, flicking the ash away.

He knew he had truly frightened her tonight.

He was like a traveler wandering the desert, parched and desperate, stumbling upon a fruit-laden tree in the oasis.

He could only reach out and pick it.

That was the law of survival.

Even if it meant paying a price.

The bite marks on his wrist still stung, vivid and raw, the pain lingering.

But to him, it wasn’t a price at all.

His pupils glinted in the darkness.

He turned, looking up at the apartment building, fixing on a window high above.

Earlier, Zhang Rong had told him that Chen Yanli had come to Beicheng, and visited Cen Yingshuang’s home.

He had already sealed off the restaurant. That night, no one but himself and Cen Yingshuang had entered.

Even before coming to Beicheng to meet Chen Yanli, He Yuzhou had suspected that Cen Yingshuang’s feelings weren’t for Chen Yanli.

Now, he was certain.

He Yuzhou’s lips curved into a smile.

If it wasn’t Chen Yanli, that made things even easier.

He had no interest in who it was.

Cen Yingshuang dashed into the elevator, her last strength draining away.

She collapsed to the floor.

Sweat poured down her back.

She fumbled for her phone, the screen filled with unread WeChat messages from Jiang Suian.

She opened WeChat while crying, her hands shaking, and clicked into He Yuzhou’s chat.

Without hesitation, she deleted him from her friends list.