Li Yaru’s vision went black, and she was stunned.
Who wanted to marry Zhuang Qiting?
“Me… me marry you?” Li Yaru stared blankly, first at herself, then at the man in front of her.
Zhuang Qiting squinted his sharp, clever eyes, a faint indifferent smile playing on his lips.
He pointed at the adorable pink mark on her exposed skin. “Otherwise, I sleep with you every day. If I’m not marrying you, then who else do you want to marry?”
I don’t want to marry anyone! I’m only nineteen, why get married!
Li Yaru shuddered, clutching the cashmere blanket to cover the absurd hickey on her body. Her lowered eyelashes trembled continuously, completely at a loss.
Her premonition had come true — this all revealed an absurd and terrifying truth.
She guessed it wouldn’t even last two years… she never thought she had that kind of charm to make Zhuang Qiting want to marry her.
“I don’t want to.” Zhuang Qiting looked at her avoiding and silent expression, and a flicker of frustration flared in his heart.
Li Yaru couldn’t respond, only burying herself deeper under the covers like an ostrich.
“Ah Rou.”
“Ask me.”
He grabbed her chin firmly, turning her face toward him, demanding she look at him as he asked in a low voice, “What are you thinking about?”
Li Yaru’s heart pounded wildly under the oppressive aura radiating from him.
Her cheeks still glowed pink from the bath, eyes soft and wet, like shimmering glass goblets, flickering and dodging. “I’m tired, I want to sleep…”
She wouldn’t even say a full sentence.
Zhuang Qiting’s eyes turned cold. He never imagined the day would come when he seriously wanted to marry a woman and was rejected without hesitation.
She never said no, but every look she gave expressed resistance. She never wanted to marry him— and didn’t want to marry him.
He was born a favored son of heaven.
His father controlled the Shenghui Empire with one hand, and his mother came from a prestigious bureaucratic family, wealthy beyond measure, mountains of gold and silver, yet he himself was penniless and naive, so he didn’t understand.
“I don’t want to marry you,” he said slowly.
Li Yaru looked utterly wronged. Her chin bore deep thumb marks from his grip.
She thought to herself, it was only natural she didn’t want to marry him— he was perverse and domineering, always slapping her bottom when she didn’t obey.
Was she supposed to be under his thumb forever?
But she didn’t dare say this. Instead, she whispered softly, “I’m still young. Getting married now is too early…”
“You’re not young anymore. My mother was only eighteen when she married my father.”
“That was a different era. This is a different era!”
“The difference isn’t that big.”
“…………”
Li Yaru’s body ached, her mind exhausted and confused. After love, the best thing was to relax and sleep soundly, but tonight she couldn’t sleep. She wouldn’t sleep tonight at all.
She exhaled dejectedly, searching for another excuse. “Mr. Zhuang, my parents won’t agree. In families like mine, marriages are alliances— matching social status and wealth. I’m just a small shrimp…”
Zhuang Qiting didn’t care. When she described herself as a small shrimp, he only found her incredibly cute.
He softened his tone and rubbed her cheek. “Don’t be afraid. If I want to marry someone, no one can stop me.”
If he had to give up his authority over marriage, he wasn’t fit to be a man, let alone run a group in the future. Besides, his parents weren’t stubborn traditionalists.
“I like refined, obedient, and well-behaved ladies. I’m not…”
“I’ll teach you,” he said gently.
Li Yaru didn’t answer, her face as sour as a bitter melon—bitter melons weren’t even this bitter.
“Marrying me wouldn’t be bad. If you marry me, you become Zhuang Tai Tai. Shenghui Group belongs to you. Doesn’t this greedy, lustful little beast tempt you? You could buy whatever you want, endless wealth is yours, and I guarantee to make you feel good every night.”
Li Yaru looked at him, embarrassed.
“You said you want to live by the sea. The Zhuang Residence is by the sea —ten times bigger than this. You could have a garden full of red camellias, keep dogs and cats however you want, even your own restaurant. I’ll invest for you; you could open branches worldwide. Your parents, siblings, relatives, and friends— all will be well taken care of. From now on, no one will dare bully you.”
Zhuang Qiting spoke calmly, listing the benefits. He actually thought it sounded good, even if the bribes were childish.
Li Yaru was held gently against his warm skin; his heat felt like electricity and wine, flowing through her. The cool sea breeze blew through the half-open window, dispersing the cloying sweetness.
Such a mature man, handsome and refined, gentle like this, made her heart slippery like a bar of soap, bursting into a string of bubbles.
Marrying him would definitely be good in every way. She wondered if this was just dumb luck.
But she hated how controlling he was—that was her biggest fear. And when he got angry, he was terrifying.
“But if you control me, you’re even more like a father than my own.”
“……………”
Zhuang Qiting’s eyes darkened. Whether she liked it or not, it was impossible.
“I control you because you don’t obey,” he said, lifting a hand to tap her forehead.
Yaru was stubborn.
What control? Who asked to listen to him?
She slipped like a fish into the warm bed, turning her back to him. “I’m going to sleep. I’m tired.”
She wasn’t tired at all.
Zhuang Qiting frowned, lips pressed tight. He felt this spoiled little thing was teasing him. His heart twisted with a sour ache, unable to vent.
How could such a young girl dare toy with him?
“Li Yaru.”
Yaru’s heart was already beating loudly. When he suddenly grew stern, the warning prelude, she flinched and frowned. “Can I even get any sleep…”
Zhuang Qiting swallowed hard, staring at her pouting red lips in silence for a few breaths. He restrained himself— tonight was not the right time to discuss this.
It was too abrupt. He’d wait a few days until she thought it through, then have a proper talk.
“Sleep,” he said, biting her earlobe and eliciting shivers.
Her ears were delicate, the nape of her neck delicate, her moist skin delicate— just not delicate in mind, rough and wild, both lovable and maddening.
Zhuang Qiting switched off the bedroom light, turned over, and lay down, his dark eyes wide in the dark, thinking who knows what.
…….
The next day, Li Yaru got up at ten, and Zhuang Qiting had already left. The food on the dining table was a single serving— simple but exquisite and expensive.
The red date bird’s nest porridge was fragrant and creamy.
A servant brought a fresh bouquet of purple irises. “The gentleman sent this for Miss.”
Li Yaru accepted it, her eyes dizzy from the romantic and rich purple. Inside the bouquet was a card.
She pulled it out and unfolded it. On white cardstock was a line of sharp, powerful penmanship:
【Ah Rou, give me your answer in three days. Don’t disappoint me. — Qiting】
Li Yaru frowned again. Why was he always so domineering and dictatorial?
For the next three days, Zhuang Qiting didn’t appear. Li Yaru didn’t know he had gone on a business trip to Japan. She continued attending school and coming to the restaurant as usual.
Her father’s surgery was successful; in two more days he could be discharged. Open-chest surgery was major, and he needed a long recovery to regain his strength.
When her uncle Li Rongsheng and his wife came to visit, Li Yaru stood guard like a fierce tigress, glaring at them.
The couple stammered but said nothing inappropriate. Li Yaru decided to wait until her father had recovered for three months before revealing everything.
As they left the ward, Li Yaru walked them out, casting a warning glance at her aunt. The aunt shrank behind her husband, snorted with a look full of resentment, fear, and disdain.
Li Yaru instantly grew unhappy. She’d endured Zhuang Qiting’s bullying and now relatives too? She wasn’t a doormat! She bluntly asked, “Aunt, what’s with that look?”
Li Rongsheng quickly smoothed things over. “It’s nothing, Ah Rou. Don’t mind my wife.”
The aunt looked at Li Yaru once more.
Li Yaru hated the uncle’s way of sweeping things under the rug and said frankly, “Aunt, if you have complaints, just say them. If it’s about me cutting Li Chengxiang’s hand, then no need to say more. I should be thanked. Now he’s behaving and doesn’t dare gamble thanks to me. Otherwise, all the savings you worked hard for would be gone.”
How dare she say that! The aunt felt stabbing pain thinking of her son’s mangled hand.
Though he was at fault, he didn’t deserve such cruel punishment, especially not from a girl who hadn’t even grown hair!
The aunt sneered sarcastically, “Oh, I wouldn’t dare. Dear niece, you’re quite the grown-up now— luxury car rides, big shots backing you, always full of style wherever you go!”
Li Yaru’s expression changed, growing cold. “What do you mean by that?”
The aunt sneered again, wrinkles forming on both sides of her nose, “Everyone knows you’ve hooked up with a big boss and are rising fast. But nowadays, it’s not like before where men could have three or four wives. Mistresses rarely end well. Dear niece, be careful—”
“That’s enough! Can you stop nagging? Let’s go home!” The uncle looked embarrassed, tugging his wife’s sleeve to push her toward the car.
He turned to apologize, “Ah Rou, don’t listen to my wife’s nonsense. She’s got a few screws loose. Let’s go home first. When your dad’s better, we’ll celebrate properly!”
Celebrate my ass.
Li Yaru gritted her teeth and shot the aunt a fierce glare. She was not one to take abuse.
Even if Zhuang Qiting bullied her, she would fight back. So no way would she stand for this from anyone else.
She held the car door, refusing to let the uncle close it and escape. “Yes, I’ve hooked up with the big boss. Aunt, don’t provoke me again. The big boss loves me to death. Whatever I say goes. Be careful, or I’ll report you and make him get revenge, throw your son into Victoria Harbour to feed the fish!”
With that, she slammed the door and walked away.
Li Yaru was relieved, but the whole day remained gloomy. She didn’t know how many rumors about her were spreading, or when those rumors would reach her parents.
She didn’t care, but people’s words were frightening. Li Rongliang and Lin Baojun were honest people who lived quietly.
If they knew their precious daughter was a sugar baby to a rich man, would they be disappointed? Probably yes.
Li Yaru sat on a bench in front of the restaurant, holding a half-melted ice cream cone, staring quietly at the bustling neon-lit street.
Zhuang Qiting said he wanted to marry her. Was she an idiot? He said it so easily— marry whoever he wanted.
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