I didn’t know when I fell asleep; all I knew was that when I woke up, the world was already bright with daylight.
The cluster of skyscrapers in Jianshazui reflected the sunlight, dazzling and blinding.
Li Yaru opened her eyes only to immediately shut them again, resting a moment before opening them once more.
She stayed in this harsh light for a moment, every inch of her body aching and tingling.
The absurd scenes from last night slowly surfaced in her mind, leaving no room for denial, nor any excuse to blame the madness on alcohol, impulse, or anything else.
At that moment, a heavy iron arm was still pressing on her waist, holding her possessively, the man’s body heat burning her skin.
Li Yaru didn’t bother thinking further. Gritting her teeth, she moved the arm away—and just as she shifted, she realized it wasn’t just that one arm; it had probably been there the entire night, unwilling to part.
She forcefully flipped over and sat up, looking down at Zhuang Qiting’s calm and satisfied sleeping face.
She pursed her lips, stared for a few seconds, then suddenly reached out and slapped him.
Zhuang Qiting had actually been awake for a while. His internal clock was fixed; no matter how wild the night had been, he still woke at seven sharp.
Pretending to sleep was just his way of not disturbing the rare tranquility, and also wanting to hold her, cling to her, savor this hard-won softness.
The slap landed on his face with a light “pop,” like swatting a fly—hardly painful, but angry and inexplicably baffling.
Zhuang Qiting’s eyes snapped open, his dark pupils locking onto Li Yaru’s furious glare.
Her lips pressed into a thin line; unwilling to speak, she slapped his right cheek again—this time on the opposite side, maintaining perfect symmetry.
“Li Yaru!” Zhuang Qiting hadn’t even figured out what was going on before she slapped him twice—on the face, no less.
This little thing had become completely unruly! Last night’s reckless abandon was one thing, but this was too much!
“What?” Li Yaru glared.
Zhuang Qiting raised a hand to his forehead, rolled his eyes, and adjusted his mood.
Normally, he would have scolded her by now, but this morning he only restrained his temper and spoke calmly and gently.
“Arou, if you’re going to hit me, at least give me a reason.”
“Put that ugly thing away.”
“……” A trace of embarrassment flashed across Zhuang Qiting’s face.
“Arou… it’s a normal reaction; I don’t want it either.”
Men are like this in the morning, especially when still holding onto someone.
He no longer lingered in bed, lying sprawled and uncomfortable, so he rolled over, grabbed a towel, and wrapped it around his waist.
“I’m going to take a shower. Babe. Or we can shower together.”
He leaned in, planning to kiss Li Yaru’s cheek.
Li Yaru looked at his refreshed, well-fed expression and felt her temper flare again.
She slapped his chin sharply, the crisp sound echoing near her ear.
“Who told you to shower in the room I booked? Who’s your babe? You leave now, or I’ll have someone kick you out.”
Zhuang Qiting took three inexplicable slaps in a row, wanting to get angry but unable to.
Afraid of provoking the little tiger before him, he could only soften his tone.
“Babe, didn’t we make love last night? You were so happy you cried.”
He pointed to his prominent, straight nose and chuckled lightly.
“I’m probably crooked from you pressing on me.”
Li Yaru clenched her fists; last night’s scenes flashed by.
His nose was indeed impressive.
Not only did he indulge her reckless desires, but he also knelt before her like a humble servant under her skirt…
“Stop with the nonsense.” Li Yaru turned away, cheeks flushing slightly.
Zhuang Qiting smiled slowly, sat back down, leaned in to kiss her cheek, and whispered gently, “Baby, let’s get back together. When should we remarry? I don’t want to be apart from you. Shall we?”
Li Yaru covered her face, rubbing it twice, and gave him a speechless side glance.
“Dreaming so early in the morning.”
Zhuang Qiting was helpless.
“We shared the same bed last night.”
Li Yaru smirked, tapping his eager chest, where red marks and bite marks from last night still lingered.
“Zhuang Boss, you’re already in your late forties. Can you stop being so childish? It was just sleeping with you for one night, and now you want to marry me?”
Zhuang Qiting said nothing; the fire in his eyes cooled as he quietly watched Li Yaru.
“Last night was just a one-night stand. Do you get it? One night.”
Zhuang Qiting clenched his fingers, feeling the presence of his wedding ring between them.
He swallowed hard.
“In my world, there’s no such thing as a one-night stand—only every night stands.”
Li Yaru snorted lightly.
She threw off the covers, letting her beautiful body be exposed to the air.
Her messy long curls draped over her front, jet black and creamy white intermingling, a striking visual contrast.
She rummaged through her bag, pulling out her wallet, and handed two thousand-dollar Hong Kong bills to Zhuang Qiting with a smile.
“Just consider this me buying you, Mr. Zhuang. You provided good service. If I need anything again, I’ll contact you. Two thousand is plenty—no bargaining. After all, you enjoyed yourself last night too.”
Zhuang Qiting was dumbfounded by the two bills.
Those were Shen Huiyin’s newly issued banknotes.
She was buying him for a night? Buying him? Two thousand bucks?
“I’m not a prostitute, Li Yaru.”
Zhuang’s tone was low, not wanting to get angry but clearly insulted.
Li Yaru shot back, “I ordered a prostitute last night.”
“You knew you ordered a prostitute?” He nearly ended up in the hospital after hearing that.
“Oh right! Derek, that old guy—you don’t have Li Yaru’s heart palpitations. What happened last night was her momentary madness. She called Derek over and then kicked him out. What else could happen?”
Zhuang Qiting stared at her coldly and sneered.
“Cut him into pieces.”
“Don’t talk nonsense! I nearly fainted on the bed.”
Zhuang Qiting’s heart tightened.
He quickly steadied her, unwilling to say anything more provocative.
“I’m kidding, I didn’t cut him up. He’s just staying in the next room. Baby, don’t let this kind of thing upset you. It’s not worth it. As long as he didn’t hurt you, I won’t do anything to him. Trust me.”
Li Yaru took a few deep breaths while Zhuang Qiting massaged her sore arm and continued in a low voice.
“Arou, do you know I almost went to the hospital last night? You can be mad at me, yell at me, hit me—but please don’t use these things to sulk. You know how dirty that kind of prostitute is?”
Li Yaru, of course, knew how filthy it was.
If she hadn’t been sulking with him, how could she have done such a reckless thing?
“Then you’re the clean one.”
“No matter what you believe, you’re the only woman I’ll ever have in my life.”
No matter how insatiable his desires, tossing and turning in bed late at night, he never had any other thoughts.
In his heart, only Li Yaru would share this feeling with him.
Li Yaru belonged to him, and he belonged to Li Yaru.
She was silent for a moment, looking at him with complex eyes before lowering them, long lashes resting softly.
Her heart was in an unprecedented turmoil.
Last night’s madness had spiraled out of control.
She had to admit that her feelings for Zhuang Qiting were extremely complicated.
Their decades-long entanglement couldn’t be resolved with a simple cut, not even a divorce decree could sever it.
Absolute physical attraction, tangled expectations, shameful dependence, the passionate impulses he so easily provoked, her unwillingness to let go, competitiveness, years of grievances and stubbornness—all mixed into a monster deeply rooted within her.
“Baby.” Zhuang Qiting didn’t know what she was thinking but patiently waited.
Li Yaru shot him an irritated glance.
Enough with the “baby” stuff or you’ll get slapped again.
Zhuang Qiting understood the resentment in her eyes and smiled helplessly.
This man really was very clean, excellent at serving her.
Nowadays, he no longer wielded power with brute force but retracted his claws.
He even softened his usual domineering style, pampering her like heaven—best of all, for free.
“Alright.” Suddenly, Li Yaru made up her mind and nodded.
Alright. She said yes.
Zhuang Qiting found it hard to believe Li Yaru had truly come back.
Warmth rose in his dark eyes; he was inexplicably moved and excited.
“Okay, okay. Baby, let’s go get the marriage certificate tomorrow. Or do you want to pick an auspicious date? We can throw another wedding banquet, you can wear the wedding dress again, and not miss a single step.
I’ll have people prepare everything immediately.
We’ll order a new set of wedding rings, including a new diamond ring.
We’ll even retake wedding photos—you like Tanzania, right?
We can go to Africa for the shoot, how about that?”
He rattled off a long list.
Li Yaru laughed outright.
Having figured it all out, she felt relaxed and comfortable.
Her lazy eyes held a hint of charm as she pinched Zhuang Qiting’s still-handsome old face.
“What I mean is, you did well last night.
I permit you to be my bed companion, to satisfy me when I need it.”
“As for remarrying, no.”
Zhuang Qiting’s face instantly darkened, his expression ugly.
Li Yaru stretched comfortably, eyes half-closed.
Last night was tiring but truly enjoyable.
She was too lazy to engage with Zhuang Qiting and walked barefoot toward the bathroom, saying,
“I’m taking a shower. You want to shower, go next door. Don’t use mine.”
Zhuang Qiting swallowed hard.
His dark gaze, like a deep pool, slowly followed Li Yaru.
The snow-white skin bore marks made by his lips and teeth.
He had been passionate last night.
His wife, lost and then found, lying in his arms.
He only wanted to mark every inch of her, possess her, so she’d never leave again.