Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Back when Fu Jing and I first got engaged, he allocated a property under his name for me to live in, mostly for the sake of appearances in the media.

He visited a few times after that to have dinner with me, but he never stayed the night.

The rest of the time, he lived in his private residence in the suburbs.

I had never been there.

In all likelihood, it wasn’t a place I was permitted to set foot in.

I pulled Fu Jing along as we staggered into the elevator. Leaning against the wall, I wrapped my arms around him.

“I’ll go in first. If he’s home, you run. Understand?”

The faint, drifting scent of sandalwood suddenly drew closer, brewing an ambiguous atmosphere.

He looked down, staring at me impassively. “Do you bring people home often?”

I gave him a meaningful smile. Of course not.

But I was sick of living a life under someone else’s thumb.

I was young, I liked looking at handsome men, and I wanted to date. Why should I have to live like a chaste widow just because Fu Jing loved someone else?

Ding!

The elevator arrived.

It took me two tries to enter the passcode correctly before the door opened.

The apartment was exactly as I had left it. The old minimalist gray style was long gone; the curtains had been replaced with primrose yellow, and the dining table was covered with a lace cloth.

I grabbed his tie and dragged him inside. “Heaven is truly on my side-”

Suddenly, Fu Jing clamped one hand around my waist and carried me into the bathroom.

“Put me down!”

Smack!

A loud slap landed on my backside. A tingling sensation spread from my lower back, itchy and hot.

“Stop it,” he scolded softly. He held me as he sat on the edge of the bathtub and started the hot water.

The warm yellow light of the bathroom traced the sharp contours of his face.

My heart skipped a beat. “Why do you look so much like my fiancé?”

Fu Jing’s eyelids flickered. In a few swift motions, he stripped me bare and pressed me into the warm water.

Like a cat suddenly touching water, I flailed wildly, trying to climb onto him.

Suddenly, I sobered up.

“Help! Murder! He’s killing his wife for the insurance money!”

He covered my mouth, rolled up his sleeves, and crouched beside the tub. “Thanks for the reminder. I’ll buy you a policy next time.”

He scrubbed my skin with brook-no-argument firmness, seemingly intent on washing away every trace of alcohol from my body.

I hooked my arms around his neck, and our eyes met.

Fu Jing’s movements stopped. That cold, ascetic face stared at me expressionlessly, waiting for my next move.

Under his dark, brooding gaze, I licked my lips. “You’re all wet…”

Fu Jing’s brow arched slightly. “And what should I do about that? Do you want to teach me?”

The moment my fingertips touched his Adam’s apple, I was passively swept into a blazing fire.

Fu Jing brushed back my sweat-soaked hair. He pinched my cheeks like he was squeezing a pufferfish. “Try flirting with someone else again. I dare you.”

I was sober enough now that my competitive streak was triggered.

I leaned in and blew softly into his ear. “Mr. Fu, if you’re so capable, why don’t you just devour me?”

Fu Jing’s eyes darkened instantly.

A few minutes later, the old sandalwood beads tapped lightly against the bathroom mirror, knocking out a rhythmic, elegant melody.

Fu Jing could lock both of my wrists with just one hand, pinning them easily above my head.

The sink and the marble walls were bone-chillingly cold.

I cried out in broken gasps, “Help… help… did you… really… buy that insurance…”

Fu Jing laughed and leaned down to kiss me. “Be good. If this is already killing you, we’ve barely even started.”

The process was too long and too complicated; some details had already become a blur.

By the time we were finished, it was well into the middle of the night.

My body felt heavy. I heard thunder outside the window, but I couldn’t open my eyes.

Fu Jing was on the phone with someone. A girl’s sobbing came through the receiver in intermittent bursts.

“Okay, don’t be afraid. I’m coming over.”

His voice was very soft, as if he were terrified of startling the person on the other end.

When I opened my eyes the next morning, the bed was empty.