A Twisted Love Affair
Chapter 27: Missing the young lady?"_1

Chapter 27: Missing the young lady?"_1

The destination was Ao City.

It was Chen Yao who picked her up.

Chen Yao said, "He’s still out discussing business. He didn’t know you’d arrive so late. His driver waited all day for you to finish work."

The way Chen Yao put it, the driver sounded exceptionally polite.

Originally, Chen Yao had mentioned taking her to see the seabed, and this time he didn’t forget to ask.

Chen Yao swept aside his neat, short hair. "Why isn’t Xing Fei coming? She’s fun."

Chen Yao had a fiancée, and Xing Fei didn’t like to get too close to him, fearing it would cause trouble.

Shen Jing didn’t explain fully, simply claiming to be busy.

Chen Yao said, "A 200-meter submarine tour. Want to go?"

Sightseeing submarines could go deeper, just not *too* deep.

Shen Jing had thalassophobia.

She had come but hadn’t seen Zhou Luchen yet. Just going underwater can’t be that terrifying, she thought, so she decided to join Chen Yao.

It was purely out of curiosity.

Outside the glass window, lights illuminated deep-sea fish, but Shen Jing didn’t dare to take a single look.

Chen Yao said, "We can go even deeper."

Shen Jing turned, glanced once at a vividly colored fish, then quickly looked away.

"No deeper."

Chen Yao noticed her distress and quickly had them return to the surface.

When the submarine surfaced, Shen Jing’s legs felt like jelly.

Chen Yao had no idea her thalassophobia was so severe.

She gripped the railing, unable to utter a word, and nearly gagged with a sound like "URGH!"

She couldn’t understand why she had agreed to Chen Yao’s offer to see the seabed.

In just one hour, it felt as if she had lost her soul.

This time, however, the beauty was leaning against the bar, her hands too weak to support her on the countertop, her fine eyebrows knitted tightly.

When Zhou Luchen returned, this was the delicate, pitiable sight of Shen Jing that greeted him.

He stood in the doorway, observing her with a cool, detached gaze.

Shen Jing wore a black cheongsam embroidered with gold, featuring small, round, diagonally fastened buttons. A simple rose hairpin held her hair in an updo, revealing her fair, elegant neck and accentuating her willow-like grace.

The hand holding her water glass trembled. She repeatedly brought the glass to her lips, crystal droplets moistening their pale surface.

Zhou Luchen’s expression was neutral, a faint, mocking smile playing on his lips at her timidity.

She muttered softly, "Those deep-sea fish are hideous and terrifying."

Zhou Luchen extended a hand, slowly and unhurriedly helping her up.

Reservedly, Shen Jing placed her hand on his arm. The man’s shirt sleeves were rolled up, revealing the hard lines of his muscles. Her fingers inadvertently brushed against the cool metal of the mechanical watch on his wrist, and the icy sensation made her fingertips twitch.

He remained silent.

Shen Jing glanced at Zhou Luchen from the corner of her eye. "Why did you ask me here?"

It was Chen Yao, standing nearby, who chimed in enthusiastically, "Last time, I verbally promised you a 1,000-meter dive. As it happens, the sightseeing submarine is available."

"What’s wrong? Don’t you like to go out and have fun? Staying in one city all the time is so stifling," Chen Yao added, his tone light and cheerful.

Shen Jing gazed at Zhou Luchen’s profile and couldn’t help but think.

Do people like Zhou Luchen ever truly have worries? No. Definitely not. They can go wherever they please. It’s just swapping one scene of lavish indulgence for another. They don’t need to struggle for a living, nor would they ever be trapped by emotions. Their path is a highway paved like the roads of Rome. Even when he’s out negotiating deals, everyone knows his father is Zhou Zhengliang. It’s an invisible green light for him.

Chen Yao sat on the sofa, carefully unwrapping a box of cigars. He offered one to Zhou Luchen. "Try this. New product. Definitely stronger than ’Heaven and Earth’."

Zhou Luchen didn’t take it.

Chen Yao leaned closer to Zhou Luchen and whispered, "Back so early? Missing that little lady of yours?"

A faint smile touched Zhou Luchen’s lips, but he didn’t respond to the banter. Instead, he swiftly wrapped an arm around Shen Jing’s waist and led her away.

"There are things in the sea that aren’t ugly," he murmured, his voice deep and husky near her ear. "I’ll take you to see them."

The "not ugly" creature Zhou Luchen spoke of was a dolphin.

When Shen Jing was on the shore feeding fish to the dolphins, those creatures, despite looking adorably goofy, were even more mischievous than Zhou Luchen, playfully flicking their tails up.

Shen Jing was nearly kissed by a bold dolphin that rushed ashore. Just as it was about to reach her, Zhou Luchen took his hand from his trouser pocket. His tall frame bent down, shielding her as he pressed down on the dolphin’s snout and pushed it back into the water.

Shen Jing turned her head, looking up at him.

A hint of amusement danced in the depths of his eyes, an unsettling flicker that ignited a fire in her heart.

For a moment, I almost thought his possessiveness had flared up, that he wouldn’t allow even a dolphin to kiss me, she mused.

Shen Jing, feigning coyness, asked playfully, "You won’t let it kiss me?"

"No." He pinched her waist hard, his touch dispassionate.

It tickled. Helpless against him, Shen Jing let out a soft cry, and he pinched even harder.

His voice was low, devoid of warmth. "Mine."

Shen Jing tilted her head back, nestling into the most comfortable position in his embrace. "Then whose are you?"

Zhou Luchen chuckled softly. A few seconds later, even the air seemed to fall silent.

In the two days they had spent together, she had noticed many of Zhou Luchen’s little habits, like his preference for ice water with lemon—something Chen Yao was particularly good at preparing. He also liked to stay up late. From their conversations, she gathered that Zhou Luchen kept a fierce falcon abroad, one he doted on immensely, even though the bird wasn’t particularly obedient.

Zhou Luchen’s judgment also seemed lacking, she thought, since he apparently couldn’t see that Shen Jing was prettier than Lu Siyuan.

In truth, Shen Jing didn’t understand him at all. She didn’t understand his moods, or the source of the fleeting interest that sometimes tugged at the corner of his lips, nor could she fathom why he could turn so cold and distant in an instant.

Zhou Luchen had a business deal he was negotiating in Ao City, but it hadn’t been finalized.

His secretary came for two days and then left, replaced by a new group of executives. The negotiations had dragged on, and the other party was waiting for Zhou Luchen to make a decision, but he kept putting it off.

Instead, he spent his days and nights with her—they went to Black Beach, out sea fishing, and to Hong Kong to see the light show.

One day, it was the Double Ninth Festival, and she dragged Zhou Luchen to Hong Kong to watch a puppet show.

The Bentley drove along Nathan Road.

Looking left or right, Nathan Road seemed steeped in stories.

Inside the car, Shen Jing propped her face with her hand, quietly watching the man beside her tapping away on his laptop.

Zhou Luchen sat almost perfectly straight, his posture exuding pride. His shirt was open at the collar, the black fabric highlighting his aristocratic air and revealing the strikingly pale skin of his neck. As his arms moved slightly to type, the lines of his collarbones deepened.

He looked every inch the imperious business magnate, one who could command fortunes with a flick of his wrist.

Shen Jing tried to chat with him about Hong Kong.

"This is my second time here."

He merely hummed in response, his expression cool and distant.

Deciding not to disturb him further, Shen Jing rested her chin on her hand and gazed at the streetscape outside. She asked the driver, "Uncle Li, is this entire road Nathan Road?"

The driver, Uncle Li, replied, "Yes, it’s 3.6 kilometers long."

Nathan Road stretched all the way from Crown Prince to Tsim Sha Tsui.

Shen Jing told the driver, "I have a terrible sense of direction. I can never remember which road is which; it’s so hard to keep track."

The driver said, "You can look for the signs. Nathan Road has many white street signs."

"Oh, really?" she murmured, glancing out the window.

Zhou Luchen’s hand covered her shoulder, pulling her closer until she was directly under his gaze. A barely perceptible smile touched his lips. "I’ll teach you."

"Hm?"

How would he teach me? she wondered.

The privacy partition between the front and back seats was already up.

She couldn’t help but look up at him in surprise.

"I’ll make you remember it for the rest of your life," Zhou Luchen said.

Shen Jing sat up a little straighter, a flicker of anticipation in her eyes as she blinked. "Then you..."

Before she could finish her sentence, his hand suddenly cupped the back of her head, and he leaned in, crushing his lips against hers.

His upper body trapped her in the corner of the seat, pressing her against the car window.

Through her dazed, upturned eyes, she saw his languid, arrogant brow arch slightly as he watched her struggle for breath. Deep within his captivating, peach-blossom eyes, a profound mockery lingered.

The car window hadn’t been closed yet. Shen Jing caught a glimpse of passing pedestrians out of the corner of her eye, and a wave of embarrassment made her unconsciously clutch at the fine fabric of his shirt.

How could he kiss her like this? Passersby could see everything!

Zhou Luchen was so tall and imposing that she had no chance to catch her breath. He seemed to be toying with her like a cat with a mouse; seeing her panic, his kiss deepened with a deliberate, almost cruel intensity.

Her pinned-up hair had come undone, spilling over his hand as it cupped the back of her head.

His breathing was heavy and ragged, his scent enveloping her.

After what felt like an eternity, he finally gave her a chance to breathe. Their foreheads touched, and he gazed at her glistening lips through half-closed eyes, a smirk spreading across his face.

Now Shen Jing understood. What he wanted her to remember for a lifetime was this kiss, stretching all the way from Crown Prince to Tsim Sha Tsui. From that moment on, she knew she would indeed remember the 3.6 kilometers of Nathan Road for the rest of her life.

However, they were photographed by paparazzi.

Countless paparazzi in Hong Kong were lying in wait for any scandalous news about the Zhou Family’s second son; word of his arrival in Hong Kong for business talks had spread like wildfire.

Zhou Luchen wasn’t afraid in the slightest; in fact, he was brazenly open about their interactions.

To outsiders, it appeared as though Young Master Zhou doted on her so much that he had no interest in discussing actual business.

Whenever she accompanied him to formal business events, people looked at her as if she were a femme fatale leading him to ruin.

On the surface, they would offer compliments like, "Young Master Zhou’s friend is quite beautiful."

Friend, she noted. They never used the word ’girlfriend’.

Shen Jing pinched Zhou Luchen’s arm. It couldn’t have hurt, she thought, but the corners of his mouth lifted into a smile, as if he was content to let her.

But Shen Jing knew the truth in her heart. Zhou Luchen wasn’t behaving like this because of her.

The Zhou Family wanted him to secure the project with Party A in Ao City. But he was stubbornly focused only on negotiating the project with Party B from Hong Kong. He even refused to meet Party A’s chairman, blatantly stalling. On the surface, he seemed immersed in a life of hedonistic pleasure, yet he was covertly meeting with Party B to draft contracts—all done quite openly, as if he had nothing to hide.

One day, Party A’s chairman personally came calling, knocking on the door of Zhou Luchen’s hotel suite.

Zhou Luchen didn’t even raise an eyebrow. He calmly brewed a pot of tea for his guest but didn’t ask a single question about the collaboration.

The chairman from Party A eventually left, seething with suppressed frustration, yet still having to maintain a polite tone with Zhou Luchen.

Shen Jing had overheard everything. After the disgruntled chairman and his entourage left, she tiptoed out of the bedroom and hugged Zhou Luchen from behind.

"That old chairman looked livid, but he didn’t dare show it."

Zhou Luchen lightly flicked the ash from his cigarette with an index finger, a smirk playing on his lips. "Well, I do have a demoness by my side, constantly meddling in my important affairs."

Shen Jing playfully pretended to bite the long fingers he’d used to flick the ash, but he smoothly evaded her.

"I’m not a demoness."

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