A Twisted Love Affair
Chapter 131: Is she your girlfriend?_1

Chapter 131: Is she your girlfriend?_1

Zhou Luchen reached out, pinching her chin to turn her face towards him properly.

"Still acting up, are we?"

His grip was strong, causing Shen Jing pain. Her eyelids drooped as if wilted. "I’m not acting up," she said. "I’ll listen to you. I didn’t get a single drop of rain on me; I’m safe and sound."

Zhou Luchen looked at her. "Crying on the highway? Who were you trying to scare to death?"

Shen Jing paused, not understanding his words for a moment, and pointed to her own eyes.

"Swollen, aren’t they?"

She naturally had slight bags under her eyes and thin eyelids. After crying, the swelling would be obvious, the rims of her eyes becoming even more delicately red and puffy.

A radiant, yet fragile appearance.

One would take the time to comfort even a cat, let alone such a beautiful person.

Zhou Luchen’s lips curved into a smile. He gestured to his embrace as if bestowing a favor. "Come here for a hug. I’ll comfort you properly."

Shen Jing lowered her head, picking at a few grains of rice. "We’ll hug when we get home."

Although, she really wanted him to hug her, to coddle her, to brush away the memories from the highway. But there were just too many people around, and it would be too indiscreet.

Zhou Luchen played with the wine glass in his hand. "Not going home."

"Where are you staying these days?" Shen Jing asked.

He chuckled. "Anywhere can be home."

Someone came over to pour wine, bending down to clink glasses with Zhou Luchen, and casually inquired, "Girlfriend?"

Zhou Luchen looked towards Shen Jing, his tone playful. "Is that so?"

Shen Jing mimicked his tone, questioning him back.

"You tell me, is that so?"

Zhou Luchen didn’t answer. Calm and composed, he took a small teapot from the waiter and poured hot tea over a freshly served platter of thinly sliced rare beef. "Try it."

Shen Jing simply said, "Oh," and tried a piece of the beef.

The beef slices, steeped in the hot tea freshly poured by Young Master Zhou, mingled with the cool and refreshing aroma of the tea. They were tender and exquisitely fine.

"Can we have another serving?"

Zhou Luchen tilted his head and instructed the waiter, "Go get it."

His close friend, receiving no answer, raised his glass with a smile and left, not wanting to disturb them.

Shen Jing didn’t know anyone, so she didn’t bother trying to socialize, just ate like a normal person without any pretense.

The night sea breeze wasn’t very strong; occasionally, the CHIRPS of dolphins leaping from the sea could be heard. Around her, men and women were spending money like water.

After she was full, she looked up and found Zhou Luchen still watching her.

She picked up a white silk handkerchief from beside her and handed it to Zhou Luchen, bringing her face close to his. "Help me wipe."

Zhou Luchen was silent for a moment, then took the handkerchief, a slight, exasperated smile playing on his lips at her audacity.

Yet he wiped her mouth anyway. He gently pinched her chin with his left hand, using the silk handkerchief in his right to dab the corners of her lips, seemingly oblivious to how tender and indulgent his actions were.

Shen Jing thought of those sickeningly sweet fairy tales. Yes. That’s how Zhou Luchen made her feel: unreal yet beautiful, like a dream. Fairy tales, fairy tales, they deceive you with the beauty of love. Back in reality, he would only weigh the pros and cons, deciding where to place you based on your worth. So envious, so envious of Zhou Luchen. How did he always carry that detachment, allowing him to scoff at common folk? His indulgences, his way of playing with the world—it was all fine, and people still loved him.

She looked up at Zhou Luchen and smiled faintly. "What if I hadn’t taken the pill that day? What then?"

He put down the handkerchief and asked offhandedly, "How many did you take?"

She had taken them. Two pills to dodge fate.

"Didn’t Zhuang Ming give you a report?" she said.

A smile reached Zhou Luchen’s eyes. He leaned back on the sofa, his arm draped casually over the backrest. He only lifted the whisky glass in his hand to his lips as he watched Shen Jing.

He was with her in such a hazy way, unknowingly enticed by her.

Shen Jing stirred the juice in her glass with a straw, then stood up and faced the railing, looking out at the sea and feeling the cool wind.

She felt slightly out of place here, unable to drink alcohol and not used to being chummy with strangers.

She had just heard it was the young master of the Xie Family from Beijing visiting Shanghai, and that was what led to this yacht party.

People came and went around them. Many were fawning over Zhou Luchen, toasting him and showering him with endless flattery and eager attention. Yet, he remained unfazed and abstained from drinking.

"Do you have any clothes?" Shen Jing asked him. "I’m going to take a bath."

He replied calmly, "Wear mine."

"It’s too big," Shen Jing refused. "It’ll ruin my beauty."

Zhou Luchen looked at her, smiled faintly, and raised a finger to instruct the waiter, "Take her there."

Shen Jing followed the waiter to a bedroom upstairs.

Having been trapped on the highway, she felt sticky and uncomfortable all over, only wishing to wash herself clean.

Indeed, they had clothes prepared for women.

Shen Jing came out of the shower and was drying her hair in front of the mirror.

The man took the hairdryer from her. With a cigarette held between his lips, he freed a hand to gently dry and smooth her hair.

Shen Jing stood dazed, letting him do as he pleased, silently watching their two faces reflected in the mirror.

Zhou Luchen had deep-set, wide double eyelids. When he wasn’t smiling, they made him appear indifferent and aloof. An unconscious glance from him could make people feel inferior.

He gently smoothed her hair; it felt soft and pliant. He seemed to be in a good mood, showing a rare tenderness for beautiful things.

Shen Jing, afraid of being burnt by his cigarette again, reached out her hand.

Zhou Luchen was slightly puzzled but eventually handed the cigarette to her. She pinched it out, then smiled contentedly.

Zhou Luchen really didn’t understand what made her happy.

"What if there really is a child, Zhou Luchen?"

Zhou Luchen curled his lips and scoffed, "If it happens, I’ll stop doing *that* to you from now on."

His words were blunt. Nor was his apology heartfelt.

"What about in the past?" Shen Jing turned to look at him and asked. "Were you like this with others? Did you ask them to take the pill?"

Zhou Luchen put down the hairdryer, not saying whether he had been with others or not.

He rubbed her waist and pressed her against the glass. "That was the first time I’d done *that* with you. Show some sense."

To Young Master Zhou, it seemed that deigning to give someone his attention was the greatest of blessings.

The glass was cold. Trapped in his hold, Shen Jing struggled to shift into a more comfortable position, barely able to move.

Before she had settled, Zhou Luchen clasped her wrist with one hand, lifting it over her head and pressing her against the glass.

"You can’t toy with feelings like this. You must follow the rules of the flirtation game. Don’t force me to cross the line by getting pregnant," she said, her eyes brimming with self-satisfied laughter. "The young mistress of the Zhou Family is destined for a lifetime of wealth and nobility. That includes my child’s future, which is guaranteed to be one of exalted status. When there’s a great ship sailing smoothly to the shores of Rome, who would choose to swim naked across the sea?"

He knew she was saying it on purpose.

Zhou Luchen laughed. "Are you moved by that?"

Shen Jing looked at him. "Aren’t you afraid I might actually do something like that, Second Young Master?"

RING!

Someone rang the doorbell at that moment.

The two, who had been pressed closely together in a tense moment, both relaxed at the interruption and shared a smile.

"We’ll continue when we get home," Shen Jing murmured, straightening her clothes and passing Zhou Luchen with a laugh to answer the door.

Standing at the door was Xie Qinyang. "I couldn’t find Achen and was getting bored."

Shen Jing responded with a cool "Oh."

Xie Qinyang’s smile faltered. What did that "oh" imply?

Xie Qinyang naturally wouldn’t bother with such personal matters out of boredom; he really had just come to find Zhou Luchen.

"I only come to Shanghai occasionally, and it’s like pulling teeth trying to find you," Xie Qinyang said, sounding somewhat insistent.

In the end, Zhou Luchen came out.

Shen Jing also went out and ended up playing billiards with Xie Qinyang.

She kept saying she didn’t know how, but insisted she was easy to teach.

How could she not know? Xing Fei was an expert and had taught her well.

One shot, and a ball sank into the pocket.

As she turned around, Zhou Luchen’s figure had disappeared again.

The yacht was vast, but Shen Jing had no interest in seeking him out; finding him would do no good.

Xie Qinyang chalked his cue tip. "Your accent... sometimes it has that soft Southern lilt, other times it’s got a strong Beijing twang. What’s with that?"

People in Shanghai never used the ’erhua’ sound. She definitely wasn’t a local.