A Twisted Love Affair
Chapter 68: Let President Zhou roll out the carpet for you_1

Chapter 68: Let President Zhou roll out the carpet for you_1

Shen Jing had slept too much during the day and now found herself wide awake at night. She tied the sash of her pajamas, sat at the bar, and began to peel an orange. He refused to share a bed with her. It wasn’t that he pitied her; he simply couldn’t sleep with her.

MEOW.

Miaomiao jumped into Shen Jing’s arms, acting spoiled.

She stroked the cat’s fur. "It’s sour. You can’t eat it."

Miaomiao twitched her whiskers and settled down.

Xing Fei started a video call; they were both night owls.

"Jingjing isn’t coming back?"

Shen Jing lowered her head, carefully peeling the pith from the orange. "She’s sick."

Xing Fei, on the other side of the screen, eyed her suspiciously. "Sick where? You look quite fair-skinned."

Shen Jing popped an orange segment into her mouth. "Bad back."

"Where did you fall?"

"The floor."

Xing Fei’s brow suddenly smoothed. "Is the floor in Young Master Zhou’s mansion that slippery? Tell him to carpet the whole place. What if you fall again?"

Shen Jing, who was lying, glanced down at the plush, hand-woven silk carpet on the floor. A smile was clearly on her face, but her heart felt no joy. "He’s being cold to me," she said. "He’d rather work in the study than come out and chat. And I’m too embarrassed to go in and disturb him."

As she spoke, she reached for a tissue. Just then, Zhou Luchen’s back moved out of the camera’s view.

Zhou Luchen came out for some ice water. He only saw her back as she sat at the bar eating an orange. His brows furrowed slightly before he indifferently pushed the door open and returned to the study.

Shen Jing shifted, her back easily growing sore and numb from prolonged sitting. Ever since she met Zhou Luchen, her back hadn’t known a single pain-free day.

She walked slowly to the cupboard to rummage for snacks. "Help me ask for a few more days off."

"Sure."

"It’s a good thing you’re not here. Feng Jian came to the teahouse again." Xing Fei complained, viciously pinching a pillow. "Oh my god! He said that since you and I are friends, he actually tried to borrow money from me! If I refused, he threatened to make a scene at the teahouse. So shameless!"

Shen Jing had expected as much. "You didn’t give him any, did you?"

Xing Fei replied, "I didn’t. I’m not stupid. I called the police, and they persuaded him to leave. But the next day, he cornered me at my doorway, threatening that if I called the police again, he’d ’deal with me.’"

Xing Fei continued to vent, indignant on Shen Jing’s behalf about the disastrous stepfather her mother had left her with. He would do anything for money.

Xing Fei asked, "How have you managed all these years? How much money has Feng Jian squeezed out of you?"

If she didn’t give Feng Jian money, he would threaten and bully her, even making a scene in front of her grandmother. She had reported him to the police, but Feng Jian would adamantly claim he had provided for her, so she was obligated to give him money. It was a family matter the local officials found hard to settle, so it always ended up unresolved. Shen Jing didn’t want to dwell on it.

Living in Yunding, she’d never have to interact with Feng Jian. But he would inevitably harass her friends and colleagues in Su City.

Leaning lazily against the wall, she too felt annoyed. After a moment, she looked down at the cat. "Miaomiao, go and knock on the door for me..."

MEOW.

Shen Jing pointed to the door. Miaomiao seemed to understand and hesitated at the study entrance.

MEOW. MEOW.

Miaomiao looked up and meowed faintly, but the door remained closed.

Shen Jing couldn’t bring herself to ask. She knew Zhou Luchen could solve this, but she didn’t know how to ask him to help with such personal matters.

"Never mind, Miaomiao. Come back."

MEOW.

The door was soundproof; he probably hadn’t heard.

Just as Shen Jing turned away, BEEP BEEP. The door unlocked.

It seemed he had mercifully decided to open it.

Miaomiao lifted a front paw and gently nudged the door open.

"Come here," he commanded.

Shen Jing murmured an affirmative, bent down to pick up the cat, and walked in with light steps.

The light cast flickering shadows.

The man stepped out of the adjoining bathroom, a bath towel loosely wrapped around his waist. Droplets of water slid from the damp strands of hair on his forehead, tracing the line of his cheekbone, then his chest, before disappearing silently into the center of the towel.

Mysterious, sensual.

He paid it no mind, taking a cigarette from a pack and placing it between his lips. His still-damp fingertips pressed the lighter. CLICK. He lit the cigarette and took a slow drag.

Even the simplest, most casual actions, when performed by him, were breathtaking. Shen Jing couldn’t help but swallow hard.

His deep-set eyes held a hint of teasing as they rested on her. "Still coming on to me with that bad back of yours?"

Shen Jing moved closer to him. "Can’t we just lie together and do nothing?"

Zhou Luchen had a dissipated look on his face. "Can you handle that?"

She said resolutely, "I can."

On second thought, she probably couldn’t. As long as Zhou Luchen didn’t try to seduce her... But then again, he didn’t need to try. His mere breath near her ear was like an addictive drug.

Zhou Luchen sat on the sofa, his long legs arrogantly spread, patting the space on his thigh.

Shen Jing approached and knelt half on him.

Zhou Luchen pinched her side. Her waist was so soft and slender, his palm almost encircled it. "So thin. What if I break your waist, hmm?" His arrogant gaze lifted to meet hers.

Shen Jing met his gaze. "Can’t you be gentler? These past few days, I haven’t even dared to look my therapist in the eye."

He flicked his cigarette ash with an air of indifference. "They know their limits. They know what to say and what not to say."

The therapist was a woman nearing forty who came every afternoon to massage Shen Jing’s waist. Whenever Shen Jing saw the therapist’s expression—as if she’d never encountered such a waist injury before—she felt too embarrassed to chat.

"I’ve lost all face."

Zhou Luchen held the cigarette between his lips. "I’ll earn it back for you."

She whined weakly, "I want you to."

Through the haze of smoke, his expression was indifferent. "Isn’t being Zhou Luchen’s woman enough for you?"

She saw the devil-may-care smile in his eyes, a reminder that she was *his* woman. Those words carried profound implications, hinting at an ambiguous and complex relationship. Shen Jing pouted. It’s not like I’m his girlfriend.

MEOW.

Zhou Luchen’s brow twitched, his dark, deep eyes casting a brief, disdainful glance at the small creature.

"Get rid of the cat," he ordered.

Shen Jing obediently bent down and put Miaomiao on the floor. "Behave now. Young Master Zhou just bathed and is practicing abstinence. Don’t go near him. Besides, you shed too much." Her words were a clear dig at him for leaving her to sleep alone in the next room.

Zhou Luchen let out a short laugh and pulled her down to sleep with him on the sofa.

Dawn was only a few hours away. Shen Jing lay on his hard, bare chest, caught between drowsiness and wakefulness, unsure where to place her hands. She decided not to bring up the matter with Feng Jian.

He had to be at the Union for meetings by 10 AM every day. His departure time depended on when the meetings ended, which sometimes wasn’t until eight or nine at night. The Union’s operations spanned numerous European and American countries; it was no simple affair.

Once Zhou Luchen left, the room would feel desolate. It had been like this for days.

Decisively, Shen Jing invited Liang Yingning and her friends over to play mahjong.

They just chatted and listened to Liang Yingning complain about Chen Yao.

"Have you seen his Moments? He’s off gallivanting abroad with Song Tingting, riding hot air balloons! If it exploded mid-air, honestly, I’d be a happy widow," Liang Yingning laughed.

When Shen Jing turned to look at her, she clearly saw the bitterness in Liang Yingning’s eyes. "You haven’t actually fallen for him, have you?"

At that moment, Liang Yingning avoided her gaze. She casually declared mahjong with a winning hand, deftly changing the subject. "We’re getting engaged on New Year’s Day. I’m going to tie him down for good."

Shen Jing asked, "Will that make you happy? Is there really no escape from arranged marriages in your circles?"

Liang Yingning shrugged. "How can I escape? The elders in our families only care about a good match between families of equal standing. They insist on thoroughly vetting the other person’s character. Anyway, I’ve made my peace with it."

After a full round, Shen Jing had consistently lost, not winning a single game.

The next day, Liang Yingning didn’t dare to come. "Unlucky in love, lucky at cards," she’d said. "The saying never lies!"

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