Chapter 71: I Don’t Like Forcing People

He paused slightly as he was drinking water, turning his head to look at her.

The light was bright as day, but the sharp black eyes were filled with an impenetrable darkness. During those ten seconds of silence,Shuangxu’s heart was performing a nervous dance.

After a while, He Tingzhou set down the half-cup of water, turned around and leaned against the bar, his demeanor already returning to his usual casualness.

“You discovered it, huh?” he said. “So what now? Are you going to sell yourself to me?”

He didn’t deny it.

Shuangxu’s heart skipped a beat, the tense nerves waiting for the verdict relaxed.

“Yes,” she replied without hesitation. “If you can agree to help, I can sell myself to you.”

He Tingzhou crossed his arms and stared at her silently for a while: “For Shen Yu, you can do anything, huh?”

“This isn’t for my brother,”Shuangxu said. “This is for my foster father.”

He Tingzhou glanced at her calmly for a few seconds, then stood up and walked towards her.

The dark gray slippers on his feet stopped at the tip of her shoes,Shuangxu instinctively took half a step back, her waist being hooked.

His fingers were long and strong, with a temperature distinctly different from hers, resting on her waist, causing the skin there to involuntarily tighten.

He Tingzhou lowered his head slightly, his eyelashes casting a thick shadow, obscuring his eye color.

He dropped two words: “Kiss me.”

A flash of bewilderment passed through Shuangxu’s eyes, was it starting already?

For some reason, she suddenly froze like a statue, her breathing becoming unnatural under He Tingzhou’s direct gaze.

He Tingzhou let go of her, his cool voice as if the previous interaction was just a test for her: “If you’re not ready, why do you act like you’re going to give yourself to me?”

Then he walked past her and sat down in the living room.

Shuangxu stood there for a few seconds, turned around, and walked straight to him. He Tingzhou looked up at her, Shuangxu pressed against his shoulder, pushing him onto the sofa.

He Tingzhou leaned back against the sofa with her force, saying nothing, only raising his eyebrows slightly.

Shuangxu was very uncertain, she couldn’t even grasp a single bit of He Tingzhou’s thoughts.

She was walking on a field of cotton, unable to see whether the ground beneath her feet was solid support or a deadly trap.

But she knew what she came here for, compared to the kindness of the Shen family, everything else was insignificant.

This villa was too quiet, so quiet that it was frightening, only the sound of her accelerated breathing due to nervousness remained.

The humiliation of being drugged and forced to make love, only to be rejected, was still fresh in her mind. At that time, she was still under the control of the drug’s effects, so it was understandable to do those embarrassing things. Now she was in a clear state of mind, knowing exactly what she was doing.

She knelt on the sofa beside him, holding his shoulders, her heart steeled, she mustered her courage and leaned in to kiss him.

He Tingzhou remained motionless, letting her approach.

At the moment they were about to touch, he raised his wrist, his tiger’s mouth accurately clamping onto Shuangxu’s face.

His gaze lifted from her lips that had been bitten red by her own teeth, his eyes as deep as a night sky without a single star.

“That death-defying look of yours makes me feel like I’m a piece of shit.”

“I…”Shuangxu didn’t know how he interpreted it, “I didn’t think of you as shit.”

He Tingzhou: “Then I should thank you?”

“Are you going to continue?”Shuangxu asked.

He Tingzhou looked at her silently for a moment, grabbed one of her legs and lifted it, lifting her onto the sofa beside him, not gently but not brutally either.

He got up and went upstairs: “I don’t like forcing people.”

So, was he rejecting the deal?

Shuangxu was alone in the quiet living room, she sat quietly for a moment, then stood up and walked out of He Tingzhou’s house.

When the Shen family was prosperous, their home was bustling with visitors, everyone who saw Shen Yu would respectfully call him “Young Master Shen.” When Shen Changyuan fell from grace, there were many new faces that he had never seen before.

There were those who were opportunistic, those who were covetous, and many who were eager for the Shen family to fall so that they could divide the vacant cake.

Shen Yu was forced to drink some wine at a lunch meeting with a few old men who were trying to bully him. He was sent back by Yue Zifeng, just in time to meet Lu Manman who was looking for him.

Lu Manman silenced his phone so that he could get a good night’s sleep, Shen Yu only realized it was dark when he woke up.

There was a sound from the kitchen, he came out of the bedroom and saw Lu Manman making porridge in a clay pot, carrying it to the dining table, she looked up and smiled: “You’re awake.”

Shen Yu stood at the door, looking at her quietly.

“What’s wrong?” Lu Manman asked.

“Our engagement is off,” Shen Yu said.

The smile on Lu Manman’s face slowly disappeared: “Why?”

“The current situation of the Shen family makes this marriage inappropriate,” Shen Yu said. “It’s better to draw a clear line sooner rather than later, so that the impact on the Lu family can be minimized.”

He was gentlemanly, considering her every word, but Lu Manman couldn’t feel happy at all.

“Are you trying to break off the engagement because you’re afraid of dragging me down, or did you never want to marry me in the first place?”

Shen Yu had been so busy these days that his voice was slightly hoarse, but he was still gentle, he apologized to her: “I’m sorry.”

“Who wants your apology.” Lu Manman pouted, wanting to cry but unable to hold it back, “It’s my own fault for liking you, it’s not your fault.”

She walked to the entrance to change her shoes, pulled open the door and went out, then came back, her voice choked with tears as she said to him: “Xiao Jiu called you this afternoon, she said she had something to discuss with you.”

After relaying the message, she could no longer control her tears and ran out crying.

Shen Yu rubbed his forehead, picked up the phone on the table, and dialed Shuangxu’s number, but no one answered.

He picked up his coat and went downstairs, when he returned to the Shen family, the maid told him that Miss Shuangxu had gone out two hours ago.

Shuangxu didn’t often call him actively these days, she–>>

What did you want to talk to him about?

Shen Yu felt inexplicably uneasy today. He redialled her number and walked out of the house, intending to go out and find her.

The car lights shone into the yard, and Shuangxu returned.

She saw Shen Yu’s figure in the night and stopped the car, getting out and walking towards him.

“Brother. How’s Dad doing?”

“Still trying to find a way, don’t worry.” Shen Yu said softly.

He always habitually treated her as a child who needed his protection, wanting to shield her from the storms outside.

“What did you want to see me about this afternoon?”

Shuangxu didn’t want to add to his stress, nor did she want Shen Yu, who had raised her like a treasure, to know that she was making that kind of deal with herself.

Anyway, He Tingzhou didn’t agree.

“I just wanted to ask if you had contacted Tingzhou.”

Shen Yu smiled and said, “Tingzhou is cold-hearted and doesn’t get close to anyone. He’ll give me some face, but this matter is a hot potato. It’s his kindness to help, and it’s also reasonable not to help.”

“Did you eat?” he asked.

Shuangxu shook her head. He patted her head: “No matter how busy you are, remember to eat first. There’s porridge simmering in the kitchen for you, go eat some.”