Chapter 4: That Night  

Tao Wanxing felt as though her lips were being tightly sealed, glued together, rendering her unable to utter another word.  

The man’s kiss was heavy and scorching, falling upon her like a sudden storm.  

The scattered marks burned her body as if she were under the blazing sun.  

Just like that night they reunited.  

She had been out for dinner with colleagues under the starry sky that evening and had a little too much to drink.  

She rarely drank, but this time, she couldn’t refuse.  

When she couldn’t hold it any longer and excused herself to the restroom, she brushed past him.  

In that instant, her heart nearly stopped, and she thought she must have been too drunk—that she was seeing things.  

After all these years away from Jingzhou, she never imagined that the mere sight of someone resembling him would still steal her breath away.  

She steadied herself and prepared to leave.  

But to her surprise, the man suddenly grabbed her wrist, pulling her into a pitch-black private room. Pinning her down, he demanded, “What? Not even going to greet your second brother?”  

“Don’t recognize me anymore? Little white-eyed wolf!”  

His voice was low and magnetic, whispering right against her ear.  

At that moment, Tao Wanxing’s breath and heart were in chaos.  

Her cheeks flushed crimson in an instant, and she instinctively tried to squirm away, only provoking the man above her into becoming even more unrestrained.  

Outside the room, footsteps came and went.  

She wanted to escape but didn’t dare move too much or make a sound.  

She feared someone might barge in at any moment.  

Trembling, she hooked her arms around his shoulders and whispered, “Second Brother.”  

The man paused—whether because the title reminded him of something, his grip on her waist loosened slightly.  

By then, Tao Wanxing’s eyes had finally adjusted to the darkness. Staring at the sharp, cold contours of his face, her mind exploded with delayed intoxication.  

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed messy kisses to his face.  

This couldn’t possibly be her second brother.  

Her second brother would never treat her like this. He should despise her, wishing she’d stay far away from him.  

He should have already found happiness with Zhu Yan.  

Only now did she truly understand the meaning of “finding solace in a lookalike.”  

Whatever. With a face this handsome, it wasn’t like she was losing anything.  

What followed was inevitable.  

Tao Wanxing wanted to pull away but didn’t dare, afraid of angering him.  

Their marriage had to remain a secret—something neither the Meng family nor her sister could ever know.  

Otherwise, she couldn’t even imagine the storm it would unleash.  

The man smirked, seemingly pleased by her fearful reaction.  

Releasing her, their foreheads pressed together, their gazes tangled in something unspoken.  

“Wanxing, don’t be like this, alright?”  

“Like what?” Tao Wanxing lowered her eyes, a hint of mockery curling at her lips. “Second Brother?”  

As the words left her mouth, she could feel Meng Chu’s gaze grow even more scorching, tightening the nerves at the back of her neck.  

She didn’t dare look at his expression.  

Just as she was about to cave again, her phone buzzed insistently.  

Tao Wanxing snapped back to reality.  

Answering the call, a woman’s slightly complaining voice came through.  

“Tao Wanxing, how long has it been since you last called me? Are you really that busy?”  

A bitter smile tugged at Tao Wanxing’s lips.  

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to call—she just didn’t dare. Guilt gnawed at her.  

She didn’t know what to say.  

“I’m tired, sis.”

On the other end of the phone, Tao Chuxia complained with a pained tone, “I told you long ago not to take that job. Why couldn’t you let your brother-in-law find you a government position instead? You just had to go and become a modern-day servant.”

“After all those years of hard studying, you end up toiling for others, being called ‘waitress’?”

“Mom and Dad would probably flip in their graves.”

“Sis,” Tao Wanxing interrupted, her voice resigned, “how can you still say things like that?”

“Alright, alright, I get it. You just don’t want to take advantage of the Meng family’s connections, even though—”

Beep—

Tao Wanxing abruptly hung up.

She didn’t need to hear the rest to know what Tao Chuxia was about to say.

Looking up, she met Meng Chu’s gaze—so intense it could drown a person.

She quickly pulled out her phone to call Tao Chuxia back.

“Sis, I accidentally hung up just now— Beep—”

Meng Chu snatched her phone and ended the call.

Furious, she puffed her cheeks and glared at him. “What are you doing?!”

His dark eyes smoldered as he bit his lower lip and slowly uttered two words: “F***ing you.”

Before Tao Wanxing could react, she was pinned beneath him.

Resistance was futile.

The bastard didn’t let her speak a single word—whenever she tried, he silenced her with his mouth.

Eventually, she could no longer form words, only whimpers and tearful pleas.

Tao Wanxing fell asleep, her flushed face soft and peaceful, cheeks still slightly puffed. Her dark lashes seemed to glisten with lingering tears as she occasionally mumbled in her slumber.

Asleep, she did look much more docile. Meng Chu’s throat moved slightly.

He reached out to trace the bruises on her shoulders and back before rising. Staring at the neon lights outside the floor-to-ceiling window, he lit a cigarette and held it between his fingers.

After a long pause, he finally made a call.

“Gu An, look into someone for me.”

Gu An was his childhood friend from the same compound—the closest of his inner circle.

“Who?”

“Tao Wanxing.”

“What?” Gu An exclaimed on the other end. “Don’t tell me it’s the Tao Wanxing I know!”

After Tao Wanxing’s parents passed away, she had moved in with her sister and lived with the Meng family.

She had been especially clingy toward Meng Chu as a child, so all his childhood friends knew her.

Meng Chu pinched the bridge of his nose. “It’s her.”

“Why are you investigating her? Don’t tell me you—”

Meng Chu frowned. “I what?”

Gu An hesitated. “Ah, never mind. What about Yanyan? I heard she’s also in Cloud Province. Hasn’t she come to see you?”

Meng Chu replied coolly, “She did.”

“And you two…”

“I’m busy.”

Gu An sighed again. “What exactly do you want to know about Tao Wanxing?”

“Everything. All of it.”

“What about Yanyan? You and her—”

“Gu An!” Meng Chu snapped.

There was a brief pause before Gu An chuckled softly on the other end. “Why so angry? I just wanted to ask when you’re marrying Yanyan. You’ve been entangled for so many years—might as well make it official so we can all celebrate.”

“Alright, alright, I’ll stop joking. It’s been years since I last saw little Wanxing. Since you’ve run into her in Cloud Province, bring her along next time I visit so I can see her too.”

Meng Chu gave a noncommittal “Mn” before hanging up.

He admitted he was despicable. If he hadn’t used that night to force her into taking responsibility for him, then perhaps…

Seeing Tao Wanxing again, he barely slept a wink that night.

But the first words out of Tao Wanxing’s mouth chilled him to the bone.

“Second Brother, I—I drank too much. I should go.”

“Hah, Tao Wanxing, you’ve really outdone yourself.”

Meng Chu sneered, stubbing out his cigarette.

Tao Wanxing kept her head down, not daring to speak, unsure of what to say.

Just as she was about to bolt out the door, Meng Chu’s voice came low and firm, “Think carefully. If you walk out now, what happened last night will definitely get out.”

“Tomorrow’s headlines will read ‘Governor Meng Chu picks up drunk stranger and spends passionate night in hotel.'”

Tao Wanxing’s scalp prickled. She wanted to explain, but her dry throat couldn’t form a single word.

She was good at everything—even holding her liquor—so she remembered all too clearly who had initiated things.

Then the man behind her added, “When that happens, my political opponents might force me out of office. And if word reaches Father and Eldest Brother, what do you think will happen?”

Tao Wanxing’s heart sank abruptly. The words spilled out before she could stop them, “What do you want me to do?”