Chapter 47: Does It Still Hurt?

“Miss, should we bring Lucky along?” the servant asked, noticing that the tension between the two had eased and seizing the opportunity to speak.

Ruan Li suddenly found herself in a dilemma. Normally, she didn’t take the cat with her because the crew had many people and staying at hotels was inconvenient. She would always have Chen Jing or an assistant feed Lucky daily.

But the filming of Jing Luan would take longer than usual, and since they were staying at Yu Garden now, neither the assistant nor Chen Jing would dare come over to feed the cat. Ruan Li glanced at the man beside her.

She immediately stopped herself from thinking that dangerous thought. She was worried Fu Huaizhou might secretly starve the kitten.

“No need to bring it,” Fu Huaizhou said calmly. “The servants will take care of it.”

Ruan Li then realized that with so many people at Yu Garden, there was no need for him to feed the cat. Still, she felt a bit lonely at the thought of not seeing Lucky for a while.

After packing up a few things, knowing most items would be bought on location, Ruan Li, who had been busy all day, started to feel a bit tired.

She was just about to lie down when she noticed the person beside her hadn’t left yet.

“I’m staying here tonight,” Fu Huaizhou said before heading to the bathroom for a shower.

Ruan Li initially wanted to scold him for overstepping boundaries but then remembered that he had a key, and there wasn’t much she could do. Besides, she would be staying at a hotel the next day, so putting up with him for one night seemed manageable.

She hadn’t been sleeping well for the past few days, but now that a weight had been lifted from her heart, her eyes started drooping as soon as her head hit the pillow.

When Fu Huaizhou came out, the girl was wrapped snugly in the blanket, sleeping soundly. Her black hair spilled across the sheets, and her pale, slender legs peeked out from under the blanket.

The summer blanket was light, accentuating her graceful figure and delicate curves.

As he lifted the blanket and got into bed, just as he was about to reach out and pull her into his arms, the sleeping girl suddenly moved.

“Don’t bother me…” Ruan Li muttered irritably, her pale hand resting on his shoulder.

Fu Huaizhou didn’t know how many times he had been pushed away like this today, but he pulled the person, who was now facing away from him, into his arms. After days of not being able to hold her, the warmth and softness he longed for were finally back in his embrace.

—

Ruan Li woke up in a swelter, as if pressed against a heater behind her, holding her tightly.

She rolled over to see the man beside her, still in her bed, which was a sight she wasn’t used to.

To her surprise, Fu Huaizhou was still there in the morning, his eyes closed, with his chin resting on her head. The handprint on his face was even clearer than the night before.

Ruan Li touched her flattened hair and really wanted to curse. The effort she had put into maintaining her high crown top had been completely ruined. As she thought of ways to get back at him while he slept

The man furrowed his brows slightly and slowly opened his eyes.

“Let go of me” Ruan Li was about to complain about the hand that was tightly wrapped around her waist.

But Fu Huaizhou leaned forward first, his lips landing on her collarbone, where a nearly healed bite mark remained.

“Does it still hurt?” His voice was husky from the morning.

Ruan Li shuddered under his lips, suspecting that his apology the night before was just a ploy to get her into bed again.

She didn’t doubt her own charm, nor Fu Huaizhou’s beastly nature.

“Why aren’t you going to work?” Ruan Li watched as he got up and undressed in front of her to change into a shirt. His broad shoulders and narrow waist made for an eye catching sight.

She figured he was doing it on purpose, using his looks to tempt her.

Normally, at this time, he would already be in his office at Fu Corporation, drinking his unbearably bitter coffee.

Fu Huaizhou, holding his tie, walked over to the bed. “I’m taking you.”

“You’re not planning to go to my set to spy on me, are you?” Ruan Li used to think he was indifferent to everything, but she realized now she had completely misjudged him. This man was a control freak.

“I won’t interfere,” Fu Huaizhou replied, handing her the tie. “Do you know how to tie it?”

Ruan Li glanced at it briefly. Of course, such etiquette lessons were taught to her, but she and Fu Huaizhou hadn’t reconciled, so she got out of bed and went to the closet to change her own clothes.

“Even if I knew how, I wouldn’t do it for you.”

After breakfast, Ruan Li saw him walking toward the garage and realized he was serious about taking her to the set.

“Chen Jing is coming to pick me up,” she called out.

Fu Huaizhou turned around calmly. “She said her car was sent for washing this morning, so it won’t be available today.”

“Traitor,” Ruan Li muttered under her breath. She was annoyed at how easily Chen Jing had given in to Fu Huaizhou’s pressure.

In the garage, Assistant Qin had been waiting and saw the two approaching. He had been puzzled by Fu Huaizhou’s uncharacteristic absence from the company that morning, even postponing an important meeting.

But when he saw Ruan Li following him, everything made sense. For the past few days, everyone at Fu Corporation had been walking on eggshells, and anyone who made a mistake would be severely reprimanded.

“Mr. Fu, Miss Ruan,” he greeted them, bending down to open the car door.

The girl following behind immediately resisted. “I’m not getting in that car.”

“What’s wrong?” Fu Huaizhou asked softly.

Ruan Li pointed at the emblem on the car. “If you drive this car to take me to the set, I’ll be trending with rumors of being a sugar baby by noon.”

Though it was true, such rumors wouldn’t do her any favors if they spread.

“Change the car,” Fu Huaizhou instructed Assistant Qin.

Now it was Assistant Qin’s headache. None of Fu Huaizhou’s cars were “ordinary,” and finding one that Ruan Li would consider normal was more difficult than locating a limited edition car.

In the end, they settled on a Cayenne that someone had given them, which had been sitting unused in the corner. Luckily, all the cars were regularly cleaned and maintained, so it was ready to drive at a moment’s notice.

In the car, Assistant Qin stole a glance at the two in the back seat.

Ruan Li was sulking, refusing to speak to the man beside her. As for Fu Huaizhou, the typically cold and stern man, had several obvious handprints on his face, clearly from someone slapping him.

As for who had the nerve to do that, Assistant Qin was now aware that Miss Ruan had reached that level of influence. His future career would likely depend on her.

Ruan Li noticed Assistant Qin’s unmasked curiosity in the rearview mirror. He never hid his nosy expressions. She turned her head toward Fu Huaizhou.

“Why didn’t you put medicine on?”

Fu Huaizhou’s dark eyes fixed on her, his voice low. “I forgot.”

“Don’t get the wrong idea; I’m not worried about you,” Ruan Li quickly explained, sensing his gaze. “I just don’t want you to accuse me of hurting you.”

Now that she mentioned it, she realized she hadn’t checked whether Fu Huaizhou had deposited the “80 million” he mentioned into her account.

The more she looked at his profile, the more uncomfortable she felt. It was ruining that devastatingly handsome face.

“You’re not leaving the mark on purpose to make me feel bad, are you?” she muttered quietly.

Fu Huaizhou’s lips curved slightly. After the events of last night, he had completely forgotten about the marks on his face. When he saw them in the mirror that morning, it was already too late. He responded nonchalantly, “If you want to think that, go ahead.”

“You’re shameless,” Ruan Li muttered in disbelief, then added, “I won’t feel sorry for a pervert.”

“How am I a pervert?” Fu Huaizhou asked, glancing at her.

Sensing the shift in the atmosphere, Assistant Qin quickly raised the partition between the front and back seats, earning himself a little bonus point. With his attention solely on the road, he drove without distraction.

Now that Ruan Li had left Yu Garden and regained her freedom, her thoughts shifted back to that night.

“A normal person wouldn’t spank someone’s… backside, would they? How are you not a pervert?”

That night, she hadn’t been able to sleep on her back, and even lying on her side was painful. She had been forced to sleep on her stomach utter humiliation.

Fu Huaizhou had assumed her anger was from the bite mark he had left, but now he realized it was something else.

He rubbed his temples in exasperation. “That’s just a bit of fun.”

“Anyone who enjoys that kind of ‘fun’ is a pervert,” Ruan Li retorted, finding no pleasure in being treated like a misbehaving child.

Fu Huaizhou pulled her closer, gently stroking.