Chapter 25

Lin Yuxi clenched her fists, then turned to look at him. “You say I don’t care, but is this what you think of yourself when you speak about your older brother?” 

Zhou Yanjing’s cold gaze landed on her face. “He’s not like that, but you might be.” 

Lin Yuxi felt a sharp pain in her heart, a suffocating sensation rising from her throat, making it hard to breathe. 

“We’re the same,” she retorted sarcastically. “I just made a mistake in choosing someone. At least it’s better than parading Jiang Nan around in public. What right do you have to criticize me?” 

“Why are you bringing Jiang Nan into this?” Zhou Yanjing frowned, as if she were being unreasonable. “She was raised under Uncle Sheng’s care. Now that he’s gone, she’s here out of respect for old ties. What’s the problem?” 

“You’re always right. Bringing her to the funeral is about being sentimental, and going to the U.S. is ‘developing your career.'” 

Lin Yuxi clutched the railing tightly. “Did you sleep with her when you were spending every day together in New York? How many times?” 

Aunt Chen (Chen Sao), who had heard Lin Yuxi return, was about to come out of the kitchen, but as soon as the conversation started, the tension was palpable. Hiding behind the kitchen door, she grew more anxious as the argument escalated, and finally came out to speak up for Zhou Yanjing. 

“Madam, please don’t say that. Second Young Master isn’t that kind of man!” 

Lin Yuxi countered, “What kind of man?” 

Aunt Chen faltered. “I mean, he definitely wouldn’t have a woman outside!” 

Lin Yuxi’s tone was flat. “Aren’t you the one who said he cheated during the marriage, chasing his first love all the way to America?” 

Aunt Chen was in a complete panic now. Noticing Zhou Yanjing glancing at her, she frantically waved her hands. “No, no, no! I never said that!” 

She finally realized that Lin Yuxi, who used to be easygoing and generous, was different now. She had always been kind, sharing company benefits, gifts from others, and expensive ingredients delivered regularly to the house, all of which Aunt Chen took home. During holidays, there were generous red envelopes.  

Lin Yuxi lived alone, often working overtime, and didn’t have much for Aunt Chen to do. When she was lazy, Lin Yuxi never minded. Aunt Chen had thought she could easily manipulate her, but now she realized Lin Yuxi had simply been polite.  

Now, being impolite was even scarier than the Second Young Master! 

Aunt Chen didn’t dare make another sound and hurried back into the kitchen. 

Zhou Yanjing, face cold, threw the half-smoked cigarette in his hand into the water glass on the coffee table. He got up from the sofa and strode toward Lin Yuxi. 

He was so tall that even with Lin Yuxi standing on a step, she was still shorter by a few centimeters. 

Zhou Yanjing’s brown eyes stared down at her coldly. “Who told you I slept with her? Were you hiding under my bed and heard it?” 

“If not her, then who?” Lin Yuxi’s face was expressionless. “Are you going to claim you’ve been pure and chaste for the past two years? You, a man known for being promiscuous do you even believe that?” 

“I’m promiscuous?” Zhou Yanjing’s face darkened. “Lin Yuxi, is that what I am in your eyes? A man who can’t stand loneliness, driven by lust?” 

When Lin Yuxi loved him, she had come up with every excuse for his behavior.  

But perhaps she had struggled alone in a hopeless swamp for too long, suffocating for too long. Now, as she looked at Zhou Yanjing’s handsome face, still charming, she realized she didn’t feel a shred of love anymore. 

Her voice was calm and indifferent. “Aren’t you?” 

If he wasn’t afraid of being lonely, why did he love Jiang Nan while still pursuing her?  

If he wasn’t driven by lust, how could he love her so intensely, only to pull away so quickly? 

Zhou Yanjing was so furious he laughed.  

He licked his molars and nodded. “Fine. I’m driven by lust. I’m promiscuous. If I don’t sleep with a woman for a day, I can’t bear the loneliness!” 

His teeth seemed to grind together as, before Lin Yuxi could react, he scooped her up with one hand and marched up the stairs with long strides. 

Caught off guard, Lin Yuxi was lifted into the air, her slippers falling down the stairs to the first floor. Her soft abdomen was pressed against the hard bones of his shoulder, her head dangling down, causing her to sway uncomfortably. Instinctively, she grabbed his shirt to steady herself. 

“Zhou Yanjing, what are you doing?” 

Zhou Yanjing carried her into the bedroom and threw her onto the bed, making her bounce a few times on the mattress. 

Standing at the bedside, he roughly yanked off his tie and tossed it to the floor, then removed his watch, throwing it onto the nightstand. 

“What do you think I’m doing?” he sneered. “I won’t be able to argue with you until I satisfy the lust-driven brain you say I have.” 

“You’re crazy!” 

Lin Yuxi tried to roll off the bed, but Zhou Yanjing’s large hand grabbed her ankle. He was too strong, easily dragging her back. 

Lin Yuxi grabbed a pillow in a panic and hurled it at his head. 

She used all her strength, and Zhou Yanjing staggered slightly from the hit, but his grip on her ankle didn’t loosen a bit. 

He let out a laugh. “You really don’t hold back, do you?” 

If that had been a rock, she might’ve cracked his skull open. 

Zhou Yanjing easily snatched the pillow from her hand and tossed it far away. 

Lin Yuxi’s cheeks flushed with anger. “Let go of me!” 

“Why are you running? Isn’t this a proper marital duty? Your husband’s supposedly ‘driven by lust,’ so it’s only right to fulfill your wifely obligations.” 

As he spoke, he leaned over her, his strong masculine presence enveloping her. His hand clasped around her slender neck, holding her still. 

Lin Yuxi, frustrated, angry, and no match for his strength, feared he might actually go through with it. In her panic, she blurted out, “Fulfill your duty, my ass!” 

Zhou Yanjing, who had been fuming just moments before, was suddenly caught off guard by her weak insult, nearly bursting into laughter. 

So clueless. 

She couldn’t even insult him properly. 

He turned his head to the side, holding back a smile before turning back to face her, his anger fading. Seeing her red face, he teased, “I don’t have an ‘uncle.’ Why don’t you ask Grandma next time? Maybe she can try to give me one.” 

“Oh,” he added with a raised brow, “though since my grandpa’s already gone, she probably wouldn’t be able to manage that alone.” 

Lin Yuxi:  

What kind of person is he? 

She grumbled, “Get off me.” 

Zhou Yanjing’s hand on her neck changed its grip slightly, his thumb rubbing suggestively behind her ear. 

“You haven’t fulfilled your obligation yet. Where do you think you’re going?” 

Lin Yuxi noticed the change in his tone. Earlier, he was genuinely angry; now, he was just being a scoundrel. 

She used both her hands and feet to push him away, successfully this time because Zhou Yanjing wasn’t holding on too tightly anymore. 

He flopped back onto the bed, lazily propping himself up with one knee bent, watching Lin Yuxi’s retreating figure like a startled hamster. She leapt off the bed and hurried towards the bathroom. 

Once inside, Lin Yuxi immediately reached to lock the door. 

Zhou Yanjing slowly got off the bed, casually straightening his shirt collar that had gotten messed up. 

Just as the bathroom door clicked shut, his voice drifted in. 

“I didn’t sleep with any other woman.” 

The sound of the shower echoed as Lin Yuxi tilted her head back, letting the cool water wash over her flushed face. 

Calm down, Lin Yuxi. 

She warned herself. 

Don’t be swayed by his careless words again. 

Whether or not he slept with someone else doesn’t mean anything. 

He stopped loving you a long time ago. 

Zhou Yanjing walked downstairs, hands in his pockets, heading into the kitchen. 

Aunt Chen, fearful and avoiding eye contact, was wiping down the antique display cabinet from a distance. 

Zhou Yanjing stood at the bar, placing a cup under the water dispenser. As the clear stream filled the cup, he abruptly spoke. 

“You told Yuxi I cheated during our marriage?” 

Aunt Chen was scared half to death and quickly denied it. “That’s just rumors people spread. I never said anything like that!” 

Zhou Yanjing looked down at the cup, his tone casual. “Rumors? What people?”