Chapter 6: You Want It?

Li Qingqing took a deep breath and tried to keep her voice steady as she spoke toward the door,
“I… I’m fine, Butler Liang. I’m still not used to the new place and accidentally fell out of bed.”

“Oh, I see. Well, you’ll get used to it soon enough,” Butler Liang replied.

“Mm, thank you, Butler Liang. I’ll go to sleep now.”

Only when she heard the sound of his footsteps fading into the distance did Li Qingqing’s heart slowly calm down.

Looking at Lu Yan, who was still lying on top of her with a wicked smile, she glared at him and pushed him away.

But Lu Yan had no intention of letting her go. He leaned close to her ear and said in a low, teasing voice,
“Don’t want the money anymore?”

It wasn’t until the middle of the night that Lu Yan finally left—reluctantly.

The next day, Aunt Fang came knocking at Li Qingqing’s door.
“Qingqing, why aren’t you up yet? We’ve got guests coming today! Come help tidy the house, and we still need to prep the dishes.”

Li Qingqing jolted awake. She quickly got dressed and prepared to go downstairs. Last night had been far too intense, and now her entire body ached. Every step down the stairs was pure torture.

The guests were Lu Yan’s uncle’s family. Lu Mingyi was Lu Yan’s father’s younger brother, and he had a son named Lu Yu—Lu Yan’s cousin—who was three years older and also attended Haihua University.

“Oh my goodness, Zhenzhen! What happened to your dark circles? Didn’t sleep well last night?” Aunt Fang was startled when she saw the large dark shadows under Li Qingqing’s eyes.

“Ah… I guess I’m still adjusting to the new environment…” Li Qingqing mumbled vaguely.

“Oh, I see. Well, you’ll get used to it soon enough.”

Li Qingqing: “…”

---

After finishing the meal prep, Li Qingqing suddenly remembered—Lu Yan hadn’t transferred her the money yet.

So she went up to the third floor and stood outside his bedroom. After glancing around to make sure no one was around, she knocked on his door.

Knock knock knock!

“Who is it?” came the man’s deep, lazy voice from inside.

“It’s… it’s me. Um… you haven’t…”

Before she could finish her sentence, his voice came again.

“The door’s not locked. Come in.”

Li Qingqing looked around again to make sure the coast was clear, then quietly opened the door and slipped in.

As soon as she entered, she saw Lu Yan lying half-covered on the bed.

She reflexively covered her eyes.
“Why do you sleep without any clothes on…”

A crimson flush instantly bloomed on her cheeks.

“I don’t like wearing clothes when I sleep. And it’s not like you haven’t seen it before,” Lu Yan said shamelessly, watching her redden with amusement.

“Could you… please put something on?”

Lu Yan replied lazily,
“Don’t feel like it. Not yet.”

Li Qingqing: “…”

With no other choice, she covered her eyes with one hand and reached out blindly with the other, holding up her phone with the payment QR code as she approached the bed.

“Mr. Lu, if you could… fulfill your promise from last night…”

Before she could finish her sentence, she suddenly slipped and fell forward—right onto him.

When she came to her senses, she realized she was sprawled across his chest.

“You want it?”

The man’s voice was full of teasing.

Flushing with embarrassment, Li Qingqing scrambled off him and covered her eyes again.

This was so humiliating. Her scalp tingled with shame.

“What did you want from me?” Lu Yan asked, completely unfazed as he stared at her.

Only then did Li Qingqing remember she had come to ask for money.

She uncovered her phone again and pulled up the payment code.

Lu Yan repeated, “What do you want from me?”

“Um… about last night… could you… scan this…”

Ah, so that was it.

Lu Yan grabbed his own phone but didn’t scan her QR code. Instead, he took her phone, tapped a few times, and pulled up her WeChat profile.

Scan. Confirm. Transfer. Smooth as silk.

Then he shoved her phone back into her hand.

Peeking through her fingers, Li Qingqing watched the whole process, feeling confused.

Did they really need to add each other on WeChat?

But when she saw the amount transferred, she froze.

“Um… Mr. Lu… this wasn’t my first time, so there’s no need to pay me a hundred thousand again,” she said, voice uncertain.

“Then keep it for the next time,” Lu Yan replied with a scoff.

Was this woman stupid? Did she really want to sell herself short?

“That won’t be necessary. Our deal is over. Please show some self-respect, Mr. Lu.”

Li Qingqing’s tone abruptly hardened.

Business was business. She could sell her body for the sake of her brother’s heart deposit—that was urgent and desperate.
But when she had the choice, she refused to degrade herself again.

She returned the extra fifty thousand to him and immediately turned to leave.

Lu Yan stared at the returned amount on his phone, an inexplicable wave of irritation rising in his chest.

---

At noon, Lu Mingyi’s family arrived on time.

At the dining table, Lu Yu looked at Lu Yan with admiration and asked,
“Bro, was Antarctica fun? I’ve never been!”

Lu Yan replied coldly,
“I went for research. Not for fun.”

“I heard there’s a tunnel to the Earth’s core there, and that’s where King Kong’s hometown is. Is it true?” Lu Yu asked excitedly.

“…”

Lu Yan looked at him like he was an idiot.
“I study marine biology. King Kong isn’t in my field.”

Lu Mingyi glanced helplessly at his son, who spent all day watching monster movies and playing games.

Then he turned to Lu Yan—the model of excellence—who not only skipped grades but earned his PhD by the age of 25.

If only he were married, his life would be perfect.

So Lu Mingyi changed the subject.
“Ah Yan, you’re not getting any younger. When are you planning to get engaged to Yaoyao?”