Chapter 41: A Night to Remember (and forget)

Her smiling eyes resembled beautiful crescents, and faint dimples appeared on her cheeks.

Her delicate, fair skin had a healthy, light pink hue, and the soft little swirl of hair on top of her head was adorable.

He looked at her intently for a long moment, then asked, “Shouldn’t I be?”

“Ming Zhao, I raised you for eighteen years, and you’ve only known him for three months. He left without a word, without even telling you, and yet you cried and begged me, wanting to trade me for your Muqing Ge.” 

She widened her eyes.

What?

Had she actually said that?

Before she could even feel happy that he had admitted to being jealous, Ming Zhao felt a pang of guilt, shrinking slightly under his gaze.

She quickly regained her composure, lifting her chin.  “I-I was just a child then!  What are you, an adult, getting upset about a child’s words for?!”

She was being petulant and unreasonable.

He nodded. “Fine. I can overlook a child’s words.”

Zhou Tingyun pulled her phone away and casually placed it on the table, making a light sound as it landed.

Ming Zhao felt an inexplicable tension, instinctively gripping the armrest behind her.

“So, tell me—will you choose to go have dinner with him or come to the company with me?”

His voice was steady and calm, his gaze returning to her. His dark eyes showed no emotion, yet they made her heart race, and a light sheen of sweat broke out on the back of her neck.

Ming Zhao knew she could act cute and say that, of course, she would accompany him to the company.

But she wanted to see Zhou Tingyun lose control.

He was always composed and in control; she wanted to pull him down and see him reveal more of his emotions for her.

“What if I choose to go have dinner instead?”

The corners of Ming Zhao’s eyes lifted slightly, her gaze sparkling as if reflecting waves of light— resembling an innocent little fox.

“Muqing Ge is a very nice person, and he’s also very much my type.  Plus, he’s not like Gu He. Brother, do you think I can like him?”

Zhou Tingyun listened quietly as she spoke, allowing the dark side of his emotions to spread, filling every corner of his being.

It was like a thick, dark fog, ready to envelop the person in front of him, swallowing her whole and silencing her words.

He remained silent for a long time, so long that just as Ming Zhao thought she was about to succeed, he finally spoke softly, “Okay.”

His voice was flat and devoid of any emotion.  “I won’t interfere.”

“……”

Ming Zhao was so angry that she felt like grabbing a pillow and smashing it against him.

After taking a shower and lying in bed, she sulked alone for a long time.

What kind of person is he! Such a blockhead!

Using the two-meter-long body pillow to vent her frustration—as if it were Zhou Tingyun—she tossed and turned for a while but still couldn’t fall asleep.

Staring at the ceiling, she felt restless and irritable.

Finally, she decided to open her phone and clicked on the ‘Good Stuff’ that Lin Zhiwei had sent her, hoping to cheer herself up.

Zhou Tingyun might be an old-fashioned stick-in-the-mud, but she wasn’t.

Her bookshelf filled with novels was something she couldn’t show anyone, her cloud storage was a secret, and even her audio files were hidden away.

Ming Zhao turned off the light, put on her headphones, found a comfortable position, and was about to immerse herself in happiness.

Ming Zhao waited for a long time but only heard silence.

Huh?

What’s going on? Why is there no sound?

She pressed the volume button up, but still, there was no noise.

Frowning slightly, she felt puzzled. Could the headphones be broken?

After fiddling with them for a while, she turned the volume all the way up but still got no response.

Then, suddenly, a very ambiguous sound came from the other side.

Ming Zhao’s pupils widened in shock, and she hurriedly tried to find the Bluetooth settings on her screen.

Sure enough.

Everything went black in front of her.

She had connected to the wrong device…

Even though Ming Zhao quickly pressed pause, she could still see the lines on the screen indicating that they had played to completion.

Staring at the few lines that were too explicit and had been blocked, she silently turned off her phone.

Pulling the blanket over herself, she resolved to play dead.

Meanwhile, at the first strange sound from the speakers, Zhou Tingyun immediately raised his hand to mute the microphone for the video conference.

His expression remained blank as he listened to the 3D surround sound of a deep male voice panting, the sound of water, and the unbearable dirty talk.

“……”

After the meeting, Zhou Tingyun stared silently at the speakers for a moment, his eyes revealing a complex mix of emotions.

Leaning back in his chair, he raised a hand and slowly rubbed his temples.

He certainly didn’t think that Ming Zhao shouldn’t be exposed to such things or that there was any shame in his own physiological needs.

He was simply unsure who he could trust to have a safe and healthy conversation with her about these matters.

To his knowledge, the major clubs in Beicheng all had areas specifically designed for the entertainment of wealthy young women, and male models of all types were available.

Fang Yuanshuang had also confessed to him about keeping several male models when they discussed marriage alliances.

Thinking about this, he frowned even more deeply.

Although he believed in professional equality, the thought of the trouble Ming Zhao might get into made him unable to view male models favorably.

However, the most important thing now was to protect his sister’s self-esteem and act as if he had heard nothing.

To avoid embarrassing her, he had chosen to go on a business trip for a week to give her ample space and time to calm down.

However, he hadn’t expected the male model incident to escalate so quickly.

…

A week later, as soon as Zhou Tingyun landed in Beicheng, he received a call.

The more he listened, the colder his expression became, his dark eyes deeper than the night itself.

The driver had never seen his boss look so grim; his grip on the steering wheel instinctively tightened.

“Take me to the Shengyan Club.”

“Y-yes, sir.”

…

On the other side, a completely different scene unfolded, filled with dazzling lights and intoxicating revelry.

Shang Man hadn’t expected that after finally catching Ming Zhao alone, she would approach her with the usual teasing remarks, only to have Ming Zhao grab her and burst into tears uncontrollably.

“What’s wrong?!” Shang Man exclaimed in shock.

“Y-you, you, you, you can’t cry! I didn’t say anything! What if your brother sees? You’ll get me killed!”

“Don’t mention him!” Ming Zhao raised her voice, tears streaming down her face.

“Okay, okay, I won’t mention him. But can you please let go of me, little sister? I still want to enjoy the male models; you’re really affecting my performance here,” Shang Man replied.

Ming Zhao paused for a moment, choking back her tears, “Then I want to play too.”

Shang Man let out a couple of amused snorts. “What kind of nonsense is this? Is this your new strategy to have your brother sell me off to Africa to mine? How ruthless of you!”

Ming Zhao looked up, her eyes red and glaring at her in dissatisfaction.

“…”

Ten minutes later.

The male models sat in a circle, all playing Werewolf with Ming Zhao.

They were quite professional, and no matter what role she took on, she managed to win every round, quickly lifting her spirits.

On the sofa, the phone screen continuously lit up and dimmed, dimmed and lit up again, but no one paid any attention to it.

Night had fallen, and a black Maybach sped down the road.

Inside the car, Zhou Tingyun lowered his gaze, watching the continuous payment notifications popping up on his phone, his expression terrifyingly cold.

Very good.

She was surprisingly generous with his card when it came to tipping.