Chapter 5 : I’ll Be Gentle For a While

Shi Ran changed her clothes and went downstairs, intending to go out, but was stopped by the bodyguards at the door.

“Don’t I even have the most basic freedom?”

The two bodyguards responded impassively: “Miss Shi, I’m sorry, we can’t let you leave without Mr. Lu’s permission.”

Shi Ran felt furious. He had said this morning that he wouldn’t completely restrict her freedom, so what was this now?

She was so angry she wanted to call him to ask.

But she realized she didn’t have his contact information.

Her anger simmered until evening. When Lu Beiyuan returned, he saw a girl, puffed up with anger, standing with her hands on her hips on the sofa.

When she saw him, her anger vanished, replaced by fear and panic, as if he were a terrifying beast, a fear ingrained in her bones.

Lu Beiyuan still found her angry expression captivating. He liked her genuine, quirky, and adorable nature, not this timid, fearful self.

After what seemed like a long internal struggle, she spoke: “Why won’t you let me go out? I just want to go home for a while.”

Lu Beiyuan walked over and scooped her onto his lap. The girl’s fragrant scent filled his nostrils, making him forget the afternoon’s meetings.

Shi Ran was forced to sit on his lap. She had received a traditional upbringing, and even after living abroad for over a year, her inherent nature remained conservative; she couldn’t be so open.

Slowly, the man buried his face in the nape of her neck, gently blowing on her skin. It tickled, making her uncomfortable.

She shifted, trying to move away, but then…

Her breath hitched.

“If you dare move again, I’ll do it right here, believe me?”

Shi Ran didn’t dare move. She heard the man’s barely suppressed groan behind her ear.

“Go to the bathroom and run me a bath.”

Shi Ran’s mind went blank. She wanted to remember, but her waist was held tightly by a large hand.

He raised an eyebrow: “Didn’t you hear me?”

“Yes…” Shi Ran quickly jumped up, turning and heading upstairs, her legs feeling weak.

She turned on the tap, filling the bathtub, testing the water temperature. The tub was large, and the water seemed to take forever to fill. She sat beside it, waiting, dazed.

She didn’t even notice when Lu Beiyuan entered.

At some point, Lu Beiyuan had removed his shirt, revealing his excellent physique. His abdominal muscles were clearly defined, but not overly bulky—the classic “skinny in clothes, muscular without them” type.

Shi Ran turned: “I’ll go out…”

Suddenly, her waist was caught, pulling her against the wall, his knee pressing between her legs.

“Let’s shower together, save water…”

“No… no, I’ll drink less water in the future…”

He seemed not to hear her, a smirk playing on his lips as he reached for the zipper of her dress.

Shi Ran panicked. She couldn’t handle this level of intimacy with this man so suddenly.

“Waaah…” Tears welled up, stinging Lu Beiyuan’s eyes.

“Not here, okay?”

“Don’t do this to me, don’t do this to me…”

The girl’s pleading, tearful expression, her pitiful look like a small kitten, further ignited Lu Beiyuan’s primal instincts.

“Be good. Didn’t you want to go home today? I’ll let you go tomorrow, alright?”

Shi Ran continued shaking her head. It wasn’t worth it to trade this for a scolding from her father; she could wait until school started and visit secretly when she didn’t have classes.

“How about this. Don’t you want to see your grandmother? I didn’t tell you this morning, but I brought her to City A. Sweetheart, be good, okay? Tomorrow I’ll tell you which hospital she’s in, and we can go see her, alright?”

Grandmother…

That word was Shi Ran’s weakness.

She couldn’t refuse this condition.

So she stopped resisting fiercely, her small kitten-like pushbacks and punches against him were like cotton. Soon, her clothes were all undone.

Seeing the remaining marks on her body, bruises here and there, the girl’s delicate skin looked frightening. He remembered the lack of control last night and this morning. It was his first time, and he had found it addictive, unable to stop.

He felt a pang of regret…

But then his desire stirred again.

He gradually succumbed…

—

The next day, Lu Beiyuan kept his word and allowed her to go out.

She wanted to see her grandmother, but discovered she still didn’t have Lu Beiyuan’s contact information. Everyone else in the villa said they didn’t either, explaining that only Mr. Lu initiated calls, and they wouldn’t usually disturb him.

Shi Ran wasn’t foolish enough to believe them. If they didn’t have it, how was it that her every move was under Lu Beiyuan’s surveillance? However, she understood their reasoning and didn’t press them.

Not knowing which hospital her grandmother was in, she could only go home first.

She would ask the man who had always cherished her how he could have the heart to do such a cruel thing.

However, she never expected to find such a scene at home.

She thought her father would at least be worried, at least feel guilty, at least be distraught…

Instead, he had completely abandoned his morals.

The house was filled with a cheerful atmosphere, with two unfamiliar women and a strange man. One woman was about forty, but exceptionally well-preserved, without a wrinkle, still possessing a certain charm.

The girl resembled her by about 70-80 percent, also a beautiful woman.

The boy was a punk, with bleached hair, lounging on the sofa playing a mobile game.

“Hey, stop playing your game, Ertong, want to play?”

“Hey! Don’t move, I’m wrong!”

The boy piled up his cards.

“Why do you always win? You can even win while multitasking, I don’t believe it!” The young girl crossed her arms, her hair slightly curled, wearing a wine-red dress that hugged her curves perfectly.

“Miss?”

Aunt Chen’s words drew everyone’s attention. They all looked towards the doorway, where a girl stood, as if blown in by the wind, lacking any vitality, as if a gust could blow her away.