A Twisted Love Affair-Chapter 150 - 149, you little heartless, do I have to listen to you in everything?_1
Ten minutes.
Light streamed from the main entrance into the hall; the path was quite long.
Madam Zhou was having dinner; chatting beside her was a visiting great-grandchild from a collateral branch of the Zhou family.
The servants prepared bowls and chopsticks, pulled back a chair, and waited for this young master to be seated.
Madam Zhou glanced up at him. "Eat before you go back."
Zhou Luchen took a string of Buddha Beads from his trouser pocket and placed them on the table. "I observed a seven-day vegetarian fast and prayed for these for you; they’ve been blessed."
Madam Zhou eyed the string of beads—Baltic Mineral Amber Buddha Beads.
The elderly woman, accustomed to expensive luxuries, was about to scold this troublemaking young master who had acquired them at a temple, but she swallowed her words instead.
"Did you get one for your grandaunt too?"
Zhou Luchen hummed in affirmation. "Please enjoy your dinner slowly; I have other matters to attend to."
With that, he left.
Madam Zhou examined the beads and instructed someone to remove the jade bracelet from her wrist and put on the Buddha Beads.
The great-grandchild, a seventeen-year-old youth, said softly, "Great-grandmother’s Buddha Beads are so pleasing to the eye; they bring peace. A few years back, the renowned Master Shi, in order to fund temple repairs, auctioned off a string of Baltic Mineral Amber Buddha Beads. Bidders from all over secretly had their agents drive up the price, and it sold for a total of 400 million."
Madam Zhou was not unaware of this.
The great-grandchild continued to praise, "Great-grandmother is truly delighted by Little Uncle’s gesture."
Madam Zhou calmly replied, showing no surprise, "The people I sent to Nanhuai Ancient Temple to watch him are incredibly tight-lipped; not a word about what he was doing there has been revealed."
However well Madam Zhou knew his temperament, she couldn’t find anything out. If he truly wanted to keep something secret, he could suppress it entirely.
The younger relative said, "Little Uncle has always been so filial. He was definitely praying for Great-grandmother’s safety, focusing on worshipping Buddha and cultivating himself."
Madam Zhou resumed eating. "Initially, I tricked him into going, fearful he wouldn’t rein in his nature and might ruin his rivals."
"Little Uncle must understand your heartfelt efforts."
「—」
Shen Jing waited until Zhou Luchen returned, watching as the man settled into the driver’s seat and started the engine.
She gazed at his focused profile as he drove and, lost in thought, said softly, "Uncle?"
It was like the gentle mewl of a cat, softly tugging at one’s heartstrings.
Zhou Luchen’s brows lifted slightly. After a moment, his gaze settled on her face for two seconds before his lips curved into a slight smile. "No manners at all, calling people whatever you like. You really don’t understand, do you?"
"Uncle." Shen Jing suddenly found it amusing. "I just heard someone at the Zhou Family calling you that."
Zhou Luchen looked impassive, his demeanor seemingly unshakeable as he switched driving modes and accelerated. "The hotel."
Shen Jing quickly caught on and stiffened.
There were countless hotels in Shanghai, but Zhou Luchen only favored two or three.
The hotel managers were exceedingly familiar with him, attending to him as if welcoming the God of Wealth.
The days that followed were unremarkable.
Zhou Luchen either spent time with her at the hotel or took her back to his place to get intimate.
He disliked turning on the heat. Shen Jing, who was afraid of the cold, wasn’t allowed to turn it off. As a result, they were drenched in sweat.
The night was pleasantly intoxicating with light and shadow.
The man’s hot sweat dripped onto her back. He flipped her over, and his sweat dripped onto her front.
Scorching yet tender.
The words he whispered in her ear were hoarse and captivating but devoid of deep affection.
He didn’t notice her trembling hands.
Shen Jing couldn’t stand staying up so late. Utterly exhausted, she felt numb, crying and whimpering, desperate for it to end.
It was much later when Zhou Luchen finally relented, holding her close.
Shen Jing looked at him, at his thin yet moist lips, and couldn’t resist reaching out to touch them.
He lazily opened his eyes slightly. "Not calling me ’Uncle’ anymore?"
Shen Jing buried her head deep, her face flushing with embarrassed heat.
"I called you that all night; you can’t bully me."
Zhou Luchen pulled her into his embrace, his voice lowering with a secretive tone. "You really are a heartless little thing, expecting me to listen to everything you say."
Shen Jing whispered back softly, "You never listen anyway; everything has to revolve around you."
"Didn’t I just listen to you?" he replied, distracted.
"So unrestrained. It’s like the Buddhist scriptures were listened to in vain." Shen Jing pulled up the blanket to sleep, too drained to talk further, only wishing for rest.
The scriptures were indeed listened to in vain.
The verses were indeed copied for nothing.
Zhou Luchen played with her bracelet. Her body was warm, and her body heat had even warmed the bracelet.
Sometimes he didn’t know what she liked, so he would casually pick out expensive items and let her choose.
「November 8th was the last day of the typhoon’s rains.」
That Tuesday, Young Master Zhou—the second young master of the Zhou family—said he’d attend her performance at the Hongtan Teahouse, and he actually went.
Xing Wendong couldn’t have been happier to have this distinguished guest grace his establishment, serving him the best tea and pastries.
When he came, as was his habit, he liked to book the entire venue.
It was the kind of place with too many people and too much gossip; Zhuang Ming had to handle everything meticulously to prevent any indiscretions from leaking.
Word got out far and wide, and even tourists became incredibly curious.
"In Shanghai, a wealthy second-generation heir loves to frequent Hongtan Teahouse to support Little Ajing."
"Rumor has it he’s pursuing Little Ajing. Just look at that Rolls-Royce; last time he drove a Maybach, and next time he’ll surely show up in a Hongqi L5. It goes without saying how rich he is."
"He must have succeeded in the chase. She flies to work in a helicopter every day. Can you believe that?"
The rumors had twisted the truth; it was clearly she who had baited him first.
Her social media accounts hadn’t been updated in a long time, yet her followers were growing more numerous by the day, even asking questions.
"Who’s the rich second-generation fan who loves to support Big Sis? I’m the listener who tipped 5,000 last time. Just thinking about it makes me so happy."
"Feels like a marketing gimmick. Shen Jing wants to become an internet celebrity and sell products. Please don’t. I follow you because I like your cat and your daily Pingtan posts."
"What if the cat was a gift? Your affection is all for naught."
Shen Jing directly uninstalled the app, leaving the netizens to discuss amongst themselves.
It made her want to delete her account; there was no way to explain it.
Liang Yingning took her out to eat. "Why worry? Nobody knows it’s Zhou Luchen. Rest assured, the Zhou Family doesn’t care about these things. Madam Zhou surely doesn’t even want to hear about it."
Indeed, they didn’t care.
Listening to Buddhist scriptures had clearly been pointless for them; why would they bother managing something like this?
「Back to Shanghai.」
The car stopped in the underground parking garage of the CBD Building.
Waiting for Zhou Luchen to get off work was agonizing.
Shen Jing inquired at the reception and went up to the top floor of the branch building.
Upon entering the CEO’s office, she saw Zhou Luchen. A beautiful secretary was also frequently going in and out.
Zhou Luchen glanced at her and immediately dismissed everyone.
Alone, that thin-skinned little fox finally let loose. Look at her, brazenly straddling him, her hands like duckweed bracing against his shoulders.
"Mr. Zhou, you’re quite busy. I’ve waited too long."
With a fragrant presence in his arms, Zhou Luchen was caught a bit off guard.
Shen Jing took out her phone, stammering as she voiced her grievances, "There’s a photo online. Zhuang Ming is guarding the entrance of Hongtan, and all sorts of stories are being spun."
"They’re saying things like the Rolls-Royce magnate is booking the place out of love, with bodyguards standing guard all the time."
Zhou Luchen followed her gesture, flipping through the photos with much more composure than her.
The picture showed the tightly closed doors of the Hongtan Teahouse, a bodyguard standing in a dignified posture at the entrance, and the empty surroundings. There were also various clickbait headlines.
He took off his tie. "It’s my negligence. Has it affected your ticket sales?"
"It’s not the ticket sales; it’s my reputation that’s affected," Shen Jing said.
Zhou Luchen responded with a casual hum. "Then we just won’t go there anymore."
Shen Jing shook her head, displeased.
"So hard to please. I’ll warn Zhuang Ming later; next time, he’s not allowed to stand at the door." He tightened his grip on her buttocks and watched her with interest. "Does that make you feel better?"
Sometimes Shen Jing truly felt that, as long as he was willing, whether for big issues or trivial matters, he could pamper and take care of her like a child. With that little bit of affection from him, everything seemed flawless.
She grew accustomed to their days together, so much so that whenever something came up, her first thought was to seek him out. It was ingrained in her mind that no matter what happened, he would always be there, supporting her through everything.
The office phone rang, and he pressed the speaker button.
A voice asked, "Mr. Zhou, are you still attending Juntai Technology’s dinner?"
"Don’t ask stupid questions." He hung up directly.
Mimicking his indifferent tone, Shen Jing said, "Don’t ask stupid questions."
Zhou Luchen smiled, slowly playing with a strand of her hair and giving it a mischievous tug. She flinched in pain, her head involuntarily tilting back.
"Jingjing?"
"What is it?" Shen Jing looked up blankly at the luxurious Cartier ceiling lamp.
It was as beautiful as diamonds.
She heard Zhou Luchen ask casually, "Is that what they call you?"
She rubbed her hair. "That’s what you were calling me in my ear last night."
He had nibbled on her earlobe, his voice affectionate and muffled, calling her Jingjing.
Occasionally, when moved by passion, he would call her tenderly, completely indulging himself. Afterwards, no trace of being caught up in emotion could be found in his eyes.
The more she spoke, the lower her voice became. "The little box was bought for nothing."
Zhou Luchen remained silent, a fleeting amusement in his eyes. He took her hand, and they left work early.
The staff of the joint branch office paid no attention to her presence, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
