A Twisted Love Affair-Chapter 183: Good girl, let’s cry when we get home"_1

Shen Jing quickly made her decision and pushed the door open to leave.

Just as she turned the corner, someone shoved her forcefully against the wall. The impact sent a numbing pain through her lower back.

"My little chili pepper, long time no see."

Shen Jing’s pupils contracted as she looked at the man before her.

Heaven had gratuitously blessed him with a dashing, celebrity-like face.

Shen Jing was speechless. "You damn pervert! You clearly don’t like me, so what if you win the bet? Are your family’s stocks going to surge tonight or something?"

"Who says I don’t like you?" Cheng Jinchuan lowered his gaze, chuckling teasingly as he pinched her chin. "Little chili pepper is plenty feisty. I just love the thrill of chasing you." 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Shen Jing huffed and turned her face away. "Stop giving me ridiculous nicknames. I’m not your little chili pepper."

Cheng Jinchuan leaned in, his breath brushing her cheek. His fingers traced her delicate skin before giving it a pinch. "I’ll call you whatever I damn well please. The more you resist, the more I want to conquer you."

Conquer? Who was in the mood to play games with him? Shen Jing gritted her teeth. "Your ’like’ is really cheap."

The mockery in Cheng Jinchuan’s eyes was frivolous. "But to you, it’s worth contracts of over a billion. How can you stand firm in the Imperial City Root without weighing the gains and losses?"

"Director Cheng, you seem to be in high spirits."

A low, masculine voice sounded from the side, tinged with a carefree amusement at the unfolding drama.

Shen Jing knew that voice all too well. She turned her head in confusion, instinctively muttering, "Luchen..."

Zhou Luchen was leaning against the wall, his tie nowhere to be seen, his open collar revealing the strong, sexy line of his throat. He took a drag from his cigarette, the smoke swirling down as his Adam’s apple bobbed, an incredibly masculine movement.

White smoke curled around him. Through the lingering haze, his long eyes were narrowed lazily.

An imposing, unshakable aura.

He seemed like a stranger, as if he didn’t know her at all.

With Zhou Luchen’s arrival, the malicious aura around Cheng Jinchuan vanished instantly. He straightened his black coat and greeted him like an old acquaintance, "Well, if it isn’t our Second Young Master Zhou."

"It’s been a while since we last gathered. I just saw you in the news yesterday. Your sudden appearance really gave me a start."

The cigarette smoldered between his fingers. He curved his lips into a refined, intricate smile. "I heard my girlfriend might be pregnant with my child, so I rushed back, of course."

Shen Jing looked up, her gaze inadvertently meeting Zhou Luchen’s. Her heart jolted. Spoken so lazily from his lips, the words sounded like a jest.

Before this, Cheng Jinchuan hadn’t heard about Zhou Luchen having an official girlfriend. Hearing it now, he could only offer congratulations.

"That’s wonderful news! Next time, Second Young Master Zhou, remember to bring your lady out for us to meet. Which family’s fine young woman managed to capture our esteemed Second Young Master Zhou, I wonder?"

These people certainly knew how to flatter. Zhou Luchen’s girlfriend was a ’fine young woman’ in their words.

But her name, Shen Jing, was summed up in a single phrase: whoever ’got’ her was the winner.

"No need for next time," Zhou Luchen said, his thin lips curling slightly, his voice unhurried. "The person is right in your arms."

"I’ll certainly arrange a banquet..." Cheng Jinchuan’s words were cut off mid-sentence, the smile on his face abruptly freezing. What had been polite small talk between acquaintances now struck him with a chilling realization: every word from Zhou Luchen had been aimed directly at him.

Girlfriend... my child...

The person is right in your arms...

Cheng Jinchuan had an epiphany.

Second Young Master Zhou, revealing so much information so casually... this wasn’t brotherly chatter. That bastard was warning him!

Cheng Jinchuan became incoherent. "This is..."

Zhou Luchen looked at Shen Jing. His voice, resonant and firm, cut through Cheng Jinchuan’s stammering. "Come here."

Shen Jing clutched her dress tightly and threw herself into Zhou Luchen’s embrace, whining with a deliberately exaggerated pout, "Uncle, I’ve been wronged!"

The title of ’Zhou Luchen’s girlfriend’ was indeed useful.

At the very least, Cheng Jinchuan wouldn’t pester her anymore.

Cheng Jinchuan was stunned.

"I..."

"She..."

"You..."

"Xie Qinyang..."

Cheng Jinchuan stammered, unable to form a complete sentence from the four fragments.

What a perverse nickname! That ’Uncle’ rolled off her tongue so smoothly, dripping with flirtation.

Her eyes welled with tears, making her look like a drenched, pitiful puppy.

Clearly, Second Young Master Zhou was no different—a man driven by carnal desires, delighting all the more in protecting the beautiful treasure in his arms.

Cheng Jinchuan was utterly flabbergasted.

The two of them clung to each other, Zhou Luchen’s arm around the beauty’s waist so tight it seemed he wanted to meld her into himself, like deeply enamored lovers reunited after years apart.

Was this still the Zhou Luchen he knew?

Was this still the Shen Jing who always rejected him and gave him the cold shoulder?

Zhou Luchen removed the cigarette from his lips and smiled, a hint of aristocratic pride in the curve of his lips. "Your hand."

The words were directed at Cheng Jinchuan.

How should one put it? Cheng Jinchuan knew Zhou Luchen was Zhou Zhaoping’s own grandson. Deep down, he was wary of Zhou Luchen’s status and aura, so he extended his hand without hesitation.

Zhou Luchen slowly pressed the still-burning cigarette into Cheng Jinchuan’s palm. His voice was smooth and unruffled. "Does it hurt?"

No matter how calloused his palm, it couldn’t withstand the slow, grinding pressure. The searing pain shot through him, bone-deep, and veins throbbed on Cheng Jinchuan’s forehead. But the man in front of him was a Zhou.

The name "Zhou Zhaoping" was synonymous with the very foundations of the Imperial City Root...

In other words, in ancient times, they would be royalty, dukes, or high ministers.

"Why don’t you guess, Second Young Master Zhou?" Cheng Jinchuan said with a forced smile, fury simmering beneath the surface, though he didn’t dare let it erupt.

Zhou Luchen twisted the cigarette again. The knuckles of his hand whitened with the pressure, the taut skin over his cheekbones highlighting the formidable power he exuded.

Only when the cigarette had completely extinguished did Zhou Luchen speak, his smile devoid of warmth. "I don’t have an ashtray. Would you mind disposing of this for me, Director Cheng?"

Every word was ostensibly polite, yet he maintained an air of lofty dignity, as if no one else was worthy of his notice.

The trash can was clearly just a meter away. Cheng Jinchuan gave a momentary cold smirk.

Zhou Luchen, you really are something. Truly ruthless.

No wonder that Xie brat was always protecting Shen Jing, always helping her. He was doing it out of loyalty to his ’brother,’ looking out for his woman.

"Xie Qinyang never told me she was your woman! This was a deliberate setup, wasn’t it? To make me offend both of you! The Zhou and Xie Families have had it in for the Cheng Family for a long time, haven’t you? You’re all a bunch of damn schemers, just waiting for me to walk right into your trap!"

Zhou Luchen’s expression remained unchanged. He simply tightened his arm around the beauty, pressing her closer. "As long as you understand. Now, I might just have to inform Old Master Cheng that you’ve been rather ’immature’ today."

The underlying message was a clear warning.

Any smart person would understand.

Any more insolence from Cheng Jinchuan, and Zhou Luchen wouldn’t spare anyone—not Old Master Cheng, not the entire Cheng Family.

"You actually dare, Zhou Luchen!" Cheng Jinchuan finally exploded, dropping the respectful ’Second Young Master.’ "Our grandfathers often play chess together! Would your elder brother approve of this? Would the Zhou Family approve of you acting like this?"

Zhou Luchen acted as if he hadn’t heard a word, not even deigning to glance at Cheng Jinchuan. He freed one hand and effortlessly shifted Shen Jing, settling her astride his hip. "We can cry properly when we get home."

His voice and actions mirrored the way he used to pamper her: supporting her bottom, his lips brushing her ear, his words both lewd and intimately suggestive.

Shen Jing shot a quick glance at Cheng Jinchuan, then lowered her head. Best to play along for now. She timidly snuggled into Zhou Luchen’s embrace. "Mhm, we’ll cry when we get home."

Cheng Jinchuan turned away, a smirk playing on his lips. So, Second Young Master Zhou has been secretly keeping a woman. This is getting interesting.

The dignified atmosphere of the banquet, filled with formal toasts and conversations, shifted the moment people saw Second Young Master Zhou descending the stairs carrying a young woman—and none other than the Shen Family’s Fourth Miss.

Now, even those who hadn’t understood before were forced to.

Rumor had it that Fourth Miss Shen was trying to attach herself to the Xie Family. But now that she was clearly Second Young Master Zhou’s woman, it seemed Young Master Xie had merely been helping look after her on the sly for his friend.

Some offered flattery, others tried to ingratiate themselves, and many raised toasts.

"Second Young Master Zhou, an honor, truly an honor!"

Zhou Luchen merely nodded, his demeanor polite and proper, but offered no verbal response.

Shen Jing’s face burned with embarrassment. Now she’d never be able to explain this away.

The moment they were out of the manor’s main gate, Shen Jing immediately jumped from Zhou Luchen’s arms and bolted without a backward glance. "Thank you for tonight, Second Young Master Zhou! Let’s not meet again!"

She was in such a panic that, THUD, her phone slipped from her grasp and fell to the ground.

Zhou Luchen calmly reminded her, "Your phone."

She scrambled back, snatched up the phone with lightning speed, and then took off running again, as if desperate to put as much distance between them as possible.

Zhou Luchen remained standing, not pursuing her. He leisurely accepted the car keys from an attendant, opened the car door, and drove off.

If she could actually manage to hail a cab out here in the Northern Suburb, he’d call her ’grandma’ for the rest of his life.