Shoutout to Alinaza for the commission!
The dim yellow light outlined the man’s deep features.
This face of his truly matched Jiang Se’s taste all along.
Those glasses were nothing but a disguise, used to cover up the aggression in his bones.
The glasses hit the wooden floor with a “bang”.
Before that, his lips had already fallen, without any gentleness or lingering, prying open her teeth and driving straight in.
He was sharp all over, and the way his soft tongue stirred around inside her mouth was the same.
Violent, direct.
He must have drunk something iced beforehand, the tip of his tongue carried a chill when it pushed in, but in no time it turned scorching.
Jiang Se’s tongue root and tongue tip were both made sore by him, and when she was nearly suffocating, she instinctively pushed at his shoulder.
He seemed to let out a laugh, the sound muffled in his chest, crushed again between their lips and teeth.
Lu Huaiyan released his hold on her lips and tongue, lowering his head to take her earlobe; that piece of soft jade beneath her ear he had touched before fell into his scorching breath, the needle-tip-sized ear hole pressed by his tongue tip, his breath like a wolf eyeing its prey.
She clearly could breathe, yet the air grew thinner and thinner.
Her body softer and softer.
Jiang Se reached out unconsciously, wanting to grab onto something, but her injured right hand was caught tightly the moment it lifted. Pressed against the wardrobe door through soft fabric, with his other hand he grabbed the loose belt at her waist and yanked.
“Stand steady, Sese.”
Saying so, his lips moved recklessly downward, and all those droplets rolling from her hair onto her skin were swept up into that heat.
Jiang Se’s pitch-black eyes gradually misted.
In front of her was a distant mirror wall. Under dim yellow light, the black bathrobe had already slid to her elbows, half her left fingertips hidden inside the sleeve, the other half buried deep in his hair, sliding down with the motion of his head.
The sound of fireworks from the riverside came from far away, but she heard nothing at all.
Her consciousness sank into chaos.
Accompanied by weightlessness.
When she was seventeen, Jiang Se had once been dragged by Guo Qian to ride a roller coaster in New Jersey.
It was the scariest roller coaster in the world; in just a few seconds, they were sent 139 meters into the air, then dropped vertically at 206 kilometers per hour. At the highest point, she saw Manhattan’s drifting skyline.
And when the weightlessness hit, her soul was forced away from her body, all awareness sinking into chaos.
In that overwhelming weightlessness, she and Guo Qian screamed without restraint.
Now, in this moment, as countless fireworks blossomed in the night, that feeling of falling from high altitude returned again.
Only this time, every scream that should have spilled out turned into soft, rapid breaths.
In the dim space between clothing, Lu Huaiyan straightened, lowering his gaze to the girl with tightly furrowed brows and trembling lashes, his eyes very dark, flames burning in their depths.
When the man’s rough hand caught her chin again, Jiang Se seemed to return to herself. She opened her misty eyes, tried to avoid him, but it was already too late.
He kissed her head-on.
Dominant posture, the invading tongue still carrying that devastating violence.
Jiang Se got angry, bit down hard on his tongue, and the taste of blood spread in an instant.
Lu Huaiyan let her bite, but his strength didn’t lessen; veins bulged along the back of the hand gripping her jaw.
When the kiss ended, his nose brushed hers, gaze sweeping over her swollen lips. In his hoarse voice was a hint of laughter: “You really do have a wisdom tooth.”
Anything said at a time like this brought a shock to her senses.
A single sentence made her recall how his tongue had just licked her teeth, how it pressed against that especially sensitive soft flesh behind her wisdom tooth.
Jiang Se stared at him.
His left hand still held her right wrist captive. As if unable to endure her gaze, Lu Huaiyan released her wrist, stepped back, and said in a low voice again: “Stand steady, Sese.”
“……”
Without the strength he had pinned her with, Jiang Se only felt her body grow even softer, the muscles in her thighs aching like she’d just finished running three thousand meters.
She bit her lip, forcing herself to stand, though her hands hung powerless.
The black bathrobe slipped from her wrist to the floor, and Lu Huaiyan took the T-shirt she’d chosen earlier from the side, unhurriedly helping her put it on, then slowly lifted her hair out from inside the collar, strand by strand.
The clothes on the man remained meticulously neat; though his shirt and trousers had a few creases, there wasn’t a trace of disorder.
She had been tossed in raging waves again and again, while he remained composed, as if entirely in control.
Not that he truly was.
Jiang Se lowered her gaze over his belt, then slowly lifted it again, staring into his eyes filled with heavy desire.
Lu Huaiyan didn’t hide anything on him or in his eyes, letting her look. He turned, opened a drawer to the side, and put on a new pair of glasses and a watch.
When he turned back, everything simmering in his eyes had vanished.
Jiang Se averted her gaze, breathing slowly and lightly twice, and when her heartbeat settled, she walked out barefoot.
The indescribable aftertaste still flowed through her flesh and blood.
But even though her legs were weak, each step she took remained steady.
She had barely walked a few steps when a faint agarwood scent came from behind; the man’s arm, hard like an iron brand, wrapped around her waist, and with a single motion he lifted her onto the glass counter holding the cufflinks.
Jiang Se shot him a glance: “I can walk on my own.”
“Put on your shoes first.”
A few steps to the sliding door, Lu Huaiyan took a pair of lake-green indoor shoes from a gift bag.
These were the indoor shoes Jiang Se preferred in winter, short wool plush, with a small indentation at the heel, a signature design of a certain luxury brand.
When the shoes went on, the skin on the top of her foot looked especially pale by contrast.
Jiang Se lowered her gaze to the man half-kneeling to help her with her shoes.
He’d been in this position just moments ago.
Jiang Se had never imagined he would satisfy her in this posture and in this way.
It must have been the first time; at the beginning he actually had no technique at all.
But he was too smart. From her breathing, her voice, and the muscles she couldn’t control tightening, he knew where her weak points were, and how to manipulate them.
That feeling of soul and body being forced apart at high altitude, just when she thought it should end, a second and third wave crashed down on her in madness.
He used a submissive posture to forcefully take control of everything.
Right now her ankle was being held in his hand, that clear-boned hand like a shackle; once it clasped, there was no escaping.
Jiang Se shook her foot and said: “I’m sleepy, let go.”
She really was feeling sleepy; after something inside her found a place to vent, her whole person loosened, and exhaustion and drowsiness surged in like water, engulfing her from head to toe.
Lu Huaiyan lifted his eyes.
The black T-shirt on her only reached her thighs, her straight, slender calves hanging limply, all that white dazzling to the eye.
Her delicate collarbone showed from the loose neckline. It was half covered by her fluffy long hair; half hidden, half revealed, carrying a meaning that enticed one to go deeper.
The marks Lu Huaiyan left on her were somewhat shocking.
He released her ankle, stood up, looked at her and laughed: “Already sleepy? Thought you’d need the real thing for you to finish venting.”
Jiang Se lifted her lashes.
Those words carried teasing, mixed with ambiguity and laced with pampering.
After saying that, he leaned down. With one hand, he swung her onto his arm, carrying her out of the cloakroom.
Jiang Se’s hands rested softly on his shoulders; when he was about to put her on the bed, she suddenly used force, circling his neck instead, and whispered beside his ear: “It’s not like we can’t continue venting, using the real thing.”
The two of them fell onto the bed along with the motion, the girl’s fluffy, thick hair spilling over the dark gray sheets.
Lu Huaiyan disentangled her hands that were crossed behind his neck, pinned them above her head, lifted himself slightly, and looked down at her.
This girl really couldn’t be provoked; her body was that weak, yet she still dared to tease him like she didn’t want to live.
But her pull on him far exceeded what he expected; those things he had just pushed down surged back with fierce force, wildfire burning in his eyes.
Jiang Se saw his Adam’s apple move, the cool pale skin over it pulled taut, and in the silence was forced to form a curve tinged with desire.
Lu Huaiyan lowered his voice: “Sese, if your hand wasn’t injured, if you weren’t drugged tonight, back in the bathroom, I wouldn’t have let your feet touch the ground.”
After he finished, he turned his eyes away, grabbed the blanket with his free hand, lightly draped it over her, and said without room for refusal: “Now, sleep obediently.”
Lu Huaiyan left a wall lamp on for Jiang Se; when tucking her in, he asked: “Need a sleeping pill?”
Jiang Se shook her head: “Turn off the wall lamp, I’m not afraid of the dark.”
Lu Huaiyan turned off the light.
The curtains were tightly closed; the sound of fireworks was shut outside.
He sat on the sofa by the window, one elbow propped on the armrest, quietly watching the small rise of the blanket on the bed.
Jiang Se opened her eyes, stared at the blurred figure by the window, and softly asked: “Why are you still here? Weren’t you going to the Cen house to get the surveillance?”
Since the Cen family refused to cooperate, Mo Jichen naturally couldn’t get in.
Lu Huaiyan grabbing his coat was only along the way; his real intention was to personally retrieve the surveillance.
“Not in a hurry. I’ll go after you fall asleep.” he said lightly.
Jiang Se then closed her eyes: “Tell Mrs. Ji, if the Cen family still refuses to cooperate, then what happened back then in the painting institute will no longer be a secret.”
Her voice was muffled in the blanket, soft and gentle, tinged with exhaustion and sleepiness.
But the words themselves were a dagger pulled from its sheath.
Lu Huaiyan’s eyes in the darkness held a hint of amusement: “Mm, sleep.”
Jiang Se fell asleep not long after.
Her breathing was long and light, like the sound of snow falling.
Lu Huaiyan listened for a moment, then rose and left the bedroom.
—
The crystal chandelier of the Cen family’s old residence, which had stayed lit all night, was still swaying with dazzling, enchanting light.
The music had ended, and the luxury cars parked outside the residence had all departed.
For those guests who traveled from afar, the Cen family had arranged their hotel accommodations in advance.
Butler Yu had just sent off the last group of guests; when he turned around, he caught sight of a familiar car and hurried to raise his umbrella and head over, only to be beaten to it.
Looking closely, it was that extremely spoils-the-mood police detective.
Mo Jichen was standing outside the gates smoking, cigarette butts littering the ground around his feet.
When Lu Huaiyan got out of the car, he removed the cigarette from his mouth and strode forward, saying: “Didn’t you get my message? I already got tonight’s surveillance. My people are collecting the items Miss Jiang used to drink tea. The banquet here just ended; probably will take another half hour to wrap up.”
As if not seeing the old butler who was holding an umbrella nearby, Lu Huaiyan kept walking, going straight in with Mo Jichen. “Cen Mingshu let you in?”
Mo Jichen hummed: “That chairman of the Cen family was scared we’d ruin tonight’s banquet, so they directly called our chief to complain. Luckily the one you mentioned is a fierce one, she came personally to open the door and led us in.”
Lu Huaiyan’s gaze darkened slightly; he didn’t say anything, only nodded once.
In the banquet hall, aside from the people Mo Jichen brought, there were only servants cleaning up the mess on the tables and Cen Li; Cen Minghong and Ji Yunyi weren’t inside, likely exhausted from the day and had already turned in.
Seeing the figures in the hallway, Cen Li walked out from the banquet hall, looking at Lu Huaiyan with surprise: “Why did you come over? Auntie and Little Yu already left for the hospital to see Sese, you didn’t run into them?”
Lu Huaiyan glanced at him, lightly saying: “I left my coat at the viewing pavilion. I came back to get it. Take me there.”
It was just a coat; a phone call could have someone bring it over, why would Lu Huaiyan come personally?
And besides, he’d been to the viewing pavilion before; he wouldn’t not know the way.
Having Cen Li lead him clearly meant he had something to say.
Cen Li assumed it was about Jiang Se being in the hospital, so he nodded and walked with him toward the pavilion.
Lu Huaiyan’s pace was fast, the dark blue overcoat on him left open, the hidden placket blown aside by the sharp wind, revealing long legs wrapped in ink-colored suit pants.
Mo Jichen glanced at his figure, then quickened his steps to follow, keeping a not-too-close yet not-too-far distance behind the two men ahead.
Cen Li had been busy all night, and had a bellyful of strong liquor; his head was buzzing and swollen, and now that the cold wind blew on him, he was a bit more awake.
“I heard from Little Aunt that it was you who sent Sese to the hospital, thanks, brother.”
Lu Huaiyan didn’t pick up the thread. When they reached the viewing pavilion, he caught sight at once of the suit jacket Jiang Se had left on the sofa.
Hooking the jacket over his arm, one hand in his pocket, the pair of eyes lit by the fireplace quietly looked at Cen Li.
“You don’t need to thank me. I didn’t send Jiang Se to the hospital because she’s your little sister.”
Lu Huaiyan paused here, the corner of his lips slowly lifting into a thin, cool smile: “Cen Li, have you noticed? You’re always asking others to take care of her, but you’ve never once stepped forward for her. So what kind of ‘older brother’ are you? And what kind of position do you have to thank me for taking care of your ‘little sister’?”
Cen Li was stunned by his head-on, merciless words: “Ah Yan…”
“After your grandfather died, your Cen family didn’t even have one person capable of guarding the door. Others reach their hands into your house, raise their palms to slap your faces, and all you know how to do is stand here waiting for others to handle it for you. No wonder the Cen family now has to rely on marriage alliances to save its declining sunset fortunes. One little sister didn’t work out, then change to another little sister. If your grandfather knew this from the afterlife, he’d probably regret terribly not passing the Cen clan to Cen Mingshu. Because neither you nor your father has the decisiveness or ability a head of the house should have.”
The man used a tone with no emotion, saying the cruelest words.
These utterly merciless words pinned Cen Li to the spot like sharp blades.
He opened his lips, wanting to explain something, but couldn’t force out a single word.
It was at this moment that Lu Huaiyan coldly and ruthlessly drove in the final knife to Cen Li’s heart.
“Did you know? Seven years ago, when she was rescued blindfolded in that abandoned factory, the first thing she called out was ‘older brother’.”
