The daybed was covered with a blue-colored bedsheet and quilt. This must have been prepared for his afternoon nap, or for him to have a rest when he was tired.
Potted plants were placed by each side of the bookshelf. On the left was arhat pine, and on the right was nandina.
She noticed an incense burner on the bookcase, where smoke was seen twirling in between a mini bronze tea stove and white jade teapot.
Just as she was admiring the elegant set-up in his study room, a silver button stud fell from nowhere and bounced off the ground a couple of times.
It made a clicking sound as it bounced and rolled all the way to land on the accordion booklet that he was writing on.
This scene, together with the disturbing sound, was strangely out of place inside the quiet study room.
The man stopped his writing and put down the brush in his hand.
At the same time, she, too, stopped checking out the room and, instead, stared intently at the silvery button. Somehow, it looked familiar to her. Have I seen it before?
Before she knew it, he had picked up the shiny stud to have a better look and his gaze finally landed on the woman standing before him.
She followed the direction of his gaze and looked down… To the shock of her life, she found out that the pearl button stud that he was holding in his hand was none other than the one used on her costume!
No wonder it looks so familiar!
This was when she realized that she had put on some weight lately due to binge eating. Hence, the button on her costume had split apart, just like a button would come undone on a modern-looking shirt.
But unlike a shirt where the buttons were lined in one straight row in the center, hers were slanted at the side. The two buttons that fell off were the first two on the top.
One was lying on his palm while the other had gone missing.
With no buttons holding the costume in place, the top piece of fabric hung loosely by the side, exposing parts of her rosy red bodice in full view.
He immediately gave her a warning look.
She was really embarrassed this time. As she tugged at the attire to stop it from sliding off, she got up and said, "Lord, I… I've put on weight recently. This costume doesn't fit me anymore. I'm not sure how the buttons came undone…"
She was tall and slender and had a figure fitting for a coat hanger.
Moreover, she had been generous with her food intake recently. His regular sleepovers at her place also meant that her figure had grown even more curvaceous and alluring.
The excesses were all aptly and only at the right spots.
Knowing full well that the man was ambitious and disliked seductive women, she'd always ensured her dressing was elegant and appropriate in his presence.
She was not averse to stripping, though. When it was time to be wanton with him, she would act the part.
Nevertheless, she knew there was a time to be proper and a time to seduce.
Take now, for instance. The man was hard at work and it was not the time for her to act alluring.
But this unfortunate incident had destroyed the image she had painstakingly constructed!
Right now, all she could do was to resign herself to fate and hope that he would truly believe her innocence.
She did not expect herself to commit such an easy blunder and could not help mocking her own stupidity. It seemed that she had overestimated her slenderness and would need to tailor some new clothes quickly.
He could tell what was on her mind with her harried expression. She looked like she wanted to crawl into a hole in the ground with embarrassment and seemed troubled over what he would think of her.
It was no big deal to him, actually. He could tell that she had put on some weight, and even the
At this moment, though, his breath had turned angry and uneven due to her silly act, yet at the same time, he found it so funny that he wanted to laugh. In the end, it took him some effort to hold back his chuckle.
With his face sinking, he placed the button in front of her. "You won't be able to concentrate on learning, looking like this. Go and take a rest on the bed. I'll get someone to bring you something to change into."
She was troubled by his words. She had not done anything wrong in the first place. He could go on with his work regardless of what had happened with her.
Getting someone to send her clothes over might invite gossip. It would appear that she was trying to tempt him in his study room for wanton intention.
He could guess what she was thinking about when he saw her mulling quietly over his words without moving.
Hence, he reassured her, "You don't have to overthink this issue. This is my house. I can do what I like!"
"Alright, then. I'll listen to you, my Lord." She went over to the daybed, pulled back the quilt, and tried to rest instead.
Oh, well, since he had reassured her with such tyranny, then she would not be bothered unnecessarily.
She was an open-minded person in the first place, and not one who was easily troubled. Added to the fact that the quilt had a faint, soothing peppermint scent, she fell asleep pretty soon.
As she was dazedly asleep, she could sense someone kissing her so fiercely that it almost cut her breath off.
She struggled to get her voice and finally managed a sound. "Eh!"
Thereafter, she was awoken by her own phantom-like sound. Am I having a wet dream?
This is unacceptable! I'm in Lord Fourth's study room right now. Wouldn't it be embarrassing if he catches me dreaming?
The thought was so disturbing that she forced herself to wake up.
It is bad enough to have my buttons popping off. I can't afford to embarrass myself further!
The moment she opened her eyes, though, she found herself staring right into his handsome face.
His eyes were as pensive and mysterious as ever.
"You have woken." He let go of her lips as he verbalized in his deep, magnetic tone.
"Eh… Then… Lord, have you finished your work?" Her hands were stretched out against the man's sturdy pectorals in an attempt to resist him.
"Yes, I've finished with the accounts." While he was busy going through the books, his heart had been stirred when he saw her sound asleep. Every now and then, he would sneak a peek at her.
So, after he was done with his business… there was no way he would let off this little vixen who had quietly enticed him.
As for her hands, it was more like they were beaconing him forward.
He leaned forward, and his torso was about to bear down on her when she hurriedly protested, "Wait… Lord, can you hold off for now? We can do this at night."
Somehow, she still felt uneasy doing this in the study room.
"What audacity! How dare you tell me to hold off, eh?" He pinched her chin and told her hoarsely, "I've already gotten someone to bring over a new set of clothing. Who cares what others think? I'll do what I want to do in broad daylight!"
With that, he tore her costume apart without another word.
She was scared stiff by his action. His vitality, even when he was not this eager, had left her high and dry each time.
Wouldn't it be worse this time when he's so aggressive?
"I'm saying this for your sake, that's why. Don't be angry. Please don't tear…" she cried out helplessly.
Her feeble resistance was no match against him.
Furthermore, the more she struggled, the stronger he applied his strength to her. "There's no point wearing this attire that splits apart easily. We may as well rip it off. Good thing it happened before my eyes only!"
His words were accompanied by a loud tear, and with that, the half-tattered clothing was completely ripped apart this time.