"No need——"
Wen Sheng's head was still a bit numb, her thoughts paralyzed. But she pushed Fu Yanlin away, wrapped herself in the bedsheets, and slid down off the bed barefoot. From his cigarette packet strewn on the tea table, she fumbled around for a cigarette, held it in her lips, trying to light it several times before succeeding.
She tried to take a puff, but choked and coughed uncontrollably.
Fu Yanlin climbed down from the bed, removed the cigarette from her lips, took a puff, his cold and stern face frowned at her, rebuking her with a tone of admonishment, "Bad habits."
Wen Sheng knitted her eyebrows, "You can take a shower before leaving."
Fu Yanlin blew out a puff of smoke, which hung around Wen Sheng's still flushed face, teasingly, he asked, "Are you going to kick me out after you've had your fun?"
Wen Sheng looked at him without speaking. Her big eyes were dark and shiny, but coldness filled the depths.
Indeed, despite his rough demeanor, Wen Sheng could feel that he had taken care of her, controlling himself during crucial moments. He was tender and genteel, even holding her hand when he entered her, continuously kissing her forehead.
But Wen Sheng didn't want to continue.
Fu Yanlin's stern face gradually became more defined in the dim light, an anger rolling in under his deep-seated eyes, accompanied by a mocking smile.
After a while, he crushed the cigarette in the ashtray, pulled on his trousers, and left, not even bothering to shower.
Zhu Qingjia had taught her well. This was the game between adults, clear rules. Once it's over, you part ways. No strings attached. Clear and refreshing.
Wen Sheng picked up her torn nightgown from the floor. She let out a sigh, the garment worth a few thousand dollars was now ripped apart.
She tossed the scraps into the trash bin, locked the door, and headed into the bathroom for a shower.
Standing under the shower, letting the hot water sluice over her, Wen Sheng took a while to come back to her senses.
She had actually managed to sleep with a stranger.
Though she resisted throughout the process, her disgust and resistance were overwhelmed by the man's dominating passion.
The problem that seeing a psychologist for a year and a half hadn't solved, even after spending over a hundred thousand dollars, had been easily broken through by a stranger. Wen Sheng found it absurd.
But Wen Sheng didn't dwell on it. After her shower, she crawled into bed. Tomorrow morning, she had to visit a business for due diligence.
Just before she drifted off to sleep, she sent Zhu Qingjia a message on a whim: 'JiaJia, it's so painful.'
-
The next morning, Wen Sheng got up early, the soreness in her body showing no signs of subsiding.
Before going for her business assessment, she stopped by the pharmacy next to the hotel and bought a box of Ibuprofen. She swallowed a pill with some bottled water.
The business Wen Sheng was visiting was a somewhat prominent private firm in Qingzhou: Qingzhou Restaurant.
Qingzhou Restaurant, acclaimed for its traditional Huaiyang delicacies and few popular dishes, held a prominent position locally. Any family hosting a banquet thought of Qingzhou Restaurant first.
Recent years saw the rapid development of new consumer markets. The prospects for the prepackaged food industry was immense. Looking to leverage their reputation for excellent dishes, Qingzhou Restaurant built factories and set up production lines intending to enter the prepackaged food industry.
Upon visiting the business address, Song Yu'en, the junior boss of Qingzhou Restaurant, escorted Wen Sheng around the factory and the production line. Afterwards, he showed her the reports and supplier information from the past two years, treating Wen Sheng with extreme care, as if she was a vital investor. His attentiveness came with a fear of not catering to her adequately.
Once the day of interviews was over, Song Yu'en arranged a dinner at the restaurant to continue discussing investment needs.
Just as she had taken her seat in the private room, Zhu Qingjia's call came through.
Excusing herself with an apology, Wen Sheng left the private room to answer the call on the balcony at the end of the corridor.
Zhu Qingjia demanded her to confess honestly what her midnight message meant. Where did it hurt? Why was it hurting? With a rush of excitement, she asked, "Sheng, did you use the outfit I prepared for you last night?"
Wen Sheng had no secrets from Zhu Qingjia, her childhood friend. Naturally, she explained everything.
Zhu Qingjia immediately launched into a flurry of questions, "Was the man handsome?"
Wen Sheng recalled the face, and gave a noncommittal, "Sort of."
"How about his skills?" Zhu Qingjia's curiosity was fully ignited.
"Not so much..." Wen Sheng frowned without thinking.
The man from the night before was so ruthless, she was still in pain, thanking her stars that she had been seated in her office all day. She wouldn't have been able to walk otherwise.
She sighed and said, "Jiajia, the entire process was unbearable, the experience was truly... awful."
At her words, the man smoking in the corner had a slight tremor in his hand.