"He... Uncle."
Shen Wanxing approached him, steadying her mindset as she called out.
The man did not lift his gaze. His slender fingers tapped on the tea set, his legs casually bent, exuding an aura of chill. He suddenly said, "Pour the tea."
"Yes, Uncle, here's your tea."
Shen Wanxing knelt down, picked up the purple clay pot, and turned her wrist to pour a cup of tea. She handed it to He Xizhou, and unexpectedly met his dark, deep eyes. Her hand trembled, spilling the scalding tea onto herself.
In her flurry, she tripped over the sofa and fell into the man's arms.
"Throwing yourself into my arms?" His lips curled in a mocking smile, his gaze on her cold.
Last night, this woman's profile had already appeared on his desk.
Her parents had died, and she had been sponsored through university by the old man and married into the He family afterward.
Her background was clean, but he always felt something was not right.
Her eyes, they were restless.
"Uncle isn't particular about his tastes, right? Otherwise, you wouldn't have done that to me last night," she said, her voice husky with a hint of chill, seemingly a bit defiant.
She thought for a long time, feeling that this man might respond to this approach.
His condition was truly peculiar.
The man's slender fingers gripped her chin.
"You are more than welcome to provoke me, but you can't afford to lose. Do you think the He family is ruled by the old man?" He lowered his head, his breath mingling with hers, utterly unconcerned that they were in a living room bustling with people.
Shen Wanxing struggled, but he pinned her hands down.
Forced to look up at him, his lips alluring and crimson, she said, "So, Uncle, you mean I should be pleading with you, not relying on Grandfather?"
A cornered rabbit will bite.
Shen Wanxing made a very bold move.
She reached out, grabbed the man's tie, looked up, and kissed him. Her kiss landed on his thin lips, tantalizing.
"Such a disgraceful woman like me, Uncle seems quite fond of," she said.
She was like a languid cat, with vengeance hidden in her eyes, but those peach blossom eyes were brimming with misty allure.
Indecent!
The man held her head and kissed her back, as if punishing her, sucking all her oxygen away, leaving Shen Wanxing nearly breathless.
"Heh..."
He released her, a light laugh spilling from his throat, his eyes like a stormy desert brewing a tempest. Those who knew him understood he was utterly furious.
"Remember your place, niece-in-law," he commanded.
He stood up, pulled off his tie, and threw it in the trash can.
Suddenly, the sound of a car was heard outside the He family mansion, growing fainter. Only then did Shen Wanxing breathe a sigh of relief.
She wiped her lips, her eyes downcast, thinking to herself, My role is your wife.
This man was tough to break, but he had one fatal weakness.
Who would have thought that Second Master He, usually so cold, actually suffered from a skin hunger disorder? He craved touch. Such closeness, this man definitely wasn't as calm as he appeared on the surface.
Otherwise, he should have pushed her away just now, not kissed her...
Rumors of his aversion to women, his apparent frigidity, were merely a façade of abstinence.
Once it started...
While he despised her, he couldn't help but be drawn to her.
Shen Wanxing was not afraid of He Xizhou despising her; she just needed He Xizhou to be unable to leave her. Once she reclaimed what was hers and completed her mission, she could just walk away.
She had nothing left to lose; if not for this, she would only be sent back to prison.
Now, she must use the power of the He family to take back what belonged to her.
After finishing breakfast alone, Shen Wanxing took a taxi to the Shens.
On the bustling streets, towering buildings stood proudly. This skyscraper belonged to the Shens. The Shen family's fashion design was well-known and exported overseas.
Three years ago, Shen Mingyue had emerged, thanks to the design drafts Shen Wanxing had left at the Shen family, which helped her excelled in an international design contest and earned her the title of the most promising new designer.
Shen Mingyue thought that Shen Wanxing would never get out of prison in her lifetime.
"Shen Wanxing? Eighteenth floor, design department. Go report to the Director's office; Director Shen is already at the company. Director is quite busy this morning, there's a meeting with He Corporation at nine."
"Okay."
Shen Wanxing's lips curled into a faint smile, her crimson skirt swaying, she pressed the elevator to the eighteenth floor. This floor was all design department, she followed the signs to find her way.
At the end of the corridor, the largest office door was ajar.
Faint ambiguous sounds leaked out, Shen Wanxing paused her footsteps, peeking through the crack. She saw that couple, the faces that had haunted her nightmares over and over—Shen Mingyue and Su Haolan.