Volume One, Chapter One: Bodily Needs
Outside the window, the sky was still a dull gray.
When the phone rang for the fifth second, Wen Yang woke up. She reached out from under the covers, her fingertips fumbling in the darkness for a long moment before finally touching the cold screen.
Her eyes hadn’t fully opened yet, and driven by instinct, she groggily answered the call.
“Hello?” Her voice was soft and drowsy.
“President Pei, the finalized promotional plan has been sent to your email.”
“You’ve got the wrong number.” Without a second thought, Wen Yang hung up and rubbed her eyes, the lingering sleepiness slowly fading from her gaze.
The phone’s glowing screen was dazzling, and her eyes gradually focused.
On the screen was a Baidu search page: “Does my ex-girlfriend sleeping with me mean she wants to get back together?”
Most of her sleepiness vanished instantly as she snapped wide awake. When did she even search that?
Memories of last night flooded back. The person behind her seemed to be waking up too, his arms circling her waist and pressing her back against a burning-hot body.
“Awake?” Pei Yanchuan’s voice sounded in the darkness. Following the light, his hand reached out and grasped both the phone and hers.
“An ex-girlfriend might want to reconcile, might just have physical needs, or maybe it’s simply because you’re good in bed...” His lazy, husky voice read aloud the “answers” from Baidu, word by word.
Wen Yang pulled her hand free from his half-embrace, blushing so deeply she nearly bit her lip.
Thankfully, the room was still dim, allowing the redness at her ears to hide in the shadows.
“Three years without seeing each other, and you’ve gone mute?” He took back the phone, and with his other hand, effortlessly encircled her waist again, whispering close to her ear with a tone both intimate and teasing, “You want to get back together, and this is how you do it?”
“I didn’t...” Wen Yang blushed furiously, her mind a chaotic mess.
Last night, intoxicated and under the influence of medication, he had been the shining lifeline she clung to.
But now—
He was no longer the devoted, perfect boyfriend who adored her deeply. He was the young CEO taking over the Pei Group. They’d been broken up for three years.
“Last night, President Pei, it could be understood as...” After hesitating, she finally managed to say the difficult part, “I had physical needs.”
Pei Yanchuan scoffed, finding it utterly uninteresting.
Wen Yang had no intention of staying any longer. She pried his hands off her waist and swung her legs off the bed.
In the faint morning light filtering through the window, she rummaged through the scattered clothes on the floor to find her own.
He, meanwhile, caught sight of the faint red marks on her pale, elegant shoulder blades and the slender curve of her waist, delicate enough to be held in one hand.
Wen Yang dressed in the same light blue shirt and gray skirt as yesterday.
The mirror reflected a striking, beautiful face—her porcelain skin flawless under the light, with a single beauty mark beneath her eye lending a cold allure.
She rubbed her face hard in the mirror, reminding herself to stay alert.
By the time she stepped out of the bathroom, the bedroom lights were fully on.
Pei Yanchuan was already seated on the sofa opposite the bed, a cigarette burning between his fingers. He wore a loose-fitting pajama top, the first two buttons undone, exuding a lazy sensuality.
His sharp, commanding features remained unchanged, though she’d never seen him smoke before. When had he learned?
The Pei family’s most cherished heir, with one of the most handsome faces in Xuancheng, and a temper to match.
When silent, he carried an intimidating aura, distant and unapproachable, his features sharp and profound. Yet now, a flush colored his face.
When she knocked on his door last night, her consciousness was mostly gone, so she hadn’t noticed his unusual complexion.
Only now did she realize: “You have a fever?”
Pei Yanchuan lazily met her gaze, an innate dominance and impenetrable aura in his eyes. “Otherwise, how do you think you could have succeeded?”
Implying she had forced herself on him.
But clearly, he had taken control later on.
Recalling last night, Wen Yang’s face warmed with embarrassment. Trying to act casual, she changed the subject. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going now.”
“If you slept with me unilaterally because of physical needs,” Pei Yanchuan glanced at her with a half-smile, crushing his cigarette in the ashtray beside him.
The embers hissed out.
“I’ll sue you for intentional humiliation.”
Was that even human language? Wen Yang stopped in her tracks, disbelief flashing in her eyes. “You’re going to sue me?”
“You just sleep whenever you want?” He looked at her indifferently, his brows coldly furrowed, his voice laced with resentment. “Do you take me for a prostitute?”
Wen Yang was the quintessential cold beauty—delicate features, an aloofness that kept strangers at bay. But now, her moist eyes wide open, glaring at him, gave off an endearing innocence.
Watching her struggle, Pei Yanchuan’s mischievous side was satisfied, a faint dimple appearing on his cheek, a stark contrast to his usual demeanor.
He stood and approached her, clasping the nape of her neck. Before she could react, he pressed his forehead against hers.
His gaze fell on her flushed lips. His forehead burned hot, and her heart quickened in response. Their noses touched.
She caught a faint scent of tobacco and woody fragrance, and instinctively stepped back, breath uneven.
“I had a fever over 40 degrees last night, delirious, and my ex took advantage of the opportunity,” he murmured into her ear as she retreated, his warm breath falling like soft rain.
His pajama top was already open at the collar, and as he leaned closer, more skin was revealed.
Wen Yang kept her eyes fixed ahead, but the kiss mark on his collarbone caught her eye—an intimate pink stain. Below that was a lean, well-toned physique.
In that moment, she felt a momentary lapse, distracted by the thought: His body is really well-trained.
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