Volume One, Chapter 25: You’re Not Seriously Thinking of Rekindling Things with Her, Are You?

"Not running anymore?"

Li Shiyan looked at her.

He was wearing gray lounge pants and drying his hair with a bath towel. His upper body was bare, his pale, yellowish skin stretched taut over defined muscles. Tiny, crystalline droplets of water slid down his torso, disappearing into a region that invited endless speculation.

The problem was that it was early in the morning, and with those gray lounge pants, certain parts of him could no longer be described as merely "noticeable."

He was... truly well-endowed.

She felt that her previous assessment of him being "clearly aging" could be retracted, just a little.

Ning Yu looked at him, her face heating up, and shook her head frantically.

Her gaze dodged, and she blushed again; he noticed it with ease.

"It’s just a normal physiological reaction," Li Shiyan said, his voice husky. "Not only have you seen it before, but you’re quite familiar with it."

Ning Yu remained silent, her face flushed with humiliation; when it came to shamelessness, she had lost to him again.

Outside the door, the person seemed not to have heard the response from within and, unwilling to be ignored, began pressing the doorbell again.

Ning Yu shrank toward Li Shiyan. "It’s Lin Haoyu outside."

"So?"

The man tilted his head to look at her. "Are you really that afraid of him?"

"It’s not fear... it’s just that it would be very troublesome," Ning Yu explained.

It would truly be troublesome. She had just used a video to strike a deal with Mother Ning: as long as she became engaged to Lin Haoyu, she would receive five percent of the shares in the Ning Corporation. She didn't expect to use five percent of the shares to threaten anyone, but everything needed a start for her subsequent plans to proceed smoothly.

No sooner had she finished speaking than her chin was caught in his grip, forcing her to meet his gaze.

His eyes were too sharp, as if he could see through her eyes and discern every emotion hidden in her heart.

Panic-stricken, Ning Yu grabbed the towel in his hand. "Uncle, let me go in and hide."

She was too docile, and she had changed her form of address, stripped of all personality. He suddenly lost interest and withdrew his hand. "I actually quite want him to see. That scene would certainly be spectacular."

Ning Yu: ...

That would be more than spectacular; if he really saw them, the entire Ning family would be turned upside down.

This man was simply a chaos-monger; the more chaotic things were, the happier he was.

Outside, Lin Haoyu had waited long enough, his patience wearing thin. "Uncle, open the door! My father asked me to come and check on you! Grandfather sent me too."

The sound of the doorbell hammered against Ning Yu's eardrums, making her feel agitated.

Ning Yu took the initiative to grab the man's wrist. "Uncle, what will it take for you to let me go this time?"

He stared at her for two seconds. "Same as before: I don't engage in losing deals."

Losing deal, my foot! He was the one who had his way, he was the one who enjoyed it, and now he was using this to threaten her.

She could only curse him in her heart.

Ning Yu forced a smile. "Next time you’re free, Uncle, just call me. I’ll be at your beck and call."

Li Shiyan seemed satisfied with her initiative. "Go to the bedroom."

Relieved, Ning Yu hurried into the bedroom and hid behind the door.

The door opened.

Peering through the gap, she saw it was Lin Haoyu.

Ning Yu had no mood to listen to what they were saying; she was busy calming her racing heart.

When Lin Haoyu entered the room, he immediately noticed something was wrong. His uncle, who usually kept people at a distance, had several red marks on his body. Although they were fading, they hadn't disappeared completely. To someone like Lin Haoyu, who had plenty of experience, it was obvious at a glance that they were scratch marks left by a woman.

He didn't need to ask a single word; it was clearly that sort of business.

What was shocking was that such things would appear on the usually ascetic Li Shiyan!

Lin Haoyu felt as if he had discovered a new continent. He leaned in, sniffing the air, and smiled ambiguously. "Uncle... you’ve finally broken your fast, haven't you?"

Li Shiyan didn't look at him. "Are you that idle?"

Lin Haoyu, thinking that Li Shiyan’s previous tolerance of him was due to their bond, leaned in shamelessly. "Uncle, we're all men! Isn't this kind of thing perfectly normal? Don't worry, Uncle, I won't tell Dad or Grandfather. Just let me see who she is?"

As he spoke, Lin Haoyu looked toward the half-open bedroom door and spotted a box of condoms on the nightstand at a glance.

Hiding a woman, were they?

Why would a man have condoms? Obviously, he had a very rich nightlife.

Lin Haoyu smiled even more excitedly. "Uncle, she’s in the bedroom right now, isn't she? What a coincidence! Let me see? Let me meet my future aunt?"

Ning Yu stood behind the door, her entire body numb and rigid.

Lin Haoyu really lost his brain whenever he was in front of Li Shiyan!

"Aunt," indeed!

She was afraid that if he caught even a glimpse, he would scare her soul right out of her.

Li Shiyan’s gaze was cold and sharp. "Say what you have to say, then get out."

Seeing his reaction, Lin Haoyu became even more emboldened, grinning. "Don't get angry, Uncle! You know about my situation with Yunyun. We're men, after all; even if it's not someone you're going to marry, it’s normal. Who doesn't have physiological needs? I’m just curious, what kind of woman could make you, Uncle, feel a stir of earthly desire?"

He truly believed Li Shiyan valued him, and he said this to pull Li Shiyan into the role of a comrade-in-arms. If he could see Li Shiyan’s woman, they would have leverage over each other.

Ignoring the resistance, Lin Haoyu boldly strode toward the bedroom.

He reached the doorway in a few steps. Ning Yu was hiding behind the door, as tense as a tightened string, her heart in her throat.

Just as Lin Haoyu was about to step inside, where a mere turn of his head would reveal Ning Yu, the tall man surged forward and kicked Lin Haoyu.

Lin Haoyu was kicked hard by Li Shiyan, but he didn't dare to retaliate. "Uncle... isn't that a bit too ruthless?"

Li Shiyan blocked the doorway and barked coldly, "Get out!"

Intimidated by Li Shiyan’s cold, overbearing pressure, Lin Haoyu froze for a moment, then nodded hurriedly and ran off.

Once he was gone, Ning Yu felt her body go limp, and she closed her eyes, leaning forward.

Instead of the expected hard, abrasive touch of the door, she felt her forehead press against the man’s cool skin.

Li Shiyan looked down at her. "At my beck and call."

"Yes, but only this once," Ning Yu said, clutching his arm, her forehead resting on his shoulder as she took a deep breath.

She really couldn't get entangled with him anymore. It had only been a few days, and she felt like she was on a roller coaster every day; it was too nerve-wracking.

Just this once. Once it was over, they would be even.

...

When Ning Yu returned to the Ning residence, a scene had just unfolded.

According to the servants, Ning Yunyun and Mother Ning had had a huge fight. Ning Yunyun had left the house in a rage, refusing to answer calls or reply to messages.

Mother Ning was having people look for her, but there were no leads yet.

Ning Yu rubbed her temples. Ning Yunyun must have gone to find Lin Haoyu.

What was difficult was her own situation: she hadn't returned all night, and she had stumbled right into the path of Mother Ning, who was already furious about not being able to find her precious daughter.

As expected.

The moment Ning Yu entered, Mother Ning scolded her on the spot. "Where have you been?"

"Team building with colleagues. I drank a bit and didn't make it back in time," Ning Yu explained.

"Kneel!"

Seeing her indifferent attitude, Mother Ning launched into a barrage of insults.

"Do you have any idea that you are about to be engaged?! There were men at this team-building event, weren't there? If Lin Haoyu finds out you spent the night out with male colleagues, what will he think?! Do you still want this engagement to go through? If the Lin family rejects you, what prestigious family in the capital would still want you? How much money and effort do you think I spent to groom you? If you can't find a good husband, won't all my hard work be in vain? The Ning family isn't doing well, the company isn't doing well; who do you think pays for the experts to search the world for your blind son?"

Ning Yu stood there, Mother Ning’s words like vines, binding her tightly.

Yanyan’s illness could only be treated by the Ning family for now. The only specialist who could help had received financial support from Father Ning years ago. If it weren't for that, she wouldn't be stuck here unable to take Yanyan back.

She could no longer be a qualified painter; Yanyan could not spend his life in darkness.

Ning Yu clenched her fists, enduring Mother Ning’s endless scolding—it was, in fact, a daily occurrence.

Mother Ning was like this whenever she was in a bad mood.

After Mother Ning finished her tirade, she calmed down slightly and looked at her. "Do you know you were wrong?"

"I do," Ning Yu said, bowing her head.

Mother Ning stood up, her gaze flickering as she caught sight of the faint bite mark behind her ear, and her expression changed instantly. "Take off your clothes!"

Ning Yu expressionlessly undid the frog buttons and took off her cheongsam.

The next second, Mother Ning slapped her across the face!

Her ears rang with Mother Ning’s shrill interrogation: "Ning Yu! I really thought you couldn't land Lin Haoyu because of Yunyun. So... it’s because you were already 'soiled'! How could you be so shameless?! Tell me! These hickeys all over your body—which wild man did you sleep with?!"

Her ears were buzzing, and her right cheek burned with pain. Ning Yu wiped a bead of blood from the corner of her mouth.

"Fine, very well. You won't say, will you? Very well. Someone, take her to the discipline room and carry out the family punishment!" Mother Ning commanded.

Ning Yu was dragged into the discipline room, and two hours later, she was carried back to her room by the servants.

Since Ning Yu was no longer a virgin, it meant one less bargaining chip. Mother Ning was furious and ordered Ning Yu to be locked in the house for three days, forbidden from leaving.

No one dared to visit her.

In the middle of the night, the nanny, Aunt Li, dared to come and apply medicine to Ning Yu. Looking at the bruised and purple back, her tears couldn't stop falling.

At first, Ning Yu could hold on and comfort her, but later, she was too exhausted and drifted off to sleep in pain.

That night.

"Dr. Li, you’re not on the night shift tonight, are you? What’s the plan? A date with a beauty?"

Cheng Xiuming had just finished his shift and was taking off his white coat.

"Yes," Li Shiyan replied, undoing his buttons with one hand to change into his own clothes.

"Really... a man who’s broken his fast is just different! Ignoring your friends for a woman?" Cheng Xiuming teased.

In his heart, he was both happy and worried for his brother.

He was happy because the person was Ning Yu.

He was worried, also because the person was Ning Yu.

Thinking of this, he asked tentatively, "You don't really... intend to play for real, to rekindle an old flame with her?"

Li Shiyan carefully straightened his collar and even adjusted his hairstyle in the mirror.

After all that, he still hadn't received a message.

He picked up his phone and checked the time. The message he had sent two hours ago remained unanswered, lost in the void.

He sneered.

"At your beck and call," she said. Just like eight years ago, it was all a lie.