Chapter 2: Tangled at Dawn
839 Words
Lin Shuwan glanced back, a flicker of guilt in her eyes, only to meet the man’s teasing gaze.
Fully sober now, she realized he was even more handsome than she had imagined.
His features were sharply defined, each one remarkable on its own—the high, straight nose, the prominent brow, and beneath it, a pair of regal, disdainful eyes like those of a mythical phoenix.
If you took any single feature, it would be perfect; together on his face, it was breathtaking.
But his beauty wasn’t gentle—it had an edge, a dangerous allure.
In short, it was the kind of beauty that could make your heart skip a beat.
A flicker of thought crossed Lin Shuwan’s mind: last night, she had gained something.
But last night was last night. Tangling further with him would be pointless now.
Her current situation was precarious; there was no need to invite trouble.
His arm still rested around her waist, their bare bodies pressed together beneath the sheets, radiating heat.
She pushed him off her chest, her tone cool and deliberate, like a femme fatale slipping through a crowd of admirers. “You’re a grown man. You’re not expecting me to… take responsibility, are you?”
Fu Yanci raised an eyebrow. “I saved you last night.”
From a group of lecherous men, from the effects of the drugs—he had been the one to protect her.
“I gave myself to you, didn’t I?” Lin Shuwan said matter-of-factly.
It was only natural; she had offered herself. There was nothing wrong with that.
“You’re quite skilled at twisting words. Ever considered becoming a defense attorney?” His voice was cold.
“Do you expect me to marry you?”
Lin Shuwan lifted her delicate wrist and tapped his shoulder lightly. “In this line of work, falling for a client is the cardinal sin.”
Fu Yanci’s brows furrowed, his dark pupils narrowing slightly.
A client?
What did she take him for?
Looking at the woman’s “heartless” expression, there was no trace of the weak, pleading girl from last night.
He had seen women be ruthlessly seductive before—but cold and distant like this? Never.
Lin Shuwan sat on the edge of the bed, bending to pick up her clothes. Her soft, curled hair fell over her shoulders, revealing the slender, pale curve of her back.
Fu Yanci leaned against the headboard, eyes half-closed, noting the reddish-purple marks on her skin—the ones he had left last night.
Yesterday she had clung to him; today, she acted as if he were a stranger. Truly, a merciless woman.
Once dressed, Lin Shuwan took his phone, unlocked it with a glance, found his payment app, and transferred ten thousand yuan directly.
“This is already much higher than the market rate. I hope you stick to professional boundaries—don’t bother me, and don’t mention last night.”
Without even looking at him, she patted her own rear and walked out.
Returning to Lin's residence on the first day feeling completely lost, she realized no one even noticed her absence.
Of course—her phone had no messages or missed calls.
The four members of the Lin family sat happily in the living room, listening to Lin Yuyao recount amusing stories. Every eye glimmered with affection and warmth.
They were a real family. She felt like an intruder, unable to fit in, only disturbing their existing happiness.
“Shuwan, why are you up so early?” her mother finally noticed her.
She hadn’t even realized she hadn’t come back last night.
Lin Shuwan pressed her lips together and offered a casual explanation, “I lost something last night, so I went to look for it.”
“Something? Was it important?”
“What could she possibly have of value?” Lin Yuyao snapped, her tone cutting. “Lin Shuwan, don’t flaunt that pitiful image when you come to our house. People might think the Lin family is broke!”
“Yuyao!” their mother scolded, neither harshly nor lightly. Yuyao merely stuck out her tongue in defiance.
“Nothing, I’ll just go upstairs and rest.”
Exhausted.
More exhausted than after last night’s three-hundred-round battle in bed.
Her room was at the very end of the second floor.
Hidden, unseen—just like her position in this family.
The lighting was poor, the space cramped, like someone had hastily cleared a storage room to make a room for her.
Lin Shuwan lay on the bed, wrapped tightly in the blanket, letting her sadness grow slowly from the depths of her heart.
She didn’t know if it was the sudden life of living under someone else’s roof, a life she couldn’t fit into.
Or the loss of her jade Rubi pendant.
Or giving her first time to a stranger.
Whatever the reason, none of it was what she had ever imagined for herself.
She didn’t understand why the Lin family had taken her back.
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