Seeing Xu Yinian swaying precariously in the slightly bumpy car, Shen Yi’s voice didn’t sound the least bit caught up in desire.
Xu Yinian’s hand, half-hidden by her sleeve, indeed loosely wrapped around her neck, unaware that the forward lean caused her entire body to press against her.
The heating had been on inside earlier, so Xu Yinian wasn’t wearing her long padded coat. Her loose sweater barely reached her wrists, and because of her sitting position, it had ridden up even further, leaving only her grey cotton leggings underneath.
Soon, the grey fabric was stained a darker shade, the moisture continuing to spread downward.
By the time they reached the main residence, even Shen Yi’s pants were marked by a large, dark patch.
Shen Yi glanced over, her gaze darkening a fraction more.
The butler had already received word and was waiting in the garage with Lu Yan.
Secretary Zhou had only mentioned that Miss Xu had been drugged by one of CEO Shen’s enemies; she hadn’t specified the exact nature of their relationship.
The butler was well aware that the main residence was strictly off-limits to lovers, and she felt a flicker of unease at the situation. However, since the employer herself had chosen to break the rule, the butler certainly wasn’t going to stir up trouble by informing the Young Mistress, who lived there permanently.
Even without the secretary’s instructions, she knew that every effort had to be made to keep this matter under wraps.
Just as the butler moved to assist Miss Xu, she saw CEO Shen step out of the car, lean down, and personally gather the girl into her arms.
The girl looked to be only in her late teens, and her features were obscured by the dim light of the garage. She seemed incredibly petite and entirely devoid of strength, nestling limply against CEO Shen’s chest.
A jolt of surprise went through the butler. She quickly raised an umbrella over them, ushering them through the front doors.
Whenever CEO Shen returned home, the staff were required to lock the Young Mistress’s cat in the pet room. It was common knowledge that CEO Shen disliked animals. Furthermore, that disabled cat had a foul temper; it was wild and untameable, refusing to let anyone touch it except for its owner.
As the group hurried toward the infirmary, no one noticed that the cat, confined to its room, had suddenly caught a familiar scent. It began scratching at the door frantically, leaping up and down and yowling at the top of its lungs to be let out.
There were only ten minutes left until the eleven o’clock curfew. Outside, the torrential rain showed no signs of stopping, and the obsession in Shen Ruoshuang’s eyes deepened.
…As expected, she isn’t coming back.
At that moment, a notification popped up on her phone, capturing her undivided attention.
It wasn’t the message she had been longing for. Instead, it was an alert from the pet-monitoring camera she had installed in the cat room. The system usually sent a notification whenever there was a significant disturbance to prevent accidents.
Because of Buwang’s disability and limited mobility, it rarely triggered these alerts.
A sense of foreboding washed over Shen Ruoshuang. When she tapped into the live feed, she saw her cat locked in the pet room, behaving with an unprecedented level of agitation.
The cat was only ever locked away when Shen Yi returned. But even then, it had never been this desperate to get out.
The cold glint in Shen Ruoshuang’s eyes sharpened.
Buwang hated pungent perfumes. It had suffered a stress response once before when the secretary visited, and Secretary Zhou would never make such a mistake again.
This meant Shen Yi wasn’t just home—she had brought someone with her.
…A lover wearing perfume?
Seeing that there were only three minutes left until curfew, Shen Ruoshuang snatched up her coat and umbrella and walked out the door.
On this rainy night when Xu Yinian would not be returning, her cat was her only solace. She had to go back and guard it herself to be at peace.
A blood test showed no signs of actual poisoning, and the secretary had forwarded the laboratory results for the drug.
The primary effect of the substance was to drain the victim’s strength; its aphrodisiac qualities were merely a side effect. Fortunately, the toxicity and long-term side effects were minimal. Once the drug wore off in a few hours and she had some sleep, she would be fine.
It was already too late to induce vomiting, and Lu Yan suggested that a stomach pump might be more traumatic than simply letting the girl endure the remaining effects.
Seeing that the situation was stable, Shen Yi went to take a shower, leaving instructions for the maid to help Xu Yinian change and clean up.
When she finally entered the guest bedroom, she found Xu Yinian dressed in a cotton robe. The girl’s legs were tangled together, and she was sobbing softly in distress.
In front of so many strangers, Xu Yinian’s instinctive sense of shame had kept her impulses suppressed. It was only now, alone in a room, that she could finally resort to the same desperate methods she had tried in the car.
But she had nothing to help her. It wasn’t working…
When a familiar figure appeared, Xu Yinian felt a sudden surge of joy.
“I… I want…”
That was the only expression Xu Yinian had learned from her limited vocabulary for this situation. Her voice broke into jagged sobs, her words carrying a heavy, singular dependence as she pleaded.
That one unpolished phrase was enough to make Shen Yi break her own rules.
She walked over, her voice dropping to a dangerous register. “Are you sure? You’re the one asking for this.”
Her slender, well-defined hand pressed down against the cotton robe, a clear prelude to forcing the girl’s legs apart.
If Xu Yinian had been seeking a defensive line of safety before, being forced open like this caused her to panic instantly.
“No… Don’t…”
Faced with those familiar features and that icy gaze so close to her own, Xu Yinian instinctively cried out a name in her panicked state.
“Shen… Shen Ruoshuang…”
Shen Yi’s movements froze. The atmosphere in the room plummeted as a heavy, oppressive pressure radiated from her.
She finally understood. This was why the clearly delirious Xu Yinian had called out the name “Shen” the moment she fell into her arms, even before she could see her face.
It turned out the person she was calling for wasn’t her at all.
CEO Shen had never tasted such a bitter insult—to be on the verge of taking a woman, only to hear her call out another person’s name. And that person was her own daughter.
“What is your relationship with Shen Ruoshuang?”
She took a deep breath, her grip tightening rather than loosening. She forced the girl’s legs further apart, her posture becoming a silent threat.
Terrified, Xu Yinian dissolved into fresh tears, turning her head away to avoid looking at her.
Just then, there was an urgent knock on the door. It was the butler.
“CEO Shen! The gate guard just called—the Young Mistress has suddenly returned!”
