Xu Yinian’s body felt like it had turned to lead, yet she remained perched precariously on the woman’s lap, her balance failing her. She breathed in sharp, ragged gasps, like a fish pulled from the water. Paralyzed by a mountain of shame, she didn’t dare make a single sound that might be picked up by the ongoing call.
Even as Shen Yi issued her cold, professional commands, her fingers were doing something entirely different. They traced idle, provocative patterns against Yinian’s waist, teasing the skin with a deliberate lack of restraint.
Shen Yi had even turned on the speakerphone. It was a calculated move, a constant reminder to Yinian that there was an audience—that someone else was listening.
It was, without a question, a deliberate act of torment.
The schedule continued to be pushed back. Past eleven o’clock.
Upon hearing this, Yinian’s slender neck and shoulders couldn’t help but shudder. Two hours aren’t enough…?
Only then did she realize this was the price for her earlier attempts to stall for time. She didn’t know how many slips she had inadvertently made in front of Shen Yi, but the woman was now collecting every debt with interest, catching her off guard at every turn.
In her dazed state, the sudden mention of Jiang Ke’s name by Secretary Zhou hit her like a physical blow.
Yinian froze. Her pupils constricted, and a wave of disbelief and panic washed over her clear, light-colored eyes.
Shen Yi’s fingers paused, but the pressure she applied was heavy with displeasure.
“Jiang Ke?”
The two syllables rolled off her red lips with an unreadable inflection. She wasn’t asking her secretary; she was addressing the girl in her arms.
“Yes. She claims to be Miss Xu’s sister…”
As the secretary continued, Yinian’s heart descended into chaos. She instinctively looked up, only to find those deep, cold eyes already peering into her soul.
Seeing that reaction, Shen Yi was certain that Yinian indeed had such a sister. However, she highly doubted the girl had come out of the goodness of her heart to offer thanks.
Shen Yi always measured human intent through the lens of profit and gain. Aside from the girl currently cowering in her lap in utter humiliation, who ever approached her without a calculated scheme to squeeze out some benefit?
Shen Yi narrowed her eyes. She recalled Yinian’s files; she had caught a glimpse of an uncle surnamed Jiang who ran a medical rubber equipment business in the Capital.
“A low-level mistake born of sentimentality.”
Though she was long accustomed to her boss’s ruthless lack of sentiment, Secretary Zhou’s face still paled at the rebuke. She forced herself to remain calm, and finally, the pieces clicked into place. No wonder…
She reported, her voice hesitating, “Recently, Mr. Jiang’s largest client, Xinyu Medical, suddenly switched glove suppliers. His business has shrunk significantly, leaving him with a massive surplus of stock. He’s desperate to sell. A few weeks ago, he even brought gifts to try and scout our manager’s intentions… the results were not ideal.”
But if CEO Shen hadn’t shown such an uncharacteristic obsession with Miss Xu, the secretary would never have been so bold as to disturb her for an opinion on such a trivial matter!
The moment Yinian heard Shen Yi’s words, she realized that Ke-ke had offended this untouchable, arrogant woman. As she listened to the secretary’s report, her face grew even paler.
Xinyu Medical belonged to the Bai family.
Has Uncle’s family fallen into such a crisis…?
But now wasn’t the time for that. Shen Yi must have misunderstood Ke-ke. Driven by a sudden surge of desperation that overrode her fear and desire to escape, Yinian’s only thought was to protect her cousin.
“It… it was my fault. I didn’t go back to the dorm that night. I lied and said I was staying at Ke-ke’s house. She only helped me cover it up so I wouldn’t get in trouble. I… I had to lie to her and say it was about the Financial Aid.”
“She—she doesn’t know anything about the family business. She definitely didn’t mean anything else by coming here…”
Yinian’s voice, weak and trembling, grew smaller and smaller until she had no confidence left. She was nothing more than a pawn Shen Yi used to control Shen Ruoshuang. Why did she think Shen Yi would let go of her anger just because of a few pathetic explanations?
Shen Yi’s grip tightened on the curve of Yinian’s waist. She looked down at her for a long time before speaking. “You can barely look after yourself, yet you’re so fond of pleading for others?”
Whether it was a scheme or not didn’t matter anymore. This girl was so foolish that even if she knew she was being used, she would probably do it willingly.
Yet, this was the first time Shen Yi had seen this timid girl, who usually did nothing but pull away, show such a protective side for someone else.
In the Shen family, familial bonds were thin to the point of nonexistence. Even biological sisters or mothers and daughters treated each other like strangers or enemies. And yet, here was Yinian, caring so much for a mere cousin.
Shen Yi felt a flicker of disdain, but her gaze darkened with a dangerous, predatory glint.
“You knew how to beg before, didn’t you?”
“Besides… you didn’t think I’d just let that hickey go, did you?”
On the other end of the line, Secretary Zhou held her breath, deathly silent. She knew CEO Shen was demanding “compensation”… but it felt more like the CEO was being wrapped around the young girl’s finger.
Whatever private agreement was reached, the secretary heard Shen Yi drop a final command—”Find an excuse to make her wait”—before hanging up.
“CEO Shen is currently with another guest. If it’s convenient, could Miss Jiang please wait for a moment?”
Jiang Ke knew that Shen Yi’s interrogation of Yinian wouldn’t end so easily. She wasn’t surprised. She nodded gratefully, but the moment she turned away, her somber eyes fixed intensely on the door of the lounge.
***
Inside, what the secretary hadn’t heard was Shen Yi pressing her cold lips against Yinian’s ear, whispering every word with sharp intent.
“Since she could do it, it shouldn’t be that difficult for you.”
She… she wants me to leave a hickey on her?
Shen Yi didn’t know the truth, but Yinian knew it all too well. It wasn’t just “her”—it was all three of them…
Yinian’s cheeks burned. The sheer absurdity of the situation had reached a point where her shame began to numb. Just as she closed her eyes and steeled herself to get it over with, Shen Yi spoke with agonizing slowness.
“What are you waiting for? Do you want me? Do you want me to kiss you like she did, and then listen to you call out her name again?”
Shen Yi’s possessiveness was a suffocating thing. That “matter” was clearly not going to be forgotten.
“Have you ever left a hickey on anyone else?”
Seeing the girl shake her head in a frantic, conditioned reflex, the cold, tense lines of Shen Yi’s face finally softened slightly.
“Then remember this first time well. Do it yourself. When you’ve left a mark just like the one she gave you, I’ll let you go.”
Shen Yi was a master of human nature. With a single sentence, she had pinpointed Yinian’s weakness. Given her status and power, Shen Yi could have anything she wanted with ease; she had never needed a “mark” to claim ownership. Even after their long night together previously, she hadn’t left a single trace on the girl.
But Yinian only felt the calm, effortless weight of that immense control. There was no escape. Time and again, she was stained with the scent and marks of others, but she had always been the passive recipient. It allowed her to maintain the excuse that she was being forced, a way to flee from the reality of it.
But this… this would be the first time she left her own mark on someone else.
Yinian had never even kissed anyone, let alone left a hickey. The shame she had just barely managed to suppress came flooding back. And because she was in Shen Yi’s arms, every humiliating reaction of her body was laid bare to the woman.
Shen Yi’s gaze fell upon the slight sway of Yinian’s skirt.
“You let someone else kiss you like that, but you don’t know how to do it yourself? Or do you need me to teach you?”
Hearing the word “teach,” Yinian was forced to speak. “Where… where should I…?”
Following Shen Yi’s gaze, she suddenly remembered. The hickey Shen Yi had discovered was the one on her knee. She doesn’t want me to do it there too, does she?!
“Now you know shame.”
With an unreadable sneer, Shen Yi’s cold, elegant fingertips covered the back of Yinian’s hand, guiding it toward the collar of her silk shirt. A single button had been lazily undone.
It was a flash of cold glamour, a sharp contrast to the usual image of the “ascetic” flower who always kept her collar buttoned to the very top.
Shen Yi’s grip tightened, catching Yinian’s restless attempt to pull away.
“You’ve already peeked. What are you hiding for?”
“Whether it’s on the outside or the inside… think carefully.”
“After all, if it’s somewhere that can’t be covered… your ‘dear sister’ will see it too.”
