Chapter 130: Negotiation Part 2

Xu Yinian was exhausted. She wanted to hurry up and pull herself together.

She was the one who had been kissing someone else, so why was she the one suffering from oxygen deprivation and lack of strength, trembling as if she might collapse?

Her hands, which had been propped on the chair, could only reach up to clutch the woman’s lapels like a lifeline to maintain her balance. In the end, she remained entirely under Shen Yi’s control.

Yinian never realized that as a natural “pillow princess,” even a little bit of exertion was enough to leave her in this state.

Shen Yi’s expression remained devoid of any lingering desire, save for the various “masterpieces” Yinian had left on her collar and collarbone. She stood in stark contrast to Yinian, whose hair was damp at her forehead, her lips glistening, and her cheeks flushed—the very picture of someone who had been bullied ruthlessly.

Watching Yinian, who was now busy ignoring her to clean up her own traces and distance herself, Shen Yi felt a flare of displeasure.

It felt like she had been used and tossed aside.

Furthermore, even though Yinian was clearly struggling and had to lean against the desk for support, she refused to ask for help. Shen Yi had never seen anyone like this; she practically had to force the girl to let her wait on her.

Shen Yi stood up. “Weren’t you just too tired to sit up? Now you have the energy to clean yourself?”

Yinian had no idea why Shen Yi was picking on her again and felt a surge of grievance. When she was with the others, she never had to clean herself up before she’d even caught her breath.

Why would the noble and arrogant Shen Yi ever serve anyone?

The moment that thought crossed her mind, those sharp high heels appeared in her field of vision. Shen Yi easily cornered her in the narrow space against the office desk.

The sound of a plastic wrapper being expertly torn open startled Yinian. It wasn’t until a cool moisture wiped across her forehead that she realized it was a wet wipe.

Only then did the realization hit her.

Yinian was in a daze, feeling a bit overwhelmed by the sudden favor. If the secretary or the many lovers who had been rejected by Shen Yi saw this, their jaws would likely hit the floor.

Yinian had no idea what had happened to Liu Qiao, whom she had seen before, or just how cold-hearted CEO Shen truly was. This was a favoritism reserved for her alone.

As someone with obsessive-compulsive tendencies, Shen Yi did everything with perfect, rigorous precision. Just as she had pulled up those beautiful stockings earlier, she smoothed out every wrinkle and trace on Yinian’s body.

The secret was conservatively hidden; Yinian looked even more respectable than when she had arrived.

She sat on the sofa, looking small and nervous, appearing like any other ordinary student who had come to see Shen Yi.

“Come in.”

At that command, Yinian’s heart, which had just begun to settle, leaped into her throat once more.

Everything was cleaned up, but Shen Yi herself had no intention of fastening that second button!

The silk shirt draped naturally. It didn’t look overly exposing, as her cold elegance suppressed any sense of debauchery. But the problem was that the ambiguous crimson mark Yinian had just made—the one she couldn’t bear to face—was flickering in and out of view with the movement of the collar.

What if Jiang Ke saw it?!

Shen Yi saw right through her panic. “Did I say I would button it? You’re the one who looked for a loophole. Now, live with the consequences.”

Shen Yi didn’t mind extending a little “love me, love my dog” courtesy, provided she was satisfied first. For instance, she found satisfaction in silently making their relationship clear in front of the girl’s cherished relative.

Yinian was practically moved to tears of frustration. She finally realized that the woman’s silence while she was playing her little tricks had been a trap. As always, Shen Yi was going to demand payment in other ways.

She regretted it immensely. If she had known it would come to this, she would have thrown caution to the wind. Why hadn’t she just kissed a spot further inside?

Just then, there was movement at the door.

At the thought of facing her cousin, Yinian grew so tense she no longer had time to worry about the hickey Shen Yi was intentionally leaving exposed.

Jiang Ke had been watching the time. She had waited for over twenty minutes before Shen Yi finally let her “older sister” go. It was likely because of her sudden appearance that some new conditions had been discussed.

As the door opened, her eyes frantically searched the room. Once she saw Yinian was still there, her gaze remained glued to her, checking her over from head to toe.

With a guilty conscience, Yinian had even put her thick coat back on, looking almost exactly as she had when she arrived. She didn’t realize that Shen Yi had quietly lowered the air conditioning temperature so that she wouldn’t feel stifled or overheated.

Aside from her pale face and obvious signs of low spirits and tension, Yinian’s reaction was exactly what one would expect after being threatened and oppressed. There truly didn’t seem to be anything amiss.

Jiang Ke breathed a silent sigh of relief. She didn’t dare show any more unusual emotions, realizing she had let her concern cloud her judgment. That woman had too many tricks up her sleeve; just because she had come for a face-to-face meeting didn’t mean she would immediately detain Xu Yinian or force her away from Shen Ruoshuang.

While Jiang Ke was inspecting Yinian, Secretary Zhou’s gaze drifted between the two.

Secretary Zhou recalled those sounds over the phone; there had certainly been some “tussling.” However, to have cleaned up so perfectly in such a short amount of time without leaving a single flaw… that smelled like CEO Shen’s handiwork.

Jiang Ke looked up. It was the first time she had been this close to the sharp woman at the top of the pyramid. Previously, even at gala events, she had only seen her from a distance.

The woman’s aura was as powerful and indifferent as ever, her gaze scrutinizing and arrogant, making it hard to look her in the eye.

Jiang Ke had always hated the high-and-mighty elite. Facing this blatant contempt now, darkness grew in her heart, yet she didn’t dare show a hint of it. Whether it was for the sake of the Jiang family or her sister, she couldn’t afford to provoke this woman in the slightest.

Jiang Ke had no idea that her parents had secretly approached Shen Group for help in their desperation, so she didn’t understand where this disdain came from.

She continued her act as usual, but her gaze gradually froze on the woman’s lapel, which had shifted as she leaned back.

There, she saw a dazzling crimson mark, blooming beneath the dark red silk shirt.