Chapter 20: Little Rose Part 2

Having been seen through instantly, Xu Yinian was at a loss, waiting for her judgment.

Shen Ruoshuang rose gracefully, placing the spray on the desk and pulling a fresh roll of bandages from the bag. Her voice returned to its usual tone. “Remember what you just said. You don’t like Ji Yan, and you won’t be ambiguous with her anymore.”

Xu Yinian never expected that as soon as those words were finished, Shen Ruoshuang’s finger would tap the answer button and put the call on speaker.

Xu Yinian gasped, looking to Shen Ruoshuang for help. But the other woman simply took her foot back into her lap, clearly intending to continue the bandaging.

Whether intentional or not, Shen Ruoshuang’s fingertips brushed against the sole of her foot, sending a wave of itchiness through her.

Xu Yinian was ticklish. She let out a reflexive whimper, then suddenly realized the call was active and clamped her hand over her mouth to swallow the sound.

Ji Yan’s voice came through the phone, sounding unreadable. “What is Shen Ruoshuang doing to you? Is she still not done?”

Xu Yinian didn’t dare speak. After dropping that ultimatum, Shen Ruoshuang simply waited to see her reaction, offering not a hint of help.

“N-no…”

Just as she was about to try and brush it off as she had in the past, she felt the slight friction of the bandage moving over her skin. The cool, silky sensation followed the wrapping motion, even creeping up toward her calf.

This time, it wasn’t just an itch. A strange numbness rose from her toes and quickly spread. It was even more searing than the malicious punishment Ji Yan had used to intentionally hurt her before.

Xu Yinian was terrified that if she spoke, some strange sound would escape her, so she came to a stiff halt.

In a place she couldn’t see, the suppressed desire and thirst in Shen Ruoshuang’s Peach Blossom Eyes were becoming uncontrollable. The Ice Queen’s ascetic restraint was teetering on the edge of collapse.

“Shen Ruoshuang, did you answer on purpose so I could listen? Is this revenge? Or is it… foreplay?” Ji Yan let out a cold sneer on the other end.

Left with no other choice, Xu Yinian glanced one last time at the seemingly omnipotent Shen Ruoshuang, closed her eyes, and went for broke.

“Ji Yan, if you don’t have anything important, don’t look for me anymore… don’t look for me ever again!”

Terrified of hearing a threat in return, she hung up immediately. As if she had used up all her strength, her toes were trembling.

In the next second, Shen Ruoshuang’s hand closed around them.

The depths of her eyes were filled with a flush of color that Xu Yinian couldn’t see. She parted her red lips and spoke in a voice only she could hear.

“If you’re this obedient, I won’t be able to help myself.”

Xu Yinian knew she was satisfied. Looking down, the bandaging was complete, done even better than the job at the hospital that afternoon.

Xu Yinian wanted to speak, but first, she whispered a low “Thank you.” After hesitating for a long time, she mumbled a trial.

“…Since you’re satisfied now, could you… let me go too? I… I just want to—”

Before she could finish, the air around Shen Ruoshuang suddenly turned freezing, as if they had dropped into an ice cellar. The cold made Xu Yinian shiver, and she didn’t dare continue.

“Xu Yinian, have you still not figured it out? You can refuse anyone, except for me.”

“This is what you owe me.”

***

On Sunday evening, the first rain of autumn began to fall.

The temperature seemed to drop overnight, turning the world damp and dim.

In the parking lot of the X University dormitory area, a custom-ordered classic British-white Bentley Flying Spur waited, radiating an aura of extreme elegance and wealth.

A secretary stood before the car holding a black umbrella, her brows knit together as she checked the car window every few moments. The relationship between CEO Shen Yi and her daughter was already strained; if they were late today, it would surely spark another conflict.

A figure came into view. In that moment, it felt as though the dim parking lot had brightened because of her dazzling radiance.

The secretary waved quickly, silently admiring the beauty before her. CEO Shen Yi was a famous beauty herself, her cold elegance having matured over the years into a stern, unsmiling sharpness. Meanwhile, her daughter, Shen Ruoshuang, was already showing her own brilliance at such a young age.

Though she lacked the battle-hardened, decisive aura of a mother who had survived the corporate world, her composure, self-restraint, and aloofness far exceeded her years. She was clearly no ordinary soul.

Shen Ruoshuang gave a slight nod, handed over her umbrella, and bent down to enter the back seat of the Bentley.

The moment she entered, a cold gaze swept over her.

“Being late is a sign of poor upbringing. Why didn’t you wear the dress the secretary chose for you?”

“Who knows if it was another gift from one of your lovers?”

Shen Ruoshuang’s voice was calm and level, as if she had long since grown accustomed to this suffocating, oppressive relationship.

Shen Yi sneered. “Remember your identity in front of the Bai family. Know what should and shouldn’t be said.”

Shen Ruoshuang turned her head away and said nothing. She simply watched the sharp rain strike the window, leaving marks like knife wounds on the glass.

The driver and secretary didn’t dare utter a word.

They were well aware that CEO Shen kept mistresses and changed them frequently. This was a rift between mother and daughter that could never be healed. Sometimes Shen Yi was excessively harsh and heartless toward her daughter, and though the staff saw it, who would dare to offer a word of comfort?

The Bentley slowly wound its way into the old concession area of The Capital.

Tucked away in the heart of the city was a private restaurant called Shiyan.

Shiyan had no fixed menu, specializing in innovative Chinese fusion cuisine. It hosted only one table of guests per day, and the entire garden villa provided absolute privacy and quiet.

The news of the cooperation between the Bai Family and the Shen Group had yet to be announced to the public, but the meeting between the heads of both houses and their heirs was already underway in this low-profile setting.

The cars from both families arrived one after the other.

The Bai couple was significantly older than Shen Yi, who was in her forties. However, thanks to meticulous maintenance, they did not look their age; only the shrewd, veteran gleam in their eyes betrayed their true nature as “old foxes.”

After all, those who could emerge victorious from the Bai family’s cutthroat, survival-of-the-fittest method of selecting an heir could never be as easygoing as they appeared on the surface.

The initial exchange was filled with hidden verbal barbs and underlying tension, but it seemingly had nothing to do with Shen Ruoshuang.

She stood in the shadows of the rain-soaked garden, instinctively glancing at her phone.

The screen showed a chat interface with a single, lonely message sent around seven in the morning during the indoor Military Training assembly. Even now, it remained the only text in the thread.

It’s getting colder today. If you have to go out, remember to dress warmly. Don’t let your feet get wet.

Xu Yinian had not sent a single reply.

“Miss Shen, are you waiting for someone’s message?”

A gentle voice suddenly rang out from behind her.

Reacting with defensive speed, Shen Ruoshuang clicked her screen shut. At the same time, she cast a gaze backward that was as sharp and dangerous as a cold arrow.

In the autumn rain, the figure behind her was wrapped tightly and decorously, looking as if she were permeated with the very chill of the early season.

As the shadow of the black umbrella above her head slowly shifted away, the young heir’s pale, somewhat sickly face was finally revealed. The habitual, faint smile that usually graced her lips was nowhere to be found.

Her eyes, which were typically the epitome of politeness—as gentle as water—now held a deliberate and blatant sense of offense. She scanned Shen Ruoshuang from head to toe in an inexplicably provocative manner.

“She’s beautiful, isn’t she? My Little Rose.”

“But unfortunately, she belongs to me.”