Another Day of Pretending for the Wealthy Couple - Chapter 39

Ji Tanyuan raised her hand to shield her eyes from the bright light.

Peeking through the gaps between her fingers, she saw the man in the sports car staring at her expressionlessly.

Zhong Yan? Why would he come to Shanghai?

Shen Xiling followed her gaze and released her hand. “He’s here to pick you up. I’ll head off first.”

Ji Tanyuan nodded. “Drive safely.”

Zhong Yan watched the pair coldly. Ji Tanyuan was gentle and dignified, while Shen Xiling carried an upright demeanor. In terms of temperament alone, they seemed quite compatible.

Zhong Yan curled his lips in a silent, mocking smile. If he hadn’t shown up, would they have shared a sorrowful, long-awaited embrace tonight?

Ji Tanyuan got into the car. “What are you doing here?”

Zhong Yan replied coldly, “What, did I interrupt your date with an old flame?”

Ji Tanyuan paused. “Where did you hear that? Xiling and I have never had anything beyond friendship.”

Zhong Yan scoffed. “No need to explain to me. I’m not curious. I just want to remind you, you’re a married woman now.”

Ji Tanyuan turned to look at him. The man’s face was expressionless, his sharp profile veiled in frost.

“Are you angry? We just had a simple meal.”

Zhong Yan kept his tone icy. “Why would I be angry? What’s there for me to be angry about?”

Ji Tanyuan muttered under her breath, He’s clearly about to explode with rage.

Wait, why is he angry?

As if reading her mind, Zhong Yan said, “I don’t want to be cuckolded.”

Ji Tanyuan was displeased. “That’s going too far. There was never anything between us before, and there won’t be in the future.”

Zhong Yan sneered. “Who knows? Maybe someone enjoys chasing thrills.”

Feeling the sports car accelerate, Ji Tanyuan grew anxious, fearing he might drive them straight into the river in a fit of anger. “Calm down. I don’t have that kind of preference.”

She reached out and held his arm, changing the subject. “Why did you come to Shanghai?”

Zhong Yan replied without changing his expression, “When I looked in the mirror, I noticed a faint green glow above my head, so I came to check on you.”

“Who knew the mirror had such magical powers? If I hadn’t come, it might’ve turned into real cuckoldry. You’re something else, Ji Tanyuan, daring to cuckold me right in your hometown. Think I can’t handle you, huh?”

Ji Tanyuan genuinely wanted to tear his mouth apart at that moment. But considering he was driving, she took a deep breath and said, “Pull over.”

Zhong Yan stopped the car by the roadside. “Getting out? Suit yourself-”

Before he could finish, Ji Tanyuan reached out and twisted his mouth. “Your mouth is so foul. Let me see if there’s some evil spirit in it.”

This was the first time Ji Tanyuan had resorted to physical action. She realized that with someone like Zhong Yan, if she couldn’t win with words, she had to use her hands.

Zhong Yan felt her twisting his mouth, rotating it a full 90 degrees. She really seemed intent on tearing it off. He grunted, wrapped an arm around her waist, and yanked her forcefully into his embrace. Caught off guard, Ji Tanyuan’s arm went limp from the sudden movement.

Zhong Yan rubbed his mouth, which felt slightly numb, and looked up with a sinister smile. “Ji Tanyuan, you’re asking for it.”

Ji Tanyuan had had enough of his mouth, the sarcastic, incessant babbling.

“Why don’t I see you being this violent with anyone else? All bark and no bite.”

Ji Tanyuan retorted, “You slander people all day long. If I really wanted to cuckold you, you couldn’t stop me.”

Zhong Yan pinched her lips. “Your mouth is pretty sharp too.”

Ji Tanyuan realized she was kneeling on his lap, the man’s hand still pressed firmly against her waist in an intimate posture.

She pushed against him. “Let me down.”

Zhong Yan tightened his grip on her chin, holding her firmly as he kissed her without room for refusal. “Down where? You think you can come and go as you please?”

His lips descended, leaving no inch untouched.

Their shirts crumpled together, riding up as his hand traveled upward from her waist.

Moving inch by inch until it reached her bra.

Ji Tanyuan’s eyes widened slightly as she raised her hand to stop him, but at the same moment, the clasp snapped open.

Click.

The tension in Ji Tanyuan’s heart, which had been building without her realizing it, snapped instantly like the bra clasp.

She gasped, her lips flushed and plump like lychees, glistening with moisture, which only fueled Zhong Yan’s inner heat.

“What are you doing? We’re on the road.”

Zhong Yan hummed in response. “The Bund’s night view is so romantic.”

He had never been one to restrain himself. Holding back only benefited others, and morality was for binding others, not for constraining himself.

Zhong Yan’s rebellious nature defied all norms, utterly devoid of restraint.

But Ji Tanyuan wasn’t like that. Car sex? Unless she’d lost her mind.

“No! Your car is easily spotted by street photographers. If we’re seen, it’s over!”

Zhong Yan kissed the corner of her lips again. “I have the papers.”

Both a driver’s license and a marriage certificate.

Ji Tanyuan covered his mouth. “Your mother won’t blame you, she’ll blame me. If we’re caught, I’ll be the one facing the criticism.”

With his mouth covered, Zhong Yan narrowed his eyes at her. Ji Tanyuan’s eyes shimmered with unshed tears, her shirt unbuttoned, revealing a tantalizing glimpse.

Zhong Yan closed his eyes. Seeing this, Ji Tanyuan adjusted her clothes and moved to the passenger seat.

“Can you please stop casually saying things about me cheating on you? If you say it too often, I might actually start believing it.”

Zhong Yan was momentarily stunned. “Wh-wh-what… what?”

Ji Tanyuan repeated, “If you keep saying it, I might get so angry I actually do cheat. So don’t provoke me.”

Zhong Yan realized then that Ji Tanyuan was quite the character.

How could she say something so dangerously provocative with such calm?

Zhong Yan nodded. “You’re something else.”

Ji Tanyuan turned her head to look out the window, avoiding his gaze.

Zhong Yan drove straight to his own home, which, surprisingly, was in the same neighborhood as Ji Tanyuan’s.

It was an 800-square-meter duplex apartment, decorated in black and white, still empty except for an English-speaking robot butler greeting them.

Ji Tanyuan followed him inside. Before she could even set down her bag, the man turned around, cupped her head, and kissed her again.

The kiss was violent and urgent, desire instantly flooding her senses. The buttons she had just fastened were undone once more. Enveloped by his tall frame, her shirt slipped down, revealing her delicate shoulder.

Zhong Yan bent over her, the lingering intensity of the deep kiss swirling around them. He nibbled her earlobe. “I think I can make you quite happy. Why would you even look at other men?”

“Tell me, I’m free and even pay you. There are no other women. What reason could you possibly have to seek someone else?”

Ji Tanyuan took a few deep breaths, her collarbone rising and falling, flushed red. “You’re being unreasonable. You’re the one accusing me of things I haven’t done.”

Zhong Yan rubbed her lips. “You know better than I do. Keep your distance from that pre-marriage flirtation.”

Ji Tanyuan looked up. “Zhong Yan, are you jealous?”

Zhong Yan lifted her into his arms. “Since you’re now officially Mrs. Zhong, you need to be mindful, especially in Shanghai. It wouldn’t look good if others saw you.”

“If the Zhong family finds out, you’re done for. My father and grandfather value face above all, and even my company has to tread carefully around government perceptions. What about you?”

Ji Tanyuan was taken aback. “So I’m not allowed to interact with the opposite sex at all?”

Zhong Yan glanced down at her with a look that said, You know exactly what I mean.

“Shen Xiling isn’t just some colleague. He’s part of the Jiangnan leadership circle. Given that you’re already married into our Yanjing family, getting too close to their side would raise suspicions of playing both ends.”

She explained, “It was just a simple meal with him, and we only talked about personal matters. I won’t have much contact with him in the future, so don’t worry.”

Zhong Yan gave her a long, searching look. Ji Tanyuan blinked back, as if to say, I’m telling the truth, my intentions are sincere.

Left with nothing more to say, Zhong Yan could only express himself through affection.