Savage Kiss - Chapter 19

“So, you have surveillance cameras in your hotel’s private rooms?” Shen Yanzhou shifted his focus.

The manager stammered nervously, “N-no, no! Don’t worry! No one saw anything that happened tonight. If a single word gets out, I’ll shut down my business!”

Shen Yanzhou: “You shutting down would mean my money goes down the drain?”

The manager: “Then I won’t shut down…”

This ancestor was too hard to please. “Next time the young lady visits any of our hotels, I’ll make sure she’s treated with the utmost care!”

Only then did Shen Yanzhou hang up.

…

The next day.

Xu Qingyi sent the finalized materials and photos of the first-tier model to Ke Yan for review.

Ke Yan praised her over WeChat: [Not bad at all. You switch between two tracks effortlessly.]

…

Xu Qingyi took a long nap in the afternoon.

When she woke up, there was a rainbow outside.

A while later, Ke Yan messaged her again:

[By the way, Zhang Jinsi seems to know you signed with another company. I ran into him at dinner a few days ago, and when your name came up, he didn’t have nice things to say. I’m worried he might cause trouble for you, so be careful.]

Ke Yan was being extremely diplomatic. Zhang Jinsi was the kind of person who wanted Xu Qingyi’s design talent but refused to pay her what she deserved.

Before, he had taken advantage of her desperate situation, acting like some kind of savior, offering high rates during negotiations, only to slash her pay afterward.

Now that the girl had made a name for herself in the industry and left, he was fuming. He kept saying he was the one who “raised her up,” and that he wouldn’t let Xu Qingyi have it easy without him.

Xu Qingyi: [I’ll be careful.]

Truthfully, she didn’t think Zhang Jinsi would actually do anything. Otherwise, he might not have even paid her last time.

So, after staying extra vigilant for several days without any incidents, she eventually forgot about it as work piled up.

Xu Qingyi was hit with a burst of inspiration. In just one day, she completed the design and sculpting for the new product, then mailed it to Ke Yan.

Once approved, production would begin.

…

Four days later.

Ke Yan sent her a package full of adult toys, with a note: [The older models are samples for upgrades. The new ones are gifts for you, after all, it’s your debut work. The user experience is top-tier!]

Xu Qingyi seized the momentum and started working on the upgrades for the older models.

That day, she happened to see Shen Yanzhou suddenly post on his Moments.

Before this, like her, his Moments had been pristine and unused, just a single dividing line.

This time, he posted a photo of a new yacht. The lounge was far more luxurious, with spacious and comfortable interiors.

No caption.

Speaking of which, it wasn’t until after she and he had done it on the yacht that night that she found out the yacht was his.

“So, Ma Xu still yelled at you?” She couldn’t help feeling a little indignant on his behalf.

Only after asking did she realize, he wasn’t the one piloting the yacht for Ma Xu. Why had he acted so submissive that day?

He said, “He wanted to show off in front of the girls. Shouldn’t I play along? We’re close, we do this all the time.”

She felt much better after that. That night, she had kept worrying he’d get his pay docked because of her.

Over the next few days, she was swamped with work and barely went out. She ran into Shen Yanzhou twice.

Once, when she was delivering food to the auto repair shop, Shen Yanzhou gave her a polite nod, nothing that would make her uncomfortable.

Except when she was leaving, it almost felt like he was teasing her.

The weather was cool, but he was shirtless, sweat trickling down the contours of his muscles as he walked out from the back.

For a brief moment, Xu Qingyi couldn’t look away. She could clearly see the sweat silently disappearing into his V-line.

She knew all too well what lay beneath that line. Unconsciously, she swallowed hard and quickened her steps to leave.

The second time was when she went back to the seaside restaurant to peel crabs for others.

Xu Qingyi had just returned from the restroom when she ran head-on into Shen Yanzhou.

The four or five-meter-long corridor was empty. Shen Yanzhou lowered his voice and politely reminded her, “Miss, you’re exposed.”

After saying that, he brushed past her without any unnecessary small talk or conversation.

It was just… comfortable. Exactly the kind of interaction she wanted.

But this time, it was her who pulled him back. “I forgot to add last time, no seducing in public.”

Shen Yanzhou furrowed his brows slightly, then turned his body to shield her from the gaze of passersby at the end of the hallway.

Then, he lowered his eyes to look at her. “This handsy lady, who exactly is seducing whom?”

Xu Qingyi lowered her voice. “I meant the other day at the auto shop.”

Shen Yanzhou thought for a moment, feigning innocence. “Are you saying I’m not allowed to sweat, or not allowed to have muscles, or not allowed to have a defined V-line?”

See? He knew exactly what he was doing, fully aware of which traits were most alluring to the opposite sex.

Under the scrutiny of her beautiful cat-like eyes, Shen Yanzhou finally cracked a smile. “No? You were the one who said you only wanted that kind of relationship with me. If I seduce you, isn’t that exactly what you want? That’s not allowed either?”

His words left Xu Qingyi stumped.

Logically speaking, since she had such a singular demand, she should be the most eager for him to seduce her.

She frowned. “There were so many people at the shop…”

Shen Yanzhou smirked. “Oh, so you’re hinting that I should change locations more often? As long as no one’s around, it’s fine?”

“…” There was no reasoning with this man.

Suddenly, she realized, she might have issues, but his symptoms seemed even worse than hers.

Xu Qingyi waved her hand dismissively. She was already done with work and ready to head back to her apartment.

Shen Yanzhou hooked an arm around her and pushed her against the wall. “Perfect timing, there’s no one here. Just remembered something.”

She tilted her head slightly. Under the dim, ambiguous lighting, even his jawline looked unfairly attractive.

He said, “Since you’re only involved with me now, shouldn’t you delete those questionable photos of other men?”

Xu Qingyi replied with complete nonchalance, “I don’t have any.”

“Want me to check?” Shen Yanzhou reached out.

His face was so close that his lips were almost touching her forehead.

Xu Qingyi was utterly overwhelmed by his presence.

Without thinking, she took out her phone and handed it to him.

Then it hit her, her photo gallery still had pictures of the vintage items she’d taken a few days ago, as well as the ones sent by Mr. Ke. She suddenly reached out. “No, wait!”

Shen Yanzhou, being tall, easily raised the phone out of her reach and scoffed. “Remembered something?”

She had been enthusiastically snapping photos of college guys during the basketball game, he didn’t believe for a second that she had no other male photos.

However, he held the phone without making another move, simply looking at her. “Can I look?”

Xu Qingyi was speechless.

Now he was bargaining. “I’ll give you one free session.”

Xu Qingyi: ?

Just then, a girl walked past them toward the restroom. Xu Qingyi ducked her head slightly, pressing closer into Shen Yanzhou’s chest.

She thought about it, it wasn’t that big of a deal anyway. He’d already seen some of the items she used, so what if he saw a few more models this time?

As long as he didn’t find out about her profession, it was fine.

She closed her eyes briefly. “Go ahead.”

Shen Yanzhou held the phone in front of her face to unlock it, then navigated to the photo gallery himself.

Xu Qingyi watched his reaction. Why wasn’t he showing the expected surprise?

She stood on her tiptoes and peeked at the screen.

Huh? Had she already deleted those product photos?

Oh, she forgot. Every time she went out to take orders, she had a habit of consolidating all her tools into an album and deleting them, only to restore them from the “Recently Deleted” folder once the job was done.

False alarm.

But then she heard Shen Yanzhou ask her in a suggestive tone, “Next time you want to take photos, just tell me. You can take them anywhere, any pose you want.”

?

What kind of talk was that?

Shen Yanzhou tilted his phone screen toward her, displaying the photo she had taken of him that day at the observation deck.

He leaned in closer, bending slightly. “Are you sure you’re not secretly into me?”

His tone was teasing, but there was a hint of seriousness in his eyes.

Xu Qingyi only felt a brief moment of unease. So, what if she took the photo? She’d already done far more embarrassing things with him, there was no need to feel shy now.

Calm and unapologetic, she replied, “Not into you. At most, I’m a little into that.”