Savage Kiss - Chapter 56

Two days later, Xu Qingyi completed the theoretical design draft for her project and was ready to start assembling it.

This was her weak point. After one attempt, she failed.

She decided to go out for a meal and wander around the supermarket.

While queuing at the checkout, a woman behind her hurriedly approached, saying, “Sorry, sorry! My car had an accident at the repair shop, and a mechanic got injured. I need to rush over, could you let me cut in line?”

Xu Qingyi glanced at her and stepped aside to make room.

“Thank you! Thank you!”

Two seconds later, Xu Qingyi suddenly snapped to attention and looked at the woman. “Which repair shop did you say?”

“The biggest one over there!” The woman replied before hastily rushing off.

Xu Qingyi turned around, put her items back on the shelf, and quickly left the supermarket.

Perhaps out of habit from her car-free days, she instinctively started walking after leaving the supermarket before realizing she needed to hail a cab.

Her ride-hailing app refused to load, and in her frustration, she nearly got hit by a motorcycle while staring at her phone.

“Looking to die?!” the driver yelled.

She hastily stepped back.

Then it finally dawned on her, she had a car now. She turned back and headed to the apartment garage to retrieve it.

On the drive to the repair shop, Xu Qingyi’s mind felt both blank and chaotic at the same time.

What if something happened to Shen Yanzhou…

From dozens of meters away, she could already see a crowd gathered outside the repair shop, with an ambulance parked nearby.

By the time she got out of her car, the ambulance had just driven off. The crowd had thinned slightly, but large patches of blood stained the ground.

The sight of the blood made her uneasy. Despite the cold weather, her palms were sweating.

Instead of pushing through the crowd, she walked around to the other side, intending to ask the front desk who had been injured.

Just then, Shen Yanzhou emerged from the back of the shop. When he saw her, his steps faltered for a moment.

“We’re closed today.” he said briskly, his tone bordering on cold.

If she hadn’t been standing so close, she might not have even heard him. Then he strode right past her without another word.

For a second, she froze, wondering, why had she even come here?

She’d nearly gotten hit by a car rushing over.

And now, seeing his attitude, she was supposed to be the hunter, so why did she suddenly feel like the prey?

Shen Yanzhou grabbed his documents and bank card, preparing to follow the ambulance. Before getting into his car, he glanced back and saw her standing there, dazed.

His brow furrowed slightly, but he still fastened his seatbelt and quickly drove off toward the hospital.

Xu Qingyi also walked out of the shop, got into her car, and wiped her sweaty palms with a couple of tissues.

She started the car, preparing to turn around and head back, when her phone buzzed.

She glanced down and was startled to see the contact name “BOSS.” All her scattered thoughts instantly retreated.

Pulling over to the side of the road, she immediately opened the message from that number.

Just two words: [Old place.]

She was baffled. Since when did they have an “old place”?

After some thought, she recalled their meeting spots: the first time outside her apartment, the second at his villa, and the third at that banquet.

So, it must be his villa.

On the drive there, she vaguely guessed why he had summoned her.

And sure enough, she was right.

The man opened the door, looking exhausted. With an air of impatience, he coldly gestured toward the kitchen and said, “Hurry up.”

For the sake of money, Xu Qingyi swallowed her frustration and didn’t dare protest.

“What do you want to eat?” she asked halfway there.

He replied, “The same.”

“Same as last time?”

Xu Qingyi wanted to ask more, but seeing the murderous look in his eyes, she decided against it and simply got to work.

When she came out with a bowl of scallion oil noodles, the man was already seated at the dining table, waiting.

She set the bowl down, and he began eating.

Neither spoke.

Only when he had leisurely eaten half the bowl did he look up at her, his expression displeased. “Why are you standing there?”

Xu Qingyi: “…”

Was he not going to pay this time?

She suddenly remembered, last time, the transfer had come after the fact, just as she was nearing home.

“Enjoy your meal,” Xu Qingyi said with just the right amount of politeness, adding a compliment: “Boss, your posture while eating is really elegant.”

The poise of the wealthy while dining was truly different.

But as soon as she finished speaking, she noticed the man’s cold, penetrating gaze fixed on her. “What did you say?”

Xu Qingyi didn’t dare take another step.

She had just wanted to flatter him a little, was even that not allowed? Why did he look so terrifying?

To make it seem like she wasn’t just spouting nonsense, she elaborated, “Really! You have such refined features, and your outfit suits your temperament perfectly.”

Shen Yuqiao stared at her coldly, then glanced down at himself.

His style was nearly always the same. As for table manners, ever since the day he was born and deemed the eldest son who must meet the standards of an heir, they had been ingrained in his bones.

He had never cared about whether it looked good, only whether it met the elders’ expectations.

Yet no matter how well he performed, no one had ever praised him. There were only ever criticisms.

Shen Yuqiao set down his chopsticks.

Xu Qingyi grew nervous. Had her compliments made him too self-conscious to eat?

“Still not leaving?” The next moment, he shot her another icy glare.

Xu Qingyi nodded and turned to leave.

“Wait.” He called her back.

She turned around.

Shen Yuqiao said, “You’d better not fall for Shen Yanzhou. If you get in my way, I won’t keep you around.”

Xu Qingyi smiled. “Don’t worry, I’ve sworn off love. If anyone else in your circle needs me to fake a relationship, feel free to refer me.”

Shen Yuqiao withdrew his gaze indifferently and left the dining room.

Xu Qingyi also left quickly. As she got into her car, her phone chimed.

110,000 transferred?

Was that extra 10,000 her “compliment fee”?

She drove all the way back to the coast.

Passing by the auto repair shop, she glanced over, dark and deserted, clearly closed.

A few minutes later, her car entered the apartment garage.

On her way to the elevator, she spotted Shen Yanzhou leaning against the doorframe.

Her steps faltered slightly, her expression cooling.

She spoke first. “My car’s fixed. No need to trouble you.”

Shen Yanzhou looked at her. “You came to see me at noon because you were worried I’d get hurt, weren’t you?”

Xu Qingyi chuckled. “Yeah, clearly I overestimated myself.”

Her lips curled slightly. “What was I thinking, barging in like that?”

“Maybe I’m just too kind-hearted. The moment I heard, I forgot we have no relationship beyond sex.”

With that, her smile faded, and she moved to enter.

The metal door to the elevator lobby was only half-open, and Shen Yanzhou’s tall frame blocked the way.

Too tired to argue, she tried to push past him.

Shen Yanzhou caught her wrist. “Regardless, thank you for caring about me.”

Xu Qingyi scoffed. “I didn’t.”

Today, the boss reminded her, she was supposed to make Shen Yanzhou fall for her, not the other way around. She couldn’t get too immersed in the act.

Just as she was about to break free, Shen Yanzhou tightened his grip slightly. “I have to rush to the hospital soon. It’s a workplace injury case, and the compensation terms still need to be settled.”