Savage Kiss - Chapter 67

Although it was noon, the heavy winter fog outside made the hallway feel dim and deserted.

Shen Yanzhou stood with his back to the window at the stairwell corner, making it impossible for her to see his expression clearly.

“Are you scheming again on how to ignore me?” he asked bluntly.

Xu Qingyi heard him snort lightly. “Thinking of switching things up and going for that… shit-clear, shit-muddy type?”

Before she could even process what he meant, he continued:

“I took down the photo for you. I’ll take that as your silent permission for me to push my luck.”

“I don’t know if you don’t want a serious relationship because of some past trauma or baggage, but I’m not like those other guys. At least give me a chance to prove it?”

Xu Qingyi tightened her grip on the lunch she was holding, her fingers curling slightly.

Finally, she managed to say, “I wasn’t thinking that.”

Shen Yanzhou paused for two seconds, confirming he’d heard her, then reached out and lifted her chin.

This time, Xu Qingyi met his gaze.

Shen Yanzhou felt a slight sense of relief inwardly, though his expression remained stern. “Then kiss me. No one’s around.”

“…” Xu Qingyi first glanced up and down the hallway.

Who knew if there were surveillance cameras?

Shen Yanzhou took half a step forward, turning her face back toward him, and pressed a somewhat forceful kiss on her lips.

Xu Qingyi had grown somewhat sensitive to public displays of affection outside her room and instinctively flinched, raising her hands to push against his shoulders.

Shen Yanzhou didn’t budge but pulled back slightly, his voice low and aggrieved:

“I’ve already stooped to being someone else’s workhorse.”

Xu Qingyi stopped resisting.

They kissed for a while longer.

When the atmosphere began to shift, Shen Yanzhou forced himself to pull back and asked, “When are you free?”

Xu Qingyi could tell he wanted to see her.

It seemed the boss’s underhanded trick had really worked on Shen Yanzhou, he wasn’t even angry.

“…Not sure yet.”

Xu Qingyi had been genuinely busy lately. She wanted to finish upgrading the old models she was working on as soon as possible, then develop a new product with only her name on it.

“Call me when you’re done?” Shen Yanzhou’s Adam’s apple bobbed.

She nodded.

Shen Yanzhou gave her one last kiss. “I’ll be busy these next couple of days too, have to go back home.”

Then he raised the lunch she’d bought for him. “I’ll finish it.”

…

Back in her apartment, Xu Qingyi had only been in her small room for a short while when the boss called.

“Did you kiss?” As soon as she answered, his abrupt question came through.

It felt strange, like a work inspection, but who conducted inspections like this?

Xu Qingyi pressed her lips together and answered truthfully, “Mm.”

The man on the other end also made an affirming sound. “Good. Looks like it really worked.”

“Xu Chen’s primary doctor is already being scheduled. The exact timing of the surgery will depend on his condition and… your progress.”

Xu Qingyi felt a surge of excitement. “Understood.”

Then the call ended.

Immediately after, her phone buzzed with a bank notification.

The familiar deposit of 100,000 yuan had arrived!

Xu Qingyi did a quick calculation. Combined with what she’d saved before, her savings were now close to 700,000.

It was a number she had only dared to dream of before.

She had also accumulated quite a bit of gold bars. As for other investments, she avoided anything with even the slightest risk. Once Xu Chen’s surgery was successful, she would take all her money and move with him to another city.

To avoid any trouble from Shen Yanzhou or the BOSS.

Anyway, buying a house in Beijing was completely unrealistic, and her future circumstances wouldn’t allow her to continue living there.

The moment that thought crossed her mind, she suddenly wondered, what would Shen Yanzhou do when she just up and left?

It was the first time she’d had such a thought, and it startled even herself.

She was barely able to take care of herself as it was.

After finishing work, Xu Qingyi went to bed early, needing to wake up early the next day.

It was the same photography studio that contacted her again, but this time it wasn’t for a photoshoot. The owner said she needed Xu Qingyi’s help trying on clothes.

She arrived early, and the owner arranged for her to get into a car with four other models and a manager.

Four or five other cars followed behind, all filled with clothes.

Xu Qingyi had thought they were just going to a different studio, but the car eventually stopped in front of a villa.

And the more she looked at the villa, the more familiar it seemed.

Wasn’t this the BOSS’s residence?

Xu Qingyi tried to ask the manager what was going on, but the manager, very professional with her hands clasped and posture perfect, simply walked inside.

She had no choice but to ask the nearest model, “We’re trying on clothes here?”

The model glanced at her. “Are you the substitute?”

She nodded.

“Our studio’s models have business with some major brands. Sometimes when clients are too busy, the brands bring the clothes and models directly to their homes. We try on each piece to show the effect, and the client keeps the styles they like.”

It was supposedly to save the client time, allowing them to pick out their favorite clothes in the fastest, most direct way.

In other words, it was basically a private fashion show.

Xu Qingyi had never heard of rich people shopping for clothes this way, but the pay was generous and the work was simple, so of course she agreed.

She was filling in for someone else because she had a good figure, wore clothes well, and could highlight the advantages of the brand’s apparel.

But she hadn’t expected to be modeling for the BOSS.

Once inside the villa, racks of clothes were neatly wheeled into the spacious living room entrance, looking just like a luxury boutique.

Shen Yuqiao was in the living room and signaled for the manager to wait, the woman he’d arranged to meet that day hadn’t arrived yet.

“Go change first,” the manager instructed the models.

Xu Qingyi followed the others to a room on the first floor, glancing back slightly and accidentally meeting the man’s gaze.

She immediately turned away.

Shen Yuqiao picked up his phone and called the driver bringing Mi Lian over. “Where are you?”

“Almost there, Young Master!”

“Okay.” Shen Yuqiao hung up.

He glanced once more in the direction of the room.

Meanwhile.

There was more than just Mi Lian in the car, Shen Yanzhou was sitting in the back seat with her.

Mi Lian smiled and tried to make conversation. “I rarely hear anything about you. If it weren’t for my dad, I’d have thought your family only had Shen Yuqiao as the son.”

Shen Yanzhou only gave a polite, slight smile.

Mi Lian knew he was a bit aloof. The few times she’d run into him, he barely glanced at anyone around him and never shared his personal WeChat or anything.

But she was prepared.

She continued smiling. “When my dad said our families were arranging a marriage, I thought I didn’t like older men. But it turns out there’s you!”

She was very direct. “We’re around the same age. In the end, I’ll choose you.”

In families like hers, arranged marriages were inevitable, and Mi Lian didn’t resist them. When you’re young, you play around, and when it’s time to marry, you just marry.

But Shen Yuqiao was already pushing thirty. To Mi Lian, that was a bit of an old man, not her type, lacking energy, and not fun enough.

Shen Yanzhou finally responded out of courtesy, “If there really is to be a marriage alliance, then you’ll have to try to like him.”

Mi Lian, hearing his magnetic voice, couldn’t help but feel a flutter in her heart.

On the surface, she just smiled playfully and asked, “What do you mean?”

Shen Yanzhou glanced at her indifferently and said, “If there’s a marriage alliance with the Shen family, it can only be with him. It has nothing to do with me.”

Outsiders didn’t understand the situation in the Shen family. With a family background like the Zhuang family, Shen Shanshan would never be matched with him.

The best things were always reserved first for Shen Yuqiao.