"......"
The man's words felt like icy needles piercing into Shen Nian's heart, causing her heart to grow cold.
She stared blankly at him, unable to make out his features clearly in the darkness, only able to vaguely see his silhouette.
She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but ultimately not a single word came out.
Neither of them spoke again, the atmosphere in the air turning icy and stiff.
After an unknown period of time, Lu Lingchuan straightened up, his hand that was originally gripping her chin now caressing her face.
However, Lu Lingchuan's caress was not gentle, his fingertips roughly brushing against her cheeks, over and over again, until Shen Nian's delicate skin turned red.
His voice was deep and laced with an inhumane coldness.
"I don't like others touching my possessions, even if it's just once."
Thinking about her face buried in Xiao Mubai's embrace, Lu Lingchuan wished he could immediately take a bottle of disinfectant and scrub her face clean.
Until her cheeks were flushed red and burning hot, Lu Lingchuan finally stopped, his hand slowly moving down, following her arm until he reached her hand, intertwining their fingers.
"Including these hands, I don't want you to touch other men either, unless you want to use an entire bottle of hand soap to wash them."
His thin lips brushed against her ear, his voice light and gentle, yet carrying a hint of tender threat.
Releasing her hand, Lu Lingchuan's hand moved further up, caressing her waist, his mind uncontrollably recalling the sight of Xiao Mubai's hand resting on her waist in the video, that particularly offensive hand.
"And this place too." He paused for a moment, his tone thick with possessiveness. "It's also mine."
Lu Lingchuan had long been filled with jealousy, rendering him devoid of rationality. This calm and gentle state was even more terrifying than his hysteria.
A gentle knife, each cut claiming a life.
"Shen Nian, you know I don't like wearing hats, especially green ones," he said, biting down on her earlobe, letting out a muffled sound.
"......" Shen Nian remained silent throughout.
At first, she hadn't fully grasped the situation, but after hearing his words, Shen Nian understood everything.
Lu Lingchuan found out about the hot pot restaurant incident and about Xiao Mubai, which was the reason behind his outrage.
Indeed, nothing could be hidden from him.
Lu Lingchuan's rationality had long been consumed by jealousy, and his mind was still replaying that video, each loop fueling his anger even further.
He was jealous, extremely jealous!
Lu Lingchuan gritted his teeth, once again savagely biting down on Shen Nian's lips, his actions so fierce that with one hand on her waist and the other tearing at her clothes.
If there truly was no future for them, then they might as well descend to hell together!
......................................
After being tormented by Lu Lingchuan for an entire night, he finally showed mercy and let Shen Nian fall into a deep slumber. Before losing consciousness, she vaguely noticed the outside world brightening.
She slept like the dead, and it was only after an unknown period of time that Shen Nian finally opened her eyes in a daze.
Staring at the ceiling and the light fixture, she remained silent.
After gazing for who knows how long, she finally averted her gaze and prepared to get up and freshen up.
But as soon as she moved her hand, she felt as if all her energy had been drained from running twenty kilometers, her entire body aching and weak, as if her soul had left her body except for her head.
As she tried to sit up, she realized she couldn't, even the slightest movement causing her body to ache and weaken.
She raised her hand, but could barely lift it before feeling drained of strength, and her hand fell back down. She looked up at the ceiling, breathing deeply.
Despite sitting up being such a simple action, it took Shen Nian a full five minutes to accomplish it.
Finally managing to sit up, she shuffled, inch by inch, to the edge of the bed, then let her legs hang over the side, clothes from the previous night scattered on the floor.
After a brief rest, feeling much better, she slipped her feet into her slippers, bracing her lower back as she tried to stand up—
Previously, the mattress had supported her, allowing her some comfort. But now, standing up required her legs to support her entire body weight.
Her legs were numb and weak, and before Shen Nian could fully straighten up, she collapsed back onto the carpet.
She gasped, rubbing her lower back and pounding her legs, then using the bedside table for support as she stood up again.
Step by step, she made her way to the bathroom.
After freshening up, Shen Nian checked the time and was surprised to find it was only a little past 9 a.m.
She had slept soundly, thinking she had slept for a long time, but it had only been three hours.
Gathering the scattered clothes and her phone, she tossed the clothes into the hamper and turned on her phone, finding an unread message.
It was from Xiao Mubai.
[I'm home now, get some rest. /smile]
It was sent last night when she was with Lu Lingchuan.
Her obedience and compliance had initially soothed Lu Lingchuan's anger, but just then, the notification sound from her phone alerted him to Xiao Mubai's message on the screen, reigniting his fury that had barely been calmed. He became even more ruthless and merciless.
Shen Nian exited her chat with Xiao Mubai without replying, only opening her notes to check her schedule for the day.
She had an important meeting at 1 p.m., where her presence was required, so she couldn't take the day off.
Bracing her lower back, Shen Nian frowned slightly, struggling to stand again, then went to pick out clothes.
......................................
When Shen Nian arrived at the company, everyone was already working. As she walked past their desks, she returned to her own station.
Setting her bag on the desk, she sat down and poured herself a cup of hot water from the thermos beside her, then took some pills from her pill case and a few more from a small bottle.
Soon, she had a small handful of pills.
Without separating them into doses, she popped them all into her mouth at once, washing them down with a sip of water.
A few of the pills didn't go down immediately, dissolving in her mouth when they came into contact with the hot water, but Shen Nian remained expressionless as she drank another sip of water.
After taking the pills, she set her bag aside, turned on her computer, and began her work for the day.
Shen Nian had been closely involved in preparing the materials needed for the important afternoon meeting, and although she had checked them two or three times already, she reviewed them once more to ensure there were no issues.
While she was going over the materials, Jiang Lingling came over with some documents.
"Assistant Shen, these documents need President Lu's signature, but Assistant Shen needs to review them first."
It was during working hours now.
"Mm." Shen Nian looked up, all business. "Give me the documents."
"Okay." Jiang Lingling handed the documents to Shen Nian and stood waiting.
Shen Nian opened the folder.
As Jiang Lingling stood there waiting, she suddenly noticed something and her eyes widened.
"Nian Jie, why are you dressed so warmly? It's over ninety degrees today, it's really hot."
With just a casual glance, Jiang Lingling noticed that Shen Nian was dressed unusually conservatively today...
