FY - 33

The SUV was driven back by the secretary.

Si Wen took Zhou Yan to the hospital to have her ankle set.

When the doctor wrote the prescription, Si Wen also asked if there would be any sequelae.

He knew there wouldn’t be, but for some reason, he just had to ask, making the orthopedic doctor look at him as if he were insane.

After leaving the hospital, the two went to eat.

It was a very conventional meal, like going to a restaurant and then eating.

Devoid of any fun, without any emotional connection.

Yet, strangely, countless eyes remained fixed on them.

And they were very ambiguous.

Si Wen was used to it and could ignore it.

Zhou Yan wasn’t used to it, but she didn’t care either; other people’s gazes rarely affected her.

After eating, they went home.

Si Wen took off his clothes as soon as he entered the door. Zhou Yan instinctively went to run the bathwater.

Coming out of the bathroom, the two brushed past each other.

Si Wen grabbed her wrist.

Zhou Yan twisted a couple of times but couldn’t free herself, appearing powerless: “What are you doing?”

Si Wen pulled her back, step by step forcing her into the corner. His height advantage, along with this posture, made him look particularly like a beast.

No, not like, he just was.

Zhou Yan looked up at him, with a hint of disdain.

Si Wen was wearing a shirt, with only two buttons undone: “Take it off for me.”

The space was too cramped; Zhou Yan felt the air was a bit thin: “Step back a little.”

Si Wen didn’t move, still as a bell.

“Fine. If you don’t move, you’ll suffocate me. I don’t want to live anyway.” Zhou Yan’s expression was gentle as she said this.

Si Wen stepped back half a pace.

Zhou Yan unbuttoned his shirt, one button, then another.

Her hand intentionally brushed and grazed his chest and abdomen, like a kitten’s paw, not tickling, just burning.

After unbuttoning the last one, Zhou Yan prepared to leave.

Si Wen didn’t allow it. He pulled her into his embrace, his flesh pressed against hers.

After a while, Zhou Yan reached out and hugged him, her ear against his chest, listening to the sound of his blood flowing in his veins. Perhaps his skin was too thick, she couldn’t hear anything, only realizing that once she was pressed against his body, she didn’t want to leave.

Si Wen asked her: “Hard?”

Zhou Yan poked his abs with her finger: “Not bad.”

Si Wen asked again: “Do you like it?”

Zhou Yan smiled, her eyes curving: “What do you want to do?”

Si Wen didn’t want to do anything; he just wanted to hug her.

A long silence followed; they held each other, saying nothing.

Time passed until the phone rang, interrupting the two.

Zhou Yan left his embrace to answer the phone.

It was a telemarketing call.

She hung up the phone and turned her head. Si Wen was already in the bathroom.

She turned on the TV, tuned to a ball game, and listened to the sound as she brought in the clothes from the balcony.

Si Wen asked her to get his medicine. She put down the clothes in her hand and brought it to him.

When she handed him the medicine, he didn’t take it. Instead, he grabbed Zhou Yan’s wrist and pulled her into the bathtub.

Caught off guard, Zhou Yan was soaked.

Si Wen wrapped one arm around her waist, letting her lie on him. With his other hand, he grabbed a bottle of wine and a wine glass from the cabinet, poured a small amount, and gently swirled it a couple of times to let it breathe.

Zhou Yan was confined by the position, too uncomfortable. She braced her hands on the edge of the tub, making to get up.

Si Wen wouldn’t allow it, trapping her legs with his.

If he wouldn’t let her get up, she would just roll over and lie on her stomach.

Si Wen looked down, watching her squirm.

Zhou Yan felt a little more comfortable. She looked up, her gaze meeting his.

The two just looked at each other, neither speaking first.

Zhou Yan couldn’t hold back anymore and said: “My foot is swollen.”

Si Wen said nothing.

Zhou Yan continued: “I have too many injuries on my body. All of them are from you.”

Si Wen said nothing.

“Minor injuries don’t count. There have been eight major injuries, and each time I almost died, but I never begged for mercy,” Zhou Yan looked away, resting her left cheek against his chest, her eyes on the wall: “But Si Wen, there won’t be a ninth time.”

She had felt the gentleness beneath Si Wen’s brutality; whether it was a fake facade or not, she believed it.

It was just that she couldn’t bear for this to be another fleeting dream.

The last time he almost strangled her, she found a bunch of excuses not to leave him.

But she also said that next time, if there was a next time, she would leave, even if it cost her life.

She knew she wouldn’t be Si Wen’s weakness, but being treated as a harbor, she could accept that.

As long as Si Wen no longer harmed her, she was willing to stay by his side, without asking where his heart truly belonged.

Not for love, not for affection.

Just to embrace.

Si Wen didn’t respond. He took a sip of wine and offered her one too.

They soaked in the bathtub for half an hour, no lovemaking, no kissing, just pressed together, soaking.

As Zhou Yan was almost falling asleep, Si Wen carried her out and placed her under the warm air dryer.

The warm air woke Zhou Yan up.

She took off her wet clothes, walking into the room as she undressed, and changed into clean ones.

Returning to the sofa area, she sat cross-legged and scrolled through her phone.

Si Wen put on his clothes and also walked into the living room, took Zhou Yan’s phone, lay down on her lap, and closed his eyes.

Zhou Yan didn’t move. Since picking him up that afternoon, he seemed to be easily tired and didn’t like to talk. He asked for medicine but didn’t take it.

She raised her hand, wanting to smooth his hair, but stopped just before touching him, pulling her hand back.

Si Wen used to ask her if she had developed feelings for him after he had sex with her. Zhou Yan now wanted to ask him if he had developed feelings for her after having sex with her.

Otherwise, how could a man like him, a beast in human form, constantly displaying his violent side in this restless society, lie on her lap like a kitten, with shallow breaths?

She watched him for a while, then her eyes were drawn to his chest, faintly visible through his partially unbuttoned shirt.

His chest, framed by that sharp triangle, was very alluring, making one’s throat tighten. She looked away, towards the window.

Her behavior was quite strange, just like that time when Si Wen, after being stared at by her for too long, also looked away. Yet they were both so familiar with each other’s bodies.

Si Wen’s faint voice came: “Look if you want to.”

Zhou Yan denied it: “I wasn’t looking.”

Si Wen pulled his shirt open, and the button that was fastened popped off, flying to an unknown place.

Zhou Yan turned back at the sound and saw Si Wen exposing his entire chest to her.

“It’s not like you haven’t seen it before, why pretend to be pure?” His words were harsh.

Zhou Yan didn’t take his words to heart and seamlessly switched to another topic: “My car broke down, and the repair fee is a bit expensive.”

Si Wen didn’t open his eyes: “Didn’t I give you a car?”

Zhou Yan: “But mine has already been sent to the repair shop.”

Si Wen reached for his wallet on the table and tossed it to her.

Zhou Yan took out all his cards and linked them to her phone, one by one.

She then asked him: “Your phone, for the verification code.”

Si Wen impatiently handed her his phone: “Don’t talk to me anymore.”

Zhou Yan also had no time to talk to him.

Si Wen had so many cards; she would be busy linking them for a while.

She had long forgotten how she treated Wei Lian yesterday.

And how she had disdained his wallet.

________________________________________

Thursday. Last night, Si Wen went to bed early and woke up even earlier.

After tidying up, he walked up to the sleeping Zhou Yan, kissed her eyes, and then left.

He had two meetings in the morning and went to Guangnan Nunnery at noon.

Guangnan Nunnery was an illegally developed property located outside the Fifth Ring Road, in the southeastern region. It was surrounded by mountains and had mountain springs. The developer had an unspeakable transaction with the previous protector of Qizhou, thus obtaining the development rights to this land.

Midway through development, the matter was exposed. The protector was imprisoned, and the developer had his brother-in-law take the blame, then fled Qizhou overnight with his family.

Later, this piece of land underwent a judicial auction and its development rights were acquired by Xilin Real Estate, which was the developer of the apartment Si Wen and Zhou Yan lived in.

Xilin Real Estate failed to secure financing, so this land remained half-finished, but it was rumored that construction would begin soon.

The vegetation here, nourished by the mountain springs, was dense year-round. Coupled with the mountains on both sides, it was easy to defend and difficult to attack, making it suitable for criminal activities. However, due to its temporary封锁, no one could enter, nor dared to.

But conventions and established conclusions are born to be broken, so some people could, and dared.

That person was Si Wen.

When Si Wen arrived, Zhao Youjin had already been brought in and raped. Her clothes were torn to shreds with scissors, a hole cut below, from which thick white liquid continuously seeped, her entire body twitching.

Her makeup was smeared, tears soaking her front. She looked utterly disheartened and despaired of life.

The chill in Si Wen’s eyes almost overflowed as he swept his gaze towards the several satisfied men.

Those men saw Si Wen approaching and stood up, acting like delinquents: “Brother, you’re here.”

They even boasted to Si Wen: “This old hag must have had a tightening surgery; she’s so damn tight, no worse than a virgin.”

Si Wen strode towards the only table in this unfinished building, reaching for the AK47 assault rifle closest to him. It was an overseas-produced brand from Argentina, mostly used in close-quarters combat by irregular armed forces in recent years.

All firearms, once smuggled in, were strictly managed according to serial number and model. Si Wen allowed them to touch them, but not to use them.

The last person who accidentally fired a shot was chopped up and fed to dogs by him.

Si Wen picked up the rifle, adjusted the sight, loaded and cocked the bolt, and pulled the trigger for a single shot. In a flash of lightning, the speaker’s ear was blown off, blood splattering onto the person next to him. After a moment, he began to roll on the ground in pain, howling like a ghost.

The faces of the others turned pale, their eyes wide, their attention focused a hundred and twenty percent.

Si Wen hadn’t used the sight to aim; after fifteen years of handling guns, his touch could already determine the success or failure of a armed standoff.

He slowly approached. The man with the ruined ear kicked his legs, trying to scoot backward, yet he didn’t dare to beg for mercy, nor would he.

Si Wen asked him: “A disobedient dog, what use do I have for it?”

The man grew more terrified, yet he was prepared to die. Only his basic instinct kept him from giving up, continuously forcing his body backward.

Si Wen didn’t kill him; one ear was enough for him to reflect.

He placed the gun in the man’s arms: “Remember whose lives you belong to. One more time, and it won’t just be an ear that’s ruined.”

Si Wen wasn’t pitying Zhao Youjin; she was his subordinate, and they had to follow rules.

If the rules were kept, and they wanted to have sex with her, he would naturally nod. But they couldn’t act on their own initiative. He didn’t allow it.

The man nodded vigorously, clutching the gun as if it were an ancestor, to show his immense gratitude to Si Wen.

They were all born from Chinese women who were trafficked abroad for prostitution and then, when they weren’t paying attention, had children. Once born and packaged, they were sold to the black market for organ trading, providing organs for sick children of wealthy families.

Most of them died. A small portion survived, but couldn’t escape the fate of being sold to mercenary companies again.

However, they were too thin and small, basically used for rape and abuse by mercenaries from irregular companies.

It was Si Wen who bought them again and gave them a meal.

So they had all sworn that their lives were given by Si Wen, and they would return them whenever he asked.

Si Wen turned and walked towards Zhao Youjin, telling her: “My secretary privately promised you so much medicine on behalf of Dongsheng Pharmaceutical. As the boss of Dongsheng Pharmaceutical, I’m very angry, so I fired her. You’ll probably have to find another way to get your medicine.”

Zhao Youjin’s bloodless face immediately worsened, looking no better than a corpse. She lunged at him with all her might, intending to fight to the death.

But the disparity in strength was too great.

Si Wen casually picked up a thin wire from his feet and plunged it into her shoulder blade, preventing her from approaching: “However, I see you don’t have many connections, so I’ll kindly tell you that Feng Zhongliang has come to Qizhou. Your husband. With his status and position, there should be nothing he can’t accomplish.”

Zhao Youjin’s already pale face immediately turned even grimmer, looking no better than a dead person.

The reason she had such a wide network was not due to her own high capabilities, but her adeptness at using Feng Zhongliang’s identity as the Director of the Anti-Drug Bureau to her advantage.

Feng Zhongliang was solely focused on anti-drug efforts, neglecting her entirely, making him extremely easy to exploit. She relied on him to achieve her current success in Qizhou, and also relied on him to make so many men defer to her.

But if he knew about everything she had done, her fate would be no better than it was with Si Wen.