FY - 49

Si Wen caught her, his hands supporting her buttocks. He was pushed back two steps by the force of her impact but managed to stay on his feet.

Zhou Yan wrapped her legs around his waist, her hands around his neck. She kissed his eyes, nose, cheeks, eyebrows, lips, and forehead. There was no order or rhythm to it. She was kissing and crying at the same time, her tears wetting his face.

Si Wen let her do as she pleased, allowing her to take off his pants and continue to ravage him.

They say a woman in her thirties is as fierce as a wolf or a tiger, but in fact, a woman in her twenties is always just as insatiable.

They continued until dawn, having barely released all the emotion but not all the passion.

Zhou Yan was exhausted. She could only lie in Si Wen’s arms, at most sticking out her tongue to lick his little nugget, and then she would laugh. Then she would cry, and then laugh again.

She said, “A few hours ago, I went to the apartment, but I didn’t go in.”

Si Wen was at Medicine Valley then; he didn’t know.

Zhou Yan wanted to lie on top of Si Wen and look at his chest. “I want to get on top.”

Si Wen put his hands on her waist and lifted her up.

Zhou Yan moved her head, resting it in the hollow of his shoulder, and said, “I said I wouldn’t make the same mistake again, that if I was done with you, I was done. I wanted to cherish my life and live well. But after that, I left Qin Feng.”

She wouldn’t tell Si Wen that she had tried to lie to herself for money, that as long as the money was there, she could open her legs for anyone. She was proven wrong in an instant. There was no one else; she would only open her legs for Si Wen.

She had sworn to escape the tiger’s mouth and finally did so after a struggle, but before the tiger could even chase her, she went back, without a moment’s hesitation.

This was her, the woman who would admit to anything but was unwilling to admit she loved Si Wen.

She was also the woman who could give up anything for Zhou Siyuan, but when Qin Feng reached out to her, she was willing to give up everything for Si Wen.

She didn’t know when this feeling had started, but she could clearly feel that she couldn’t suppress it. It was terribly strong and could easily dismantle her rationality, leaving her utterly defeated.

For all these years, she had made excuses for herself and brainwashed herself with flimsy reasons that she didn’t love Si Wen and she wasn’t a slut.

But the result was a tragic ending.

She loved Si Wen.

She was a slut.

She lifted herself up a little, and Zhou Yan could see his eyes. “There are no more limits. I can die in your hands. I’m willing to.”

Before Si Wen could respond, she added, “But I’ll drag you down with me, whether you’re willing or not.”

Si Wen reached for a wine glass on the table and smashed it on the floor. He picked up the largest, sharpest piece of glass and pointed it at himself, handing it to her.

He was giving Zhou Yan a weapon to kill him. This was more sincere than a million “I’m willing to”s.

Zhou Yan was satisfied.

Just this was enough for her.

She came back not because of Wei Li’an’s words, not because of Qin Feng’s provocation, and certainly not because of Si Wen’s obvious regret. Since it was her own choice to come back, she wouldn’t ask him if he loved her.

This was her own business. She could decide for herself and bear the consequences, even if it meant being ground to dust and suffering eternal damnation.

Perhaps it was destined to happen since the moment she started looking for him everywhere.

When she turned around to see him subdue the thug who was about to harm her.

When his unbuttoned collar made her breathless.

When she recklessly jumped off the building with him.

When she went back to pick up the watch he had given her.

...

It was all a premonition that this day would come sooner or later.

Ultimately, Zhou Yan couldn’t escape the fate of falling in love with Si Wen.

Si Wen took her hand. “No one can kill you. Not even I.”

Zhou Yan looked up at him again.

Si Wen sat up a little, arranged her hair, and looked at her Bambi-like eyes. He pulled her hand to his chest, palm to palm. “To touch you, you’ll have to crush this first.”

Zhou Yan’s left corner of her mouth twitched slightly. She didn’t comment on his words.

After a moment, Zhou Yan propped herself up on Si Wen’s chest with her elbow. “I came back only because I love you, not because of who you are. So since I love you, can you tell me who you are?”

Si Wen didn’t hesitate for a second. “Si Wen.”

His attitude was just like the first time Zhou Yan met him and he answered her.

That day, Zhou Yan had offered him the purest look in her life and her most beautiful face.

After that, she was never as beautiful as she was then.

“Who is Si Wen?” she asked again.

“Just tell me what you know. Don’t beat around the bush,” Si Wen said.

Okay. Zhou Yan said, “You’re the anti-drug mole, the one who died in the ‘Six Lives’ case.”

Si Wen: “Yes.”

He admitted it without thinking.

He didn’t admit it to Feng Zhongliang’s accurate judgment, but he admitted it to Zhou Yan’s guess after a brainstorming session.

But Zhou Yan didn’t know that. She just felt that the atmosphere was a bit strange. She bit her back teeth, trying to stifle the tragic emotion. “Did you get the drug addiction back then, too?”

Si Wen: “It’s a drug addiction.”

Zhou Yan’s heart ached, a sharp pain. She pressed her hand to her chest, her breaths coming in short gasps.

After a while, she reached out and touched his eyebrows, which were usually indifferent and sometimes fierce. Her thumb slid along his brow, trying to smooth it out. “Does it hurt?”

Si Wen grabbed her hand, a rare sign of gentleness. “It doesn’t hurt.”

Zhou Yan gave a bitter smile. “But I hurt.”

________________________________________

Qin Feng was taken to the hospital emergency room, where the doctor sewed nine stitches on his head.

The woman who brought him was very capable. She ran around getting medicine, changing bandages, and paying fees. She also wet a towel and wiped the blood off him several times, all without a sound, as if it took no effort.

But anyone who has ever tried to move a tall, large man would know that she deserved the word “capable.”

Qin Feng woke up in the middle of the night, woken up by the pain after the medication wore off.

He struggled to move his shoulder, not daring to make too big a movement, afraid it would make his head hurt.

The woman sleeping by the bed was startled awake and instinctively reached to support his arm. “Do you need to go to the bathroom?”

Qin Feng shook his head and forced a smile.

Only then did the woman start to cry. “You’re always like this. You always do such risky things.”

Qin Feng reached out his hand to her, his mouth opening just enough to not pull at his wound. “There are only two ways to get funding. One is to conquer Zhou Yan and curry favor with Si Wen’s enemies, and get money from them. The other is to make Zhou Yan go back to me, curry favor with Si Wen, and get money from him.”

The woman wanted to slap him. She raised her hand but instead let it fall on the hand he had extended to her. “But you didn’t tell me beforehand! I thought! I thought you didn’t want me anymore!”

Qin Feng pulled her hand to his lips. “Zhou Yan is beautiful, but she’s not the scenery in my eyes.”

The woman sat down, as if she didn’t believe him. “Then don’t you want to explain what you two talked about before I got here? How did you convince her to come back to you? Everyone in Qizhou knows that Si Wen and the prostitute he kept broke up. That woman has a heart of stone and won’t change her mind no matter how much Si Wen pleads. So how did you convince her? Don’t give me that bullshit about your silver tongue. Who knows you better than me?”

Qin Feng rubbed her palm and didn’t answer.

Gradually, his eyes gathered light, blurring his vision.

A few hours ago, he had met Zhou Yan at the hotel.

She had a few sips of the wine he brought. After that, she put her feet on the single sofa and hugged her legs, looking very insecure.

He sat on the long sofa, watching her.

To be honest, he hesitated.

Putting aside whether Si Wen would spare him if he actually slept with Zhou Yan, just looking at Zhou Yan’s expression, and his own reputation as a playboy from previous years, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Most importantly, he also had a woman he couldn’t talk about and couldn’t bear to let go of.

For her, he had turned his life around, becoming a man who wore shoes and didn’t walk along the river. He was very hesitant about whether to throw away years of effort and go back to square one.

With these two emotions, he chugged the wine in his hand and said, “I lied to you.”

Zhou Yan looked up, paused, and then turned to face him.

Qin Feng met her eyes. “I wasn’t honest with you. I’m no longer a playboy, and I no longer like other people’s women. I need money. I could sleep with you and trade this with Si Wen’s enemies, using this to write articles about him to affect Dong Sheng Pharmaceutical’s business.”

Zhou Yan just asked calmly, “How much can you get?”

Qin Feng held up two fingers.

Twenty million.

Zhou Yan put her feet down. She had thought that Qin Feng might have other motives besides challenging Si Wen’s authority through her, but she hadn’t given it much thought. The main reason was that he wasn’t aggressive, so she didn’t bother to think about him. “No wonder you gave me one point three million without batting an eye.”

Qin Feng then said, “Now I regret it. I can’t beat Si Wen.”

“You don’t have to be so modest,” Zhou Yan said.

Qin Feng shook his head. “Have you ever met a man more ruthless than him?”

Zhou Yan didn’t say anything, waiting to hear what he had to say.

Qin Feng continued, “Let’s take an example. Anyone can say ruthless things. I once told a woman that if anyone dared to touch her, I would kill them. But I’ve lived all this time and have only gotten into a few fights. I’ve never killed anyone.”

“Killing people. Si Wen actually dares to.”

“He’s not acting in a movie. He actually dares.”

Zhou Yan didn’t want to listen to him trying to scare her, and it wouldn’t work anyway. She knew Si Wen better than anyone. “Don’t talk about useless things. Just get straight to the point. What do you want to do now?”

Qin Feng didn’t answer and changed the topic again. “The man I am now doesn’t have several women at once or several illegitimate children.”

Zhou Yan waited for him to continue.

Qin Feng looked at the floor, not wanting Zhou Yan to see the softness in his eyes. “I only have one ditz. She has the heart of a child and occupies my whole life. But for money, I lied to her and came here with you.”

Zhou Yan couldn’t tell if his words were true, but she knew that if Qin Feng wasn’t being honest, he must have another motive. If he continued to beat around the bush, she wouldn’t have the patience to listen.

Qin Feng asked her, “What about you? Have you ever lied?”

He said it in an understated way, as if he was just sighing and not really expecting an answer. But Zhou Yan answered. “Yes.”

“What about?”

“Too many things. I lie all the time.” Zhou Yan gave a perfunctory answer and wasn’t in the mood for his melodrama. “Are you going to do it or not? If not, I’m leaving. The money isn’t refundable. Also, this one point three million is for me to have sex with you, not for you to use me to plot against Si Wen. If you insist on doing that, you’ll have to give me half of the twenty million. You can choose not to, but since you know what kind of person Si Wen is, you should also know how likely it is for you to be able to plot against him.”

Qin Feng was speechless. All his previous groundwork was wasted. He knew Zhou Yan wasn’t someone to be trifled with. How could she turn back just because of a few words from him?

Seeing that Qin Feng was silent, Zhou Yan asked him again, “How long do you need to think? If it’s for a while, I’ll go back first and you can find me when you’ve made up your mind.”

Seeing that she was about to leave, Qin Feng instinctively reached out his hand to her.

His hand blocked Zhou Yan’s path.

Suddenly.

Time froze, and the scene was still.

Zhou Yan looked at his hand. It was a normal gesture, nothing special, but in this environment, it seemed ambiguous.

If she had given him her hand, he might have pulled her into his arms, kissed her, sucked on her breasts, just like Si Wen did to her, in all sorts of ways.

She thought she was ready, but when this hand that didn’t belong to Si Wen reached out to her, her hair stood on end, followed by a palpitation. She was resisting. Her whole body was resisting.

Only a few seconds passed, but all her arrogance was gone.

She didn’t want Qin Feng to touch her. Or rather, she didn’t want any man other than Si Wen to touch her. Even if he gave her money, a lot of money, she didn’t want it. She could go to the apartment and not go in, and then come back. She could not care about anything about Si Wen, but she couldn’t accept anything from anyone else.

This feeling was so strong that it completely wiped out all her bravado.

She was so sad.

It turned out that the straw that broke the camel’s back never needed to be heavy. It could even be so light that it was negligible.

After some time, Qin Feng finally spoke. “You...”

Zhou Yan didn’t let him finish. She took his card out of her bag and put it in his hand. “I’m not doing it anymore.”