CHAPTER 241: SHE’S JUST A SLAG GIRL (3)_1

「All night.」

Shen Jing rested atop Zhou Luchen. Was this a one-night stand or a reconciliation?She couldn’t be bothered to think about it.A naughty thought crossed her mind: sleeping with Zhou Luchen was actually... quite enjoyable.

Just as she closed her eyes, Zhou Luchen leaned over, pulled her into his arms, and commanded, his tone a mix of authority and indulgence, "Go eat."

Shen Jing shook her head. "Don’t want to eat. I want to go out and play."

Zhou Luchen chided her for being restless, asking if she’d never seen New York at night.

As it happened, despite being in New York for so many days, Shen Jing really hadn’t. Now, she was adamant about going out. Even though she didn’t find the Manhattan night view particularly attractive. It was rare for Zhou Luchen to be so indulgent. Yet, after giving in to her twice in a row, he still seemed to be in good spirits and had the patience to humor her.

He drove her from downtown Manhattan, across the river to New Jersey, and then to Staten Island. She sat in the passenger seat, cuddling the cat. The window was down, and she chattered away to the feline, wondering aloud, "Is that building Chase? And that one, is it United Bank Headquarters?"

The wind was cold, and her hands grew chilly. She reached out to touch Zhou Luchen’s chest, cooing playfully, "Second Young Master’s muscles are so warm, so comfortable."

The car stopped at the roadside. Zhou Luchen leaned back in his seat to rest, letting her unbutton his shirt and warm her hands on his chest. Before long, he pressed her face to his chest abruptly.

He looked down, planted a smacking kiss on her cheek, and said with a wicked smile, "Shen Jing, oh Shen Jing, how the hell did I let myself be convinced to take you out?"

She reached up to hook her hand around his neck, just smiling, not speaking.

Zhou Luchen pressed in closer, pinning her to the seat and staring straight at her. "Are you happy tonight?"

Shen Jing curved her lips. Facing the night wind and the dim, warm glow of the streetlights, her smile was radiant. "Happy about everything. And you?" She played with Zhou Luchen’s open platinum buttons with her fingers, her voice both coy and petulant. "Second Young Master Zhou..."

With their noses almost touching, he regarded her captivatingly alluring face. Zhou Luchen kept up his teasing smile, his voice low and husky. "God damn beautiful."

She ventured to draw closer to his eyes, her glistening eyes holding a teasing light as she looked directly at him. "Anything else?"

Zhou Luchen replied, "What do you want to hear?"

She whispered in his ear, "Jingjing, I can’t live without you."

Zhou Luchen smiled without a word, lowered his head to kiss her, with no regard for the foreigners passing by on the street.

In the late-night glow of the streetlamps, with the convertible top wide open, the man held the back of the woman’s head, kissing her deeply. The white and noble Ragdoll cat in the woman’s arms surreptitiously peeked out, seemingly well accustomed to it.

「Three o’clock in the morning.」

The car finally returned to the estate.

It was nearly dawn. Zhou Luchen finally stopped bothering her. They embraced and fell asleep, his bare chest enfolding her, like an eagle protecting its chick.

"Achen, my feet are cold."

Under the white goose-down comforter, Zhou Luchen drew her feet back, warming them between his own. She contentedly snuggled against his firm chest, falling asleep peacefully.

These past two days, Zhou Luchen had been busy, sparing at most half a day to stay at the estate to dine with her and accompany her as she walked the cat in the backyard garden.

The Haidongqing resided in the backyard garden, and Shen Jing had the misfortune of seeing it—its gaze was rather fierce.

Scared, she hugged the cat and hid in Zhou Luchen’s embrace, her arms tightly winding around the man’s slender waist.

Zhou Luchen glanced at the Haidongqing, which was clearly quite docile in its cage; he saw no reason for her to be scared. He hugged Shen Jing’s shoulders and led her away without a word, really too lazy to coddle her.

In the evening, a basin of fresh premium raw meat was set before the Haidongqing. After Zhuang Ming fed it, he opened the cage. "Go out and play for a couple of days before you come back. If you get hungry, go to the villa next door and find Ares for food."

The eagle, not understanding human joys and sorrows, stretched its wings and soared toward the forests of Long Island, gaining freedom, the wide open sea and sky.

Who cared if the eagle understood human language or not; Zhuang Ming turned and walked away.

Knowing how ferocious the eagle was, no matter how beautiful the backyard garden, Shen Jing dared not step foot in it. Everything she wanted or needed, including clothes, was often delivered to the estate, so she couldn’t even find an excuse to go shopping.

She wasn’t drawn to the local flavors either. Out of boredom, she even suggested Zhuang Ming fly her to Las Vegas to gamble a few times.

Zhuang Ming didn’t agree. It wasn’t a matter of money; it simply wasn’t permitted.

However, Shen Jing was just bored enough to joke about it, even though Zhou Luchen had enough cash flow for her to play in Las Vegas for days and nights.

Shen Jing returned to her room to sleep, bringing her ’little sister’—the cat—along. The cat curled up at the foot of her bed, keeping her company as she slept.

When Zhou Luchen came back, he found both the cat and the woman on his bed. This cat was quite bold, having learned to climb onto his bed.

However, the cat was sensitive and knew the moment Zhou Luchen entered the room. It turned over with a soft purr, and seeing the man standing by the bed, leaped onto the sofa to sleep.

She wasn’t clear about what happened afterwards. She heard the sound of water from the bathroom, and soon after, she felt a pair of restless hands wandering over her chest. Shen Jing stirred and slowly opened her eyes.

Zhou Luchen’s upper body pressed down, his lips and teeth nibbling at her ear. "Tired?"

She was barely conscious. "Mmm..."

....

The next morning, Zhou Luchen satisfied her, then scooped up a cotton comforter to cover her sweat-drenched body. Shen Jing lay soft and limp in the bed, her head turned to one side. In her view, Zhou Luchen was standing in the walk-in closet.

He easily slipped into a clean, crisp white shirt, his fingers moving from bottom to top, leisurely fastening the platinum buttons—a simple act, yet he managed to imbue it with an air of casual elegance and nobility.

Their gazes met in the mirror, lingering on each other for a long time. Zhou Luchen, ever so serious, said, "Get some good sleep. If you feel stuffy, have Zhuang Ming take you out."

She obediently murmured an "Okay."

Zhou Luchen, his tie still undone, turned back to the bed. He bent over and scooped her up. She felt boneless in his hands. "Why so limp?" he asked. "Don’t want me to leave?"

Her eyelashes fluttered down. "Go ahead. I wouldn’t dare compete with United Bank for their president."

The blanket didn’t fully conceal the love bites on her body. The silk fabric slid from her shoulder, revealing to Zhou Luchen’s gaze, inch by inch, skin marked with those bites.

He thought to himself that he was a beast for being so harsh with her, for leaving her like this.But it was merely a man’s fleeting pity for a beautiful woman. He didn’t regret it, not one bit.

Zhou Luchen pulled the comforter up to cover her properly and didn’t disturb her sleep any further.

As he left, the large bedroom returned to its empty state, leaving only the delicate sandalwood scent by the pillow. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, it was already late morning.

Shen Jing couldn’t sleep anymore. She lay propped up on the pillow, scrolling through her phone.

She wondered where to go today, truly stumped. She had grown tired of everything around Long Island; if she looked at that patch of pink lavender one more time, it would probably wither away from her gaze.

She asked Zhuang Ming. He drove the car out of the garage. "Do you want to go shopping or listen to scriptures at the church? I’m ready to go with you anytime."

Listen to scriptures? Shen Jing turned and went back inside.

Her elder sister called three times, habitually asking when she would return to Beijing so they could prepare a welcome banquet. Shen Jing looked at the purse and passport on the sofa and couldn’t resist any longer.

...

「Evening.」

A meeting with the International Financial Regulatory Authority concluded. United Bank, in collaboration with the agency, had signed a cooperation agreement to raise interest rates.

Zhuang Ming had been waiting outside for some time, ready to pick up Zhou Luchen and take him back to the estate.

Senior officials from the regulatory agency packed up their things, bid a respectful farewell to Zhou Luchen, and departed the conference room in an orderly fashion.

Zhuang Ming, who had been standing guard outside the door, watched the man sitting alone in the main seat of the conference room.

Zhou Luchen was scrolling through his phone, likely about to send a message.

Zhuang Ming approached, unable to resist asking, "Shall we head back to the estate, or somewhere else? I’ll make the arrangements."

His long, distinct fingers focused on typing. Zhou Luchen’s voice was languid. "What do you mean, somewhere else?"

Zhuang Ming reminded him, "Miss Shen returned to China this morning. Are you staying at the estate or going back to Chicago to continue your leisure?"

By this time, the plane had long left American airspace.

He hadn’t sent the text. It was just a simple question: "Want to meet at the hotel for dinner?" The words he had typed were gradually deleted. Zhou Luchen frowned. "How did she leave?"

Zhuang Ming answered honestly, "Naturally, she took a plane."

As the armored door opened, Zhou Luchen tossed his phone aside, pocketed one hand, and left the conference room without expression.

Zhuang Ming deftly caught Zhou Luchen’s phone, pocketing it for him. "She said she made some pastries to thank you for your hospitality these past few days. She hopes you’ll eat well and sleep well."

Zhou Luchen let out a cold, derisive snort. Just then, his assistant approached with some documents, only to be taken aback by that enigmatic smile and quickly stepped aside to make way.

Clearly, the high-rise corridor was wide enough to fit a sedan, yet everyone knew that the president was likely finishing up for the day and should not be disturbed.

At that moment, Shen Jing was comfortably sleeping in the first-class cabin of the plane, an eye mask on.

Her phone was, of course, turned off.

With no luggage to carry, she felt completely at ease.