CHAPTER 282: TRY THROWING IT" (1)_1

Shen Jing understood Sun Qiyan’s careful avoidance of impropriety.

Sun Qiyan also understood the friendship she wanted; knowing each other was already very fortunate.

After much thought, as if he had figured everything out, Sun Qiyan returned to Shanghai for a blind date. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out. The woman said, "It’s really impossible to control a man with no trace of romantic interest. He’s a Shanghai local from a wealthy family, has a physique like a male model, and yet at thirty-four, he’s never been in love. He’s too lazy to even put effort into dating. He’s always on the phone, saying he’s calculating restaurant revenue. Once, he sent me an Hermès bag, and then he just went silent."

"Later, when I offered my hand for him to hold, he said he had been cooking personally that day and his hands weren’t clean enough to hold a girl’s. My God, his hands were clearly spotless! He’s just full of flimsy excuses..."

He was too earnest. Having not met the right person in love, they both agreed to part amicably.

Shen Jing didn’t know what to do with her betrothal gifts; they were far too valuable. She contacted Zhou Luchen, but the first call was answered by Zhuang Ming.

"The Second Young Master is in a meeting, and his phone is charging. He’ll contact you later."

Shen Jing decisively hung up.

Finally, Zhou Luchen called back.

His voice was faint and tinged with weariness. "What’s up?"

"Nothing." Shen Jing fell silent, unable to voice her concerns.

They both hung up.

It had only been a few days since the betrothal gifts arrived. Grandpa Shen, who had initially been worried about them, now wore a pleased expression. He had moved them directly into the underground safe, covered them with red cloth, and meticulously recorded each item in a ledger to keep on her behalf.

Shen Jing watched Grandpa Shen, who was even tallying up his own assets, and said, "Grandpa, you’ve been acting oddly recently. Just the other day, you had me ask Luchen about them, and today you’ve just accepted them all."

Grandpa Shen closed the ledger and waved her off. "Go on, go have fun. How old are you, anyway?"

Shen Jing stuck out her tongue, firmly closed her door, and remembered she had plans to go to the hot springs with her girlfriends today.

Autumn had arrived, and the hot springs at the hotel owned by Xie Qinyang’s family were especially pleasant.

She entered the private suite, signed in, and took a locker key.

A hotel staff member, carrying specially prepared nightgowns, followed Shen Jing, detailing the services.

Shen Jing wasn’t listening; she just grabbed a pristine white nightgown and headed into the changing room.

Coming out of the changing room, her friend stared at Shen Jing’s necklace for a long time. The prayer bead she wore around her neck was always too conspicuous. Shen Jing had tried countless delicate chains, but she had only kept this small, blood-red prayer bead.

Her friend managed to get it out of her after a brief exchange.

"It’s from Zhou Luchen," Shen Jing said. "I wouldn’t dare to lose it."

It wasn’t just because Luchen had given it to her; this was a bead that Old Madam Zhou had personally sought, and even she hadn’t minded it being given to Shen Jing. If she lost it, Zhou Luchen would probably wring her neck.

"Didn’t the Second Young Master of the Zhou family send you betrothal gifts? Where’s our wedding invitation? After all our drinks together, aren’t we close enough to be sisters? Can’t we expect an invitation to the wedding feast?"

Her friend also lived in Xihe Bay. She had returned from studying abroad, was doted on by her family, and mostly just spent her time having fun after taking up a nominal position in her family’s company.

Shen Jing slipped on a bathrobe. "I wasn’t sure whether to agree at the time, so I made him wait at the door."

Her friend gave her a thumbs up and then, linking arms with Shen Jing, they entered the hot spring area together. "You’ve got guts! Back in the day, many fathers in our circle sought marriage alliances with the Zhou family, but the Zhou family didn’t respond to any of them. They kept to themselves. It’s not easy to marry into such a prestigious family. If the Zhou family knew you hadn’t agreed, their jaws would drop."

"I have a dinner engagement at eight, so let’s finish up early," Shen Jing said.

"What’s the rush, Manager Shen?"

Laughing and chatting, the two deftly changed the subject. Shen Jing wanted the clear water pool, while her friend opted for a medicinal bath, and they parted ways before a circular archway.

Entering her private hot spring pool, Shen Jing stood at the edge, her fingers gently undoing her bathrobe. She smelled the roasted scent of Bai Qinan agarwood and glanced at the incense burner on the rest platform. That’s the one, so incredibly fragrant.

In just two or three seconds, her bathrobe slipped off, and completely bare, she stepped down the stone stairs into the warm water.

A female attendant brought in tea. Seeing Shen Jing in the pool, the attendant showed a flicker of surprise but quickly left, not wanting to disturb the guest’s privacy.

The attendant had brought aged tangerine peel tea.

Whatever, it’s not as if I can’t afford it. Shen Jing didn’t taste it, instead lying at the pool’s edge, amusing herself with some game pieces.

A few minutes later, the manager’s voice suddenly came from outside the door. "Everything is arranged for you, sir. We’ve kept your usual suite vacant. You haven’t been back to the country for so long; the suite has been empty for quite some time. Here is the key card."

The response to the manager was a voice both deep and cool.

"Give it to Zhuang Ming."

It was Zhou Luchen’s voice!

Realizing this, Shen Jing quickly submerged herself in the pool.

Whenever Zhou Luchen returned to the country, if he wasn’t going to Taihe, he would stay at this hotel, boosting Xie Qinyang’s business.

While she was lost in her frantic thoughts, Zhou Luchen had already stepped down into the hot spring. He was silent, not even glancing at the corner of the pool where bubbles were rising with a BLUB-BLUB sound.

Soaking in the water, his long arm resting on the edge, Zhou Luchen slowly closed his eyes. He didn’t call out to the ’siren’ in the pool, seemingly content to let her drown.

Finally, unable to hold her breath any longer, Shen Jing burst out of the water.

Zhou Luchen remained unmoved.

Shen Jing gasped heavily, her gaze fixed ahead.

They were in the same pool. Steamy mist enveloped its surface.

Zhou Luchen was bare-chested, languidly leaning against the pool’s edge. He showed no reaction to her emergence; his eyes didn’t even open, an indifference so profound it was as if the sky could fall without him noticing.

Fine droplets of water clung to the sharp line of his handsome jaw, eventually detaching from those defined contours to trickle down to his throat. His Adam’s apple bobbed slightly. It was a sensual sight, yet it made her feel a distinct chill.

She opened her mouth, but her throat was so tense that her voice came out like a broken gong.

"I..."

Finally, Zhou Luchen, his eyes still closed, quirked his lips into a slight smile. "You what?"

He had known since he entered that there was another woman in the pool. The phone and small items of clothing on the rest lounge had betrayed their owner. Shen Jing often wore clothes from a particular Swiss brand he was familiar with—items she frequently bought using his card. It wasn’t hard for him to recognize who was in his private pool.

Realizing she was quite exposed, Shen Jing reached for her nightgown, only to find it had somehow been hung on a distant coat rack.

How could she cover herself?

Shen Jing sank her body deeper into the pool and casually tried to break the deadlock. "This is a misunderstanding. The hotel must have given me the wrong room number."

Zhou Luchen pressed his lips together, saying nothing.

Annoyed by his reticence, Shen Jing asked, "Zhou Luchen, have you recovered from your illness?"

Zhou Luchen’s tone was, as usual, neither harsh nor angry as he turned the question back to her.

"What do you think?"

Seeing his current energetic demeanor and strong aura, Shen Jing stated confidently, "You seem to be."

"Not yet." Zhou Luchen sighed lightly, a hint of helplessness in his voice. "Come check for yourself."

Shen Jing waved her hand dismissively.

His voice dropped lower. "Come."

That deliberately warm and velvety voice wasn’t his usual tone, yet it was inexplicably alluring.

Shen Jing edged closer to him, maintaining a moderate distance, merely intending to check the temperature of his forehead.

He had a fever, and she’d made him sit at the door for twenty minutes! Had this pampered young master ever suffered such an indignity? He hadn’t even given her a proper answer, just flew back to the country despite being sick, infuriating her to no end.

She raised her hand, but before she could even brush against Zhou Luchen’s smooth forehead, subtle ripples disturbed the surface of the warm water.

Suddenly, Zhou Luchen’s large hand easily grasped her waist, pulling her against the pool’s edge. His teeth caught the thin strap on her shoulder, tugging it aside as his lips brushed against her skin.