Chapter Seventy-Seven: Ill Omen

If he waited for this woman to wake up naturally, it would probably be morning before she stirred. Hong Chen had no intention of idling away the entire night here. Pushing her out of the car and leaving her to her fate was no different from abandoning her by the roadside for anyone to pick up—a thing he simply could not bring himself to do.

Bringing her to a hotel wasn’t suitable either. Putting aside whether or not a room could be booked with just his ID, even if it could, he wasn’t keen on subjecting himself to the predictable looks the hotel staff would give him, as though he were an escort.

Of course, Hong Chen could use acupuncture to help the woman quickly dispel the alcohol from her system, but it was too inconvenient to do so inside the car.

After weighing his options, he finally decided to take her home.

Such is the advantage of living alone.

Because the temperature was low in the deep of night, Hong Chen did not lower the convertible top, nor did he open more than half his own window. He stepped on the gas and sped off into the darkness.

A drive that took more than half an hour during the day was, under the GTR’s wild sprint through the night, compressed into just thirteen minutes.

Upon returning to the villa, he didn’t bother parking in the garage; instead, he left the car in the open garden. Getting out, he dragged the woman from the passenger seat. She was neither too thin nor too plump—her figure was simply outstanding: curves in all the right places, and a slender waist that fit perfectly in his arm, soft yet resilient, clearly the result of regular exercise.

She was tall, at least one meter seventy-two or three by his estimate. With her high heels, if she stood upright, she’d be nearly eye-to-eye with his own one meter eighty. She definitely weighed more than a hundred pounds. For another man, hauling her indoors would have been a challenge, but for Hong Chen, it was no burden at all.

He had intended to enter through the front door, but upon reconsideration, thought the stairs would be troublesome. So, finding the right angle, he leaped upward with her in his arms, used the outside wall to kick off at the second floor, and landed steadily on the third-floor terrace.

The terrace featured a swimming pool of over twenty square meters. For a moment, Hong Chen entertained the thought of tossing her into the icy water, letting her experience the true chill that follows drunkenness. Of course, the mischievous idea dissipated as quickly as it came.

In the end, Hong Chen carried her into the largest bedroom. He deposited her hundred-plus pounds onto the grand canopied bed, switched on a wall lamp, and in the dim light, gently brushed aside her disheveled hair. Only then did her flawless face fully reveal itself before his eyes.

That face looked as if it had been carved from jade—she appeared to be between twenty-five and thirty. Eyes closed in slumber, the rest of her features were exquisite, their contours vivid and distinct.

Even with Hong Chen’s critical eye, he couldn’t help but be taken aback by her beauty. In terms of looks, she was on par with Lin Yuxin, Qiu, and Ji Yun; in terms of figure, she might even surpass them.

The room’s very decor lent itself to ambiguity, and under the dim light, the woman exuded an indescribable allure from head to toe. Coupled with the faint scent of alcohol lingering on her skin, the stimulus was enough to set Hong Chen’s heart racing, a wicked heat rising in his lower abdomen.

Hong Chen’s self-control was undoubtedly far beyond that of ordinary men. Otherwise, after more than seven hundred nights facing Lin Yuxin—a woman whose mere glance could send any man’s hormones into a frenzy—he wouldn’t have kept his distance for so long. But restraint did not mean he lacked the desires of a normal man.

He licked his parched lips and slowly crouched down. When his face was only half a foot from that stunning visage, his gaze sharpened. After a moment, he shook his head, stood up abruptly, and strode out of the room.

“Damn it, what was Gao Tianxiong thinking, decorating a perfectly good villa into such a den of temptation, making it impossible for me to keep my head straight?” Hong Chen took a deep breath and exhaled heavily, cursing Gao Tianxiong under his breath, though in his heart, he blamed himself: what a stroke of bad luck.

If this ravishing beauty were a prostitute—or if he could convince himself to see her as one, or as a woman open to a one-night stand—he absolutely would not have stopped at the brink. But his eyes were too discerning: this woman was still a virgin. Taking advantage of someone in such a state violated his principles and his bottom line.

Still burning with heat, Hong Chen headed to the bathroom on the second floor and doused himself with cold water for a full fifteen minutes. He changed into a comfortable robe and returned to the third floor. After some thought, he decided not to move to the adjacent room but instead to sleep on the sofa chair beside the canopied bed. After all, she was a stranger; if she woke and found him gone, who knew what she might do?

...

He didn’t know how much time had passed, but faint daylight began to creep in through the window.

Deep in sleep, Hong Chen’s eyelids suddenly fluttered, and he opened his eyes to see the woman on the bed rubbing her temples, her head still spinning as she woke up.

Their eyes met, and for a long moment, silence reigned. Suddenly, the woman sat up, glanced around at the unfamiliar surroundings, and immediately her brows knitted. She fixed Hong Chen with a wary stare and asked coldly, “Who are you? Where am I?”

Hong Chen sat up as well and replied with a helpless smile, “You got drunk at Paradise Bar last night, somehow ended up in my car, so I brought you back here. This is my home.”

The woman kept her gaze locked on his, falling silent. It was unclear whether she was trying to judge the truth of his words from his expression or straining to recall the events of the previous night.

After a while, she let out a dismissive snort, her eyes dropping. Suddenly, her pupils contracted sharply as she looked down: on the milky white bedsheet, a patch of bright red blood stood out starkly.

Hong Chen noticed the change in her expression and, following her gaze, was startled as well. He immediately got up to approach, but the woman barked, “Don’t come any closer!” She glanced around, quickly scooted to the nightstand, seized the lamp, switched it on, then decisively smashed the bulb, aiming the jagged, gear-shaped edge at him.

Hong Chen halted, speaking calmly, “Don’t misunderstand. Nothing happened.”

He glanced at her intently, then gestured at the bloodstain on the sheet. “That’s just your period.”

The woman’s voice was icy. “Get out.”

After a brief hesitation, Hong Chen nodded. Under her unwavering gaze, he slowly walked out and gently closed the door behind him. He didn’t leave, but waited right outside, ears pricked, his mind a chaos of frustration.

What rotten luck! Her period had to arrive at exactly this moment. It would be easy to explain, yet also difficult—it all depended on whether this woman was rational or unreasonable.

As if aware that he was waiting outside, it wasn’t long before her cold voice sounded from inside, “Where are my phone and keys?”

Hong Chen thought for a moment before replying, “Didn’t see your phone. Your keys are in my car.”

“Get them for me.”

He didn’t refuse. In half a minute, he returned and handed her a key through the crack in the door she opened.

The next twenty minutes were silent, aside from the initial sounds of retching and running water from inside the room. Growing impatient, Hong Chen called out, “What are you doing in there?”

Her cold reply came at once, “Don’t come in!”

Hong Chen rolled his eyes. Whose house was this, anyway? He continued, “Don’t act like I did something to you. If I hadn’t taken pity on you last night, you’d have been left by the roadside for anyone to pick up. I brought you home, gave you the most comfortable bed, and watched over you all night...”

He was cut short as his expression stiffened, eyes turning toward the window. Without hesitation, he vaulted from the third floor down to the first, darted to the door, and scanned the garden.

In the span of a few seconds, he caught sight of several figures vaulting the wall.

Hong Chen’s gaze turned cold as he strode forward and barked, “Who are you people?”

No answer came. The two men and two women, all dressed in black suits, exchanged quick glances, then charged toward him from various directions, faces grim and eyes glinting with icy resolve. Meanwhile, another man in a mandarin-collared shirt moved even faster, clearly aiming to cut off Hong Chen’s retreat and make for the villa.

Hong Chen’s expression remained unchanged. With a snort, he flipped his hands, and eight silver needles appeared between his fingers. Just as he was about to launch them, a cold, commanding voice rang out from inside the villa: “Everyone, stand down!”