Falling into the Capital's Radiance - Chapter 14

Shen Jingni froze in astonishment.

Was Zhao Zonglan coaxing her or threatening her?

It sounded strange.

For now, she decided to assume it was his conscience talking, and that he was begrudgingly trying to comfort her.

Shen Jingni sniffled, forcing herself to calm down for a few more seconds before finally managing to stop her tears.

The mist in her peach blossom eyes had not yet cleared. The look she gave him was timid, but she still mustered up the courage to make a demand.

“Then can you make up for all the losses from before?”

She had no idea how much the Shen Family had actually lost, but just thinking about it made her heart ache.

As she spoke, she began to play the pity card again, “Your family is huge and powerful, so I’m sure you don’t care about such a small sum. But for us, a modest family, we rely on that to get by.”

This was the first time Zhao Zonglan had encountered someone so amusing.

Here she was, sitting on his lap crying, not daring to look at him, but at the same time making bold demands without the slightest shame. Her little calculations were written all over her face, as if she was obsessed with money.

The Shen Family was still a prominent family with solid foundations. Even losing a few hundred million wouldn’t shake their roots.

He never intended to do anything drastic to the Shen Family.

But that was on the condition that she behaved.

Zhao Zonglan brushed aside a stray lock of hair from her cheek, lazily wiping away the tearstain at the corner of her eye, his gaze calm: “Shen Jingni, I am a businessman.”

It was the first time he had called her by her name.

He was probably about to get serious with her.

That’s right. He was a businessman-a capitalist who chewed people up and spat out their bones. He wasn’t that easy to talk to.

Shen Jingni sat up straighter, unconsciously straightening her petite figure and looking at him solemnly. “Then what did Mr. Zhao mean by suddenly kissing me?”

Perhaps due to her family background, she was straightforward and asked whatever was on her mind.

Since they were going to negotiate, she had to lay out all the chips that might work in her favor.

Zhao Zonglan lifted his hand and pinched her delicate jaw, his dark pupils deep and impenetrable. He gave a cold, emotionless laugh. “Didn’t you say I could do as I pleased?”

Shen Jingni recalled the grand promises she’d made a few days ago at Zijing Sandalwood Court.

She really had shot herself in the foot.

She must have been out of her mind to make such grand promises to a capitalist.

But she refused to back down. “I got up early every day these past few days to bring you things and wrote you apology letters. Wasn’t that sincere enough?”

Impossible to please.

She shouldn’t have brought up the apology letters. At the mention of them, Zhao Zonglan remembered her insincere sweet talk.

His face darkened as he picked up the letter from the table and handed the evidence to her. “Writing some random ambiguous words-is that what Miss Shen calls sincerity?”

Shen Jingni looked confused, holding the letter, her eyes innocent and shocked.

Sweet talk?

She hurriedly bowed her head, using the light from the window to just barely make out the words on the paper.

When she saw the line, “May I be as the stars and you as the moon,” her whole body stiffened.

Chu You, that little troublemaker.

All those apology letters had been written by Chu You. Shen Jingni had only copied them onto the stationery by hand, thinking only of finishing the task and not paying attention to the actual content.

Chu You had grown up in Singapore; she probably didn’t even know what that poem meant.

“I-I wasn’t good at Chinese, I used the wrong phrase…” Shen Jingni lowered her head in guilt, her voice barely louder than a mosquito.

Zhao Zonglan could tell she was lying.

But he had no interest in discussing poetry with her.

He took a cigarette from the case and bit it, unlit, looking at her with a deep, inscrutable gaze.

She was young and not steady, completely without guile.

A young lady of the Shen Family raised in Hangzhou, courageous and straightforward, with integrity in both word and deed.

She truly was like that.

So, he waited for her to take the bait herself.

Shen Jingni felt even guiltier under his gaze.

She felt like prey under Zhao Zonglan’s watchful eyes.

This hunter was calm and unhurried, in complete control-so different from the man who had just forcibly kissed her.

She was no match for Zhao Zonglan.

In the end, Shen Jingni still couldn’t get past herself. She raised her chin, pulling a bitter face, and asked, “So what is it that you want, then?”
Zhao Zonglan curled his lips into a smile.

With a slender cigarette pinched between his fingers, he lounged lazily back on the sofa. His thin lips parted slightly: “I’m missing a woman by my side.”

!

Shen Jingni was stunned.

When she finally processed his words, her expression changed, and she started crying again.

She wept as she cursed him: “Zhao Zonglan, you bastard! You actually want me to be your mistress in the shadows? I’m still a member of the Shen Family, after all. Wuwuwu… I’ll be struck from the family register.”

What heiress from a prestigious family would ever agree to be someone’s mistress?

If her parents found out, they’d break her legs.

This was an unbearable humiliation!

Zhao Zonglan felt a headache coming on from her crying. Somewhat helplessly, he pinched the bridge of his nose and spat out three words, his tone indifferent: “Girlfriend.”

Shen Jingni suddenly stopped crying.

Her eyes widened, tears still clinging to her lashes. “What did you say?”

If it was an agreement to be his girlfriend, that was something she could consider.

At least it would give her a proper status.

Zhao Zonglan had never liked repeating himself, and no one else dared to curse and question him like this.

He flicked his lighter to light his cigarette, his features cold and sharp, his voice low and emotionless: “Give me your answer when you’ve made up your mind.”

“Of course, whether you agree or not, the result will be the same.”

A tyrant through and through.

Shen Jingni was so angry her teeth itched.

But she really did start to weigh her options seriously.

After all, she was the one in the wrong first, and her bluff had backfired. If she chose to die rather than submit now, her ending would definitely be miserable.

Thinking of those tragic romance novels where the heroine can’t escape no matter how hard she tries-she always gets caught in the end.

Too much suffering, pure torment, and really, what’s the point?

But if she agreed…

Zhao Zonglan hadn’t had a woman by his side for years. As the head of the Zhao Family, he did need a public girlfriend to deal with his family and the outside world. He probably wouldn’t treat her badly.

Besides, she’d been craving him for a long time, wanting to tie him up and keep him warm in her bed, to hug and kiss him and all that. Heh, she was finally going to get her wish.

But if it was just for his looks, that wasn’t quite enough.

Shen Jingni decided to keep her wits about her and negotiate some benefits for herself.

She leaned in, lying against Zhao Zonglan’s chest, looking up at him with a bright, obedient smile. “What are the perks of being Mr. Zhao’s girlfriend?”

Feeling the softness against his chest, Zhao Zonglan’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly, that familiar restlessness stirring again.

He lifted his eyelids, his voice hoarse from the smoke. “What benefits do you want?”

Shen Jingni’s eyes darted around as she licked her lips. “It sounds a bit distant to talk about benefits.”

“It’s only natural for a boyfriend to give his girlfriend gifts from time to time. Of course, I’ll also do my part, running errands and serving you…”

Zhao Zonglan only paid attention to the first half of her sentence. After that, she kept chattering on, acting coquettish and trying to please him.

He couldn’t be bothered to listen. She was just scheming for some perks for herself, as usual.

After all her preamble, Shen Jingni finally got to the point: “So, can you let me have that batch of Song Brocade and the Night-Luminescent Pearls?”

She even added, with a touch of pride: “I’ll pay the original price, so Mr. Zhao won’t lose out. But you paid way too much for those Night-Luminescent Pearls, so I’ll have to pay in installments.”

To Zhao Zonglan, this was hardly a request at all.

But he hadn’t expected that the little princess of the Shen Family couldn’t even come up with fifty million.

Not even as well-off as Chang An.

Truly a pitiful little thing.

His cool fingertips caressed her jade-like cheek, his eyes filled with a desire Shen Jingni couldn’t decipher.

“As long as you behave, I’ll give you everything you want.”

Whether he liked her or loved her, he wasn’t interested, nor did he care to find out.

He just felt that such a beautiful and interesting little thing should belong to him, Zhao Zonglan.

No one else should even have the chance to covet her.