Falling into the Capital's Radiance - Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Shen Jingni could only part her lips obediently. Her hands pressed against his chest as his tongue tangled with hers, plundering and drinking her in.

The deep kiss lasted only a few minutes, but it was enough to leave her breath ragged. She slumped against him, panting weakly.

Amidst the rising steam, Shen Jingni opened her eyes and caught sight of a scar on the left side of Zhao Zonglan’s chest.

It was near his heart, about an inch long and lighter than the surrounding skin. Though it was an old injury, it was still a startling sight.

She reached out to touch it, then quickly withdrew her fingers. “How did you get this?”

Zhao Zonglan looked down, his voice flat. “A gunshot wound.”

Shen Jingni froze. The hand that had just touched the scar instinctively curled into a fist.

A gunshot wound.

Had he survived an assassination attempt before?

Given Zhao Zonglan’s status, it was inevitable that people would want him dead.

Though he held immense power and status now, his journey to the top must have been anything but easy.

“Did it hurt?” Shen Jingni asked softly.

Her gentle voice was like a feather, carrying the warmth of the spring water as it lightly brushed against his heart.

It was warm.

Zhao Zonglan felt a rare urge to tease her. He slowly opened his deep, dark eyes and leaned his forehead against hers. “It won’t hurt if you kiss it,” he coaxed.

His voice was low and tender, luring her in as he slowly leaned in for a kiss.

The temperature in the room began to rise.

About half an hour later, Shen Jingni was forced against the edge of the pool.

Zhao Zonglan stood behind her.

The warm spring water rippled continuously, each wave more turbulent than the last.

Droplets of water splashed onto his midsection, lingering briefly on his defined abs before tracing sexy paths down his fair skin.

Shen Jingni’s face was flushed, and she was reduced to incoherent whimpers.

He hit her mark again.

His muscles were taut, and his tone was harsh. “Not listening, are we? Don’t move.”

An hour later, they were back in the bedroom.

Shen Jingni couldn’t take any more and tried to scramble away, sobbing. But Zhao Zonglan caught her by the ankle and dragged her back with a grip that was far from gentle.

When Shen Jingni woke up the next day, it was nearly noon, and they were already on a plane.

Zhao Zonglan was dressed in a sharp suit, leaning back in a leather seat and looking coolly at a laptop.

She was resting her head on his lap. She stared at the cabin for several seconds before her mind slowly cleared.

Without taking his eyes off the screen, Zhao Zonglan reached out and pinched her cheek. “Since you’re awake, get up and eat something,” he said in a deep voice.

Shen Jingni finally got up sluggishly to wash her face.

After eating, she remembered she still had twenty-one gifts to open. She asked Chu You and Chang An to bring the boxes over.

Sitting across from Zhao Zonglan, she began to unwrap them with delight.

There were priceless gemstone necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and an exquisite diamond hair clip…

Seeing the clip reminded Shen Jingni of her white jade hairpin.

She looked up and asked, “You still have my hairpin. When are you going to give it back?”

Zhao Zonglan glanced away from the screen, his expression as indifferent as ever. “Is that hairpin very important?”

“Of course. My grandmother left it to me before she passed away. It’s very important.”

“Then I’m not giving it back.”

Shen Jingni was stunned.

She couldn’t stay seated. She stood up abruptly and demanded indignantly, “Why not? That’s mine!”

It was one thing for a capitalist to exploit people, but this was flat-out robbery.

Zhao Zonglan leisurely closed his laptop and looked up with composure. “Consider it a token. After all, you can be quite disobedient sometimes.”

Shen Jingni understood immediately.

What ‘token’?

He just wanted to use the hairpin to threaten and control her.

Like a hostage.

Shen Jingni didn’t want him to get his way, so she resorted to her usual tactics of acting spoiled and playful.

She climbed onto his lap and straddled him, tugging at his perfectly straight tie. “Oh, come on, just give it back to me.”

“Besides, it’s useless to you.”

“A beautiful hairpin belongs on a beautiful woman’s head, not locked away in some dark room.”

Zhao Zonglan leaned back against the seat, letting her fuss.

His long fingers brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “If you want beautiful hairpins, I’ll buy them for you. As many as you want. Just give me that white jade one in exchange, hm?”
“I don’t want to.” Shen Jingni just wanted her things back.

If it were any other object, she probably would have agreed, but that hairpin was out of the question.

It was one of the pieces of dowry her grandmother had left her.

Seeing how stubborn she was being, Zhao Zonglan stopped humoring her. The more he coaxed her, the more she would push her luck.

Faced with the man’s cold attitude, Shen Jingni simply wrapped her arms around his waist and rubbed against him haphazardly. “Gege~”

“Give it back to me, please.”

It was the same old trick; she just wanted to make his heart soften so he would give in.

Zhao Zonglan’s eyes darkened instantly. He pressed down on her waist, causing deep creases to form in his originally smooth suit trousers.

He felt as if he were becoming addicted.

Whenever he touched her, he felt a base, despicable urge to possess her completely.

This feeling was far more terrifying than a nicotine addiction.

Because it seemed he couldn’t control it.

Shen Jingni hadn’t sensed the danger yet. She looked at him with innocent, bewildered eyes, only feeling that the man’s expression was becoming frighteningly cold.

Zhao Zonglan glanced at his wristwatch. His thin lips brushed against her earlobe, his voice slightly raspy from restraint. “Don’t move around. The plane lands in twenty minutes. There isn’t enough time.”

“Not enough time for what?”

He took her earlobe into his mouth, his voice trailing downward. “Not enough time for me to dote on you.”

“But we can kiss for a while.”

–

Upon returning to Jingshi, Shen Jingni adamantly refused to let Zhao Zonglan drop her off, fleeing home as fast as she could.

Zhao Zonglan had been acting like a beast these past two days. She was afraid something might happen in the car, so she avoided him whenever possible.

As soon as she got home, she slept for half the day.

Xu Ningwan thought she was exhausted from her business trip and felt terribly sorry for her. She decided to take her precious daughter out to relax over the weekend.

During dinner, she suggested, “Miaomiao, come with me to Fuzesi Temple this Saturday to offer some prayers. We can stop by the mall afterward to get you some winter clothes and accessories.”

Madam Xu loved dressing up her daughter. Every season, she would scour for as many beautiful clothes and jewelry as possible for Shen Jingni, fearing the girl wouldn’t bear to spend the money herself.

Shen Jingni naturally wouldn’t refuse. “Sure.”

She happened to have her eye on a bag; she could just swipe Madam Xu’s card.

After dinner, Shen Jingni washed up and lay in bed playing on her phone when Chu You called.

“Boss, the organizers of the Shanghai Youth Designer Competition called. They said there are too many sponsors wanting the naming rights right now, and the sponsorship fees they’re offering are higher than ours. We might not be able to secure it.”

This competition received a lot of attention domestically, with full television broadcasts and excellent promotional effects.

That was why Shen Jingni planned to invest in the title sponsorship this year.

It would rapidly increase the brand awareness of Oath of Love and attract several talented designers.

But now it seemed many people had the same idea.

Chu You added, “And the other party revealed that Miss Qin Muhuan is sponsoring a hundred million for exclusive naming rights.”

Qin Muhuan again.

Shen Jingni furrowed her brows. A hundred million?

Where was she supposed to get a hundred million?

The things Zhao Zonglan had given her were quite valuable, but she couldn’t actually sell them.

That would be too disrespectful to the person who gave them.

Chu You offered a suggestion on the other end of the line: “How about… you ask Mr. Zhao for help?”

“It would only take one phone call from Mr. Zhao.”

Shen Jingni actually did have that intention. Her parents didn’t care whether her business lived or died; her only backer now was Zhao Zonglan.

But Zhao Zonglan wasn’t the type to do a losing deal.

After thinking it over, she took out her phone and sent a message to Zhao Zonglan: [It’s so strange. We’ve been apart for less than a day, and I already miss you a little.]

Men probably liked hearing sweet nothings too.

Anyway, coaxing him via text didn’t cost a dime.

A few minutes later, she received a reply from Zhao Zonglan: [Do you need a favor?]

This old man was quite sharp.

Shen Jingni: [Mainly I miss you. There is a tiny little matter, but compared to you, Gege, it’s not even worth mentioning.]

A long time passed without a reply from Zhao Zonglan.

He was probably put off by her sycophancy.

Just as Shen Jingni was about to fall asleep, she finally received his reply: [Tomorrow morning at ten-thirty, I’ll have Chang An pick you up.]

She asked: [Isn’t ten-thirty a bit late?]

It would be almost noon by the time she got to his place.

Zhao Zonglan: [If you can wake up early, we can change it to eight.]

[That won’t be necessary.]