Pavlovian Response - Chapter 3

It was in that gaze that I saw an untamable hound.

I didn’t even have to go looking. That same night, I ran into Shen Yu working as a server at the bar.

He had changed into the staff uniform, complete with a pair of furry wolf ears clipped to his hair. They looked absurd above that deathly cold face.

As the most eye-catching server in the room, he naturally became my friends’ favorite target. Before long, they had him trapped among them and were pouring drinks down his throat.

I sat to one side, acting bored with everyone present.

Liquor had soaked through Shen Yu’s shirt. He was struggling to keep up when his hazy eyes met mine. There was almost a plea in them, as though he had finally reached his limit.

What he didn’t know was that his manager had already told me Shen Yu could hold his liquor. We could pour as much into him as we liked.

I crooked a finger at him, beckoning as if calling a dog.

The others were not yet satisfied, but I was the guest of honor that night. They pushed Shen Yu in front of me.

He immediately realized he had mistaken me for his rescuer. It was too late to turn back.

He stood before me, water-bright eyes looking through his lenses.

“Who gave you permission to look at me like that? Kneel.”

My voice wasn’t cold, but the order permitted no refusal.

To my surprise, Shen Yu neither resisted nor bargained. He obediently lowered himself. One furry wolf ear brushed my palm by accident.

He was too close. Without thinking, I raised my foot and planted the heel of my shoe just below his collarbone.

Hard enough to hurt.

Shen Yu showed no pain. Instead, a scorching flush spread from the corners of his eyes to the tips of his ears. He glanced at me as if he wanted to rebel, then forced himself to kneel properly again.

I narrowed my eyes at him.

He looked nothing like the impoverished top student who had stood in the road that afternoon.

Reason told me a man like this was dangerous.

My eyes told me he was perfect.

That was how Shen Yu ended up following me to my car.

He had changed back into his own clothes, though the reek of alcohol clung to him. The moment he saw the same car from that afternoon, his face changed.

“My father only wanted to pay my tuition… I’m sorry. I’ll find a way to repay you.”

I smiled. “You still don’t understand what I want?”

His face stiffened further. He stood in the winter wind with his fists clenched for nearly a minute.

It was the first time I had ever waited so patiently for anyone.

Although, as I looked at that face, all I could think was how pretty it would be with a handprint across it.

In the end, Shen Yu opened the door himself and got into my car.

The memory soured my mood.

Back then, I had acted on impulse and taken the game too far. I had provoked someone I should have left alone.

Shen Yu sent me the contact details for the jewelry buyer. The profile picture was pure black, and the username consisted of a single letter: Y.

“Please open this link as well. It’s for the jewelry registration.”

Distracted and irritated, I tapped it without thinking. The page flashed once before the normal registration screen appeared.

Something was wrong.

Sure enough—

[That’s our male lead. He installed a tracker on Ruan Qingtang’s phone and she didn’t even notice.]

[She’s so disobedient. Imagine how many slaps he’d get if Miss found out.]

[Why are you trying to reward him?]

The comments piled up, then wandered completely off topic. Not one offered another useful detail about the tracker.

I tightened my teeth without betraying a thing, then turned a radiant smile on Shen Yu. “Thank you for your trouble, Mr. Shen. A pleasure doing business.”

He smiled back, harmless as could be. “It’s nothing. If you need anything, Miss Ruan, you must contact me.”

I nodded pleasantly and rolled my eyes inside.

As though failing to contact him would stop him from coming after me.

Outside the appraisal office, I checked my new bank balance with satisfaction. Whatever else could be said, only an idiot turned down money.

I went straight to the apartment I had chosen earlier.

[I thought Ruan Qingtang was bankrupt. Why is she still renting somewhere this nice?]

[No more princess’s fortune, but she still has the princess disease.]

[Don’t worry. Wherever she lives, the male lead will cling to her like a damp ghost.]

[A starved camel is still bigger than a horse. She must have gotten a decent amount for that jewelry.]

[But that’s the last money she can move around, and it’s not as though she’s willing to get a job. If she weren’t so determined to live like an heiress, she wouldn’t end up so miserable later.]

[She still owns the company her mother fought to leave her. She just doesn’t know it’ll belong to the male lead soon.]

The comments grew noisy again. I ignored them.

I stood outside the apartment, looking down as I checked my figures one more time. Once I was certain the rent still fit after every other expense I might need to cover, I knocked.

The landlord was waiting inside. After he showed me around, I had to admit my taste was excellent.

Then, when we reached the price, he abruptly changed his terms and raised the rent by a thousand.