The Art of Being a Kept Man - Chapter 1

When I was a student, all I read were novels about losers turning their lives around, marrying gorgeous rich girls, and reaching the pinnacle of success.

So when I got to college, my goal was simple: hook a rich beauty and become a trophy husband.

This face of mine attracted plenty of Omegas, but none of them met my standards.

My target was the campus belle—Shen Shuyu.

Shen Shuyu’s father was a real-estate tycoon in S City. Any random apartment his family owned could sell for tens of millions.

If I married Shen Shuyu, wouldn’t that mean I could live in whichever multimillion-yuan apartment I pleased?

The thought brought a lecherous grin to my face.

Wooing Shen Shuyu was no easy task. I tried flowers, chocolates, the works, but he wouldn’t give me the time of day.

In the end, only that tired old damsel-in-distress routine worked.

When Shen Shuyu was kidnapped by his stepmother, I stormed the kidnappers’ den, took several knife wounds, and nearly died before I finally won the beauty’s heart.

Just as I thought I was about to reach the pinnacle of life, disaster struck.

Shen Shuyu was gift-wrapped and sent off to marry into S City’s powerful Wen family.

Grimacing, I rubbed the long-healed scars across my abdomen. They seemed to ache all over again.

“Damn it!” I cursed. “I got stabbed for nothing!”

To my surprise, the night before the wedding, Shen Shuyu came to my place and asked me to run away with him.

All my hard work hadn’t gone to waste after all.

I fussed over Shen Shuyu as he sat on my lap, asking if he was cold, if he was hungry, if he was all right.

Then I asked the question I cared about most. “Baby, how much money do you have on you?”

Leaning against my chest, Shen Shuyu said all his bank cards had been frozen. He happened to miss the way my face twisted.

The Shen family was rich and powerful, and I’d heard they had their hands in shady businesses too.

How could an arm ever wrestle down a thigh? If they caught us, what kind of end would I meet?

Shen Shuyu was beautiful, sure, but not beautiful enough to make that worthwhile.

So I tactfully advised him to accept his fate.

I never expected the pure little white flower to turn into deadly datura.

Shen Shuyu slapped me hard, ran into the kitchen, grabbed a cleaver, and started hacking at me.

“Chen Zhuo, if you won’t take me with you, I’ll kill you and then follow you into death.”

Shen Shuyu had lost his mind! If I hadn’t dodged so nimbly, he would have chopped me into mince on the spot.

I covered my face with my right hand and stretched out my left, trying to persuade him to calm down.

Then inspiration struck. A brilliant idea flashed through my mind.

I hurriedly said, “I wasn’t thinking straight just now, baby! I have a plan!”

Shen Shuyu’s face remained icy. “What plan?”

His grip on the knife did not loosen in the slightest. If my answer failed to satisfy him, he looked ready to finish me off.

I wiped away nervous sweat and forced a grin. “Baby, you have to believe that I love you. I don’t want to be apart from you at all. If it weren’t for—”

Impatience crossed Shen Shuyu’s face. The hand holding the knife lifted slightly, and I rushed on. “Hey, hey, hey! What I mean is, an arm can’t wrestle down a thigh. You should marry into the Wen family and play along for now. We’ll find chances to save enough money, then run far away together.”

Shen Shuyu stared at me with a razor-sharp gaze, silent as if considering something.

The hand holding the knife gradually lowered. I seized the chance to snatch it away and throw it far across the room.

Then I hugged Shen Shuyu tight, terrified he might try to hack me again.

A cold smile flickered over his lips. His chilled hand caressed my cheek, raising goose bumps across my skin.

He stared at me, his gaze dark and unfathomable. “You’re right.”

The corner of Shen Shuyu’s mouth curved upward. Then those full, rosy lips uttered something vicious. “Play along, take everything from them, and wipe them out to the last.”

Was that what I had said?

My eyes widened, and my heart leaped into my throat.

It didn’t sound as though Shen Shuyu had been joking about killing me.