A Twisted Love Affair-Chapter 101: Forgive me, okay_1

The luxury car sped through the bustling streets.

The Shanghai night was an endless, flamboyant display of intense extravagance.

The car drove into Night Mansion. The garage door opened, and the luxury car braked smoothly to a halt.

Zhou Luchen didn’t hurry to get out. He leaned back wearily in his seat, fingers drumming on the steering wheel.

His phone buzzed—another text from Zhou Xiangqun. Always sending such nonsensical messages. With a swipe of his finger, Zhou Luchen briefly blocked him.

After a moment of silence, he pushed open the door and stepped out. freewebnøvel.coɱ

He entered the dazzlingly lit French villa. To the right, a relief mural was immediately visible.

A woman stood on a stool, long hair cascading over her shoulders. She wore a white nightgown, which made her look ethereal. With a cinnabar brush in hand, her pinky slightly raised, she lightly dabbed the mural on the wall. Her painting technique felt incredibly natural.

Such obvious seduction lacked any mystery.

Zhou Luchen tossed his car keys aside and said nothing.

Wenxin slowly turned. "You’re back?"

Zhou Luchen, one hand in his trouser pocket, asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you, of course."

Wenxin deliberately dabbed the cinnabar on her lips, making them a striking red. "I can do whatever I want, can’t I, Second Young Master Zhou?"

Those few words were her way of coaxing him.

She looked at him, deliberately provocative. "Or perhaps we could rekindle an old flame."

They stood a short distance apart, their eyes locked.

Zhou Luchen leaned against the staircase railing, casually raising an eyebrow. His movements were filled with desire, his smile even more suggestive. "Miss me?"

Wenxin’s lips curved. "Yes."

Zhou Luchen merely gave an ambiguous laugh.

His gaze drifted from her to the wall mural.

Wenxin understood the art of playing the long game. She didn’t press further and continued adding cinnabar to the phoenix on the mural.

This was their first day, and it coincided with the completion of this very mural.

The forty-square-meter wall depicted a phoenix soaring to the heavens. The golden sheen wasn’t from ordinary paint but genuine gold. Azurite was used for the phoenix’s deep blue feathers, and ocher for the base color.

Under the lights, the phoenix seemed to overlook all creation, embodying the grandeur of a mythological phoenix worship ceremony.

The renowned international muralist Carrasco had personally designed and painted it for him.

Breaking the silence, Wenxin spoke first. "Aren’t you going to offer me a glass of water?"

Zhou Luchen glanced up lazily, gesturing towards the bar, indicating she should pour her own drink.

He wasn’t accustomed to serving others.

Wenxin looked at him, a playful arch to her brow.

She vaguely remembered how they had broken up.

Zhou Luchen was always surrounded by women, reveling in luxury and hedonism. Unwilling to be outdone, she had tried to provoke his jealousy by getting involved with Zhou Xiangqun.

She had played harder, acted wilder.

But Zhou Xiangqun had been unshakeable.

And how long could Zhou Luchen indulge her? Even he wouldn’t let her toy with the Zhou Family of Beijing. Old Master Zhou had braved hails of gunfire and achieved great things in politics. Was his legacy something to be trifled with?

Zhou Luchen had initiated the breakup. That was his limit, his line in the sand. He knew she was playing hard to get, trying to provoke him, and it had angered him.

Back then, Wenxin hadn’t cried or made a scene. No matter how much she loved him, she refused to yield to Zhou Luchen. She had gambled that he was merely speaking in anger.

"’Achen, don’t say you want to break up just because you’re angry. Even if it’s said in anger, I’ll take it seriously.’"

After that, they had truly split.

Someone like Zhou Luchen, who understood the rules of social maneuvering from a young age and possessed a fundamentally ruthless nature, treated relationships with detachment.

He had never looked back.

And she, counting on the guilt he must have felt for initiating the breakup, had also refused to go back and beg him.

Wenxin reined in her thoughts and set down the cinnabar pigment basin. "So, you still won’t forgive me, will you?"

His thin lips curved slightly. "Forgive you for what?"

Wenxin’s shoulders sagged. "You were the one who strayed first, whispering sweet nothings with Miss Xie from the Xie Family in that luxury car. Don’t I have a right to be angry?"

After a pause, Wenxin added, "This time, please forgive me. Alright?"

She rarely bowed her head to anyone, but she only ever pleaded with him.

In front of Zhou Luchen, noble young masters like him would never be the ones to bow their heads first. She knew that. If she pushed things too far again, this man would truly be gone.

Turning, she saw he was already ascending the stairs with an easy gait.

The French spiral staircase was illuminated. In the dead of night, his silhouette was both alluring and distinguished, an unrestrained display of his refined charisma. The way he treated her—that aloof yet intimate air—was intense and bewildering.

Wenxin stepped down from the stool. "The Wei Group board meeting is tomorrow. As the major shareholder with twenty billion at stake, you’d better remember to attend."

He hummed in acknowledgment.

Wenxin went to the washbasin, washed her hands, and then left.

She wasn’t in a rush to touch him; there was plenty of time.

She figured Zhou Luchen’s interest in *that woman* was just a fleeting fancy.

After all, when that woman went to Beijing, hadn’t he returned to Night Mansion?

But she cared. She couldn’t bear for anyone else to touch what belonged to her, not even a little.

「As the final competition approached.」

The official rules were announced. The organizers would select a single piece of music, and all contestants had to capture the imagery it expressed.

After reading the announcement, Xing Fei felt her Ajing was a shoo-in.

Before going on stage.

Shen Jing took the pipa from a staff member. All participant instruments were kept under official care.

Before stepping onto the stage, Shen Jing habitually checked and tuned her instrument.

Her slender fingers lightly plucked the strings. It felt as if sharp blades were slicing through her flesh.

The pain was so acute that Shen Jing stifled a cry. A thin line of blood seeped out from under her finger pick.

Her pipa had definitely been tampered with; the strings had been replaced with incredibly sharp ones.

Xing Fei returned with water and hurried over to Shen Jing, freezing in place. "What happened?"

Shen Jing gestured for Xing Fei to look at the pipa strings.

It was a meticulous sabotage; the imitation was incredibly realistic. If not for the faint, congealed bloodstains, it would have been impossible to tell which string was fake.

Xing Fei fetched an adhesive bandage and knelt before Shen Jing to tend to her wound. "It must have been Lu Yi and her cronies."

"Our instruments were supposed to be secured by the organizers! How did she even get to the pipa?" Xing Fei stood up. "I’m going to demand an explanation from them. They’re responsible for this!"

Shen Jing, however, was unruffled. "Don’t worry about that now. The competition starts in ten minutes."

Xing Fei pulled her back. "How can you go on like this? We need to demand justice!"

"I can..." Shen Jing smiled and extended her left hand. "...switch hands."

"Have you ever actually played with your left hand?" Xing Fei looked at her askance. "This is the finals, Shen Jing, not a game!"

Shen Jing was indeed beautiful, and her pipa skills were exceptional. However, her most outstanding asset was her unique vocal timbre. In a competition like this, teeming with pipa virtuosos, there was always someone better.

Shen Jing replied, "When I was at Grandma Xu’s, I practiced with my left hand. Grandma Xu taught me that mastering both hands is an essential skill for a pipa player."

Back when her right hand was covered in injuries, she had started learning with her left. For the glory of their troupe, she wouldn’t take unnecessary risks now. Whatever the outcome, she couldn’t withdraw simply because of an injury. Besides, she didn’t have the clout to halt the competition.

Xing Fei gently tapped Shen Jing’s forehead.

This girl, always so composed in the face of trouble.

Shen Jing started towards the stage. "I have a recording of them spreading those rumors. We’ll deal with them after the competition."

Behind the curtain, Zhou Xiangqun frowned slightly. He instructed his assistant, "Find out who did this. Investigate the organizers too."

The assistant nodded and followed Zhou Xiangqun out.

Those young women clearly had no idea who they were dealing with. Daring to pull such tricks at an event under his supervision? They could all end up in jail.

"What about the competition?"

"Let it continue, of course," Zhou Xiangqun said, his hands clasped behind his back. "She can handle it. If I suspend the competition now, she’ll only face more intense public speculation and pressure."