A Twisted Love Affair-Chapter 108: Where has the courage that seduced me gone?_1

The high beams switched on. Seeing the road ahead blocked, Shen Jing, unperturbed, adjusted her speed, slowing the car.

Xing Fei leaned forward from the passenger seat. "Who would use a luxury car like that to block the road?"

Shen Jing braked. "Maybe it broke down."

"A Maybach has a dedicated driver for daily maintenance," Xing Fei countered. "The probability of it breaking down is 0.01 percent."

Clearly, this was an intentional roadblock.

Traffic heading towards the seaside scenic area from the opposite direction was also blocked. A couple of other cars had already stopped at a distance. The Maybach’s imposing presence made it clear: no one was getting past.

He Qi had witnessed such an ostentatiously oppressive display before; fortunately, this road saw little traffic.

Shen Jing unbuckled her seatbelt, got out, and walked towards the Maybach to inquire. It was deep into the night. The work light in the rear passenger compartment was clearly on, but the one-way privacy film prevented her from seeing who was inside.

Shen Jing raised her hand, bent slightly, and knocked on the car window. "Excuse me, do you need any help...?"

Silently, the window slid down, and a faint, sandalwood-tinged aroma drifted out.

Before she could pull her hand back, Zhou Luchen’s distinctively deep, husky voice murmured leisurely near her ear, "I do."

Their eyes met.

Shen Jing’s heart plummeted, and for a moment, she found it hard to breathe. Zhou Luchen was leaning back, his tall frame exuding a dignified aura. A laptop and documents were neatly arranged on the console table in front of him.

The cool blue ambient lighting in the car diffused around him, casting subtle shadows on his sharp profile. Beneath his neat, jet-black cropped hair, his eyes—impossibly cold and indescribably dark—rested on her, slowly narrowing. Only then did the indifference in them seem to soften, just slightly.

No matter how well he concealed it, at his core, he was still heartless and unfeeling.

She knew this all too well.

For a moment, she was unsure of Zhou Luchen’s intentions. If he didn’t move his car, hers couldn’t pass.

Shen Jing turned her head away slightly, a sense of grievance welling up. After so long without contact, they had naturally drifted into becoming like strangers, with no real connection. It was just like back in Beijing, where he always acted according to his whims. When he was happy, he might remember her. But when he was busy, he could forget her entirely.

Zhuang Ming opened the rear passenger door, his gaze earnest as he looked at her, though he said nothing. The implication was clear: if she didn’t get into the car, no one else would be using this road tonight.

Shen Jing had never realized Zhuang Ming could be so unfeeling and inconsiderate.

It was truly a case of ’like master, like bodyguard’—his cold-bloodedness rating was one hundred percent.

He’d dare to pull the same stunt even on a busy city street.

Shen Jing looked at Zhou Luchen. "Is this because I... ’stole’ your cat?" Her delicate lips trembled slightly as she spoke. "I’ll give him back to you, okay?"

The chilly night wind blew open his shirt collar. He let out a cold chuckle, his prominent Adam’s apple bobbing subtly, but he remained silent.

Shen Jing’s mind went blank for a second. She turned. "I’ll go get him for you."

Xing Fei was petting the cat, not daring to interfere with those two. Who would dare try to snatch someone away from Zhou Luchen? With such an obvious blockade, how could Shen Jing possibly escape his grasp?

Just as Shen Jing reached her car, before she could even get the cat, Zhou Luchen suddenly yanked her towards him. RIP! The pearl buttons on her sweater snapped off and scattered onto the ground.

He clasped her soft waist as if she were a doll. With his other hand, he pressed down on the base of her thigh beneath her short skirt, lifting her leg. His voice, husky to the point of being dangerously alluring, rasped, "So forgetful."

Shen Jing had barely parted her lips to speak when her body was suddenly hoisted up, her chin knocking solidly against Zhou Luchen’s shoulder. "Ouch! That hurts!"

He ignored her cry of pain, one arm clamped firmly around her waist. If she struggled, his grip would only tighten, immobilizing her.

It often only took an instant.

She had no strength to fight against Zhou Luchen’s overpowering dominance.

He easily freed one hand. Xing Fei quickly handed the cat to him. "Here. I can drive. I’ll just take myself back."

Zhou Luchen said in his usual tone, "Chen Yao is coming to pick you up. You can’t drive her car." The car’s system wouldn’t allow ignition if the owner’s key fob was more than two meters away.

Xing Fei nodded, a faint smile on her lips. So, I’m the one being left behind.

"Zhou Luchen—!"

No matter how much Shen Jing kicked and struggled, the man holding her remained unmoved.

In the darkness, Zhou Luchen’s steps were firm and steady. He carried the kitten by the scruff of its neck in one hand, his expensive leather shoes treading heavily on the cement pavement. The hair of the little lover slung over his shoulder was tousled by the wind. Her baby-blue sweater had slipped off one shoulder, faintly revealing the smooth, snow-white skin beneath. The contrast between her apparent vulnerability and his domineering strength was stark.

"Put me down, Zhou Luchen! My clothes... my skirt buttons popped!" she cried, her voice delicate yet strained, as her fingers clumsily tugged at his shirt.

The aristocratic young master remained silent, saying nothing.

The sky was moonless, swallowing all shadows. Zhou Luchen’s broad-shouldered silhouette exuded a potent, profound sexual charisma.

The wild Second Young Master of United Bank loved to play with fire.

He wanted both the beauty and the cat.

On the vast, empty highway, only the wind stirred. As she flailed dizzily in Zhou Luchen’s arms, her shoes slipped off. Zhuang Ming followed respectfully a few steps behind, bending down to retrieve them.

Zhou Luchen tossed her into the back seat. The leather upholstery was soft, but his actions were rough, and the force of it made pain, like shattered light, flare in her eyes. She huddled in the corner, the back of her head pressed against the window. Her small face, meticulously made up for the New Year’s Eve celebration, was flushed, and tears welled in her eyes. The cat scrambled into her arms, licking her and pressing close, the two of them—one big, one small—looking as though they had just escaped some disaster.

They were an exceptionally pitiable sight.

Zhou Luchen leaned back in his seat, looking down at her. "Useless thing," he said, his tone cold. "If your mistress is ignorant, shouldn’t you at least know better?"

She knew he was scolding the cat.

"MEOW..."

The little kitten, frightened, stood up then obediently lay on Shen Jing’s shoulder, pawing at her and acting cute. Its watery eyes gazed pleadingly at Shen Jing, as if she could protect it and stand up for it.

Both of them were being scolded.

Now, huddled together in the corner, neither could protect the other.

Zhuang Ming focused on driving. The Second Young Master, he thought, treating them like two misbehaving children.

The kitten had grown quite chubby. It was pampered like a baby with the best food and drink; Zhou Luchen had even hired nannies to care for it in shifts around the clock. Yet, it still didn’t recognize him as its owner.

Zhou Luchen was too cold.

The cat was wary of him.

The privacy partition slid closed.

Shen Jing retorted softly, "You were the one ignoring me."

Zhou Luchen pinched her delicate chin, tilting her face up. A strand of hair clung to her pale, damp lips; she looked flustered and vulnerable.

Zhou Luchen raised a finger, gently tucking the stray strand of hair behind her ear. He looked at her. "What do you mean, I ignored you?"

Obviously.

He didn’t even consider his behavior hurtful.

He always acted this way.

He was a third-generation scion, always cherished, always placed on a pedestal. How could he possibly understand the sting of being neglected?

"Aren’t you the one in the wrong?" Shen Jing finally burst out. "You held an umbrella for Wenxin right in front of me, and I even had to step aside for you two! You and Wenxin were on the second floor, completely ignoring my feelings. When I went to Beijing for the competition and got bullied, you didn’t even call me once. And when we met, you acted like we were strangers!"

There were too many instances; Shen Jing couldn’t count them all even on ten fingers.

"Is that all?" Zhou Luchen seemed barely to listen, a slight lift of his eyelid the only acknowledgment. "Where did all that courage you had to seduce me go?"

Shen Jing hugged the kitten tightly, burying her face in its fur. "You’re not even spending New Year’s with me," she mumbled, a hint of petulant reproach in her voice.

Zhou Luchen tilted his head, patting his thigh unhurriedly. "Come here."

"I don’t want to." She kept her eyes downcast. "Can’t you just hold me yourself?"

Seeing she wasn’t moving, Zhou Luchen frowned slightly. Just as he was about to reach for her, he seemed to reconsider, abruptly creating distance between them once more, his demeanor turning cold.