Chapter 109: Spare Me This Time!
Lin Yueyue was filming a new idol drama in China. During her break, she sat in the living room of the luxury mansion the production team had rented.
She wondered whether the Shi family’s mansion was as big as this one.
Since the Shi family looked down on her, a Cinderella with no background, she never had the chance to visit their home.
Her eyes flickered with an idea. She took out her phone, turned on the beauty filter, and snapped multiple selfies from different angles.
After carefully selecting three of them, she spent an hour editing, making sure every detail was flawless.
She then wrote a vague caption without revealing where she was, deliberately creating the illusion that she was in her boyfriend’s mansion, living a lavish life.
Post.
As expected, the comments section quickly filled with compliments from fans admiring her "handsome and wealthy boyfriend" and expressing their envy.
Lin Yueyue’s lips curled up in satisfaction. She loved this feeling of being admired—it fed her vanity.
But then, a few comments caught her eye, making her expression darken. Some even included screenshots of Shen Xi’s latest Weibo post.
[Just a random passerby here, but I saw the latest update next door, completely bare-faced and still stunning. Does she really need to steal your boyfriend?]
Lin Yueyue clicked on the comment. Her face turned ugly. She quickly deleted it before tapping into Shen Xi’s Weibo account, which she had been secretly following.
The moment she saw the post, her expression changed, and she gritted her teeth.
Right after she had posted her selfies, that woman had also uploaded hers, completely makeup-free!
"Shen Xi, you b*tch, you did this on purpose!!"
It had only been a few minutes, yet Shen Xi’s comment section had already surpassed hundreds. Lin Yueyue clicked on the comments.
[Ahhh~ Xixi baby, your skin is amazing! High-definition natural beauty pic saved!]
[She’s keeping it real! Love it! Instant fan!]
[Mom, I’m not coming home tonight. I just found my first love!]
[Xixi, are you traveling abroad? This place looks gorgeous!]
…………………………………
Seeing these comments, Shen Xi felt a warmth in her heart. Her mood brightened.
Her fans were truly adorable.
But, of course, it wasn’t long before haters started swarming in, as if they could smell a fight from miles away.
Comments like "That’s definitely a fake no-makeup look, totally edited!" "Plastic surgery queen pretending to be pure!" "Homewrecking vixen!" flooded in all at once.
She clicked on a few of the hater accounts. Ah, of course. Most of them were Lin Yueyue’s fans.
"Trying to make me turn evil again? Not happening."
Shen Xi immediately closed the app. Out of sight, out of mind.
She knew she could never make everyone like her, especially the main heroine’s fans, who were naturally programmed to despise the "villainous side character."
No way she’d be as dumb as the original host!
If this were a cultivation world, she’d have stormed in, all high and mighty, yelling—
"With one sword, I shall open the gates of heaven!"
But this is a society governed by law.
All she wanted was to lay low, enjoy good food and drinks under her Big Brother’s protection for a couple of years, save up some money, and then disappear.
………………………………………
Evening.
Several black sedans, their high beams cutting through the dusk, drove into the estate.
Shen Xi saw the formation and instantly knew the man was back. She stood at the entrance of the castle-like villa, unmoving.
As Alice passed by, she glanced at Shen Xi with mild confusion.
Logically, if they were in that kind of relationship, shouldn’t she be running up excitedly, calling him honey, demanding hugs and kisses?
Though puzzled, Alice didn’t slow down. She led a group of maids forward to greet their boss.
Soon, Gu Hanling arrived at the entrance, leading his people. Shen Xi, in an unusually good mood today, grinned brightly.
"Big Brother, you’re back!"
Alice, overhearing the way she addressed the boss, was momentarily stunned.
Wait… were they siblings? But no, that didn’t make sense, their last names were completely different!
Gu Hanling gave Shen Xi a deep look before reaching out and pinching her soft cheek.
"I’ll settle accounts with you later."
And with that, he walked straight into the villa.
Shen Xi stood there, blinking in confusion.
Huh? What did she do this time? She hasn't even gone anywhere, been staying put in the estate like a well-behaved citizen!
Noticing she wasn’t following, Gu Hanling frowned and turned back, only to see her still standing there, looking utterly clueless.
"Not eating dinner?"
"Eating, eating, eating!"
The moment she heard dinner, Shen Xi snapped back to reality, her face lighting up again as she eagerly trailed behind him.
At the dining hall.
Alice stood beside the main seat, her hand resting on the chair’s back, ready to pull it out for Gu Hanling.
However, the man, without a second thought, first pulled out a chair for Shen Xi.
Alice was briefly stunned. She had never imagined that her boss could treat a woman so gently. Their relationship was clearly not ordinary.
"Thank you."
Shen Xi didn’t think much of it. She obediently sat down, ready to enjoy the meal.
As the night deepened, the estate fell into silence.
After taking a shower, Shen Xi stood in the bathroom, frowning slightly as she looked at the black silk nightgown in her hands.
She hadn’t brought any clothes with her, and she wasn’t sure if this was the man’s doing, but the maids had delivered this, soft and comfortable, but... a little too sexy.
After hesitating for a moment, she sighed and put it on. Well, it’s still better than sleeping naked, right?
Pushing open the bathroom door, she stepped into the dimly lit bedroom.
Gu Hanling sat at the desk under the warm glow of a bedside lamp, wearing matching black silk pajamas. His expression was calm and focused as he flipped through some documents.
His sharp side profile, the elegant movement of his long fingers turning the pages. Under the soft light, he looked less cold and distant, and more refined and composed.
Shen Xi tiptoed toward the bed, planning to wrap herself up in the blanket as quickly as possible. She really didn’t want him to see her like this.
"Come here."
Just as she was about to get in bed, his voice suddenly broke the silence. Shen Xi froze and looked up at him.
Gu Hanling didn’t lift his gaze from the documents, as if he hadn’t just spoken.
She pouted and muttered under her breath, ‘Does he have eyes on the top of his head or what?’
After a brief hesitation, she obediently walked over.
Standing beside his desk, she instinctively crossed her arms over her chest, trying to cover the exposed fair skin.
"Big Brother, what is it?"
She asked softly, a bit confused.
Gu Hanling turned slightly in his chair, and without meaning to, his gaze landed on her legs beneath the hem of the nightgown. The black nightgown accentuated the fair and the delicate whiteness of her skin.
Gu Hanling’s gaze slowly moved upward.
Shen Xi’s face was slightly flushed from the steam of her shower, her cheeks tinted a soft peachy pink. With one arm wrapped around her chest in a "shy" pose, she looked so breathtakingly beautiful that it was hard to look away.
Just then, Gu Hanling suddenly reached out, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her forward with a little force.
"Ah—!"
Caught off guard, Shen Xi let out a soft exclamation as she was pulled onto his lap.
Her nightgown was already short, and now, sitting down, it barely covered her thighs. His warm hand naturally rested on the exposed fair skin of her leg.
With his towering height of nearly 1.9 meters, she only barely reached eye level with him while sitting on his lap.
"W-What are you doing?"
Flustered, Shen Xi looked up, meeting Gu Hanling’s deep, unreadable gaze. Her throat tightened involuntarily.
Gu Hanling smiled faintly.
"Didn’t I say I’d settle the score with you? Who told you to post photos of the estate?"
Shen Xi’s eyes widened slightly. Internally, she rolled her eyes.
Seriously? Just for using the estate as a background? Isn't that a little too petty?
But on the surface, she immediately put on a weak and obedient look, surrendering at the speed of light. She couldn’t afford to offend this bigshot.
"I’m sorry..."
"Do you think an apology is enough?"
"Then... what does Big Brother want? You’re not thinking of making me give myself to you, are you?"
"We’re already married, why do we need permission?"
Gu Hanling's lips curved into a gentle smile as he raised his hand, his fingertip gently brushing across her pink lips.
Shen Xi’s heartbeat sped up. For some reason, this gesture felt a little too intimate… as if something dangerous was about to happen. Her voice softened instinctively.
"Big Brother... just let me off this time, okay?"
“It's not entirely impossible.”
Gu Hanling looked at her, amused by her flustered reaction, leaning down and whispering in her ear.
"Kiss me."