Intimate Trial Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Loud and loud music, dazzling lights, mixed with the smell of alcohol and perfume.Silin was half-dragged and half-dragged out by a few old friends, euphemistically calling it “relaxation.”She was sitting in the corner of the booth, holding a half-cup of almost untouched ice water in her hand, incompatible with the carnival around her.

After several rounds of the game, she lost.

“A big adventure! You must take a big risk!” a girl with dyed purple hair shouted, rolling her eyes, “Call! Call the first person you contacted recently on your mobile phone and ask him/her to come over and feed you the cup of ‘depth charge’ on the table!”

The glass of “depth charge” mixed with no less than five kinds of spirits on the table was turbid in color, and just smelling it made people dizzy.There were cheers all around.Shen Shenlin frowned. She didn’t want to play such a big role, but her friends’ eyes were focused on her with unrelenting excitement.

She took a deep breath and took out her phone.Unlock, recent call history… The name at the top made her fingertips instantly cold.

Ye Chang.

Yesterday afternoon, Ye Chang called to confirm the details of a contract.Calls between public and private matters should not exceed two minutes.At this moment, it became a torture instrument for her to be roasted on the fire.

“Fight! Silin, don’t spoil the fun!”

The urging around him became even louder.Shen Shenlin looked at that name, her heart beating wildly amid the deafening music.Call Ye Chang?Let her come to a place like this?Feed yourself alcohol?Any one of them is ridiculous, enough to make her get out of Ye’s Building tomorrow.

But… “Insomnia”‘s words echoed in my mind: “Make your ‘heartbeat’ more obvious and clumsy…” “Guide this ‘heartbeat’ to make it look pure, clumsy, and uncontrollable…”

A crazy idea that perfectly fit the “script” suddenly grabbed her hold.

She bit her lower lip and pressed the dial button while her friends looked at her in breathless anticipation.

The beeps sounded, each one hammering at her nerves.Just when she thought no one answered and was about to hang up——

Got it.

The background sound is absolutely quiet, which is in stark contrast to the hustle and bustle here.Ye Chang’s cold and steady voice came through the receiver. It was not high, but it strangely penetrated the surrounding noise:

“Si Lin? What’s the matter?”

Not “Hello”, just call her by name.There was no displeasure at being disturbed in his tone, only his usual calmness.

Shen Shenlin’s heart almost jumped into her throat. She subconsciously covered her other ear with her hand, trying to make her voice less shaky, even deliberately adding a hint of weak panic forced by the environment:

“Ye, Mr. Ye… I’m sorry to disturb you so late… I, I was outside, playing games with my friends and lost…”

She paused, as if unable to speak, and her friends around her made muffled laughter and whistles, adding to the confusion and ambiguity.

“A big adventure… I need to call someone over… to feed me some wine…”

There was silence on the other end of the phone for two seconds.These two seconds seem like a century.Shen Shenlin could imagine Ye Chang’s slightly frowning brows and the possible scrutiny in those deep eyes.

Then, Ye Chang’s voice sounded again, still calm, and even had an almost playful tone that was difficult to detect:

“Address.”

Not “Nonsense”, not “You’ve had too much to drink”, and not just hang up.It’s two words that are extremely concise: address.

Shen Silin was stunned.She didn’t expect that Ye Chang would actually ask for the address.This was completely beyond her expectations and beyond the scope of a “game”.She almost automatically announced the name of the bar and the number of the box.

“Wait.”

The phone hangs up.A busy signal came.Shen Shenlin held the hot mobile phone and sat there blankly. The screams and cheers from her friends seemed to be separated by a membrane in her ears.

Ye Chang…really coming?

This realization made her whole body shiver, and an unfamiliar heat rushed up her spine.Is it the nervousness of the plan succeeding?Is it the fear of facing Ye Chang?Or…a trace of despicable expectation that even she didn’t want to admit?

She looked at the hideous-colored cup of “depth charge” on the table, her stomach churning.

This big adventure seemed to be galloping away in a direction that she could not predict and could not control.

And that instruction called “Insomnia” – “Make your heartbeat more obvious” – is being pushed to the center of the stage in the most absurd and dramatic way at this moment.

From the corridor outside the box door, there seemed to be a steady, unhurried sound of high heels, from far to near, so clear that it was incompatible with the surrounding noise.

Silin suddenly raised her head and looked at the door.

It’s Ye Chang.

She appeared at the door of the box, like a sudden cold wave, instantly freezing all the noise and heat inside the door.She did not wear her usual meticulous suit skirt, but a well-tailored black velvet casual suit with a simple black high-collar base, and her long hair was draped loosely behind her shoulders.There was a pair of thin-rimmed gold glasses on the bridge of his nose. His gaze behind the lenses was as calm as an ancient well, and he slowly glanced around the bizarre box.

Wherever he looked, the originally noisy friends fell silent involuntarily, as if suppressed by some invisible aura.The purple-haired girl subconsciously shrank into the sofa.

In the end, Ye Chang’s eyes were accurately positioned on Shen Shenlin in the corner of the booth.

Shen Shenlin felt like she was nailed to the spot, unable to move.She looked at Ye Chang, who had no expression on his face. The gold-rimmed glasses occasionally reflected a cold sheen under the rotating light, making it difficult to see the true emotions in her eyes.Only the slightly pursed lips revealed an unmistakable sense of alienation and… some kind of indescribable concentration.

Ye Chang stepped in.The high heels stepped on the thick carpeted floor, making almost no sound, but every step seemed to step on the beat of Shen Silin’s heartbeat.She walked straight to Shen Shenlin, her eyes first lingered on her pale face for a moment, and then fell to the turbid cup of “depth water bomb” on the coffee table.

“Is this the cup?” Ye Chang said, his voice was not high, but it clearly covered the remaining drum beats in the background music.

Silin’s throat was dry and she could only nodded stiffly.

Ye Chang said no more.She stretched out her hand, her fingers were slender and white, and seemed to glow like cold jade under the blurred light.Instead of grabbing the glass of wine, she picked up a relatively clean empty glass next to her.

Then, with everyone watching with bated breath, Ye Chang picked up the cup of “depth charge” and steadily poured about one-third of the liquid into the empty cup with his wrist.The turbid wine sloshed in the glass, emitting a stronger and pungent smell.

After doing this, she put the remaining half cup of “depth charge” back into its place, as if it was some kind of dirty filth that was not worth touching.Then she picked up the glass that was only one-third full of wine.

She turned to Shen Shenlin and leaned over slightly.

The distance suddenly narrowed.Shen Silin could clearly smell the familiar, refreshing scent of cedar on Ye Chang’s body, mixed with a hint of the coolness outside at night.The eyes behind the gold-rimmed glasses were close at hand and bottomless, reflecting her own panicked face.

“Open your mouth.” Ye Chang’s voice was very soft, with an unquestionable command tone.

Silin’s mind went blank, and she opened her lips slightly, almost unconsciously.

Ye Chang put the rim of the cup against her lower lip, and slowly tilted his wrist at a stable and well-controlled angle.The movements were not rough, and even carried an unusual, almost deliberate gentleness.The ice-cooled spicy liquid slid into Shen Shenlin’s mouth at a steady speed, and the burning sensation spread all the way to her stomach.Shen Silin was forced to raise her head, her eyes locked by Ye Chang’s calm gaze behind her lenses, unable to move.

Soon, the glass of wine was empty.

Ye Chang removed the cup, and his fingertips brushed against Shen Shenlin’s slightly moist lower lip, leaving a cold shiver.She casually placed the empty cup on the coffee table, making a crisp clinking sound, which was particularly clear in the dead silence of the private room.

“Okay.” Ye Chang’s voice was not high, but his words were clear like ice beads falling on a jade plate.

She ignored the people around her who were stunned and speechless, and did not look at Shen Shenlin’s choking and red eyes and embarrassed expression.The eyes behind the gold-rimmed glasses were calm and calm, as if what he had just completed was just the most ordinary work order.

“Anything else?”

Ye Chang’s plain inquiry was like an ice bead falling into a noisy lake, causing not ripples but a brief silence.Shen Shenlin was still trapped in the burning sensation in her throat and the illusory cold touch on her lips, and her mind went blank.

The purple-haired girl next to him reacted first from the shock.Perhaps it was the alcohol, or perhaps the contrast between Ye Chang’s “gentle feeding” and the cold detachment at this moment stimulated some untimely courage. She almost blurted out:

“Mr. Ye, do you want to play with us?”

As soon as the words came out, the purple-haired girl’s expression changed.Others in the box also took a breath and looked at her as if they were looking at a martyr who was about to die heroically.Invite Ye Chang?Play together?In a place like this?Play truth or dare?

This is no longer bold, it is simply asking for death.

Everyone had foreseen how Ye Chang would refuse coldly, and maybe even a displeased look was enough to make the purple-haired girl regret going out tonight.

However——

Ye Chang’s half-turned figure stopped.

She turned back slowly and completely, and her eyes behind the gold-rimmed glasses once again fell on the face of the purple-haired girl full of regret and panic.This time, she looked at it longer and more intently, as if she was evaluating the proposal itself, and also looking at the deeper things behind it – Shen Shenlin’s position in this circle, the nature of this group of friends, and… more “possibilities” that might arise from this absurd night.

The air in the box was frozen, and the music seemed distant and unreal.

Just when the purple-haired girl wanted to dig a hole in the ground and Shen Silin’s heart was hanging in her throat——

The corners of Ye Chang’s lips moved upward slightly.It wasn’t a smile, it was more like a…playful arc.

“Okay.”

Two words, clear and steady, without any hint of reluctance.

Like thunder exploding in the silent box.

The purple-haired girl was completely dumbfounded, and the others were so stunned that they even forgot to breathe.Shen Shenlin suddenly raised her eyes and looked at Ye Chang in disbelief, looking into those eyes as calm as the abyss.Ye Chang’s eyes met her astonishment calmly. There was no teasing or joking in it, only a bottomless calmness.

It seems that there is no essential difference between agreeing to participate in a boring bar game and approving a multi-million contract.

Ye Chang didn’t even wait for the inviter’s further reaction. She walked directly to the empty edge of the booth, which happened to be next to where Shen Shenlin was sitting just now.She sat down calmly, with her slender legs crossed and her back straight. Even in this noisy and chaotic environment, she was an inviolable territory.

“Continue.” She uttered two words calmly, her eyes swept across the scattered wine bottles and cards on the table, and finally landed on Shen Silin’s still pale face, “Whose turn is it?”

Everyone seemed to have been pressed on the pause button, turning their eyes stiffly, looking at Shen Shenlin, then at Ye Chang, and finally at the purple-haired girl – the initiator of the game and the person who most wanted to disappear at the moment.

The purple-haired girl opened her mouth, but no sound came out.A boy next to him who was a little calmer still answered stammeringly: “It’s, it’s…Akai’s turn! Yes, Akai! Akai, hurry up, you choose truth or dare!”

Akai, who was named, was so excited that he wanted to cry but had no tears.Under Ye Chang’s calm yet powerful gaze, he felt as if he was being roasted under a spotlight.”Big…big risk! I choose big risk!” He almost shouted, just wanting to end his turn quickly.

The purple-haired girl finally regained some of her soul. She pulled out a big adventure card from the deck with trembling hands, and her voice was floating as she read out: “Call…call the third person in the address book and say…say, ‘I seem to have fallen in love with you’…”

Normally, this would definitely be the explosive point that detonates the atmosphere.But at this moment, everyone held their breath and glanced uncontrollably at Ye Chang, who was sitting quietly aside.

Ye Chang’s face was still expressionless. She even turned her head slightly, as if she was listening carefully to the rules of the game. The lenses of her gold glasses reflected the blurred light, covering all the emotions in her eyes.

Akai took out his cell phone and completed what was supposed to be an exciting punishment in dead silence.It seemed like his buddy was on the other end of the phone. He cursed, “You’re crazy, you’re so late at night” and hung up.The whole process was so embarrassing that I was digging my toes on the ground, but no one dared to laugh. The atmosphere was solemn, as if I was attending a memorial service.

The game proceeds mechanically.Everyone was on pins and needles, their voices trembled when they drew the cards, and their movements were stiff when they completed the punishment.Ye Chang’s existence was like a huge piece of ice, absorbing all the heat of the original wanton carnival.She rarely spoke and just watched quietly. Occasionally, she would pick up the ice water that someone poured for her in front of her without touching it, and gently rub her fingertips on the side of the glass.

Her eyes, most of the time, fell on Shen Silin.

The gaze was not burning, it could even be called dull, but it was like a real weight, weighing Shen Shenlin almost breathless.Shen Silin could feel that Ye Chang was observing her, observing her state in this environment, observing her reaction to her friends’ jokes, observing her…after experiencing everything just now, the remaining panic and forced calmness.

This is an examination more heart-stopping than any verbal torture.

Silin Sitting stiffly, the ice water in her hand had already become warm.She didn’t understand why Ye Chang stayed.

Another round ended, the mouth of the bottle slowly turned, and finally, it was aimed at Ye Chang impartially.

The air in the entire box was instantly sucked out.

Everyone widened their eyes and looked at the woman who seemed to be out of tune with her surroundings.The purple-haired girl’s face was as pale as paper, and she wanted to faint on the spot.

Ye Chang raised his eyebrows slightly, seeming to be a little surprised by this result.She put down the water glass, leaned forward slightly, and glanced at the stack of cards on the table. Finally, she landed on the glass that she had drunk and stood alone on the edge of the coffee table.

“I choose,” her voice was still steady and clearly audible in the dead silence, “I tell the truth.”

This choice was more surprising than “Adventure”, and it also brought the tension in the box to a new peak.By choosing “Adventure”, she might be able to complete a certain action in the cold and stylized way just now and keep her distance.But “meaning it”… meant she needed to give an answer, one that might touch personal territory.

The boy who drew the card had his hands shaking as if he had Parkinson’s disease, and he gingerly pulled out a truth card from the deck.He turned the card over with his eyes almost closed. When he saw the line above, he breathed a sigh of relief. As if he was surviving a disaster, he read it in a vibrato but louder tone than before:

“Excuse me…is there anyone you like?”

The questions are simple, even a bit cliché.But at this moment, it was Ye Chang’s answer, which was as important as a thousand stones.

Everyone’s hearts were in their throats, and even the background music seemed to have automatically turned down the volume.The purple-haired girl clutched her companion’s arm tightly, her eyes widening.Shen Shenlin froze in place, even holding her breath. Her eyes were locked on Ye Chang’s face, and her heart was beating so fast that it almost broke her chest.

Ye Chang’s expression did not change at all.She didn’t even lower her head to look at the card, she just glanced at the boy who asked the question calmly, and then, like confirming a piece of data in a conference room, she uttered one word clearly, steadily and without any hesitation:

“Yes.”

One word.

A light word.

But like a huge stone thrown into a deep pool, it stirred up huge waves in Shen Silin’s heart, and triggered a silent nuclear explosion in the entire box.

have?!

Ye Chang has someone he likes?!

This knowledge was more impactful than the fact that she had given him wine herself, agreed to stay and play games, or even been punished by any possible dare.Ye Chang, who is always calm and self-possessed and seems to have no human emotions, actually has someone else in his heart?

Who is it?

This thought was like wildfire, burning through everyone’s mind instantly.Countless eyes were secretly patrolling between Ye Chang and Shen Silin, with shock, exploration and incredible excitement.

Shen Shenlin felt that all the blood in her body rushed to the top of her head, and then froze in an instant.There was a buzzing in the ears, and Ye Chang’s calm word “you” echoed repeatedly like a curse.She looked at Ye Chang, who had leaned back slightly and picked up the glass of ice water again. His expression was as usual, as if he had just answered a question about “What’s the weather like today?”

No shyness, no avoidance, no unnecessary explanations.

He admitted it so openly.

This openness is more heart-stirring than any ambiguity or concealment.Because it exudes an absolute and unquestionable confidence, as if to say: Yes, I have someone I like.But this has nothing to do with you, this game, or even the Shen Shenlin in front of you who turned pale because of my words.

This is a higher dimension of looking down and cutting.

Ye Chang gave the answer and drew a clear line in the most concise way.She admitted “yes”, but did not reveal any information about “who”, leaving all speculations and associations hanging in the air with no way to settle.

Especially for Shen Silin.

After a few seconds of dead silence in the box, someone finally urged, tentatively and dryly: “Then…then continue?”

“Continue.”

Ye Chang’s flat response was like a pardon or a new shackles.The game mechanically rotates the wine bottle again, and the glass rubs against the tabletop, making a slight sound, which is infinitely amplified in the excessively quiet space.

Everyone’s eyes were fixed on the rotating mouth of the bottle, as if it was some kind of roulette wheel that determines fate.

The bottle slowly slowed down, shook, and finally, with an almost fatalistic precision, stopped again.

The mouth of the bottle, impartially, pointed straight at Ye Chang for the second time.

The air was completely frozen.Even the lazy jazz music in the background seemed abrupt and harsh.

The purple-haired girl suddenly covered her mouth and let out a short gasp.The boy who was drawing the cards shook his hand, and the whole stack of cards almost fell to the ground.The others didn’t even dare to take a breath, their eyes moving back and forth between Ye Chang’s calm face and the damn bottle mouth in horror.

Once was a coincidence, twice… the probability was so low that it was more like an invisible, cold mockery.

Ye Chang’s eyes fell on the bottle mouth pointed at him, and his eyes slightly narrowed behind the gold-rimmed glasses. There was no surprise, no impatience, only a very faint, almost playful interest, as if he had seen some interesting statistical deviation.

She didn’t even wait for anyone to remind or ask before she took the initiative to speak, her voice still steady: “This time, it’s a big adventure.”

It’s not a question, it’s a statement.She made the decision for everyone.

The boy who drew the cards almost cried. He touched the Adventure card pile with trembling hands, his fingertips were cold.He closed his eyes and took out one at random, as if holding a piece of red-hot coal.

He opened his eyes and looked at the words on the card.With just one glance, his face instantly turned pale as a sheet, and he was several times more horrified than when he read the “people you like” question just now.He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Only the hand holding the card shook like leaves falling in the wind.

“Read it.” Ye Chang ordered succinctly. There was no emotion in his tone, but there was unquestionable pressure.

The boy was like a chicken being strangled by the neck, his Adam’s apple rolled up and down, and finally he squeezed out the broken syllables, his voice was so low that it was almost inaudible:

“…please…kiss…the…lips…of…anyone…present…”

When he spoke the last word, he seemed to have exhausted all his strength and almost collapsed.

The entire box fell into a deeper and more terrifying silence than before.You can hear the needle drop.

kiss.Lips.

The combination of these words, foreshadowed by Ye Chang’s personal admission that “there is someone I like”, combined with the possibility pointed at the bottle mouth that strangely pointed at her for the second time, caused everyone’s brains to fall into a brief paralysis.

Lines of sight, as if attracted by a magnet, once again focused uncontrollably on Shen Silin.

What would Ye Chang do?

Will she refuse?With her identity and character, she has every reason and qualification to directly overturn this excessive punishment.

Or should I say…

Under everyone’s breathless gaze, Ye Chang slowly stood up.

Her movements were still calm, as if she was just making a normal decision.She walked around the coffee table, walking steadily towards Shen Shenlin again.

Shen Shenlin felt like she was nailed to the sofa, her blood was flowing backwards, her limbs were so cold that she couldn’t even move her fingertips.She watched Ye Chang approach step by step, the face that looked increasingly clear and distant under the blurry light, and the bottomless eyes behind the lenses.

Ye Chang stopped in front of her and leaned slightly, casting a shadow that completely enveloped Shen Shenlin.

So close that you can feel each other’s breath.Shen Silin could smell the refreshing cedar fragrance on Ye Chang’s body, mixed with a very faint coolness that belonged to the night.Her heart was beating wildly, causing pain in her chest. Her mind went blank, leaving only the terrifying possibility that was about to come.

Ye Chang stretched out his hand and gently lifted Shen Shenlin’s chin with his fingertips again.This time, her movements were slower than before, and she also had an irresistible control.The coolness of her fingertips penetrated her skin and reached Shen Shenlin’s trembling nerves.

Shen Silin was forced to raise her head and looked into Ye Chang’s deep eyes.There was no desire, no tenderness, just a quiet, almost scrutinizing focus, as if confirming something or performing some kind of ritual.

Time is stretched infinitely.

The gasping sounds around him, the frozen sight, the loud music… everything faded away and blurred into distant background sounds.

All that is left in the world is Ye Chang’s gradually enlarging face, and his two light-colored, beautifully shaped lips.

Then, Ye Chang lowered his head.

No hesitation, no hesitation.

A real kiss fell on Shen Shenlin’s lips.

Shen Shenlin’s pupils suddenly shrank, and the blood in her body seemed to rush to the top of her head in an instant, and then freeze in the next second.The unfamiliar and soft touch on her lips, with an undoubted sense of invasion, shattered all her thoughts, all her pretense, all her hatred and struggle.

She could feel Ye Chang’s breathing, steady and shallow, brushing against her skin.

The kiss was not deep, it could even be said to be restrained.But the meaning it represents and the impact it causes are enough to destroy everything.

Ye Chang released her chin and slowly straightened up.

The coolness and soft touch on the lips suddenly left, leaving behind a vague heat and lingering trembling, which was like a brand, deeply ingrained in Shen Silin’s perception.She was still sitting stiffly, her pupils slightly dilated, as if her soul had been pulled away by that brief kiss, leaving only an empty body exposed to the dull, shocked, and even a little horrified gaze of the people around her.

Ye Chang’s eyes fell on Shen Silin’s absent-minded face and stayed there for a few seconds.The eyes behind those gold-rimmed glasses were as deep as a bottomless cold pool, reflecting Shen Shen Lin’s pale and fragile appearance, as if she could break at the touch of a touch.There was no pity, no pleasure after succeeding, not even the almost focused scrutiny when he just executed the “big adventure”.There was only a quiet, almost indifferent calm.

It was as if she had just completed a necessary step, and the subsequent reactions caused by the step were beyond her scope of consideration.

Then, she looked away and turned to the other people in the box who seemed to have been cast a restraining spell.Her eyes calmly swept over the faces filled with disbelief, and finally landed on the purple-haired girl who had invited her in the first place and now wanted to shrink herself into a crack in the ground.

“It’s time for me to go.” Ye Chang said, his voice still calm and emotionless, echoing clearly in the dead silence of the box.

It’s not “I’m leaving first” or “I’m sorry to be with you”, but a declarative sentence – “It’s time for me to go”.It seemed that her departure was not due to being forced back by this ridiculous game, nor because she needed to escape from the scene because she had completed a shocking punishment. It was just that the time had come and she had made her next arrangement.

No one dared to answer the call.No one dared to move.Even breathing is careful.

Ye Chang said no more. She picked up the thin windbreaker that she had casually put on the back of the sofa, put it on smoothly, and adjusted the collar.Every movement is leisurely, with a kind of elegance and detachment that is incompatible with the surrounding environment.

After putting on her coat, she looked at Shen Shenlin again.

Shen Shenlin still maintained that stiff posture, staring blankly ahead, as if she had not yet recovered from the impact of the kiss.The almost invisible redness from the previous kiss still remained on her cheeks, and her lips were slightly swollen and brighter than usual.

Ye Chang’s gaze stayed on her lips for an extremely brief moment, too fast for anyone to notice.

“Si Shen Lin.” She called her name, her voice was not loud, but it made Shen Si Lin’s distracted eyes suddenly focus, and she subconsciously looked at her.

“Go to work on time tomorrow.” Ye Chang’s tone returned to the usual tone of a boss’s instructions to his subordinates, plain and business-like, “Don’t be late.”

After saying this, it was unclear whether it was a reminder or a warning, Ye Chang stopped looking at her, turned around, and walked towards the door.

The high heels stepped on the carpet, still making no sound, but it seemed that every step stepped on everyone’s heartbeat.

She opened the door, and the light and hustle and bustle of the corridor outside instantly flooded in, outlining a clear silhouette of her tall back.

Then the door closed softly behind her.

Completely isolating the room’s dead silence, shock, and the haunted Shen Shen Lin who was left in place.

It wasn’t until the door was closed for several seconds that anyone in the box took a tentative, ever-so-slight breath.

Immediately afterwards, as if some kind of spell had been lifted, low, suppressed comments surged up like a tide, mixed with gasps.

“Oh my god…did I feel dazzled just now…”

“She really… kissed?”

“It’s still lips…”

“Mr. Ye…what do you mean?”

“Si Lin, are you okay? You…your face is so red…”

Shen Silin turned a deaf ear to the discussions around her.Slowly, extremely slowly, she raised her hand, and her cold fingertips gently touched her lips.

Ye Chang’s warmth and touch seemed to still remain there, soft, slightly cool, with undoubted strength.

“Go to work on time tomorrow.”

Ye Chang’s last words were like a basin of ice water poured down his head.

All the dizziness, throbbing, and despicable delusions in my heart caused by that kiss were frozen to pieces in front of these words.

Yes, I have to go to work tomorrow.

She is Ye Chang’s subordinate.

This knowledge, more than the kiss itself, made Shen Shenlin feel a bone-chilling coldness and… shame.

She stood up suddenly, her movement was too fast, and she poured down the half-full wine glass in front of her. The turbid liquid spilled out and soaked the tablecloth, but no one paid attention to her.

“I…I’m leaving first.” Her voice was hoarse. She grabbed her bag and almost staggered out of the box, escaping from those probing, sympathetic, or secretly excited eyes.

The lights in the corridor are dim and the music is loud.

Shen Shenlin leaned against the cold wall, gasping for air, trying to calm her frantic heartbeat and churning gastric juices.

The feeling on my lips lingered.

Ye Chang’s eyes lingered.

The phrase “I should go” lingers.

Ye Chang, on the other side, returned to the penthouse at an almost uncontrollable speed.

The moment the elevator door opened, she was almost knocked out. The fingerprint lock recognition sound rang quickly, and the thick door panel slammed shut behind her, cutting off everything from the outside world.

No lights on.She took advantage of the faint nightlight of the city outside the window, staggered through the empty and cold living room, and headed straight to the bathroom of the master bedroom with a clear goal.

“Crack!”

The dazzling white light instantly filled the entire space, reflecting her still expressionless face in the mirror, but with a hint of paleness and… irritability.She roughly took off her gold-rimmed glasses and threw them on the cold washstand, making a crisp impact sound.

She placed her hands on the edge of the smooth countertop, her knuckles turning white from the exertion and trembling slightly.In the image in the mirror, the color of the lips seemed darker than usual, which was proof that they were contaminated by the warmth and breath of another person.

A cold, controlling kiss with an irresistible desire.

One…the meaning may be unclear to Shen Silin, but to herself it is extremely clear – mark and punishment.

However, what is occupying Ye Chang’s chest at this moment is not the calmness of succeeding the plan, nor the pleasure of controlling the situation.

It’s an overwhelming, almost physiological disgust.

It’s not that I hate Shen Shenlin.Or rather, not entirely.

It was because he hated himself who had to touch Shen Shenlin with his lips.I hate the distance that is forcibly closed, smelling of alcohol and chaos.It’s disgust…the action itself symbolizes some kind of unspeakable blasphemy towards my sister Su Mian.

Although the kiss was cold, restrained, without passion, and even full of judgment.

But for Ye Chang, this is still an intolerable “pollution”.

She turned on the faucet suddenly, and the cold water splashed against the porcelain white pool wall.She picked up handful after handful of biting cold water, frantically splashed it on her face, and rubbed it hard, especially her lips.

Over and over again.

Her skin was red and sore from being rubbed, and the cold water flowed down her chin and neck into her collar, bringing a clammy chill, but she was completely unaware of it.

Not enough.

She straightened up and reached for the mouthwash placed next to her with trembling hands.He unscrewed the cap of the bottle and almost poured it into his mouth. The pungent smell of strong mint and alcohol instantly filled his mouth, causing a burning sting.She rinsed her mouth vigorously, raised her head, and let the cold liquid roll violently in her mouth, washing every corner, as if to wash away all the remaining breath that did not belong to her.

“Cough… cough cough…”

The too violent movement caused him to choke, and the mint-flavored liquid rushed into his nasal cavity, causing a sour taste.She held onto the edge of the sink, bent down, coughed violently, and physiological tears overflowed from the corners of her eyes uncontrollably.

My stomach was churning, and I felt nauseated.

She retched several times into the toilet, but nothing came out. Only the cold acid water burned her throat.

Finally, the strong nausea gradually subsided.She slid down on the floor tiles, leaning against the edge of the cold bathtub. She was soaked all over, her hair was messy and stuck to her forehead and cheeks. Her lips were red and swollen, with blood oozing faintly. Her eyes were staring blankly ahead, and her chest was still heaving violently.

The only sounds left in the bathroom were her heavy and suppressed breathing, and the sound of water dripping from the faucet.

After an unknown amount of time, there was a very slight sound of the wheelchair sliding outside the door, and it stopped outside the closed bathroom door.

Su Yu waited quietly for a while, but there was no movement inside.She knocked on the door gently, her voice with the clarity and calmness unique to a child: “Auntie?”

Ye Chang woke up suddenly, and his distracted eyes quickly focused.She took a deep breath, wiped away the water stains and wet tears on her face with the back of her hand, and stood up holding on to the cold tiles.

“It’s okay.” Her voice came through the door panel, trying hard to maintain a smooth tone, but still carrying a hint of hoarseness and fatigue that was difficult to conceal, “I’ll be out right away.”

She walked to the mirror and looked at herself in a miserable state, but her eyes became cold and hard again.

The red and swollen lips are particularly dazzling.

She stretched out her fingertips and touched the wound lightly, feeling a slight sting.

very good.

This pain, this embarrassment, this almost masochistic cleansing are all necessary.

It is a sacrifice and a wake-up call.

Remind her of the price of hatred.

Remind her that every step of this “intimate trial” is also walking on a knife’s edge for herself.

She straightened her soaked collar and hair, and put on her gold-rimmed glasses again, covering all the remaining waves in her eyes.

After opening the door, Su Yu was waiting quietly outside, still holding the ragdoll cat in her arms. He looked at her with dark eyes, and his eyes fell on her obviously red, swollen and broken lips. He stayed there for a second, but didn’t ask any more questions.

“Why haven’t you slept yet?” Ye Chang’s voice has returned to its usual gentleness, but is a little hoarse.

“I heard a sound.” Su Yu replied briefly, “Auntie, are you feeling uncomfortable?”

“No.” Ye Chang walked over, bent down and rubbed her hair with gentle movements, as if the person on the verge of collapse in the bathroom just now was just a phantom, “I’m just a little tired. Go to sleep.”

Su Yu nodded, controlled the wheelchair to turn around, but stopped without looking back, and said softly: “Auntie, don’t make it too difficult for yourself.”

Ye Chang’s body stiffened almost imperceptibly.

She didn’t answer, just watched Su Yu’s little figure disappear around the corner of the corridor.

Then, she slowly walked back to the living room, without turning on the light, and sat down in the darkness in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.

Outside the window, the lights of the city are like a river of stars, bright, cold, and out of reach.

She raised her hand and touched her stinging lips with her fingertips again.

The feeling of that kiss seemed to have been completely covered and washed away by the cold water and stinging pain.

But the quagmire in his heart that was mixed with disgust, pain, and some deeper dark emotions caused by touching the “enemy” was far from calming down.

In this trial, while imposing punishment, the presiding judge’s own hands were already stained with invisible dirt and scars.

She closed her eyes and pressed her forehead against the cold glass.

The night is dark and everything is silent.

Only the stinging pain on his lips and the everlasting fire of hatred in his heart were burning silently.