Chapter 41: Sister-Complex
The three men watched as the girl closed her eyes, her legs went soft, and she fell straight to one side.
Her head hit Gu Zhi’s warm chest with precision.
“Hiss—” Ruan Yi almost broke her act from the pain. Her eyelashes fluttered incessantly, but she bit her lower lip to suppress the cry of pain.
She secretly opened a sliver of her eyelids to peek through the gaps of her lashes, only to lock eyes with Fu Jingchen’s seemingly smiling gaze.
Her heart skipped a beat in fear. She hurriedly squeezed her eyes shut and tilted her head. Her nose brushed against Gu Zhi’s collarbone, and she heard a soft, muffled laugh from the man’s chest.
“Sister… what kind of skill is this again?” Gu Zhi’s voice came from above. Ruan Yi felt her head being rubbed gently.
It’s my ultimate move, of course! This is the life-saving skill Lin Han taught me—faking a faint.
Ruan Yi was debating whether to continue acting when she sensed a hand that didn’t belong to Gu Zhi approaching.
Shen Xun leaned in. His well-defined fingers pinched Ruan Yi’s flushed cheek.
“Really fainted? Then come home with me.”
Gu Zhi suddenly tightened his arms. His gaze swept over Shen Xun’s hand as he held the girl in his arms even tighter.
“Go home? Your status isn’t sufficient.”
The man’s eyes narrowed slightly. His finger pad rubbed gently over the cheek Shen Xun had pinched.
He stopped calling him ‘Brother’. It seems he’s stopped acting.
Shen Xun slowly stood up and took a half-step back.
“Fine. Take her back to the Ruan house then—brother-in-law.” He specifically emphasized the last two words, his eyes full of blatant mockery.
The man’s originally gentle features instantly turned cold. His aura changed abruptly. His jaw was clenched extremely tight, and the veins on the arms holding Ruan Yi throbbed.
“You’re speaking too early.”
His Adam’s apple rolled twice as if suppressing something. The violence surging in his eyes was nearly overflowing, yet he forced himself to restrain it.
“You can pray and see if that day ever comes.”
The man held the girl steadily and walked away.
Watching the backs of the two leaving, Fu Jingchen slowly adjusted his cuffs. His gaze passed over Shen Xun’s suddenly darkened face, a mocking arc curling on his thin lips.
“President Shen, as a businessman, the most taboo thing is popping the champagne at halftime.”
Shen Xun’s brow instantly locked tight. Veins bulged along his neck, and the sound of his teeth grinding could be heard.
Fu Jingchen saw the other party being easily provoked and let out a pleasant, light laugh.
“Before the next provocation, do some homework—that ‘brother-in-law’ of yours has never had any intention of treating you as a brother-in-law.”
With those words of casual malice, he turned and left.
The man stared at Fu Jingchen’s retreating back, a cold laugh spilling from his throat.
The next second, the aura around him became violently explosive. He kicked a half-full metal bucket nearby with all his might. With a massive bang, the bucket flew seven or eight meters, smashing into the corner. Several cracks appeared on the wall.
It was clear that Fu Jingchen wasn’t lying.
What is with that kid Gu Zhi? A hidden sister-complex?
Just a sister-complex, or…
The man’s heavy breathing gradually calmed. He stared at the distorted metal wreckage on the ground.
In his mind, he recalled every time he asked Gu Zhi to deliver something. The youth always lowered his eyes and agreed, showing no emotion in his eyes.
The laugh that spilled from the man’s throat carried a bit of self-mockery and teeth-grinding.
“Fuck… I didn’t… get intercepted, did I?”
Ruan Yi had her head tilted in the passenger seat, still maintaining her incredibly deliberate faking-sleep posture.
The man let out a silent laugh. He suddenly grabbed her limp wrist. Ignoring the girl’s stiffened movements, he pulled her entire forearm in front of him.
The moment the alcohol swab touched the wound, it was obvious the girl’s shoulder tensed up.
Are you going to keep faking? Then…
Gu Zhi lowered his eyes. His warm finger pad was coated in ointment, but he deliberately avoided the scratch. Instead, he slowly rubbed upward from the inside of her delicate wrist.
When his finger pad, carrying the cool ointment, brushed past the sensitive area of her inner elbow, the girl let out a soft hum from the ticklishness.
He suddenly leaned in, breathing lightly onto the scratch that still smelled of medicinal ointment.
The man’s breath sprayed onto the sensitive scratch over and over. The tingling sensation spread along her skin.
Gu Zhi’s finger “accidentally” brushed against the softest skin on the inside of her arm, carrying a lingering friction.
Ruan Yi felt all the blood in her body rushing toward her ear tips. Her toes curled inside her shoes. She tried her best to restrain the urge to pull her arm back.
Ahhh, it’s so ticklish! No, I haven’t figured out how to explain yet!
Gu Zhi looked at the girl’s reddened ear tips. A smile curled at the corner of his mouth, but he finally let her off.
After fastening her seatbelt, he started the car and drove steadily.
Ruan Yi thought she would just fake sleep until they got home; maybe then she wouldn’t have to explain.
Until the car stopped steadily at a red light. The touch of warm breath in her ear instantly made her freeze.
“Sister, if you keep faking, I’m going to tickle you.”
Ruan Yi’s eyelashes trembled twice. She peeked open a crack in her eyes, only to meet the man’s gentle yet helpless smile.
Ruan Yi snapped her eyes open. With a drooping mouth, she turned her head and asked seriously, “Was I that obvious?”
Gu Zhi looked at her and raised his brow. He turned his head back to continue driving.
“No. The acting was naturally seamless.”
As Ruan Yi looked at him expectantly, he added slowly, “Especially the part where you precisely ‘fainted’ into my arms. You could win an Oscar.”
“You dare mock me!” Ruan Yi puffed her cheeks and slapped his thigh hard.
The hit made the man let out a muffled groan.
“The hitting is done, and the acting is finished. Now, is Sister willing to explain to me?”
Ruan Yi stiffened. She let out two dry laughs.
“That, actually being at Fu Jingchen’s company is quite good. And I can really learn a lot! Like business negotiation, project planning…”
Ruan Yi spoke softer and softer. Under the gaze Gu Zhi threw her, her voice completely vanished in her throat.
“Aiya, I know Ah Zhi is worried about me. But I really want to learn more. It’s all for our family’s future! I’ll earn money to support the family!”
She wants to earn money to support the family?
Their… two-person home?
Countless images flashed through his mind—
A soft, small figure curled in a crib. When she adjusted her collar to head out, he could openly lean down and kiss her lips.
Amidst the rising steam in the kitchen, he would wear a cartoon apron and cook for her and the child. He could look back and catch her leaning against the doorframe, peeking at him with a small smile on her face.
And… more and more, so beautiful he didn’t dare think about it.
The man’s warm breathing unconsciously became heavier. Just the imagination was enough to make his soul tremble.
The force on the pedal unconsciously increased.
“Hey, hey! Why are you driving so fast? Slow down!”
The girl’s panicked scolding crashed into his ears. He lowered his eyes, concealing the surging dark tide.
“Sorry. I scared you.”
He slowed the car down, his finger pads rubbing the steering wheel.
One day, these images would surely be realized.
“I’m fine. Stop always apologizing.”
Ruan Yi’s tone was a bit helpless.
“You haven’t agreed yet. I’ll put my own safety first. No one can bully me. If you’re worried… I’ll report to you at any time, okay?”
Silence fell in the car, leaving only Gu Zhi’s deliberately slowed tone, carrying an imperceptible compromise.
“Sister can think about it. If you really want to stay there, report on time.”
Ruan Yi’s eyes instantly lit up. She happily patted his arm. “Okay, okay! I promise!”
The scenery outside the window retreated rapidly.
The girl in the passenger seat held her phone, muttering as she showed off the content she learned and reporting her schedule for the next few days.
She wouldn’t discover that the hand the man had gripped on the steering wheel…
Was much tighter than before.
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