Chapter 43: A-Yu, I’ll Be Gentle This Time

While He Lian was deep in self-reflection, those flirtatious discussions drifted brazenly into his ears once again.

“Let me tell you, those damn men are all like that. They only know how to plow away blindly and haven’t the faintest idea how to get the hang of it. I once met a guy who really knew what he was doing.”

“How special was he?”

“Well… like, the kind of special where you need to change the bedsheets twice!”

“Hahaha, stop keeping us in suspense!”

“Gosh, to put it plainly, just pay more attention to us women’s reactions and you’ll get everything right.”

Listening to them, He Lian pressed his fingertips against his tense temple, his gaze wandering.

Suddenly, a foot extended and kicked his leather shoe unceremoniously, followed by an extremely disdainful, mocking voice crashing down from above his head.

“He Lian, you fucking listening to young girls talking about bed affairs—do you have no shame at all?”

The newcomer had a loud voice. Hearing him, the women resting in the distance turned their heads and finally caught sight of the black sofa chair in the corner. Stunned, they exchanged shocked glances with one another.

Instinctively covering their mouths, panic still seeped out from between their fingers.

“He Lian? Is that He Lian behind the sofa?”

“My goodness, what on earth did I say in front of the Crown Prince? I want to die!”

“Hurry, let’s go, let’s go!”

Like being chased by a wolf, the heiresses shoved and jostled each other as they rushed down the stairs.

He Lian, on the other hand, remained completely unfazed. Looking up with a cool gaze, he saw Xie Qingzhou.

The man was wearing swimming trunks, his muscular upper body covered in scars, sitting opposite He Lian with an aggressive, swaggering posture.

As their eyes locked, the air between them seemed to slowly freeze over.

Their animosity ran deep, both waiting for the other to break the silence first.

After a moment, two sets of hurried footsteps approached from afar. Only when Shen Jin and Liang Qianyu arrived did the nearly frozen air show signs of flowing once more.

Shen Jin was still dressed in his refined, sharp attire. Liang Qianyu, as today’s birthday girl, had drunk a lot of alcohol. As soon as Shen Jin sat down, she naturally perched herself on his lap, hooking her arms around his neck.

The upper-class circle in Jinzhou was large, but the inner circle of the younger generation from top-tier families was small. Accustomed to Liang Qianyu’s behavior, He Lian spoke coldly, “Why is Xie Qingzhou here?”

The man opposite sneered disdainfully and crossed his legs as well.

Groggy and dazed, Liang Qianyu snuggled against the side of Shen Jin’s neck without answering.

Shen Jin was forced to wrap his arm around her precarious waist. “The guest list was decided by the Liang family.”

The implicit meaning was clear: your He family and the Xie family might not get along, but the Liang and Xie families still had business dealings. This was Liang Qianyu’s birthday party, and she didn’t need to consult He Lian on who to invite.

Xie Qingzhou: “He Lian, I heard from Xiran that you fucking got another woman?”

He Lian rested his arms on the sofa. “Does it have anything to do with you?”

Xie Qingzhou had a fiery temper that ignited at the slightest spark. Putting his legs down, his eyes turned sharp: “He Lian, are you addicted to breaking my sister’s heart? Knowing full well she likes you, you still drag some little bitch around in front of her to show off?”

Noticing the change in tone, Shen Jin’s expression shifted slightly.

Sure enough, the moment the words “little bitch” left Xie Qingzhou’s mouth, He Lian’s face darkened instantly.

“Xie Qingzhou, are you two siblings ever going to finish with this?”

He sneered sarcastically, “It’s wrong if I don’t sleep with Xie Xiran, and it’s wrong if I don’t. How about I make a silicone mold of the stuff in my pants and send it to her, so she stops constantly obsessing over it?”

Xie Qingzhou stood up abruptly, kicking over the small wine table between them.

“He Lian! Fuck your mother!”

Glasses shattered and wine spilled everywhere. The moderate commotion caused guests who were about to come up to the second floor to freeze in their tracks, not daring to linger for even a second before hurrying back down.

Both of these “ancestors” of Jinzhou were present—neither was someone to be provoked.

Although the He family stood at the very top of Jinzhou’s hierarchy, the Xie family was equally formidable. If He Lian’s peacekeeping work was righteous with a hint of ruthlessness, then the Xie family’s underground empire in Jinzhou was pitch-black to the core.

This white and black had been in a standoff for many years, neither able to crush the other, leaving countlessly many dead in the crossfire between them.

Unable to watch any longer, Shen Jin had a sour expression toward both of them: “Enough. Today is Qianyu’s birthday. Can you two stop causing trouble here? Both of you behave.”

He glanced at Xie Qingzhou: “The South Port is my Shen family’s turf. Stay if you can, and get the hell out if you can’t.”

The corners of Xie Qingzhou’s mouth curled up into a ferocious smile. “Fine. We Xie family members have dark hearts and can’t play nicely with you all.” He fixed his glare on He Lian again, “Just don’t forget, you have a younger sister too.”

Surging waves rippled in He Lian’s eyes. “If you dare touch Zhiyi, I’ll take your life.”

Xie Qingzhou certainly wasn’t intimidated. Placing his hands in his pockets, every word he uttered was a threat: “By the way, you also have a so-called ‘future wife’ now. He Lian, you better fucking watch out.”

Kicking aside the broken wine glasses, he turned and walked away.

He Lian didn’t move, emitting a suffocatingly menacing aura as he listlessly spun his lighter.

Shen Jin: “Every single one of you is more of a beast than the last.”

Turning around, he accurately caught the phrase from earlier: “You told Xie Xiran that Jiang Yu is your future wife? A distinguished Jinzhou Crown Prince like you wants to marry a fool as your wife?”

He Lian offered neither confirmation nor denial.

Even if Jiang Yu couldn’t be cured, he would pamper her happily for the rest of his life.

He Lian wasn’t like Duan Jingyue. In his eyes, sleeping with numerous women was a deeply shameful thing. If a man lacked even a shred of self-control and jumped on anyone he saw, he really was no different from a… breeding pig.

“Hubby~”

Liang Qianyu’s drunken, soft voice shattered his thoughts. She nestled into Shen Jin’s chest. “What… what fool were you talking about just now~”

As she spoke, her hands rubbed against Shen Jin restlessly.

“It’s nothing!” Shen Jin scolded in a low voice. “Behave yourself!”

Liang Qianyu refused, kissing his face repeatedly, her breath uneven: “No~ You looked so handsome when you cursed at Xie Qingzhou just now, I can’t hold back anymore~”

Seeing that the situation was about to turn rated-R, He Lian got up and walked away.

Behind him, Shen Jin cursed under his breath.

“Damn it, I still can’t satisfy you, you crazy woman!”

He Lian remained expressionless.

What a pair.

In the bedroom, half-awake and half-asleep, Jiang Yu was woken by a faint scent of alcohol. She opened her eyes to find He Lian holding her from behind. Sensing that the person in his arms was awake, he murmured, “A-Yu?”

Jiang Yu felt like she hadn’t slept for long. Why was He Lian back so soon?

Just as she was about to turn over, the man’s powerful arm pulled her waist backward. Wrapped in her silk nightgown, her dainty, rounded hips pressed against the arrogant, unmistakable line of the man, ready to strike.

Jiang Yu immediately didn’t dare move, choosing to pretend to go back to sleep.

However, the scent of alcohol drew even closer. He Lian buried his head in her hair, his heavy breath warm against her skin, sending a subtle shudder through her that made her quietly bite her lip and clench her toes tightly.

Was it because He Lian had been drinking?

Had his constantly lingering moral standards been lowered?

He Lian’s moist lips brushed past her earlobe. Faint moonlight flowed through his eyes as he pressed the girl against his chest, his powerful heart pounding frantically against his skin.

Jiang Yu closed her eyes, knowing what was about to happen next.

Thinking of the sharp, burning pain every time before, her hands instinctively clenched tight.

“A-Yu.”

Behind her, He Lian muttered softly to himself, “Does it… hurt really bad for you every time?”

Jiang Yu was slightly stunned, her ears feeling burning hot.

It indeed hurt, but she didn’t know how to express it to He Lian.

The next second, her earlobe was gently taken into his mouth.

“Then this time… I’ll be gentler.”

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