The cool beauty forcibly bids for top A: Chapter 52

In the luxurious domed restaurant on the top floor of IFC, the sound of a low and lingering cello melody flowed through the air. Those who could afford to dine here were either wealthy or noble, all recognizable figures within Hong Kong’s elite social circles.

Having just concluded an exhausting negotiation, Shen Xici had chosen this restaurant as a convenient nearby option.

Shen Yanzhou sat in a prime window seat, holding silver cutlery and patiently slicing into the premium M12 wagyu beef on his plate. Across from him, his younger brother Shen Xici was sharing interesting stories from his recent work at the investment bank, but the surrounding atmosphere suddenly became subtly quiet.

It wasn’t just their table. Throughout the entire restaurant, the suited power brokers and socialites who had been conversing in low voices all simultaneously paused their actions and directed their gazes toward the center of the restaurant, where a massive screen covering nearly an entire wall dominated the space.

On the screen, a live broadcast of the annual exclusive interview from Global Finance Channel was being cut in.

“Good evening, viewers. Tonight, we are extraordinarily honored to welcome a truly heavyweight guest.”

The most renowned gold medal host in the financial world sat upright, unable to conceal the excitement in her voice: “Over the past few years, he has completed six consecutive cross-border hostile takeovers involving tens of billions of US dollars on Wall Street with extraordinarily precise and ruthless vision and thunderous methods. And just last week, he quietly stepped down as chairman of an offshore trust fund and officially took over the Fu Consortium as Co-President of the Asia-Pacific region.”

“Let us welcome, the youngest son of the Fu family who has been lying low for many years Mr. Fu Sizhou.”

As the camera pushed in closer, the image on the screen settled on a man.

He wore an impeccably tailored dark gray bespoke suit, the top button of his collar casually undone, his long legs crossed as he reclined on a single sofa. Beneath his deep brow bone, a pair of pitch-black eyes gazed calmly at the camera.

“Mr. Fu, welcome back to Hong Kong.” The host offered an opening topic. “The industry has been buzzing with speculation about your sudden appointment to the Fu board of directors, especially since on your very first day back in Hong Kong, the Lu family’s capital chain collapsed, and multiple core assets under their name were swept up within less than twelve hours by an offshore company registered in the Cayman Islands. Rumor has it that this was your ‘meeting gift’ to the Fu board?”

Faced with such a sharp probe into business warfare, Fu Sizhou on the screen didn’t even move an eyebrow.

He played with his watch in a carefree manner, his voice low and deep: “The rules of business are simple. Survival of the fittest. The Lu family’s leverage ratio exceeded the warning line by three hundred percent. It was like a crumbling building on the verge of collapse. I simply removed the last load-bearing brick before it could fall and hurt innocent retail investors, and incidentally, recycled the valuable construction debris at a reasonable price.”

The man paused, mockery rising in his eyes: “As for a meeting gift… Does the Fu board still need me to bring gifts? I came back only to reclaim what rightfully belongs to me.”

“And incidentally, clean house.”

“Hiss—”

Several sharp intakes of breath could be heard faintly throughout the restaurant.

Everyone in Hong Kong Island’s financial circle knew that Old Master Fu favored his eldest son Fu Sihan the most and intended to pass the inheritance to the young master. These words were undoubtedly a public declaration of war, pressing the barrel of a gun directly against his own brother’s forehead.

Shen Yanzhou kept his head down, continuing to eat the steak on his plate without changing his expression. But Shen Xici was clearly not so composed.

“Brother.” Sitting across from him, Shen Xici even forgot to swallow the red wine in his mouth. He stared fixedly at the man on the screen, then looked at his brother, hardly able to believe his own eyes.

“Brother, this person, how does he look so much like that ‘thirty million’ you kept in the villa half a year ago?! Could it be… could it really be him?!”

“But the reporter said he’s been living in America and only just returned to the country… and his temperament doesn’t really seem alike either.”

Shen Yanzhou picked up the red wine beside him and took a sip, letting the wine slide down his throat, trying to suppress the surging turmoil in his chest, along with an inexplicable irritation.

In his mind, the image of that “thirty million” who would wear an apron and cook noodles for him late at night, whose wrists were covered in scars, who was submissive and endured everything, collided and tore apart with the image of this ruthless capital titan who dominated the business world with decisive and brutal methods.

After a long while, Shen Yanzhou set down his glass and raised those cool, clear, and captivating phoenix eyes, saying calmly: “It’s just a coincidental resemblance. It’s not him.”

The atmosphere on the screen dropped to freezing point following Fu Sizhou’s “clean house” remark, yet was skillfully defused by the host who well understood the secrets to ratings.

“Mr. Fu truly lives up to his reputation for swift and decisive action.” The host timely switched to a relaxed smile, shifting the topic to pull this capital tyrant covered in thorns back into the realm of worldly gossip. “However, aside from your ruthless decisiveness in business, the unmarried Omegas of all Hong Kong Island are clearly more interested in your other side.”

“Young Master Fu is accomplished at a young age and has just returned to settle in the country. May I ask, in terms of romantic relationships, what type of partner do you prefer?”

In the restaurant, Shen Yanzhou’s motion of cutting the steak came to a halt. It seemed as though the breathing throughout the entire restaurant grew lighter, after all, the Fu family was Hong Kong’s number one wealthy family, with power, influence, and capability.

On the screen, the man who had been leaning on the sofa with a cold and severe expression suddenly let out a light laugh.

The director cut to a close-up with perfect timing.

Those unfathomable dark eyes stared straight into the camera, and through the cold electronic screen, Shen Yanzhou even had an intensely strong illusion that Fu Sizhou was not looking at the camera at all at this moment, but rather, across the night of more than half of Victoria Harbour, was staring fixedly and cloyingly into his eyes.

“The person I like…”

“Is like a beautiful porcelain doll, with very fair skin, a pointed chin, and even every strand of hair is exquisite.” The man’s gaze didn’t shift by even a fraction. “Usually always likes to hold himself high and aloof, and when looking at people, there’s always arrogance in his eyes, feeling that no one is worthy of him.”

“Looks very difficult to approach, but actually…”

Fu Sizhou’s Adam’s apple rolled slightly, his voice pressing even lower, as if savoring some extremely private delicacy: “When pushed to the limit, he bites. When bullied too hard, the corners of his eyes turn red. He feels very soft to the touch, and tastes very sweet when kissed.”

“Cough cough cough—!” Shen Xici was suddenly choked by the half mouthful of red wine he had just drunk, breaking out into violent coughing.

He fumbled to grab a napkin and cover his mouth, his eyes nearly popping out as he stared fixedly at his own brother’s face — that cold, jade-like fair face that was born with a cold and gorgeous slight redness at the corners of the eyes. Lowering his voice, he said: “Brother… he, his description, how does it sound so much like you?!”

“Don’t overthink it.”

Shen Yanzhou’s breathing was a bit unsteady. On the surface, he still maintained that cool and haughty posture, but the fingers gripping his glass tightened slightly.

He actually dared to say these words on a financial live broadcast watched by all of Hong Kong Island.

After hearing this description, the host’s eyes also lit up, clearly scenting an excellent gossip bombshell. She covered her mouth and laughed lightly, boldly teasing: “Hearing Young Master Fu describe it this way, it does remind me of someone. Your standards seem almost exactly like those of your elder brother’s fiancé, Mr. Shen.”

Hearing the three words “Shen Yanzhou,” the smile at the corners of Fu Sizhou’s mouth deepened. He raised an eyebrow, and on his handsome face appeared a smile that was simultaneously malicious and innocent.

“Is that so?”

“However, my sister-in-law and I — we’re not very familiar.”

He deliberately emphasized the two words “sister-in-law.”

“I just returned to the country and haven’t had the chance to pay a formal visit yet.” Fu Sizhou leaned back against the sofa, spreading his hands helplessly like an extremely well-mannered younger brother. “Someone as unapproachable as him probably wouldn’t even want to know me.”

Shen Yanzhou bit his lip, his chest heaving violently.

Not familiar? Don’t know each other?

The night before last, who was it that dragged him like a beast in heat in front of the shower? Who pinned him against the wall, pressing scorching lips against his collarbone and biting like a madman?

And now, he actually dared to sit here in a suit, telling all of Hong Kong Island that they were “not familiar”?!

Just then, the host on the screen suddenly leaned in closer, as if discovering a new continent, and pointed in surprise at the side of Fu Sizhou’s face:

“Oh, Young Master Fu, why does there seem to be a rather clear red mark on the left side of your face? Did you just return to the country and haven’t adapted to Hong Kong’s recent southerly wind humidity, so you had an allergic reaction?”

As the host’s words fell, the director very perceptively pushed the camera in once more.

On the high-definition screen, Fu Sizhou’s profile was magnified, and indeed, on his cold, handsome cheek, there was a long, slender, and ambiguous red mark that had not yet completely faded.

Under the cold white lighting, that red mark not only didn’t detract from his handsomeness but instead added an air of sensuality to this financial tycoon tyrant.

“Clack.” The silver steak knife in Shen Yanzhou’s hand fell onto the plate.

The air conditioning in the high-end restaurant was clearly turned up high, yet Shen Yanzhou felt his throat growing dry and tight, an indescribable heat and shiver racing madly up his spine from his tailbone to the back of his neck.

How that red mark came to be, no one knew better than him!

His thoughts were uncontrollably dragged back to that night in the bathroom. Scorching shower water poured down, and that man pinned his hands above the tiles with one hand, while the other hand, burning with heat, caressed him.

“Let go—!” The corners of his eyes were steamed red by the water vapor, and he said angrily.

But what he got in return was even more frenzied invasion.

The pheromones of a top Alpha formed an airtight net. The man panted heavily, his rough fingers tearing open his soaked buttons, his knuckles brushing across his fragile skin, then lowering his head to bite and suck at his neck, his hot, wet tongue tracing down his pulsing carotid artery, lingering over his deeply hollowed collarbone, and finally, almost pathologically burying his entire face into his chest.

Restrained by pheromones, the uncontrollable feeling of weakness made him expend nearly all his strength to push this man away, and then he… ruthlessly raised his hand and slapped Fu Sizhou hard across the face, his nails even directly drawing shallow traces of blood.

…

“Brother? Brother, what’s wrong? Why is your face so pale?” Shen Xici’s call pulled Shen Yanzhou back from that sticky, cloying memory.

Shen Yanzhou took a deep breath, bit his lower lip, and forcibly suppressed the turbulence in his eyes: “It’s nothing. This steak is a bit greasy.”

After saying this, he vented his anger by stabbing his fork into the steak and stuffing a piece into his mouth.

And at this moment, Fu Sizhou on the screen also seemed to fall into similar contemplation.

Hearing the host’s question, rather than covering it up, he slightly turned his head and gently rubbed that red mark with his fingertip.

On camera, the originally ice-cold dark eyes in the man’s face surged with a thick, indissoluble darkness.

He remembered Shen Yanzhou’s slender waist after being drenched by water, his fair, milk-smooth skin, and when sucking, how it was as soft and elastic as jelly, and when tasting it, how it had a milky, sweet fragrance.

Fu Sizhou could even clearly recall the sensation of that slap hitting his face.

The beauty before him had been driven to a dead end by him, his eye rims red, his watery, shimmering eyes filled with tears that were about to fall but wouldn’t, his body already soft to the point of being unable to stand, yet still biting his lip haughtily, glaring at him, and then fiercely giving him a slap.

Even the way he hit people was so beautiful, and when the slap came, there was still a pleasant scent of roses.

“Young Master Fu?” Seeing him lost in thought, the host cautiously called out.

On the screen, Fu Sizhou’s thoughts returned.

He pressed the tip of his tongue against the left side of his cheek, forcefully pushing against the inside of his mouth where he had been hit.

Then, under the watchful eyes of millions of viewers across Hong Kong Island, he let out a low laugh.

“It’s not an allergy, nor is it because I’m not used to the local environment.”

Fu Sizhou looked straight into the camera, his voice lazy and slightly hoarse: “It was scratched by that cat at home with a bit of a temper, who’s also terribly spoiled and precious… I blame myself for not controlling my strength and making him angry.”

In the restaurant, Shen Yanzhou looked at the man on the screen, humiliated and furious.

What cat?! Calling him a cat?

Shen Yanzhou felt a bit of regret. If he had known, he should have slapped him a few more times.

***

The black Maybach slowly drove into the garage of the mid-level mansion. Only after Shen Yanzhou confirmed multiple times that that man wouldn’t suddenly appear did he enter the house and go straight to the bedroom.

Shen Yanzhou irritably loosened his tie and casually threw the suit jacket he had taken off onto the bed. Just then, the screen of the phone he had tossed on the desk lit up.

It was another WeChat message from that man across from him.

He had just stepped through the front door, and the message came right after. He couldn’t help but suspect that this person was doing it on purpose.

Shen Yanzhou darkened his face and swiped open the screen. It was a short video only a few dozen seconds long.

The background of the video was the dark walnut wood floor of the villa across the way. His normally heartless little Tang dog, Pudding, was currently lying spread-eagle on the carpet without any sense of shame, humming comfortably, while in the frame, a pair of well-defined hands slowly kneaded the puppy’s pink, fluffy belly.

Next to Pudding lay a fluffy little Pomeranian, looking like a small snowball.

Little Pudding had practically taken “betraying friends for beauty” to the extreme. Even while having his belly rubbed by the man, his big, grape-like eyes stared fixedly and brightly at Little Strawberry, his little tail behind him wagging into a happy spiral, occasionally leaning over to fawningly rub against her snowy neck fur, and even diligently licking Little Strawberry’s ear tip.

One yellow and one white, two small dogs of petite build nestled intimately together, plus those controlling hands of the man… this scene actually strangely conveyed a warm and harmonious feeling of a “family of three.”

“Hmph, even the dog has defected.” Shen Yanzhou sneered and pressed the screen dark, feeling it was utterly absurd.

However, before he could throw his phone aside, chat bubbles began popping up on the interface one after another, without any restraint.

[Fu Sizhou]: Pudding really likes it here. He even ate more today.

[Fu Sizhou]: But he seems to miss you a lot. When are you coming to take him back?

[Fu Sizhou]: Not replying to me again? 🙁

[Fu Sizhou]: I’m sorry, sister-in-law.

[Fu Sizhou]: The night before last, it was all my fault. I just returned to the country, and the Alpha pheromones during my heat cycle were a bit out of control. I almost forced you… Did I scare you?

[Fu Sizhou]: Now whenever I close my eyes, it’s all of you pushing me away with red eyes, trembling. I really deserve to die.

[Fu Sizhou]: I don’t know what I should do for sister-in-law to forgive me. As long as you’re willing to reply with one word, I’ll do anything. I’m begging you.

Shen Yanzhou typed coldly on the keyboard.

[Shen Yanzhou]: Mr. Fu, tomorrow morning I will have the old housekeeper go over to pick up the dog.

[Fu Sizhou]: No housekeeper. If sister-in-law doesn’t come personally, I won’t open the door. I’m keeping the dog for now.

“Slap!” Shen Yanzhou turned his phone face down on the desk, no longer wanting to read a single word from that man.

Fine, he didn’t want the dog anyway. It was just a little scoundrel of a dog that turned its arms outward.

That was what he originally thought, but then he recalled the image of that man holding the little Tang dog in his memory. He had already abandoned him, so did he also have to abandon the dog he left behind?

Forget it, he’d think about it later.

If it really came down to it, he’d call the police.

Shen Yanzhou walked into the bathroom to take a shower. When standing in front of the mirror putting on his pajamas, his movements suddenly paused.

The steam from the hot water had not yet completely dissipated. The mirror was covered with a thin layer of mist. He casually wiped his hair with a towel, his silver-gray long hair wetly clinging to the side of his neck and shoulders, droplets of crystal-clear water still dripping from the ends, sliding down along the curve of his collarbone.

In the mirror, on his originally fair and soft skin, even though two days had passed, the bite marks had not completely faded. They were still swollen, and when water droplets fell on the tips, trembling precariously, he looked utterly pitiful.

Shen Yanzhou usually attended any occasion wrapped up tightly from head to toe, from the crisp suit jacket to the shirt buttoned up to the very top button, not revealing even an inch of extra skin, always maintaining that cold and abstinent appearance.

This feeling of being constantly bound up properly made him, after returning home, extremely loathe those restrictive clothes. He was used to wearing the lightest, loosest silk robes in his absolutely private domain, with his collar open and his bare feet stepping on the carpet.

But tonight, when he casually picked up that frequently worn dark green silk robe with its extremely low collar, his movements stiffened abruptly.

Shen Yanzhou’s mind uncontrollably recalled what the real estate agent Eric had told him. The thought that the person across the way might possibly be looking at his bedroom’s floor-to-ceiling windows through the night…

He threw aside the loose robe and instead changed into a rarely worn set of long-sleeved, long-pants cotton loungewear.

He wrapped himself up tightly, even fastening the topmost button of his pajamas securely, trying to cover himself up without a single gap.

After doing all this, Shen Yanzhou pushed open the bathroom door and walked out.

In the spacious bedroom, beyond the panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows was the night view of Hong Kong Island. Even though he was already dressed without revealing a single inch, as long as he stood before the unshielded window, that feeling of being locked onto still made him feel as if needles were pricking his back.

He darkened his face, quickly walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, didn’t glance even once more at the villa across the way, and grabbed the edge of the curtains, pulling them shut tightly.

Then, he threw himself onto the soft bedding.

He pulled the blanket over himself, wrapping himself from head to toe, closed his eyes, yet his mind was filled with Fu Sizhou’s cold face on the restaurant’s big screen tonight, and that night when that voice pressed against his ear saying “sister-in-law.”

Clearly, he had personally admitted while cooking that he had an incurable, stunningly beautiful “ex” who had set his aesthetic standards in stone. Since he was so deeply in love, why then did he turn around and do this kind of thing to his nominal sister-in-law?!

Was he trying to use such despicable means to take revenge on Fu Sihan?

Or was it that… he was simply a madman? Wanting to toy with him?

***

On the second-floor terrace of the villa across the way, where no lights were turned on, in the thick darkness, only the bright red glow of a cigarette tip flickered on and off. Fu Sizhou wore a dark gray robe, his forearm casually resting on the cold railing, smoking. His pitch-black, deep eyes were like a wolf lying in wait in the dark night, staring at that tightly shut floor-to-ceiling window across from him.

Even though that person had already ruthlessly closed the last crack, in Fu Sizhou’s mind, he could still clearly outline the image of him just now, wrapping himself up tightly and fleeing in panic.

It was practically like guarding against a thief.

Fu Sizhou lowered his head and let out a low, self-mocking laugh.

A rustling sound came from beside his feet.

The heartless Pudding had somehow run out from inside the house at some point, wagging his little motor-like tail, approaching Fu Sizhou’s feet, and using his fluffy head to fawningly rub against his pant leg, letting out soft, whimpering sounds.

Fu Sizhou lowered his eyelashes, looking at this little dog looking up at him begging to be petted, and slowly exhaled a thick puff of white smoke.

“I originally thought that he had no feelings for me whatsoever…” Fu Sizhou’s voice was slightly hoarse. “At the very least, he should have some feelings for you, this dog, right?”

“It looks like he has no feelings for you either. He doesn’t even want you anymore.”

Fu Sizhou squatted down and rubbed the little Tang dog’s head.

“Poor little thing.” His eyes were dark and unclear. “You and I are both useless.”

The little dog didn’t understand what he was saying. It simply enjoyed the petting, stretching out its tongue to lick the back of his hand.

Fu Sizhou straightened his body, ruthlessly grinding out the cigarette butt that had burned down to the end, and pulled out his phone from his robe pocket with an expressionless face, dialing a number.

The phone rang twice before being picked up.

“Old man.”

“Tomorrow’s Fu family dinner, I will be there on time.”

Before the old man on the other end could feel happy about this sudden compromise, Fu Sizhou’s gaze shifted slightly.

“However, since we’re going to be family from now on, for such an important occasion—”

“My sister-in-law, shouldn’t he also attend together?”

Without waiting for the old man to speak, Fu Sizhou hung up the phone.

His gaze once again wrapped around that tightly shut window like a venomous snake, sticky and cloying, as he said to himself:

“Sister-in-law, actually, cotton fabric tears more easily than silk.”

“And when it rips, it sounds even better.”