Qin Yige's heart skipped a beat. She immediately forced a smile and said, "Next time, I'm not feeling well this time. You know, my stomach still hurts."
The man was unmoved, his large palm roaming wantonly over her body.
"Brother Shang Sheng, the child next door hasn't come back yet. If she sees us when she returns, it will have a bad influence... Ah!"
Before she could finish speaking, she was suddenly lifted into the air, startling her into clinging tightly to his neck.
Shang Sheng scooped Qin Yige up horizontally and strode towards the bedroom.
He kicked open the half-closed door. The bedroom was dark. After they entered, Shang Sheng kicked the door shut again.
Immediately, Qin Yige was pinned to the large bed, her limbs held tight, unable to move beneath him.
Catching the faint scent of tobacco from the man, she felt like crying without tears. Oh heavens, who would save her?
Without giving her a chance to cry out, Shang Sheng lowered his head and sealed her lips again.
Silence fell over the room, broken only by their intertwined breaths.
Just then, the sound of a door opening came from outside.
Qin Yige, who had almost fallen into his embrace, suddenly opened her eyes and beat his shoulders with all her might.
Wen Shuyuan, passing by the living room, had intended to go straight to her room. However, a mobile phone on the sofa kept vibrating.
Curiosity piqued, she walked over and picked up the phone. Glancing at the caller ID, it read: Secretary Chen?
It was clearly a man's phone, definitely Shang Sheng's.
Wen Shuyuan stared at the closed bedroom door and called out, "Are you guys asleep?"
Silence was her only reply.
Realizing that Secretary Chen might be Chen Ling, Wen Shuyuan's eyes flickered, and a mischievous smile played on her lips. She decisively swiped to answer.
As soon as the call connected, a flustered female voice came from the other end, "Mr. Shang—"
Wen Shuyuan cleared her throat and, in a changed voice, asked, "Secretary Chen, is that you?"
Chen Ling paused upon hearing a stranger's voice. Before she could ask who it was, she anxiously said, "I have something very important to tell Mr. Shang. Could you please—"
"No need to trouble yourself. Your Mr. Shang is in the bedroom with my sister... Cough, cough. Brother-in-law's phone is here. If I, a child, were to see something I shouldn't at this hour, it would have a very bad influence on me. Sorry, Secretary Chen, I can't help you!"
Chen Ling was somewhat bewildered.
"Please, I'm in big trouble right now. Could you hand the phone to Mr. Shang?"
Wen Shuyuan snorted, placed a hand on her hip, and retorted haughtily, "You're in big trouble, but what does that have to do with my brother-in-law? It's after work hours, and my brother-in-law is entitled to his private time. Your Mr. Shang is currently busy creating an heir with your sister-in-law. If you're in trouble, find your boyfriend!"
Chen Ling, fighting the dizziness in her head, said, "I'm drunk..."
"If you're drunk, you definitely can't have my brother-in-law go. What if you seduce my brother-in-law? Secretary Chen—"
"Click!" The bedroom door was pushed open from the inside, and Shang Sheng, his short hair slightly disheveled, emerged.
His clothes were a bit messy, but at least they were still on. So, they hadn't been rolling around in bed...
Wen Shuyuan's voice abruptly stopped. She quickly and guiltily hung up the call with Chen Ling.
"Sister, Brother-in-law."
Shang Sheng walked over, his expression grim, and extended his hand to her.
Wen Shuyuan obediently handed him the phone with both hands and explained, "I called for you earlier, but no one answered, so I picked it up."
Shang Sheng unlocked the phone, glanced at the call history, and closed it.
Just as he was about to speak, Wen Shuyuan beat him to it, shrieking, "Cousin, help!"
Shang Sheng: "..."
Qin Yige, who had been feigning death with her head buried in the pillow, heard the scream and jolted upright from the bed, rushing to the living room at top speed. "What's wrong? What's wrong?"
Seeing her emerge, Wen Shuyuan immediately darted around Shang Sheng and hid behind Qin Yige.
She put on a show of trembling and said, "I heard the phone ring earlier, and I called for you, but no one paid attention, so I answered it. Cousin, it was Chen Ling, and Chen Ling was looking for Brother-in-law late at night, asking him to go out to her. I just said a couple of things to her, and Brother-in-law seems to want to punish me—"
"..." This was the first time Shang Sheng had seen someone dare to spin lies in front of him with their eyes wide open.
No, she wasn't the first. The first was the woman Qin Yige was currently holding onto!
Qin Yige had heard Wen Shuyuan calling for them, but Shang Sheng had been covering her mouth, preventing her from speaking.
Although the relationship between the two cousins was just ordinary, seeing Wen Shuyuan, who was scared, seeking refuge with her, instantly ignited Qin Yige's protective instincts. "It's so late, and Chen Ling keeps calling you. It's obvious that you've given her permission. Since that's the case, you go and attend to your business. Shuyuan still has class tomorrow, so it saves Chen Ling from constantly calling and bothering us."
"Yeah, Sister. I have class tomorrow morning too. I'm going back to my room now!" As soon as someone offered her a way out, Wen Shuyuan seized it.
She finished speaking and turned to run.
"Stop!" Shang Sheng commanded coldly.
The icy voice startled the young girl into stopping immediately. Where Shang Sheng couldn't see, she kept signaling Qin Yige for help.
Qin Yige: "Shang Sheng, what exactly do you want? Are you going to make things difficult for my cousin for the sake of another woman?"
Wen Shuyuan immediately grabbed her wrist and said with a choked sob, "Cousin, I feel so sorry for you. It's so late, and you still have to tolerate your husband talking to other women on the phone."
Qin Yige: "..."
She could understand this part. It wasn't as exaggerated as Wen Shuyuan described.
Shang Sheng rubbed his temples, which were beginning to ache. He usually didn't see these two cousins getting along so well. Now, with such a small incident, they were both defending each other.
"Should I praise you for showing true affection in times of adversity? Or for sisterly love?"
He could tell they were mocking him, and Qin Yige straightened her back awkwardly. "No matter what, Shuyuan is still a child. Let's not argue with her."
"Child?" Shang Sheng cast a cold glance at them. He had never seen such a cunning child.
Qin Yige said to Wen Shuyuan, "Honestly, Shang Sheng's calls are usually important..."
"Cousin, I'm not stupid. If it were anyone else calling Brother-in-law today, I wouldn't have answered. I saw it was Secretary Chen. You know she's always had ulterior motives towards Brother-in-law... Mmph mmph mmph."
Qin Yige covered Wen Shuyuan's mouth, stifling the rest of her words.
"Do you still want to go back to sleep? If you say any more, I won't be able to protect you!"
The fault was hers to begin with. Regardless of who was calling, Wen Shuyuan's selfish decision to answer Shang Sheng's phone was wrong! And it was precisely because of this that Qin Yige couldn't argue logically with Shang Sheng.
Wen Shuyuan let out a defiant snort and pulled away the hand covering her mouth. "Fine, I'll go to bed. Cousin, if I were you, I would have gone to the company and had HR fire Chen Ling directly. Why keep her under your nose, bothering you like a fly?"