Late at night, I was dead to the world when a line of searing heat pressed against me. Heavy breaths fanned over my skin as dense, feverish kisses trailed down my neck. I opened my eyes groggily, my voice thick with sleep.

“Linzhou… I’m tired…”

Noticing I was awake, he leaned down to capture my lips, his voice raspy and deep. “Be good. Go back to sleep.”

The next second, he claimed me completely. Only one thought ran through my mind: Xia Linzhou, you absolute bastard.

He kissed the tears brimming at the corners of my eyes, letting out a low chuckle. “Good girl. You’re getting quite bold lately, aren’t you?”

My heart skipped a beat. I nearly blew my cover right then and there. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I pouted play-actingly. “That’s only because you haven’t bothered to sweet-talk me in days.”

He didn’t slow his pace, his breath ragged. “Sweetheart… just wait until I wrap up this project. I’ll make it up to you.”

Hours later…

I stared at the man lying beside me with a look of utter, lazy satisfaction, desperately tempted to slap him awake. But thinking of my brother’s lifelong happiness… fine, I’d swallow it.

My name is Cheng Yunwu—or at least, that’s the alias. My real name is Xie Jinchen.

I have a brother eight years older than me, Xie Jinchao, who raised me himself. To me, he was both a brother and a father. When I was twelve, I was kidnapped by one of his business rivals; he nearly lost his life coming to rescue me.

After that, I changed my identity. He protected me so fiercely that to this day, no one in the high-society circles of Hong Kong knows the true identity of the Xie family heiress.

It wasn’t until my college graduation that I accidentally discovered why he had stayed single for so many years: he was still carrying a torch for his ex-girlfriend from Shanghai. Word was, she was now engaged to the crown prince of Shanghai’s elite.

I immediately hired a private investigator, only to learn their arrangement was purely a marriage of convenience—zero feelings involved.

Well, what was I waiting for?

For the sake of my brother’s happiness, I spent a fortune hiring various seductresses to get close to Xia Linzhou, but none of them even caught his eye. In the end, I had to step into the ring myself.

After two years of clinging to him, flirty plays, and academy-award-level acting, I successfully became Xia Linzhou’s most spoiled, cherished little songbird. True to plan, he kept putting off the wedding.

The next morning, I was woken up by heavy breathing behind me. Xia Linzhou’s appetite was violently consistent. To make matters worse, we were each other’s firsts.

He had been too busy to touch me for days, but judging by the current situation, I doubted I’d be getting out of bed before late afternoon.

Sure enough, when I woke up again, dusk was already settling outside.

I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror—looking like a absolute war zone—and cursed every single one of Xia Linzhou’s ancestors. I’m the petty, hold-a-grudge type, but since I couldn’t break character just yet, I decided to take it out on his Black Card instead.

Thirty minutes later: five million yuan, completely wiped out.

As a little bonus, I bought him three pairs of men’s underwear for nineteen yuan and ninety-three cents. A perfect fit for a man of his high-and-mighty status.

The moment I stepped out of the luxury mall, a Maybach pulled up in front of me. Qi Kuo—Xia Linzhou’s best friend—rolled down the window.

“Sister-in-law, get in. I’ll give you a ride.”

Out of everyone in Xia Linzhou’s inner circle, Qi Kuo was one of the few who actually used his brain when talking to me. He glanced at me through the rearview mirror and cleared his throat.

“Sister-in-law, be at Mévue Cafe tomorrow morning at ten. There’s a surprise waiting for you.”

“What kind of surprise?”

“You’ll know when you get there.”

When I got back to the villa, Xia Linzhou was sitting on the sofa wearing gold-rimmed glasses, looking a bit less razor-sharp than usual. He fixed his gaze on me.

“Yunwu, come here.”

I slid onto his lap, beaming. “Why are you back so early today?”

“Came back to accompany you. What did you buy today?”

“Bags, shoes, clothes.”

He pinched my cheek gently. “Ungrateful little thing, only buying stuff for yourself.”

“That’s not true,” I blushed, pointing at a shopping bag beside us. “I bought three pairs of underwear for you, too.”

He rubbed his nose against mine, looking rather pleased. “At least you have a conscience.”

Unzipping the bag, however, he froze. The air in the room suddenly went dead silent.

“What’s wrong? You don’t like them?” I pretended to feel hurt. “If you don’t, just throw them away.”

He stared at me with an unreadable expression, then let out a long, heavy sigh.

“No, I love them. You’re so thoughtful… you even remembered it’s my Zodiac Clash year.”

Me: “…”