Chapter 2: The Honeymoon.

I lifted my chin, putting on my most arrogant, provocative expression.

“Qiao Xiao’an.”

Gu Shen drew out my nickname slowly, his voice carrying a dangerous edge.

It was a nickname he’d given me himself. It sounded almost affectionate, but whenever he called me that, I knew trouble was coming.

“I think you’ve forgotten something.”

He looked at me, his dark eyes unreadable.

“We got married today. I’m your legal husband now. Your husband in every sense of the word.”

He leaned closer, lowering his head until his lips were near my ear.

“And now you’re asking me what gives me the right?”

My heart gave a hard thump.

“Don’t forget…”

His breath brushed against my ear, somehow both cool and scorching at once.

“Tonight is our wedding night. Once we get home, I’ll show you exactly what gives me the right.”

The moment I heard that, my heart sank like a stone.

Oh, God.

I’d really poked the hornet’s nest this time.

“Hic… no more… please, just let me go…”

I was exhausted.

Completely, utterly exhausted.

My entire body felt as if I’d been run over by a truck—aching, weak, and barely holding together.

Meanwhile, Gu Shen seemed to have somehow recharged himself to full power. He didn’t know the meaning of the word tired, determined to prove exactly what gave him the right.

“Is my technique really that bad?”

He gave my hand a light bite, apparently demanding justice on behalf of his wounded pride.

My head was spinning. I didn’t have the strength to fight back anymore.

Ever since he’d dragged me back to his penthouse, this man had apparently switched into overdrive mode with absolutely no intention of stopping.

And me?

A helpless little chick like me never stood a chance.

All I could do was cry and beg for mercy.

As for him?

He simply ignored me.

From the living room to the bedroom…

I’d lost count of how many times.

“Tell me. Is my body good? Is my technique really that bad?”

Oh, my God.

Why was he so obsessed with those two questions?

Couldn’t he see that I was practically on the verge of dying?

“…Tell me.”

I gave him a dazed look.

He was clearly exhausted too, sweat beading across his forehead, so why wouldn’t he just let this go already?

“…Fine. It’s good… really, really good.”

My voice was hoarse, like I’d just finished running a marathon.

I even gave him a weak little kick, silently urging him to hurry up and get it over with.

Who would’ve thought?

Those words were apparently the key that unlocked some kind of seal.

I nearly ended up completely wrecked by the time he was satisfied.

“And are you ever going to go watch male models again?”

“…No… I won’t.”

“Who am I?”

At the very end, he suddenly asked me that.

He was doing it on purpose.

He was absolutely determined to push me to the brink!

Grinding my teeth, I bit down hard on his chest.

“Gu Shen! You’re such an asshole! Can you even keep going? If you can’t, get off!”

I hadn’t just gotten drunk and slept with my sworn enemy.

I hadn’t just impulsively married him.

He’d even dragged me back to his place and “settled the score” all over again.

Hic.

Was a thirty-year-old man really supposed to have this much stamina?

Why had nobody warned me?!

I lay sprawled across the bed, completely drained. Even the slightest movement made my entire body ache as if my bones were about to fall apart.

“Hungry?”

Gu Shen walked in and yanked the curtains open with a sharp swish.

Bright sunlight flooded the room.

It was already the next day.

I stared blankly at the blue sky outside, my mind still foggy, when suddenly—

A horrifyingly important thought hit me.

“I DIDN’T GO HOME LAST NIGHT!”

I sat up, clutching the blanket and screaming as if the world were ending.

I hadn’t told my parents where I was.

I hadn’t gone home.

And in my family, there was one ironclad rule:

Be home before eleven.

Gu Shen stood beside the bed, arms crossed, looking unbearably amused.

“Relax. Your parents already sent a driver over last night to bring all your belongings here.”

…

Wait.

What did he just say?

I shot upright, eyes wide.

“My stuff… they moved all my stuff here?”

This was the first time I’d woken up and actually looked at him properly.

I had to admit—

The man was ridiculously handsome.

Perfect build. Sharp features. An effortlessly masculine presence.

Exactly the kind of polished, high-powered executive who made people want to take one look and immediately keep their distance.

He stared at me.

I instinctively looked down.

My chest was covered in the marks he’d left behind.

My face instantly went scarlet, and I hurriedly pulled the blanket up to cover myself.

“Why would my mom bring all my luggage here…?”

Gu Shen rolled his eyes, clearly running out of patience.

“Do I really need to remind you?”

He looked at me.

“Qiao Xiao’an, you married me yesterday. You’re my wife now. Where else do you think you’re supposed to live?”

I was doomed.

One marriage, and even my entire “nest” had been packed up and moved.

I collapsed back onto the bed, utterly lifeless.

“Oh, and one more thing.”

Gu Shen added casually,

“Your parents said… you’re not allowed to run back to your family’s house every time you get bored.”

“WHAT?!”

I shot upright.

Were my own parents really this heartless?!

Gu Shen delivered another fatal blow.

“Your parents were worried I might send you back, so they flew overseas for a vacation this morning. They won’t be back until we have the wedding.”

I was speechless.

Completely, utterly speechless.

What kind of cruel world was this?!

I pulled the blanket over my head, wishing I could disappear from the face of the Earth.

Think about it.

My parents had wanted a Gu family son-in-law for years.

The older brother was clearly out of reach now, but somehow they’d managed to land Gu Shen instead.

Even if he was the “defective model,” they’d still happily signed away their daughter.

And once the deal was done, they’d promptly hopped on a plane and left me behind to face this walking nightmare all by myself.

So much for family loyalty.

Gu Shen pulled the blanket down and hauled me upright.

“Get up. Eat something, then you can go back to sleep.”

I never expected him to have even a hint of chivalry in him.

He carried my limp, exhausted body into the bathroom as if I weighed nothing.

That was when I finally realized—

This man was seriously strong.

All this time, I’d thought he was basically built like a skinny boiled chicken.

Apparently, I’d been very, very wrong.

After I finished washing up, I shakily stepped out of the bathroom.

He immediately scooped me up again like I was a handbag and carried me to the dining table.

While I devoured a tuna sandwich, he casually said,

“Mom wants us to come over for dinner tomorrow night.”

I froze.

A strange, bitter feeling rose in my chest.

Going back to his family’s house…

Wouldn’t that mean seeing Gu Xing again?

And his new wife?

I’d loved that man for nearly ten years.

You couldn’t just turn off feelings like that.

I couldn’t pretend nothing had happened.

And yet, in the end, I still had no backbone and went back with Gu Shen.

At first, I’d planned to hide somewhere.

But Gu Shen’s mother called me herself, saying she’d cooked all my favorite dishes and even prepared dessert. She kept urging me to come home.

The Gu family didn’t have a daughter, and his mother had treated me like her own since I was little.

I couldn’t bring myself to disappoint her.

When we arrived at the Gu family villa, I dragged my feet inside like a snail running on its last battery.

Gu Shen glanced at me.

“Qiao Xiao’an, the man you love is in there. Shouldn’t you be running inside happily?”

Back when I came here, I used to make a beeline for Gu Xing, sweet-talking him with my favorite nickname.

“Brother Xing!”

But now?

I was pretty damn sure his wife was standing right there.

I shot Gu Shen a glare.

“If you don’t know how to talk to people, you’d be better off keeping your mouth shut.”

Gu Shen gave a faint, mocking smile.

“Did I say anything wrong? Every time you came here, my brother was the only person you could see.”

I ground my teeth.

I couldn’t be bothered to walk beside him anymore, so I strode into the house ahead of him.

The moment I stepped into the living room—

I froze.

Gu Xing…

Was kissing his newlywed wife.

My heart clenched.

I could barely breathe.

Gu Shen was standing right beside me.

He saw it too.

The two of them apparently had no idea we’d arrived. They continued holding each other intimately, completely oblivious to anyone else in the room.

“Brother. Sister-in-law. We’re home.”

Gu Shen’s voice cut straight through the sweetness hanging in the air.

The two of them startled and quickly pulled apart.

Gu Xing’s new wife blushed and buried her face against his chest.

And he…

He gently comforted her before turning toward us with a warm smile.

It hurt.

It hurt so damn much.

Those gentle smiles used to be for me.

Whenever he saw me, he would always call me softly—

“An’an.”

But now…

It felt as though someone had crushed my heart in their fist.

Gu Shen reached over, took my hand, and pulled me closer.

Gu Xing congratulated me, saying he never imagined I would become his sister-in-law.

Yeah.

Neither did I.

His mother was just as warm toward me as she’d always been.

If anything, now that I was officially her youngest daughter-in-law, she seemed twice as enthusiastic.

Half the dishes on the dinner table were my favorites.

The other half were his wife’s.

She hadn’t played favorites at all.

I ate while watching the two of them interact, but my appetite disappeared completely.

The moment dinner was over, I escaped straight to Gu Shen’s room.

That scene had been too much.

It honestly felt like my heart was about to give out.

“Can’t handle it?”

Gu Shen walked in, closed the door, folded his arms, and looked at me with an unmistakably teasing expression.

“What does it have to do with you?”

I dropped heavily onto the bed.

He clicked his tongue.

“The man you love married someone else. If I were you, I’d probably just drop dead.”

That bastard really was an expert at stomping directly on people’s wounds.

I glared at him.

“Gu Shen, do you seriously get uncomfortable if you go one day without making fun of me?”

“Yep.”

He answered without the slightest hesitation.

“Making fun of you is one of life’s greatest pleasures.”

“You jerk!”

I grabbed a pillow and hurled it at him.

My eyes were red and burning.

“So what if I love Gu Xing? Is that a crime? What does it have to do with you?! Why do you always have to show up at exactly the wrong moment and ruin everything? If it weren’t for you, I would’ve confessed to him ages ago!”

Every time I worked up the courage to confess—

Gu Shen would appear.

And just like that, all my carefully laid plans would go up in smoke.

Old grudges piled on top of new ones until they became a lifelong feud.

But to Gu Shen, my furious outburst seemed to mean absolutely nothing.