I figured I was a goner, destined to end up behind bars. But I wasn’t.

Tan Yen simply waved his men off, letting them escort my five “distinguished guests” back to the station for questioning first. Once the room was completely cleared out, he finally let go of my wrist, turned around, and slammed the hotel room door shut with a heavy BANG.

He kicked it with so much force my heart nearly leaped out of my chest, sending a shudder through my entire body. I pulled my neck back, squeaking out in a tiny voice, “Are… are we not going?”

Tan Yen shot me a glare sharp enough to burn a hole right through me, keeping his mouth tightly shut. Unhurriedly, he shed his police jacket, tossing it aside before roughly undoing the top buttons of his crisp uniform shirt. Under the warm yellow lighting, his pitch-black eyes churned with a dark, tempestuous rage.

He closed the distance step by step, backing me up until my spine bumped gently against the wall. Planting both hands on either side of my head, he pinned me completely within his personal territory.

“Du Yen, didn’t you say you loved me to death? That in this lifetime, if it wasn’t Tan Yen, you’d never marry anyone else?”

“Is this what your so-called love looks like?”

For some strange reason, beneath his low, suppressed growl, I caught a subtle trace of… hurt resentment?

“Du Yen! Answer me!” Tan Yen roared.

His shout lit a fuse inside me. A wave of overwhelming grievance surged up, stinging my eyes as tears welled right on the edge of spilling over:

“That’s right! My kind of love is trashy like that! So what?! Can’t I just stop chasing after you now?!”

“Didn’t you hate how annoying I was? Didn’t you think I was just some shameless creep? From now on, I won’t bother you ever again—are you happy now?!”

“Didn’t you want to arrest me? Didn’t you want to interrogate me? Go ahead then, do it! Let me tell you right now: yes, I hired those five guys! Tonight, I just wanted to—”

Before the word “wanted” could even leave my lips, the back of my neck was suddenly seized by a large, warm hand. Hot, demanding lips locked onto mine with fierce desperation, smothering every last bit of my angry rant.

My brain exploded. At that exact second, the system’s notification chimed in my head like a victory bell:

[Ding! Lifespan +30 days.]

Dazed and breathless, I was pushed down onto the sofa by Tan Yen. With one hand pinning both of my wrists above my head, his other hand aggressively unbuttoned his own shirt, piece by piece.

Right beside my ear, Tan Yen’s deep, sultry voice suddenly echoed:

【 Bad wife. Needs a lesson. 】

【 I have to teach her a lesson she’ll never forget. 】

I froze, blinking rapidly in complete utter confusion. Tan Yen was literally busy devouring my lips—where on earth was that voice coming from?!

“Tsk.”

A sharp prick of pain on my lower lip snapped me back to reality. I furrowed my brow, trying to push against the iron chest in front of me. To my surprise, he grabbed my hand, guiding my palm straight down from his shoulder, sliding past his unbuttoned shirt…

My heart threatened to leap out of my throat. Finally, my palm pressed firmly against his solid, chiseled abs. My pupils dilated to the max; my whole body turned to stone.

Beside my ear, Tan Yen’s smug internal commentary echoed loud and clear once more:

【 Ah, whatever. Wanting to feel me up is still a form of affection. I’m a big-hearted guy, I won’t hold it against her. 】

【 If I keep acting all tough and distant, I’m gonna end up losing my wife for real. 】

【 These abs I’ve been grinding for over the last two years shouldn’t look half bad, right? At least they blow those weak, pale-faced softies out of the water. My girl’s definitely gonna be obsessed. 】

Right at that moment, Tan Yen pulled back. His face maintained its usual icy, stoic demeanor, his thin lips parting slightly to drop a cool, indifferent line: “Didn’t you like abs so much? Go ahead, knock yourself out.”

I swear, on any normal day, hearing a line like that would have made me blow my top out of pure pride. Did Tan Yen seriously take me for some cheap, boy-crazy bimbo? Does he think I just touch anybody?!

But those weird internal monologues popping up back-to-back completely fried my brain, leaving zero room for anger. Was that… was that actually Tan Yen’s inner thoughts?!

“T-Tan Yen… why did you kiss me…?” I stammered, my head buzzing as I desperately tried to make sense of this supernatural glitch.

Before I could get an answer, a sharp, urgent knocking at the door threw a bucket of ice water over the steamy atmosphere. A subordinate’s hesitant voice drifted in from the hallway:

“Captain Tan… Higher-ups just called. They said this whole thing was a misunderstanding and ordered us to release everyone immediately.”

Tan Yen’s expression did a full 180-degree flip, darkening at a speed visible to the naked eye. He looked down at me, his deep-set eyes glittering with a dangerous spark:

“Impressive work, Du Yen. Looks like one of those ‘toys’ you called in has some pretty heavy backing, huh?”

Fuming, Tan Yen released me and stood up with a gloomy face, his long, slender fingers silently buttoning his shirt back up one by one. I sat dazed on the sofa, my ears picking up yet another wave of his panic-stricken internal muttering:

【 Wait, could that kid be some secret billionaire heir playing undercover? 】

【 Shoot… is my meager police salary even gonna stand a chance against that kind of money?! 】

I tugged at my hair in frustration, desperate to ask the system how I was suddenly able to read his mind. But my system was literally just a glorified, primitive metronome. Aside from announcing lifespan extensions, it had zero interactive features—total useless garbage.

Tan Yen stormed over and yanked the door open. Standing outside, leaning casually against the wall with his arms crossed, was the handsomest model from earlier. Seeing Tan Yen open the door, he raised an eyebrow and shot him a provocative smirk: “Safe travels, Officer~”

Almost instantly, Tan Yen whipped his head back to glare at me: “Du Yen, you’re coming to the station with me.”

Before I could even squeak out a word, the handsome model let out a scoff, cutting in, “Hold on, didn’t you guys just confirm it was all a misunderstanding? What’s the deal, Officer? Using official business to settle a personal grudge? On what grounds?”

With that, the guy took a step forward, blocking Tan Yen’s path. Tan Yen stood at an imposing six-foot-one, and the model easily matched him inch for inch. The two tall, built guys stood nose-to-nose, glaring daggers at each other, the tension thick enough to spark a full-blown riot.

After a few breathless seconds of a standoff, a arrogant, dangerous smirk slowly spread across Tan Yen’s lips. A few strands of dark bangs fell softly over his forehead as he tilted his head, throwing back a razor-sharp counter:

“On the grounds that… she wouldn’t dare let her parents find out about this.”

“I’m taking her with me right now. Got a problem with that?”

At the exact same time, his aggressive inner thought blasted straight into my brain:

【 Little pale-faced punk! My girl and I have known each other since we were in diapers. Who the hell do you think you are trying to swoop in on my territory?! 】

When it came to my parents, Tan Yen held every single one of my cards. My family situation was a total soap opera.

My birth mother passed away early, and my stepmother had later given birth to my half-brother. My relationship with them was purely polite on the surface, cold underneath. As for my dad, thanks to the massive political backing from my late grandfather, his career had soared, landing him a high-ranking position. His daily routine consisted of networking, networking, and more networking—every other word out of his mouth was about “family reputation” and “respectability.”

The only care he ever showed me was dumping absurd amounts of cash into my account, accompanied by strictly non-negotiable rules: I could be a airhead all I wanted, but I was strictly forbidden from smearing dirt on his face.

Which was why, right after graduation, I rejected a comfortable government job to become a food blogger—a move that sent my dad into an absolute rage. Just yesterday, he played the tough-love card, kicking me out of the house and declaring grandly that he wanted to see how I’d survive without his wealth and connections.

The tragic reality was that I was a fresh graduate who hadn’t made a single cent yet! This luxury King-size suite and the cost of hiring five male models was literally every last penny of my meager savings.

I thought this was going to be my grand, bank-breaking final hurrah before kicking the bucket. Who could’ve guessed it would turn into the prelude to me becoming homeless, wandering the streets like a stray? If my dad ever found out I had the audacity to call five male escorts for a wild party… I’d probably be disowned and wiped off the face of the earth by him before the system even got a chance to erase me.

Faced with Tan Yen’s fatal threat to snitch to my parents, I had no choice but to surrender meekly: “L-Let’s go…”