Furious, I whipped out my phone and shot a text to my best friend, Xiao Mu:

Me: [When are you coming back to the country? Meet me immediately! I need a major glow-up!]

Xiao Mu: [Did you fall in love with Jiang Shuo or something?]

Me: [Bullshit! I’m using him as a sparring partner. Just wait till I finish my training, I’m gonna make his life a living hell!]

Xiao Mu was the only person who knew my secrets, and he was also the one guy Jiang Shuo utterly despised. Come to think of it, that bastard had been ridiculously possessive ever since high school.

Ditching class was a daily routine for him, yet he monitored me strictly—worse than our homeroom teacher. If I slipped into the classroom even a minute late, he’d interrogate me on the spot: “Where were you? With whom? Why?” He used to corner Xiao Mu and threaten him to stay away from me, nearly driving me to cut ties with my best friend altogether.

And yet, there were times when Jiang Shuo was inexplicably soft.

A fresh carton of milk waiting on my desk every morning.

A piping hot cup of brown sugar boba milk tea on the first day of autumn.

Pencils always sharpened to perfection, and my turn for classroom duty constantly done for me.

Was I the kind of girl to be bought off so easily? Absolutely not! I kept telling myself it was just his twisted way of compensating for ruining my entire social life.

Besides, the absurd reason we had even stayed in each other’s orbits all these years was that he suddenly claimed to have a crush on Zhao Qian—the girl sitting right behind me. Every single day, he would pester me, begging for advice on how to win her over.

Recalling all this, I glanced at the man lying on the bed and let out a cold snort.

People always say marriage is the graveyard of love. Well, the two of us skipped love entirely and headed straight for the burial plot. Surprisingly, though, life inside this “cemetery” was actually pretty sweet—comfy, even, in an eerily cozy kind of way.

Case in point: right now, Jiang Shuo—the notorious mad dog who lived to pick fights in high school—was standing in the kitchen wearing a fluffy pink LinaBell rabbit apron, meticulously researching how to simmer a proper ginseng chicken soup.

My post-marital life could be summed up in one word: heavenly.

Mornings: I slept in until I woke up naturally. By then, Jiang Shuo had already worked out, eaten breakfast, and headed off to the office like a programmed robot.

Finances: Unlimited black card. Swipe first, never look at the price tag.

Wardrobe: Outfits color-coordinated and neatly laid out by my husband next to the bed every single day.

Evenings: Regular physical exercise with an “automatic heated body pillow,” which dramatically improved my sleep quality.

While I was thoroughly enjoying this warm physical therapy, my best friend, Xiao Mu, was spiraling into pure tragedy. As a wealthy heir to the Xiao family, the poor guy had gone and fallen head over heels for a traffic cop. The result? Every single day, he set up a pop-up stand at the intersection… selling popsicles just to get a glimpse of the guy.

Unhappily ever after, the cop avoided him like the plague. Xiao Mu’s fragile little heart shattered into a million pieces right there on the curb.

“Phí Sắc Lounge, Room 301. Get over here NOW!”

Stepping into the club amidst the deafening bass, I found Xiao Mu completely plastered, sobbing like the world was ending: “Mo… I got dumped… he doesn’t even care, but my heart belongs to him forever…”

I sighed. Heartbroken logic at its finest. To comfort my buddy, I slapped my chest and declared boldly, “You have a thing for men in uniform, right? I’ll order a whole fleet of them for you to feast your eyes on. Guaranteed to make you forget him in five seconds!”

No sooner said than done. I pulled out the black card Jiang Shuo had given me and tossed it straight to the server:

“Bring us eight of your handsomest, most muscular male models. And make sure they’re all in uniform!”

Fill the void with what you lack—flawless logic.

When eight tall models lined up in various crisp uniforms, Xiao Mu went from weeping mess to beaming smile in a split second. He lunged forward to wrap me in a hug, but I pushed him off immediately: “Go hug them! I’ve got the black card, go wild.”

Before the words fully left my mouth, the doors to the VIP suite burst open.

Jiang Shuo stood in the doorway. Dressed in a sharp black trench coat, he radiated an icy, suffocating aura straight from the boardroom—so intimidating that the models quietly shrank into the corners. My heart skipped a beat. Is this what it feels like to get caught red-handed?

I squeezed out a completely fake smile, shoving away two models who were leaning a little too close. “Uh… it’s really not what it looks like… let me explain—”

Jiang Shuo stalked toward me, the rims of his eyes faintly red, his dark gaze sharp and dangerous. He bent down, his deep voice cutting through the thumping rock music right next to my ear:

“Tsu Yi-mo. You’re this demanding… do you really think these boys can satisfy you?”

I froze solid. Oh, screw me. I had pushed it way too far.

Demanding?! What on earth did he mean, demanding?! How could he say something like that out loud in broad daylight?! I slammed my hand over his mouth, flashed Xiao Mu a desperate look, and dragged Jiang Shuo straight out toward the parking garage.

The second we reached his car, before I could even open my mouth to chew him out, he shoved me brutally into the backseat.

Click. The doors locked.

Jiang Shuo’s eyes went dark as night. Unstripping his silk tie, he bound both of his hands around my wrists, pulling them over my head and pinning them tight against the window. His heavy trench coat fell over us, blocking out my view, shrouding me in darkness and the overwhelming, heady scent of his cologne.

“Eight male models? Quite confident in yourself, aren’t you?” he rasped, grinding out every single word through his teeth. “You’re seriously… begging for a lesson.”

I opened my mouth to talk back, but whatever I was about to say was instantly crushed beneath a ruthless, punishing kiss. In the cramped space, our frantic breathing turned the air scorching hot, leaving two blurred palm prints fogging up the tinted car window…

When we finally got out of the car, my legs were as soft as jelly. Without a word, Jiang Shuo tossed me over his shoulder and carried me inside.