At first, Xu Tingyu was doing okay.
But when she was suddenly pulled, she ended up choking on a large mouthful of water.
Moreover, people tend to struggle instinctively in such a situation.
So after a flurry of splashes, she dragged Qi Shifeng into the water with her.
Her makeup had already smudged. Now, completely soaked, her hair clung to her face.
She looked so ugly that even she herself would find it hard to bear.
But to someone, all he saw was her red lips trembling slightly and her chest heaving as she gasped for breath.
Due to the warm water, her cheeks, neck, and every part of her body were tinged with a faint pink.
Qi Shifeng couldn't help but recall the moment when she gracefully took her curtain call after a dance on the stage.
She was so elegant and stunningly beautiful.
Not only the audience were captivated.
Even his assistant, who had long learned to be poker - faced, stood behind him, holding his breath and losing his composure.
She just had that kind of charm!
No wonder his good elder brother always did stupid things for her.
A fire ignited in Qi Shifeng's heart, burning so fiercely that it made his heart and lungs ache. Without mercy, he tore her dress.
Bastard!
He had ruined another one of her dresses.
As if sensing her dissatisfaction, Qi Shifeng let out a low laugh. "I'll compensate you."
Then, he lifted her hands above her head, pried open her knees, and kissed her under the rippling water.
In bed, Qi Shifeng was always calm and composed, as if he was in control of everything.
But today, he was a bit impatient.
Several times, he made Xu Tingyu's lips hurt.
She didn't know if it was the steam or his teasing that made her face flush like a sunset. Her eyes were full of a hazy and charming look.
Actually, her rationality hadn't completely faded.
She knew that before she figured out whether Qi Shifeng was involved in the downfall of her Xu family, she shouldn't get close to him anymore.
But among all things in the world, love is always unreasonable.
She had resisted and struggled all the way, but she couldn't convince herself.
It was so absurd.
Because she always remembered the star - filled eyes that looked at her when they first met.
She also remembered the three years they had lived together, entangled like vines.
More than a thousand days and nights.
She knew she was cowardly avoiding reality.
She didn't even have the courage to ask him why he showed up in the shopping mall office today.
Was it to stand up for her, Xu Tingyu, or just to prevent anyone from tarnishing the reputation of the Qi family?
She couldn't bring herself to ask, afraid of being self - indulgent and also afraid of humiliation.
So, in the passionate splashing of water, she closed her eyes and allowed herself to sink for a while.
On this day, Xu Tingyu had not only participated in a competition but also dealt with Zhang Qiu's matter. She was already extremely tired.
But this man seemed to be deliberately making things difficult for her.
He kept pestering her from the bathroom to the bed, not allowing her to fall asleep.
He even wickedly whispered in her ear when she was screaming and in a daze, "Was the show fun?"
So this was where he was waiting for her.
Xu Tingyu was wide awake. She turned to look at him, but couldn't see his expression clearly. All she got was a more thorough invasion from him.
"I heard the first - place winner is your junior?"
"After the show, he invited you to choreograph a dance together?"
He rarely talked during such moments.
Now that he did, there was a strange concern in his voice that was unfamiliar to both of them.
Xu Tingyu felt her heart pounding. She just stared blankly at him.
The man waited for a few seconds but didn't get a response. Discontentedly, he suddenly increased his strength.
At the same time, he pinched her chin, forcing her to look up, and bit her red lips.
It wasn't very painful, but it made all of Xu Tingyu's blood rush to her face.
He had watched the show?
He even knew that Sheng Man had actively approached her after the results were announced?
Did he care about her?
Or had Xie Yu said something to him?
Her panicked look, in his eyes, was undoubtedly a sign of guilt.
After they got married, it wasn't his requirement that she didn't work.
To be precise, as a wife forced upon him by the old man, he didn't really care whether she became a rich housewife at home or continued her own career.
So when she said she was going to work that day, he didn't take it seriously.
He just didn't expect that this job was participating in a variety show.
When his assistant, Jiang Li, handed the tablet with the live - replay to him, he thought Jiang Li had mistaken someone.
It wasn't until he saw the person wearing a crane mask on the screen.
For those who were familiar with her, this mask was useless.
He looked at her slender waist.
Then he saw the words on the bullet - screen, "Sister's waist is not a waist, but a deadly knife."
Then, he coldly ordered Jiang Li to bring the person to him.
As a result, this useless Jiang Li actually brought Xie Yu to him.
When he asked what was going on, Jiang Li looked innocent. "Boss, didn't you say to bring Miss Xie?"
That was when he realized that Jiang Li really hadn't recognized Xu Tingyu.
Jiang Li had shown him the tablet to tell him that Xie Yu had been scolded by many people for giving Contestant No. 1 a score of 9.
He asked if he should remove the hot search.
And when he said to bring the person, Jiang Li thought it was to bring the person to comfort her and had even "considerately" booked a restaurant.
Qi Shifeng had never seen him so stupid. He also remembered the way Jiang Li stared blankly at Xu Tingyu when watching the replay.
It turned out that his mind had wandered off at that time. No wonder he couldn't hear his instructions clearly.
He didn't get angry on the spot. He just informed him that he would go on a business trip to Guinea with the deputy general manager next week.
When Jiang Li left with a long face, Xie Yu came back after changing her clothes.
"Brother Feng, I actually recorded the same show as Miss Xu today. When I saw her information, I thought I was seeing things."
"If she hadn't retired from the entertainment circle back then, she would definitely be in my position now. Everyone was amazed by her."
"I was afraid that she would be too eye - catching and attract too much attention, so I gave her a score of 9."
"After all, if people knew her real identity, they might misunderstand that she was using the popularity of her recently - deceased father to boost her value."
"I didn't think much about it when I gave the score. I just wanted to protect her. But after the show, I thought it was inappropriate, so I wanted to apologize to her."
"However, Miss Xu is magnanimous and doesn't care. She not only wasn't angry with me but also accepted the dance - practice invitation from the first - place winner."
"That first - place winner, Sheng Man, is even her junior. He recognized her just from her dance..."
Xie Yu said a lot, but Qi Shifeng listened absent - mindedly.
Later, Zhang Qiu called him for help, so he went to the shopping mall...
Now, holding her in his arms, Xie Yu's words came back to his mind, making him a bit annoyed.
Xu Tingyu's "guilt" intensified his annoyance.
He pulled her up, his hand tightly around her waist, and didn't let go of her lips.
This woman was so thin that he could feel her butterfly bones, but her waist and legs were perfectly curved, soft, and delicate. He couldn't get enough of her.