Chapter 1: The way you and I are—does your husband know?

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Paris, France, on a night of torrential rain.

Layer upon layer of low, heavy clouds was torn apart by lightning, followed by deep, rumbling thunder that still could not drown out the conversation between the man and woman in the VIP suite on the top floor of the Bvlgari Hotel.

The lights were off. Xu Tanxi sat astride the man’s lap, her pale, slender legs half-hidden beneath the hem of her dark green dress. A flash of lightning illuminated both their faces. Emotions churned in the man’s deep, ink-dark eyes. One hand pressed against Xu Tanxi’s thigh while the other gripped her chin.

Forced to lift her face, Xu Tanxi exhaled with wine-scented breath. Her slightly upturned eyes were hazy with intoxication, alluring enough to steal the soul, like a妖精 from the depths of the night.

“Does your husband know you’re doing this with me?”

Xu Tanxi frowned. “Who taught you to ruin the mood like that? What if he knows? What if he doesn’t? It’s nothing but a miserable arranged marriage. If he pushes me too far, I’ll die along with him. If he has the guts, he can die with me and become my ghost husband.”

The man’s voice was low and cold, and his grip on her chin tightened.

“You really don’t want to be his wife?”

Xu Tanxi found him irritatingly slow and said impatiently, “Why so many questions? Are you going to do this or not?”

“Answer me first, sweetheart.” His voice was gentle as he coaxed her.

His voice was beautiful, deep and magnetic, with a rising lilt at the end that carried an inexplicable tenderness. Xu Tanxi’s ears were pleased, and she found herself granting him another measure of patience.

“It’s not about whether I want to or not. You know what a marriage of convenience is, don’t you? Don’t let the way I’m enjoying myself fool you. My deadbeat husband could be in bed with some foreign woman right now, for all I know. We’ve never even met, but I’ve heard every rumor about him. Let me put it this way: he’s a shameless playboy who gets around.”

The man’s large hand moved from her thigh to her waist. The delicate curve, slender enough to fit in one hand, captivated him.

The next moment, he turned Xu Tanxi around in his arms. His forceful, icy presence instantly enveloped her, and she instinctively hooked her arms around his neck.

A dangerous glint appeared in his eyes. His soft lips pressed against her snowy neck and slowly wandered downward.

“Really? You’re not deliberately smearing his reputation, are you?”

His teasing made Xu Tanxi feel slightly ticklish. She tilted her head back and tried to retreat, her neck forming a graceful, flowing line as her black hair swayed seductively in the darkness.

In truth, she had no idea whether the rumors were true. She simply chose to remain stubborn.

“Of course they’re true.”

“Mm. Since you say they’re true, then they must be.”

The man stopped holding himself back. He lifted her in one swift motion and tossed her onto the bed.

Amid his repeated, bewitching murmurs of “Darling,” Xu Tanxi sank completely into temptation.

The dark room was filled with an ambiguous, intimate atmosphere, while the rain outside grew heavier.

*

The storm came and went quickly, stopping by midnight.

Page 2 of 3

At nine the next morning, the Arc de Triomphe in the distance appeared even more majestic beneath the sunlight. Warmth streamed through the bright windows, spilling over the clothes and long dress scattered across the floor beside the bed. A pair of black stilettos lay crookedly on their sides, creating an indescribably intimate and languorous scene.

Xu Tanxi awoke in a haze, the remnants of her drunkenness having vanished completely.

She wanted to reach for her phone, but her arm would not move. Turning her head, she discovered that it was being used as a pillow by someone’s head.

“...”

How could a grown man be so delicate?

Last night had been wonderful, and Xu Tanxi was actually in a rather good mood.

But there was a great difference between the darkness of drunken night and the clarity of sober day. She had enjoyed herself immensely at night, yet now, seeing such a real man up close in broad daylight, her aversion to men suddenly flared up.

Because she had thought of her deadbeat husband from that marriage of convenience.

Xu Tanxi yanked her arm free with a whoosh, moving so quickly that it left an afterimage.

“Ugh...”

The awakened man raised a hand to rub his twisted neck, his face contorted in pain.

Once he had recovered, his calm, utterly speechless gaze swept toward Xu Tanxi. His voice held the slight rasp of someone newly awakened.

“Who taught you to launch a surprise attack without warning?”

Looking at that face, Xu Tanxi pressed her lips together and fell silent.

She had to admit that no matter how much she disliked men, even she could not bring herself to hate a face so clearly favored by the heavens.

Whenever she was in a good mood, she wanted to spend money.

She fished a check from her handbag, filled it out with a few swift strokes for one million, and tossed it to the man.

“I don’t take advantage of people for free. I was very satisfied last night. That’s your payment.”

The man’s expression darkened. “What did you say?”

Xu Tanxi leaned closer and patted him on the cheek.

“Skilled professionals are welcome wherever they go. You earned this, so take it.”

The man: “?”

What a “skilled professional.” So she had treated him like a gigolo? She really knew how to play, didn’t she?

“Last night, your identity card fell out of your bag. When I picked it up, I happened to notice that your birthday seems to be the day after tomorrow.”

“That’s right.”

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“Then what do you want your husband from that marriage of convenience to give you for your birthday?”

Xu Tanxi reacted as though she had just heard a joke. Mimicking a popular online reaction image, she pointed at herself. “Me?”

“You.”

She gave a cold laugh and answered without hesitation. “If he has the guts, he can send me a pile of ***. Since he can’t fulfill his marital duties himself, he can make up for them in other ways. I might reluctantly accept that.”

The man was silent for a second.

“You’re serious?”

Xu Tanxi was of course not serious, but he was merely her one-night stand. She saw no need to explain herself, so she continued talking nonsense.

“I’m perfectly serious. But he definitely wouldn’t have the nerve. Sending a pile of those things to a wife he had never even met before, as his first birthday present after getting married? That isn’t something a decent person would do, right?”

The man stared into her eyes, then tugged mockingly at the corner of his lips and uttered two words.

“Indeed.”

Xu Tanxi withdrew into her thoughts and got out of bed to put on her dress, but she could not manage to fasten the crossed straps at the back.

Leaning against the bed, the man leisurely admired her helplessness and made no move to assist.

“Hey, help me.”

Only after she openly asked for help did he finally move.

Xu Tanxi’s back was as white and smooth as jade, her skin soft and delicate. The man’s well-defined fingers curled slightly, the backs of them brushing lightly against her shoulder blades before sliding slowly down to the hollow of her waist. A shiver rippled across Xu Tanxi’s skin.

Suddenly, his large hands gripped her slender waist and pulled her a little farther into his embrace.

She nearly stumbled and frowned slightly, but did not think much of it.

Judging from the passionate battle of the previous night, the man was clearly vigorous by nature. His rough, unrestrained movements were only to be expected.

Xu Tanxi’s gaze fell upon the Arc de Triomphe in the distance, and her tone was casual.

“To tell you the truth, if my deadbeat husband weren’t returning home, I really might consider taking you back with me and keeping you.”

The man’s movements paused.

The dark green straps lay between his sharply jointed fingers. Upon hearing her words, he pulled hard, and Xu Tanxi fell another inch toward him.

The next moment, warm and suggestive breath brushed against her ear.

“What are you afraid of? When your husband returns home, you can take me with you. Isn’t that exactly the kind of thrill you enjoy, Miss Xu?”