Chapter 17

Although Bu Chen outwardly gave Ruan Ning a choice, he was already pulling her toward the bathroom with a smile, leaving her no room to refuse.

Bu Chen lowered his head to kiss her, but Ruan Ning quickly pressed her index finger against his lips. "Wait."

Bu Chen was momentarily surprised, then kissed her snow-white fingertip and looked at her tenderly. "What's wrong?"

Ruan Ning's face flushed crimson as she stammered, flustered, "I'm not used to sharing with someone else. You go first."

Bu Chen smiled faintly, gently tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. He cupped her face and planted a light kiss on her full, rosy lips, murmuring by her ear, "Don't you want to keep me company?"

"O-of course not..." Ruan Ning denied outright, her gaze darting around. "We have plenty of time ahead of us. Why experience all the surprises in one night? I've heard that Young Master Bu is known for being gentle and refined. Surely you wouldn't refuse such a small request of mine."

"Fine," Bu Chen said, lowering his gaze. "But what's my reward?"

Ruan Ning was stunned. A reward for this, too?

Bu Chen tilted his chin up, amusement spilling from his brows, radiating a gentle tenderness even he hadn't noticed.

Ruan Ning's ears burned a beat late. She grabbed hold of Bu Chen's arm, rose onto her tiptoes, and gave his mouth a light kiss, pressing against his cool lips.

With red-rimmed eyes, she asked cautiously, "Does this count?"

Bu Chen licked the corner of his mouth in satisfaction. "Wait for me outside, okay?"

Ruan Ning nodded dazedly.

The sound of water rushing came from the bathroom again, along with the bathroom's dedicated stereo system playing. Once Ruan Ning confirmed the person inside had started showering, she immediately ran back to the living room, knelt by the sofa, and breathlessly fished out the phone she'd tossed aside.

A constant ringing filled her ears, like countless planes taking off, the rumbling roar of engines nearly knocking her over.

Ruan Ning's brain felt like it was being flattened into a sheet. The plot had now completely veered off the main line. Bu Chen hadn't pretended to be drunk like in the original novel; instead, he'd waltzed right into the bathroom.

Ruan Ning made a snap decision, frantically scrolling down the phone screen to find that number...

In the bathroom, Bu Chen hummed along to the music as he washed, in a cheerful mood.

The parents of the formal ball were making a huge fuss lately, and the dark ball had hit major obstacles. As the backstage boss, he had to carefully balance the interests of both lines. Along with other miscellaneous matters, Bu Chen hadn't genuinely felt like sharing a hearty drink with anyone in a long time.

It wasn't until he met this girl that he could breathe a rare breath of freshness amid the treacherous, ever-shifting business world. He didn't want to dig into the many holes riddling her story—he just wanted to enjoy the beauty of tonight.

Suddenly, the living room doorbell rang several times in a row, loud enough to disturb the bathroom.

"Go answer the door."

Bu Chen chuckled. As expected of a novice—she wasn't yet smooth and polished at dealing with people.

But after his instruction, the doorbell kept ringing persistently. Sensing something off, Bu Chen wrapped on a bathrobe and got up himself.

When he walked out of the bathroom, the living room was empty. The smile still lingering at the corner of Bu Chen's mouth instantly flattened into a straight line, his eyes sharp and deep as a cold pool.

He frowned and opened the door. Two bodyguards stood outside, and between them stood Zeng Shuya, dressed in a cleaner's uniform.

Seeing a handsome, arrogant-looking man with a cold expression, half-naked in just a bathrobe, open the door, Zeng Shuya instantly turned red as a tomato.

Clutching a bag of freshly laundered women's clothing, she stammered an introduction: "Hello, I'm from XX cleaning company. I'm here to..."

Zeng Shuya was too nervous to continue.

Today, a colleague from the dry-cleaning department had a family emergency and asked her to help deliver some cleaned clothes. Zeng Shuya hadn't dared to come when she heard the drop-off point was Seductive Summer, but she was soft-hearted by nature, and after her colleague's repeated pleas, she'd come anyway.

After finding the room, Zeng Shuya first spotted the two burly bodyguards by the door, then Bu Chen wrapped in a bathrobe with a grim expression, so frightened she almost forgot what to say. She shakily offered forward the bag with both hands.

"Sorry to disturb you. This is the change of clothes you ordered. Please sign for it."

Bu Chen gave it a glance—a set of the latest season's Samuelle brand-name women's clothing—and his face instantly turned cold enough to freeze the moisture in the air.

Bu Chen didn't take it, and Zeng Shuya was left awkwardly holding it up in midair, unsure what to do.

Not only was Zeng Shuya nervous, the two bodyguards were tense as well.

When the young master had gone in tonight, he'd been in a good mood. Why did he suddenly look like a completely different person now? And with precious moments of a romantic night at stake, they'd never seen him unhappy at a time like this.

Zeng Shuya tentatively tested the waters. "Sir, would you like me to put it inside for you?"

Bu Chen gave her a complicated look, said nothing, and stepped aside to let her pass.

Cold sweat broke out on Zeng Shuya instantly. She couldn't understand why this half-naked handsome man was so terrifying, regretting ever agreeing to help her colleague deliver the clothes.

After setting down the clothes, Zeng Shuya bowed and fled like lightning. Bu Chen lounged back on the sofa, rubbing his temples, and called the bodyguards in. "When did the person in the room leave?"

The bodyguards thought for a moment. A pretty girl had just hurried out of the young master's room moments ago. Since girls often came and went around the young master, they hadn't paid much attention, and answered honestly, "Just left a little while ago. Should we fetch her back?"

Bu Chen: "No need."

Bu Chen rose and stepped into the bedroom. "You don't need to come in tomorrow either."

Ruan Ning ran out of Seductive Summer in one breath, braving the late autumn wind, hugging her cold, reddened arm as she hailed a cab back to the dormitory.

Her first task upon returning home was to wipe off the heavy makeup and scrub herself clean from head to toe.

Standing under the pounding shower, Ruan Ning desperately scrubbed her body, the grievance and tears mixing with the bathwater, each drop hitting squarely against her heart.

She had been her parents' most well-behaved daughter since she was little, never once stepping out of line. And just now, at Seductive Summer, she'd done things she would never have dared or done in her whole life.

Ruan Ning walked out of the bathroom in frustration, wrapped in a towel and a drying cap, then flopped onto the bed, unwilling to get up.

She closed her eyes, and immediately the dim interior of Seductive Summer, the noisy music, the pungent smell of alcohol, and Bu Chen's enigmatic, half-smiling expression surfaced in her mind. In annoyance, she hurled a pillow at the ceiling. It came straight back down and smacked her in the face. With a cry of pain, Ruan Ning felt even more miserable.

If it hadn't been for decisively summoning the original female lead early, she couldn't bear to think what might have happened next.

Beep—the System's familiar sound came through.

[Task completed. Villainess action restrictions temporarily lifted. The story proceeds to the next chapter.]

Ruan Ning let out a sigh, gasping for air like a fish thrown onto dry land. "Finally, there's only one left."

The next day, at a high-end skyscraper office building in the commercial district of Talun.

After the meeting, Bu Chen unhurriedly dismissed the gathering. The room full of senior executives and department heads, all more than a decade older than him, filed out one by one, leaving Bu Chen alone.

Just then, his phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID, tugged at his tie, and walked over to the window, gazing out at the towering cityscape. "Hello, what's the matter?"

"Xiao Chen, did you ask about what Mother asked you to check on last time? Isn't your father running for election next year? And you have such a good relationship with Bai Xingmiao..."

Bu Chen frowned. "Why doesn't he come ask himself if he wants to know something?"

The voice on the phone was caught off guard by his question, then sighed softly. "Xiao Chen, he is your biological father after all. The Bu family's estate will only be inherited by you alone in the future. What's there between a father and son that can't be resolved?"

"In next year's election, all parties are fighting hard to win over the left-wing party. Everyone knows the left-wing party is really run by the Kamu family. With your father's temper, he can't swallow his pride to go to the Bai family. And you get along well with Bai Xingmiao. As the heir, shouldn't you step up and share your father's burdens?"

"After all, we're one family. The higher your father rises, the more you benefit in the end. Some things, you should just leave alone—those are adult matters, none of your concern. For now, let's all work together to get through next year's election, okay? Your mother is begging you."

Bu Chen: "I have a meeting in a bit. If there's nothing else, I'll hang up."

The voice on the phone hesitated. "Alright, don't push yourself too hard. Take care of your health. You're the only heir of the Duke of Banting—you must protect your health."

Bu Chen: "Got it."

At noon, Bu Chen drove to a high-end private club on King's Street in Talun. He strode briskly through the maze of corridors and entered a lavishly decorated private lounge.

Pushing open the door, Jiang Yihao was playing a game.

Jiang Yihao had his long legs propped up on the coffee table, playing a soccer simulation game on the huge screen, while three big dogs ran back and forth across the spacious lounge, fighting over a toy ball.

Seeing Bu Chen arrive, Jiang Yihao glanced over. "Yo, you're here."

The Taper, Banting, and Kamu families were all dukes of equal rank. Though the three families appeared united on the surface, their actual relations were subtle and complicated.

As the heirs of the three families, Jiang Yihao, Bu Chen, and Bai Xingmiao surprisingly got along well. No matter the grudges of the previous generation, they never affected the three friends' bond, and they'd regularly meet privately away from outsiders.

Bu Chen tossed his keys onto the coffee table and sat down beside Jiang Yihao. "Why is it just you? Where's Miao?"

Jiang Yihao's eyes never left the screen, jerking his chin toward the room behind him. "In there, still fiddling with his crappy experiment data. Don't know what's so interesting about that stuff. He's at it every day."

Bu Chen chuckled. "A slacker's jealousy always comes out of nowhere."

Jiang Yihao's hand on the controller paused. "I'm a slacker? At least I got my diploma. There's someone who got kicked out three times in one year."

Bu Chen leisurely crossed his long legs. "If I hadn't been kicked out, how would I have started a company? And if I hadn't started a company, how would I be working for you? Right?"

The three were friends, but from childhood their grades, temperaments, and how much worry they gave their families were worlds apart.

Bai Xingmiao had been the "other people's child" since he was young—excellent grades, introverted, never causing his family any concern. Jiang Yihao was a bona fide slacker but still stayed within the rules. Only Bu Chen was so notoriously mischievous that his reputation preceded him. Whenever aristocratic parents wanted to scold their kids, the moment they remembered their child wasn't Bu Chen, their anger would instantly subside.

Bu Chen had been sent to a boarding aristocratic school since he was young. His rebellious, willful nature constantly broke school rules, causing the school endless headaches.

The Duke of Banting sent him around to every prestigious school in Country A, but none was willing to take him. In a fit of anger, he wanted to ship his son abroad to get him out of sight and out of mind. But the duchess, who doted on her only child, strongly objected, so he never got sent away.

In the end, the Duke of Banting gave up entirely and let his son do as he pleased.

Without the constraints of school, Bu Chen lived even more brilliantly instead. He founded several companies himself, with his friends investing to show support. As everyone knew, Jiang Yihao was the second-largest shareholder in Bu Chen's company, and Bu Chen often jokingly called himself Jiang's employee.

Jiang Yihao laughed and kicked him lightly. "Alright, let me game for a bit first. I've got training later. You go talk to Miao if you have something to say."

Bu Chen leaned against the sofa, watching Jiang Yihao play, and called the three dogs over to rub and stroke by his legs. "Don't want to talk. Nothing worth saying."

As Jiang Yihao played, he checked the time. Bai Xingmiao had been holed up in his room alone for hours without a sound, and feeling uneasy, he shouted toward the door, "Hey, Miao, you still alive in there?"

After a moment, a specially installed mechanical voice came from the doorway: "You guys want to go see the meteor shower this weekend?"