The bathroom door was closed.
Standing on the other side of the frosted glass door, Jian An'an wished she had X-ray vision so she could see what was happening inside.
Did he actually have a tattoo on his waist? Was it the eagle tattoo she had seen five years ago?
The sound of running water continued nonstop. Jian An'an paced back and forth outside the door. What should she do? She couldn't just walk into the bathroom! Suddenly...
A flash of inspiration struck her, and she came up with a desperate, risky plan...
Right, as long as she just reached one hand in to snap a photo, she probably wouldn't get caught! Thinking this, Jian An'an crouched in front of the bathroom door, used the sound of the water to mask her movements as she slid the frosted door open just a tiny crack, and then stuck her phone inside.
If she could manage to take a picture, she would be able to confirm it, right? Except...
Just as she raised her phone and prepared to press the shutter, suddenly...
The phone was violently snatched right out of her hand!Jian An'an let out a frightened shriek. Just then, the bathroom door swung open, and she crashed right into a wet chest, her cheek colliding with the man's solid pectoral muscles.
Caught red-handed, Jian An'an was completely paralyzed with fright, staring blankly up at the topless man before her. Because the bathroom door was made of one-way glass, Li Shaoting had seen her skulking back and forth outside the door with absolute clarity the entire time.He pulled Jian An'an tightly against his chest with one arm, holding her phone in the other hand. Glancing down, he saw the camera was still in standby mode. Then, looking down at the woman in his arms, he asked with a dark and menacing expression, "Jian An'an, you've got some nerve. How dare you sneak pictures of me taking a shower? What were you planning to do with these photos? Sell them to a magazine?""N-No... I didn't mean any harm, I just..." Jian An'an was so frightened her tongue was tied in knots. She stared with wide, panicked eyes, pleading, "Let... let go of me first..."
Amidst the swirling steam, Li Shaoting looked at her flustered expression, and it felt as though he had traveled back five years. Standing before him was no longer Jian An'an, but that little fox who had once stumbled into his room.
Li Shaoting let out a soft chuckle, murmuring in her ear, "Woman, you brought this upon yourself..."
With that, his hands began to move...
Jian An'an shivered violently, shuddering as she gave Li Shaoting a hard shove.
Li Shaoting remained unruffled, taking two steps back to steady himself. Jian An'an, however, fared quite the opposite. Having used too much force and failing to keep her footing, her feet slipped, and she lost all control, lunging in the opposite direction.
Seeing this, Li Shaoting hurried forward to catch her, but before he could react, she crashed straight into him, knocking him flat onto the floor...
With Li Shaoting acting as a cushion underneath, Jian An'an felt no pain. But once she recovered her wits and took in their current posture and positions, she was struck by a wave of mortification, feeling it would have been better if she had just fallen flat on the ground instead!
Right now, she was sprawled directly across Li Shaoting's chest...
Jian An'an raised her head in shock, her gaze locking directly with Li Shaoting's meaningful stare.
"S-Sorry! I didn't mean to!" Jian An'an's face flushed crimson instantly. She propped herself up, intending to stand, but felt a sudden tightness around her waist.
Startled, Jian An'an realized it was Li Shaoting's arm locked firmly around her waist, preventing her from getting up."You... don't do this, let me go..." His immense strength made her instinctively afraid. "I can explain about taking those pictures..."
"If anyone else did this to me, do you know what I would do?" Li Shaoting let out a cruel laugh, suddenly forcing her head down as he said coldly, "I would chop off her hands!"
With that, he aggressively captured her lips.
"Mmph...?!"
Jian An'an stared in astonishment at the man's sharply magnified features right before her eyes, completely dumbfounded.
He...
He was kissing her!
How did things turn out like this?
Jian An'an shivered under his kiss. When she finally managed to collect her wits, she struggled to push him away. "Don't... stop this..."
Li Shaoting stared at the woman before him, feeling as though he had been transported back five years. That woman back then had also stared at him with such nervous, panicked eyes...
Just as the two of them were on the verge of losing control, a sudden knock sounded at the door, followed immediately by Uncle Wang's voice: "Young Master, you have a very urgent work call!"
Li Shaoting's body stiffened abruptly, instantly snapping back to reality. Only then did he realize that the woman pinned beneath him was Jian An'an, not the woman from five years ago. He cursed under his breath in vexation.
Jian An'an, meanwhile, snapped back to her senses, her eyes clearing instantly.
As she looked at Li Shaoting, an unspeakable wave of shame and resentment surged up inside her all at once...
With that thought, Jian An'an shoved Li Shaoting away with all her might, scrambled up in a flurry, and without another word, bolted out the door.
"You..."
Seeing her fleeing in a panic, that familiar feeling welled up in Li Shaoting's heart once again. She was so much alike! Why was she so similar to the woman from five years ago?
Whenever he looked at her, his hard-earned pride and self-restraint would vanish into thin air. He desperately wanted to know if she and that woman from five years ago were actually the same person!
Li Shaoting put on his clothes and walked out, ignoring Uncle Wang as he headed straight for the office.
Uncle Wang, having witnessed Jian An'an running out of the bathroom in a state of disarray, assumed he had come at a bad time and displeased the Young Master. Therefore, he very wisely played deaf and dumb, lowering his gaze as he followed him out.
After walking only a few steps, Li Shaoting's calm voice drifted back from ahead: "Have someone look into Jian An'an's background for me, especially what she was doing five years ago!"
Understanding immediately, Uncle Wang replied respectfully, "Yes."
***
Meanwhile, Jian An'an had already run back to her room with her face covered.
Fortunately, she hadn't run into any servants along the way, sparing her a second round of humiliation; otherwise, she truly wouldn't have known how she could possibly continue living here.
Jian An'an rushed into the bathroom and furiously splashed cold water onto her face, then stared at the flushed reflection in the mirror.
How utterly humiliating!
She had only wanted to catch a glimpse of Li Shaoting's tattoo, but in the end, she hadn't seen a thing and had even been caught red-handed.
Would Li Shaoting think she had tried to seduce him on purpose?
Agh, damn it all!