Hearing her petulant words, Jie Jingchen quickly agreed. "Okay. That’s too much money for you to take to the bank by yourself. It’s not safe. I’ll take tomorrow off and go with you."

Qin Mei turned to glare at Jie Jingchen, but her anger melted into a laugh. The laugh slowly transformed into a cloyingly sweet smile. She seductively flicked her hair, swayed her hips, and sauntered toward him.

Jie Jingchen watched the alluring yet artificially coy Qin Mei, his gaze deepening. His Adam’s apple bobbed. ’She’s doing this on purpose, trying to seduce me.’

Qin Mei drew close to Jie Jingchen, looking at his calm and composed facade. ’He looks like a true gentleman, completely unfazed.’

’So much for modesty and shame.’ She cast them aside.

Qin Mei sat on Jie Jingchen’s lap, wrapping her fair arms around his neck. Her fingernails toyed teasingly with the nape of his neck.

"Jingchen, aren’t you worried?" Qin Mei asked in a syrupy sweet voice.

Jie Jingchen placed one hand on her slender waist to keep her from falling, while his other hand rose to gently cup her delicate chin. His voice was a bit unsteady. "Worried about what?"

"That I’ll take this huge sum of money and run," Qin Mei said bluntly, not beating around the bush.

Hearing this, a faint, cool smile flickered in Jie Jingchen’s eyes. "You won’t."

"So certain?" Qin Mei was a little surprised.

"You’re not Aunt Zhang. You’re far more clever than she is. You aren’t so shortsighted that you’d only see the petty profit in front of you," Jie Jingchen said, his thumb stroking her chin suggestively.

Qin Mei’s eyes flickered. ’It’s hard to imagine the wealth Jing Qi possesses. Who knows if he’s even told me the full extent of it today. If I hold on tight to a benefactor like him and don’t let go, I could soar.’

Not to be outdone, Qin Mei mimicked him, provocatively stroking his chin. "But what if I am shortsighted and only care about this little bit of profit right now?"

Jie Jingchen gave Qin Mei a mysterious smile, lowered his head, and pressed his lips to hers.

"Mmm." Qin Mei hummed, neither refusing nor remaining passive. Instead, she responded with enthusiasm.

To Jie Jingchen, her response was pure encouragement. He had intended to just give her a taste before letting go, but her passionate reply made him throw courtesy to the wind. He deepened the kiss, making it long and passionate.

As the kiss went on, Qin Mei felt like she was suffocating. ’If he doesn’t let go soon, I think I’m going to die.’

Jie Jingchen finally released her, his heart racing and his gaze feverish. He pressed her head against his chest.

Qin Mei didn’t dare move. Her body went rigid, and she held her breath. ’It’s best not to provoke a man who’s been holding back. You’ll only get burned.’

After what felt like an eternity, Qin Mei called out, "Jie Jingchen."

Jie Jingchen didn’t say a word, trying to rein in the desire she had ignited.

"Jie Jingchen." The position was uncomfortable, so Qin Mei shifted in his arms.

"Don’t move," Jie Jingchen’s deep voice was somewhat hoarse.

Qin Mei, being obedient, truly didn’t dare to move again.

Just then, Jie Jingjue pushed the door open. "Fourth Brother, I’m back with the groceries... Um, I didn’t see anything. You two continue. I’ll go make dinner in the kitchen."

Incredibly considerate, Jie Jingjue closed the door behind him. He patted his chest. ’Good god! The look in Fourth Brother’s eyes just now... it almost scared me to death.’

Qin Mei was speechless. ’Other than our suggestive posture, what were we even doing? "Didn’t see anything"? "You two continue"? It’s broad daylight, continue with what?’

"Let me go." Qin Mei raised her hand and patted Jie Jingchen’s chest a few times.

This time, Jie Jingchen let go. Freed, Qin Mei leaped off his lap so quickly that she nearly twisted her ankle. With quick reflexes, Jie Jingchen caught her. "Careful."

"I’m fine." Qin Mei steadied herself and took a step back, keeping a safe distance from him.

"Qin Mei." Jie Jingchen’s voice was deep and husky. "Tonight, let’s fulfill our marital duties."

At his words, Qin Mei nearly choked on her own saliva.

"COUGH, COUGH, COUGH." Qin Mei was choking. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Jie Jingchen hadn’t been explicit, but his meaning was direct enough.

"Are you okay?" Jie Jingchen stood up and put an arm around her waist, his deep eyes filled with concern.

"I’m fine, I’m fine. Just choked on my spit." ’And was shocked by what you said,’ Qin Mei left that part unsaid, her gaze darting away, not daring to meet his.

’She loved to provoke him, especially back when he was willing but unable. Seeing his frustration gave her a sense of accomplishment. But now that it was time to actually *do it*, she was getting cold feet.’

"Qin Mei," Jie Jingchen called.

"Mmm," Qin Mei hummed noncommittally.

"You haven’t answered me yet," Jie Jingchen pressed.

The corner of Qin Mei’s mouth twitched as she deliberately played dumb. "Answer what?"

"Tonight, we fulfill our marital duties," Jie Jingchen repeated.

Qin Mei felt trapped in a predicament. She buried her face in Jie Jingchen’s chest. ’I need to be modest, I need to be modest!’ Now she remembered what modesty was. A moment ago, when she was teasing him, she’d thrown it to the far corners of the earth.

"Mmm." So as not to dampen his enthusiasm, Qin Mei simply hummed instead of giving a direct answer.

"What does ’mmm’ mean? Is that a yes or a no?" Jie Jingchen had no intention of letting her off the hook.

"Mmm means mmm," Qin Mei grumbled, butting her head against his chest. He was being so dense right now.

’If I didn’t clearly refuse, doesn’t ’mmm’ mean yes?’

"Well?" Jie Jingchen prompted.

Qin Mei snapped. She looked up, glaring at Jie Jingchen. She wanted to refuse out of spite but was afraid he’d take her seriously. So, she changed her tune completely, her tone becoming wild and domineering. "Why wait until tonight? Let’s fulfill our marital duties right now."

As she spoke, she started trying to rip off his clothes, acting like a complete vixen.

Jie Jingchen froze for a second, then grabbed her wrists to stop her from tearing at his clothes. "Qin Mei."

Qin Mei struggled against his grip. Not daring to hurt her wrist by using too much force, he let go. She immediately went back to pulling at his clothes, urging, "Hurry up and get them off. Let’s get this over with quickly."

Hearing her say "get this over with quickly," Jie Jingchen’s face darkened.

"Mom," Jie Jingchen called out.

Qin Mei paused, misinterpreting his cry. "Calling for your mommy won’t help you now. C’mon, baby, just give in to me."

Hearing Qin Mei’s teasing tone and her calling him "baby," Jie Jingchen was stunned. He stared out the window with a complicated expression.

Outside the window, Mrs. Xie was watching the scene unfold. Her daughter-in-law was fiery and passionate, while her son was cold and impassive. Her initial embarrassment turned into pure frustration at her son’s lack of initiative.

"Qin Mei." Jie Jingchen grabbed her mischievous hands and tried to signal with his eyes for her to look out the window.

However, Qin Mei simply didn’t get the hint. She mistook his signal for an eye twitch and prepared to tease him with even more shocking words.

’Qin Mei knew perfectly well that Jie Jingchen was a rational man. No matter how much she provoked him, he wouldn’t let her have her way. Now really wasn’t the time. People would be getting off work soon. If word got out that they were fooling around in the room, she, being thick-skinned, wouldn’t care about the gossip. But Jie Jingchen was thin-skinned and would never allow such a thing to happen. That was precisely why she dared to be so audacious.’

"Qin Mei, Mom is outside the window," Jie Jingchen told her directly.

Qin Mei didn’t believe him. "Who are you trying to fool? Mom wouldn’t be here at this time... Mom..."

Mrs. Xie was no longer outside the window. She had pushed the door right open, then quickly shut it behind her. Qin Mei froze, petrified. She was so embarrassed she wanted to dig a hole and crawl into it, but there were no holes to be found in the room.

Thinking about what she had just done and the brazen things she had said, Qin Mei wanted to bite her own tongue off. ’My image! It’s completely ruined in front of my mother-in-law!’

Qin Mei shot Jie Jingchen a look, blaming him. ’Mom was here, and you didn’t even warn me!’

Jie Jingchen felt completely wronged. ’I called out to her directly! Not only did it not stop her, but it seemed to unlock her potential. That "baby" she called me made my knees weak.’

Mrs. Xie, ignoring the awkwardness, gave Jie Jingchen a look of pure frustration. "Your father is looking for you."

Jie Jingchen didn’t move, looking at his mother with suspicion.