Sun Xining was probably using some kind of lip gloss with a "scheming" tag on it. It was already glossy enough on its own, giving her this pre-pubescent kind of baby-face vibe—the legendary "no-makeup makeup."

Now that she’d added a few other elements, her lips looked even more dewy and smooth. The presentation was top-notch, but when Sun Xining wrapped around him like a water snake and tried to seal Zhou Wang’s mouth with hers, Zhou still pushed her away in a flash.

What the hell?

Yeah it’s my own product, but that doesn’t mean I’m not grossed out, okay?

Seeing Zhou Wang dodging, Sun Xining let out a little sneaky laugh, then just blinked her big eyes at him and very deliberately made a swallowing motion.

After she did that, she slightly parted her red lips again, like she was signaling to Zhou that she’d swallowed it all, then gently licked the corner of her mouth.

Even though he knew she was doing it on purpose for him to see, Zhou Wang’s heartbeat still embarrassingly picked up a few beats. After all, if you’re a man, it’s hard to say no to that bizarre sense of achievement...

Then Sun Xining wrapped her arms around Zhou Wang’s neck again. She was still sitting astride him, just resting her head on his shoulder, and then she stopped moving.

The huge living room suddenly went quiet. Zhou Wang figured that at a time like this, a woman probably needed some affection to smooth over that emptiness inside, so he wrapped his arms around her in return.

Sun Xining seemed to enjoy this moment as well, her fingers lightly poking at Zhou Wang’s abs over and over, not saying anything else.

About a minute or two later, she suddenly spoke. "Why is there still no reaction?"

"What’s not reacting?"

Zhou Wang was thrown off for a second and asked, confused.

"Your brother."

Sun Xining pressed her lips to his ear and whispered.

Zhou Wang’s mouth couldn’t help but twitch. So you were quiet this whole time just thinking about that?

But come on, I may be young and healthy and actually work out, but how long has it even been, for fuck’s sake? My brother needs a break too, okay!

"Are you still willing to be my major shareholder?"

Sun Xining looked at Zhou Wang with bright, shining eyes. It should’ve sounded like a joke, but for some reason, her tone was dead serious.

"Yeah, I’m willing..."

Zhou Wang didn’t bother pretending. He nodded as he spoke.

Sun Xining’s looks weren’t exactly top-tier, and in a lot of people’s eyes she wasn’t a "clean" girl, but somehow Zhou Wang still found her pretty interesting. He had a kind of... not-quite-pure fondness for her...

Fine, Zhou admitted it. She was just straight-up slutty in such an honest, upfront way. That doesn’t really count as a virtue, but for men, it’s lethally attractive.

"But I wanna ask, in these past few months, have you taken in any other shareholders?"

Right after he asked, Zhou felt a little tacky.

Strictly speaking, there was nothing binding between them. He had no right to interfere with what kind of life Sun Xining chose to live, but he still couldn’t help asking.

"Do you care that much?"

She seemed a bit surprised too, then shot him a sidelong glance, half-smiling, half-not.

"Kind of."

"Hmm... after I came to Peng City, there were... six, seven, maybe eight guys who showed interest in me."

"Anyone you liked?"

Zhou Wang’s eyes unintentionally flicked toward the clothes scattered on the floor.

It was just a tiny glance, not obvious at all, but Sun Xining seemed to know exactly what he wanted. She hooked her foot around his waist and did a full backbend.

Looks like she wasn’t lying—she really did have a dance background. Her body was incredibly flexible... though what was grabbing Zhou Wang’s attention right now wasn’t her high-difficulty backbend, but her fully stretched, smooth, naked body.

The little camisole was caught on her, which somehow added a whole extra layer of unspeakable temptation.

Very soon, Sun Xining hooked his waist again and sat back up. There was a cigarette and a lighter in her hand now.

Zhou Wang didn’t even bother asking how she knew he wanted a smoke. He just let her light it for him, and only then did Sun Xining answer his earlier question.

"There was a moment, I guess, but it was mostly about his money..."

She tilted her head. "But when I thought about it, even if he had, like, tens of millions, it really doesn’t have much to do with me. And men nowadays, they’re all sharp as hell..."

"They look like they’re generous with money, but it’s actually only when it’s for themselves. It’s not like I wanna freeload his car rides, and I’m not trying to mooch his booze either, so what’s the point of being with him?"

Zhou Wang couldn’t help but chuckle at that.

This was what made Sun Xining such an interesting girl. There was this weird kind of clarity about her.

...Though yeah, it’s true: men who’ve actually built up wealth are well aware that beautiful women are not exactly a scarce resource for them.

Plus, with how developed the internet is now, a lot of people have been brainwashed by that "money is for women to look at, not for them to spend" slogan and think it totally makes sense.

"So what you’re saying is, after me, you haven’t let anyone else in?"

"Yup... aside from that uncle from before, you’re the second man I’ve acknowledged."

Sun Xining gave a little laugh, sounding a bit down. "Honestly, I came to Peng City to start a new life. Didn’t expect that after going in circles, I’d run into you..."

"So my appearance made you break your principles again?"

Zhou Wang was stunned for a second.

"Principles... I don’t even know if I have something like that. Just... I really don’t wanna live the way I used to anymore..."

She let out a self-mocking laugh, drawing circles on Zhou Wang’s chest with her finger. In the haze of smoke, that innocent face of hers was tinged with a kind of dazed confusion, giving her this broken kind of beauty.