"You, you..."

Qu Peining suddenly became incoherent.

You should know, this wasn’t some remote, deserted place. It wasn’t an enclosed indoor space either. It was a coastal highway in Peng City, and it was noon, the time when the road and people were most crowded.

At this moment, Zhou Wang grabbed her hand and pressed it to his face under everyone’s gaze, and the ambiguous atmosphere instantly reached its peak.

This immediately gave Qu Peining the mistaken feeling of a "scandal being publicly exposed," as if everyone in the world knew about the entanglement between her and Zhou Wang...

But Zhou Wang’s deep eyes left her with little resistance, and Qu Peining felt her strength seeping away again.

[Why is he always like this... doesn’t he care about other people’s gazes at all? Even though others were around last night, how did he dare to do such things to me... I must be crazy too, how could I let him act recklessly, it’s like I’m a woman without any sense of shame.]

As Qu Peining was blushing furiously, her unmistakably clear inner voice echoed in Zhou Wang’s ear.

Zhou Wang was taken aback.

He was somewhat surprised.

From the meaning in Qu Peining’s words, it seemed that what truly enraged her wasn’t what he’d done, but rather the fact that Jiang Mubai was there at the time?

So, she didn’t completely reject his actions. She just couldn’t accept that others had witnessed it?

Zhou Wang pondered this.

If that’s the case, then it’s very interesting...

As thoughts churned in Zhou Wang’s mind, Qu Peining, already overwhelmed with embarrassment, barely managed to step back and escape Zhou Wang’s clutches.

"You, you should show some respect..." 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

A reprimand with little force floated lightly from her lips.

Zhou Wang snapped back to reality. Seeing her evasive gaze, he stepped closer again, smiling, "You haven’t answered me yet."

"Answer what?"

"I said this should be counted as you hitting me, so you shouldn’t be angry anymore, okay?"

"..."

Qu Peining was momentarily speechless. She wanted to scold Zhou Wang. Was this kind of thing as simple as playing house, where forgiveness could be granted just like that?

This morning when she opened her eyes and recalled the scenes from last night, she couldn’t even initially tell if it was a dream.

But when her fingers touched her lips and found that slight bit of chapped skin, she knew...

Everything had actually happened.

Qu Peining had sat up straight in bed, dumbfounded.

What... had she done?

No matter how naive Little Bai might be, she knew what that shameful behavior signified.

Qu Peining couldn’t even remember what she was thinking then. She was certainly drunk, but not so much that she couldn’t resist at all; how could she just kneel there, letting Zhou Wang bully her for so long?

At the very least, she could have bitten him.

But she didn’t.

When they were at Magic City Club, Qu Peining had "fallen ill," and she always thought she had recovered. But it wasn’t until now that Qu Peining suddenly understood that maybe she was already deeply afflicted.

It was merely a condition that stayed silent, only showing its signs when she was with Zhou Wang.

In a certain sense, Zhou Wang had guessed correctly, as the first impulse Qu Peining felt wasn’t to confront Zhou Wang, but to flee.

To escape Peng City and get far away from Zhou Wang. Only by doing so could she immediately return to normal...

But just as Qu Peining had this thought, Jiang Mubai walked in with an armful of new clothes.

"Oh, Sister Peining, you’re awake! Just in time, see if you like these clothes, the sizes should fit..."

The moment she saw the other person, a series of images flashed through Qu Peining’s mind.

When she was forced to look up and stare at Zhou Wang, this girl named Jiang Mubai seemed to be squatting beside them, watching her intently.

Qu Peining felt like she was going crazy. She couldn’t do anything to Jiang Mubai; after hurriedly dressing, she fled, but she transferred all of her resentment onto Zhou Wang, which was why she had come directly to confront him without considering anything else.

She wanted to slap Zhou Wang more as an act of blaming her own unworthy self.

But now, with Zhou Wang’s series of maneuvers, her heart was thrown into chaos, and Qu Peining didn’t know what to do.

She had the urge to escape again, so she chose not to answer Zhou Wang’s question and turned to leave in broad daylight.

But Zhou Wang wasn’t about to let her have her way, so in the first moment he grasped her intent, he grabbed her hand, interlocking their fingers before she could respond.

"You..."

"How can I be at ease if you don’t answer me?"

Zhou Wang shook his head and sighed, "Or, Peining, you might as well hit me, maybe I’d feel better."

"You think I don’t dare?"

Qu Peining’s mind was in turmoil, but she appeared cold. She raised her hand, but couldn’t bring it down.

A few seconds later, Qu Peining turned her head, her voice so soft it almost got lost in the wind.

"Okay."

"What?"

"I said...okay."

Reluctantly, Qu Peining spoke a bit louder.

"Okay for what?"

Yet Zhou Wang still looked confused.

"I said, I’ll forgive you this once, just consider it a moment of impulse, but I hope you keep this to yourself, and also..."

Qu Peining pulled away from Zhou Wang’s hand, speaking in a deliberately indifferent tone.