What does despair feel like? Shi Che had thought that he’d tasted it a million times, that he’d become numb to it, but now, he realized what true despair was like: a pain that was not heart-wrenching or blood-spattered but simply dark.
His entire being seemed to be instantaneously locked in a tiny dark room, where the sunlight before his eyes disappeared, darkness enveloped him, voraciously consuming him, and he didn’t even have the strength to struggle.
Shi Che suddenly let out a cold laugh. His voice was low and hoarse, pleasant to the ear, but that laugh sent chills down one’s spine.
The laughter made Ling Chuxia’s heart shudder fiercely, an ominous premonition arose within her. She wanted to turn around and leave, but she couldn’t, not yet; she was still waiting for Shi Che to pick up the contract, waiting for his agreement to collaborate.
Eventually, Shi Che’s hand lifted, but it was not to take the contract. Rather, his hand clutched her wrist. His palm was cold, its touch sending a chill across her skin. Startled, Ling Chuxia reflexively withdrew her hand, but she wasn’t faster than Shi Che. In the next second, with the force of his pull, the world spun around her, and she found herself lying on the bed, her back against the soft bedding, with Shi Che’s tall figure looming over her, casting a shadow over her entire person.
Ling Chuxia had not anticipated such an abrupt move from Shi Che, it gave her quite the fright. As she came to her senses, her hands rose to push him away, but before they could get far, her wrists were caught, and her hands were pinned beside her cheeks.
Her heart leaped, her eyes widened, and her pupils suddenly shrank as she managed to stammer out, "Shi Che, what are you doing?"
She struggled with all her might, but she couldn’t budge him.
On Shi Che’s handsome face there was no trace of expression left, only the glint of icy coldness in his eyes. He curled the edges of his lips, void of any smile, and instead of answering, he asked back, "What am I doing? What do you think I want to do?"
The tone in which Shi Che spoke was unhurried and devoid of any warmth or emotion, which only made Ling Chuxia’s heart beat faster, as if it were about to burst out, and beads of cold sweat started to form on her forehead.
Shi Che’s actions were too dangerous, so perilous that it made her feel as if her entire body had stiffened. She forcefully swallowed her saliva, continuing to struggle desperately, "I don’t know, let me go!"
Shi Che fixed his gaze on Ling Chuxia for a while before laughing mockingly, "You don’t know? Didn’t your company explain things to you before they sent you to negotiate with me?"
"Oh, looks is your first time on the job, and you haven’t had the chance to understand? But weren’t you so capable yesterday? The clothes you wore, just short of being completely exposed. How come you don’t understand today?"
Every word Shi Che uttered was loaded with extreme sarcasm, each like a sharp needle, pricking at Ling Chuxia’s heart mercilessly.
With his words having reached this point, she couldn’t possibly fail to understand, even if she was slow.
But how could she have expected Shi Che to think of her in such a way? She only wanted to make up for her own mistake, not to sell herself for this contract!
"Shi Che, I came here just to discuss the contract, I didn’t—mmph—!"
But Shi Che seemed to have lost all his patience, as his thin lips pressed down fiercely, sealing Ling Chuxia’s lips.