Chapter 038: Give the Con Man a Lesson He Would Never Forget

Chapter 038: Give the Con Man a Lesson He Would Never Forget

The sudden warmth against his mouth froze Wu Chen for a beat—then he understood.

She was performing. For “Ding Ruilong’s men.”

She’d decided the tail following them all day had to be Ding Ruilong’s doing, so she’d chosen, on impulse, to kiss him—loud enough, in a sense, for the watchers to see. She half hoped they’d catch it on camera and send it straight to him.

Let that bastard choke on it.

Of course, she wasn’t the type to plant a kiss on someone just to spite another man. That she could do it at all meant Wu Chen’s worth in her eyes had already climbed high enough that kissing him didn’t feel like losing anything.

Wu Chen felt her inexperience immediately.

This was her first kiss. She’d never done this before. She had no idea what she was doing.

But he could also tell she was trying hard to seem like she did. She hated coming off weaker than anyone, hated it enough that even in her first kiss, she was determined to look more practiced than he was.

Which produced one direct result.

His mouth hurt.

A full ten seconds passed before she finally let go of his neck, sank back into the car breathing hard, took a steadying breath, pressed her lips together, and said, “Sweet dreams.”

Wu Chen looked at her for three quiet seconds before he smiled. “Sweet dreams. Drive safe. Take it slow.”

Then he turned and walked away.

In those three seconds, though, he’d been weighing something far more consequential—whether to take Li Ruobing tonight.

Physically.

Tonight had unfolded in a way he’d never tried before, but he was already better than ninety percent certain he could take things further with her before the night was out.

It was barely past seven. There were hours left to work with.

But after a moment’s thought, he let it go.

He didn’t want his relationship with her to fall into the wrong shape again. This came down to a simple question—who controlled whom.

If all he wanted was her body, he’d already gotten that more times than he could count.

But back then, that had been all he wanted, and although they’d ended up sleeping together, in her mind, she’d never been the one conquered. She’d been the one using him.

A few times, she’d even wired a small fortune into his account afterward.

An overnight fee, more or less.

And—a stud fee.

Whether she’d actually get pregnant was never guaranteed, but more than once, she’d paid up front regardless.

She’d sworn off marriage for life, but never off having a child.

She was fiercely independent, with a mind entirely her own. She’d long since decided she deserved a child, and that she should hand-pick excellent genes for it—and that once she was pregnant, her family could never force her into marrying Ding Ruilong again.

She might sever ties with her family completely as a result, but she’d walk away with an entirely new life, unshackled.

In short, what Wu Chen had done in those earlier attempts was exploit her predicament and her sheer stubbornness. He’d detonated the time bomb buried inside Huancai Fashion early, letting Ding Ruilong get his hands on the product files ahead of schedule on July 7—and making sure she knew it.

With a business crisis like that, she’d have almost no chance left of winning the bet.

At the same time, he’d shown her his own strength and ability, let her see exactly what he was capable of, and kept nudging her—brainwashing her, nearly—toward the idea that unless she had another man, ideally one who left her pregnant, she’d never escape marrying Ding Ruilong.

And she’d already been entertaining the idea of never marrying, never depending on a man, but still having a child of her own.

It fit her mindset perfectly.

Step by step, he’d steered her straight into his bed.

He’d gotten the body, yes.

But the roles the two of them had occupied throughout it all were badly warped. She became something close to a wealthy woman paying handsomely for a child; he became the pretty boy she used to strike back at her family, defy her fate, shed her troubles, and satisfy her checklist for superior genes.

Now Wu Chen had a future ahead of him.

So he wouldn’t let that happen again.

Tonight, he’d already shown her his edge, his strength. That was enough for now. Scheming his way into her body before he’d earned a place in her heart would only poison things further down the line.

Forget it.

Thinking this over, he walked into the alley. Twenty or thirty meters in, he pulled out a tissue and wiped his mouth.

Her lipstick. Her saliva.

He took out his blank-screened phone and checked his reflection under a streetlamp. She really had been clumsy about it—faking confidence, going at it with more force than sense. Fortunately, nothing had swollen.

At the bottom of his building, he glanced left and right before slipping a hand into his pocket and heading in.

—

“Lili, I’m starving. Neither of us has eaten dinner. Can we just go get something already?”

“No! We have to catch that con man. I refuse to believe he’s never coming home. The second he shows up, we grab him and call the cops. You’re seventeen—not even an adult. He’s done for.”

“But I was willing… Isn’t the law that as long as you’re over fourteen and it’s consensual—”

“Are you an idiot? How were you willing? Just say you weren’t! Besides, he tricked you. Tricked. You’re really going to let that slide?”

“But… yesterday was actually really fun. You have no idea how wild it was. He—”

“Mu Qianqian, are you brain-dead? Why are you defending the con man? You gave your first time to some liar with a mouth full of nonsense, and you’re just fine with that? Doesn’t that hurt?”

“Not really.”

“Not even a little upset?”

“No. Why would I be upset?”

“Then why were you calling me all frantic today? Snapping at me like I set you up on purpose? You think I’d do that to you?”

“I just… wanted his number. Come on, Lili, can we please go eat? I’m actually starving. I haven’t had a single bite all day.”

“Eat my foot! Don’t act like some little fool thanking the guy who sold her out. We wait for him.”

Fifth floor. Outside Wu Chen’s door.

Mu Qianqian and Wan Li sat arm in arm on the stairwell steps, clearly settled in for the long haul.

Truth be told, Mu Qianqian had wanted to leave ages ago. She was genuinely starving. She’d tried calling Wan Li all morning without getting through, which had left her too angry to eat, and now she hadn’t touched a bite all day.

The moment she’d told her best friend she’d spent the previous night at Wu Chen’s, Wan Li had dragged her here by force. They’d been camped out since a little past one that afternoon.

Mu Qianqian wanted out. Wan Li wasn’t having it.

She was determined to get justice for her friend—to give the con man a lesson he’d never forget.

Thud.

A heavy footstep sounded from below.

“Shh, someone’s coming up. Might be him.” Wan Li hissed, gesturing wildly while tightening her grip on the stun baton in her hand.