Chapter 19: The Impulse to Kiss

The lights in the private room were dim, and the air was thick with the smell of alcohol.

On the luxurious coffee table sat an exquisite and spectacular cake tower, with flickering candlelight reflecting off the piles of beautiful gift boxes stacked like small hills all around.

"Young Master Chu, happy 22nd birthday!"

"What 22nd, it's 18th, is your head stuck in a door, you idiot!"

"Oh, my tongue slipped, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Young Master Chu is forever 18! Hurry up and cut the cake!"

Chu Yehan sank lazily into the sofa, his legs crossed, playing with a steel table knife in his hand, the sharp blade glinting with a piercing cold light under the lights.

He curled his lips into a smile. Yes, he was 22 years old today.

But one person's life had been frozen forever at 18.

That person would gently hold his hand, call him "Xiao Ye," and block the way in front of him whenever his father raised a whip to discipline him. She would also cover his eyes on his birthday and then, like magic, conjure up exquisite gifts in front of him.

She was his most beloved sister, Chu Mengrou.

But she had fallen into an eternal sleep in that fire five years ago and would never wake up again.

"Come here."

Chu Yehan said calmly, his voice carrying a bone-chilling coldness.

Shi Yi limped obediently to Chu Yehan's front and lowered her head—for that piece of qualified medical report, she had already prepared herself to be ruthlessly humiliated by the person in front of her.

"Kneel."

Shi Yi knelt down obediently. The next moment, she felt a cold, sharp object press against her chin, causing her to shudder all over.

"This face, it's not bad-looking."

Chu Yehan used the back of the table knife to gently lift Shi Yi's chin, forcing her to look up.

Shi Yi's eyes were amber like light glass, her skin was a sickly pale, her lips were a faint watery color, and the corners of her eyes were tinged with a flush—and her face, inexplicably, made Chu Yehan feel a sense of familiarity, as if it had appeared... in his dreams a long, long time ago?

Especially those lips, which were very thin and not at all sexy, but he didn't know why, he suddenly had an impulse... to kiss them.

That feeling was very primitive and very intense, almost like a... biological instinct.

Or rather, it seemed that by kissing those lips, he could draw some kind of life force.

This feeling came out of nowhere!

Chu Yehan irritably used the knife to scoop up a piece of cream, roughly covering the woman's lips, and then used the cream-stained knife to trace across the woman's cheek inch by inch.

"You all remember this face."

Chu Yehan said fiercely, word for word, "This woman is my sworn enemy! From now on, no matter where you see her, treat her like dirt!"

Those who came to celebrate his birthday today were all Chu Yehan's underlings in the underworld, and they immediately understood Chu Yehan's meaning.

"Young Master Chu, don't worry, we definitely won't let this woman have an easy time!"

"This little woman dares to provoke Young Master Chu, she must be tired of living!"

"Young Master Chu, leave it to us!"

Chu Yehan curled his lips into a smile, let go of Shi Yi, and threw the table knife in his hand onto the floor with a "ding."

"It's dirty, get another one."

"Yes."

The underling next to him immediately scurried over to hand him a new table knife. Chu Yehan cut the cake, distributed it to everyone, and then began to unwrap gifts. Laughter and chatter filled the private room. Throughout the entire process, Shi Yi remained kneeling on the cold marble floor, not moving an inch.

"Boring, is there anything to play with lately?" Chu Yehan threw the last gift box aside and said with a look of boredom.

One of the underlings immediately said with a grin:

"Brother Han, why don't we... let this little woman perform a striptease to liven things up?"

"Sure."

Chu Yehan curled his lips into a smile and spat two words at Shi Yi calmly.

"Strip."

As soon as the words fell, pairs of eyes immediately looked at Shi Yi like hungry wolves, and harsh, mocking laughter erupted.

"What are you dazed for, Young Master Chu told you to strip!"

Shi Yi knew she had no way out, so she had to tremble with her hands, reaching for her collar, unbuttoning her shirt one by one. The gray shirt gradually slipped off her shoulders, revealing her snow-white skin and a back covered in terrifying scars.

"Brother Han, this little girl seems to have quite a story!"

"Damn, her figure is pretty hot too!"

"Brother Han's birthday really has endless surprises!"

Chu Yehan curled his lips into a playful smile.

"Dance."

Shi Yi was now wearing only a thin camisole, shivering with cold, and she hugged her shoulders and whispered:

"I... I don't know how..."

"What did you say? You don't know how?"

"Young Master Chu, I... I really don't know how... to dance..."

"Hahaha!" Chu Yehan looked up and laughed, "Did you hear that? She said she doesn't know how, tell me, how should we punish this disobedient little cripple?"

An underling next to Chu Yehan immediately looked around the room with shifty eyes, and finally, his gaze fell on an ice bucket placed in the corner.

That was a wooden bucket filled with ice cubes used for chilling beer.

"Young Master Chu, why don't we... use the ice bucket punishment?"

"Ice bucket punishment? Fine, let's do the ice bucket punishment." Chu Yehan immediately gave the order, "Bring the ice bucket over."

"Coming!"

The underling walked to the corner with malicious glee, struggled to lift the ice bucket filled with ice cubes, and walked step by step behind Shi Yi.

"The room is too hot, little girl, let me cool you down."

With a "splash" sound!

Bone-chilling ice water, carrying ice cubes, poured down on Shi Yi's head like a surging waterfall. Shi Yi's heart contracted violently, and the blood in her body seemed to freeze in an instant. Immediately after, the cold pain penetrated her entire body, and the ice water choked into her lungs, like countless needles piercing her internal organs at the same time. She couldn't catch her breath, clutching her chest and coughing uncontrollably.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Shi Yi's lungs were already bad, and under this stimulation, she coughed even more uncontrollably, her body trembling repeatedly.

"Brother, are you satisfied with this punishment? Do you want another bucket?"

"Yeah, today is Young Master Chu's birthday, we must let Young Master Chu have a good time!"

"That's right, Young Master Chu, why don't we call the waiter for another bucket of ice beer?"

The underlings knew this little girl was Young Master Chu's enemy, and they couldn't wait to torture her to death today to make Chu Yehan happy.

Chu Yehan watched Shi Yi, soaked through, kneeling on the ground, her face pale to the point of transparency. She clutched her chest and coughed incessantly, her thin body trembling with each cough, as if she would collapse at any moment.

Watching Shi Yi's state, Chu Yehan felt not a trace of pleasure in his heart, but rather an indescribable feeling of suffocation, as if he had been hit by a heavy hammer.

Really boring.

This little cripple didn't dodge at all, didn't even let out a moan, just waited obediently for the ice water to pour over her head, as if she were a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.

Could it be... he hadn't tortured her enough?

"You guys, none of you know how to cherish the fair sex, look at what you've tortured her into?" Chu Yehan smiled sarcastically.

The underlings present were all stunned. Wait, didn't Young Master Chu just say himself that he wanted to torture this little girl to death? What is going on now?!

The next moment, they heard Chu Yehan say calmly:

"Hurry up and warm her up, don't let her catch a cold."

"How... how to warm her up?"

"Force-feed her alcohol." ===== CHAPTER 20 =====