Chapter 370: Volume 1, Chapter 370: I insist on trying the bitterness of love (10)

High-heeled shoes lay scattered on the carpet, her fair pink bare feet dangling at the sofa's edge. The lounge's air conditioning was on, the temperature low, she slept uneasily; the chill from the vents fell on her exposed skin, making her curl up.

Ning Xun walked to the coffee table, picked up the remote, and turned up the temperature.

Then he lifted the blanket draped over the sofa and gently spread it over her, covering that patch of spring light.

Sitting at the low coffee table, facing her, Ning Xun gazed at her face with a cold expression.

Unlike before, the woman wore light makeup, her lashes curled and thick, her lips dabbed with a vermilion like vivid lipstick; soft light fell on her brows and eyes, delicate and unworldly, like a white rose blooming in the snow.

As the knocking sounded, the woman's brows twitched on the sofa, a sign she was about to wake.

Ning Xun didn't know why he did it, but on impulse he hid behind the row of clothes hangers at the back of the sofa.

It was Jiang Zhi's editor, Xiao Jing, who walked in, seeing the woman sit up from the sofa, she asked puzzledly: 'A Zhi, you're so sleepy?'

A Zhi is the original host's online pen name.

Jiang Zhi yawned wearily, the blanket on her lap slipping to her legs; she hadn't slept enough, so tired she could barely keep her eyes open.

"I pulled an all-nighter last night."

Xiao Jing naturally knew why she'd stayed up; last night she'd churned out ten thousand words as if injected with chicken blood, and her fans thought it was New Year's.

Having worked with her for two years, as her editor Xiao Jing finished reading the latest chapter of her new book, she also noticed some catnip.

A Zhi's first book was a pure palace intrigue power struggle drama; the male and female leads had no romance at all, and old fans teased that the couple she wrote didn't resemble a loving husband and wife, but rather comrades-in-arms fighting side by side.

But her second book was different; the handling of the romance between the leads was just like her own experience.

Editor Xiao Jing couldn't help gossiping: 'Do you have a boyfriend?'

Jiang Zhi lazily lifted her eyelids, propped her elbow on one side of the sofa arm, rested her chin on her hand, and answered: 'No.'

Xiao Jing nudged her and laughed: 'Let me tell you, there are plenty of your male fans outside, each more handsome than the last, and one male fan even had me ask you specially—would you mind dating a fan?'

Behind the clothes hangers in the dim shadow stood a boy, fists clenched, his dark brown curls revealing a cold white forehead, and that naturally aloof, indifferent face; his ink-black eyes were deep and dangerous, looking through the densely layered clothes at the woman lying sideways on the sofa with her back to him.

All he heard was her disinterested voice: 'Forget it, I already have someone I like.'

Xiao Jing was curious: 'Who is it?'

A Zhi was, in her experience, the most handsome novelist she'd ever worked with, more beautiful than any entertainment star, possessing a face that could be called divine.

Jiang Zhi obviously didn't want to talk about that person, her tone tinged with grievance: 'He simply doesn't look down on me.'

Xiao Jing seethed: 'What is he? Why wouldn't he look down on you! A Zhi, don't be upset, let's go out and look at handsome guys—don't think about him.'

Jiang Zhi agreed, and followed her out of the lounge.

The lounge door closed.

Ning Xun stepped out from behind the clothes hangers, his tall, slender frame like a pine tree standing by the wall, the shadow cast by his angled feet spreading across the wall.

His handsome face showed no expression; after a moment, he raised his distinctively jointed hand to cover his eyes, a feeling that had long festered, like a deadly poison, hard to control, breaking free to occupy his entire chest.

A self-mocking sigh escaped from between his fingers.

——Sorry, Father, I'm going to break the vow I made to you.

Even knowing the consequences clearly, he couldn't help it; he couldn't help liking her.

…

【Villain Ning Xun Love Points 80.】

Jiang Zhi, who was signing her pen name, heard the system's voice without a pause, lifted a gentle smile and told the reader fans: 'Thank you.'

Fans who received the physical book saw her smile, stood there dumbfounded, staring blankly at her.

Only after readers behind urged him did he belatedly react, quickly stepping aside.

Signing until her wrists ached and hurt, feeling as if her whole arm didn't belong to her, only then did it end.

Xiao Jing exclaimed excitedly: 'All the books are signed!! Thank you for your hard work, A Zhi!!'

Jiang Zhi rubbed her arm, smiled, and said: 'You've got to work hard too.'

After cleaning up the signing venue, Xiao Jing suggested: 'What should we eat? My treat~'

Jiang Zhi thought and said: 'How about hot pot?'

They went to a hot pot restaurant on the third floor of the mall for dinner.

Xiao Jing brought a bottle of red wine to celebrate the perfect conclusion of today's signing event.

"Can you drink?"

Jiang Zhi hesitated a moment, then nodded: 'Yes.'

Although I don't know this body's alcohol tolerance, having a drink now and then is fine.

They chatted for a long time; Xiao Jing got dead drunk, but her boyfriend drove over to pick her up and said he could send Jiang Zhi home.

Jiang Zhi politely declined her boyfriend's kindness,

Standing by the roadside, Jiang Zhi felt only a bit dizzy, not drunk; her high heels wobbled on the ground as she took out her phone, intending to call a ride-hailing car.

Her slender, long legs caught the scattered light; graceful lines flowed from her snow‑white, elegant neck to her sexy collarbone, the spaghetti‑strap dress tracing the delightful curves of her figure, big waves of hair cascading over her waist, the face exposed to view was unbelievably beautiful.

Like a beauty from the Republic of China era that could only appear in videotapes.

Passersby's gazes involuntarily fell on her.

A few bold young men walked over, wanting to chat with her.

But a figure suddenly stepped forward, blocking all gazes, and stopped beside the woman.

The boy's aura was enough to intimidate everyone, carrying a terrifying sense of oppression and an obvious possessive desire toward the woman, as if she were a possession no one dared covet.

Jiang Zhi sensed the person approaching beside her, froze for a moment, then lifted her foot to leave.

She didn't want to stand with him.

Ning Xun gripped her arm and said lowly: 'Don't go.'

Jiang Zhi, relying on a little drunkenness, turned around, walked up to him and stopped, raising her slender white fingers to repeatedly hook his chin.

"Sorry, I no longer think highly of you, and from now on I won't pester you..." She laughed lightly, withdrawing her hand, "So please conduct yourself with self-respect."

As soon as she finished speaking, she tried to pull her arm free from his grip, but the boy's strength was astonishing; no matter how hard she struggled, she couldn't move.

"Sorry." He refused to let go, afraid that if he loosened his grip, he would never see her again.

Jiang Zhi found it amusing. "What do you mean now? Weren't you just calling me lascivious? Coming over to say this to me, what's the point?"

Ning Xun's eye corners gradually turned crimson, his tense body trembling slightly; he opened his mouth to explain, but couldn't utter a single word.