Chapter 25: What exactly happened between us last night?

Unlike the reception room where she last saw Lou Yi, the troupe leader brought Zhu Yuan to the VIP room.

In Kyoto, this is a VIP treatment that only people from the Five Great Families can enjoy.

This is a rule set by the boss behind the troupe.

The door opened, and Zhu Yuan saw Sheng Yu at a glance.

He stood tall and upright, hands behind his back, facing away from the door by the window; a row of banana trees was planted behind the theater, their leaves broad and, having been washed by rain last night, appearing glossy even in the autumn sunset.

A shadow cast over half of his body, as if it suddenly made her see the gloomy and ruthless version of him from last night.

Zhu Yuan stood outside the door, and the troupe leader urged her, "Go on in."

The door to the VIP room closed.

Zhu Yuan secretly took a breath, walked over, and placed the tea tray on the table, "The troupe leader said Yu Ge wanted to see me?"

Sheng Yu turned around, glanced at the tea on the table, his gaze moving from the teacup to the back of her hand, then up to stare at her face.

To be precise, he was staring at the spot on the corner of her lip that had been bitten open.

That ambiguous look made Zhu Yuan's heart flutter with inexplicable panic.

As the man took a step forward, Zhu Yuan instinctively wanted to step back, but she thought that she couldn't make it too obvious, lest she make him suspicious.

She clenched her fingers desperately, her nails digging into the flesh of her palms, only then stopping the urge to retreat.

Sheng Yu picked up the teacup, the light in his eyes dim and unclear, and he gave a mocking laugh: "What are you feeling guilty about?"

"I'm not feeling guilty; I was just wondering why Yu Ge wanted to see me," Zhu Yuan replied flawlessly.

"Can't I see you if there's nothing wrong?" Sheng Yu didn't drink the tea, just put the cup back, his gaze falling wantonly on her face.

Her face was still made up; stage makeup doesn't look heavy under the theater lights, but once off the stage, the makeup felt heavy, yet not gaudy, possessing a unique charm that was very alluring.

Zhu Yuan gave a dry laugh, "Of course you can, Yu Ge is my creditor now, whatever you say goes."

"Is that so." Sheng Yu narrowed his eyes, picked up the cup of tea, and handed it to her, "Then the creditor wants you to drink tea, will you drink it?"

Zhu Yuan really couldn't understand why Sheng Yu wanted to see her; it certainly wasn't as simple as drinking tea.

But dragging it out like this wasn't a solution either, so she had to take the teacup and drink the tea, which was at just the right temperature.

But before she had even swallowed that mouthful of tea, she heard Sheng Yu ask in a tone that sounded like a casual remark: "What exactly happened between us last night?"

"Cough, cough..." Zhu Yuan was choked by the mouthful of tea, her face turning red.

She feigned embarrassment, turned her head to clear her throat, and took the opportunity to grab a tissue to wipe her mouth, blocking most of her face, "Last night... cough... I already said, it was just like that."

Sheng Yu let out a low laugh.

Suddenly he turned to the side, and Zhu Yuan subconsciously took a step back, her waist hitting the edge of the table; Sheng Yu took the opportunity to brace his hands on the table, trapping her.

Zhu Yuan suddenly curled her fingers and toes tightly.

"Last time in the car when you were moved, I only wanted to kiss you, and you were calling me 'Young Master Yu' quite happily; last night I forced a kiss on you, and you can still call me 'Yu Ge'?" Sheng Yu glanced at her bitten lip, "You are smart, but there is one thing you seem to have forgotten."

Cleverness is often the undoing of the clever.

Zhu Yuan suddenly sobered up, a cold sweat breaking out on her back.

"So what exactly happened last night?" Sheng Yu smelled the faint scent of roses on her, and a strange feeling lingered in his chest.

He suddenly lowered his head, his nose brushing against her neck ever so slightly.

The warm breath swept over her, and her pale skin trembled instantly; Sheng Yu's eyes darkened slightly.

Scenes flashed through her mind, and the physical pain that her body reflexively remembered made Zhu Yuan's face turn pale.

"Sheng Yu, don't do this, I am Lu Huaizhan's fiancée!"

She raised her hand to press against his chest; no matter how good her acting skills were, the panic at this moment had nowhere to hide.

However, Sheng Yu did not go any further, but instead gripped her wrist and looked her in the eye, "I touched you last night, didn't I?"

"No." Zhu Yuan met those black eyes; it was impossible not to be panicked.

But what could she do? This kind of thing could not be admitted; to admit it would mean an entanglement from which there was no recovery.

But where exactly was the loophole in the events of last night?

Sheng Yu had believed it at first, so how did he come to suspect it later?

Zhu Yuan's brain was spinning rapidly, trying to find the flaw in Sheng Yu's breakthrough.

She suddenly realized something.

"You only almost touched me, and then you were electrocuted by me and nothing happened. The reason you were unconscious for so long was because I shocked you twice; if that made you feel unwell, I am very sorry, but I had no choice last night."

Yes, it was the duration.

Zhu Yuan's chest felt stifled from holding her breath, but she dared not breathe deeply.

Not until Sheng Yu stood up straight, released his hands from beside her, and said in his usual slightly cold tone: "So that's how it was."

Only then did she feel a sense of relief and quietly let out a breath.

Sheng Yu was too suspicious.

If she hadn't explained it well, he would have suspected her again.

"Your state last night wasn't right; I guessed you didn't mean it, and I still called you 'Yu Ge' because I felt there was no need to blame you, and I won't take it to heart."

"You're quite magnanimous." Sheng Yu glanced at her sideways and threw the cigarette case he had taken from his pocket onto the table.

Zhu Yuan didn't blush or pant, "I was never a petty person to begin with."

She quietly gauged Sheng Yu's expression; it seemed the explanation had passed.

"I forgot to bring a lighter, go find one." Sheng Yu leaned against the table.

"Okay." Zhu Yuan nodded, left the VIP room, and only after the door closed was she able to breathe deeply.

She didn't waste much time, immediately ran to the dressing room to find a lighter, and hurried back to the VIP room, hoping that the gentleman would leave quickly after smoking.

Her palms had just been sweating, and she slipped twice while rubbing the lighter's wheel.

Sheng Yu watched her nonchalantly as she wiped her palms against the seam of her trousers, and she spun the wheel again; a flame shot up, swaying from side to side.

"Hold it steady." Suddenly, Sheng Yu grasped her hand.

Her slightly cool hand was caught off guard, wrapped in a warm, dry, large hand; Zhu Yuan's scalp tingled, and just as she wanted to pull her hand away, Sheng Yu had already let her go.

He took a drag of his cigarette and signaled for her to leave with his eyes.

Zhu Yuan felt as if she had been granted a reprieve; not daring to linger or show her sense of relief, she forced herself to appear calm as she turned and walked toward the door.

"Zhu Yuan."

Suddenly hearing the man call her, Zhu Yuan turned her head instinctively.

But she had not expected that Sheng Yu had walked behind her at some point, without a sound.

The moment she turned her head, Sheng Yu stepped forward.

Before she could react, the hand holding the cigarette grabbed one side of her collar and yanked it hard to the side!

"What are you do—"

In her panic, she saw Sheng Yu's gloomy expression; his movements were extremely fast as he pressed down on her shoulders, pinning her against the door with her back to him.

The thin fabric tore under the strength of his hand, revealing the pale pink skin of her back; beneath the winding tear in the fabric, what came into view were red marks of various sizes on her waist.

Zhu Yuan's face turned pale in an instant.