Nian Feng thought Xue Zi’ang had lost his mind. All of Xue Zi’ang’s friends thought Xue Zi’ang had lost his mind.

Who gets slapped in front of a crowd and ends up this happy? Even if his face didn’t hurt, shouldn’t he at least care a little about his dignity?

And one look at the red, swollen left side of Xue Zi’ang’s face made it obvious it couldn’t possibly not hurt. Yet this guy acted like nothing had happened, taking an ice pack from a waiter and pressing it to his face while cheerfully whistling a tune.

Nian Feng couldn’t take it anymore. He shot Xue Zi’ang a sidelong glance and said to Zhou Ao beside him, “Should we send him to a mental hospital?”

Xue Zi’ang immediately hurled the ice pack at him. “You’re the one who’s sick.”

Nian Feng caught the ice pack perfectly but shivered from the cold, quickly tossing it back at Xue Zi’ang’s chest. “I think you’ve either been smacked stupid or got hit by a truck.”

Xue Zi’ang gave a smug snort. “You don’t understand the feeling of being cared for and deeply loved by someone.”

Nian Feng immediately made an exaggerated gagging motion, still looking at him like he was a madman. “I’m about to throw up last night’s dinner.”

Seeing him still wearing that insufferable “you’re just jealous of me” expression, Zhou Ao couldn’t help asking, “You serious this time?”

Xue Zi’ang shot back, “When have I ever not been serious?”

“True. Those women before, none of them even had an identity, so it’s hard to say serious or not, except for Xu…” A sharp pinch to his lower back from Nian Feng made Zhou Ao stop himself just in time and change the subject. “But that young lady who dared to hit you seems pretty sought after. You’d better watch yourself.”

Xue Zi’ang frowned. “What do you mean?”

Zhou Ao said, “When you were street racing, I saw that young master from the Xu family go looking for Zhao Yu. They seemed pretty familiar with each other. Tsk tsk, that guy is clearly interested in your woman.”

Xue Zi’ang’s frown deepened. “Xu Chengyan?”

Just as the two were talking, Nian Feng suddenly poked Xue Zi’ang’s shoulder, gesturing behind him. “Look.”

Xue Zi’ang turned his head and saw a man leaning close to Zhao Yu in the corner. It was indeed Xu Chengyan, just as Zhou Ao had said.

But that spot was too far from the bar. He couldn’t even make out their expressions, only that Xu Chengyan, holding a cocktail, was standing a little too close to Zhao Yu.

Setting the ice pack on the bar, Xue Zi’ang suddenly stood up and strode over. Nian Feng and Zhou Ao, afraid he’d get hit again, quickly followed.

Seeing Xue Zi’ang heading toward her from a distance, Zhao Yu smiled faintly. “My boyfriend’s coming. Would President Xu like to have a drink with him?”

Her emotions had been running too high earlier. The slap she landed on Xue Zi’ang had instantly made the two of them the center of attention. Right now, she wasn’t keen on stepping back into the spotlight, so while Xue Zi’ang went to the bar for ice, she sat quietly on a sofa in the corner waiting. Who knew that within minutes, Xu Chengyan would come over again.

“Miss Zhao, quite the performance.”

That was what Xu Chengyan said to her. He thought her slap, her tears—all of it—had been deliberately staged for Xue Zi’ang.

In his eyes, she was just a scheming woman who would stop at nothing to cling to men. Putting on a big show like that wasn’t surprising at all.

“Why would President Xu attend this kind of gathering?” When he reached the sofa, Xue Zi’ang sat down naturally right next to Zhao Yu, draping his right arm over her shoulder, and looked at Xu Chengyan without much courtesy. “I thought only us young people liked coming here.”

The declaration of ownership was too obvious, the sarcasm in his words blatant. Xu Chengyan couldn’t possibly miss it.

But unlike Xue Zi’ang’s openly hostile demeanor, he remained as refined and courteous as ever, smiling at Xue Zi’ang. “If I hadn’t come, how could I have so coincidentally run into Miss Zhao and sat here reminiscing with her?”

Xue Zi’ang sneered. “What does President Xu have to reminisce about with my girlfriend? If it’s business, I’ll come to your office another day to discuss it.”

“Miss Zhao and I…” Xu Chengyan deliberately slowed his speech, waiting until he saw Zhao Yu’s hand on her lap quietly clench before continuing with a smile, “We really do have something to reminisce about. After all, we’ve met twice at conferences. I greatly admire Miss Zhao’s professional competence.”

Observing that Zhao Yu’s clenched hand quietly relaxed again after he finished that last sentence, the smile on Xu Chengyan’s face grew even wider. “So, I hope to have more exchanges with Miss Zhao in the future.”

To Xue Zi’ang’s ears, these words were already a very suggestive hint. And to Zhao Yu’s ears, they were nothing short of blatant seduction and provocation.

She offered him a polite but distant smile and said coolly, “Thank you for your appreciation, President Xu, but I’m just a small assistant. I probably can’t help you with business matters. If President Xu has any needs, he can discuss them with my boyfriend.”

Xue Zi’ang chimed in right on cue. “And President Xu has a very formidable fiancée. I’m sure he doesn’t need help from me or my girlfriend.”

Xu Chengyan smiled, nodded a farewell, and left. His every word and gesture still exuded endless elegance.

However, not long after, while Zhao Yu was listening to Xue Zi’ang mutter about “a too-beautiful girlfriend easily attracting wolves, I don’t want to come to these events anymore,” she received a WeChat message from Xu Chengyan:

[You have five minutes. Come to the restroom in the east wing, second floor.]

A commanding tone laced with veiled threats.

The winery had a main hall and two side halls, one east and one west. Almost everyone attending the party was in the main hall, partying wildly with music, dancing, and drinks. There were people in the side halls too, but not many, and they were either resting with their eyes closed or looking down at their phones. No one paid attention to Zhao Yu.

There were no cameras near the second-floor restroom. Zhao Yu glanced around to confirm no one was in sight before pushing open the door to the men’s side.

Xu Chengyan was already inside. He looked up, saw it was Zhao Yu who had come, and went back to leisurely rinsing his long, well-defined fingers under the faucet.

After confirming the stalls were empty, Zhao Yu walked in, locked the door behind her, and asked in a low voice, “What exactly are you trying to do?”

Xu Chengyan pulled out a paper towel and unhurriedly dried his hands. “That question should be mine to ask Miss Zhao.”

“I don’t want to do anything.”

“Is that so?” Xu Chengyan slowly turned to look at her, a faint smile curving his lips. “Then why did Miss Zhao go to so much trouble to seduce me before?”

Zhao Yu said coolly, “Our game is over.”

“You say it’s over and it’s over?” Cold fingers slowly traced over her lips. With a sudden force, Xu Chengyan gripped her chin tightly. “I’m the one who sets the rules of the game.”

Zhao Yu glared at him in fury. “Xu Chengyan, you were the one who wanted to treat me as a toy back then. You were the one who didn’t want to touch me time and again. I admit I wasn’t skilled enough to seduce you. Now I’ve given up. From now on, I’ll never bother you again. Is that not enough?”

“No.” Xu Chengyan shook his head gently. “I already said, I set the rules. Right now, the game isn’t over yet.”

Zhao Yu was clearly agitated now. “Then what will it take for you to end it?”

His fingertip once again slowly glided over her lips as Xu Chengyan revealed a gentle, polite smile. “What do you think?”

Zhao Yu stared at him coldly, the fury in her eyes completely undisguised.

But then, abruptly, she switched back to that lascivious, seductive look she’d worn when she used to try to tempt him, taunting, “So President Xu has fallen in love with me.”

Xu Chengyan chuckled lightly. “I told you long ago, goading tactics don’t work on me.”

“Then what about this move? Does this one work on you?” Zhao Yu suddenly stepped forward half a pace, pressing her body tightly against his. Her right hand slid over the smooth fabric of his dress pants, stroking his groin, gripping the sizable package—still unaroused yet impressive in scale—and kneading it. She breathed hot air into his ear. “You’ve already fucked me. Whatever you want, I’ll satisfy you today. After this time, we’re even.”

The corner of Xu Chengyan’s mouth hooked into a shallow curve. “I already said, I set the rules of the game.”

Zhao Yu gritted her teeth and slowly crouched down before him. She unzipped his pants, rubbed the already-awakening length through his underwear, then somewhat reluctantly stuck out her tongue and licked it.

Deep in her heart, she knew better than anyone: the more she acted like she couldn’t wait to get away from him, the less he would grant her wish, the more he would want to toy with this prey that had willingly delivered itself to his door and was now trying to flee.

But who was the hunter and who was the prey—that was still uncertain.