Chapter 11: Zhou Ci, Who Do You Think You Are?

Zhou Ci bowed his head, his cold laughter rumbling low in her neck, the warm breath teasing Gu Shen Shen’s skin, making her throat itch. She tilted her head back slightly, seeking a measure of comfort.

The dress she wore was already in tatters; she dared not move, fearing this man might suddenly lose control and toss her out of the car. Their breaths tangled together, heavy and urgent.

“Shall we go to a hotel?” After a moment, the man asked in a hoarse, low voice.

Gu Shen Shen instinctively swallowed, her hand gripping the lapel of his shirt without thinking.

“Ci, is there nothing else we can talk about besides this?” she asked.

Zhou Ci acted as though he’d heard a joke, abruptly pulling away to sit on the seat beside her. “You went from Rong City back to Sea City for him. I’ve never seen you so passionate and self-sacrificing.” His words dripped with mockery.

Someone like her, willing to go so far for another—how unexpected.

Gu Shen Shen looked at his handsome, expressionless face. “I did it for myself, it has nothing to do with anyone else. Wasn’t my return exactly what you wanted?”

Perhaps the current situation was not what Zhou Ci had anticipated.

Who could have guessed she was so pliable, surrendering when told, able to bend and endure, leaving him utterly flustered.

“I’ll ask you again—hotel or somewhere else?” Zhou Ci seemed to lose patience, his tone turning harsh.

Gu Shen Shen couldn’t fathom the true thoughts beneath his attitude, but she was certain—he hated her, desperately wanted to exact revenge.

After a few seconds of deliberation, she finally relented. “Hotel.”

The privacy partition descended, and Zhou Ci instructed the driver to head to the Four Seasons Hotel.

Zhou Ci was even more callous than she’d imagined. When the car stopped in the hotel parking lot, he didn’t even offer her a jacket to hide her disheveled state. She had to borrow a coat from the driver, and followed behind him in silence.

They entered the suite, Zhou Ci pausing in the entryway. Gu Shen Shen gazed at the opulent room, her heart filling with dread.

He seemed so familiar with the place—who knew how many women he had brought here before.

“I’m going to shower,” Gu Shen Shen said, unsettled by this silent, brooding version of Zhou Ci. The oppressive air was suffocating.

But Zhou Ci grabbed her hand and yanked her hard, slamming her against the wall.

The force made her back go numb.

She raised her eyes to him. Even though they had come for this, there was no passion in his gaze—only cold indifference and mocking amusement.

“Let me see how far you’re willing to go.”

“I owe millions. Feng Shiyao’s second trial is approaching. I can’t just give myself to you for nothing. What do you think?” Gu Shen Shen ignored the discomfort of his attitude and spoke bluntly, negotiating terms.

Zhou Ci let out a cold laugh and patted her cheek. “Do you think you’re still the illustrious Gu Shen Shen you once were? You’ve begged your way into my bed, and you still think you have the right to bargain with me?”

Humiliated by his slap, Gu Shen Shen felt her long-suppressed emotions edging toward eruption.

She caught his hand. “Since I’m begging you and you still won’t let me go, why should I sleep with you? Are you the only powerful and wealthy man in Sea City?”

Something in her words seemed to strike a nerve; Zhou Ci’s gaze turned icy.

His hand gripped her shoulder painfully, his voice a low warning: “Don’t you dare.”

“You’ve pushed me to this point. Sleeping with anyone is all the same. Zhou Ci, who do you think you are?” Gu Shen Shen could not bring herself to submit willingly to his contempt.