Chapter 41: You Want to Have Me All to Yourself?

He stared at her for about half a minute before Zhou Ci slowly walked over and took a seat opposite her.

“What kind of benefit are you planning to extract from us brothers?” His voice was low, devoid of emotion.

Gu Shen Shen propped her chin up with both hands, looking at him. Her smile carried a subtle, elusive charm.

“Ah Ci, in my current state, I really don’t have that kind of ability.”

Zhou Ci grinned, but there was a trace of mockery in his smile. “You don’t?”

Gu Shen Shen glanced at her phone, the corners of her lips curving faintly. “You rushed over as soon as you heard the news. Anyone who didn’t know better would think you’re deeply in love with me.”

Perhaps it was because he knew her so well—her every temperament and habit—that he didn’t know how to approach her anymore. Aside from the fleeting thrill of conquest in bed, at any other time he truly believed she could not be subdued.

In the man’s eyes, as dark as ink, her radiant features were reflected.

“Unfortunately, someone like you only harbors empty obsessions, or perhaps a hatred for me.” Before Zhou Ci could speak, Gu Shen Shen added another sentence.

A frightening gloom surged in his eyes, his gaze turning cold in an instant.

“If you’re involved in anything shady with Zhou Yili, I’ll make sure you never get back up again.”

Gu Shen Shen pressed her lips together and nodded, neither confirming nor denying. “Want to have me all to yourself?”

Perhaps it was the lingering anger from Yang Liqiong’s phone call, a fury she couldn’t vent, her mind recklessly dancing on the edge of self-destruction.

Sure enough, Zhou Ci, never eloquent in front of her, stood up, his long arm reaching across the table to accurately grasp her neck, his strength nearly lifting her off the ground.

Acting on instinct, Gu Shen Shen grabbed his large hand, her face flushed as she looked at him, her eyes filled with a pitiful vulnerability that tugged at the heart.

At this moment, Gu Shen Shen finally regained her clarity and fell silent.

Zhou Ci dragged her away and directly opened a room.

When desire thickened, Zhou Ci, almost against his own will, asked her, “Those two years, did you ever truly love me?”

Gu Shen Shen’s pale hands rested on his strong shoulders, and she seemed finally able to catch her breath, letting out a long sigh.

Floating in a haze, her senses blurred, she barely registered his words.

“Ah Ci, is this enough?” she asked softly.

Zhou Ci propped a single hand beside her ear. “You really ought to be damned.”

“Am I not the woman you always long for?” Gu Shen Shen’s gentle voice was tinged with weakness, and when he heard it, Zhou Ci felt his bones nearly melt.

Looking down at her, Zhou Ci didn’t doubt for a moment—this was when she was most captivating.

Gu Shen Shen clearly saw his Adam’s apple bob up and down, and her heart gave a small tremor.

“Ah Ci, tomorrow I’ll go with you back to Haicheng, alright?”

Zhou Ci had come to demand an explanation for her secret contact with Zhou Yili, but after a night together, the issue seemed to dissolve effortlessly.

Yet Zhou Ci still grasped her chin, forcing her to look at him seriously.

“I’m warning you, keep your distance from Zhou Yili. Don’t play games under my nose.”

Gu Shen Shen nodded obediently. “I understand. I only contacted him tonight because of Qiqi. She was beaten by Jiang Ling. You know, Qiqi is an orphan—later adopted by the Jiang family and raised as a child bride. She’s my only close friend; I can’t just abandon her.”

Her words were earnest and heartfelt. Zhou Ci gazed at her intently, unable for a moment to discern truth from falsehood.

“You want to help her?”

Gu Shen Shen nodded fervently. “Mm-hmm.”

“Why not ask me? I could cripple Jiang Ling if you wanted.”

Gu Shen Shen: “……”