“Back to the wedding house, or stay here with me?”

Biting the bullet, Elena Shen flipped through a few more pages of the PowerPoint, her fingertip hovering hesitantly over the edge of the keyboard.

A few minutes later, unable to endure the tension any longer, she quietly lifted her head and looked across the table.

"Maybe... I should go back to my room to study..."

It was ridiculous—two of them just watching her.

Or maybe—

One of them could leave. That would be better than this absurd atmosphere.

Her eyes shifted, and the moment they met the two unwavering gazes directed at her, the once-proud heiress faltered, swallowing back her words with a defeated sigh.

"… Forget I said anything."

As the last syllable dropped, she turned her laptop around toward them, her pale, slender finger pointing to the small text in the lower right corner of the slide. Taking back the initiative, she redirected the strange tension in the room back to the task at hand.

"These terms—what do they mean?"

She was asking about executive-level terminology, things Ethan Jiang and Aurel Shen, long-standing decision-makers at the top of a conglomerate, could recite in their sleep.

Aurel glanced at Ethan, whose calm yet unreadable eyes had not strayed from Elena the entire evening. Then he turned back and began explaining to his sister.

For the next hour and a half, Elena immersed herself entirely in studying. She summoned the focus she once used in the lab, asking questions the moment she encountered anything unfamiliar.

Ethan and Aurel worked surprisingly well together, taking turns guiding her—one answering a question, the other tackling the next, back and forth like a well-tuned machine.

As the time at the bottom of the screen ticked toward 9:30, the presentation reached its final slide. Before Aurel could pull up new material, Elena quickly spoke up.

"It's nine-thirty already. We've been going at it for an hour and a half. Let's continue another time, okay?"

Aurel paused mid-click and looked up at her with a raised brow.

"Calling it early tonight? You lasted until ten-thirty yesterday."

As he spoke, Ethan lifted his eyes. Elena flinched under the glance and inadvertently met his gaze.

Though her eyes betrayed no trace of fatigue, the way he looked at her made her inexplicably guilty. She averted her gaze and took a sip of water to cover it.

Aurel observed her, then shut the document he'd just opened, ready to send her off to bed.

Before he could say a word, the long-silent Ethan suddenly asked,

"Where do you want to sleep tonight? Come back to the wedding house with me, or stay here?"

Aurel's gaze also shifted back to her.

Elena had been debating that very question. She was organizing a delicate excuse in her mind: she would stay here, and Ethan should go home, sparing both him and Aurel further conversation. The more they talked, the closer her lies were unraveling.

"I'll just stay here. No need to keep going back and forth—"

The second half of her sentence—"The Shen estate is quite far from Tiansheng Group. It'd be better if you went home, Ethan"—never made it out.

Because Ethan cut in coolly,

"Then I'll impose on Mr. Shen for the night."

Elena: "?"

Aurel, lips slightly curved but eyes devoid of warmth, tapped a knuckle lightly on the table and asked,

"Mr. Jiang plans to stay the night?"

Ethan didn't answer directly. Instead, he passed the question to the girl whose shock had yet to fade from her eyes.

"We're newlyweds, still basking in the early glow. Long-term separation isn't good for a marriage. Don't you agree, Elena?"

Aurel's eyes were steady and unreadable.

From the moment Ethan arrived, Elena's nerves had been stretched taut, rising and falling like the tides. Her palms now bore fresh crescent-shaped nail marks.

And Ethan's words tightened that tension even further.

Under Aurel's gaze, she forced herself to nod, knowing full well it was a lie.

Ethan rose, leading her away. "It's late. We'll leave you to your evening, Mr. Shen."

Aurel watched them go with narrowed eyes.

Elena's bedroom was on the same floor.

The moment they stepped inside and shut the door, without even turning on the light, a strong arm snaked around her waist and pinned her firmly against the door.

Her heart skipped a beat, and before she could react, his hand gripped her chin and a cool, commanding kiss descended.

Her breath hitched, and her heart pounded like a war drum in her ears.

His broad palm pressed against her slender waist, which instinctively tensed under his touch.

In the darkness, Ethan stared at her.

She watched her eyelashes flutter like frightened butterflies, her moist eyes wide with disbelief as they locked onto his.

He released her chin.

Just as she exhaled and tilted her head back, trying to retreat, his hand moved to the back of her head, gently yet firmly guiding her forward. He pried open her lips and deepened the kiss.

"Mm…"

Her pupils contracted sharply.

She reflexively tried to push him away, but the moment her wrists moved, he seized them and pinned them against the cold surface of the door.

The chill seeped into her skin, making her shiver involuntarily. Her teeth clashed in panic, catching his lip and breaking the skin.

The faint taste of blood slowly spread between them.

Realizing what she had done, Elena panicked. "I… I didn't mean to…"

He rubbed her head. "It's only been two days. Already forgotten what you just learned about kissing?"

She said nothing.

His other hand slid from her wrist, gliding up the smooth curve of her arm to warm the chill from where it had been pressed against the door. Then he gently guided her hand down to his waist.

And through it all, he never once stopped kissing her.

Tears welled at the corners of Elena's eyes.

Her fingers clenched unconsciously at the hem of his shirt.

The deeper his kiss, the tighter she held on.

Until—

Until his hand slipped under her knit sweater and pressed warmly against her bare waist.

Elena's mind snapped back to reality.

She quickly tried to push him away, her damp fingers grasping at his arm.

"Mmm… no, we can't…"

Her voice trembled, thick with the haze of his kisses. The broken sounds carried the heat of stormy rain, soft yet searing.

"Why not?" His tone remained calm as always, though the darkness in his eyes churned with unspoken desire. His hand did not retreat, and his lips never left hers.

Her lips were swollen and sore.

Her bright eyes shimmered like they'd been soaked in a clear lake, lashes wet with tears.

When he still didn't stop, she twisted in his embrace, turning her head to avoid his kiss, trying to escape his hold. But his arms were firm. She couldn't break free.

In the end, she buried her face in his chest to stop him from kissing her again.

"There's no condom… we can't…"

If she got pregnant by accident—would she keep the baby? Or terminate it?

She hadn't even graduated yet. Could she show up at school with a baby bump?

Just the thought was enough to terrify her.

Ethan stroked her hair, the corners of his lips lifting faintly. His pitch-black eyes stared at the girl nestled in his arms as he asked,

"So, what you're saying is… if I have a condom, then can we?"