Chapter 106: Honey, Don't Bite [Restored]

A gentle kiss landed on her eyes, and a scorching breath washed over her.

The man carried a faint scent of tobacco, but it wasn't pungent; instead, it was crisp and soft. His features were deep and exquisite, and paired with a sharp, well-tailored suit, it gave him an air of restrained asceticism.

An Ling always thought Shen Linyan looked incredibly handsome in a suit, exuding a refined and aristocratic charm.

"How much did you miss me?" she asked, deliberately teasing him as she reached out and gently tugged on his tie.

Shen Linyan rested his long legs on the sofa, kneeling as he braced his hands on either side of the girl.

"Does my wife really want to know? I can prove it." He chuckled softly, leaning down to kiss her earlobe, his warm lips lingering by her ear.

A tingling sensation traveled down from her ear straight to her lower back. An Ling's waist went soft. She initially thought her ears were just overly sensitive, only to realize that the man's hand had slipped under her clothes at some point.

His palm was warm, and the rough pads of his fingers brushed against the skin of her waist, sending a shiver through her. She instantly realized what this proof meant.

"Aren't we going to look at rings?" An Ling pressed down on his arm, wanting to put up a token struggle.

The man looked up at her, his eyes slowly curving into a smile.

"Wife, it's still early. We can look at them after we're done." His gentle voice dissipated as their lips and teeth intertwined.

The floor lamp cast a dim, yellow halo. The blue blanket slipped off the edge as fair, slender arms wrapped around the man's neck. In the next second, she was lifted up, firmly supported by her thighs. An Ling instinctively wrapped her legs tightly around the man's solid waist.

Panting, she rested her head on his shoulder. Her eyes grew misty as she stared at his neck, and suddenly, she leaned in and gave it a bite.

The next moment, a faint, muffled groan reached her ears. It was different from usual—husky and incredibly sexy.

Thinking she had bitten him too hard, An Ling blinked and leaned in again, pressing a kiss to the spot she had just bitten in a slightly coaxing manner.

Bang.

As soon as they entered the room, the man pressed her against the door.

His breath was scorching. His tongue slipped in, and an urgent, burning kiss rained down on her, making An Ling's body tremble.

Pressed tightly together, their thin clothing could not hold back the searing heat.

The temperature rose, igniting the air around them.

In the dimly lit room, on the messy bed, the man's large hand with well-defined knuckles grasped hers, the veins on the back of his hand bulging.

The woman's silk-like hair spread across the bedsheets, rippling like waves. Her face was flushed, and though she bit her lip, fragmented pants uncontrollably escaped the corners of her mouth.

"Honey, don't bite." Her chin was pinched as the man leaned down to kiss her lips. His breath grew even hotter. Low groans mingled with heavy panting, echoing in her ears again and again.

The man buried his head in the soft, damp, and fragrant crook of the woman's neck, gently kissing away the beads of sweat.

"Wife..." He turned his head slightly, his deep, hoarse voice brushing lightly against her ear, seemingly whispering something.

Unfortunately, An Ling's mind was a mushy, dizzy haze at that moment, and she didn't catch a single word he said.

In the end, there was no time to look at the rings they had previously picked out.

The next day, An Ling stood in front of the mirror brushing her teeth, tilting her head to inspect the hickey on her collarbone.

The man, now fully dressed in a suit, hugged her from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder. "Wife, I didn't leave it on your neck this time."

Why did he sound so proud of himself?

Looking at her husband's handsome face, An Ling expressionlessly reached out and covered it with her hand. Biting down on her toothbrush, she mumbled indistinctly, "You said it was still early and we'd look at the rings after we were done."

Yet someone had kept at it until the early hours of the morning.

"My fault." The man smiled, taking her hand and pressing a kiss to her palm.

After rinsing her mouth, An Ling recalled last night and turned to ask, "Did you say something last night? I didn't hear it clearly."

Hearing this, the man paused slightly. He lowered his eyes, his lips curling into a smile as he said gently, "It was nothing."

An Ling washed her face and left the bathroom, heading to the walk-in closet to pick out an outfit.

A moment later, the woman's muffled voice drifted out. "By the way, I have to attend a jewelry banquet tonight, so I might be back a bit late."

The man, who was sitting on the sofa looking at his phone, looked up. "Don't you dislike attending these kinds of events, Wife? Do you need me to go with you?"

"I'm going on behalf of the company, so no one should recognize me." An Ling came out dressed in a long, pastel pink dress that gave her a clean, elegant aura, her long hair cascading over her shoulders.

"Besides, I've never been to one, so I'll just treat it as going out for fun."

She took the hand the man offered and naturally sat on his lap, smiling as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "If you go, I'd have even less fun. You should just focus on your work."

Shen Linyan wrapped his arms around her waist, lowering his head to gently kiss the corner of her lips. "Alright. I'll pick you up tonight. Buy whatever catches your eye. There's no need to save; the company has money now."

An Ling smiled brightly and kissed his cheek. "Okay."

See, she had said it before—Shen Linyan could make a fortune anywhere. There was absolutely no need to worry about him going bankrupt.

...

The banquet was held at a private club.

In the main hall, crystal chandeliers hung down like a waterfall of stars, refracting soft, fragmented light that spilled across the marble floor.

The long dining tables were covered in satin tablecloths. White lilies of the valley twined around silver candelabras, where warm candle flames flickered gently, intertwining with the cool, crystalline light and shadows in a display of exquisite luxury.

By the time An Ling arrived, the hall was already quite full. She took a glass of champagne from a passing waiter and looked around.

Just as she was about to find an inconspicuous corner to stay in, a voice rang in her ear.

"Producer An!"

Following the sound, she saw a man walking toward her.

There was only one person here who would call her that.

When the man approached, she smiled and shook his hand. "Mr. Guo."

"I've been waiting for you. My screenwriter friends are here, and a few artists are over there too. Shall I introduce you?" Guo Yu gestured toward a particular direction.

Following his gesture, she indeed saw a few people gathered together.

An Ling gave a casual glance, then smiled and shook her head. "No need. I'm just here to take a look around today. You can go ahead and busy yourself; don't worry about me."

She hadn't come here with the genuine intention of expanding her network. She suffered from face blindness and was hopeless at this kind of socializing anyway. She was only here to accept Mr. Guo's apology.

After all, she was Ms. Chen's student, and Ms. Chen and Mr. Guo would have other collaborations in the future. It wouldn't be good to make things too awkward because of her.

More importantly, she was genuinely curious about what this kind of banquet looked like.

Hearing this, Guo Yu didn't force the issue. He nodded and smiled, "Alright, just call me anytime if you need anything."

"Okay."

The sound of their conversation attracted the attention of the people over there. One of the women looked up and happened to lock eyes with An Ling, a look of surprise crossing her face.

She said something to her group and then walked over.

"An Ling?"

An Ling's gaze landed on her red hair. She paused slightly for a moment, then took a few more looks at the woman's face.

"Shen Fuyuan?" After looking at so much material over the past few days, An Ling had a very deep impression of Shen Fuyuan's facial features.

Fuyuan hadn't expected to run into her here. "Did you come alone? Big Brother didn't come?"

"No, I came by myself." An Ling paused, then added, "Plus, I'm here representing the company."

For some reason, running into an acquaintance like Shen Fuyuan here gave her a bad premonition.

Ever since Shen Linyan left the Shen family, Shen Fuyuan hadn't seen him.

When they were filming the show, her eldest brother wasn't at home either.

"I don't even dare go to your house to see the cat anymore. My mom is keeping a really close eye on me."

Shen Fuyuan seemed to have found an outlet to vent and talked non-stop, "And do you know how oppressive the atmosphere at home has been since my eldest brother left? I feel like Mom and Dad and... mmpf!"

An Ling quickly covered her mouth. "There are so many people here, don't talk about this here."

Everyone knew Shen Fuyuan was the eldest daughter of the Shen family. There was media everywhere, and if she wasn't careful, she'd be filmed and exposed.

The Shen family's reputation aside, the real problem was that Shen Fuyuan would definitely be scolded to death by Mother Shen.

"Try not to call me by my name, either. I don't want to expose that I'm An Ling. I'm just here to have some casual fun." Seeing the girl quiet down, An Ling let go of her hand.

If Shen Fuyuan hadn't approached her first, she wouldn't have greeted her even if she recognized her.

Shen Fuyuan didn't quite understand. "Why don't you want to expose yourself?"

"Because it's troublesome."

"But Zhou Wen is here too, and she'll definitely call out to you."

"..."

An Ling's eyelid twitched. "She's here too? What about Lu Jingshen?"

A banquet, the female lead, and the vicious female supporting character.

All the elements were gathered, missing only the male lead.

Shen Fuyuan pondered for a moment. "Hard to say. They had a fight recently."

"Huh?"

An Ling's ears instantly perked up. She pulled Shen Fuyuan into a hidden corner and blinked curiously. "A fight?"

"Yeah, the last time I went home, I accidentally overheard Zhou Wen venting to Mom."

Shen Fuyuan didn't pay much attention to this kind of thing, so she only caught the gist. "I heard that Second Brother lost several projects and got scolded by Dad. When he came home, Zhou Wen asked him out of concern, but Second Brother just yelled at her, and that's how the argument started."

Getting frustrated at the company, suppressing his anger, and then coming home to take it out on his wife.

An Ling couldn't help but click her tongue.

What a coward. She had warned them long ago that Lu Jingshen was a man prone to anger.

No wonder Mother Shen came looking for Shen Linyan a few days ago, wanting him to go back. It turned out her own son was just too incompetent.

Just as they were talking, a woman's voice came from beside them.

"Shen Fuyuan, so you're here..."

The two of them turned to look at the same time.

When she saw An Ling, Zhou Wen froze for a moment. Her fingertips dug into her palms, and the smile on her face stiffened slightly. "An Ling, you're here too?"

Although An Ling didn't recognize her right away, she guessed who it was.

She nodded somewhat coldly.

It was better not to run into them in this kind of accident-prone danger zone typical of novels.

"I'm just going to look around. I'll get going first." She waved at Shen Fuyuan.

Just as she turned around, Zhou Wen's voice suddenly rang out.

"How has Eldest Brother been doing lately?"

Her footsteps stopped instantly.

The woman turned her head to stare at her but didn't say a word.

Being stared at by her, Zhou Wen explained, "I haven't seen Eldest Brother in a long time. I sent him a message before asking how he was doing, but he didn't reply to me..."

"Does he need to report to you? Are you his boss?" An Ling's tone was calm, but it carried a hint of imperceptible displeasure.

Were they that close? Did she really need to ask how he was doing?

When they previously sought out Shen Linyan to clean up Lu Jingshen's mess, she didn't see her offer a single word of greeting.

Hearing this, Zhou Wen paused, and then her brows furrowed.

Her mood instantly soured a bit. "What report? I'm just concerned about Eldest Brother because he used to care about me too."

She simply hated An Ling's temperament. It was the same before; even though she hadn't done anything and was just giving a normal gift, An Ling still targeted her like this, deliberately calling her tie ugly.

Eldest Brother had probably seen An Ling's reaction, been nagged by her, and out of respect for An Ling's status as his wife, had changed his attitude.

And now he wouldn't even reply to her messages.

Thinking of this, Zhou Wen's frown deepened, and her eyes carried a hint of blame. "An Ling, not everyone is like you, coveting other people's husbands. I did work as Eldest Brother's secretary back then, but there was nothing between us. We're just simple friends. Showing concern is perfectly normal. If I really wanted something to happen with Eldest Brother, it would have happened a long time ago."

If she had wanted to be with Shen Linyan back then, An Ling wouldn't have even been in the picture.

"Do you really like Eldest Brother? If you like someone, you shouldn't use your status as his wife to restrict his friendships, or even treat his friends with this kind of attitude."

Zhou Wen's voice wasn't loud, but she sounded so self-righteous that she instantly attracted the attention of most of the people around them.

The Shen family's daughter, the Shen family's second daughter-in-law, and a strange woman—it looked like there was some major gossip to be had. The gazes of the crowd fell upon them one after another.

Several of Zhou Wen's friends walked over and asked curiously, "Zhou Wen, who is this?"

"This..." Zhou Wen only then realized that her words had likely been heard by others. She bit her lip, a trace of panic flashing across her face.

She had been fighting with Lu Jingshen these past few days. Although Lu Jingshen eventually apologized, his attitude was extremely perfunctory, completely lacking his former thoughtfulness.

It was useless to talk to Mother Shen, as she naturally favored her son. Zhou Wen had been holding in a lot of pent-up anger.

She subconsciously wanted to find Shen Linyan to pour out her grievances, but he wouldn't even reply to her messages.

She knew that Shen Linyan's life must be difficult after being kicked out. The Shen family wouldn't let him off easily, and now he was being suppressed by An Ling.

Noticing the gazes of her friends and the surrounding crowd, and catching sight of someone already raising their phone to record out of the corner of her eye, Shen Fuyuan paused, her eyes flickering.

That's right, she could help her eldest brother and let everyone else see what kind of person An Ling really was.

She pursed her lips and spoke up, "This is An Ling."

"An Ling? The daughter of the An family?" Her friend's tone was shocked as she looked back and forth at An Ling's face.

Zhou Wen nodded. "Yes."

As soon as these words came out, the entire venue was instantly in an uproar, and whispers broke out.

"Is it really An Ling?"

"I finally get to see her in person today. So this is what she looks like. She's quite pretty."

"She's also Shen Linyan's wife, right? Were they just talking about Shen Linyan?"

Hearing these voices, the corner of Shen Fuyuan's mouth twitched.

Holy crap.

She glanced at the silent woman beside her, discreetly covered her mouth, and lowered her voice. "I told you you'd be exposed. You're going to be famous."

An Ling didn't speak; she merely glanced at the media off to the side.

She had wondered why she had a bad premonition. So it was waiting for her right here.

She simply hadn't been able to resist snapping at the female lead, and the plot had immediately seized the opportunity to push forward.

And the way it developed really pissed her off.

What did she mean by, "If I really wanted something to happen with Shen Linyan, it would have happened a long time ago"?

Was that something you could say right to a man's wife?

An Ling looked at Zhou Wen in front of her, the corners of her lips pulling into a cold sneer.

Then let's play.

Since her identity was already exposed anyway, she wanted to see just how far this damn plot could go.