Chapter 38: Madam, Close Your Eyes

The words fell, and the room lapsed into silence.

A few seconds later, the man withdrew his hand and turned toward the bed.

An Ling didn't dare move. Her ears were burning, and she kept her eyes fixed firmly in the opposite direction.

She didn't move until the footsteps stopped and the mattress beside her dipped under his weight.

The man’s voice carried a hint of helplessness. "If you can't accept this, I won't force you."

An Ling remained silent.

Was he using reverse psychology?

It was just a kiss, wasn't it? What was there to be "unable to accept"?

Besides, if Shen Linyan kissed her, it wasn't like she was the one losing out.

Unwilling to admit she was a little flustered, An Ling’s voice came out dry. "Shen Linyan, this is the first time I’ve realized you talk so much."

The man let out a low chuckle. He reached out, his thumb and forefinger gently hooking under her chin.

"I apologize. But if you keep your head turned like that, I can't reach you."

As soon as the words left his lips, his long fingers applied a sudden, firm pressure.

An Ling was caught off guard, instinctively turning her head to follow the force.

A shadow loomed over her, and a moment later, her lips were softly captured.

The man sat at the edge of the bed, one hand braced against the mattress while the other held her jaw. His tall frame leaned forward slightly as he lowered his head to tenderly take her lower lip into his mouth.

When their lips met, both of them froze for a heartbeat.

An Ling instinctively looked up.

Under the dim light, the man’s features were refined and handsome, his dark eyes focused intently on her.

Sensing her gaze, his eyes crinkled slightly into a smile, and he gave her lips a light suck.

"Close your eyes."

An Ling’s lashes trembled. Blushing furiously, she squeezed her eyes shut.

The sound of breathing grew heavy—it was hard to tell whose—and the air between them turned scorching.

The man’s palm slid toward her cheek, his warm fingertips tangling into her hair as he cradled her face.

In the shadows of the bedside lamp, the silhouettes of the man and woman overlapped against the wall.

Their lips and teeth ground together in a gentle friction. Within that narrow space, a humid, sweltering heat began to brew.

The familiar, crisp scent of cedarwood enveloped her, wrapped in a potent masculine aura that carried a newfound hint of aggression.

An Ling was backed into a corner with nowhere to run.

With the back of her head protected by his hand, she could only passively endure the onslaught.

Shen Linyan’s kiss was like a pool of warm water—comfortable and soothing.

Yet it was bottomless and silent, making it dangerously easy to drown within it.

Her lips grew numb from the suction. The man pecked at her mouth repeatedly, his lips rolling against hers again and again. The intensity shifted from light to heavy, their breaths mingling before he slowly deepened the contact. A tingling sensation surged up her spine.

Throughout the entire encounter, however, his tongue only brushed against hers once.

It was as if he were deliberately maintaining a clear sense of boundaries, never venturing further.

An Ling was kissed into a daze, her eyes shimmering with a watery light.

After an unknown amount of time, the weakness in her lower back made it impossible to support herself, and she instinctively grabbed onto his clothes.

Finally, he released her lips. His thumb brushed against the corner of her mouth, his Adam’s apple bobbing. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her beautiful eyes.

"Would you like some water?"

His voice was thick with desire, low and magnetic, sounding almost like a spell cast in her ear.

An Ling panted, feeling as though the entire room was filled with Shen Linyan’s scent.

Specifically, she felt it all over herself.

She pressed her numbed lips together, looked up at him, and gave a small nod.

"I’ll go pour it." Shen Linyan helped smooth her hair before standing up.

After she finished the water, An Ling looked back at him.

The man was sitting on the edge of the bed. The white gift bag had been opened, and he was holding the black tie in his hands.

It was just an ordinary tie, yet Shen Linyan was turning it over, examining it closely for a long time.

His scrutiny made her feel a bit self-conscious.

An Ling clutched her glass and looked away. "Um... it’s late. You should go get some rest too."

The man nodded and stood up. "You should rest early as well."

Once the door closed, An Ling put the glass back on the nightstand. Her gaze fell on the spot where the tie had been resting on her pillow, and she paused again.

She picked it up, and after a moment of reflection, carefully placed it on the desk.

Then, she touched her lips.

The sensation of the kiss seemed to linger there.

"He’s pretty good at that..." she whispered.

There was no denying it—not just in terms of technique, but in the way he handled physical intimacy. The man was effortless and composed, without a trace of fluster.

It was as if he had long anticipated that all of this would happen.

An Ling had originally felt a bit embarrassed after the kiss, but seeing Shen Linyan’s calm reaction, the shyness in her heart suddenly dissipated.

No wonder some people could accept arranged marriages so easily; they must have planned for a day like this long ago.

Only she was acting like some naive teenager, getting all worked up over a single kiss.

Falling back onto the bed, she stared at the ceiling before turning to look at her phone, lost in thought.

Maybe... she should find some "contract marriage" novels to do some research?

She’d look for the dramatic, angst-filled ones to learn how those heroines managed their mindsets.

In the room just across the wall.

*Click—*

After turning on the light, the man stood in the middle of the empty room, looking down at the gift bag in his hand.

He slowly raised a hand to touch his own lips, his dark eyes shifting slowly as if lost in thought.

After a long silence, he placed the gift bag on the desk and unbuckled his metal watch, setting it down beside it.

He took off his suit jacket and instinctively reached up to loosen his tie, only to grasp at thin air.

Just moments ago, he had given the tie to his wife.

Shen Linyan’s movements froze. He stood still before the floor-to-ceiling window.

Half of his face was bathed in the lamplight, his lips pressed into a thin line. His elegant, refined features were now relaxed, his eyes half-lidded as his fingertips rubbed together.

It was as if that soft, delicate sensation was still there.

After a moment of silence, he suddenly pulled out his phone.

He opened the search bar.

*Wife initiated a kiss...*

He paused, then added a prefix.

*What does it mean when an arranged-marriage wife initiates a kiss...*

He stopped again, deleted it, and revised it once more.

*Does it mean she likes me if an arranged-marriage wife initiates a kiss?*

The answers on the internet were all over the place, but none of them were what he was looking for.

Then again, who would go online to ask about the nuances of an arranged marriage?

Shen Linyan rubbed the bridge of his nose and turned off the screen.

He reached for the cigarette case on the nightstand and pulled one out, casually slotting it between his middle and index fingers.

It was a slim, matte black cigarette with a faint gold pattern around the body, adding a touch of sensuality to his pale, well-defined fingers.

With a *clack*, the flame reflected in the window, and a spark flickered amidst the rising smoke.

Just as he was about to bring the cigarette to his lips, he seemed to remember something and stopped abruptly.

The cigarette burned between his fingers. In the darkness of the night, the wedding ring on his ring finger reflected a cold, sharp glint.

After staring at the ring for a while, he looked down and stubbed out the cigarette.

The smoke swirled—a blend of raw tobacco and cold sandalwood. It wasn't harsh or irritating, leaving only a faint, lingering fragrance in the air.

He picked up his phone again and dialed a number.

Gu Xiaochi, who was in the middle of a video game, heard his phone ring. He pulled off his headset and picked it up.

Seeing the caller ID, he raised an eyebrow in surprise and answered.

"Shen Linyan? Why are you calling me out of the blue?"

The man on the other end was silent for a moment before speaking slowly.

"I think An Ling likes me."

Gu Xiaochi: "?"

Was he seriously calling in the middle of the night just to flex his relationship?