Charles Yin seemed a little surprised to see Cecilia Gu here.
Before Charles could say anything, Lydia Lin rushed out of the study in a panic.
Cecilia Gu glanced over. Lydia Lin's clothes could barely be called clothes anymore—they were practically all off.
"I didn't—" The moment Charles saw Lydia come out, for some reason, he felt a wave of panic and started explaining to Cecilia.
But before he could finish, Cecilia said calmly, "Sorry, I didn't mean to overhear anything. I just felt a little thirsty and wanted to get a glass of water. Please, go on."
After saying that, Cecilia turned to leave.
Cecilia's action finally pushed Charles over the edge.
Charles strode forward, grabbed Cecilia's wrist, and forcefully dragged her back into the bedroom. With a kick, he slammed the door shut!
"What are you doing!" Cecilia struggled hard, but Charles was so strong—she never stood a chance against him.
After struggling for what felt like forever, Cecilia gave up, her heart sinking with defeat.
She looked up, and the lipstick stain on Charles's face made her stomach churn with disgust.
Cecilia turned her head away sharply, refusing to look at Charles any longer.
Cecilia's action infuriated Charles once again. He leaned down, his voice low in her ear: "Are you really so happy to hand me over to another woman?"
"Isn't that exactly what you want?" Cecilia shot back, her voice steely.
"What did you just say?!" Charles forced out each word through clenched teeth. Cecilia didn't even need to look up—she knew his expression must be thunderous.
Who are you trying to fool?
If he didn't like Lydia Lin, why would he let her lipstick mark stay on his face?
"Charles, are you done playing games?" Cecilia replied calmly. "You let Lydia Lin move in just to remind me of my place, right? As you wish—I won't cause you any trouble. I'll even keep acting like the loving wife in front of the media, help you clean up your image..."
Bang—
Cecilia was jolted, abruptly cutting off what she was about to say.
Charles slammed his fist into the wall right next to Cecilia's ear.
If his fist had been just a little off...
Cecilia's eyes widened in shock, staring at Charles in horror.
Why was he angry? Shouldn't she be the one who's upset?
Pot calling the kettle black—or maybe just turning the tables... Whatever, it doesn't matter. Shouldn't he be happy? Hasn't he been with Lydia Lin all week? Before marrying me, he was all about Lydia Lin and wanted to marry her, right? So what, I just did him a favor. Why is he so furious at me?
Seeing the increasingly defiant look in Cecilia's eyes, Charles suddenly felt powerless.
He could go after anyone in the world. He could ruthlessly eliminate anyone who crossed him!
But when it came to her, he just couldn't do it...
"What do I have to do for you to..." Charles trailed off, his eyes suddenly dimming. "Forget it. I won't force you anymore. Do whatever you want."
After he finished speaking, Charles let go of her hand and turned to walk into the bathroom.
He walked into the bathroom... Wait, that's my bathroom!
Cecilia suddenly snapped to attention!
Lydia Lin was living here now, so why was Charles still showering in her bathroom? He even had a bathroom in his study!
As soon as Charles entered the bathroom, he saw the lipstick mark on his face.
Suddenly, Charles understood why Cecilia had looked so defiant just now...
"Damn it!" Charles punched the glass!
Crash—
The bathroom mirror shattered instantly.
Cecilia heard the commotion from outside, pushed open the bathroom door, and saw Charles covered in blood.
"What did you do?" Cecilia screamed. "Mrs. Zhang! Quick, bring the first aid kit!"
Mrs. Zhang had been craning her neck, listening for any noise upstairs. As soon as she heard Cecilia's voice, she rushed in like the wind.
When Mrs. Zhang saw the wound on Charles's hand, she screamed too: "Young Master! Why would you do this to yourself?"
Mrs. Zhang had worked at the Yin household for many years—she'd practically watched Charles grow up.
To Mrs. Zhang, Charles was like her own child.
She'd seen all the storms between Charles and Cecilia these past few days, and it worried her deeply.
But servants shouldn't meddle in their masters' affairs.
Seeing Cecilia so flustered over his injury made Charles feel a little better.
She... still cares about me, doesn't she?
Cecilia didn't even look at Charles's expression. She urgently told Mrs. Zhang, "Mrs. Zhang, the wound is serious. We should have a doctor check it before treating it—what if there's glass still inside?"
Mrs. Zhang panicked too. "Okay, okay, I'll go get the doctor..."
Charles quickly pulled his hand back, answering carelessly, "No need to make a fuss. Just wrap it up, it's fine."
Mrs. Zhang refused to listen. "No way, you can't just treat the wound casually. What if it gets infected?"
At that moment, the butler arrived with the doctor.
Cecilia was about to stand up to make room for the doctor, but before she could, Charles pressed her down with his uninjured hand. "Stay right here. You're not allowed to go anywhere."
Cecilia heard Charles's domineering words. She wanted to resist, but then thought better of it—he was injured, so there was no point in arguing with a patient. She obediently sat down.
Seeing Cecilia obediently sitting beside him, the anger in Charles's eyes gradually faded.
Charles held Cecilia's hand tightly, refusing to let go no matter how she struggled.
With so many people around, Cecilia couldn't struggle openly, so she let Charles hold her hand.
The doctor treated Charles quickly, cleaning out all the broken glass and bandaging the wound.
"Mr. Yin, keep this hand dry for the next few days. Remember to change the bandage every day," the doctor said as he wrapped it up. "And be careful not to sleep on this hand at night."
"Mm." Charles glanced at Cecilia, leaving her completely confused.
What did that mean?
Was he planning to make her bathe him and change his bandages?
Yep, that's exactly what Charles had in mind.
Once everyone else left, Charles said boldly to Cecilia, "Go run the bath."
Cecilia thought she must be hearing things!
Did he really just tell her to go run the bath?
Lydia Lin was in the guest room next door—shouldn't he be bathing and sleeping in her room?
Why is he showering here?
Cecilia stood there dumbfounded for a long time, not moving an inch.
Seeing Cecilia spacing out, Charles got up and headed to the bathroom to run the water himself.
While the doctor was treating his hand, the butler had already had the bathroom thoroughly cleaned and replaced everything with brand-new supplies.
Cecilia snapped out of it when she saw Charles walk into the bathroom and quickly stopped him. "Are you crazy? Didn't you hear what the doctor said? ...Fine, I'll run the bath for you!"
Cecilia couldn't stand Charles's reckless behavior anymore and quickly ran the bath for him.
Just as Cecilia was about to leave, Charles's lazy voice called out from beside her: "Do you think I can take off my clothes with one hand?"
Cecilia's eyes widened instantly.
What did he mean by that?
What exactly does he want?
Not only did he insist on showering in my bathroom, now he wants me to undress him? Is he going to ask me to bathe him too?
Yep, that's exactly what Charles had in mind.
Charles raised an eyebrow at Cecilia. "Not just any woman gets to undress me!"
Cecilia grumbled to herself. Right, not just any woman—his ex could undress him without a second thought.
Still, grumbling aside, Cecilia walked over and slowly reached out to unbutton Charles's shirt.
Charles lowered his head, watching Cecilia's fingers as she undid each button on his shirt.
With every button she undid, Charles's heart thudded wildly, as if she was stripping away his defenses one by one.
It was as if Cecilia wasn't just unbuttoning his shirt, but peeling back the layers of his heart...
His gaze drifted to Cecilia's neck, now flushed pink, and his mood suddenly brightened.
Of course—anger, joy, every feeling he had was because of her.
Cecilia wasn't feeling great herself.
She was only managing to stand there and undress Charles by sheer force of will.
With every button she undid, more of his perfect body was revealed.
Charles's physique was enough to make any woman scream—and even Cecilia wasn't immune.
So with each button she opened, her ears grew even redder.
"I didn't touch her." Charles felt the heat rising in his chest, his Adam's apple bobbing as he struggled to explain. "I won't touch her."
For the CEO of Yin Enterprises to explain himself like this to a woman—he really was putting himself out there.
So after all that mental preparation, those were the only two awkward sentences he managed to say.
Cecilia's fingers paused.
What did he just say?
He... didn't touch Lydia Lin?
But hasn't he been with Lydia Lin all week? How is that possible?
And those suggestive noises from the study earlier... That couldn't have been a mistake, right?
"I fell asleep in the study earlier. I thought the person hugging me was you..." Charles seemed to guess what Cecilia was thinking, his gaze wandering. "Too bad, it wasn't you..."
For some reason, Cecilia, whose heart had been calm as a still lake, felt a pebble drop in after hearing Charles's clumsy explanation.
Ripples spread out across her heart.