Su Qingning's heart lurched with panic. Her hands instinctively hooked around Lin Xiao's neck.

"Lin Xiao, I… I admit I have feelings for you, but… but this… isn't it a bit too soon? I-I'm not ready yet!"

In the darkness, her stunningly beautiful face was a mask of alarm. Even her eyes, as lovely as peach blossoms, were filled with unease. Hearing her flustered voice, Lin Xiao let out a mischievous chuckle.

"Honey, didn't we sleep together last night, too?"

Su Qingning grew even more flustered. "Y-Yesterday was a special situation! I… I thought we were getting a divorce today, so I agreed to sleep with you. But we only slept together, we didn't do anything else!"

"Alright, then. We'll just sleep together tonight and not do anything else!" Lin Xiao said, his eyes crinkling in a smile.

He truly enjoyed teasing this peerlessly beautiful girl in his arms. He found it particularly amusing to see her looking like a frightened little rabbit, her expression a mix of shock and panic.

"No! I know you took advantage of the dark last night to touch my leg and… and my butt," Su Qingning said in a hushed voice, tinged with a seductive shyness.

Lin Xiao chuckled. "Oh? Weren't you asleep?"

"You're terrible! It was my first time ever properly sharing a bed with a man, and you were holding me so tightly. How could I possibly have fallen asleep?" Su Qingning pouted.

Lin Xiao's heart skipped a beat. He couldn't stop himself from leaning down and pressing his lips against hers.

The young woman in his arms trembled slightly, and a soft, seductive moan escaped her. She wanted to resist, but her hands were still clasped behind his neck, leaving her helpless as his tongue stirred up a tempest inside her mouth.

Only when she was on the verge of suffocating did Lin Xiao finally let her go. He gasped for breath in the darkness.

"Baby, what am I going to do? I really want to devour you right now!"

Su Qingning was completely limp, her sultry eyes like silk as she panted softly. She wanted to speak, but her mind was still too fuzzy to form a single word. They remained like that for a moment, frozen in the embrace.

Lin Xiao then gently pecked her lips again before whispering in her ear, "But don't be afraid. I'll wait until the day you're ready to give yourself to me completely."

A shiver ran through Su Qingning's entire body as a wave of warmth washed over her, sweeping through every inch of her being.

She responded with a soft hum.

They entered the bedroom. It was still pitch black, but Lin Xiao could clearly see Tie Shankao and his men outside the window, dealing with the two thugs from earlier. He placed Su Qingning on the bed and then lay down beside her. Before she could react, he pulled her into his arms.

Tie Shankao still needs some time to clean everything up, and I can't let her see that.

He had to resort to this tactic.

Su Qingning was extremely unaccustomed to being held in Lin Xiao's arms while lying in the same bed. To be more precise, she could accept lying in bed with him, and she could accept being held by him. She just didn't like both things happening at the same time.

As a result, her body was completely tense. Of course, Lin Xiao could feel it.

He smiled gently and said, "Don't be nervous. I just want to have a proper chat with you. It feels like ever since we got married, we've never really talked."

His words instantly calmed her frayed nerves, and she gave an obedient nod.

"Honey, have you ever thought about what kind of person you'd marry one day?" Lin Xiao asked with a smile.

"I have. When I was a girl, I used to fantasize about the kind of man I'd marry in the future."

Lin Xiao chuckled. "But you never in a million years imagined it would be me, right?"

"No, I really didn't," Su Qingning admitted softly from his embrace.

Lin Xiao suddenly asked, "Do you regret it?"

The question plunged her into silence. After a moment, she shook her head. "Honestly, when Zhao Qingqing first forced me to marry you, I was truly desperate. I felt like she'd completely ruined my life. Back then, I really despised you. Even though I knew you were forced into it too, just seeing you made me miserable."

"I understand. If our situations were reversed, I might have felt even more hopeless."

Su Qingning shot him a grateful look. "But as we spent more time together," she continued, "I realized you're actually a great person. Whenever I was in trouble, you'd protect me at all costs. You'd cook for me, peel my shrimp at dinner, comfort me, and understand me. So later, I actually felt a bit lucky to have married you. Even though you aren't particularly successful and don't come from a prominent family, you're a kind person at heart."

Lin Xiao was stunned. He never expected to hear her say something like that. He couldn't help but pull her even tighter.

"Honey, after our dad passed away, things must have been hard for you and our mom, right?" he asked.

The phrase 'our dad' and 'our mom' made Su Qingning want to both laugh and cry, but it also filled her with an inexplicable warmth. She nodded in his arms.

"It was a bit difficult, but that's all in the past now. From now on, I'm going to focus on running the bar properly."

"Okay," Lin Xiao replied, then asked, "Do you still want to take back the Su Corporation?"

If she dares to say she doesn't, I'll obliterate the Su Corporation on the spot and hand over Myth Corporation to her.

Su Qingning was quiet for a moment before answering, "I do. But I also know the chances are almost zero. Even if Su Qingfeng marries a beggar, Su Qingkun's trading company has already earned two hundred million. I only have a mere forty million, and after I pay for the bar renovations, I'll have even less."

"Honey, don't worry about that. If you want the Su Corporation right now, I can give it to you immediately. I'm not joking."

Su Qingning, however, shook her head. "I know you're not joking. With how much Shao Mei'er likes you, all you'd have to do is ask, and she would definitely help you. The Su Corporation would fall back into my hands without any effort. But Lin Xiao, I'm your wife! How could I let a woman who's in love with my husband help me with something like this? That would be a complete and utter humiliation. I do want to take back the Su Corporation—after all, my father founded it. But I want to do it with my own two hands."

Her words rang with conviction. Lin Xiao didn't feel hurt by her rejection. On the contrary, his gaze was filled with admiration. He'd known her long enough to understand that she was the type of person who preferred to rely on herself. Perhaps her experiences over the last three years had forged that aspect of her character.

I wish I could tell her that I could easily destroy the Su Corporation even without Shao Mei'er's help. Still, she probably wouldn't believe me if I said that.

"Well, honey, you'd better work hard, then," Lin Xiao said with a beaming smile. "After all, I'm still waiting to be a kept man."

He had said this to her before. Hearing it again, Su Qingning felt a surge of warmth in her heart, but more than that, an infinite fighting spirit ignited within her.

She took the initiative, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I'll work hard. I'll make you the world's greatest kept man!"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.