Chapter 42: Delivering His Head on a Silver Platter in the Dead of Night

After finishing up some work, Xu Suian went downstairs hoping to pour a glass of ice water to soothe his late-night restlessness.

Just as he switched on the kitchen light, he heard the sound of the electronic lock at the front door being unlocked with a passcode.

Qiao Xu had intended to sneak in quietly, but she never expected to be caught red-handed by the master of the house the moment the door opened.

Xu Suian walked over and picked her up just like carrying a child, setting her down on the kitchen dining table. "Why are you sneaking around?"

His tone was teasing, his eyes and brows brimming with a smile. "If you wanted to see me this late, you could have just called a taxi and let me know with a phone call."

Qiao Xu looked down at the man crouching before her, untying her shoelaces. "I was not sneaking around."

"Alright, this is your home too. You can come back anytime."

"Ideally, coming back with me."

Xu Suian went to the shoe cabinet, retrieved a pair of house slippers, and put them on her feet.

He planted both hands on either side of her, leaned in close, and kissed the tip of her nose and her lips.

There was a tiny mole right on the tip of Qiao Xu’s nose.

Whenever passion took over, besides the crescent-shaped birthmark on her waist, kissing the tip of her nose was his absolute favorite thing to do.

"Did you come over in the middle of the night just to deliver yourself to me?" The ice water was forgotten, but a fire had been ignited, making his voice raspy.

Qiao Xu let out a soft hum. "I missed Cherry, so I came to check on her."

"You didn't sleep in the middle of the night just to think about a dog?"

"I think you're just asking for it." The man’s slender fingers pinched her cheek.

Qiao Xu kicked his leg. "You jerk, can you speak a little more politely?"

"Not polite enough?"

"Fine, I'll say it again."

Xu Suian pressed his thin lips against her ear. "Darling, are you here because you want to do it with me?"

"I'm ready."

Qiao Xu tugged at his ear. "I have no intention of being ready. I'm sleepy and want to sleep."

Xu Suian fetched a bottle of mineral water from the refrigerator, unscrewed it, and took several large gulps.

Then—

He swept her up in his arms and kissed her...

"Lukewarm water."

Qiao Xu: ......

He is out of his mind!!!

In the bedroom, Xu Suian cradled her and pressed her down onto the bed. Qiao Xu instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck, tilted her head back, and kissed him.

From a gentle brush to a deep, lingering kiss!

"Mmh—close the door."

Xu Suian gripped the nape of her neck, refusing to let her pull away. "No need, there's only the dog, no one else."

Ever since returning from Los Angeles, Aunt Wang no longer stayed overnight.

Xu Suian had no desire to feel constrained in his own home.

There were no lights on in the room, and Qiao Xu’s clothes fell to the floor one by one.

He lifted her up against the headboard and reached into the drawer for protection.

Qiao Xu asked in a soft whisper, "Can we turn on the light?"

Xu Suian tore open the packet halfway, looking up into her eyes, which were filled with deep affection. "Not shy anymore?"

"I want to see you."

Damn it!!!

Who the hell could handle this?

He switched on the bedside lamp, turning the brightness down to its lowest setting, yet the man's sharp contours and the woman's flushed, bashful face remained clearly visible.

Qiao Xu’s gaze drifted to his left arm.

Aside from the perfect lines of his muscles, there were no marks whatsoever.

Xu Suian discarded the wet wipe in his hand and lightly stroked the tip of her nose with his index finger. "What are you looking at, hmm?"

Overwhelmed by rising passion, Qiao Xu asked with a hoarse voice, "Earlier today, you said—if violets were to grow on your body—"

Xu Suian heavily sucked on her collarbone. "Are you really sure you want to ask me this right now?"

"You aren't using your mouth for talking anyway."

The man let out a husky laugh. "Did Ah Xun tell you?"

"He didn't say." Qiao Xu’s hands clutched tightly at his arm.

"He just told me there's a scar on your hand."

Xu Suian loosened his grip around her waist, revealing the tattoo on the inner side of his left arm for her to see.

Qiao Xu’s eyes instantly turned red.

"What, touched?"

"You won't be feeling touched in a moment."

Xu Suian did not hold back, and Qiao Xu did not refuse.

Her slightly trembling fingertips traced the scar hidden beneath the tattoo. "Does it hurt?"

A drop of sweat from the man's chin fell onto her collarbone. "Not as much as it hurt when you abandoned me."

"Qiaoqiao, please, don't ever throw me away again."

"I'm very capable."

"I can do anything."

Qiao Xu shot him a playful glare. "I know you're capable."

Xu Suian chuckled aloud. "Darling, you misunderstood. I meant I can make money, cook, and take care of you."

Qiao Xu’s warm red lips pressed against the lion enclosing the little lamb.

The fierce fire burned even more intensely—

The room was filled with boundless enchantment!

Just as Xu Suian had predicted, Qiao Xu found herself completely unable to feel touched anymore.

The moment the bathroom door closed, Qiao Xu let out a harmless roar, "Xu Suian, you need to know when to stop!"

"Xu—mph!"

"You will never, ever—get back together with me!"

Walking from the bathroom back to the bed, Qiao Xu felt as though every bone in her body had completely lost sensation.

At that moment, she felt just like the little lamb in Xu Suian's tattoo, devoured completely by his inner lion.

Once fully satisfied, the man shameless started coaxing her.

The darling he had driven to tears could only be coaxed by himself.

"I was wrong, I was so wrong, darling."

"Get lost, who is your darling."

Qiao Xu turned her back on him and ignored him, intending to check his phone for any secrets, only to have her focus derailed as midnight snacks were delivered.

"Darling, it's all my fault. I'll kneel, I'll kneel until dawn."

True to his word, the stark naked man dropped to both knees with a heavy thud.

Hearing the sound, Qiao Xu turned back to look.

Regret.

She shouldn't have turned around.

That pitiful expression combined with his stark nakedness...

Truly shameless.

"Wife, are you really not going to look at me?"

Qiao Xu pulled the quilt up higher, manually blocking him out.

Xu Suian's eyes were filled with indulgent smiles. "Darling, just take a look."

"I won't. You're ugly."

Xu Suian felt like his world was collapsing.

He was ugly.

Then Qiao Xu heard him say with a sly, tea-drinking sort of grievance, "You didn't seem to mind just now."

"Darling Qiaoqiao, you were humming quite happily, too."

Qiao Xu squinted her eyes shut and covered her ears.

The man stealthily crawled back onto the bed. Hearing the movement, Qiao Xu turned around and glared fiercely at him. "Get down."

Reflexively, Xu Suian scrambled off the bed to kneel, but his knee struck the wooden edge of the bed with a loud thud.

This time, it genuinely hurt like hell.

Startled, Qiao Xu sat straight up, meeting his teary-eyed gaze.

He actually looked a bit like Cherry right then.

"Sister!"

Qiao Xu lay back down and pulled the quilt over her head.

She really shouldn't have pitied him.

The one who ate and drank his fill was him.

The one acting pitiful was also him.

Only she had been completely outwitted by his honeyed words.

Rubbing his knee, Xu Suian waited until he was certain Qiao Xu had fallen fast asleep before lifting the quilt and getting into bed.

Before sleeping, he instructed Song Jia to postpone tomorrow morning's high-level meeting to the afternoon.

And then, he switched off his phone.

The reason for releasing the explosive news late at night was to ensure the Shen family had no chance to turn things around or even catch their breath.

Just as he anticipated, the moment the stock market opened, the Shen family's stocks crashed to rock bottom.

Law enforcement officers immediately raided all of the Shen family's production lines, and Shen's father—the legal representative and chairman of the Shen Group—was detained according to the law.

At the Xu family villa.

Xu Shiran’s biological clock woke him a step slower than the alarm ringtone.

"President Xu, it's bad. The Shen family has been exposed for regulatory violations, Chairman Shen has been detained, and the trending searches can no longer be suppressed."

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Xu Shiran walked into the bathroom to freshen up.

He had to head to the police station first to bail Shen Zhiwei out.

Xu Suian's methods were ruthless enough.

In this regard, he simply couldn't compare.

Perhaps it was because Xu Suian was a true member of the Xu family, and he was not.