Chapter 031: Caught While Stealing the Bead Bracelet

Zhou Jingyi looked at Wen Ni, whose eyes were red as if she were a little wolf cub. He couldn’t help glancing at the string of prayer beads on his wrist.

Just a few beads.

Was this really necessary?

Wen Ni’s face was pale, her once rosy lips bitten so hard that the color had faded. Her eyes were wide, chest heaving with rapid breaths from her scuffle with Zhou Jingyi.

Zhou Jingyi grasped Wen Ni’s chin, lifting her face.

His gaze was deep and unfathomable as he stared at her. “Keep biting, and I’ll pull out your teeth.”

Wen Ni puffed out her cheeks in defiance.

Zhou Jingyi extended his wrist toward her.

Wen Ni reached for it.

But he was quicker, catching her hand in his.

There was a probing look in his dark eyes. “Wen Ni, what are you trying to do?”

She pressed her lips together.

He shoved his hand into his pocket. “Not talking? Then stop looking at it.”

Wen Ni mumbled, “Don’t.”

Zhou Jingyi regarded her with leisurely amusement.

She looked conflicted, finally speaking in a soft voice, “I once lost a string of bracelets—a birthday gift from my mother. The one you’re wearing looks exactly like it.”

“So you’re saying I stole your things, wore them in front of you, flaunting them deliberately?” Zhou Jingyi’s tone was unreadable.

Wen Ni replied with conviction, “Maybe someone else stole it, sold it off, and after a few turns, it ended up with you.”

He nodded with a faint, enigmatic smile. “Show me a photo, then.”

Her face flushed. “I was still a student then—I didn’t have a phone.”

Without warning, Zhou Jingyi seized her hand.

Wen Ni struggled, but with a sharp tug, he pulled her forward, causing her to fall hard against him—her lips smacking into his chin.

The pain brought tears streaming down her face.

Zhou Jingyi turned to her, not letting her move. “Wen Ni, is there a single honest word in your mouth?”

She was silent.

Stubbornly, she insisted, “Show me first, and I’ll tell you.”

He pressed her into the chair and stood up.

Wen Ni scrambled to her feet as well, “Zhou Jingyi, let me see it, just for a second!”

Without hesitation, he left.

She chased him to the ancestral hall’s doorway.

He turned just as she collided into him. His hand steadied her waist.

Wen Ni lowered her head, taking a deep breath.

When she finally looked up, her eyes were brimming with tears. “Uncle, you know I lost my mother when I was very young. That bracelet is the only thing she left me…”

A shadow flickered in the depths of Zhou Jingyi’s eyes.

He tightened his grip on her waist, gazing into her tearful eyes, his irritation barely concealed. “Wen Ni, think carefully about what you should be saying.”

With those words, he pressed Wen Ni against the fragrant, ancient rosewood door of the ancestral hall and left without looking back.

Wen Ni leaned against the cold wood, watching him walk away before slowly crouching down. She buried her face in her knees, rubbing her cheeks hard with both hands, trying to hold back her grievances.

It wasn’t long before her shoulders trembled with suppressed sobs.

The next morning, Wen Ni sat on the sixth floor, diligently weaving silk tapestry.

Her fingers moved like fluttering butterflies, so swift they left afterimages in the early morning sunlight. Her hair gleamed golden in the dawn.

Zhou Jingyi emerged from his room and saw this scene.

Wen Ni glanced at him, greeting him coolly, “Good morning, Uncle.”

Afterward, she bowed her head and resumed her work, ignoring him completely.

Zhou Jingyi’s dark eyes lowered as he walked straight to the elevator.

Once the elevator doors closed, Wen Ni quickly set down her tools and tiptoed to his door. Wrapping her palm around the doorknob, she twisted it experimentally.

Amazingly, it opened—he’d forgotten to lock it today.

A heaven-sent opportunity.

Wen Ni glanced around, then crept inside.

It wasn’t her first time in his room, but it was her first time sneaking in like a thief, and she couldn’t help feeling nervous.

She opened the bedside drawer.

Inside were several English books she couldn’t quite understand. Carefully, she took them out and set them aside, searching further.

Nothing in the bedside cabinet, and nothing in the walk-in closet either.

Maybe it was in his study?

His bedroom was connected to the study.

Wen Ni meticulously restored everything to its original state before tiptoeing into the study.

As she opened the door, the tranquil air unique to the room greeted her. A wall-to-wall bookshelf faced her, every compartment filled to the brim with books, from yellowed tomes to brand-new volumes, stacked layer upon layer.

She approached the desk.

An exquisite hardcover book lay open, a jade paperweight pressed atop the page—delicate, translucent, and of excellent quality, ideal for a ring or pendant setting. Such a fine piece, yet merely used to hold down pages—a waste of something so precious.

She tore her gaze away and considered where to search next.

Sitting in the chair, she began pulling open the desk drawers one by one, examining every small box inside before carefully putting each back as she found them.

Her gaze shifted to the overflowing bookshelf.

She hurried over, reaching her small hand between the books to feel behind them.

Just then, the study door swung open from the outside.

Wen Ni’s hand was still groping in the shelf behind the books. She turned instinctively.

Zhou Jingyi stood in the doorway.

His suit’s fine fabric caught the faint light, its perfect cut outlining his tall figure; at his collar, a small diamond pin shone brilliantly.

He looked at her with amusement—saying nothing, yet somehow saying everything.

Wen Ni slowly withdrew her hand, patting the shelf lightly. “Uncle, I just wanted to help tidy up…and borrow a couple of books.”

He remained silent.

She bit her lips, the pink flesh turning almost white under her teeth. “Never mind, I won’t borrow anything. I’ll just leave.”

She tried to go.

As she passed him, Wen Ni turned sideways, gingerly attempting to slip through the narrow gap between him and the doorframe.

But before she could, Zhou Jingyi caught her around the waist and pulled her back.

He closed the door behind them and pinned her against it.

Her hair was a tangled mess, strands falling across her face with a kind of disheveled beauty.

She lifted her chin. “Uncle, keep your distance.”

He gave a cold laugh. “You’ve already rummaged through my room and study, and now you’re telling me to keep my distance?”

She fell silent.

He stared into her eyes, slowly leaning in.

Wen Ni’s throat bobbed as she watched his lips draw closer.

When they were only a centimeter away, he stopped, his voice husky. “Wen Ni, what are you looking for?”

She shoved him away. “I told you, I was here to borrow a book.”

Without waiting for a reply, she hurried toward the door.

Before she could open it, Zhou Jingyi pulled her back again.

Avoiding his gaze, she muttered, “Let go of me, Zhou Jingyi. You’re about to break the agreement.”

He leaned close to her ear. “When you’ve figured out what you should say to me, then we can negotiate about what you want.”