◎Her mind went blank for a moment.◎
Jian Youyou’s hair was finally released, and she let out a small sigh of relief. Collecting her thoughts, she began spinning a wild tale.
Operating under the principle that if the lie worked, great—if not, she could always vanish on the spot and scare Yu Hekun senseless—Jian Youyou cleared her throat. Wrapping her arms around Yu Hekun’s waist, which wasn’t much thicker than her own, she buried her face in the pleasant scent of his shower gel and started explaining.
"I heard it from your friend at the kindergarten," she said. "He was picking up his daughter and invited one of the teachers..."
Yu Hekun’s grip on her shoulders loosened slightly, his fingers relaxing against the back of her neck.
It was working!
In the original plot, the host of this party had indeed invited a kindergarten teacher—more as a casual courtesy than anything else. That teacher had actually shown up, and she happened to be Jian You’s former colleague. Before being "kept" by Yu Hekun, Jian You had worked as a kindergarten teacher, and she’d first met him when he was helping his friend pick up a child.
This entire subplot existed solely to humiliate Jian You, the story’s villainess. Surrounded by actual young masters and ladies of high society, she and the teacher—who’d been invited as a joke—stood out like ducks among swans, their every gesture and word dripping with awkwardness.
Especially since, in the original story, Jian You had desperately tried to distance herself from the teacher, scrambling to claw her way into the upper-class circle. After all, she was Yu Hekun’s mistress—decked out in designer clothes and flawless makeup, a wild duck masquerading in swan’s feathers.
Unfortunately for her, the teacher wasn’t about to take the humiliation lying down. Not only did she expose Jian You’s background, but she also teamed up with a few women who had designs on Yu Hekun, orchestrating a scene where Jian You knocked over a champagne tower, leaving her utterly disgraced and nearly disfigured.
The whole thing was as melodramatic as it got, but as an outsider reading the story, Jian Youyou had found it satisfying. After all, wasn’t the villainess meant to be tormented?
If not for the fact that their names were nearly identical—making it hard not to self-insert—she would’ve enjoyed it even more.
Now, though, the thought of actually living through this plotline—no longer as a spectator, but as the villainess being humiliated—made her want to scream.
Still, she was deeply grateful to her past self for paying close attention to this part of the story. Look how neatly it helped her patch up that earlier lie! When she claimed she’d seen Zhan Cheng at the kindergarten, even Yu Hekun found it plausible.
Feeling him waver, Jian Youyou pressed on. "Actually, that night… I didn’t really fall into a tree hole. I lied to you..."
The grip on her neck tightened again. Yu Hekun’s scoff reverberated through his chest, sounding almost as if he’d snorted directly into her ear.
Jian Youyou hurriedly continued, "I just wanted you to worry about me! And… I was embarrassed because you ignored my confession and got angry. I felt so stupid, so I ran off in a huff."
She added, "I happened to catch a taxi back to the city and went to my old place. Then, while shopping, I ran into your friend picking up his kid at the kindergarten. He was talking to my former colleague about his yacht party. Since you helped him with his kid before, I figured you’d be invited, so… I couldn’t help coming back. I was afraid you’d take some other woman instead of looking for me. I never expected you’d send so many people after me. Boss Yu, I’m so happy..."
She looked up at him with adoring eyes. "Boss Yu, don’t be mad anymore, okay? I promise I won’t throw tantrums or run off again. I’ll be good."
The story was plausible enough, though a closer inspection would reveal holes. But Jian Youyou had been cutting corners on homework since elementary school without getting caught. Under Ms. Shuiyue’s relentless training, she’d mastered the art of lying—mixing truth with fiction, sticking to her guns, and leaving no trace even if someone dug deeper.
The villa district’s roads were lined with trees, marketed as a "natural oasis in the city," so surveillance wasn’t comprehensive. Who could prove no taxi had passed by?
As for Zhan Cheng picking up his kid daily—well, the playboy casually inviting a pretty teacher to his party was perfectly believable. Even if investigated, it would hold up.
Yet, Yu Hekun’s instincts told him something was off. He didn’t release her, nor did he relent, clearly still unconvinced.
Time for the trump card: deflection and misdirection.
"Actually… there’s one more thing I need to confess," Jian Youyou murmured, her voice even guiltier now, squirming as if trying to escape his hold.
Yu Hekun, predictably distracted by her furtiveness, growled, "What else? Spit it out!"
Jian Youyou whispered, "When I worked at the kindergarten… it wasn’t the first time I saw you. That day you noticed me in the white dress..."
Her voice grew softer, barely audible. Yu Hekun instinctively leaned closer. "What?"
The moment he was near enough, Jian Youyou seized the back of his neck, using what little arm strength she had to keep him from pulling away.
"I did it on purpose," she breathed, spinning the lie so convincingly she almost believed it herself. She clung to him, her toes barely touching the ground, her lips almost brushing his as he tried—and failed—to straighten up.
"The first time I saw you, I liked you," she murmured. "That day wasn’t even my shift. I went there to wait for you because I overheard you telling your friend’s daughter you’d pick her up again. I wanted to seduce you..."
Total nonsense. The original Jian You had been smitten too, but she’d never dared approach him. That day, she’d actually been out shopping—pure coincidence that her look and aura happened to match Yu Hekun’s idealized "white moonlight."
But Jian Youyou sold it like the truth. "You just glanced at me and left. I thought I’d failed. Then when you came to me later, offering to keep me… Boss Yu, I was over the moon. Do you have any idea?"
She deliberately kept her voice low—a trick she’d picked up from dramas, though she’d misapplied it. Usually, it was men who used that husky tone to seduce women.
Yu Hekun gripped her shoulders, trying to shove her down, but Jian Youyou only clung tighter, even stepping onto his feet. "Don’t push me away, Boss Yu. I really… I really like you. I don’t want your money. I don’t need promises. I don’t even care if you’re seeing someone else in me. Can’t I just stay by your side?!"
Stay by your side to get that money, you bastard!
Jian Youyou sniffled, genuinely heartbroken over the villa she might never get. The pain brought fresh tears to her eyes.
She dangled herself, her lips brushing ever so lightly against Yu Hekun's mouth as she continued, "I just like you. That's not a bad thing. Have you ever been loved before, President Yu? You don't need to do anything, no response is necessary, really..."
As she spoke, she tilted her head up and shakily pressed her lips to Yu Hekun's, bracing herself to be shoved away. But whether it was due to sleep deprivation slowing his reactions or the fact that Jian Youyou had nearly desensitized him over the past couple of days, Yu Hekun simply froze when her lips touched his. He blinked, unsure of what he was even doing.
Have you ever been loved before?
The question swirled uncontrollably in his mind, pulling him into a vortex of Jian Youyou's making—no response needed, nothing required of you...
And so, he didn’t respond. He did nothing. He wanted to taste what it felt like to be loved.
Jian Youyou pressed against those impossibly soft lips again. When Yu Hekun didn’t immediately lose his temper, she raised an eyebrow in surprise before slowly savoring the tenderness, swallowing lightly as she indulged without restraint.
That faint minty taste lingered, mixed with the scent of his shampoo and body wash, like a dessert—absolutely delicious.
But Yu Hekun didn’t stay spellbound for long. Soon, he grabbed the back of Jian Youyou’s collar and yanked her away. She released her hold on his neck, her feet touching the ground, though she still leaned forward slightly, her lips glistening as she watched his reaction with curiosity.
Yu Hekun wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, then pushed Jian Youyou back by the shoulders, putting distance between them. Only then did the disgust set in—he felt like every inch of him was tainted by another person’s scent. It wasn’t any particular smell, just an invasive presence.
"How was it, President Yu?" Jian Youyou sighed in genuine admiration. "Your lips are so soft. So kissable."
Yu Hekun shoved her away as if she were something filthy. "Not great!" he snapped.
Jian Youyou stumbled from the push and watched as he scrubbed at his mouth with his hand, then pulled out a handkerchief to wipe it more thoroughly before spraying something from a small bottle onto his lips.
If this had been someone with a fragile heart, someone who genuinely loved this idiot, their entire being would have shattered into pieces by now. The rejection was brutal—was this how one treated a kiss, as if it were a viral contamination?
But Jian Youyou didn’t care. She had no heart to break. Watching Yu Hekun’s theatrics, she even asked, "Do you want to go brush your teeth? I had a street-side sausage skewer on my way back."
Yu Hekun’s eyes widened in horror. "You mean those filthy roadside stalls exposed to car exhaust all day?"
Jian Youyou nodded. "Yep. The one outside the hospital was so good." She grinned, flashing her pearly whites. "Absolutely teeming with bacteria."
Yu Hekun covered his mouth and bolted upstairs. Jian Youyou gathered the scattered mess, tossed it all in the trash, then leisurely made her way up as well.
Outside, night had fallen, and the immediate crisis had passed—but Jian Youyou didn’t let her guard down. She returned to her room, showered, changed into cotton pajamas, and blow-dried her hair before creeping back to Yu Hekun’s door.
"President Yu? President Yu?" she whispered, pressing her ear against the door.
No answer. She leaned in further—and the door creaked open. It wasn’t locked?
"President Yu, I’m coming in," she murmured before stepping inside.
The bedroom light was on, and the sound of running water came from the bathroom. He’s showering again? At this rate, he’ll scrub his skin raw.
Jian Youyou circled the room, her eyes glinting mischievously before she slipped under the covers of Yu Hekun’s massive bed, burying herself completely to wait.
Before long, the blow dryer hummed from the bathroom, followed by the sound of the door opening. Yu Hekun stepped out in a bathrobe, his lips visibly chapped—even drinking water stung when the rim of the glass touched them.
His mind buzzed with exhaustion, but the memory of what had just happened made him scowl.
Had aliens taken over his brain? Why had he even entertained the idea of "experiencing love"? From that grubby little troublemaker, no less?
Yu Hekun reaffirmed his decision to end this chaotic arrangement. Whether she was deliberately seducing him or he was just seeing a resemblance in her face, it had to stop. Besides, she’d let herself go lately—she didn’t look anything like that person anymore.
But he was too drained to deal with it now. Tomorrow. He needed sleep—desperately. After two showers in a row and days without proper rest, his entire body was screaming for it.
He sat on the edge of the bed, pulled back the covers, and lay down—only to jerk back with a startled yelp when his foot hit something under the sheets. He scrambled to get up, but before he could, a large lump under the blankets suddenly surged toward him, slamming him back into the mattress.
Yu Hekun was buried in the soft bedding, his mind blanking for a second.
