Beijing-Hong Kong Rosemary

Chapter 3 Is Mr. Qu dating?

As night falls, the yacht is brightly lit, and the lively atmosphere continues.

In the private rooms on the second floor, the coffee tables were piled high with expensive wines and exquisite snacks, and well-dressed young men from wealthy families were gathered together drinking and playing cards.

Zhou Shilin sat in the center of the sofa, swirling a glass of whiskey in his hand, clearly not interested.

Someone noticed his thoughts, glanced towards the door, and deliberately brought up a sensitive topic: "Miss Shen hasn't arrived yet? This is disrespecting our Young Master Zhou."

Others also joined in, eager to see what would happen.

"Does the Shen family dare to disrespect the Second Young Master? Do they no longer want to cooperate with the Zhou family?"

"From what I understand, Mr. Shen is very interested in the autonomous driving project."

"Second Young Master, you haven't won over Miss Shen this time. This isn't like you."

"Some girls like to play hard to get. It's her good fortune that the second young master has taken a liking to her. Being too arrogant and spoiled is just not appreciative."

Hearing the noisy sounds around him, Zhou Shilin frowned and silently tilted his head back to drink.

This was the first time he had ever been rejected by a woman; in the past, he had never failed to get any woman he fancied.

But something that is too easily obtained lacks challenge, and he had to admit that Shen Guining aroused his desire to conquer.

Fifteen minutes later, the door to the private room was pushed open, and Shen Yue and Shen Guining arrived late.

"The two Miss Shens have finally arrived. We've been waiting for you two." Someone in the crowd spoke up.

The noisy atmosphere subsided somewhat.

Shen Yue took Shen Guining's hand and walked over, smiling apologetically, "I'm sorry everyone, Xi Mei has a bit of a cold and overslept, so we're late."

Zhou Shilin put down his wine glass, lifted his eyelids, his eyes slightly cloudy from the wine, and looked directly at Shen Guining's face. "It's nothing."

"Is your cold any better? Should you see a doctor?" he asked politely.

Shen Guining quickly declined, "No need, thank you."

The tone was noticeably indifferent.

The atmosphere became a little awkward. Shen Yuexin tensed up, afraid of offending Zhou Shilin. She was about to say something to ease the tension when, fortunately, someone stepped in to lighten the mood, "Since you're here, have some fun! What would you two like to drink? Red wine or champagne? There's a wine that's more suitable for ladies..."

Zhou Shilin interrupted, "Don't drink alcohol if you have a cold, drink some juice instead."

As soon as these words were spoken, a chorus of jeers and cheers erupted.

"Oh, so you're protecting him now? When did you become so considerate, Second Young Master?"

"Alright, alright, since the second young master has spoken, Miss Shen, please have some juice."

The man next to Zhou Shilin was very perceptive; he got up and made room for Shen Guining, and handed her a glass of orange juice as well.

All the other seats were occupied, so Shen Guining had no choice but to take the cup and sit down.

Her nasal cavity was filled with the strong smell of alcohol, making her head throb and her breathing difficult.

Shen Yue didn't sit with Shen Guining. Instead, she was pulled to the balcony by a few other girls to chat. She knew many friends in the circle and was quite popular, so she was very adept at handling this kind of occasion.

On the contrary, Shen Guining felt extremely uncomfortable staying here, especially with an annoying person sitting next to her. All she could think about was finding an excuse to get away.

Zhou Shilin asked her if she wanted to play cards, but she refused, saying she didn't know how. Fortunately, no one forced her.

She held the juice in her hand without drinking it. When out and about, the young girl is quite cautious. Without a trustworthy friend by her side, she wouldn't drink any alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages offered by strangers.

The others continued playing cards and chatting.

"Second Young Master, I heard that the Zhou family is going to collaborate with the Qu family on a new project?"

"Mr. Qu's trip to Hong Kong this time was also for this matter, wasn't it?"

Zhou Shilin grunted in response, fiddling with the playing cards in his hand, completely indifferent.

"Only the Zhou family has that kind of influence."

"Yes, if there's a chance, please help us introduce him to Mr. Qu."

Shen Guining listened to their flattery and remained silent, pretending to be invisible.

This was the second time she had heard someone mention this Mr. Qu. He was a man of high status, and even the Zhou family had to treat him with utmost respect.

"Is Mr. Qu dating anyone?" a young lady asked casually.

The man next to her teased, "What, are you interested?"

The girl shook her head. "No, I know my place. I was just asking out of curiosity."

"Currently single." Zhou Shilin picked up a lighter from the table and lit a cigarette. "Mr. Qu has high standards; ordinary people don't meet his expectations."

No one outside the circle knows anything about that bigwig's private life. He doesn't like being in the public eye, never gives interviews, and no media outlet dares to pry into his privacy.

Zhou Shilin overheard his elder brother mention that Mr. Qu was single, but he knew nothing else about it.

The conversation turned to some trivial matters, which bored Shen Guining, who was just looking for an excuse to leave when an opportunity soon presented itself.

Someone accidentally bumped into her arm as they passed by, and she pretended to have lost her grip on the cup, causing the juice to spill onto her skirt.

The man was surprised to see this. "I'm sorry, Miss Shen, I didn't mean it."

"It's nothing." Shen Guining put down her cup and took a few tissues from the coffee table to wipe it. The dress was light-colored, but the juice stain had turned it dark, making it difficult to clean.

"I'm going to the bathroom to take care of this."

She picked up her bag, stood up, and left the private room as a matter of course.

Zhou Shilin narrowed his eyes as he glanced at her back, the cigarette butt in his hand crumpling in his hand.

He could see it clearly: Shen Guining was doing it on purpose.

"You guys play." He snapped his back teeth in annoyance, threw down his cigarette butt, and followed them.

A group of people were left behind, whispering and mocking.

"It seems that the second young master is really interested in this Miss Shen."

"It's just a novelty."

"A woman like Shen Guining is indeed breathtakingly beautiful."

After all, who doesn't like beautiful things? Even a vase is pleasing to the eye.

The restroom is at the end of the corridor.

Shen Guining went into the restroom and washed her hands at the sink.

In the mirror, her delicate features were made even more radiant by the makeup, and the overhead light made her skin look crystal clear.

She hadn't planned to wear makeup, but Shen Yue personally did her a Hong Kong retro makeup look and asked her to change into a matching dress, which is why she was half an hour late.

Shen Guining didn't plan to go back to the private room. She took out her phone from her bag and was about to send a WeChat message to Shen Yue when she came out of the restroom and suddenly found Zhou Shilin leaning against the wall, looking like he was lazily waiting for someone.

She was startled and took two steps back, her eyes filled with defensiveness.

Zhou Shilin crossed his arms and looked down, "Miss Shen, is your dress alright?"

Shen Guining lowered her arm and gripped her phone tightly, regaining her composure as she said, "It's a bit difficult to clean. I'll go back to my room and change my clothes."

There was no one else around, and based on a sixth sense, it wasn't advisable to be alone with this man.

She started walking towards the elevator, but Zhou Shilin suddenly grabbed her wrist, his tone displeased: "Are you in such a hurry to leave, trying to avoid me?"

Shen Guining immediately struggled, unable to control her panic, "No!"

Unfortunately, he was too strong, and she couldn't break free at all.

Zhou Shilin hadn't expected her to react so strongly when he had just grabbed her hand, as if he were some kind of monster.

"Shen Guining, my patience is limited." His chest heaved, barely concealing his anger.

Shen Yue said her cousin is easily swayed by gentle persuasion but not by force. Does that sound like her?

No matter how you look at it, they won't budge an inch.

If that's the case, he doesn't need to be gentle and considerate towards her; he might as well use force.

"Let go of me!" Shen Guining tried to shake off his hand.

Zhou Shilin not only didn't let go, but also put his other hand around her waist and held her tightly.

The gentlemanly facade of not long ago has been completely torn off at this moment, revealing his true colors.

Shen Guining resisted even more fiercely, showing extreme rejection both physically and psychologically.

The more she resisted, the more excited Zhou Shilin became, arousing a perverse sense of excitement in him.

He gripped the back of the girl's neck with his hand and forcefully lowered his head to kiss her.

Shen Guining desperately dodged, pushing away forcefully with both hands, shouting, "No!"

In a moment of crisis, she suddenly raised her leg and thrust it hard into the man's groin, the movement swift and aimed directly at his vitals.

Zhou Shilin was completely unprepared for her attack, and his expression changed drastically. He broke out in a cold sweat from the pain in his lower body.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Shen Guining pushed him away and ran away.

She was glad that she had learned some self-defense techniques, because only precise force could kill with a single blow.

Zhou Shilin looked pained and gritted his teeth as he cursed, "You bitch!"

He paused for a few seconds, then took a step and chased after him.

Hearing the footsteps chasing her getting closer, Shen Guining's heart pounded. She didn't dare to stop for a moment. She gave up waiting for the elevator and climbed the stairs directly. By the time she reached the seventh floor, she was already panting.

Knowing that the entire yacht belonged to the Zhou family, where could she hide? Even running back to her room might not be safe.

In the midst of the chaos, I caught a glimpse of a half-open door, light squeezing through the crack.

She saw a savior and, disregarding everything else, rushed inside.

This might be the only safe place.

The door closed, and Shen Guining, leaning against it, hadn't even had a chance to catch her breath when she heard a deep voice coming from the front: "Who let you in?"

(End of this chapter)