"Easy. Relax."

In a tucked-away corner, the man in a tailored suit lowered his eyes slightly and looked at the girl who had him pinned against the wall.

One strong arm was loosely hooked around her waist. He could clearly feel how tense she was.

The corner of his lips lifted, almost imperceptibly, and he leaned in.

"You're too nervous."

His voice was low and smooth, brushing past her ear at an unhurried pace, like a tiny current of electricity—numbing, dangerous, shooting straight through her whole body.

The girl in his arms instantly lost her rhythm of breathing.

Vivienne Calloway looked up, and a familiar handsome face slammed straight into her sight.

∑

O_O！

！

Her heart skipped so hard it nearly jumped out of her chest.

Why was it him?!

The man before her had flawless bone structure, sharply defined features, and a tall nose bridge framed by thin gold-rimmed glasses.

His dark, fathomless eyes looked like the surface of some deep midnight sea, calm on top, but hiding dangerous, seductive whirlpools underneath.

He was tall and broad-shouldered, with a narrow waist, dressed in a perfectly cut black bespoke suit. Inside, his white shirt was buttoned all the way up to the very top, neat to the point of obsession.

The fitted fabric stretched faintly over his solid chest, the lines of muscle barely visible beneath it.

Somehow, that restrained, almost ascetic air around him only made the wildness underneath feel sharper.

His face looked refined, clean, almost elegant.

But that body? Total contrast. Strong, fierce, insanely aggressive.

Vivienne couldn't help staring at him.

Four words floated into her mind on their own.

A suited menace.

Maybe her gaze lingered too long, because the man lifted the end of his eyes with amused interest and let out a soft chuckle.

They were standing way too close.

His lazy laugh vibrated through his chest, then rolled over to her ears, slow and deep, rubbing lightly against the roots of them.

Vivienne's face went hot.

She snapped back to herself.

When she realized both her hands were still looped around his neck, she hurriedly pulled them back, then quickly took a step away to put some distance between them.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Whitmore."

A faint, embarrassed blush spread across her fair, pretty face, soft and almost tempting. Her Mandarin, tinged with a Hong Kong accent, sounded proper yet sweet. "I offended you."

Ugh.

How did this turn into such a train wreck?

˃⌑˂ഃ

To get away from her family's endless control, she had secretly asked her best friend, Celia Whitmore, for help and transferred to Jingbei as a sophomore exchange student from Hong Kong.

She thought she'd escaped.

Turns out her family had already arranged bodyguards, just waiting to grab her the second she came out of the arrival gate and drag her back.

She had run all the way to a turning corner in a panic, just as a tall figure stepped out.

The footsteps behind her were getting closer and closer.

In that split second of desperation, before she even got a good look at him, she reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Awkwardly, clumsily, she pushed him against the wall, buried her face in his chest, and pretended they were lovers so she could hide behind him and dodge the crisis.

What she didn't expect was that the random passerby she'd grabbed was anything but random.

He was Adrian Whitmore.

The current head of the Whitmore family, one of the most powerful names in both Jingbei and Hong Kong. A top-tier tycoon everyone knew. The so-called jade-faced Buddha.

And also... Celia Whitmore's little uncle.

Vivienne felt like her soul was leaving her body.

She already felt bad enough for dragging her friend into helping her.

Who would've thought she'd also accidentally taken advantage of her friend's uncle too...

Vivienne rubbed her face with a dead-inside expression.

It was like a pair of invisible little sheep horns on her head had trembled, adding another layer of pink embarrassment to her cheeks.

She was so done for.

How was she even supposed to fix this mess?

Vivienne pressed her lips together and started frantically brainstorming.

But what this little sheep, lost in thought, didn't know—

was that the gaze the upright, gentle-looking man fixed on her had already turned deep and burning.

Like a terrifying wolf king staring at prey he'd wanted for a very, very long time, finally unable to hold back the desire he'd hidden for years.

Ah.

Finally.

That little girl from back then had grown up.

Like a ripe fruit carrying a quiet, intoxicating fragrance—finally ready to be picked and savored slowly.

Adrian Whitmore's Adam's apple shifted slightly as his dark gaze locked onto her delicate, sweet face.

In the angle she couldn't see, his eyes were greedy, obsessive, as if he wanted to carve every inch of her into his bones, into his blood.

A girl who had grown into such a graceful, lovely young woman—

who wouldn't want to pluck her?

But the one doing the plucking could only be him.

Only him.

Still, now wasn't the time to make a rash move.

This had to be done slowly, step by step.

He absolutely couldn't scare her off.

Adrian lowered his lashes, covering the storm in his eyes, and continued playing the role of the harmless, refined elder in front of her.

"Where exactly did Miss go?"

"Let's check over there."

Not far away, several bodyguards in black from the Calloway family looked around, then started walking toward the lounge area where they were.

Crap.

They're coming this way!

The alarm in Vivienne's head went off instantly.

Like a startled fluffy little sheep, she instinctively moved to hide behind the tall man in front of her.

But then she suddenly remembered who he was and froze on the spot. Her face, still tinted pink, looked blank and helpless.

Seeing how she clearly wanted help but was also too scared to ask, Adrian's lips curved ever so slightly.

Damn.

So obedient.

How could she be this obedient?

It made people want to protect her.

And bully her a little too.

He hid the darkness in his eyes and stepped forward, his broad shoulders neatly blocking her petite figure and cutting off everyone else's line of sight behind him.

Like a big bad wolf wearing the skin of a gentleman, he coaxed the little sheep before him in a low, calm voice, "Miss, do you need my help?"

Vivienne's lashes trembled, hesitation flashing across her face.

The man before her was someone even people in Hong Kong knew well—a top figure of power in Jingbei.

And someone she should respect as an elder.

She didn't even know why he had suddenly appeared here. She had already used him just now and hadn't properly apologized yet, and now she was about to trouble him again.

It really was rude.

But right now, she couldn't think of any better option.

She had finally escaped from that prison of a home. The freedom she'd wanted for so long was right in front of her. She didn't want to lose it again.

Living every day like some puppet on strings, hearing, "Everything we're doing is for your own good" over and over—

she had long since been crushed to the point she could barely breathe.

If the price of being sensible was losing herself, then she didn't want it.

Nineteen years of grievance had piled up inside her.

She'd had enough.

Vivienne pressed her lips together, and determination slowly lit up in her eyes.

She had been the good girl for nineteen years.

Let her be selfish just this once.

The favor she owed him—later, as long as it was within her power, she would repay it properly.

Under his patient, gentle gaze, Vivienne finally nodded and said softly, "Mr. Whitmore, I need your help."

A truly high-level hunter usually knows how to disguise himself as prey.

Even being used by someone could still be part of the plan.

Hearing the answer he'd long expected, Adrian hid the selfish desire in his eyes and replied in a warm voice, "Alright."

"Then—"

"Excuse me."

As soon as the words fell, he reached out and, with perfect gentlemanly manners, half-wrapped an arm around her slim, soft waist, drawing her forward into the solid shelter of his strong arm.

The distance between them vanished all over again.

A clean, cool scent of blackwood fell over her like a fine net, dense and impossible to escape.

Vivienne's breathing instantly turned ragged.

Her hands pressed against his chest, and the closeness made her head spin with a faint, tipsy sort of dizziness.

The strand of Buddhist beads on his wrist brushed lightly over the pale blue qipao she was wearing, through the soft fabric, glancing across her waist.

That tiny touch stirred up a strange, unfamiliar shiver.

Vivienne's lashes quivered. Instinctively, she tried to lean back and create some space.

But the tall, handsome man before her had already lowered his head, bending close to her flushed ear. His arm tightened without a trace.

Like a hunter who had planned this for ages, hiding all his wolfish ambition behind perfect manners, he coaxed her in a voice so polite it almost felt dangerous.

"If you stay like this, you'll be spotted very easily."

"So come a little closer—"

"Into my arms."

—

The new book is here!

After the fox-and-bunny couple, our little animal kingdom series is getting a brand-new pair—

A black-bellied, refined scumbag wolf × a soft, sweet, obedient little lamb!

Not a long story, but the whole ride is sugary, flirty, and crazy swoony. The male lead has been plotting forever, moving one careful step at a time, while the female lead slowly falls for him and sinks deeper bit by bit!

Welcome, babes—come chat, add it to your shelf, and drop those five-star reviews ❤

This summer, let's eat sugar and walk the flower road together～