Tonight, Yancy Shaw was like a ravenous wolf that could never be sated, entangling Lauren Shaw for what felt like ages.

Pressed close against him, Lauren Shaw could only hook her arms helplessly around his neck, eyes glimmering with such allure that he couldn't bear to stop.

To see her bloom in his arms, so delicate and captivating—this side of her belonged to him alone.

...

After the passion faded, Lauren Shaw didn't even know when she drifted off to sleep. When she woke the next morning, Yancy Shaw was propped on one elbow, gazing at her in satisfaction. The red marks she’d left on his collarbone told the story of their wild night.

"Awake?"

His voice was soft as he reached out to brush the hair from her cheek and caressed her face.

Remembering his relentless torment the night before—and how her legs were still sore now—she couldn’t help but shoot him an exasperated glare and turned her back to him.

What a jerk. She really didn’t want to talk to him.

Almost instantly, his warmth pressed up behind her. Yancy Shaw wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her neck, voice dripping with delight. "Sorry, I lost control last night."

"You admit it!" she shot back, her tone carrying a bite.

Exhausted from the sleepless night, even her voice was soft and fluffy—so cute it was hard to take her seriously.

She yawned, still tired and drained.

Yancy Shaw just laughed, coaxing her, "Baby, I was wrong. I won't go so wild next time."

"There’s going to be a next time?" she huffed, unable to resist kicking him under the covers. Yancy Shaw caught her flailing foot, his voice dropping low, "Baby, don’t squirm... it’s dangerous down there."

Lauren Shaw instantly froze. After a moment, she couldn't help cursing, "You pervert!"

"But I only act like this with you," he said with a sly grin.

Lauren Shaw really didn't have the energy to banter with him—she was just too tired to move.

Yancy Shaw behaved himself for a while, holding her in his arms. After checking the time, he got up for the day.

Lauren Shaw fell asleep again almost instantly; she had no idea when Yancy Shaw left the house.

It was nearly noon when she was jarred awake by a phone call.

Fumbling for her phone, she answered drowsily. It was a call from Claire Xu. On hearing Lauren Shaw’s groggy voice, Claire Xu couldn't help teasing, "Didn't sleep well last night?"

"Mm."

A laugh drifted across the line. "Your Dr. Shen sure is... tireless. Working all day, then burning the midnight oil, too."

Wasn’t that the truth? Lauren Shaw could only sigh helplessly, her voice thick with sleep. "What’s up, Qingqing?"

"Weren’t you expecting me to come try on the sample dress today? I’m at the studio, but you’re not even up yet."

"Huh?" Lauren Shaw jolted to wakefulness and glanced at the time. Sitting up in bed, she groaned and smacked her forehead. She really had messed up.

"Wait for me—I'll be right there."

"No rush, I’ve got nothing else on today." Claire Xu’s voice was tinged with a knowing smile.

After hanging up, Lauren Shaw quickly got herself together and headed to the studio.

When Claire Xu saw her, her grin only grew. "Tsk tsk, Yancy Shaw just about drained your energy dry, huh?"

Lauren Shaw had clearly slept badly the night before—her exhaustion was obvious. But despite her fatigue, her complexion positively glowed, skin supple and luminous like a freshly watered flower.

Lauren Shaw could only give her a helpless look. "Quit teasing me already."

She busied herself, taking out the sample dress and handing it to Claire Xu.

Claire Xu took the dress into the fitting room to try it on.

By the time the fitting was over, it was almost lunchtime. Lauren Shaw invited Claire Xu along for a meal.

Over lunch, the two of them chatted away.

"I heard there’s been some drama with the Snow family lately. Did you hear?" Claire Xu loved keeping up with juicy gossip, and since her impression of the Xues wasn’t great, of course she had to share news like this with Lauren Shaw.

Lauren Shaw nodded. "I know."

"Last time, I even ran into Yvonne Sung. Guess who he was with?"

Lauren Shaw didn't hesitate, "Yana Quinn."

"How are you so sharp—you got it in one."

"'Cause I ran into them too. And Eva Snow was there, too." Lauren Shaw recounted the farcical scene from the previous night.

Claire Xu listened, utterly entertained. "What a headline! Was it a straight-up confrontation?"

She could just picture the three of them locked in a dramatic showdown—it was almost too funny.

Thinking back to how those three had once ganged up on Lauren Shaw, Claire Xu couldn’t help but wonder if this was poetic justice.

"A man like Yvonne Sung... Only Yana Quinn would see him as a treasure," Claire Xu snarked.

Thank goodness Shengsheng hadn’t ended up marrying him.

Lauren Shaw just shrugged. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a familiar face and paused.

Claire Xu followed her gaze, her mouth twitching in surprise.

"Shengsheng, are my eyes playing tricks on me? Was that our college classmate?"

"No, your eyes aren’t fooling you. That really is our old classmate."

Xiao Pei had also noticed them—she looked surprised for a moment but quickly regained her composure, acting as if she didn’t recognize them at all.

"The guy she’s holding onto looks familiar, too.... who is that...?" Claire Xu struggled to recall the man’s name.

Lauren Shaw replied calmly, "Zhu Xun."

"Yes, that's him." It was honestly a shock. Xiao Pei and Zhu Xun—there was an entire generation between them. Zhu Xun was old enough to be her father.

Zhu Xun’s reputation was infamous, and his turnover of women was faster than changing clothes. It hadn't been that long, and already, the woman on his arm had changed again—this time it was their old college classmate. The world really was too small.

Lauren Shaw glanced over. Zhu Xun treated Xiao Pei decently enough, sitting close and attentive. Only, the tenderness in his expression didn’t quite reach his eyes.

Frankly, he was a seasoned player, always perfectly in control.

Xiao Pei, for her part, gazed at him with overflowing affection.

Claire Xu couldn’t hold back a shiver. "Seriously, money talks these days."

Lauren Shaw chuckled. Xiao Pei shot them a sharp look, as if she knew the two were gossiping about her, and glared venomously in their direction.

Claire Xu just raised an eyebrow, returning a pointed eye-roll of her own.

Zhu Xun took a call—an emergency, perhaps—murmured a few words to Xiao Pei, then got up and left without caring whether she was displeased.

Left alone, Xiao Pei’s face darkened visibly.

Lauren Shaw and Claire Xu kept eating, but Xiao Pei stomped right over to them, slapping a hand down on the table, eyes full of grievance. "Were you just laughing at me?"

Lauren Shaw looked at her coolly. "And what makes you think you saw us laughing at you?"

Xiao Pei wouldn’t let it go. "You two kept staring at me as soon as I came in! Don't think I don't know—you’re both just jealous of me."

What? Jealous?

Lauren Shaw’s face could not have looked more unimpressed. Claire Xu couldn’t help but snort. "Jealous of you? What on earth would we be jealous of?"

Xiao Pei glared, but before she could reply, Claire Xu pressed on, "Are we jealous that you landed a man old enough to be my dad? Or jealous of your infinite 'charm,' bagging both young and old?"