Chapter 4 No Unlabeled Relationships

Chapter 4: No Dating Without a Label

Qin Shuyi turned her face a fraction toward him.

His lips met the corner of her mouth.

Ling Jue’s smile suddenly widened, like a patient hunter seizing his desired prey. He pressed her waist firmly against himself, took her soft lips in his, and deepened the kiss.

His body engulfed hers, blocking her from any outside view.

Yet, the huge size difference and his dominant posture, along with the faint, almost illusory smacking sounds in the air, stirred a restless, fidgety tension in the room, as if everyone had fleas.

Given Ling Jue’s status, no one dared to openly watch the spectacle. They silently averted their eyes, putting on a boisterous show for the next round, deliberately avoiding the entangled couple.

The corner sofa seemed to become a vacuum within the room.

At one point, someone made an overly dramatic and bold exclamation, “Ah, the punishment isn’t one minute, it’s five!”

They were quickly elbowed by others.

The audacity!

…

Qin Shuyi felt like a drowning person, utterly drained and suffocated, her strength nearly sapped away.

Yet the serpent in the depths held her tightly, refusing to relent for even a moment.

In her daze, she heard his low chuckle. “Don’t know how to kiss?”

Then came gentle licks before he parted her lips, invading and entangling with a tenderness that was equally unyielding.

One minute… could it be this long?

Weakly, she pressed her hands against his chest, trying to push him away for a gasp of air, but he was like an immovable beast.

Five minutes, not a second less.

He released her.

Qin Shuyi gasped like a fish nearly out of water.

As they parted and their eyes met, aside from the dazed look from physical pleasure at the corners of their eyes, their gazes held an identical calm.

With the punishment over, everyone glanced over curiously.

Master Jue always had beauties around him, but he had never displayed such overt intimacy in public. This was a first.

Some envied Qin Shuyi’s luck, others coveted the kiss Ling Jue had received. Only the Jiang siblings, seeing their cousin’s peach-blossom complexion and swollen lips, burst into tears and clung to each other in despair.

Their precious cabbage had been rooted up by a pig!

…

But the real kicker came next, in another round of King’s Game.

Numbers three and five were designated as one-week temporary lovers.

When the cards were revealed, the holders were once again the two protagonists of the night.

Qian Youyou genuinely wanted to curse—what a trash game.

In contrast, Jiang Yuzhou belatedly caught on.

Unlike his stepsister, who had joined the Jiang family at fifteen, he had grown up in elite circles. Even without much cunning, he sensed too many coincidences tonight.

He glanced toward the head seat, where the man played with the cards, his expression casual and inscrutable. A chill ran down Jiang Yuzhou’s spine.

Was tonight premeditated by someone, or had someone simply seized the opportunity?

Qin Shuyi wasn’t his biological cousin, but he got along well with his stepmother, Zhou Tinglan, and his stepsister, Qian Youyou, who was a month younger.

To him, Qin Shuyi was almost like a real sister.

He didn’t want Sister Shuyi sucked into their inexplicable games.

Until the gathering ended, he held onto hope that everyone would treat it as just a joke.

However, Young Master Ling, who had remained silent all along, walked over calmly to bid Qin Shuyi farewell.

“See you tomorrow, girlfriend.”

Jiang Yuzhou’s world collapsed.

…

That night, the two younger ones got an earful from their parents.

They were supposed to take their cousin out to have fun, not gamble her away.

The elders, however, weren’t overly worried.

They had a deeper understanding of Ling Jue’s status. It was just a game, after all. Who would dare hold Ling Jue to the bet?

Like Qin Shuyi, they believed it was merely the heat of the moment—no one wanted to be a poor sport—and that she had agreed casually.

But the next morning, seeing the Ferrari with the conspicuous license plate parked at the Jiang residence’s gate and the impossibly long-legged man leaning against it, all four jaws dropped.

Jiang Yuzhou received a few more smacks to the back of his head.

Qin Shuyi still remembered the expressions on the four Jiang family members’ faces as she got into Ling Jue’s car—as if she were heading to her execution.

Her aunt, Zhou Tinglan, marrying into the Jiang family was already considered marrying up. But the chasm between the Ling and Qin families was wider than hundreds of Jiang families combined.

Moreover, Ling Jue was never without women around him. For someone like Qin Shuyi, whose life was steady and conventional, he was definitely not a suitable match.

What they feared was precisely what Ling Jue had said in the private room earlier—

“Just for fun.”

A casual game by those in power could shatter an ordinary person’s peaceful life.

Yet they had no power to refuse.

…

Qin Shuyi gazed at the scenery flying past the car window, recalling the past, and a faint smile touched her lips.

Actually, dating Ling Jue wasn’t as unpleasant as everyone imagined.

After the seven-day designated couple period ended, Ling Jue took it upon himself to keep it going.

He had always acted decisively, so Qin Shuyi soon discovered that the Jiang family's business, her parents' work abroad, and even her own life were being completely infiltrated.

She was acutely aware that Ling Jue was determined to succeed, and that any coy resistance or stubborn standoff would not affect the outcome in the slightest.

So she agreed.

But truthfully, even before Ling Jue appeared, she had thought the same thing: perhaps it was time to start a relationship.

With her studies completed and her career stable, finding someone to date seemed like a natural next step.

If not Ling Jue, it would have been someone else.

Besides, he was handsome, wealthy, and knew how to live. His world was painted in colors different from Qin Shuyi's.

Many things, if not for being with Ling Jue, she would never have experienced in her lifetime.

It was like passing by a beautiful landscape—she was curious to explore it.

She believed not every romance had to lead to marriage. Just as Ling Jue was just playing around, she never intended to have a future with him either.

Why didn't Xu Chen's provocation make her angry?

Because Ling Jue was never her final destination.

...

After confirming that Ling Jue was single—currently without a female companion, without anyone on the side, and without a fiancée—Qin Shuyi had just one condition: she would not be in a relationship that had to be kept in the dark.

Ling Jue agreed, and so she became his first official girlfriend.

But both of them knew that this was a relationship doomed from the start.

Qin Shuyi liked his face and his free-spirited, unrestrained nature, while Ling Jue liked that she was well-behaved and compliant, and valued the peace and comfort he felt when he was with her.

However, he never considered marrying her, and the Ling family had no need for a Mrs. Ling with an ordinary background.

They indulged in pleasure together, yet each maintained their own boundaries.

But what did it matter?

She simply needed a proper, aboveboard relationship—one where she wouldn't have to hide or be evasive in front of family and friends. It wasn't about being kept, being a mistress, or being a homewrecker; it wouldn't bring shame to her family.

With that premise secured, she also openly enjoyed the romance, savoring the company of this exceptional man.

Even if they broke up later, it would be Ling Jue who was the jerk.

The only downside was that she hadn't started this game, and it seemed she couldn't call it off either.

But she thought this brief act of the playboy's reformation was nearing its end.

Because that "turning point" had already appeared.

The true owner of the ring that had caused everyone's misunderstanding—the one she had accompanied him to pick up three days ago—

Tao Wangxi was about to return to the country.

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