Maleficent Deception (High h, 1V1) - Chapter 19
When Wen Shu woke up again, the sun was already high in the sky. She instinctively reached for her phone, only to realize after some fumbling that this wasn’t her room at home.
She was alone in a quiet hotel room. Her phone sat charging on the nightstand.
As she tried to sit up, a deep ache in her waist reminded her of what had happened the night before. Her body was sore all over, especially her thighs, which ached from overuse. Every little movement pulled at tired muscles.
The room felt chilly. When she lifted the blanket, she noticed someone had already applied ointment to the red and swollen areas of her body. Even a bite mark on her calf had been carefully disinfected with iodine.
She checked the time on her phone — it was already past two in the afternoon.
Several unread WeChat messages caught her eye. The sender was Lu Ji.
The messages were simple:
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to check your phone. I had a required class this morning, and I didn’t want you to think I bailed. I used your fingerprint to unlock it and added my contact. Hope you don’t mind.”
“I ordered lunch to your room — you can call the front desk to have it delivered.”
“Still asleep? I’ll come pick you up after class.”
The last message had been sent about 20 minutes ago.
Wen Shu responded with a quick “No need.” Lu Ji replied instantly:
“You’re up? Have you eaten yet?”
She replied while still in the chat: “Just woke up, haven’t eaten. I’ll head home after lunch. No need to come over.”
This time, Lu Ji didn’t respond immediately.
Wen Shu went to check messages from others. She noticed Jiang Yihuai had called her the night before, but Lu Ji had hung up. Jiang had also texted:
“Why didn’t you come home? Everything okay?”
Wen Shu casually replied with an excuse. She knew Jiang wasn’t truly concerned — it was just a formality.
“My mom came to see me, so I went home.”
Ironically, just as she sent the message, her mom really did message her:
“Wenwen, has your father contacted you recently?”
Wen Shu paused before replying: “No.”
Her parents divorced when she was still a child. Her father had come out, left the family to be with his boyfriend, and ended up opening a successful hotel business in Nancheng.
Now, older and without other heirs, he had begun reaching out to Wen Shu.
“Wenwen, if you want to see your father, you can. I won’t stop you. He’s still your dad, after all,” her mom had written.
Wen Shu couldn’t help but smile. To her, her father had always been a stranger — it was hard to feel anything about him.
So she called her mother directly.
“Mom, why do you keep telling me to see that man? I don’t want to,” Wen Shu said, a hint of complaint in her voice.
Her mother chuckled softly over the line. “Oh, honey. Do you think I don’t know my daughter? You seem gentle on the outside, but you’ve got a backbone of steel.”
Wen Shu smiled. “Then why try to push me toward him?”
“Silly girl,” her mom sighed. “It’s not about him — it’s about the money. Your father’s doing well. His money has nothing to do with me, but it has everything to do with you. I want you to think about your future.”
“You’re his only child. If he doesn’t give his money to you, who will he give it to — those random men in his life? I’ve let pride keep me from asking for anything for years. But I’m old now, and I want you to take what should be yours.”
Wen Shu couldn’t help but laugh. “Mom, since when did you become so pragmatic?”
“Tsk, brat. Don’t tease me. Just listen to me, okay?”
“Yes, ma’am! I promise I won’t dodge next time he comes knocking.”
After hanging up, Wen Shu saw another message from Lu Ji:
“Alright. Then I’ll just go straight home after class.”
It looked like a simple reply, but for some reason, Wen Shu felt a subtle hint of disappointment between the lines.
Is he sulking? she wondered. Couldn’t be… right?
After eating and taking another shower, she stood in front of the mirror — and cursed under her breath. Her body was covered in hickeys, some swollen red marks, and even a few bite imprints. Lu Ji had applied ointment, so it didn’t hurt much, but the bruises were glaringly obvious.
She spent the rest of the afternoon carefully dressing to cover everything up. By the time she stepped out of the hotel, everything was in order — at least on the surface.