Marry by Relying on Favor: Chapter 132 - I Need a Man
The sound of running water in the bathroom stopped abruptly. The man stepped out in a bathrobe, black short hair still dripping. The robe hung half open, revealing a firm chest and defined abs, radiating a sensual charm.
Qu Bixin sat on the edge of the bed in a lace nightgown that barely covered anything. She lit a cigarette, thin wisps of smoke rising from her lips as she smiled lightly. “President Shen is truly pleasing to the eye.”
The man’s refined face showed little expression as he walked toward her, step by step, unhurried.
The cigarette between her slender fingers was snatched away. She was forcefully pushed back onto the snow-white sheets.
Instinctively, she grabbed at something, pulling loose the belt of his bathrobe.
In her flustered movement, she looked up. His brows and eyes were cold, close enough to touch.
The next second, her whole body trembled.
The curtains blocked out all light; the room was pitch-black. Qu Bixin clutched the blanket tightly. The fabric of her nightgown clung to her back, damp with a thin layer of sweat.
She slowly opened her eyes. After about a minute, her awareness gradually returned.
The dream had been too vivid. Her body seemed to retain the memory of Shen Fu.
Qu Bixin felt thirsty. She threw off the covers and got out of bed, not even putting on shoes before walking out of the master bedroom. In the vast, luxurious villa, she was alone. From the stairs to the kitchen, only her shadow accompanied her.
After gulping down a glass of cold water, she felt much better.
She rubbed her face irritably. It annoyed her to have such dreams—especially with her ex-husband as the leading man.
She refused to dwell on it. After returning upstairs, she went to the walk-in closet to pick out clothes for the day.
Aside from the housekeeper who came to clean, the villa was empty.
Qu Bixin enjoyed the feeling of living alone in a castle. Besides indulging in a lavish, extravagant lifestyle, when she was in a good mood, she would pick a handsome young man to date. Truly the life of a winner.
After spending two hours dressing up meticulously, she crossed her slender legs and sat before the vanity. Picking up her phone, she opened her messages.
At 7:30 a.m., she sent He Qingchi a message: “I need a man.”
He Qingchi, already awake, replied quickly: “Sorry, I can’t satisfy you.”
Qu Bixin lowered her head slightly, fingers tapping the screen. In the mirror, her exquisitely sculpted face showed disdain. “Why would I ask you to satisfy me? Can’t I take care of myself? The monk who interpreted my fortune last time said I’d break up soon. Is he hinting that my next spring romance is coming?”
He Qingchi didn’t reply again.
Qu Bixin put down her phone and studied herself seriously in the mirror.
It wasn’t impossible. Ever since Xiao Cen was hospitalized with an injury, if she didn’t visit, he could only send text messages. Their once frequent contact had gradually diminished.
She couldn’t even remember the last time she visited him in the hospital.
Just as she was thinking, her phone chimed.
A text message popped up—from Xiao Cen.
Qu Bixin raised a brow. Perfect timing to visit her official boyfriend.
To consider his feelings while hospitalized, she changed into a simple white dress. She preferred bright colors now and rarely dressed so plainly—but underneath, she still wore a full set of lace-trimmed lingerie.
Her waist was slim, her legs straight and fair, her figure impeccable.
After changing, she drove herself out.
She made sure to put on a show—arriving at the hospital holding a bouquet of roses, easily finding the ward.
At 10:30 a.m.
Xiao Cen had just had his medication changed. Wearing a loose blue-and-white hospital gown, he reclined on the bed. Due to his leg injury, he couldn’t walk.
Fortunately, the view outside his window was excellent—blue skies and white clouds.
When Qu Bixin arrived, she didn’t look like someone who had disappeared for half a month. She smiled and blinked. “How’s your recovery today?”
Xiao Cen smiled back. Even injured, his extraordinary good looks were undeniable.
She liked his charming eyes and rosy lips; his smile was very pleasing.
Her red lips curved too, ready to offer a perfect excuse for her absence.
But Xiao Cen spoke first. “Let’s break up.”
For a second or two, she suspected she’d misheard.
Then shock hit her. Had the monk’s prediction come true?
Seeing her step closer, Xiao Cen hurriedly said, “Miss Qu, let’s keep a safe distance.”
She narrowed her eyes, amused by his overreaction. “Before the hospitalization, you called me Bixin. Afterward, it’s Miss Qu. Tell me—what happened?”
Her relationship with Xiao Cen wasn’t even about real feelings. He was simply a handsome man to pass the time.
So at the mention of breaking up, she was ten thousand times calmer than he was.
Xiao Cen hesitated, then hinted cautiously, “Miss Qu… are you still in contact with your ex-husband?”
At the mention of Shen Fu, a bad premonition rose in her.
Her calm expression shattered. “Did he threaten you?”
Xiao Cen gave a bitter smile. “If it were just a threat, it’d be simple.”
He refused to elaborate further.
In short, breaking up was for his own safety.
Qu Bixin stood there, long slender legs straight and still. After a prolonged stare, she suddenly walked to the bedside. The move seemed to frighten Xiao Cen, who had nowhere to retreat.
She leaned close and said in a voice only he could hear, “I don’t agree.”
Locking eyes with him, she spoke clearly, word by word: “We had an agreement. You’d be my boyfriend and help me fend off family pressure to marry. I’d introduce you to powerful elites. Now you want to get off halfway? Not happening.”
If his leg weren’t injured, Xiao Cen might have knelt in front of her. “If that’s the case, the next time I leave this hospital, I’ll be carried back in!”
He had valued her wealthy background and influential connections. But none of that was worth his life.
Xiao Cen was clearly warned and realized why he frequently went to the hospital for resuscitation.
Qu Bixin was far more difficult and willful than he’d imagined. With one sentence—“I don’t agree”—she rejected his proposal.
She gently pulled up his blanket and patted his handsome face. “Recover well. I’ll pick you up when you’re discharged.”
After leaving the ward, her delicate face still carried a smile.
She took out her phone, removed a number from her blacklist, and dialed. No one answered.
Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the elevator and left the hospital. Back in her car, her smile disappeared.
Unable to hold back, she cursed Shen Fu’s ancestors. If he wouldn’t answer, she’d send him scathing texts.
After venting, she realized Shen Fu hadn’t replied—and Xiao Cen had blocked her.
The moment she left the hospital, Xiao Cen sent a long breakup message and blocked all her contact information, afraid that even one second’s delay would bring another “I don’t agree.”
Reading the message, she felt no real anger.
After all, their relationship had been superficial.
What angered her was Shen Fu—already holding a beauty in his arms, yet still sabotaging her romance.
She sulked in the car until her phone rang again.
Glancing at the screen, she answered, “Qu Yanming, why are you calling?”
Qu Yanming was her biological brother. Their sibling bond, however, was mostly superficial. For the Qu family fortune, they’d often undermined each other.
There was a pause before his voice came through. “Bixin, are you free tonight?”
It sounded like he was asking a favor. She didn’t give a clear answer. “What do you want?”
Without beating around the bush, he said pleasantly, “I won an expensive set of jewelry at an overseas auction. It’s at a friend’s place. Can you help me pick it up?”
“I’m not your secretary. Why should I run errands for you?” she said, lips already curling upward.
Since childhood, they’d had an unspoken rule—whoever obtained something first by their own ability kept it. If she went to pick up the jewelry, she might very well keep it.
“It’s worth over a hundred million… I don’t feel safe sending my secretary.”
“Qu Yanming, you spent over a hundred million on jewelry to please your wife?”
Since when had he become so generous?
As she was puzzled, he coaxed, “It’s a gift for Mom.”
That made it harder to refuse.
He added, “If I send your sister-in-law, it’ll just end up in her jewelry collection.”
“…Fine!”
After hanging up, she received the address. It wasn’t in the city center of Jiang City but in a remote suburb. Using navigation, she drove a long time before finding it—a two-story old villa, aged and weathered, vines crawling over its mottled exterior walls, giving off the illusion of a place fit to hide a kept beauty.
Stepping in her heels toward the patterned gate, she wondered what kind of friend her brother had who lived in such a remote, old house. Just as she was about to knock, the door creaked open.
A young male secretary in a formal suit appeared—tall and thin. Seeing her, he was respectful. “Are you Miss Qu?”
She nodded and explained her purpose.
He stepped aside to let her in, leading her through the old villa.
Though curious about the owner, she only glanced around casually. On the coffee table in the living room sat a teacup still steaming—someone had been here recently. Yet it was quiet now, thick dark-purple curtains blocking out the daylight, forcing the lights on even during the day.
“Miss Qu, please have a seat. My boss will come see you shortly.”
His words made her turn her head and clarify, “I’m here to pick up what Qu Yanming left.”
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