The engagement was with the younger brother, but I've fallen for the older brother.

He Sichen's fingers tightened for a moment as he gripped the coffee cup.

He spent the whole night preparing his thoughts, imagining every possible reaction she might have when she woke up.

He had even figured out how he could find a way to arrange a marriage between the two families without hurting anyone if she wanted a formal status.

But he never expected her to say in that tone that he didn't need to take responsibility.

Last night was just a passing fancy for her; now that her interest has waned, he should step back into the role of the neighbor across the hall.

He suddenly felt as if she was treating him like an experiential activity.

That's it.

He lowered his eyes, took a sip of coffee, and the bitterness melted on his tongue.

"You're quite carefree."

His voice was flat, revealing no emotion.

Si Yimian scooped up a shrimp roe wonton, blew on it, and put it in her mouth.

"Otherwise what?"

"Are you suggesting we have both sets of parents sit down and discuss how to resolve this matter?"

She swallowed, looked up at him, her eyes as clear as if nothing had happened last night.

What she wants now is the right to inherit the Si family estate, not the title of the young mistress of the He family.

She was He Nanxian's arranged marriage partner, and she slept with his older brother.

Public opinion will only say that the second young lady of the Si family is promiscuous, and that not only are her sisters fighting over one brother, but she also wants to fight over two brothers.

She knew all too well that love was dessert, not a main course.

She needs to secure the inheritance rights to the Si family and kick Si Ningyou out before she can talk about anything else.

To bind oneself to He Sichen now is to sever one's own lifeline.

So she had to sneak in.

They eat and sleep secretly.

She is indeed very interested in He Sichen, but for now it's just interest.

She wanted to conquer him, to see him lose control for her, to see his abstinent face crumble because of her.

It's enough to be able to eat it; there's no rush to swallow it whole.

She enjoys it, but doesn't commit.

She flirted with him, but didn't give him any official status.

He Sichen put down his coffee cup and leaned back in his chair.

"Um."

He responded with a curt reply.

"Just keep it in mind."

Si Yimian narrowed her eyes and continued eating her wontons.

He Sichen looked at her, his chest churning with indescribable emotions.

Every word she said was correct.

He didn't even have a position to refute it.

The marriage between the He family and the Si family is no child's play. The marriage agreement set by the old man involved the exchange of shares between the two groups.

It's not something he can change on a whim.

His stepmother, Zhou Wanqing, has been eyeing him covetously for years, waiting for her to find something to use against him so she can divert the He family's resources toward her own son.

If he makes even the slightest mistake, it causes an earthquake within Yu'an, and the board of directors makes a big fuss about it.

If people find out that he and his brother's arranged marriage partner are having an affair, it would be like handing them a knife.

But none of these are what he cares about most.

He cares about her.

She had just gained a foothold in the Si family, just gotten Ruan Qiutang to start favoring her, and just obtained the ticket to Chenxi's core project.

Once their affair is exposed, her reputation will be the first thing to be destroyed.

He Sichen stared at her for a long time.

He suddenly realized that she was much calmer than he had imagined.

Also.

She was always lucid.

Flirt with him while you're sober, sleep with him while you're sober.

Although it sounded harsh, he rationally accepted it.

Despite his rationality, he still felt a tightness in his chest.

He Sichen looked away, picked up his coffee cup, and then put it down again.

"Come with me to the hospital later for a full checkup."

He suddenly spoke, his voice low and hoarse.

Si Yimian looked up, her mouth full of wontons, and asked indistinctly.

"What are you checking?"

"The aftereffects of the medicine I drank last night are unknown."

He paused, his Adam's apple bobbing with difficulty.

"I wasn't feeling well last night."

He managed to squeeze out those words, and his earlobes burned at a speed visible to the naked eye.

His desires last night exceeded his own understanding.

He had never lost control like that in the past thirty years.

It happened again and again, like an addiction.

Brakes failed, and reason crumbled.

Only instinct remains.

Si Yimian frowned in confusion.

"What's wrong?"

He Sichen paused for a moment, then spoke to her in a serious tone.

"The dosage may be problematic, exceeding the threshold for normal physiological response."

"Let's check liver function and metabolic indicators today."

Si Yimian bit into a wonton, her eyes wide open.

"You're blaming this on that bottle of medicine?"

"Otherwise what?"

His tone was confident, like a doctor searching for the cause of an illness.

"I shouldn't have such a strong addiction; it doesn't go against my physiological rhythms."

"This is not normal."

"I need to confirm that it will not have any lasting impact on you."

Si Yimian suddenly slumped onto the table, her shoulders shaking violently.

First she laughed softly, then she laughed louder and louder.

"Ha ha ha ha……"

He Sichen frowned.

"What are you laughing at?"

She looked up, her eyes reddening with laughter.

"Dr. He, have you ever thought about...?"

She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down.

"It's not that you're addicted, it's that I'm too sweet?"

He Sichen didn't speak, but his expression already indicated his agreement.

Si Yimian suppressed a laugh, placing her hands on the edge of the table and leaning forward.

"The first bottle of medicine was fake, and the second bottle was fake too."

"There were no aphrodisiacs at all from beginning to end."

"You're really addicted; it's purely your own doing."

"It has nothing to do with the medicine."

He Sichen: "..."

Every frame of last night flashed through his mind.

He thought he was driven by drugs, which is why he lost control.

He took her again and again, but it was never enough.

After all, he usually has extremely strong self-control.

Now she says both bottles are fake.

That means that all his loss of control, greed, and insatiable nature stemmed from himself.

It stemmed from his physical addiction to her.

He thought he was under a curse, but it turned out he was the one who was cursed.

He Sichen raised his hand and pressed his temples.

"So you've been playing me all along?"

Si Yimian suppressed her smile and tilted her head to look at him.

"If I don't play tricks on you, will you take me home?"

She paused, her gaze sliding from his Adam's apple down to his belt buckle.

"If I don't bring him home, how will I discover that Dr. He is truly a man of hidden talents?"

"I just want to see just how crazy you can get."

She paused, then her eyes crinkled into a smile.

"The result was quite unexpected."

"Dr. He, you're usually so good at enduring things, I thought you weren't capable at all."

"result……"

She gave a thumbs up.

"Very good, extremely good."

"My legs are still weak from walking."

He Sichen: "..."

He took a deep breath and then exhaled.

"Si Yimian, do you think I'm easy to fool?"

Si Yimian thought about it carefully and nodded.

"A little."

"I feel a little embarrassed that you always fall for my tricks."

He Sichen stared at her self-righteous little face and laughed in exasperation.

I was fooled twice by her using the same trick again.

After scamming him, she even went over the details with him, saying he was easy to fool.

"Do you think I won't do anything to you?"

His voice deepened, but carried a hint of helpless hoarseness.

Si Yimian rested her chin on her hand and thought about it seriously.

"What will you do to me?"

"Sleep one more time?"

He Sichen: "..."

He picked up his coffee cup and found it was empty.

Put it down, then pick it up again, then put it down again.

Looking at his helpless expression, Si Yimian suddenly found this man incredibly adorable.

"But Dr. He, you might really need to go to the hospital."

He Sichen frowned and sat up straight.

"What's wrong?"

"It's...not quite comfortable there."

Her voice trailed off, and her ears turned red.

"It still hurts a little."

He Sichen stood up, walked around the dining table, and stood in front of her.

"What exactly does it feel like?"