After ninety-nine online romances, I finally met my ex in person when school started.

Zhu Xun Chuan did not let go. He pushed the two women directly and strode towards the leather sofa in the center of the living room.

He walked up to the sofa and pressed down with both hands at the same time.

There was no room for resistance. Jiang Yao and Xia Wanying were forced to sit on the sofa by this undeniable force. The two were close together, the hems of their wide shirts slightly rolled up and overlapping.

"All of you, shut your tempers." Zhu Xun Chuan looked down at them, his eyes radiating absolute control, his voice low and husky. "This is my home. No need for real fighting, and no need to discuss multi-billion dollar deals."

Xia Wanying wanted to say something, but Zhu Xunchuan pointed directly at her nose: "You, put down the tablet."

Jiang Yao tried to stand up, but Zhu Xun Chuan glanced at her and said, "You, sit still."

The two women were stunned by his ruthless domineering attitude. In their respective fields, they were powerful and influential figures, but in front of this man, their pride was easily shattered, and they couldn't even muster the slightest thought of resistance.

"Wait here obediently." Zhu Xun Chuan turned around, casually took off the cuffs of his white shirt, rolled up the sleeves to his forearms, revealing his muscular arms. "I'll go cook."

After saying that, he strode towards the million-dollar open kitchen.

Open the double-door refrigerator and take out fresh ribs, prawns, and organic vegetables. Heat oil in a pan.

The sound of running water from the faucet filled the air. Then came the crisp, clean "thud" of a cleaver striking the cutting board.

The range hood emits a low, rumbling sound.

Within ten minutes, a rich aroma of meat and the smoky scent of scallions and garlic filled the kitchen.

This down-to-earth, everyday atmosphere instantly neutralized the original cold grayness of the large apartment and completely washed away the tense atmosphere from before.

On a large, genuine leather sofa.

Jiang Yao rubbed her cheek, which had been pinched so hard, and turned to look at the tall figure in the kitchen who was skillfully stir-frying food.

She grew up in a gang in the North, accustomed to seeing blood and gore and eating cold boxed lunches. No one had ever dared to pinch her face so roughly, and no one would roll up their sleeves to cook for her.

Jiang Yao bit her lip, her gaze falling on Zhu Xun Chuan's broad back. She suddenly felt that the fighting in the underground boxing gym was completely meaningless.

Xia Wanying leaned back on the sofa. Her gaze was also fixed on the direction of the kitchen.

As the head of Dinghe Group, she has dined at Michelin three-star restaurants around the world and attended countless lavish banquets. But in those extravagant social events, no one would order her to put down her work.

She watched Zhu Xun Chuan's movements with the spatula. That man had just turned the city upside down, and now he was patiently reducing the sauce on the ribs.

An unprecedented sense of security instantly shattered Xia Wanying's long-standing facade as a strong, independent woman.

Jiang Yao turned her head and met Xia Wanying's gaze as she looked away.

The two exchanged a glance. The tension from before had vanished, replaced by a subtle, unspoken understanding.

"Hmph." Jiang Yao snorted coldly and turned her head to look at the TV.

Xia Wanying also coldly withdrew her gaze and picked up the tablet again.

But if you look closely, you can't help but see a sweet smile on their lips, a smile of utter conquest. These two women, at the very top of the pyramid, are now willingly reduced to ordinary girls waiting for their husbands to feed them.

Half an hour later.

Four dishes and a soup were served on a long, rectangular marble dining table.

Sweet and sour pork ribs, boiled prawns, stir-fried kale, crab roe tofu, plus a serving of corn and pork rib soup.

Zhu Xun Chuan took off his apron and pulled out the chair in the main seat to sit down.

"Come and eat." Zhu Xun Chuan tapped the table.

Jiang Yao and Xia Wanying immediately got up and went to the dining table. The two of them sat on either side of Zhu Xunchuan in perfect unison.

Jiang Yao picked up her chopsticks, grabbed the largest piece of sweet and sour pork rib, and stuffed it into her mouth without any hesitation.

"Delicious!" Jiang Yao's eyes lit up, and she praised it indistinctly. Then she picked up another piece and put it directly into Zhu Xun Chuan's bowl. "Brother, eat more. You've been too tired these past few days."

Xia Wanying wasn't going to be outdone. Instead of picking up some meat, she ladled out a bowl of corn and pork rib soup, stirred it gently with a spoon, and blew on it to dissipate the steam.

She pushed the soup bowl towards Zhu Xun Chuan, her voice gentle: "Have some hot soup first. It'll warm your stomach."

One brought the meat, the other the soup. The battle for favor shifted from the living room to the dining table, but the tension was gone, replaced by warmth.

Zhu Xun Chuan accepted everything without question. He ate the ribs and drank the hot soup, showing no favoritism and using his absolute strength to stabilize the situation.

The meal was eaten in extreme silence, yet it was filled with a tantalizingly tense atmosphere. Jiang Yao would occasionally rub her foot against Zhu Xun Chuan's trousers under the table, while Xia Wan Ying would deliberately place her arm against his shoulder when pouring water.

Zhu Xun Chuan remained unmoved, letting them operate from the shadows. He knew very well that these powerful women needed this method to confirm their existence.

Dinner is over.

Jiang Yao and Xia Wanying volunteered to clean up the dishes, and the two started a new round of hushed debate by the sink about "who washed them cleaner".

Zhu Xun Chuan took out a box of special-supply cigarettes from the cabinet in the entryway.

He pushed open the glass sliding door to the living room and walked onto the spacious open-air balcony.

Night fell. The lights of Beijing were all on, neon signs flashing, and cars streamed by. The shockwaves from the Zhao family's downfall still churned in the city's undercurrents, but only the cool autumn breeze blew a few hundred meters above the city.

Zhu Xun Chuan took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth.

Take out that metal windproof lighter.

"Click".

The pale blue flames leaped and ignited the tobacco.

Zhu Xun Chuan took a deep breath and exhaled a puff of bluish-white smoke. The pungent aroma of tobacco swirled through his lungs, carrying away a trace of fatigue.

He leaned against the glass railing with one hand, looking down at the city he had turned upside down.

A night breeze blew in from the side and behind.

The wind carried the bleakness of autumn. But in this ordinary autumn breeze, Zhu Xun Chuan suddenly detected something unusual in his nostrils.

It's very faint. So faint that it's almost negligible.

But for Zhu Xunchuan, who had undergone systematic enhancement and experienced three hours of intense study in an air-raid shelter, this taste had been etched into his very being.

It was an aura that combined extreme danger with deadly allure.

That's the unique scent of black datura.

There were no footsteps. There was no murderous intent.

A night breeze blows across the open-air balcony.

Zhu Xun Chuan used his left index and middle fingers to forcefully extinguish the half-burnt special-supply cigarette.

He stubbed out his cigarette butt in the crystal ashtray on the marble railing, turned around, and fixed his gaze directly on the dark gray blackout curtains hanging to the floor on the right side of the living room.

A small shadow appeared at the edge of the curtains, which distorted under the floor sensor light.

The subtle fragrance mixed with black datura grew clearer and clearer.

"Come out." Zhu Xun Chuan's voice was deep and carried an undeniable force.

The words fell.

The sound of fabric rubbing came from behind the curtains.

A pale hand reached out from behind the curtain, its five fingers gripping the edge of the curtain tightly, with all its might.

Then, a slender and petite figure slowly walked out.