In the dimly lit villa.
Gu Shiyin let out a startled scream as the man ruthlessly yanked the towel from her body and tossed her straight into the swimming pool.
"Ah! Help! I can't swim! Mo Chisheng, you bastard! Save m—" Her panicked cries were cut short.
After flailing wildly for a moment, she realized the pool was shallow—so shallow that even when she sat at the bottom, the water only reached her chest.
A low, mocking chuckle echoed from the darkness.
As her breathing steadied, the familiar scent of medicinal herbs filled her nose. Soaking in this particular herbal concoction would stain one's entire body green.
Alarmed, she tried to scramble to her feet.
"Don't move." The man's hand pressed firmly against her shoulder, forcing her back down.
Gu Shiyin had imagined every possible reaction from this ruthless, scheming man—Mo Chisheng, the illustrious heir of the Mo family, the most prestigious dynasty in H City. But she never expected him to drag her straight out of her bath and into this mess!
Brute! Tyrant!
"Mr. Mo, I didn’t mean to turn you green. Well—no, what I mean is, even though this herbal bath will tint your skin, the effects are amazing! It relieves fatigue and promotes deep sleep!" Gu Shiyin rambled, spinning her best
and most shameless
sales pitch. "As your personal wellness consultant, ensuring you get a good night’s rest is my top priority!"
If only she had used a colorless, odorless formula—one that would’ve temporarily ruined his taste buds instead! She had been careless.
But then again, if Mo Chisheng hadn’t recklessly blacklisted her brother, would she have gone out of her way to retaliate? And with such a simple—*ahem*—utterly humiliating method, no less?
The mighty Mo heir, turned into a little green man. Now *that* would make headlines.
A slow, amused smirk curled on Mo Chisheng’s lips. "Oh? Such miraculous benefits?" His voice dripped with sarcasm. "Then consider this your reward—enjoy your soak."
Gu Shiyin deliberately flashed a coy smile. "This herbal medicine is too expensive—I couldn't possibly use it!"
With that, she pushed Mo Chisheng's hand away and tried to climb out of the bath. But as if he had night vision, Mo Chisheng pressed down on her head, sending her sliding right back into the water.
It would take about an hour for the pigment in the herbal solution to dye the skin green. Earlier, Gu Shiyin had specifically instructed the maid to remind Mo Chisheng to soak for exactly that long.
"Mr. Mo, I sleep perfectly fine, and working for you isn’t tiring at all. I really don’t need this bath," she coaxed.
Mo Chisheng remained unfazed.
Then, suddenly, she caught a faint whiff of something unusual—a subtle aphrodisiac scent mixed in with the herbal aroma.
This man had spiked the bath!
"Mr. Mo, you added the wrong ingredients!" Gu Shiyin scrambled to climb out again, only to be shoved back into the water. Frantically, she explained, "You put in an aphrodisiac!"
Mo Chisheng arched an eyebrow. "Oh? So you prepared this? What exactly are you scheming?"
A rush of uncontrollable heat surged through Gu Shiyin’s body—the effects were kicking in.
A million curses raced through her mind. She wanted to strangle him.
"I wasn’t scheming anything!" she protested, struggling to suppress the rising warmth. "This was meant to... treat your... *condition*..."
Realizing she had just exposed her boss’s embarrassing secret, she immediately clamped her mouth shut.
Silence. Dead silence.
Gu Shiyin wished she could just play dead!
Mo Chisheng grabbed her arm and hauled her out of the bathtub in one swift motion.
"Hmm? Frigid?" His deep voice rumbled against her ear, his breath hot against her sensitive skin. "How would you know if you've never tried?"
Gu Shiyin's mind went blank.
Her body, still damp from the warm water, prickled with goosebumps from the chill in the air. Yet the heat coursing through her veins made her oblivious to the cold—all she wanted was to press herself against Mo Chisheng's cool skin.
She bit down hard on her tongue, clinging to the last shreds of her rationality.
His strong arm locked around her waist, and she could feel that he, too, was only wearing a robe. She planted her hands against his firm chest and pushed with all her might, twisting her body in a desperate attempt to break free.
But her feeble struggle had the opposite effect—the way she writhed in his arms only seemed to provoke him further.
"You're in quite a hurry," Mo Chisheng murmured against her ear before scooping her up effortlessly.
"Ah—!" The sudden loss of footing made Gu Shiyin shriek as she was flipped midair and unceremoniously deposited onto a flat surface—likely the bench in the bathroom.
Pinned beneath him, their bare skin pressed together, the last remnants of her resistance crumbled under the relentless tide of desire. A trail of kisses burned down her neck before his lips found her ear again.
"Is this some kind of game for you?" he teased.
"Wha—?" She turned her head frantically, trying to escape the heat of his breath.
"If you're going to resist, at least put some effort into it. All this squirming and rubbing—are you playing hard to get?"
Gu Shiyin wanted to say "I didn't," but the drug in her system acted like the negative pole of a magnet, irresistibly drawn to the man before her—its positive counterpart.
Reason evaporated completely.
Her arms snaked around the man's neck as she crushed her lips against his in a fierce kiss.
When Gu Shiyin woke, sunlight streamed through the now-open curtains. Judging by the brightness outside, it was already the next day.
Mo Chisheng was gone. As she sat up, wincing at the soreness in her waist, she nearly screamed in shock.
She had turned pink.
Damn it! Mo Chisheng must have dumped pink dye into the medicinal bath.
Thankfully, her fair skin and the relatively short soak had left only a faint, blush-like tint—soft peach, but undeniably... suggestive.
"Mo Chisheng! I'm going to kill you!"
Clenching her teeth, she scrambled out of bed, desperate for something to cover herself—just as a polite knock sounded at the door. A servant from the Mo estate entered, eyes respectfully averted.
"Miss Gu, these are the clothes Master Mo instructed us to bring you." The servant bowed slightly and placed a neatly folded outfit at the foot of the bed.
"Thanks," Gu Shiyin muttered, dragging the sheets with her as she reached for the clothes—only to freeze. A miniskirt? And a tiny T-shirt?
"Could I get pants instead? And maybe a jacket?" She forced herself to keep her temper in check, unwilling to take her anger out on the innocent staff.
The servant ignored her request, continuing robotically, "Master Mo said this color suits you perfectly. He also asked that you be grateful he didn’t use green dye for your bath."
The maid spoke in a flat, expressionless tone, like a low-end text-to-speech robot reading words aloud.
But Gu Shiyin could easily imagine the look on Mo Chisheng's face and the infuriating tone he must have used—summed up in two words: punchable!
Her anger had nowhere to go, simmering uselessly inside her.
"Since Miss Gu is fine, I'll take my leave now," the maid said with a slight bow, turning to go.
"Wait—hold on!" Gu Shiyin blurted, hastily reaching out to stop her. "Um… about your boss, Mo… did he turn green? I mean—his skin, did it actually turn green?" She coughed awkwardly.
