《Forbidden.Lust》3《Do You Come Home Tonight?》
Chapter Three: Habit
1、Aftermath of Trending
In the early morning makeup room, the hum of the hairdryer mingled with the rustle of brushes gliding over skin.
Sun lounged shapelessly in the chair, one leg swinging without a care, her fingers rapidly scrolling on her phone. The screen was flooded with bold, unrestrained comments and wildly reposted short videos—all clips and trailers from yesterday’s first scene that had leaked from the set.
The hotel humiliation and the domineering rescue in the first scene of 《Do You Come Home Tonight?》 had completely exploded online.
The entire internet was frantically editing every detail: Jiang Yuhe’s ice-quenched black eyes when he kicked the door open, Shen Rui’an’s torn skirt hem and the tear stains at the corners of her eyes, especially that low, tension-filled “Sir, please show some respect”—it was crowned the ultimate domineering-CEO god-tier scene of the year.
The netizens’ comments were even more entertaining:
『Is that look acting? Qin Che is literally here to catch someone cheating!』
『Help! The moment Mr. Zhao put his hand on her, Mr. Qin’s veins popped out. If they don’t have something going on in private, I’ll eat my phone!』
“Pfft……” Sun couldn’t help laughing out loud.
While chewing on the gummy candy the makeup artist had handed her, she playfully turned the phone screen toward the man sitting on the sofa next to her with his eyes closed, resting. She lifted her chin: “Hey, President Qin, quick look. Netizens say you didn’t look like you came to save someone yesterday—you looked like you came to catch an affair. Even through the screen you can smell the vinegar.”
Qin Che was holding the script for the next scene. Hearing her teasing, he didn’t even lift his head. His slender fingers flipped a page, his tone lazy and indifferent: “Pretty much.”
The gummy in Sun’s mouth almost went down the wrong way. She froze for a second, raised her eyebrows and glared at him: “Huh? What do you mean pretty much…” She glanced guiltily at the makeup artist.
Only then did Qin Che slowly open his eyes. Those deep black pupils locked precisely onto Sun’s delicate, pretty face through the mirror. He tugged at the corner of his mouth, half-smiling, and added in an extremely natural, casual tone:
“Someone touched you. Of course I’m unhappy.”
The line was delivered so matter-of-factly that there wasn’t the slightest fluctuation in his voice. After saying it, he lowered his head again to read the script, as if he had merely commented on today’s weather. But Sun, sitting in the chair, was completely stunned.
Her heart skipped a beat. She hurriedly put her phone away, took a deep breath, and forced herself to look at the mirror, silently cursing in her heart: This man—makeup artist still here, and first thing in the morning he’s already flirting like this. He’s going to drug people.
2、Daily Life on Set
Near noon, the set was busy adjusting the lights; the air was filled with the aroma of boxed lunches.
“Qin Che, that rib in your lunch looks bigger. Swap with me.”
Still in costume, Sun unceremoniously dragged her chair over next to Qin Che and, without asking, used her chopsticks to snatch the glossy, fragrant braised rib from his lunch box, casually tossing her own cauliflower into his bowl.
Qin Che looked at his plundered lunch box, raised an eyebrow in distaste, but didn’t even try to stop her. When he lowered his head, he noticed the extra-large iced Americano by Sun’s hand, beads of condensation rolling down, the ice almost melted. His brows immediately furrowed.
“It’s the middle of winter and you’re drinking iced coffee again?” Qin Che tapped her cup with his chopsticks, his tone displeased.
“If I don’t drink this, how am I supposed to get into character later? Shen Rui’an is a hotel girl with no tomorrow—she needs this kind of clear, bitter feeling.” Sun retorted righteously while gnawing on the rib without any decorum.
“That’s just your stomach itching for pain.” Qin Che snorted coldly.
Not far away, Lin Yi and Lu Xiao stood side by side leaning against a prop box, each holding a bowl of crew instant noodles, their eyes simultaneously watching the two big bosses over there bickering like kindergarten kids over a rib and an iced coffee.
Lin Yi slurped a mouthful of noodles and shook his head helplessly: “Assistant Lu, look at our big star—outside she’s a cold, elegant queen, but the moment she’s in front of President Qin she regresses to a five-year-old.”
Lu Xiao poked the braised egg with his fork, grinning like a fox: “Manager Lin, you don’t understand. This is ecological balance. Our Brother Che can devour those old foxes alive at the board meeting, but in front of Sister Sun he still has to obediently hand over the rib.”
At three in the afternoon, Sun finished a running transitional scene and was so exhausted her bones felt like they were falling apart. She sat on a folding chair beside the monitor, tore open a bag of tomato-flavored potato chips Lin Yi had smuggled to her, and was about to pop the last chip into her mouth when—
A long, well-defined large hand suddenly reached over from the side and, with natural precision, snatched the chip from her fingertips.
Sun followed the hand upward and met Qin Che’s annoyingly handsome face.
“You had stomach pain last night and had to get up for medicine, forgot?” Qin Che looked down at her, his eyes carrying an undeniable disciplinary tone.
Sun exploded on the spot, nearly jumping out of the chair. She lowered her voice and roared: “Qin Che! Are you sick?! That was my last piece! The final essence!”
Qin Che leisurely tossed the chip into his own mouth, chewed crisply, then elegantly clapped the crumbs off his hands. He raised an eyebrow, his tone so lazy it made people want to hit him: “Mm, tomato flavor. Really tasty.”
“Stupid man! Go die!”
Sun, furious, grabbed the script beside her and mercilessly hurled it at him.
Qin Che dodged nimbly to the side, the smile at the corner of his mouth impossible to hide. The surrounding director and assistant director watched the scene, pretending to study the camera while their shoulders shook violently. This kind of unrestrained horseplay was the sweetness they had long been unable to quit in their lives.
3、Why Save Me
“All units attention, second scene, car dialogue, Action!”
The set lights dimmed in an instant, creating the quiet yet viscous atmosphere inside a late-night car.
At this moment, Sun’s eyes shed their usual arrogance within seconds. She curled up in the passenger seat of the sports car, tightly wrapped in the suit jacket Jiang Yuhe had draped over her—her only line of defense right now.
Right now, she was Shen Rui’an.
The car moved steadily along the quiet street. Jiang Yuhe rested one hand on the steering wheel, his handsome face bathed in the dim blue glow of the dashboard, exuding an aloof and arrogant dominance.
Shen Rui’an stared at the night scenery flying past the window, silent for a long time before finally asking the doubt in her heart with a hoarse voice: “You…… why did you suddenly rush in? We clearly don’t know each other……”
Jiang Yuhe kept his eyes on the road ahead, slender fingers lightly tapping the steering wheel, his voice low as if stating an obvious fact: “I passed by the entrance and heard cries for help. I may be a scumbag with countless women around me, but I cannot accept a man bullying a woman like this. No matter the profession, the respect one deserves must be given. It’s that simple.”
Shen Rui’an turned her head and stared blankly at his exquisite profile. Her eyes, filled with humiliation and exhaustion, instantly glistened with hot tears. She let out a choked, self-mocking laugh: “I’ve been in this circle for a while…… I’ve never met anyone like you. Everyone here only wants to step on me. Every day I feel like I’m living in hell……”
Jiang Yuhe’s brows furrowed slightly. His fingers tightened on the steering wheel, his tone carrying a trace of undetectable dominance: “Since it’s so painful, why not leave?”
4、Grabbing Driftwood
“Leave?” Shen Rui’an’s tears finally slid down her cheeks.
She clutched the jacket tightly, as if trying to tear open the rotten, stinking wounds buried deep in her heart and show them to him.
“My ex was into drinking, whoring, gambling—racked up a mountain of debt. When I wanted to break up, he went crazy threatening me not to leave, restricting everything, cutting me off from the outside world. A few days later…… he blindfolded me, tied my hands and feet, carried me out of his house. In the end…… he sold me to that hotel.”
Shen Rui’an took a deep breath, her voice trembling uncontrollably: “He took the money from selling me and left, never to be contacted again. And I’ve been controlled and threatened by the hotel people ever since, unable to escape……”
After hearing this, a raging fire instantly ignited in the depths of Jiang Yuhe’s black eyes, but he hid it extremely well, not showing it in front of Shen Rui’an.
He stared straight ahead calmly, only his knuckles gripping the steering wheel turning slightly white from the force. He asked coldly: “How long?”
Shen Rui’an looked at his cold reaction and relaxed a little. She wiped her tears, forcing a somewhat ugly smile as if mocking herself: “Not sure…… a few years now. That debt…… I don’t think I can ever repay it in this lifetime. Just take it one day at a time, haha.”
Listening to her almost self-abandoning laughter, Jiang Yuhe turned to glance at her. Seeing the self-mocking expression on her face, his deep brows tightened sharply, a trace of complicated heartache flashing in his eyes.
He slowly pulled the sports car to the roadside, turned to look at her, his tone still forceful and non-negotiable: “I’ve booked you for tonight. You don’t belong in that place. Do whatever you want, as you please.”
Shen Rui’an was stunned, looking into his serious eyes, and subconsciously blurted out: “I want to go to the beach……”
Jiang Yuhe said nothing. He simply restarted the car. The black sports car roared into the night, heading straight for the coastline at the edge of the city.
5、Tears by the Sea
When the car stopped, Shen Rui’an looked out the window and was completely stunned.
Outside was a stretch of white sand beach that looked especially holy and clean under the moonlight. The vast black sea churned in the night, slapping up white waves and sending out rhythmic tidal sounds that seemed to wash the soul.
Shen Rui’an couldn’t wait to push open the door and get out. She kicked off her heavy high heels and stepped barefoot onto the cool, soft white sand. The sea breeze carried a faint salty scent and earthy fragrance—cool and free.
In that instant, tears suppressed for years surged out without warning.
She was happy—hadn’t seen such a clean sea in so long, hadn’t smelled this free scent or breathed such fresh air in forever. Yet at the same time she was also terrified, knowing all too well that this romantic interlude would eventually end. When dawn came and the happy time was over, she would still have to return to that sunless hell.
Jiang Yuhe slowly walked up to her. Seeing Shen Rui’an’s shoulders trembling as she cried in the sea breeze, he extended his long hand and, with extreme care yet a trace of dominance, pulled the suit jacket over her shoulders and wrapped it tightly around her.
He said nothing—no meaningless comfort—only stood silently beside her like a mountain, shielding her from half the cold sea wind.
Just like that, the two stayed quietly by the sea for a while until Shen Rui’an’s emotions gradually calmed.
Jiang Yuhe looked down at her and broke the silence: “Where else do you want to go?”
Shen Rui’an gazed at the boundless sea, her eyes losing focus again. She buried her face in his suit jacket, inhaling the pleasant ebony scent, and slowly voiced the deepest despair in her heart: “I have nowhere to go…… no home, no money…… and it’s the middle of the night……”
Jiang Yuhe stared at her with dark, heavy eyes and didn’t reply immediately. He was waiting—waiting for her to say what he wanted to hear.
Under his burning, aggressively dominant gaze, Shen Rui’an’s face unconsciously flushed. Her heart twisted and struggled madly. She knew Shen Rui’an’s once-proud dignity had long been gone. She really didn’t want to go back to the hotel.
Right now, the Jiang Yuhe in front of her was the last piece of driftwood she could grab before drowning. Even if she didn’t know how long she could hold on, at least today…… she didn’t want to let go.
She lifted her head, met his gaze, and slowly said: “Can I…… go to your place……”