Chapter 85: Tonight

Return: My Hell and Heaven
Chapter 85: Tonight

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As they left the teaching building, their original plan was to attend the alumni meeting before the ceremony at the school auditorium. However, Qin Lou changed his mind.

“Change clothes?” Song Shu turned to him, puzzled. “Why do we suddenly need to change clothes?”

Without batting an eye, Qin Lou replied, “The school just notified us that we’ll be taking part in the final curtain call of the ceremony. We’re dressed too casually today. It’d be better to switch to something more formal.”

Song Shu’s gaze grew more suspicious. “Before we left at noon, I asked if you wanted to wear a suit. Do you remember how you refused?”

Qin Lou didn’t hesitate. “I forgot.”

“…Are you planning something strange?”

“Of course not,” Qin Lou paused briefly, “At most, I just thought we could try matching couple outfits?”

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“…”

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“…” Fsdt Fbw qasodle pzktbvzu.

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Song Shu thought for a moment and then smiled. “No need. I’ll just wait for him to come back.”

The young woman smiled brightly. “You and Mr. Qin seem so close. After our last appointment, I mentioned it to a friend of mine who’s also in the styling industry. When she heard we were tasked with dyeing Mr. Qin’s hair back, she was shocked! She said Mr. Qin always refused to let anyone touch his hair at events, no matter how famous the stylist was. Forget dyeing—it’s like he wouldn’t even let them lay a finger on it! Now that I think about it, last time was the same. Only you could manage it without him daring to protest.”

Song Shu lowered her gaze and smiled faintly. “That’s why I call him crazy. Parading around with such a hair color, and he doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with it.”

“Exactly,” the young woman agreed, sighing. “Mr. Qin really is extraordinary. His thoughts and actions are always unpredictable.”

“…”

Song Shu furrowed her brows slightly but didn’t reply.

For others, Qin Lou’s words, actions, and mindset often seemed bizarre and erratic, impossible to fathom. But for her, perhaps because she knew him so thoroughly, most of the time, she could accurately predict his thought process.

For instance, with all the fuss this evening as dusk approached, Song Shu had a vague inkling of what Qin Lou was planning.

It was just…

“Hopefully, it won’t be too crazy,” Song Shu sighed softly.

The young stylist lowered her head in confusion. “Huh? Miss Song, did you say something just now?”

Song Shu smiled faintly and shook her head. “It’s nothing.”

“Oh, alright.”

After finishing her hair treatment, Song Shu’s long, jet-black hair looked silky smooth and radiant. Meanwhile, the team members responsible for coordinating her outfit and accessories finally settled on a final look.

Once everything was in place, the young stylist who had done her hair led Song Shu, now dressed and lightly made up, to the full-length mirror in the room with a cheerful smile.

Having been busy being styled, Song Shu hadn’t yet seen the final result. Now that everything was complete, she stared at her reflection in the mirror, momentarily stunned.

It was… unexpected.

The look was quite different from the typical eveningwear style she had envisioned. This time, the design team seemed to have tailored her appearance to suit the theme of the “school celebration ceremony,” opting to give her a more youthful, student-like appearance.

Song Shu’s facial features were naturally delicate and refined. Combined with her petite and slender frame—especially without high heels—she already looked younger than her actual age even without special styling.

For her hairstyle, the team had simply smoothed and straightened her black hair to a soft and glossy finish. It fell neatly behind her elegant ears, tied back with a pale green ribbon, revealing her flawless oval face and the graceful, slender lines of her white neck.

Her outfit was a sleeveless white dress with a flared hem. The upper part was tailored to accentuate her graceful curves, while the skirt flowed out in soft, petal-like folds. A pale pink floral accent adorned the left side of her waist, adding a gentle touch.

Below, her long, fair legs looked as if they had been sculpted from flawless white jade, their alluring curves extending gracefully to her ankles and toes.

Once her look was finalized, even the young stylist holding her hand couldn’t hide her amazement as she stared at the girl in the mirror.

“This turned out way better than we expected! Miss Song, if you went out like this, no one would believe you’re already twenty-six or twenty-seven—you could easily pass for someone ten years younger!”

The other members of the styling team nodded in agreement, some even whispering excitedly among themselves.

Song Shu wasn’t particularly self-conscious about her age, but seeing the version of herself in the mirror that seemed to have traveled back ten years, she couldn’t help feeling a bit embarrassed. “Doesn’t this look… a little strange?”

“What’s strange about it?!”

The young stylist, as if fearing Song Shu might reject the look, hastily waved her hands and explained.

“This styling idea was originally proposed by Mr. Qin. We were worried it might be hard to pull off. Miss Song, you probably don’t usually go for professional styling, right? You might not know this, but women’s styles generally lean toward a youthful vibe. The reason looks like this are rare isn’t that people don’t want to try them—it’s because they’re really hard to carry off. One wrong move, and it’s a disaster. The makeup might look youthful, but the person ends up looking older, which would be a total ‘trainwreck.’ But someone with your poise could pull this off effortlessly all year round. Honestly, even if we dressed you in a school uniform and put you in a classroom, no one would suspect a thing!”

“…”

Seeing the young stylist gesturing animatedly, Song Shu couldn’t help but smile. “So this styling idea was Qin Lou’s suggestion?”

“Yes,” the stylist answered quickly, then turned back curiously. “Wait, didn’t Mr. Qin mention it to you?”

Song Shu shook her head.

The stylist pondered for a moment. “Maybe he wanted to surprise you?”

Song Shu glanced again at the unfamiliar version of herself in the mirror and chuckled wryly. “More like give me a fright.”

“No way…”

The young stylist continued chatting with Song Shu while doing the final touch-ups on her makeup.

About half an hour later, Qin Lou finally appeared in the temporary dressing room.

When he was led by the team to where Song Shu sat quietly in front of the mirror, her pale legs slightly bent, Qin Lou’s expression changed the moment he saw her.

The young stylist standing beside Song Shu was startled—it wasn’t the kind of expression a normal person would show when surprised or delighted.

It was more like… a dangerous addiction to desire.

Song Shu, however, was unfazed.

Although Qin Lou rarely displayed that unnerving, obsessive desire in front of her, it wasn’t something she hadn’t seen before. Over a decade ago, in the Qin family’s old estate when everyone was still around, on the night of New Year’s Eve, she had been pinned against the side hall’s door by a younger Qin Lou. His eyes were bloodshot, and he had silenced her by covering her mouth with one hand while trembling lips pressed a kiss onto the back of his own hand.

Even back then, Song Shu had realized the bottomless depths of desire this madman harbored for her.

But after years of separation, upon their reunion, he had treated her as if she were delicate glass, burying all his intense emotions beneath a veneer of meekness and pitiful restraint, never letting them surface easily.

This moment, though… was simply an unguarded slip of his true nature.

As this thought crossed her mind, Qin Lou suddenly stepped forward, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her straight into a nearby changing cubicle.

With a loud “bang,” the door slammed shut behind them.

The styling team, left behind in the temporary dressing room, finally snapped out of their daze. They exchanged bewildered and panicked looks.

The young stylist who had been standing closest to Song Shu seemed the most shaken—after all, Qin Lou had brushed past her as he took Song Shu away.

She had seen, up close, how the young man who often appeared lazily on the covers of various financial magazines had shed his usual nonchalant demeanor. His alabaster forehead was taut, faint blue veins visible, and his gaze—deep, intense, and almost feral—was terrifyingly predatory as he “claimed” Song Shu right before her eyes.

The young stylist froze for several seconds before twisting her neck stiffly. “S-Should we call the police?”

“…”

The entire styling team fell silent, then exchanged helpless glances.

“What nonsense is this kid spouting now?”

“Keep your voice down; this is a temporary styling room, not our soundproof room. They can hear everything inside. Do you want to get kicked out by Mr. Qin?”

“Exactly. People outside can hear us too. Besides, I heard Mr. Qin spoils Miss Song to the bone—like, the kind of person who’d give his life for her without even blinking. If Miss Song showed the slightest reluctance, he’d never force anything.”

“Hey, come on, stop speculating about things you don’t know. No baseless gossip allowed…”

“Yeah, don’t talk recklessly, or you’ll get locked out. But I have to admit, I really ship these two—they’re way more real than those fake celebrity couples in the entertainment industry. This is true love, no pretense.”

“The key point is that they’re both good-looking, right?”

“Ah, you caught me.”

“Pfft, shallow.”

“If you’re not shallow, then stop smiling like that while staring at their cubicle door—it’s creepy.”

“I…I’m just moved by their fairytale romance. Their story is so touching I even use it as a bedtime tale.”

“Me too, hehe…”

The voices in the styling room were hushed and chaotic, a mix of whispers.

Behind the thin door of the cubicle, Qin Lou’s heavy breathing hovered over Song Shu as he pressed her against the corner of the changing room.

He leaned down slightly, his warm breath brushing against her neck and ear with an almost scalding heat.

Though Song Shu was no stranger to his antics, she couldn’t help but feel a tinge of embarrassment. Her calm and beautiful face turned slightly away, trying to avoid his breath as much as possible.

She usually didn’t care what others thought or said, but imagining the inevitable teasing and gossip-filled glances from the styling team when they walked out—even if they looked perfectly composed—was enough to make her finally speak up.

Her voice was low and steady, tinged with mild embarrassment and resignation.

“You’re embarrassing, Qin Lou.”

Of course, Qin Lou knew what she meant.

He tilted his chin slightly, his breath moving upward, grazing her fair earlobe and leaving it tinged with a delicate pink.

He chuckled, his voice hoarse. “Since they’re going to misunderstand anyway, we might as well make it true. At least then, it’s not unwarranted.”

Song Shu was momentarily speechless, her cheeks flushing deeper. “…Do you even remember what we’re here for today?”

“Nope.”

As he spoke, Qin Lou deliberately let his lips brush against her ear. The teasing, desire-laden, gravelly laughter that followed seemed to have invisible hooks, sinking into her very bones and making her feel trapped with nowhere to escape.

His dark eyes lowered, landing on the faint pink bow decorating the waist of her white dress. His fingers lightly traced the silky fabric as his gaze traveled slowly upward, lingering over every graceful curve until it finally met her eyes.

“Looking at you like this,” Qin Lou murmured as he leaned closer, his lips quirking into a smirk, “what else could I possibly think about? I can’t remember a thing.”

Song Shu sighed in exasperation, unable to fight his relentless teasing.

“If you keep stalling, aren’t you afraid of delaying the school anniversary event? Who’s going to take responsibility then?”

“You, of course.” Qin Lou leaned down, stealing soft, playful kisses from her lips. His overwhelming desire flickered in the depths of his eyes as his breath teased her. “You’re the one who seduced me.”

Song Shu frowned slightly, her voice tinged with rare irritation. “You’re the one who suggested this look.”

“That’s right.”

“Then how is it my fault?”

“Do you think I just came up with the idea randomly?”

“…”

Meeting her slightly bewildered gaze, Qin Lou felt his desire intensify, gnawing at him like ants or insects burrowing into the hardest-to-endure corners of his mind.

But he knew this wasn’t the right time or place, so he forced himself to hold back, though his voice grew even huskier.

“Do you remember what I told you that time, after you called me four times, in that storage room?”

Song Shu’s eyes flickered with a memory but remained silent, her lips pressing into a thin line.

If it were any other time, Qin Lou might have restrained himself. But just like back then, when he reached the peak of his uncontrollable emotions, her rare, genuine reactions only made him want to push further—to break through her calm exterior and see her flushed, even embarrassed or angry.

So he gave in to himself, placing soft kisses on her earlobe as he whispered, “I told you. One day, you’d wear a white dress cinched at the waist, showing off your slender legs and the most beautiful figure and face. And someone like me, trash as I am, would someday drag you into my car on some drunken night, tear your dress apart to the sound of a whistle, and bite your lips until they bled—”

Qin Lou’s words abruptly stopped, followed by a low laugh.

“I got it all right, except for one thing. I don’t need alcohol or anything else. You just have to dress like this, stand in front of me without saying a word, without even making an expression—and I can’t hold back.”

Song Shu’s face was now completely flushed with color, and she stubbornly refused to utter another word.

She knew Qin Lou too well. If she stayed silent, there was still a chance to muddle through this. But if he managed to coax her into speaking, the school anniversary gala tonight would almost certainly be a lost cause.

Despite all his efforts to tease and provoke her, Qin Lou couldn’t get his little clam to open her mouth, and a faint sense of regret flickered in his downcast eyes. Deep within, suppressed and faintly feral emotions churned.

“Still won’t say anything?”

Song Shu tightened her slightly clammy palms and looked away, her expression resolutely blank. “Not now.”

Qin Lou was relentless. “Then when?”

Song Shu pressed her lips together again, refusing to answer.

Without determination, there’s no getting the meat out of a clam.

A dark, intense emotion flashed through Qin Lou’s gaze, accompanied by a final flicker of decisiveness. He gritted his teeth, wrapped an arm around her waist, and suddenly turned her around, pinning her against the corner of the wall.

His body pressed firmly against her back as his fingers brushed over her delicate shoulders, then traced down to the beautifully tied bow on her white, flared dress. Slowly, he pressed it backward.

At the same time, Qin Lou leaned closer, his breath hot against the back of her ear. His voice was hoarse and low, carrying an irresistible intensity.

“If you won’t give me a definite time, then I might just start the meal right now, little clam.”

“—!”

Forced to face away from him, unable to see any of Qin Lou’s expressions, Song Shu felt an unfamiliar pressure that made her eyes quiver slightly.

She bit her lip uneasily.

Qin Lou’s gaze darkened, but he chuckled.

“Ah, did you think I was joking?”

He leaned forward.

At a certain point, Song Shu’s body gave a faint tremble, and her voice wavered as she spoke.

“Tonight… Tonight.”

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