Less than an hour later, a work-ready Long Jinjing stepped out of the bedroom. She was wearing a long-sleeved turtleneck shirt and business trousers to cover up her new hickeys. Her face looked fresh with light makeup despite the lack of sleep.

Lu Zihao was already sitting at the dining table and drinking hot coffee while waiting for her.

The delicious aroma of food wafted to her nose and made her salivate. She usually only cooked simple one-dish breakfast or heated up leftovers to save time. And if she was running late, she would leave without eating and just buy some food on the way to work. It was only when her mother, Sun Jingfei, stayed over that she would have a full breakfast with several dishes like this.

Seeing the delectable food on the table, she eagerly moved towards the chair opposite Lu Zihao but he stopped her. 

"Sit beside me," he said.

She paused, a little baffled at his request, but still went ahead and sat beside him. But that still wasn't enough for him. He pulled her chair closer before wrapping an arm around her waist.

Her face flushed at his actions so she focused on the food in front of them instead. "You should've eaten first and not waited for me. You said you were hungry earlier."

"If I ate first, I would've eaten everything on the table before you even finished getting ready," he replied. "There would be no food left for you."

"It's okay. I wasn't expecting for you to provide breakfast for me, anyway. You should've—"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

She frowned, confused at what he meant.

"For the remaining twenty-nine days, you are my girlfriend. That means that I'll take care of you. I might not have any experience in this kind of relationship but I know that only pathetic and selfish assholes eat everything by themselves without sharing any food with their women."

"I…" Her chest suddenly felt warm. She pressed her fingers on her lips to prevent herself from smiling too much. "T-thank you."

"Let's eat."

She nodded. [This novel is a contracted work with W e b n o v e l . c o m (remove spaces). If you're not reading this chapter on W e b n o v e l, it has been stolen. It's very discouraging to see thieves profitting from my hard work. Please support the original author, ArriaCross. Thank you! Also follow me on Instagram @arriacross]

"Where's Mr. Shun?" she asked while they ate.

"He already left to take care of some things for me."

"Oh."

He glanced at her. "I'll be going out of town today for work and won't be back until tomorrow. I'll send Shun to pick you up at work later."

Her eyes widened. She lowered her chopsticks. "No, that's not necessary. I can go home by myself."

"Jinjing, don't argue with me about this," he told her in a stern voice.

She frowned. "Nikolai, you're…you're being so…so controlling."

He looked at her straight in the eyes. "Indeed, you're right. I am a very controlling man. That's who I am. Are you regretting that you suggested this 30-day relationship with me?"

Before she could reply, he already said, "That's too bad, Jinjing. I haven't had my fill of you yet. And don't think just because our arrangement has a limit of thirty days that it isn't a real relationship. You were the one who wanted to be treated as an official girlfriend and I agreed to it, so that's what I'm going to give you. You're my woman now and like hell I'm going to leave you by yourself unprotected."

"B-but—"

"Shun will pick you up later at work," he said, his tone final. "Don't worry. I'll choose another subordinate, a female one, so you'll feel more comfortable."

Her frown deepened. "T-that's not...I think you're overreacting. There's really no need for you to send people to chauffeur me or act like my bodyguards. And what do you mean by leaving me unprotected? I'm not like my sister Xiulan, a celebrity who needs protection. I'm just a regular businesswoman who's not in any danger."

Instead of answering, he scooped more food and put it on her plate before gesturing for her to continue eating.

She grabbed his arm and shook it. "Nikolai, listen to me!"

He stopped and faced her. His expression was so serious that it made her heart palpitate.

"Jinjing, just humour me this time," he said in a low, serious yet also mesmerizing tone. "Our relationship will only last thirty days. Twenty-nine days left to be exact. I need the peace of mind knowing that at least one of my subordinates is watching over my woman when I'm away and busy with work. Just do it for me, okay?" 

She hesitated and wondered why he was being so hell-bent about this matter. When he put it like that, however, she couldn't help but soften. 

Well, they were still at the beginning of their month-long relationship. She would give in this time. Next time, however, she would tell him and his subordinates to back off. She found it ridiculous to be followed around by bodyguards. 

Although she was Long Tengfei's daughter, her mother never raised her in luxury unlike her other half-siblings who grew up as typical rich kids. The only luxury that Sun Jingfei never deprived her of was education. She was sent to the best academic schools in the country. Her mother hired the best tutors to help her and bought her the best educational resources that money could buy. Long Tengfei sent generous child support every month since her birth and Sun Jingfei invested almost all of it on Long Jinjing's education and anything related to her studies. The income from her mother's small bookstore was the one they used to cover their modest daily expenses.

Bodyguards and drivers or other fancy private staff like that were never part of Long Jinjing's upbringing. The mother and daughter did the household chores by themselves. That was why they preferred small, cozy homes instead of huge mansions because they were easier to clean and maintain without needing to hire staff.

Sighing, Long Jinjing nodded at Lu Zihao with great reluctance. "Fine."

His lips curved in a devilish smile and blinded her, causing her IQ to once again plummet to amoeba level. "Good."

She stared at him like an idiot who became even more of an idiot when he leaned forward to kiss her brains out.

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