Dread curled in Liang Mei's empty stomach.
"The party?" she asked.
"You'll be serving drinks," Zhang Yichan informed her. "Make sure you wear your uniform."
She blanched. "I can't wear this in front of everyone. That's almost as bad as having them see the picture."
His eyes traveled insolently over her before shifting to his phone. He didn't swipe at the screen, so he couldn't have pulled up the picture. His gaze was heated when he looked back at her, though.
"Not even close," he said, his voice pitched in a sexual tone that elicited a carnal response in her body.
Heat spread through Liang Mei as their gazes locked. In that moment, she knew he wanted her. She had fantasized about having him look at her that way, but she hadn't known how powerfully erotic it would be how it would set her pulse pounding and shoot liquid fire straight down to her core. The intensity of his gaze made her knees weak as she stared back at him in a haze of lust. His ringtone startled them both. Jerking his hand up, Zhang Yichan scowled at the screen before answering his phone.
"What?" he snapped.
"Yes," he answered in exasperation after listening for a beat. "I'm just about to drive her home."
He ended the call without waiting for a reply.
"Let's go," he said, spinning toward the doorway.
Liang Mei followed his quick stride downstairs and out to his car. They remained awkwardly silent during the ride to her house, and she became uncomfortably aware of the state her body was in after that intense surge of lust. She needed another shower to wash away the moisture between her legs. She couldn't wait to finally be alone, but Zhang Yichan got out of the car too after parking it in her driveway.
"What are you doing?" she asked in alarm.
"I want what you're wearing back." He pulled a shopping bag out of the backseat. "This is your new uniform. Wear it tonight."
She eyed the bag warily, but she didn't have any fight left in her. She just wanted him to leave so she could get a break from everything. Walking up to the house, she unlocked the door. Fortunately, nobody was home, so she didn't have to explain why she was dressed like that. Zhang Yichan surprised her by not following her to her room.
"Hurry up," he admonished.
He didn't have to tell her twice. Eager to get rid of him, she dumped the new uniform he had bought on her bed and quickly shoved everything she stripped off into the shopping bag. She kept her shorts, because they were hers. She hated to give Zhang Yichan the panties she had worn, but she was afraid he'd come back for them if she didn't.
Putting on her regular cotton panties, Liang Mei pulled her shorts back on and threw on a T-shirt before going downstairs and handing him the bag.
"Be at my house at eight," he said, leaving like he was just as eager to get away from her as she was to see him go. Hope flared within her that he was already getting tired of having her around. If he hated her, it made sense that he wouldn't be able to stand being near her for long. Maybe she wouldn't have to go to the police after all. Waiting for Zhang Yichan's eighteenth birthday wasn't the only reason she was delaying reporting him she really didn't want anyone to see that picture, not even the authorities. She'd have to watch for an opportunity to get rid of it. Since Zhang Yichan was giving her free rein of his house, she might be able to get to it and delete it from his devices. Then she would be free of his threats and out of this predicament she was in.