Chapter 1

My boyfriend could only last a minute, so I had to take matters into my own hands.

The new toy I’d bought was powerful. I was very pleased with it.

After I finished again, several comments suddenly scrolled across my vision.

【Help. She still doesn’t know the toy shares a sensory link with Zong Lu, does she?】

【Apparently, when things get intense, Zong Lu even sees images.】

【Now that’s exciting.】

I froze.

The next second, I hurriedly tossed it into the trash.

Because Zong Lu wasn’t just my boss.

He was also the cold, arrogant campus genius who had absolutely loathed me back in college.

1

I wasn’t fully awake yet.

Chen Zhao stroked my head.

“Honey, I have to work overtime today. Don’t wait up for me tonight.”

I nodded groggily.

Even after the door slammed shut, I drifted straight back to sleep.

That morning, a call from the delivery driver woke me up.

It was Sunday. For once, I hadn’t set an alarm.

I’d slept all the way through until nine.

Only after collecting my parcel and returning home did I notice breakfast on the table.

The lingering annoyance from last night vanished.

Honestly, apart from his shortcomings in bed, Chen Zhao was exactly my type.

A good family, a respectable job, a gentle temperament.

As for the other thing…

I picked up a pair of scissors and slit the packing tape.

Something pink came into view.

Well, I thought, taking care of myself was an option too.

I brought it into the bedroom and spent ages studying the instructions.

Eventually, I figured out how it worked.

A few minutes later, I was breathing a little hard.

Several rounds in a row.

Even the air around me seemed to grow hazy and hot.

For the first time, I thought whoever had invented this thing was an absolute genius.

It was addictive.

Much more useful than a person.

I could hardly bear to put it down.

Just as I was about to go again, comments suddenly began streaming past, their voices ringing in my ears.

【Help. She still doesn’t know the toy shares a sensory link with Zong Lu, does she?】

【Does anyone understand the sheer relief of watching Zong Lu call an emergency break halfway through a meeting?】

【Apparently, when things get intense, Zong Lu even sees images.】

【Now that’s exciting.】

All the strength seemed to drain out of me.

The thing slipped from my hand onto the bed.

I stared at it, dumbfounded.

The comments kept coming.

【Hahahahaha! His wife really threw him for a loop this time. Feeling guilty now, huh?】

【Does he think he’s hallucinating?】

【What normal person would ever think of a sensory link?】

What the hell? What the actual hell?

I must have felt so good I’d started hallucinating.

Clearly, people weren’t supposed to do this too often.

That was my conclusion.

Then, as though I’d spotted something filthy, I hurriedly shut it away in the cupboard.

2

After a bad night’s sleep, I felt a little listless at work the next morning.

I stared at the company entrance, wondering when Zong Lu would arrive.

At ten forty, someone pushed the doors open.

A man in a black suit walked in.

Tall and lean, he had an air that warned everyone to keep their distance.

His handsome face was expressionless as his cool gaze swept the room, then settled on me.

“Zhang Xiaocao. Come here.”

I took a deep breath.

After all that time bracing myself, I finally managed a natural smile before going inside.

Zong Lu had taken off his black suit jacket.

His white shirt made his figure look even better.

He was leafing through some documents, his eyes lowered.

At the sound of my voice, he didn’t even bother to look up.

“Sit.”

I obediently sat down.

Zong Lu raised his head and took a sip of coffee.

“Lina tells me you want to transfer to the Xicheng branch.”

“That’s right.”

“It’s good to seize an opportunity.” He looked at me. “But you know you’re not the only person in the company interested.”

The Xicheng assignment was being presented as a chance to gain experience. In reality, it was a promotion and a pay rise in disguise.

“You’ll have a week to prepare your proposals for this project.”

“Whoever does the best job gets the position.”

“Thank you, Mr. Zong.” I smiled. “I’ll prepare thoroughly.”

Several dozen seconds later, Zong Lu frowned slightly.

“Was there something else?”

“No… Nothing.”

Those comments had gotten into my head.

My eyes kept drifting downward without my permission.

Only when I caught his suddenly icy stare did I snap out of it.

Work really had driven me out of my mind!

How could Zong Lu possibly be interested in me?

3

I went to the restroom and touched up my makeup.

Looking at my thoroughly ordinary face in the mirror only left me more bewildered.

To be blunt, I wasn’t pretty, but I wasn’t ugly either.

Just average.

Wheat-colored skin.

A nose that was neither particularly high nor particularly flat.

Eyes that were neither big nor small, but always held a stubborn determination.

A lot of people’s first impression of me was that I was tenacious.

And I was.

I’d fought my way from a small city to a big one.

It had taken every scheme and trick I had to carve out a foothold here.

I understood myself.

So, given what I had to work with, I’d chosen Chen Zhao, whose family was fairly well-off, from among the men I could meet at college.

He hadn’t liked me at first. There was already an unattainable first love in his heart.

But as the saying went, when a woman pursued a man, only a thin sheet of paper stood between them.

Especially when she was deliberately setting a trap for him, fattening the pig before the slaughter.

After I “happened” to run into him again and again, after we kept “discovering” interests we shared, Chen Zhao had wavered.

At the time, he was the best choice among the men within my reach who met my criteria for a partner.

He still was.

Compatibility mattered. Butterflies didn’t.

That was how I chose a partner.

That was why I wanted to marry him.

Zong Lu was different.

I’d never entertained fantasies about someone like him.

He seemed to have been born with a halo.

An exceptional family. Exceptional looks.

A cold temperament.

To me, he was the sort of person who came with built-in buffs.

In four years of college, we hadn’t had much contact.

He didn’t like me.

I could tell from the way he looked at me.

There was even a hint of distaste.

Our first encounter hadn’t exactly gone well.

In the sweltering summer heat, I’d stood at the campus gates, pitching student cards to one person after another.

When he approached, I wasn’t paying attention and nearly crashed into him.

He’d frowned slightly and quickened his pace.

The second time we met, I was at the head of a staircase, smiling ingratiatingly at an older female student.

He’d just come up from downstairs.

His eyes, still as an ancient well, passed over me and swiftly moved away.

Later, we joined the same club.

Even then, we didn’t interact much.

I’d always had this one bad habit.

If someone didn’t like me, I never went out of my way to get close to them.

He couldn’t stand how practical I was, how my eyes lit up at the sight of money.

And I couldn’t stand his lofty, superior attitude!

So, back in college, our mutual dislike had been more or less evenly matched.

Then he’d suddenly gone abroad during our third year.

At twenty-five, he’d unexpectedly become my direct supervisor.

That delicate balance had finally broken.

I’d never imagined Zong Lu would like me.

Just as I’d never imagined I would like him.

The very idea was as frightening as a horror story.

4

When I got home from work, Chen Zhao was already back.

He seemed to be in a very good mood. He’d even showered early.

Chen Zhao was actually quite handsome.