Chapter 2

Following Qin Yuze out of the office, I suddenly understood the smug delight of a petty villain getting her way.

In the lift, he took out his phone and asked what I wanted for dinner.

"We're going together?"

"Otherwise? Do people go on dates alone?"

His matter-of-fact attitude left me at a loss.

I'd meant to use my life-saving favor to extract a little benefit. He'd accepted the whole thing so naturally.

He'd even asked for my address the previous night, then deliberately waited downstairs that morning to drive me to work.

He'd dropped me at the company openly.

I was the one sneaking out of the car as though we were doing something illicit.

Halfway down, the lift stopped on the eighteenth floor.

Qin Huaixu's office was there.

I used to find excuses to go up so often that I'd become acutely sensitive to the number. My fists tightened instinctively.

Being on the same floor didn't mean we'd meet.

I was reassuring myself and failed to notice Qin Yuze suddenly moving closer.

"Your perfume smells lovely today."

"Huh?"

He abruptly crowded me into the corner and covered me with kisses.

The next second, the doors opened.

Qin Huaixu raised a foot to enter and saw everything.

"You… you two!"

Qin Yuze smelled faintly of mint, clean and fresh.

I felt I'd smelled it somewhere before.

Before I could think further, he released me.

"Hello, big brother."

One of Qin Huaixu's feet was already inside. He froze.

"You two… this is the office."

Qin Yuze shielded me behind him.

"Office hours are over."

The obstructed doors kept beeping.

Qin Huaixu stepped back out. Before they closed, I heard him grind out,

"Ye Zhiwu, you're ruthless!"

I stared.

What did this have to do with me?

I turned to question Qin Yuze, but he lowered his eyes and looked wounded.

"Aren't we dating? Or don't you actually like me? Are you only using me to make my brother jealous? What am I, then? A prop in your game?"

Excellent.

He knew exactly how to get to me.

I sighed helplessly and dropped the subject.

He smiled softly and tucked a few strands of hair behind my ear.

Cool fingertips brushed the skin there, raising gooseflesh.

"Your perfume really does smell lovely."

He leaned closer again.

I immediately took something from my bag and thrust it into his hand.

"If you like it, have it. A spray of Liushen floral water in summer really does keep mosquitoes off."

I simply couldn't understand what was so irresistible about this tiny bottle of Six God.

Looking at the mosquito repellent in his hand, Qin Yuze's expression grew complicated.

He looked at me several times, hesitated, then said quietly,

"You really don't have a romantic bone in your body."

…

The next day, I received a transfer email.

I was temporarily assigned to work alongside Qin Huaixu.

He'd established his own brand the year before. Promotion had recently begun, requiring plenty of staff, so he'd borrowed people from several departments.

I'd applied for a transfer there several times and been politely refused.

Now my once-dream assignment lay before me.

My feelings were complicated.

When I reached the eighteenth floor, he happened to emerge from his office.

Meeting my eyes, he sneered.

"We're only short-staffed. Don't read into it."

My job was simply to help.

The problem was that he had a livestreamed brand launch coming up.

Everyone on the project was run off their feet.

The colleague showing me the ropes said he hadn't left on time for half a month.

I had a bad feeling.

Sure enough, just before closing, Qin Huaixu assigned another pile of work.

Everyone was angry. No one dared say so.

Unable to find me in my own department, Qin Yuze came straight to the eighteenth floor.

The moment he stepped out of the lift, I felt the air cool several degrees.

"We agreed to see a film tonight."

He came straight over and was about to shut down my computer when Qin Huaixu emerged.

"She has work to finish tonight."

"I don't recall a company rule requiring compulsory overtime."

Qin Huaixu laughed derisively.

"She's working for me now. Until my project ends, she stays by my side."

The tension grew.

Beside me, a colleague poked my arm excitedly.

I suddenly realized that the master's prediction might not have meant romantic good fortune.

It might have meant romantic disaster.

Qin Yuze didn't argue. He simply took my hand.

"Do you want to come with me? We agreed to see a film today."

Qin Huaixu immediately threatened,

"Ye Zhiwu, don't forget who you're working for! Do you still want this month's bonus?"

After a brief silence, I said quietly,

"Why don't you both make an offer? I'll see which of you is more profitable to follow."

If everything was already a pot of porridge, shouldn't I scoop some up while it was hot?

In the end, Qin Yuze took an important call and had to leave first.

Before going, he looked back repeatedly, turning every few steps. His handsome face practically spelled out WRONGED.

I admitted it.

I was hooked.

"Ye Zhiwu, what are you thinking about?"

Qin Huaixu's voice came from behind.

He stared at me, holding the documents I'd just printed.

Distracted, I hadn't noticed the paper had fed through crookedly.

"Don't think you can use Qin Yuze to provoke me. I transferred you solely for work. Don't read into it!"

I nodded and forced a smile.

"Don't worry. I don't like you anymore."

Seven years.

I truly couldn't keep liking him.

Sunk costs should never dictate further investment in an important decision. Once I'd established I no longer liked him, my first wish was to get as far away as possible.

His fists suddenly clenched. He crumpled the paper into a ball.

"That had better be true."

Then he turned and left.

I was sent to deliver something to the third floor, where the launch would take place in a few days.

The product displays were already arranged, along with an enormous champagne tower.

Two meters high. Apparently it had taken an entire day to build.

I'd put down the item and was about to leave when I heard a familiar voice.

Qin Yuze stood in a corner, apparently on the phone.

"Are the media arrangements ready? Hurry."

"I'll handle these things. Just make sure everything runs smoothly."

He stood beside a floor-to-ceiling window, the sunset outlining his tall frame.

His gaze happened to fall on the champagne tower.

Something dark flashed across his previously calm face.

Still speaking on the phone, he walked elegantly over and extended a hand.

One light touch shifted a glass.

The next second, the two-meter structure collapsed.

Glass shattered everywhere.

The crash startled everyone present.

Only then did he end the call.

Facing the colleagues rushing over, he explained softly,

"Sorry. I bumped it by accident. I'll have someone take care of it."

He turned to leave and found me standing in the doorway.

For an instant, I saw panic flash unmistakably through his eyes.

Qin Huaixu was furious about the tower.

Perhaps because he'd invested so much in this brand line that he couldn't tolerate the slightest mistake.

In any case, rumors soon spread that he'd physically attacked Qin Yuze over it.

My hand stopped in the middle of making tea when I heard.

Qin Yuze really hadn't come to work that day. He'd messaged that morning to say he couldn't drive me to and from work for a while.

"Young Master Qin values that brand so much. It's natural he'd be angry."

"But it's only a display. Deputy CEO Qin already had it rebuilt. They're brothers, after all."

"What kind of brothers aren't related by blood? Everyone knows the younger one is adopted. He'll take half the inheritance someday. Who'd be happy about that?"

My colleagues whispered in the pantry.

I held my phone and hesitated for a long time before messaging him.

"I heard you and Qin Huaixu fought?"

"It's fine. I'm used to it."

My frown deepened.

At university, Qin Huaixu had once attacked a player from the opposing team after losing a match and put him in hospital.

For a long time afterward, people criticized his unstable temper. My roommate had even urged me to stop liking him.

For certain reasons, I'd stubbornly refused.

"Let me see."

During lunch, I hid in the fire stairs and video-called Qin Yuze.

He answered quickly.

At the bruise beneath his left eye, curses rushed to the tip of my tongue.

Of all the places to hit, why the face?

"It's all right. I've put ointment on it. It'll heal in a few days. I'm happy you called."

He leaned against the headboard in only a tank top, showing firm arms.

I glanced, then quietly looked away and defended myself.

"I really did only call to check on you."

Overtime had reduced our conversations in recent days to video calls before bed.

At first, he showed only his face.

"Isn't this why you're with me? It's fine. My face is part of me too. As long as you like it."

Until one day, on camera, he removed his suit jacket and loosened his tie.

I looked at the veins on his hands, then the collarbones revealed when he undid a few shirt buttons.

I was practically drooling.

He noticed and calmly took off his shirt to display his physique.

"Like it? If you do, you can look whenever you want."

After that, every video call came with a little bonus.

This relationship suddenly felt like excellent value.

Where else would I find such a generous boyfriend?

"I had a rare day at home, so I did a couple of chest sets."

My heart thudded.

As the man on my screen took off his shirt, my eyes practically stuck to it.

Bang!

The stairwell door was shoved open.

I snapped back to reality.

My finger brushed the screen and ended the call.

"What are you doing?"