"Come here"

The next day.

Xun Yuan drove over on her way to the CBD buildings in Harbor City's prime district. Along the entire commercial street, almost every company of any standing in Harbor City had a presence here. The most prominent and eye-catching was undoubtedly ZK Group.

Xun Yuan had previously asked Jiang Yulin where Zuo Tingyue had his clothes custom-made.

Jiang Yulin had sent her a head-shaking sticker and just one sentence.

"Their family has its own private tailor, an exclusive clothing designer."

There was nothing Xun Yuan could do. Unable to engage the Zuo family's private designer, she had bought something from a well-known brand instead and left it in her car, just in case.

Since she happened to be passing by this time, Xun Yuan parked outside ZK Group and got out with a bag in her hand.

She went inside to reception and, unsurprisingly, was stopped. She wasn't annoyed, smiling as she asked, "Is your president here?"

Everyone knew that ZK Group's president was the Zuo family's crown prince.

The young receptionist was quite professional. Despite having seen so many women come looking for the president, she remained friendly.

"The president is here. Do you have an appointment?"

Xun Yuan smiled, her beautiful eyes tilting slightly upward, languid and brimming with allure as she gazed straight at the young receptionist.

"I'm not going up. Could I trouble you to give this to your president?"

"This belongs to him."

The young receptionist flushed slightly and nodded instinctively.

"Of course."

"Is there anything else you'd like me to tell him?"

Xun Yuan raised her brows, her smile faint. "No."

About half an hour later, the young receptionist received a coffee delivery.

After leaving, Xun Yuan opened the contact card Jiang Yulin had recommended and tapped to add it to her contacts. In the verification message, she entered her name directly.

"Xun Yuan. I accidentally stained your clothes last time. It isn't convenient for me to come up, so I've left the replacement trousers at reception."

After leaving ZK Group's building, Xun Yuan went to an office building next door.

A man with regular features and a straight, tall figure stood outside the entrance, waiting for someone. The moment Xun Yuan appeared, his eyes stirred, and he stepped forward to meet her.

"Are you Miss Xun Yuan?"

Xun Yuan gave a hum of assent.

"President Zhang is waiting upstairs. Please follow me."

Xun Yuan smiled and nodded politely, then took the elevator to the reception room.

"President Zhang, Miss Xun Yuan is here."

President Zhang wasn't very old, a man in his thirties with dignified looks and an impressive bearing, warm and measured in his dealings with others.

"Hello, Miss Xun Yuan."

"Hello, President Zhang."

After they exchanged greetings, President Zhang opened the sandalwood box on the table, revealing the damaged vase inside.

"I'm very sorry. My busy work schedule meant I could only ask you to spare the time to come to my office. This is the artifact I mentioned before that needs restoration. Could you take a look and see whether it can still be restored?"

Xun Yuan nodded and carefully examined the vase in the box, studying its patterns and craftsmanship.

"President Zhang, this porcelain vase is an enamel-painted piece from the reign of the Kangxi Emperor in the Qing dynasty. It uses an overglaze technique, with vivid, vibrant colors. It can be restored, but it will take quite some time."

Hearing that it could be restored, President Zhang immediately relaxed and said readily, "It doesn't matter if it takes longer, as long as it can be restored."

"To tell you the truth, this is a piece my wife particularly loves. Some time ago, she accidentally knocked it over and damaged it, and she was heartbroken. Now that it can be restored, she'll certainly be happy."

Perhaps because his wish had been fulfilled, President Zhang became more talkative. Xun Yuan listened to him with a faint smile throughout.

Xun Yuan's workplace was in a part of Harbor City where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold. She rented it, seeing no need to buy. She took commissions herself and worked on her own.

She did have a special assistant, but he didn't do artifact restoration and wasn't in Harbor City at present.

For the past few days, she had been busy drawing up a restoration plan and hadn't had time to go out to clubs. By the time she finalized the plan that day, it was already eleven at night.

When she stepped outside, a black Bentley was parked by the roadside, its window halfway down. Dusty-gray, hazy rings of smoke drifted out. Under the bright white lights, she could see the jut of his wrist bone beside his hand, the lines of bone and veins strikingly distinct.

Xun Yuan's leisurely steps paused before she slowly approached. Looking down from above, she lowered her gaze through the gap in the window and clearly saw his cool, indifferent eyes and brows. Wreathed in smoke, he was cold by nature.

There was a kind of person in this world who became more attractive the more aloof and unfeeling they were, and Zuo Tingyue was unquestionably the finest of them.

Noticing Xun Yuan, he turned and lifted his eyes to her. There wasn't a trace of emotion in them, only indifference taken to its utmost. Even seated below her, he lost none of his commanding presence.

Through the dense haze of smoke, Xun Yuan met his gaze, a smile slowly rising to her lips.

"Did you just get off work, Mr. Zuo?"

Zuo Tingyue's expression didn't change. A hum served as his answer.

Xun Yuan continued with a faint smile. "I just got off work too. What a coincidence. You work so hard too, Mr. Zuo."

She deliberately drew out the last word, her tone sweet and soft, threaded with a hint of a Beijing accent, tender without sounding affected.

He reached out and stubbed his cigarette in the car's ashtray. His eyes swept over Xun Yuan standing outside, and his lips curved slightly in a faint smile.

"Getting off work so late-aren't you afraid on your own?"

His gaze traveled over her inch by inch. Though his eyes were clearly devoid of any flicker, they somehow left a person feeling there was nowhere to hide. It was a gaze that carried pressure of its own.

Only because Xun Yuan was no ordinary person could she turn a blind eye to such an oppressive gaze.

She curled her lips, her allure just right.

"What can I do even if I'm afraid? I have to work to earn my living. Sorry for the trouble, but would you deign to give me a ride?"

"Clinging to me?"

He seemed to be teasing, yet his voice was unmistakably flat and devoid of warmth.

"May I cling to you, Mr. Zuo?"

Xun Yuan spoke softly. In the darkness, her smile was languid and winsome, like a blood-red rose quietly blooming in the dark, beautiful and captivating, full of temptation, yet covered in thorns.

She looked as though she could be bent and plucked, but that was only how she looked.

Zuo Tingyue smiled with playful interest. His deep voice rang out with particular weight in the night, as though it would pierce right through one's ears.

"Come here."

Xun Yuan didn't move. For an instant, she wondered whether she'd misheard.

This wasn't right. Could it be that easy?

In a rare show of patience, Zuo Tingyue repeated himself, his voice low and without warmth.

"Come here."

Certain this time that she hadn't misheard, Xun Yuan slowly approached the Bentley until she stood before him.

"Lower your head."

The terse words came without any explanation, his tone commanding, yet his voice was pleasantly deep and husky.

As though under some inexplicable spell, Xun Yuan really did lower her head. She bent slightly, and the silk shawl slipped from her shoulder, revealing a small patch of skin, dazzlingly white.

Zuo Tingyue lowered the window and reached out, brushing beneath the side of her face. His warm fingertip met her fair, tender skin, sending an electric tingle through her. Her heartbeat abruptly stumbled.

Her body instinctively retreated two steps, a defensive response to an intrusion into her territory.

Zuo Tingyue seemed to curve his lips. He withdrew his hand and wiped his fingertips with a handkerchief.

Humiliation and anger suddenly rose in Xun Yuan. Just as she was about to demand an explanation, she heard his low voice, laced with laughter.

"You didn't even realize you'd gotten paint on your face."

With that single sentence, Xun Yuan immediately understood what had happened. The anger he'd sparked instantly went out, leaving her roiling emotions nowhere to go. Her small, white-jade face flushed.

In the end, she couldn't hold back from blaming him.

"Couldn't you have said so first?"

"You got the paint on yourself."

He always spoke concisely. What he meant was that she hadn't even noticed the paint she'd gotten on herself, so did she really need someone else to point it out?

Through the faint smile in his deep-set eyes, Xun Yuan actually understood his unspoken words. For a moment, she was both annoyed and embarrassed.