"Xun Yuan, stop it"

Zuo Tingyue narrowed his eyes, a trace of amusement spilling into them as the corners of his lips lifted, his manner nonchalant.

"Try me."

His tone really was so casual-the kind of casual that did not care in the slightest.

Xun Yuan gave a little laugh, without much emotion. Only her eyes were hazy with drink, giving her an inexplicably melancholy air.

The night, the streetlights, the drunkenness, the silhouettes in the dim yellow glow, a mature man and woman-it was like a Hong Kong-style film about some romantic encounter.

Would trying be enough to get what she wanted?

Xun Yuan smiled, her alcohol-tinged eyes misty, their natural, scattered glimmers holding elusive threads of affection.

She looked at Zuo Tingyue. Perhaps he had just finished discussing business; he wore a crisp, immaculate suit, his shirt and tie meticulously arranged.

Xun Yuan suddenly raised her hand, seized his tie, and pulled him toward her without giving him a say. At the same time, she rose onto her toes, lifted her head, and kissed him.

In the shadows beneath the streetlight, the light was dim, the breeze brushing past shifting silhouettes.

She pressed her lips to his and bit down hard.

She drew back, studying his features, enlarged by their closeness, as though trying to see the emotions in his eyes, to look through them and discover just what his heart held.

Such beautiful eyes, yet there was nothing but indifference inside.

Seemingly devoted, but heartless in truth.

It was impossible to imagine what he would look like if he truly loved someone.

Xun Yuan found it utterly pointless. She released his tie and started to pull away.

Zuo Tingyue was not a man who cherished delicate flowers. He caught the back of Xun Yuan's head, lowered his own, and kissed her, his movements utterly rough, without the slightest mercy.

"Hiss."

Xun Yuan cried out in pain.

By the time Zuo Tingyue released her, he had bitten her lip open. Traces of blood seeped out, and the pain brought a sheen of moisture to her eyes. Decadent beauty mingled with fragility, making her look this way.

Zuo Tingyue narrowed his eyes and asked, "Where's your driver?"

Xun Yuan held up her phone and said offhandedly, "In my phone. Can't get here."

Zuo Tingyue gripped her wrist and, half dragging, half carrying her, bundled her into the car.

Xun Yuan did not cooperate, half-drunk or perhaps using the alcohol as an excuse to act up.

"Who are you?"

"Why are you interfering with me?"

"What exactly do you want?"

She chattered on incessantly, so talkative that she hardly seemed like her usual self.

Zuo Tingyue ignored her. Once inside the car, he asked, "Where are your car keys?"

Xun Yuan immediately covered her handbag. "I'm not telling you where my keys are."

Special Assistant Lin was amused. Miss Xun Yuan, do you know this is what you're like when you've had too much to drink?

Left with no other choice, Zuo Tingyue took the car keys straight out of her handbag. Xun Yuan resisted, so he restrained her hands and scolded her:

"Xun Yuan, stop it."

Xun Yuan's wrists hurt. His grip was strong, and her eyes reddened further. The drunkenness stirred up by that surge of emotion-or rather, the excuse to indulge herself under the cover of alcohol-gradually faded with the pain.

She stopped struggling, lowered her hands, and fell silent. The space instantly grew quiet.

Zuo Tingyue tossed the keys to Special Assistant Lin.

"Drive her car back. Bring it to the hotel tomorrow morning."

Special Assistant Lin nodded. "Yes, boss."

Special Assistant Lin opened the door and got out. Zuo Tingyue went around to the driver's seat, leaving Xun Yuan alone in the back.

The car started, and Xun Yuan did not speak again all the way to the hotel. Her head hurt, and she wanted to sleep. Zuo Tingyue was even more sparing with words, so neither said anything throughout the drive.

When they got out, Zuo Tingyue saw that Xun Yuan's eyes were closed. He carried her into the hotel, laid her on the bed, and went to take a shower.

Xun Yuan opened her eyes after he left, her gaze clear. She could hear the running water from his shower as she lay silently on the bed.

The bright bedroom lights fell across the bed, illuminating her whole body. Curled into a little ball amid the soft bedding, she looked especially petite.

Xun Yuan suddenly frowned. Zuo Tingyue's scent filled her nose. The sandalwood fragrance on him found its way into every crevice; just that brief contact had left it on her. It was clearly not a particularly strong scent, yet its invasion spared nothing.

Just like the man himself-overbearing, even in his choice of fragrance.

Xun Yuan wanted to shower. She got out of bed to go to the other bathroom, and just then, the bathroom door opened.

Xun Yuan's steps faltered, and she felt inexplicably guilty. She had not fallen asleep.

"Where are you going?"

His voice was deep, steeped in the damp mist of his shower, not merely low but husky too.

Sometimes Xun Yuan wondered whether, aside from his having saved her life and being outrageously charming, her attraction to him also came down to being bewitched by his looks.

After all, that richly textured voice alone made her want to hear more every time she heard it. Her ears liked it very much.

"Next door. To shower."

Xun Yuan's voice was slightly hoarse too; she had been drinking.

"Sober now?"

Xun Yuan gave a quiet "Mm." Not wanting to say anything more to him, she headed out.

Watching her retreating back, Zuo Tingyue suddenly let out a low laugh, its meaning difficult to discern.

It was not that he could not see through Xun Yuan's deliberate behavior. How could he not have known she was not really asleep? He simply could not be bothered to expose her. There was no need. Girls were thin-skinned, and she refused to yield.

Next door, Xun Yuan could not be bothered to move again after her shower, so she simply went to bed there.

As for Zuo Tingyue, had he spent so few nights sleeping alone? It was all the same, with or without her.

And so, she slept with a clear conscience.

After a good night's sleep, Xun Yuan checked her phone when she got up and saw a message from Special Assistant Lin.

"Miss Xun Yuan, your car is in the hotel parking lot. The keys are at the front desk."

Xun Yuan replied with an "ok." After washing up, she planned to go to the studio to work on her Guanyin Bodhisattva.

She opened the door and stepped out. Hearing conversation in the hotel's reception lounge, she paused, rounded the corridor, and saw the people inside. For a moment, Xun Yuan was speechless.

Zuo Tingyue, whom she had assumed had already gone to work, and Special Assistant Lin, who had messaged her, were both there.

Special Assistant Lin was facing Xun Yuan. Seeing her, he greeted her. "Miss Xun Yuan."

You came up here, so why did you leave the keys at the front desk?

"Special Assistant Lin."

Zuo Tingyue did not look up. He was reading the documents Special Assistant Lin had brought, taking in ten lines at a glance. He dealt with these every day and was thoroughly at home with contract clauses.

Seeing him, Xun Yuan abruptly recalled how she had left him behind to sleep on her own last night, though she still felt that he really did not need company.

Zuo Tingyue picked up a fountain pen and signed his name in the contract's signature field. The nib made a faint scratching sound against the paper, particularly distinct in the quiet room.

Xun Yuan had good eyesight and could clearly make out the three characters of his name, "Zuo Tingyue," beneath his pen. His strokes flowed like dragons and serpents, their force seeming to pierce the paper. The inked lettering on the white page possessed both form and spirit, its character vigorous and strong.

Fine handwriting.

Xun Yuan wanted to leave. Her voice was light. "Special Assistant Lin, I'll leave you to your work. I'm heading out."

Special Assistant Lin checked his boss's expression. He felt he had become part of his boss and Miss Xun Yuan's play-the part where he served as a shield.

His boss betrayed nothing, so he could only put on a professional smile.

"Goodbye, Miss Xun Yuan."

Xun Yuan had already reached the door. Hearing Special Assistant Lin's farewell, she opened it and left without the slightest hesitation.