Hurry and Say You Like Me

"Hello, Xixi, where did you go? I came back and didn't see you," Chen Ze asked. Where could his sister have gone this late? He couldn't help worrying.

"Hello, I'm shopping downtown. I'll be back in a bit," Chen Xixi said.

"Are you on your own?" Chen Ze asked, still concerned. His sister had only just arrived in the Capital and hardly knew anyone.

"Yeah. My tutor told me to buy some study materials to take back, so I'm looking for them now!" Chen Xixi said.

"Okay, got it. Come back early once you're done, and be careful!" Chen Ze said.

"Okay, brother!" Chen Xixi said.

After they hung up, Chen Ze said to Shangguan Mingyue, "Let's go inside first. My sister's gone out."

Once they were in the living room, Chen Ze poured Shangguan Mingyue a glass of water, and the two started chatting.

"Chen Ze, I don't remember seeing a sister in your records. How did you suddenly get one?" Shangguan Mingyue asked curiously.

"Oh, she's my sworn sister."

Unwilling to say more, Chen Ze hurriedly changed the subject. "Have you always lived in the villa next door, Madam CEO?"

"Don't be so formal. Just call me Sister Mingyue." Shangguan Mingyue didn't much like Chen Ze calling her CEO.

She continued, "Yes, I've lived here ever since I moved out of the Shangguan Family home. It's a lovely setting, and I really like it here!"

"Then we'll be neighbors from now on. I hope you'll look after me, Madam CEO... I mean, Sister Mingyue!" Chen Ze said, cupping his hands.

Shangguan Mingyue smiled faintly. "You're too polite!"

Their conversation seemed to run out of steam, and the atmosphere suddenly turned awkward.

"Why don't you come over to my place?" Shangguan Mingyue suggested.

"Sure!" Chen Ze readily agreed. He also wanted to know what the home of a CEO who lived alone looked like, utterly unaware that there might be anything improper about a young man visiting a woman who lived alone late at night.

At Shangguan Mingyue's home, they pushed open the frosted glass door. On a chest of drawers in muted Morandi colors in the entryway, dried flowers and scented candles were arranged at varying heights, while several pairs of spare sunglasses sat beside a brass key tray. Pale gray walls extended into the high-ceilinged living room, where an L-shaped cream fabric sofa curved lazily around an oval marble coffee table. A soft knitted throw was draped casually over an armrest, and several books lay half-open and facedown on a side table, revealing their owner's easygoing attitude toward life.

Up the spiral staircase, which was covered with a wool carpet, the primary bedroom on the second floor had been converted into an open-plan space. Pale lavender silk bed curtains hung around a cloudlike down bed. A rattan screen at the foot of the bed separated off a small dressing room, and fine silk robes and simple work outfits hung on a semi-open clothes rack. The bay window had been turned into a reading nook, with a soft beanbag chair and a floor lamp. The windowsill was crowded with succulents and potted mint.

The walls of the study were painted a tranquil misty blue. On the open bookshelf covering an entire wall, neatly arranged books stood alongside small ceramic ornaments collected from around the world. Beside the desk, several peonies stretched at an angle from a white porcelain vase, and a frame beside the computer screen held a photo of Shangguan Mingyue traveling alone.

The basement had been turned into a private leisure space. A pale pink yoga mat lay on the soft carpet, and essential oils and an aroma diffuser stood before a wall-mounted mirror. Another area had been arranged as a home theater, with beanbag chairs and plush blankets. The low cabinet beneath the projection screen held a collection of the owner's favorite snacks and red wine. Every corner was suffused with a gentle air, refined yet full of the warmth of daily life, telling of a single woman's philosophy of living freely and comfortably.

Shangguan Mingyue showed Chen Ze around the entire villa, and the two had now reached the second-floor living room. Chen Ze exclaimed, "I never expected you to know how to enjoy life so much, Sister Mingyue. I always thought you were a workaholic!"

"Oh, is that how you see me?" Shangguan Mingyue smiled faintly, and the whole living room seemed to grow a little brighter.

"Not entirely. It's just that every time I see you, you're working. I've never seen you take a break."

Shangguan Mingyue neither agreed nor disagreed. She poured two glasses of red wine and handed one to Chen Ze. "Would you like a glass?"

Chen Ze took the wine, clinked glasses with her, and had a sip. Shangguan Mingyue drained hers in one gulp and poured another.

"Chen Ze, I really like all the songs you gave me. There's one with lyrics I especially like." After saying that, Shangguan Mingyue drained another glass in one gulp.

"Oh? Which lyrics?" Chen Ze asked curiously.

"I once had a diary tucked away, where I wrote of everything about him with care. The scattered words were tears without the courage to fall; the memories that would not fade were still clear when I opened it," Shangguan Mingyue sang softly.

Isn't that Zhang Liangying's "Secret Love"? Chen Ze thought.

"Oh, that song. I really like it too!" Chen Ze said.

"Mm, I like every line in it. The emotions are delicate and rich, and they fully express the feelings of someone harboring a secret love!"

Shangguan Mingyue took another sip of red wine and continued, "What I'm curious about, though, is how you wrote that song, Chen Ze. Could there really be someone in this world whom you love but can't have?"

"Uh..." Chen Ze was speechless. How would I know how the songwriter wrote it? I didn't write it. I'm just a plagiarism lord!

"I just wrote it on a whim, hehe. I don't have a secret crush," Chen Ze said, making up an answer to brush her off.

"That's not something you could write on a whim," Shangguan Mingyue said.

She then leaned closer to Chen Ze until they were only two centimeters apart. Chen Ze could clearly smell the wine on her breath.

Her breath as fragrant as orchids, Shangguan Mingyue said, "Chen Ze, was it true when you said at the banquet tonight that you fell in love with me at first sight?"

"Huh?" Chen Ze was dumbfounded. Heaven and earth could bear witness: he really had only been acting! Had this woman actually taken him seriously?

"I was only acting then. Whatever I said, you don't have to take it seriously, Sister Mingyue," Chen Ze hurriedly explained.

"Oh, really? You're not secretly in love with me?" Shangguan Mingyue clearly didn't believe him. Chen Ze had written songs for her and helped her drive Wang Yu away at the banquet. She really couldn't believe he didn't like her!

"No, absolutely not!" Chen Ze said emphatically.

I couldn't tell this woman was so full of herself. She actually thinks I'm secretly in love with her. In her dreams! Chen Ze thought haughtily.

"Then how do you explain coming home with me so late at night?" Shangguan Mingyue was clearly getting drunk, and her face had turned rosy.

"Didn't you invite me over?" Chen Ze said, speechless.

"So you came just because I invited you? If I invited you to sleep with me now, would you agree to that too?" Shangguan Mingyue was no longer quite clearheaded and was talking nonsense.

Damn! What is she saying? Am I really that casual? Chen Ze thought.

Outwardly, though, he said seriously, "Sister Mingyue, I didn't know everything I did before had given you that impression and caused you trouble. I'm deeply sorry. It's getting late, so I should go back!"

With that, Chen Ze prepared to leave.

"Wait. Did I say you could go? Get over here!" Shangguan Mingyue shouted.

Tch, you think I'll come over just because you told me to? Who do you think you are?

Chen Ze ignored her and headed downstairs without looking back.

"You..."

Shangguan Mingyue scrambled to her feet, caught up with Chen Ze in a few quick strides, and grabbed him. Then she flung him down, and he landed on the soft carpet.

Holy shit! What is this woman trying to do? Chen Ze was inwardly alarmed.

"I told you that you couldn't leave. Why didn't you listen?" Shangguan Mingyue moved in, pinned Chen Ze down with both hands as he tried to get up, and roared.

"Madam CEO, you're drunk!" Chen Ze was getting a little angry too. What was all this supposed to be?

"I'm not drunk! Hurry up and say you like me! Say it!" Shangguan Mingyue roared.

"All right, all right. Calm down first. I'll get you a glass of water!" Chen Ze tried to soothe her.

"No, first you have to say you like me!" Shangguan Mingyue said stubbornly.

When Chen Ze didn't answer, Shangguan Mingyue refused to let it go. "Say it! Hurry up and say it!"

Chen Ze remained silent.

"Are you going to say it or not? Are you?"

Her questioning was starting to annoy Chen Ze, and with his body pinned down, he couldn't get up. He had no choice but to compromise. "All right, all right, I like you. Happy now? Let me go first!"

"You finally admitted you like me. Hehehe..." Shangguan Mingyue said with a silly grin.

"No, I can't let you go. I want a kiss!" With that, Shangguan Mingyue leaned in to kiss Chen Ze.

"Hey, wait..." Chen Ze struggled to fend off the kisses landing on his face, but Shangguan Mingyue was incredibly strong!

Seeing that she couldn't kiss Chen Ze, Shangguan Mingyue simply pressed herself down on him. Her delicate body pinned him tightly beneath her, and its soft touch nearly drew him in.

Shangguan Mingyue held Chen Ze's hands down, leaving him unable to move. At last, she got her wish and kissed him.

"Mmm..." Chen Ze's face turned bright red as she kissed him, and gradually he too became lost in it...

Suddenly, a phone rang, jolting Chen Ze back to his senses.

Chen Ze didn't know where he found the strength, but he pushed Shangguan Mingyue away and straightened the clothes she had mussed. He picked up his phone and saw that his sister was calling.

"Hello, brother, I'm back. Why can't I see you? Have you gone back?" Chen Xixi said.

"No, I came out for a walk. I'll be back in a bit," Chen Ze said.

After they hung up, Chen Ze looked at Shangguan Mingyue beside him and saw that she had passed out drunk.

Chen Ze shook his head helplessly. He had nearly made a mistake. If Chen Xixi hadn't called, he would probably have made a terrible mistake by now.

It took Chen Ze the strength of nine oxen and two tigers to finally get Shangguan Mingyue into bed. He fetched a wet towel and gave her a quick wipe-down, then turned off the light and left.

He only wondered what Shangguan Mingyue would think when she woke up the next morning.