The people in the elevator filed out one by one, making the car sway.
Mu Xia’s legs felt weak, and her mind was completely blank. She didn’t know what she was doing or what she was supposed to do next.
She stayed pressed against Han Qingshi.
Her breath was light as a feather; her heart pounded like a drum.
Before long, everyone had filed out.
Han Qingshi spoke into the silence. “We’re here.” Her voice was soft, like the low notes of a zither—deep, smooth, and pleasing to the ear.
Mu Xia came back to herself in an instant. She jerked to the side as if shocked by a current, her whole body burning.
Zhang Chi had been answering a message from Yue Qian and hadn’t noticed what was happening beside him.
Now he glanced at Mu Xia’s strange expression and asked, “Mumu, why’s your face so red?”
“Is it?” Mu Xia touched her cheek with the back of her cool hand. “Maybe it’s hot. This elevator is awful.”
With that, Mu Xia put her head down and ran out, leaving Zhang Chi completely baffled.
Even if the elevator in a five-star hotel was bad, could it really be worse than the old one in the faculty building?
Back when he was a student, he’d never heard Mu Xia complain about that elevator.
Zhang Chi couldn’t make sense of it, so he let it go.
Then he saw Han Qingshi staring in the direction Mu Xia had run and worried she might think Mu Xia’s abrupt exit was rude. He stepped forward slightly to explain. “CEO Han, please don’t take it the wrong way. Mumu isn’t feeling well today, so she was a little abrupt. She’s not usually like that.”
Han Qingshi said nothing. She watched Mu Xia’s retreating figure for a moment, then silently clenched her hand.
Her palm was damp, which felt unpleasant.
The warmth behind her ear seemed stubborn, too. Mu Xia had run a long way, but the heat still lingered.
A moment later, Han Qingshi collected herself. “We both came up through development. There’s no need to worry about the little things.”
Zhang Chi walked beside Han Qingshi as they left the elevator.
After they exchanged a few words, he found her quite approachable outside of work and kept the conversation going.
The two of them chatted as they walked.
They turned a corner and suddenly found their way blocked by a human statue almost indistinguishable from the potted plants.
“Mumu?” Zhang Chi exclaimed. “Didn’t you leave already?”
Mu Xia looked up. Her embarrassed gaze flicked across Han Qingshi before darting away. The tips of her ears were red, and she looked pitifully sheepish. “I didn’t know which private room we were in.”
“Didn’t Brother Zheng post it in the group chat?” Zhang Chi paused, then exclaimed, “Oh, no—I forgot to add you to the group. We’ve been so busy with the proposal. Come with us.”
You might as well send me to my grave.
The words circled in Mu Xia’s mouth. “Oh.”
A server led the three of them to the private room.
Everyone was already seated.
Yan Wei had saved the place at the head of the table for Han Qingshi. There were two other open seats, and Mu Xia and Zhang Chi took them.
They were nowhere near the head of the table.
Mu Xia was delighted, though she did her best to look as if she didn’t care. She ambled over at an unhurried pace.
Once everyone was seated, the meal began.
Mu Xia had worked on plenty of projects with Professor Chen over the past two years. That meant attending dinners with research institutes and corporate leaders was unavoidable.
She’d learned plenty of things, but one rule of dining out for work had stuck with her: women shouldn’t drink a drop. Anyone who tried to pressure them could go to hell.
Professor Chen had drilled that rule into her from her very first day in the lab.
So, over the past two years, Mu Xia had only had a little alcohol when she ate with her labmates. Every other time, she stuck to soft drinks.
That was what she’d planned to do tonight, too.
But if the person who controlled her financial future asked her to drink, wasn’t that a different story?
“Little Mu, don’t forget to raise a glass to CEO Han,” Yan Wei said with a smile. “GN’s the best place for anyone in your field. It’s rare to meet CEO Han in person, so you should make a good impression. If you can make her happy, she might even help you through the back door.”
His tone made it clear he was joking, and everyone took it as a laugh. But now that he’d said it out loud, Mu Xia couldn’t refuse to toast Han Qingshi. Their positions were simply too different.
Mu Xia stood with her glass and walked over to Han Qingshi.
Away from the office, Han Qingshi looked less formal. She leaned casually against the back of her chair, her expression fairly gentle.
She’d handed her jacket to the server before the meal began. Now she wore only a finely made white shirt, the collar undone at the top button and the sleeves pushed up slightly. When she reached for her glass, Mu Xia could see the elegant shape of her wrist.
“CEO Han, a toast to you,” Mu Xia said, bowing slightly.
Before dinner, Han Qingshi had made it clear that she’d be driving later and couldn’t drink.
She picked up a freshly poured cup of tea and lightly clinked it against Mu Xia’s glass.
Clink!
Mu Xia straightened and downed her drink in one go.
Han Qingshi noticed and frowned, though she hid it from the others.
Everyone at the table cheered Mu Xia on for being a drinking champion. No one noticed the subtle change in Han Qingshi’s expression. Yan Wei, however, spotted the medical tape on her wrist.
“CEO Han, what happened to your wrist?” he asked. “Did you sprain it? It looks a little bruised.”
Bruised?
Mu Xia’s ears perked up. She sneaked a glance at Han Qingshi’s wrist.
…Could the mark she left that night still be there?
Mu Xia pressed her lips together and silently begged Han Qingshi to spare her.
Unfortunately, Han Qingshi didn’t hear.
She put her teacup down and slowly turned her slender wrist in her hand. “A few days ago, a little wolfdog who felt wronged ran away from home and scratched me.”
“???” Mu Xia choked on her drink. Her neck turned red as she struggled not to cough.
Zhang Chi was sitting close by. He hurriedly pulled out a couple of tissues and handed them to her. “Are you okay?”
Mu Xia waved him off. She wanted to cough but didn’t dare, and her eyes watered with the effort.
When she couldn’t hold it in any longer, Mu Xia pushed her glass into Zhang Chi’s hand and managed to choke out, “I’m going to the restroom.” Then she hurried out of the private room.
With her gone, the little mystery no one else knew about came to an end.
Yan Wei put the silver tongue he’d honed over years in sales to work, bringing up one topic after another with Han Qingshi.
They talked about everything from astronomy and geography to the ups and downs of the business world. Han Qingshi handled it all with ease.
After they finished discussing the stock market, Han Qingshi stood. “Excuse me for a moment. Please enjoy your meal.”
Yan Wei nodded with a smile. “Of course.”
Han Qingshi left the private room and headed straight for the restrooms.
Nearly ten minutes had passed since Mu Xia had left.
She stood at the sink, looking despairingly at her reflection as she complained to Yue Qian over the phone. “You liar! I’m never trusting you again!”
Yue Qian still hadn’t recovered from the shock. “So the top hostess was actually Han Qingshi, the GN boss—and you slept with her?”
“Yue Qian! Say that one more time and I’ll crawl through the phone and bite you to death!”
“I don’t believe you. Phones have been wireless for years. You can’t crawl through one.”
“Waaah, Yue Qian, you have no heart.”
“I do, I do. Give me a second to process this.”
Yue Qian muttered to herself on the other end.
Then she let out a sudden shriek. “Mumu, you actually seduced the GN boss! That’s amazing! I hereby declare you the only person I worship from now on!”
Mu Xia had given up fighting. She smiled faintly. “Yue Qian, we’re breaking up.”
Yue Qian hurried to stop her. “No, don’t! You’ve got me invested in the drama. What am I supposed to do if you drop it halfway through?”
Mu Xia was on the verge of collapse. “But I really want to run away.”
“Oh…” Yue Qian finally felt bad for her. She tried carefully, “Where are you now? Is there a chance you could escape?”
Mu Xia wanted to say she was hiding in the restroom. She could run away in seconds.
Then she looked up and saw a graceful figure in the mirror, so she forgot what she was about to say.
Han Qingshi had appeared without her noticing. She walked closer, her calm gaze never leaving Mu Xia’s startled eyes in the mirror.
When she reached Mu Xia, Han Qingshi suddenly leaned in.
Her wrist, the faint bruise still visible after she’d removed the tape, rose. She lightly touched Mu Xia’s flushed cheek with a fingertip and said, “You ran after we slept together. Now we meet again, and you’re running again. Mu Xia, do you just love running?”
