Chapter 2

Right now, all I can think about is escaping that wandering hand. I don’t have time to dwell on the past.

Manager Li is the business partner I need to secure. If things fall apart now, all my recent efforts will go up in smoke.

When the bottle pointed at me, the hand on my leg instantly withdrew.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

“I’ll choose dare.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Xu Qingye lazily lean back against the sofa.

His handsome face was half-hidden in the dim light, fingers absentmindedly toying with a lighter, an untamed wildness radiating from his whole being.

I don’t even know who suggested it: “Why don’t you make the request, Mr. Xu?”

My back stiffened, sweat breaking out all over me.

Xu Qingye lit a cigarette between his fingers, the flame flickering on and off.

Slowly and deliberately, he called my name.

“Lin Tingwan…”

He ground out each syllable between his lips.

I imagined every kind of embarrassing scenario.

But unexpectedly, he said:

“Come here.”

“Sit on your brother’s lap.”

The room erupted into chaos for a moment, and Manager Li beside me turned pale as a sheet.

Social interactions in the business world are very different.

These people despise those who can’t play along, and those who don’t keep their word.

My mind was foggy-I didn’t even know how I ended up sitting on Xu Qingye’s lap.

One of his hands rested against the small of my back, the heat from his palm seeping through the silk fabric straight to my skin.

Xu Qingye tilted his head and asked the people behind me, “Is this Manager Li’s girlfriend?”

“N-no, she’s not…”

At his words, Xu Qingye gave a half-smile: “Then Manager Li shouldn’t mind, right?”

“Of course I don’t mind, haha, Mr. Xu, please do as you like.”

I pressed my lips tightly together, letting my hand hover awkwardly over Xu Qingye’s abdomen.

When I tried to get up, he immediately pulled me back down onto his lap.

His voice was much calmer when he spoke again, utterly placid.

But I knew he was angry.

“Is that so?”

“But I mind.”

He didn’t finish his sentence, didn’t say exactly what he minded, leaving everyone guessing.