[Lu Jiayan, your body is my harbor. I want to die with you in the climax.]
This was the dozen-something perverted text message sent from an anonymous mobile number that Lu Jiayan had received recently.
He was long used to it. Without changing his expression, he moved his fingers and added the number to his blacklist.
Unexpectedly, a new anonymous text message arrived the very next second:
[I want to gain a deep understanding of you.]
Lu Jiayan still tossed the number into the blacklist with a cold expression.
The perverted text messages had started a month ago. At first, he guessed it was a prank from someone around him, so he ignored it. It was only later, as the frequency of the messages increased, that he sensed a hint of something wrong.
He must have been targeted by a pervert.
Having arrived in Jiangling City for nearly three years, Lu Jiayan rarely interacted with anyone in his daily life.
Every day, apart from the line between the company and his rented apartment, his social life was basically zero.
Living alone and keeping to himself, he had no opportunity to come into contact with others, let alone provoke a pervert.
Trying to track down the person behind the anonymous text messages was an extremely difficult task.
Who on earth could it be?
Lu Jiayan got out of the ride-hailing car and stood at the entrance of the restaurant where his company was holding a group dinner. With his head tilted up as he pondered the identity of the person behind the perverted texts, a vague figure buried deep within his memory gradually took shape in his mind.
His thin lips pressed into a straight line, and his breathing grew uncontrollably rapid.
At this moment, his work buddy, Chen Ke, made a phone call. Lu Jiayan’s train of thought was interrupted, and after calming his fluctuating emotions, he swiped to answer:
“Jiayan, have you arrived?”
“The team leader said anyone who arrives right on the dot will be punished with a drink, so hurry up and get over here.”
Lu Jiayan replied, “I’m at the entrance.”
Chen Ke immediately said, “Then come right in, I’ll come out to pick you up.”
Without giving Lu Jiayan a chance to refuse, the call had already hung up.
Lu Jiayan put away his phone, temporarily pushing the matter of the perverted text messages to the back of his mind.
He stepped forward and walked into the restaurant.
Today was the celebration banquet for Qifeng Group, the department where Lu Jiayan worked.
Some time ago, they took on a project, and after a few months, it finally came to an end and reached a period.
Lu Jiayan tidied himself up simply before going out.
The soft hair in front of his forehead half-covered his brows and eyes, and a tiny mole on the upper left side of his nose exuded a hint of cold detachment.
His figure was outstandingly slender, with a narrow waist, long legs, and fair skin.
Entering the restaurant, the gazes of people passing by lingered on him unconsciously for a few seconds.
Lu Jiayan lowered his gaze, took out his phone to flip through the group chat records to find the private room number, and at the same time sent a message to Chen Ke telling him that he didn’t need to come out because he could find the location himself.
Without waiting for a reply, he put his phone away.
The private room was on the third floor.
The elevator had just gone up, so he needed to wait for the next trip.
During the wait, a commotion came from the entrance of the restaurant, and several waiters respectfully followed alongside a group of people.
Walking in the front was a manager wearing a suit, leading the way.
Lu Jiayan had no interest in lively scenes. In occasions like this, the ones capable of causing a commotion were generally public figures or high-profile young masters.
“Ding.”
The elevator doors opened.
He stepped into the cramped space.
That group of people who had caused the small commotion also came over to take the elevator.
Leading the group right in the center was a man wearing a black trench coat who stood one meter and ninety centimeters tall. With broad shoulders and long legs, he exuded an invisible sense of oppression.
The people surrounding him all turned into background boards.
In addition, there were two young men wearing trendy brand clothes chatting and laughing away, occasionally saying something to the leading man. The only response they received was cold indifference, but they didn’t mind, having long since grown used to their friend’s habit of not responding.
The manager pressed the elevator hold button and made a gesture with his hand.
“Young Master Pei, please.”
The other guests riding the elevator together blocked Lu Jiayan in the corner of the elevator.
Hearing a familiar and relatively rare surname ring in his ears, Lu Jiayan’s lowered eyelashes trembled. His whole body tensed up to the point of biting his lower lip, and his fingers resting at his sides curled up unconsciously.
Surnamed Pei?
Could it be him?
That person possessed a distinguished background, so logically speaking, he should be far away in Beijing and not appearing in this remote city.
Lu Jiayan did not dare to raise his head.
He was terrified of exposing his face to the field of vision of the crowd in the elevator.
For some reason, perhaps it was just his imagination, Lu Jiayan sensed a gaze so intense it was impossible to ignore, passing over the other guests and resting on the top of his head.
It was probing, appraising, and trying to recognize him.
Even though the one-meter-ninety-centimeter man in a trench coat was standing right at the elevator entrance, causing the elevator to be unable to move upward, none of the other guests inside the elevator made a sound.
Unable to gauge the inner thoughts of this young master from Beijing for a moment, the manager cast his gaze upon the other two seemingly approachable young masters following beside him to send out a signal for help.
He Yao, who could be considered to have a pretty good relationship with Pei Zhiwen, crossed his arms and smiled. “Zhiwen, how about we wait for the next elevator?”
No one present understood Pei Zhiwen’s temperament better than he did.
He guessed that seeing so many people in the elevator had triggered his intermittent psychiatric spell.
After all, this lord was quite a fussy creature.
The moment he heard that name, the hand Lu Jiayan had hanging by his side curled up and gripped his trouser leg tightly. His breathing stagnated, and his normally emotionless, cold face gained a few traces of hard-to-detect tension.
It really was Pei Zhiwen.
The paranoid, crazy dog who had once kept him caged by his side as a canary.
Back then, Lu Jiayan couldn’t accept this morbid and unhealthy relationship.
Three years ago, he used somewhat unorthodox methods to escape the cage woven by the other party and come here to achieve physical and mental freedom.
He never imagined that one day they would meet again in a remote little city 1,656.7 kilometers away from Beijing.
Pei Zhiwen stared at the person in the elevator who was trying to lower their presence and shrink into the corner. He lowered his eyelids to obscure the obscure, churning emotions deep within his eyes, took a step into the elevator, and spat out two rather cold words:
“No need.”
He Yao shrugged. “That’s fine, too.”
From the delayed time to the elevator running, the whole process took no more than a minute.
The manager let out a sigh of relief. He politely showed an apologetic smile to the passengers inside the elevator and offered compensation.
Seeing that Pei Zhiwen didn’t seem to recognize him, Lu Jiayan let out a breath of relief.
The elevator moved upward.
Even though it was only the third floor, Lu Jiayan felt like every second was dragging on like a year.
In particular, he always felt that a vague gaze was falling upon him, appraising and prying, much like a prey targeted by a dark beast, one that would be dragged back to the other’s nest by its fragile neck at the slightest misstep.
Had Pei Zhiwen recognized him?
Lu Jiayan slowly raised his head. Pei Zhiwen was standing by the door, and from his angle, he could only see the back of the other man’s head.
“Ding.”
The third floor had arrived.
The passengers in the elevator prepared to leave.
Pei Zhiwen and the others did not move, looking as though they were heading to a higher floor.
Lu Jiayan was in the corner position, and wanting to get out required squeezing past Pei Zhiwen.
He lowered his head to lower his presence, blended into the crowd, and as he passed by Pei Zhiwen’s side, he quickened his pace, wanting to leave the elevator swiftly.
Who would have thought that the moment he stepped out, he would run straight into Chen Ke.
Seeing him, the other person smiled, waved, and called out, “Jiayan, I was just about to go down to pick you up.”
Lu Jiayan’s throat tightened, and his whole body instantly went rigid.
Not noticing his work buddy’s strange expression, Chen Ke reached out and familiarly draped his arm over his friend’s shoulder. “You’re a bit slow; the team leader is definitely going to force you to drink.”
Lu Jiayan breathed with slight agitation and didn’t answer.
Because he clearly felt the direct, unvarnished gaze penetrating from the elevator staring unmasked at his back.
Lu Jiayan’s body stiffened and tensed up. He subconsciously tilted his head back for a brief glance, and happened to collide gazes with Pei Zhiwen, whose pitch-black eyes in the center of the elevator were filled with amusement.
The doors were slowly closing.
He saw Pei Zhiwen’s previously relaxed and languid expression suddenly turn extraordinarily excited in that instant, yet maintaining a sliver of calm.
Before the doors closed completely, Pei Zhiwen’s thin lips moved silently, forming a few words:
“I caught you.”
Lu Jiayan’s face gradually turned pale.