“No, I didn’t know you’d be here either.” Nan Yin smiled at him, her gaze as clingy as a little fox’s, making Fu Shi’s mouth go dry.
Was this woman really some kind of enchantress?
So skilled at seduction.
He lowered his eyelids, struggling to restrain himself from being drawn in by her.
“Really?” Fu Shi was somewhat skeptical.
Nan Yin nodded, even raising her hand to swear: “This time, I really didn’t investigate or follow you on purpose.”
“I like working out in the capital too.”
“So I just randomly picked this place. Who knew it’d be such a coincidence?”
“Thanks for having my back today.”
Fu Shi studied her face for a moment, half-believing, half-doubting. After a brief thought, he realized she really had no reason to lie to him, then raised an eyebrow: “No problem.”
“I still want to thank you. How about I treat you to a meal later?” Nan Yin seized the opportunity to invite him: “What would you like to eat?”
Fu Shi didn’t want to get further entangled with her. Although he had been somewhat captivated by her last night,
he had since regained his composure.
“No need. I have a client at noon.”
With that, he picked up his water bottle and towel and headed to the locker room.
Nan Yin, unwilling to give up on inviting him to eat, followed him to the locker room with her water bottle in hand. The gym’s locker rooms were divided into separate men’s and women’s rooms.
The women’s locker room was opposite the men’s.
Nan Yin, this stunning beauty, shamelessly followed Fu Shi into the men’s locker room, startling a male guest who was getting dressed and causing him to scream: “Ah—help—”
“Female pervert—”
The man covered his chest and shrieked like a damsel in distress.
Nan Yin paid no mind, even taking a moment to glance at the man’s physique—scrawny as a chicken, who’d want to look?
Besides, he was already dressed.
She hadn’t even seen anything.
What was he screaming for?
Nan Yin boldly scanned the man, while Fu Shi felt awkward and embarrassed. He apologized to the screaming man: “Sorry.”
Then, he quickly turned around, grabbed the petite woman by the shoulders, and led her out first.
“Do you really have no shame?” The man gritted his teeth, genuinely wanting to spank her little bottom, but he knew he couldn’t do that.
Otherwise, this woman would only push her luck further.
She’d have him wrapped around her finger.
“Treat you to a meal?” Nan Yin said honestly: “To express my gratitude.”
“I have a client.” Fu Shi flatly refused.
“Wait here. Don’t come in.”
Nan Yin obediently didn’t bother him, but her hand wandered restlessly, brushing against the man’s sweat-dampened, lean waist: “Brother, I’ll wait for you here then?”
She spoke while touching him.
Her fingers were soft, like sparks of fire.
Her touch tightened his abdomen.
Then, she suddenly stood on her tiptoes and called out in a sweet, gentle voice: “Brother,” making Fu Shi’s heart skip a beat. He lowered his dark eyes, staring at her enchantingly beautiful face. If he hadn’t known about her mischievous nature in high school,
and if he couldn’t figure out her sudden pursuit,
he might have truly softened, especially recalling the harmony of their late-night chat the previous night. She was like a flame, making his heart itch unbearably.
Honestly, he had been stirred by her last night.
But after waking up, his mind cleared. He feared she might be toying with him.
For adults, the greatest taboo is infidelity in love.
“Wait here.” Fu Shi removed her soft hand from his waist, suppressing the flutter in his heart. With a clear mind, he pushed her away.
Then he turned and reentered the locker room.
Nan Yin obediently waited in the corridor outside, waiting and waiting. After half an hour, the man still hadn’t come out? Nan Yin frowned and glanced toward the entrance of the men’s changing room.
Was he still not done?
Nan Yin was growing impatient. Just then, someone came out from inside, and she quickly walked over to ask, “Excuse me, could you tell me if there’s anyone else inside?”
The man wiped his hair and said, “No, I’m the only one left.”
Only him?
But she hadn’t seen Fu Shi come out.
Nan Yin was a bit puzzled. After a pause, she seemed to realize something and asked, “Does the men’s changing room have a side door?”
The man nodded. “There’s a back door, but hardly anyone uses it.”
Most people wouldn’t take the back door because it was a bit far from the main hall.
Unless they were in a hurry, then they might use it.
Alright, she understood now. He had run off.
Nan Yin instantly realized what had happened and forced a smile, saying, “Thank you.”
It seemed Fu Shi still didn’t like her pursuing him.
But so what?
If she didn’t try, she wouldn’t be satisfied.
In the afternoon, Nan Yin returned to the design studio. After arriving, she sat at her workstation by the window, holding a cup of iced Americano and staring blankly at the Su River outside the glass.
Wen Ling walked over with a large roll of design drafts they had brought back from the capital. Seeing her Nan Yin lost in thought, she approached and asked, “Nan Jie, what are you thinking about?”
What else could she be thinking about?
She was thinking about Fu Shi.
“Nothing,” Nan Yin snapped back to reality, putting down the now ice-cold Americano in her hand. “Any news from Fu Shi’s company?”
“Has our design draft passed the preliminary review?”
Wen Ling shook her head. “No news yet, but Jie, your skills are world-class.”
“They shouldn’t reject it. Let’s wait a bit longer.”
“Don’t companies usually take about three days to respond?”
Nan Yin nodded. She was indeed a bit impatient.
“Mm.”
“Let’s wait a bit longer.”
Nan Yin rubbed her brow, feeling a bit down. Today, when she pursued Fu Shi, he ran off, and it left her feeling a bit heartbroken.
But she wasn’t planning to give up.
She had returned to Su City this time to fulfill her dream.
She couldn’t give up easily just because he rejected her. She would regret it for the rest of her life.
Letting out a soft sigh, Nan Yin bit the straw of her iced Americano, took a sip of the bitter coffee, steadied herself, and gave herself a pep talk.
She couldn’t give up. She couldn’t lose heart.
A man like Fu Shi was naturally hard to pursue.
If he were too easy to chase,
wouldn’t any woman be able to reel him in?
Alright, alright, she would keep trying.
Nan Yin silently comforted herself, and her mood gradually improved. She put down the iced Americano, stood up, and began sorting through the design drafts from the capital with Wen Ling.
At night, stars flickered in the sky.
Nan Yin returned from the studio and had just reached her apartment floor when class monitor Zhou Feng urgently called to confirm whether she would attend the class reunion.
“Yinyin, you’re really coming to this class reunion, right?”
Nan Yin replied as she walked, “Yes, I’ll be there.”
Whether he came or not didn’t matter—she was going anyway.
There was a hint of defiance in this.
Nan Yin just wanted to take a chance.
Zhou Feng confirmed that the beautiful campus belle Nan Yin would attend and happily said, “Yinyin, then it’s settled. This weekend, we’ll meet without fail.”
Nan Yin nodded. “Mm, okay.”
“Monitor, um… is Fu Shi going?”
Suddenly mentioning Fu Shi, Zhou Feng’s mind went blank for a moment. However, he was a rather insensitive person and wouldn’t overthink it, simply assuming Nan Yin was concerned about an old classmate?
“He… probably won’t come,” Zhou Feng hadn’t received a reply from Fu Shi.
He guessed Fu Shi likely looked down on this class reunion.
Wouldn’t come.
“You know, with his family background, it’s quite astonishing,” Zhou Feng said.
Nan Yin understood: “Mm, okay, I got it.”
“Class monitor, I have something to do, let’s talk later.”
Nan Yin hung up the phone but didn’t go inside. Instead, she suddenly leaned against the doorframe, lost in thought.
Once she started thinking, she drifted into a daze.
Completely unaware that someone had taken the elevator up, she only snapped back to reality belatedly when the man walked out of the elevator and passed by her, but it was too late.
Her pitiful, dazed expression was still seen by Fu Shi.
The man originally didn’t want to pay attention to her, lest she lure him in.
But he just glanced unconsciously.
And saw her staring at him with a wronged face, as if resentfully blaming him. But he understood—today he had tricked her into waiting outside the gym.
Then he ran off himself.
Truly scummy.
Fu Shi took a deep breath, turned around, and said, “Crying?”
“Still mad about me ditching you today?”
Huh?
Nan Yin wasn’t crying; she was just lost in thought about her situation. In fact, she wasn’t particularly angry about his cold shoulder and escape either, because she was the one clinging to him, right?
He hadn’t promised her anything, so she wouldn’t be angry.
But since he suddenly brought it up, Nan Yin frowned slightly and seized the opportunity: “Oh, I am angry.”
“You played me.”
“Sorry, I had a client,” Fu Shi explained, suppressing his temper. As soon as he explained, he felt he really did seem like a scumbag, leaving her alone there, and his guilt grew even stronger.
Indeed, he had fallen into her trap. Clearly, she was the one provoking him.
Yet he was the one feeling overwhelmingly guilty.
“I really did want to avoid you.”
“If you…” Fu Shi didn’t finish his sentence. Nan Yin raised her eyes, gleaming with a certain light, and stared at him: “Are you apologizing?”
Fu Shi froze, his thin lips tightening instantly.
Yes, was he actually apologizing??
Clearly, in this matter, he hadn’t really done anything wrong.
“I’m not angry anymore,” Nan Yin said softly. “Don’t take it to heart.”
“You never agreed to date me, so it’s normal for you to avoid me like that.”
“It’s just that I haven’t had dinner yet, and I’m hungry.” Nan Yin blinked, rubbing her stomach. “Brother, treat me to a meal?”
The little fox was skillfully luring him in.
Perfectly manipulating his feelings.
How could Fu Shi be her match? With just three sentences, she had pulled him into her trap. Looking at her innocent expression, he said, “What do you want to eat?”
As soon as he spoke, he saw the little woman suddenly flash a sly smile, and only then did he realize—ha…
He’d been fooled.