Pei Yanzhi suddenly woke up, his entire body drenched in sweat.
A strip of gray-blue daylight seeped through the gap in the curtains.
He stared at the ceiling, his Adam’s apple rolling as he tried to steady his breathing and suppress the heat surging through his body.
The sensation of Su Yi biting his Adam’s apple in the dream still lingered on his skin—wet, tinged with the faint scent of mint toothpaste.
He thought, I must be crazy.
To actually feel sexual desire toward a married woman?
It was utterly disgraceful.
He got up and went into the bathroom, turning the shower to the coldest setting and tilting his head up under the piercing water, trying to wash away the chaotic thoughts.
But in the blur of water and mist, fragments of the dream resurfaced—Su Yi pressed against the floor-to-ceiling window, his hand gripping her waist…
When the cold water ran down his throat, he caught a glimpse of his own bloodshot eyes in the mirror.
The mark on his neck was still there.
The water stung it faintly.
After a long while, the burning desire finally faded completely.
When he came out, his phone on the bathroom counter vibrated. The screen lit up with Su Yi’s routine morning reminder.
[Mr. Pei, 10:30 signing with Lin Group. Documents prepared.]
Pei Yanzhi gripped the phone, the cold light reflecting on his knuckles like frost.
Su Yi’s message was short, precise, and calm.
As if nothing had happened last night.
But precisely that made his emotions even more unsettled.
The man’s throat moved. He suddenly flipped the phone face-down on the sink.
Su Yi stared at her phone for a long time, not receiving any reply from Pei Yanzhi. Her brows slowly furrowed.
After thinking for a while, she decided there was nothing she could do except pretend nothing had happened.
She put down the phone and contacted the PR department to arrange the signing ceremony.
Not long after, the office door was suddenly pushed open.
The scent of cedar mixed with snow pine entered first. Her fingers trembled slightly—she didn’t even need to look up to know who it was.
In the entire company, only Pei Yanzhi had this scent.
His voice pressed down from above her head.
“Come to my office.”
Su Yi took a deep breath. Was he going to settle accounts after the fact?
When she entered his office, it felt as cold as an ice cellar. Light from the blinds sliced across his face, carving sharp shadows.
She clenched her fingers, her lowered eyelashes casting a faint shadow.
“Mr. Pei, I’m very sorry about last night…” she said, taking a breath. When she looked up, her eyes were slightly red, but her voice remained steady, “I was drunk and mistook you for my husband.”
The pen in his hand slipped and fell to the floor with a sharp click.
Pei Yanzhi stared at her, then suddenly laughed.
But the smile didn’t reach his eyes—it only made the air feel colder.
“Su Yi,” he said slowly, picking up the pen, the metal cap glinting coldly in his palm, “how many times have you said something like this?”
Her fingers trembled.
She knew he was referring to the previous incident with Wang Bin.
Her heart pounded violently. She forced a guilty smile.
“I blacked out last night. Whoever I ran into, I might have mistaken them for my husband. Mr. Pei, I have no improper intentions toward you. I’m already married… and I love my husband very much.”
“Is that so?” He stepped closer, pine scent and restrained anger pressing down on her. “Then do you remember what you said to me last night?”
Her throat tightened.
She didn’t remember anything clearly—only fragments. She remembered kissing him, touching him, calling his name.
But what else?
She couldn’t recall.
Looking at his unreadable eyes, she grew tense.
Did I… tell him I’m Jiang Zhi?
Her blood ran cold.
“Mr. Pei, I… I blacked out,” she stepped back, her wedding ring flashing under the light, “if I said anything strange, please don’t take it seriously. It was drunk nonsense—it doesn’t count.”
Pei Yanzhi sat there, staring at her face. Thinking of his dream, his irritation surged, and he didn’t know what to say.
He took out a red string bracelet from his pocket and tossed it onto the desk.
Seeing it, Su Yi immediately reached for it.
It was something she had prayed for at a temple three years ago.
A red string and a safety charm.
She originally intended to give it to him, but decided it wasn’t suitable for a man, so she kept it herself.
She had worn it for three years and forgotten to take it off.
Seeing how carefully she held it, something tightened in his chest.
“From your husband?” he asked coldly.
“Yes,” Su Yi replied, her nails digging into her palm.
“Mr. Pei!” Xiao Gao knocked and entered. “Mr. Lin is already in the meeting room.”
Pei Yanzhi stood up and calmly adjusted his cuffs, his gaze lingering on her face.
“I’ll go back to work first,” Su Yi said.
When she left, her brows were still furrowed.
What exactly did she say last night?
She couldn’t remember at all.
At that moment, Xiao Gao from the secretary office came over with a form.
“Sis Su, please fill this in. You’re the only one left.”
“Company retreat?”
“Yes, the company has one every year. It was supposed to be postponed, but since the weather is good these days, it was moved earlier,” Xiao Gao smiled. “And this time, employees can bring family members.”
Bring family?
Did she really say something inappropriate last night… so he’s testing her?
At that moment, Zhang Qianqian walked over with coffee.
“Yes, Assistant Su, such a rare opportunity. Bring your husband and daughter too. The more people, the more lively. Your husband must be handsome too, right? We’d love to see him.”
She ignored the sarcasm.
“I heard Miss Qin will attend this retreat as a family guest,” Zhang Qianqian added meaningfully. “Looks like something good is coming. Some people no matter how hard they try still can’t get into Mr. Pei’s eyes.”
The pen in Su Yi’s hand paused, ink spreading across the paper.
She looked toward Pei Yanzhi’s office, her gaze deepening.
She began filling out the form.
When she reached the “husband” section, she frowned slightly.
What was her husband’s name again?
Zhang Qianqian watched her hesitate and sneered.
“Assistant Su, did you forget your husband’s name? Or maybe you’re not even married?”
Su Yi calmly wrote three words:
Lu Shaoting.
Zhang Qianqian’s expression darkened.
Had she really married?
She had once secretly checked Su Yi’s file and called the number listed under Lu Shaoting. A woman answered.
That was suspicious.
She smiled faintly. “Assistant Su, family members will be arranged to stay in the same room during the retreat.”
Su Yi looked up. “Assistant Zhang is so concerned about my marriage life—planning to stay in the same room with me?”
Zhang Qianqian’s face stiffened.
“Assistant Su, that’s not what I meant.”
“Eat less salt if you’ve got nothing better to do.”
Zhang Qianqian left angrily.
After she left, Su Yi frowned slightly.
There was still over a week until the retreat. She needed to find a man within that time to act as her husband for two days and one night.
Time was tight.
So after returning home, she posted online looking to “rent a temporary husband.”
Then she video-called Nian Nian. She missed her daughter terribly after just one day.
But when the call connected, a familiar yet unfamiliar face appeared.
He stood in a hospital corridor, white light falling on his sharply defined features like a sculpted statue.
His straight nose cast a sharp shadow, thin lips slightly pressed, exuding cold detachment.
His black hair was slightly messy, a few strands moving in the air-conditioned breeze.
And that appearance… looked exactly like the Pei Yanzhi from three years ago.