Xia Wan glanced downward before immediately raising her head again.
It was too high!
“Scared?” A pleasant male voice sounded beside her.
“Yes.” As Xia Wan replied, she shifted slightly to the left, accidentally brushing her arm against Ji Heng’s chest.
“Sorry.” Xia Wan quickly apologized. A closer look would reveal her cheeks were slightly flushed.
From that brief contact, she could feel Ji Heng’s firm chest, his chest muscles hard and solid.
This was the first time they had sat so close together – the slightest movement would bring her into contact with his arm.
Her senses felt amplified.
She could clearly smell the scent of hormones from Ji Heng, along with his faint perfume.
The fragrance resembled crushed green pine needles mixed with fresh, bitter hazelnuts, or perhaps an oxygen-rich morning forest – neither intense nor distant, a clean woody scent with a hint of mild bitterness.
This was her first time encountering this fragrance, and it was surprisingly pleasant.
She enjoyed collecting and studying perfumes, being particularly sensitive to scents.
Whenever someone nearby wore perfume, she could usually identify the brand and type with just one sniff.
But the perfume on Ji Heng felt unfamiliar – she had never encountered it before.
During their previous meetings, she hadn’t detected any perfume on him.
Yet undeniably, Ji Heng had excellent taste, whether in his clothing or the perfume she smelled today.
Completely captivated by his scent, Xia Wan forgot her shyness. “What brand is your perfume?”
Instead of answering, Ji Heng countered, “Do you like it?”
Xia Wan nodded without hesitation. “Yes, it’s very distinctive and suits your temperament perfectly.”
Hearing this, Ji Heng smiled. “What temperament would that be?”
“Well…” Xia Wan pondered briefly. “Noble yet casual, with a bit of arrogance.”
“Arrogant?” He found her first two descriptors quite accurate, but the last one puzzled him.
“Yes, don’t you think so?” Xia Wan asked seriously.
Though admittedly, this person had the capital to be arrogant.
Ji Heng neither confirmed nor denied. “How so?”
This wasn’t the first time someone had described him this way – his friends had also used the word “arrogant.”
His parents had said the same.
But those were people who had known him for a long time and were very close to him. Having known Xia Wan for such a short time, he found her assessment rather surprising.
To outsiders, he was the noble, imposing CEO of the Ji Corporation.
Xia Wan gripped the railing in front of her. “I could tell from what you said yesterday.”
He wasn’t at all like the iron-faced, unfeeling person rumored outside.
Though that might be his work persona – after all, people described her brother similarly too.
In private, he was quite amiable, making interactions comfortable, pleasant, and relaxed.
Ji Heng recalled his conversation with Xia Wan from yesterday, finding nothing unusual about it.
This was how he normally interacted with friends or family.
What struck him as odd was that he had unconsciously categorized Xia Wan among his friends.
Even stranger – Xia Wan was a woman, the first such case!
After some thought, Ji Heng still couldn’t figure it out, so he simply let it go.
He never liked troubling himself.
Glancing sideways, he noticed the hands of the person beside him trembling slightly as they gripped the railing.
“Don’t look down. Keep your eyes forward.”Xia Wan’s fearful thoughts were interrupted by his voice. She muttered softly, “But I can’t help it.”
Still, she followed his suggestion and looked ahead.
“If you’re afraid of riding the cable car, why didn’t you mention it yesterday?” Ji Heng asked proactively.
Chatting with Xia Wan would distract her—she wouldn’t keep looking around and would feel less scared.
Xia Wan mumbled, “It wouldn’t have made a difference anyway.”
She just had a slight fear of heights. The cable car only had a railing around it with nothing else, making her feel somewhat insecure.
But with Ji Heng accompanying her, she was already much less afraid.
She didn’t even dare to imagine how she would feel if Ji Heng hadn’t stayed and she had to ride the cable car alone.
She might have been so frightened her legs would go weak.
“If you had said something, we could have arranged for someone to ride with you,” Ji Heng said, his tone unusually stern. “It’s dangerous to keep your fears to yourself and ride alone.”
Ji Heng felt fortunate that he had stayed. If something had happened to her while riding the cable car at such a high altitude, it would have been no joking matter.
Xia Wan hung her head. “I understand. I won’t do this again next time.”
Her tone carried a hint of grievance that even she hadn’t noticed.
She had left out one thing earlier—Ji Heng had been somewhat harsh.
Ji Heng also realized his tone had been too urgent. “I’m not blaming you. I just think this behavior is very dangerous.”
“Mm.” Xia Wan understood the seriousness of the situation but couldn’t help complaining, “You were really harsh just now.”
“Me? Harsh?” Ji Heng was puzzled.
If Xia Wan hadn’t mentioned it, he wouldn’t have thought his tone was harsh at all—just serious.
Xia Wan nodded in confirmation. “Mm.”
Ji Heng curled his lips. “That’s because you haven’t seen me angry at work. That’s what you’d call harsh.”
But he generally didn’t get angry. If he truly lost his temper, it meant there had been a major mistake at work, and the person responsible for the project would likely be dismissed soon.
Xia Wan felt greatly relieved. “Good thing I’m not a signed artist at your company.”
Ji Heng laughed in exasperation. She really dared to say such things. “Is that why my company couldn’t recruit you?”
“No.” Xia Wan shook her head. “When your company sent someone to recruit me before, I didn’t know you yet. I had no idea what kind of person the CEO was.”
Logically, discussing this should have been quite awkward.
But Xia Wan didn’t feel any discomfort at all.
“Then what was your reason for rejecting my company?” Ji Heng asked about something that had always puzzled him.
Xia Wan said softly, “I just feel my current company is very good. I don’t want to go to another company.”
No other company’s boss could compare to her brother.
Ji Heng was half-convinced. “That good? Enough to make you reject the excellent terms my company offered you?”
Xia Wan thought the answer was obvious. “Didn’t I already refuse?”
Ji Heng felt he had brought this upon himself and didn’t ask further.
Noticing the man beside her had fallen silent, Xia Wan thought to herself, “Could my words have hurt his pride?”
She immediately comforted him, “Your company is also very good. My refusal was entirely for personal reasons.”
She thought that if Wanxia Entertainment weren’t her brother’s company, she might have signed with Ji’s Entertainment.
After all, it was a top-tier entertainment company.
Ji Heng replied confidently, “I know.”
He had never doubted that his company was anything less than powerful.”……” Now it was Xia Wan’s turn to feel she had brought this awkwardness upon herself.
Indeed, someone of Ji Heng’s status would never have his pride wounded by a mere remark from her.