4 – vol.1 Rose Lychee
The cold white light of the private room fell upon the man.
He lowered the hand that had turned on the light, looking down at her with a condescending gaze. His lips were pressed tightly together, his eyes filled with scrutiny.
As if his private territory had been invaded, his icy eyes held not a trace of warmth.
Dressed in a black shirt and trousers, he exuded an aloof, sophisticated aura.
The top two buttons of his shirt were undone, revealing delicate collarbones, while his entire being radiated an air of disdainful superiority that was hard to ignore.
Under the man’s gaze, Wen Ruosui’s face turned almost instantly pale.
She began to wonder if coming here had been a mistake.
The air conditioning in the room was on, blowing out gusts of cold air that made her shiver uncontrollably.
The fluorescent light flickered unsteadily, its occasional flashes irritating her senses.
She was both cold and uneasy.
The man’s close, direct stare made Wen Ruosui’s heart beat faster and faster. Unable to help herself, she inched backward until her damp back pressed against the dry, cold wall. With nowhere left to retreat, she finally stopped moving.
She had no idea what he intended to do.
Just as the two of them remained locked in this standoff, the footsteps and shouts of the two lecherous men outside the door sounded again.
“That woman isn’t there,” one said, his voice furious.
“Then she must have hidden in one of the private rooms. Let’s check them one by one,” the other lecherous man said through gritted teeth. “Since we took the money, we have to get the job done. We can’t just let her escape like this.”
“All the doors are locked… Can we even find her?”
“We have to find her, whether we can or not. We can’t just let her go.”
“Bro, should we ask someone for the keys…”
“Are you stupid? If we ask for keys, we’ll draw attention. How are we supposed to get anything done then?”
“…”
Wen Ruosui heard the conversation between the two lecherous men outside the door clearly. Pressed against the wall, her hands unconsciously gripped the surface behind her.
Evil dogs outside, a ghostly presence inside.
Truly a dilemma with no way out.
The tension inside Wen Ruosui grew stronger and stronger, her heart feeling as if it were being squeezed, making it hard to breathe, even suffocating.
Clutching at the last shred of hope, she placed her bet on the man before her.
Wen Ruosui said calmly:
“I’m sorry, could I stay here for a while?”
After a pause, she added, “The people outside are chasing me.”
After speaking, she looked at him, her eyes filled with a pleading expression.
But the man before her did not respond immediately. He tugged at his lips slightly, still maintaining his silence, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, simply staring directly and closely at her.
Their eyes met, gazes still locked.
Wen Ruosui could only sense that his brows and eyes were cold and sharp, his expression carrying a sharp, aloof edge. The black shirt on his upper body accentuated his deep, mysterious demeanor, making it difficult to discern any trace of emotion.
After a few seconds of silence, he finally parted his thin lips:
“Fine.”
His voice, distinctly masculine, was extremely faint, as if rubbed by sandpaper—low and magnetic. As he uttered those two simple words, his Adam’s apple bobbed slightly.
Fortunately, he didn’t refuse.
Wen Ruosui also breathed a temporary sigh of relief. She whispered to him, “Thank you.”
After the exchange, he did not immediately walk away. He remained by the light switch, still at that close distance, still staring directly into her eyes.However, when he looked over, his indifferent, cool amber eyes seemed veiled in a mist—deep and quiet, as if lost in thought.
There was also a faint, almost imperceptible trace of… restraint.
Yes, restraint.
Wen Ruosui was somewhat sensitive to his gaze. She lowered her head slightly and began discreetly examining herself.
In her line of sight, she was almost completely drenched.
She was still wearing the light-colored chiffon dress she had put on that morning to go to the shop. The chiffon fabric wasn’t waterproof, and the clothes that had been soaked earlier were still damp, clinging tightly to her body and outlining her figure completely.
Some parts were even transparent, revealing the skin beneath the fabric, along with her dark-colored undergarments, so clearly that the patterns on them could be seen.
Wen Ruosui’s mind went blank.
She had never been in such an embarrassing situation before.
To be so disheveled… alone in a room with a man.
Although his gaze remained fixed on her face and didn’t wander downward, they were standing so close that he must have noticed everything clearly.
A flush of heat began to rise to her face, tinting her cheeks a faint shade of pink.
Utterly embarrassed, she quickly averted her gaze, turning her face away to avoid meeting his eyes.
In the industrial-mechanically themed private room, colorful shadows danced around. The man wore a restrained black shirt and trousers, while the woman was clad in a damp, semi-transparent dress.
The two stood close together.
Their silhouettes, one tall and one shorter, were cast onto the wall by the incandescent light, their shadows appearing to press tightly together, alluring and ambiguous in the dimness.
Fortunately, the man made no further moves.
He seemed… not particularly interested in her.
Even when her subtle self-examination caught his eye, his gaze didn’t drift to inappropriate places below her shoulders.
His expression remained as deep and still as a pool of water.
He must be a gentleman.
Without saying a word, he soon withdrew his gaze, turned, and walked back to the sofa to sit down.
Wen Ruosui also realized that this man likely wouldn’t do anything improper to her.
But just then, the voices of the two lecherous men chasing her echoed again:
“Forget it, let’s not look anymore.” It was probably the short, stout man complaining. He said, “That woman, instead of learning something proper, dabbles in stirring up online drama. She really doesn’t know how dangerous the world is—breaking up a couple and even getting someone fired.”
“Exactly. She looks innocent, but she’s probably not a good person either. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have done something like that.”
…
Hearing this, Wen Ruosui understood.
It must have been Yan Heng and Zhao Xin, that despicable pair, who had hired these men to frame her. Not only that, they had also slandered her in front of these two. She had never seen such shameless people.
But now, the man beside her had overheard these words…
Would he misunderstand… mistake her for a woman of questionable character?
Wen Ruosui felt utterly mortified.
After all, dressed as she was in such a place, combined with the embellished words of the two lecherous men outside, it was hard not to draw certain conclusions.
She lowered her eyelashes, feeling that everything today had gone terribly wrong.
The incandescent light still cast a hazy atmosphere.
While waiting for the two men outside to leave, she stole a glance at him.
The man who had returned to the sofa seemed unconcerned with the conversation outside the door.He simply sat quietly in the room, propping his head with his elbow, his distinct knuckles sliding across the screen.
His gaze remained fixed, almost as if everything around him didn’t exist.
His eyes were clear, free from the swirling clutter of distracting thoughts. When he lowered his head, his long, straight eyelashes formed a graceful arc.
It was as if the restraint she had glimpsed in his eyes earlier had been nothing but an illusion.
In the quiet space, the glow from the phone screen illuminated his delicate features, casting a faint, shimmering light.
The voices outside the door grew softer and softer—likely, the two sleazy men had given up their search and moved on.
Wen Ruosui thought it was time for her to leave.
She took a deep breath, trying to keep her tone calm. “…Sir, could you tell me which way the exit is?”
The man seemed absorbed in his phone, not even lifting his head.
His expression remained unreadable as he said, “Don’t go out the way you came in. Use the door on the right.”
The right?
Wen Ruosui frowned slightly, not quite understanding. But when she followed his gaze to the right side of where he was sitting, she noticed a very discreet black door beside the sofa.
So this private room had another exit.
A flicker of surprise crossed Wen Ruosui’s eyes, deepening the sense of mystery surrounding the man. But in the end, it all melted into gratitude. She lowered her gaze slightly and said softly:
“Alright, thank you.”
Judging by the man’s unflappable demeanor and his completely non-invasive attitude toward her, she felt he probably wouldn’t lie to her.
In response to her thanks, he raised an eyebrow indifferently and continued focusing on his phone screen.
Wen Ruosui didn’t hesitate any longer. She dragged her cold body straight toward the black door, but as she passed the sofa, the aloof man suddenly spoke up to stop her:
“Wait.”
His sudden words caught her off guard, freezing her in place. She turned back, puzzled, and asked, “What is it?”
He put away his phone and slowly stood up. Then, his voice, as cool and clear as cold jade, reached her ears:
“Put this on.”
At the same time, he slowly handed something over from beside him.
Wen Ruosui looked down.
It was a black suit jacket.