“There’s a dinner engagement tonight that I can’t get out of. It might run very late. Do you mind?”
Friday afternoon. Lin Wu had just finished discussing matters with a client when she noticed the message that had arrived two hours earlier. She lowered her eyelashes, thought for a few seconds, and replied, “If it goes past ten, then forget it.”
After sending it, the other side fell silent for half a minute. “Tomorrow?”
Lin Wu raised her gaze slightly and tapped the screen with an expressionless face. “We’ll see.”
Without bothering about the response, she set the phone down and rubbed her sore neck and shoulders. She had been sitting at her desk since lunch, leaving only for the restroom.
Stretching her stiff limbs on her own, she felt much more relaxed.
After resting a moment, Lin Wu looked at her empty coffee cup, stood up, and headed toward the pantry outside.
Before reaching the door, she heard colleagues gathered there for afternoon tea break chatting.
“Have you heard? A super handsome boss just parachuted in on the twenty ninth floor!”
“For real? What happened to that explosively ugly old man from before?”
“How handsome are we talking? Handsomer than my new idol?”
“I haven’t seen him yet either. I heard it from their company staff while eating in the cafeteria at noon. He arrived yesterday, apparently so handsome that both gods and humans are outraged, one of a kind.”
“That exaggerated?”
“…”
***
As the group chatted animatedly, someone noticed Lin Wu at the doorway and quickly signaled the colleague beside them with a glance. That person stood up and greeted, “Attorney Lin.”
Lin Wu hummed in acknowledgment, lifted her cup as a gesture, and smiled faintly. “Don’t be nervous. I’m just here to get water.”
She turned on the faucet to rinse the cup. “Carry on.”
The gossiping colleagues were all recent university graduates or postgraduates, some still interning, others freshly confirmed as full time.
Lin Wu was a few years older than them. She had joined Xianghe Law Firm right after graduation.
This was her fifth year at the firm. She was a senior attorney, and because she had good relationships with the two partners, many colleagues were somewhat intimidated by her.
The legal assistants who knew her better understood her cool and aloof personality, that she rarely meddled in things. One of them broke the awkwardness by asking, “Attorney Lin, do you know about the investment bank upstairs changing bosses?”
Lin Wu took a sip of water and shook her head. “I just heard.”
“They say he’s even handsomer than our Attorney Li. Not sure if it’s true.”
The Attorney Li mentioned was one of the partners at Lin Wu’s firm, strikingly good looking and with quite a few young female admirers in the office.
As soon as the words left her mouth, someone chimed in, “I think that’s unlikely. I’ve never seen a man more handsome than Attorney Li. Right, Attorney Lin?”
Hearing this, a face flashed through Lin Wu’s mind, one excessively outstanding, refined yet perverted.
She paused briefly, then smiled and responded, “Yes.”
Seeing her smile, a legal assistant who had only recently joined the firm was momentarily dazed.
On her first day, she had learned that Xianghe Law Firm was one where strength and appearance coexisted. From the partners to senior attorneys, regular attorneys, and even the finance staff, none were unattractive.
Especially the two partners and Lin Wu, their looks were superior enough to debut as celebrities directly.
Even prettier than most current stars.
Lin Wu’s aura leaned cold. Her features, however, were bright and three dimensional. A classic oval face, perfect proportions of the three courts and five eyes, prominent brow bones, smooth facial contours, and a high, elegant nose bridge.
Her eyes were large, with long, upturned tails, classic peach blossom eyes.
When she did not smile, there was a clear sense of distance. When she smiled, she became extremely charming and lively.
Noticing the gaze from the colleague diagonally across, Lin Wu curved her eyebrows toward her.
The young woman’s cheeks flushed, and she shyly turned her eyes away.
Lin Wu watched and could not help feeling amused.
To avoid the girl becoming so embarrassed she fled, Lin Wu also shifted her gaze. She tilted her head and casually chatted a few sentences with the colleagues still probing about the new boss of the investment bank upstairs. After letting a bunch of gossip go in one ear and out the other, she carried her cup and leisurely returned to her office.
The case that had kept her incredibly busy recently had wrapped up. The new case was still in the early stage of gathering materials, so there was no rush.
Sitting in her office chair, Lin Wu began thinking about what to do after work.
Normally, every Friday after work, she had a fixed place to go. Tonight, having been stood up, she suddenly did not know what to do.
Her three times a week workout had been done yesterday, and she did not feel like going today.
Shopping… it was unlikely she could find company. Her good friend and the other partner at the firm, He Jiayun, was currently sunbathing on an island.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
Before Lin Wu could speak, the person outside impatiently pushed the door open. “Are you free tonight?”
Lin Wu looked at Attorney Li, Li Xiang, who was admired by the colleagues at the firm, hesitated for a second, and said, “No time.”
Li Xiang and she were university alumni, having known each other for nearly ten years, and he understood her very well. So at this moment, he did not hesitate to call her out, “Silence means you do have time. Can you cover that dinner engagement for me tonight?”
Lin Wu: “…”
She choked slightly, then asked helplessly, “Reason.”
“I’m flying to Hawaii tonight. I promised Jiayun earlier that I’d pick her up and bring her back.” Li Xiang had been so busy that he forgot about it; otherwise, he would not have asked Lin Wu for help at the last minute.
Since Li Xiang even brought up He Jiayun, Lin Wu could hardly refuse him.
Besides, she happened to be free tonight, so she reluctantly agreed, “You coordinate with the other side.”
Li Xiang: “Don’t worry. I’ll send the materials to your email shortly. Take a look. You can handle it.”
Lin Wu ignored him.
A few minutes later, she checked her new email and let out a helpless sigh.
Now it was settled. She no longer needed to worry about how to pass the time tonight.
***
Li Xiang’s client was much more difficult to deal with than hers.
On top of that, she had never liked this kind of business dinner, so she handled it with a bit less ease than usual.
By the time the dinner ended, Lin Wu’s head felt dizzy.
She got into the designated driver’s car, first dropping off the assistant at home. Then Lin Wu gave her own address and closed her eyes to rest.
It was not until the driver’s voice asked whether to park on the surface or underground that Lin Wu snapped out of her dizziness. She realized she had not given her home address at all.
Looking at the extremely familiar hotel outside, Lin Wu rubbed her temples, deciding not to bother changing plans. She said softly, “Underground. Thank you.”
After the driver parked and left, Lin Wu picked up her bag and walked toward the elevator as if she knew the place by heart.
The hotel key card had always been kept in her cardholder. She had even deliberately checked it before leaving home this morning.
Saving the time of checking in at the front desk, Lin Wu entered the elevator and swiped the card to the sixty eighth floor.
This side was a high end hotel style apartment. The person who stood her up tonight had rented a suite here on a yearly basis.
When the elevator doors opened, Lin Wu supported herself against the wall, walking forward based on memory until she found the familiar room number and swiped the card to enter.
Her alcohol tolerance was quite good, but tonight she had drunk a bit too much.
Therefore, when she pushed the door open, kicked off her high heels, and walked barefoot inside, she completely failed to notice the pair of black Oxford leather shoes placed beside the shoe changing bench at the entrance.
The sensor light in the entryway turned on, somewhat dazzling.
Lin Wu frowned, closed her eyes, and walked deeper into the room guided by memory. She planned to take a shower and then sleep. She could barely hold on any longer.
As she walked, she tossed the bag in her hand onto the nearby sofa. Her coat was casually draped over a chair beside it, followed by the thin fitted knit top, the hip hugging skirt, the stockings…
The instant she pulled off the knit top, Lin Wu sensed something wrong.
In the air lingered a familiar scent, sharp and chilling, yet mixed with a faint fresh orange fragrance.
At the same time, a short laugh came from inside the room.
Lin Wu froze abruptly, her eyes widening as she looked toward the source of the sound.
In front of the open kitchen stood Chen Zhuo, dressed in casual loungewear, his posture relaxed. He held a transparent glass in his hand, its contents unclear whether water or alcohol.
At this moment, he lowered his eyelashes to look at her, his gaze deep as a pool, harboring a spark of desire.
The instant their eyes met, Lin Wu snapped awake. “You—”
Her breathing tightened. She hurriedly pulled back on the clothes she had just removed and had not yet thrown aside.
A few seconds later, Lin Wu took a deep breath. Her gaze turned cold toward the man who had suddenly appeared. Her face flushed crimson like the tide. She gritted her teeth and asked, “Didn’t you have a dinner engagement tonight?”
If she had known Chen Zhuo was here, Lin Wu would never have done something so foolish just now.
Hearing this, Chen Zhuo raised an eyebrow unhurriedly, a faint smile on his lips. “I skipped it.”
Lin Wu was stunned, incredulous. “What?”
Chen Zhuo set down the glass in his hand and walked toward her at a leisurely pace.
As he drew near, Lin Wu could smell the fresh orange fragrance lingering on him. It was the shampoo and body wash scent she liked, the ones she had bought and left here.
“I skipped the dinner,” Chen Zhuo patiently repeated what he had said. He leaned down close to Lin Wu, his warm breath falling on her face, his gaze fixed straight on her. “Attorney Lin.”
Lin Wu’s breathing faltered slightly. Her body leaned back a little, creating distance between herself and Chen Zhuo.
“If you have something to say, say it.” Lin Wu reminded him.
Chen Zhuo raised the tip of his brow. His long arm reached out, picked up her phone that she had just placed on the table, and tapped it. “It’s eleven o’clock.”
He told her, “When I arrived, it wasn’t even ten yet.”
“…”
Lin Wu was speechless, remembering what she had said to him on WeChat.
She opened her mouth, depressed. “I had a last minute dinner engagement.”
Chen Zhuo said nothing.
The alcohol Lin Wu had drunk had long been sobered up by the shock from Chen Zhuo. At this moment, her mind was extremely clear, her logic sharp. “President Chen, you were the one who stood me up first.”
The implication was that he was the one who first had a dinner meeting and wanted to postpone their arrangement. Since that was the case, after he broke the appointment, she naturally had the right to decide her own time.
Chen Zhuo paused briefly. He wanted to say that he had not intended to stand her up; he had only been worried about not making it back before ten.
Since things had reached this point, Chen Zhuo said no more. He lowered his gaze and admitted readily, “Today was my fault.”
Lin Wu did not respond.
After a moment of standoff, Chen Zhuo was the first to lower his head. He intimately rubbed the tip of her nose, smelling the strong alcohol scent emanating from her body. “How much did you drink?”
Lin Wu’s lips moved slightly. She said softly, “…I don’t remember.”
Chen Zhuo smiled faintly, his voice low and deep as he asked, “Do you still have any strength left?”
Lin Wu tilted her face up slightly, meeting his gaze.
After a few seconds, she raised her hand to hook around his neck, stepped onto the tops of his feet, leaned close to his ear, and blew a breath. Her lowered voice was soft. “If I say I have no strength left, will President Chen let me off?”
Her warm, soft breath brushed past his ear. One foot remained pressed against the top of his, while the other deftly lifted the hem of his trouser leg, sliding intimately along his ankle and slowly moving upward.
Full of provocation.
Chen Zhuo’s breathing deepened. His adam’s apple bobbed. He raised a hand to grasp the nape of her neck, forcing her to tilt her head and look at him. His voice was low and heavy. “No.”
The moment those two words fell, Chen Zhuo’s scorching kiss followed.
Lin Wu’s breath was stolen by him. She could only let out muffled, whimpering sounds.
The knit top that she had just taken off and put back on was removed once more and tossed to the side.
Even the hip hugging skirt and stockings she had not had time to remove after entering the door were taken care of by Chen Zhuo’s own hands.