The underground parking lot of the office building was completely silent in the middle of the night.
When Lin Wu followed a few steps behind Chen Zhuo and got into his car for the first time, she still felt a slight hesitation.
Unfortunately there was no more suitable place for conversation at the moment.
The parking lot was brightly lit, the light slanting in from a distance and falling across the front of the car.
After a few seconds of quiet, Lin Wu sensed the man beside her turn his head slightly to glance at her. “Talk here?”
Lin Wu gave a small hum, her tone rather decisive. “Five minutes. Where else does President Chen want to go to talk?”
Chen Zhuo raised an eyebrow, his gaze landing directly on her face.
Lin Wu did not look up. She only lowered her head to check the time on her wristwatch. “Four minutes and forty seconds left…”
The word “seconds” had not yet left her mouth when Chen Zhuo suddenly leaned in from the side, directly sealing her lips and swallowing all her words back down.
He even went further, biting her lower lip, then using the tip of his tongue to pry open her tightly closed teeth and delve deeper inside.
“…”
Lin Wu was stunned for an instant. By the time she reacted and tried to push him away, it was like an ant trying to shake a tree; she could not budge the man in front of her at all.
With no other choice, she resorted to the crudest method to make him stop.
“Hiss…” Chen Zhuo felt the pain and had no choice but to pull away from her lips. He raised his hand to touch the corner of his mouth where she had bitten through the skin, then gave a helpless laugh. “So ruthless?”
Lin Wu glared at him coldly, staring at the tiny blood blister that had formed on his lip, and said nothing.
After a few seconds of deadlock, Chen Zhuo lowered his lashes and spoke first. “Sorry.”
Lin Wu’s long lashes trembled slightly. With a face as cold as frost, she reminded him, “You still have three minutes.”
As expected of a lawyer.
Chen Zhuo could not help but think to himself that even at a time like this, her sense of time was still so strong.
After a moment of silence, Chen Zhuo withdrew his slightly inclined body, lifted his eyelids, and looked toward the wide space ahead. “Why didn’t you reply to my message this morning?”
Lin Wu answered concisely, “Nothing worth replying to.”
Chen Zhuo: “…”
He gave a faint choke, then lifted his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. “Are you angry?”
“No,” Lin Wu turned her head to look at him and spoke very directly, “The relationship between me and President Chen is not close enough for me to get angry over such a small thing.”
Lin Wu knew exactly how to say things that hurt people.
Fortunately, Chen Zhuo had long grown accustomed to this attitude of hers. Knowing he was in the wrong, he did not dare to take any issue with what she said.
So when he heard those words, instead of getting angry, he laughed. The corners of his lips curved inward slightly in a way that was both refined and faintly flirtatious. “True.”
He went along with her.
Lin Wu withdrew her gaze and tilted her head to stare out the window. “When did you find out I work here?”
“A long time ago,” Chen Zhuo did not give a specific time.
At this moment Lin Wu also forgot to press for details. She was only curious. “How did you find out?”
Chen Zhuo paused for a second before asking her, “Do you still remember the time we ran into each other by chance at the highway rest stop?”
That was the only chance encounter between Lin Wu and Chen Zhuo in this big city, apart from their regular Friday night meetings, and it was also the trigger that started their weekly Friday night arrangement.
After the second time they met, Lin Wu finally got a relatively clear answer to whether she could sleep well because of the sex itself or because she was with Chen Zhuo. Therefore, she very much followed her inner thoughts and choice. The next morning after waking up, she proposed to Chen Zhuo that they continue this relationship.
But Lin Wu had not expected Chen Zhuo to refuse her.
He said no.
Lin Wu was stunned for a long time at that moment. She could not help asking, “Why?”
The first time they went to the hotel, she had already confirmed with Chen Zhuo that he had no girlfriend, nor was he ambiguously involved with anyone else. More importantly, she could clearly feel that Chen Zhuo desired her body.
He had a very strong lust for her.
Hearing her follow-up question, Chen Zhuo was slightly surprised.
He lifted his eyes to gaze at her. In his pupils there was assessment, scrutiny, and a subtle emotion that Lin Wu failed to catch.
After a moment, before Chen Zhuo could answer, Lin Wu continued, “You enjoy it too, don’t you?”
Those two indulgences between them should not have been enjoyable only for her. Chen Zhuo clearly felt it very strongly as well.
Chen Zhuo remained silent.
After a long while, just when Lin Wu was no longer planning to force him, he suddenly asked her, “Why do you want to continue?”
Lin Wu was taken aback. She opened her mouth, wanting to say because sleeping with you lets me sleep very well. But saying that out loud would not be appropriate. She and Chen Zhuo were not yet that familiar, and she was afraid he would think she was mentally ill.
After thinking for a few seconds, Lin Wu looked at him. “You look good, your body is quite nice, your service spirit is also quite good…”
She said several “quite good” in a row, which actually made Chen Zhuo laugh.
He raised an eyebrow, closed his eyes briefly, tilted his head, hooked his lips, and asked in a rather calculating tone, “Just quite good?”
Lin Wu was at a loss for words.
Chen Zhuo appreciated her slightly embarrassed expression. His thin lips moved slightly. “Continue.”
Continue what?
Lin Wu thought.
After a second, she realized that Chen Zhuo was telling her to keep thinking of reasons to convince him to agree to continue this hidden relationship with her.
“We are fated.” Sensing that Chen Zhuo’s attitude had softened a little, Lin Wu recalled what He Jiayun had said to her yesterday. “Don’t you think so?”
The first time they met by chance at the bar.
The second time, although it could not really be called a chance encounter, he was still there when she arrived.
Hearing this, Chen Zhuo looked at her with clear, bright eyes. “Mm?”
“Meeting twice at the bar, doesn’t that count as fate?” Lin Wu said.
Chen Zhuo smiled faintly, his gaze fixed straight on her. “The first time counts.”
The second time did not.
Lin Wu’s breathing paused slightly. She understood what he meant.
He probably already knew that their second “chance” encounter had someone tipping him off behind the scenes.
“So do you want to give it a try?” Lin Wu suddenly suggested after thinking about it. “Let’s test it. See if we have a third chance encounter. If we do, then you agree to the condition I proposed, how about that?”
She discussed it with Chen Zhuo.
Three times and it’s fate.
But Shencheng was so big. If they really had a third encounter purely by coincidence, with no one helping or tipping anyone off, then that would be enough to prove they truly were fated.
Chen Zhuo agreed to Lin Wu’s proposal.
Before leaving, he reminded her, “Shencheng is very big.”
At that time Lin Wu was sitting on the chair in front of the dining table. She looked at him and smiled lightly. “I know. That’s what makes it challenging, isn’t it?”
She liked things that came with a challenge.
Chen Zhuo had nothing more to say. He only gave her a meaningful look before leaving and said, “Lin Wu, see you next time.”
Lin Wu: “…See you next time.”
Their “next time” came three days later.
Even Lin Wu was surprised that their third meeting would arrive so quickly.
That day Lin Wu took her assistant to meet a client. The client lived in a rather remote place, in a small town next to Shencheng.
Driving there took almost three hours. Lin Wu and her assistant set out in the morning. After meeting the client and finishing their discussion, it was already three in the afternoon. By an unlucky coincidence, that afternoon a steady drizzle began falling without end. There was a car accident on the highway, and several lanes were completely jammed with no way through. Lin Wu and her assistant had barely eaten anything at noon, and by now they were so hungry that their stomachs were sticking to their backs.
Without much hesitation, she directly turned the car into the nearby rest stop, planning to grab something to eat before heading back to Shencheng.
When they first entered the rest stop, Lin Wu did not notice Chen Zhuo at all.
She ordered a bowl of instant noodles and was sitting on a small round stool with her assistant, about to eat, when she suddenly heard two young girls nearby say, “There’s a handsome guy over there!”
Lin Wu did not take it seriously at the time. She stayed completely still, fully focused on the instant noodles in front of her.
It was not until the two girls mentioned that the handsome guy was looking at them that Lin Wu sensed an unavoidable gaze. Instinctively, she raised her head. When she saw Chen Zhuo not far away, her eyes widened in disbelief.
How could Chen Zhuo be here?
Lin Wu felt a little dazed. Only after her assistant told her the instant noodles were ready did she suddenly snap back to reality.
Pretending to be calm, she finished the instant noodles. Then she glanced over and saw Chen Zhuo walking toward the other side.
After thinking for three seconds, Lin Wu stood up. “Yu Xin, I’m going to walk around over there. Let’s rest for a bit first. We’ll leave later.”
Zhao Yu Xin was chatting with her boyfriend and did not ask much. “Okay, Lawyer Lin.”
Lin Wu got up and walked outside.
When she reached the passageway where Chen Zhuo had disappeared, she could no longer see the familiar figure.
Then the sound of a lighter flicking reached her ear. Lin Wu abruptly turned her head and saw Chen Zhuo leaning against the foot of the wall.
Their eyes met.
Lin Wu did not move. Neither did Chen Zhuo.
After a moment, Chen Zhuo called her name. “Lin Wu.”
Lin Wu’s lashes lifted lightly. Her voice was very soft. “What?”
Chen Zhuo took out his phone, speaking neither hurriedly nor slowly. “Not planning to exchange contact information?”
There was nothing inconvenient about it.
The previous two times, they had only exchanged names and nothing else—no contact information—precisely because they did not want any further entanglement. But now, since they were about to begin the continuation of an intimate relationship, exchanging contact information was the first step.
That time at the highway rest stop, the two of them simply exchanged contact information and then parted ways.
Only after leaving did Lin Wu realize she had forgotten to ask what he was doing there.
Later she felt that the question was a bit silly. What else could someone be doing at a highway rest stop besides resting and recharging? There were no other possibilities.
“…”
Recalling that encounter, Lin Wu suddenly understood. “So that was when you found out I work here?”
Chen Zhuo gave an affirmative hum. “At that time, there was a colleague on my team who had seen you in court before and remembered you.”
When that person returned, he excitedly told the others that he had spotted a familiar beautiful woman, a lawyer from Xianghe Law Firm, famously known in the industry as a cold and stunning beauty.
The other colleagues teased him, “Where was she? You saw a beauty and didn’t introduce her to us?”
The colleague shrugged and said, “I’ve seen her, but she has no impression of me. How could I introduce you guys to her?”
Hearing this from Chen Zhuo, Lin Wu was slightly surprised. “I’ve worked with him before?”
“No,” Chen Zhuo glanced at her. “Would you forget someone you’ve worked with?”
Lin Wu: “Under normal circumstances, no.”
After learning that Chen Zhuo had known her workplace address for a long time, Lin Wu felt a little depressed. “Then why didn’t you mention it earlier?”
Chen Zhuo looked at her, the meaning in his eyes very clear.
How was he supposed to bring it up?
Lin Wu did not like talking much about her work. On the rare occasions she did mention it, she would only touch on it briefly, or ask him some questions related to securities.
Both of them were very measured when it came to each other’s work matters. They answered whatever was asked and never probed further.
Lin Wu had never asked Chen Zhuo which specific company he worked for. She had only heard someone call him President Chen when he was on the phone, so she started calling him President Chen too.
But what kind of president he actually was, she never asked, and he never told her.
Lin Wu: “…”
Her expression froze for a moment. She pressed her lips together and said, “But you could have mentioned your work transfer, couldn’t you?”
Chen Zhuo spoke slowly, “It happened suddenly. My fault.”
Chen Zhuo’s attitude of admitting wrong was so good that Lin Wu could not find anything to criticize.
She fell silent. The words she had carefully prepared before getting off work suddenly became impossible to say.
After a quiet moment, Lin Wu turned her head slightly. “President Chen.”
Chen Zhuo turned to look at her. His deep eyes gave a low hum. “What is it?”
Lin Wu was caught off guard by how excessively beautiful his eyes were, momentarily losing her focus. Then she spoke relatively calmly, “About your work transfer… I have no right to interfere, and nothing to say about it. But I hope the agreements we made between us will not change because of your work transfer.”
Lin Wu was reminding Chen Zhuo that if they wanted to continue maintaining their previous relationship, the agreements must remain unchanged.
Even though they now worked in the same building, only a few floors apart, during the day they should still be strangers who did not know each other.
Lin Wu disliked change.
She was the kind of person who hated when things derailed or deviated, making them impossible for her to control.
She liked everything to proceed according to plan, developing in an orderly way.
Chen Zhuo was not at all surprised that she would say this. He lightly curved his lips, his expression cold and serious. “Lawyer Lin.”
He looked at her. “My memory is very good.”
Lin Wu paused for a second. “That’s good then.”
She felt relieved that Chen Zhuo was still adhering to their agreement. But along with the relief, Lin Wu also felt an indescribable trace of irritation.
Once the matter was discussed, it was time for Lin Wu to go home.
She looked at the man in the driver’s seat and hesitated for a moment. “If President Chen has nothing else to add, I’ll leave first.”
Chen Zhuo glanced at the time. “Did you drive here?”
Lin Wu: “No.”
“I’ll drive you back,” Chen Zhuo said.
Lin Wu instinctively replied, “No need.”
She politely refused, then reminded him, “We agreed—”
Before she could finish speaking, Chen Zhuo cut in with a cold, hard tone. “It’s too late.”
He knew she was someone with a cold heart and a hard shell, but tonight it really was too late.
To prevent Lin Wu from refusing again, Chen Zhuo added, “Lawyer Lin, rest assured. I remember the agreement between us.”
Chen Zhuo understood that Lin Wu did not particularly want to reveal her home address.
Her alertness was very high at certain times, yet completely absent at others.
With the conversation having reached this point, it would indeed be ungrateful for Lin Wu to refuse any further.
Having no other choice, she gave him her address.
After entering the address into the navigation, Chen Zhuo drove out of the parking lot.
The two did not speak again. They tacitly maintained silence.
There were few cars on the road at night, and Chen Zhuo drove steadily yet swiftly.
In less than twenty minutes, Lin Wu already saw the residential compound where she lived.
While waiting at a red light two intersections before the compound, she spoke up, pointing to a spot on the side where cars could pull over. “Just drop me off there later.”
She could walk the remaining few hundred meters.
Chen Zhuo glanced at the navigation, his expression indifferent. “We’re not there yet.”
“I’ll get off early,” Lin Wu insisted.
Chen Zhuo paused briefly. His long fingers lightly tapped the steering wheel as he asked in a slow, deliberate tone, “Do you have colleagues living in the compound?”
Lin Wu: “…No.”
Chen Zhuo gave an “oh,” his tone softening slightly. “Then is someone waiting for you at the compound entrance?”
Lin Wu: “…”
Hearing the obvious sarcasm in his voice, Lin Wu was momentarily at a loss for words, unable to think of a rebuttal right away.
After struggling for a second, she threw caution to the wind with a reckless attitude and spoke very quickly. “Please, President Chen, turn into the underground garage of our compound at the next intersection and drop me off right at the elevator entrance.”
If she got off at the compound gate, she would still have to walk three minutes to reach her building. Since Chen Zhuo insisted on sending her, he might as well send her all the way.
Chen Zhuo: “…Fine.”
The car drove into the underground parking garage of the compound. Following Lin Wu’s directions, Chen Zhuo parked right in front of the elevator entrance of her building.
Lin Wu pushed open the car door and got out. She turned back to look at him once. “It’s too late, so I won’t invite President Chen upstairs for a drink. Please drive safely. I won’t see you off.”