In the middle of the night, Shen Yue left. Lou Qingshuang stood on the balcony, watching her walk away. She decided to…
In the middle of the night, Shen Yue left.
Lou Qingshuang stood on the balcony and watched her depart.
She turned back into her room, changed her clothes, and stepped out into the night.
Inside the bustling bar, Lou Qingshuang stood swaying amidst the crowd.
Her eyes were glassy and intoxicated as she danced under the dim, low-hanging lights. She rarely indulged in this kind of outlet, but tonight, she desperately wanted to let go and abandon all restraint.
Intense music, a drunken crowd, and a haze of restless energy filled the atmosphere.
Lou Qingshuang wore a smoke-gray overcoat over a thin shirt, downing drinks one after another.
Under the flashing lights, her skin appeared extraordinarily fair, her red lips stark and alluring. Two loose strands of wavy hair fell against her cheeks. That cold, bright, yet heartbreaking elegance made it impossible for anyone to look away, drawing covert glances from all around.
She sat at the bar counter, tilting her head back to pour the last gulp of Flaming Fire spirits down her throat. The sharp, burning sting of the alcohol instantly brought a soft flush to her cheeks.
It didn’t take long for drunkenness to take hold, filling her mind with the floating weightlessness of intoxication.
Liu Yu was just getting ready for bed when her private phone suddenly chimed.
She stared at the familiar number, it was the first time this contact had ever lit up her screen.
“Lou Qingshuang?” Liu Yu’s voice was low and hushed, rich with deep, raspy undertones that tingled against the ear.
“Come pick me up,” Lou Qingshuang said. Her voice carried a mix of cold distance and subtle temptation, the distinct tone of someone thoroughly drunk.
Liu Yu’s brows knit together slightly as she caught the chaotic noise in the background. “Where are you?”
“I’m at Club Super X…” Lou Qingshuang’s voice came through slurriky and faint over the line.
Half an hour later, Liu Yu’s car arrived quietly outside the venue.
Lou Qingshuang was seated at a small individual table near the bar, continuing to drink. She poured whiskey based cocktails down her throat one glass after another, looking like a picture-perfect portrait of heartbreak.
A single tear slid down from the corner of her eye, which she swallowed right along with her whiskey.
By the time Liu Yu entered under the protection of her bodyguards, Lou Qingshuang was completely wasted, slumped over the table and staring blankly into her whiskey glass.
Liu Yu was wearing a matching smoke gray suit with tailored, loose trousers swaying around her high heels. Her long hair fell loosely over her shoulders as she walked unhurriedly toward Lou Qingshuang.
The commanding aura around Liu Yu and her bodyguards made the surrounding crowd back away, not daring to get close, though many lingered nearby with perked ears to listen in on the drama.
Lou Qingshuang stared at the deep amber whiskey in her glass, watching the ice sphere slowly melt inside. As she raised her hand to finish it in one gulp, a pale, elegant hand reached out and stopped her.
“Lou Qingshuang, you called for me?” Liu Yu’s voice carried a magnetic warmth.
Lou Qingshuang looked up and locked eyes with her. Her eyes were red rimmed, and the warm orange lighting fell across her flush cheeked face. That lazy, fragile, yet aloof sense of brokenness sent a sudden surge through Liu Yu’s heart. With a firm pull, she pulled Lou Qingshuang straight up out of her seat.
Liu Yu held the woman who could barely keep her footing as the two stood under the romantic lighting, gazing into each other’s eyes.
The rich scent of alcohol on Lou Qingshuang washed over Liu Yu’s nose, causing her brows to knit slightly. Moments later, however, she caught the faint scent of roses lingering on Lou Qingshuang.
The rose is wilting. Liu Yu’s heart trembled faintly. She could feel the rose’s sorrow, a heartbreak so profound it almost made her choke.
“What happened to you?” Liu Yu asked softly, loosening her grip on Lou Qingshuang’s wrist.
“Heh.” Lou Qingshuang pulled her lips into a bitter smile as her body went weak. Liu Yu quickly caught her in her arms, their two smoke gray silhouettes merging together.
Lou Qingshuang leaned heavily against Liu Yu’s shoulder. She, too, caught a trace of iced rose fragrance coming from the other woman. Nuzzling against Liu Yu’s shoulder, she took a light breath and murmured unconsciously, “Smells so good…”
Liu Yu held Lou Qingshuang tight, taking in the soft body resting in her arms and the warm breath tickling her ear.
“Chairman?” The bodyguards stepped in closer around them, blocking everyone else’s view. One of them asked softly if assistance was needed.
“No need,” Liu Yu declined. She kept her arm around Lou Qingshuang and guided her out herself.
Lou Qingshuang leaned into her embrace, allowing herself to be led away.
By the time they reached the car, Lou Qingshuang was already fast asleep against the window.
Liu Yu sat quietly in the back seat, staring in silence at Lou Qingshuang’s face. It was sculpted and beautiful, though that subtle matronly air she had carried when they first met had mostly faded away.
Liu Yu lowered her eyelids. She reached out her fingers, wanting to brush them against Lou Qingshuang’s trembling eyelashes, but ultimately withdrew her hand and rested it back in her lap.
She didn’t send Lou Qingshuang home. Instead, she brought her back to her own residence.
She knew Shen Yue had gone to Lou Qingshuang’s house. Tonight, she simply did not want to let Lou Qingshuang go back there. Liu Yu’s eyes grew dark and unreadable.
Since Lou Qingshuang had chosen to call her, she must have known what accepting the ride would mean.
Lou Qingshuang was brought into Liu Yu’s apartment, a brightly lit sanctuary welcoming its master back.
Inside the spacious luxury flat, grand floor to ceiling windows reflected the city lights outside. The cold-toned apartment now carried the gentle breathing of a second person.
Liu Yu carried Lou Qingshuang inside and laid her down on the sofa. Only after she was settled did Lou Qingshuang open her eyes, staring blankly up at the ceiling lights.
“Drink some water.” Liu Yu reappeared after disappearing for a moment, holding a warm glass of water to Lou Qingshuang’s lips.
“Thank you,” Lou Qingshuang whispered, her voice raspy. Her face was flushed and her eyes hazy with intoxication, her long hair spilling loosely over her shoulders.
As Liu Yu watched her bow her head and take small sips of water, her fingers twitched with a faint itch.
Her rose was on the verge of dying.
Liu Yu took off her jacket and tossed it onto the sofa. Seeing the coat land beside her, Lou Qingshuang instinctively shuddered. It was only now that reality seemed to hit her, she had actually called Liu Yu tonight.
Shen Yue’s lack of understanding, the mounting pressure at work, her mother’s illness, and Liu Yu’s relentless approach had pushed her to a breaking point where she could barely breathe.
“I’m sorry, Chairman Liu… I called the wrong number,” Lou Qingshuang lowered her head and said raspy.
A hand reached out and gently tipped Lou Qingshuang’s chin upward, forcing her to look up at the woman standing over her.
Liu Yu lightly stroked Lou Qingshuang’s chin, bending down to meet her gaze directly. “Whether you dialed the wrong number or not, you and I both know the truth.”
Liu Yu leaned closer and pressed a kiss against Lou Qingshuang’s lips.
Lou Qingshuang immediately pulled away from her touch, leaning her body back. “I’m sorry, Chairman Liu.”
Having successfully caught the stray droplet of water near the corner of Lou Qingshuang’s mouth, Liu Yu sat down satisfied. Lou Qingshuang backed up against the armrest of the sofa. Her eyes were still somewhat hazy, but the kiss had brought back a measure of sobriety, leaving her at a complete loss for words.
This time, it wasn’t Liu Yu who pursued her, it was she who had sought Liu Yu out.
Liu Yu looked at her. “Did you two have a fight?”
“Yeah.” Lou Qingshuang lifted her head, strands of hair clinging to her pale, slender neck. Watching that captivating swan like curve, a slight smile touched the corners of Liu Yu’s lips.
When drunk, Lou Qingshuang lost that proud, tense aura of distant detachment. Instead, she transformed into a rose softened by alcohol, weeping softly under the moonlight.
Liu Yu didn’t intend to push further tonight. She picked up a pheromone patch and handed it to Lou Qingshuang. “Your rose scent… it’s leaking out.”
Holding the patch handed to her by Liu Yu, Lou Qingshuang was stunned once again. Clenching the patch tightly in her grip, she asked earnestly, “Can you really smell my pheromones?”
Liu Yu lowered her head and leaned in closer, her shadow enveloping Lou Qingshuang entirely. She whispered, “A weeping rose.”
Lou Qingshuang’s eyelashes fluttered lightly, her eyes filled with blurred shock. Pheromones were the most direct reflection of a person’s emotions, was her scent really crying?
Lou Qingshuang had no idea that in Liu Yu’s perception, her rose was weeping.
She and Shen Yue had been together for over two years, spent mostly apart. Right before the launch of Wan Shuang’s new product, Shen Yue had proposed to her. Yet in all those two years, Shen Yue had never brought her back to her own family, nor could she ever catch the scent of her pheromones. So why was Liu Yu able to smell them, even though she had taken pheromone blockers? Lou Qingshuang was utterly confused.
She had agreed to Shen Yue’s proposal to put her mother’s mind at ease and to focus on her career. But tonight, when Shen Yue casually told her to shut down her company so she could support her, Lou Qingshuang realized with a shock that they had never truly been on the same page. She had no idea Shen Yue harbored such thoughts in secret.
She was exhausted and just wanted a place to unwind.
She never expected that, in her drunken haze, she would end up calling Liu Yu.
Lou Qingshuang let out a soft sigh, confused by her own subconscious choices.
Hearing her sigh, Liu Yu couldn’t resist leaning close again, finding comfort in breathing in the scent of the rose.
“Do you want to take a bath?” Liu Yu suddenly asked.
The sudden question snapped Lou Qingshuang out of her deep thoughts. Her body instinctively jolted backward, but Liu Yu moved fast, catching her before she could fall off the sofa.
Lou Qingshuang bumped right into Liu Yu’s chest, instinctively wrapping her arms tightly around her. The sudden feeling of falling backward had turned her pale with fright.
Curled up in Liu Yu’s arms, she caught her breath and gasped, “Thank you…”
Liu Yu gently patted her back. “Don’t worry. Everything will be taken care of.”
The double meaning in Liu Yu’s words wasn’t lost on Lou Qingshuang, who understood the underlying comfort. “Thank you.”
Liu Yu released her grip, choosing not to push her boundaries any further.
She had far more patience than she originally anticipated. Only through these measured, unhurried interactions could she get Lou Qingshuang to drop her guard.
Only then would she win a place in Lou Qingshuang’s heart, especially after Lou Qingshuang uncovers the real traitor inside her company.