Chapter 6: Gentle Warmth

—Bang.
A direct hit.
Chen Yansi controlled her hand to strike the cue ball. In an instant, her already unsteady balance was jolted; her soft, drooping hair brushed against his nose, carrying a warm fragrance.
The cue rested against the side of his clenched, tense fist. The white ball was struck cleanly, spinning swiftly across the table, colliding with a black ball. The crisp, brief sound resembled a heartbeat echoing darkly within her chest.
The target ball staggered unsteadily toward the pocket. A hidden string inside her wrist suddenly tightened, forcing an exertion that she couldn’t immediately retract, causing her body to stiffen momentarily.
The culprit remained calm and composed, his palm silently covering the back of her hand. His long fingers slipped in, threading through the fingers she had just pressed tightly together seconds before. She suddenly held her breath.
Another shot.
A flawless clearance.
The sound of balls striking filled the room, overpowering the clatter of chips stacking nearby.
Several female companions glanced over first, their eyes filled with curiosity.
A row of striped lights hanging above obscured overlapping figures. Chen Yansi straightened his upper body, his broad shoulders and wide back shielding the young woman in front of him completely.
Lu Chenghao sat facing south holding a red two of diamonds, his gaze steady and relaxed as he casually asked, “Do you guys think he was off this morning?”
Zhou Ji frowned, biting on a cigarette, uncertain, and followed suit with a card of the same suit: “Nonsense. When has he ever been 'on'? I figure no one provoked him today. You didn’t provoke me, I didn’t provoke you, right? Who here can even budge him?”
Lu Chenghao arranged his cards thoughtfully and smiled faintly: “That depends on who’s holding the cue.”
The colored balls each sank into pockets, leaving only a solitary white ball resting on the green felt’s center.
Wen Shuhan held the cue without revealing her emotions, standing upright in sync with the person behind her.
Her warmth lingered close yet distant; a thin sweat had appeared on her palm without her noticing. A layer of warmth and slight dampness brushed past his fingers.
Suddenly, she wanted to clench her hand tightly, resisting this pervasive sense of intrusion.
The next second, he released her hand.
Distance grew between them.
Whether it was because the indoor ventilation system was off or smoke drifting from the other side, her throat felt dry. She clenched her fist against her lips and coughed softly.
“Come down.”
She responded immediately, looking up. Chen Yansi was already descending the spiral staircase.
She followed, a step behind.
He seemed aware she had something to ask, stopping halfway down the stairs with hands in his pockets. Turning around, he looked at her with eyes free from the usual haze of smoke and wine that social gatherings often left. His gaze was indifferent, tinged with a lazy reluctance to speak first.
It was as if he was looking at a stranger.
Wen Shuhan froze on the second step, one hand gripping the railing, still tilting her head upward to meet his eyes.
At such close proximity, they stared at each other for several seconds before she got straight to the point: “I came here because I have a question for you.”
“Ask.”
His single-word reply was crisp, causing her to take a slight breath.
To avoid seeming overly sentimental, she lowered her tone evenly: “Those earrings, and the gifts you gave me before—those were all from you, right?”
He raised an eyebrow: “Why?”
From what she knew, Chen Yansi’s question was an implicit confirmation.
Wen Shuhan blinked slowly, still finding it somewhat unbelievable despite expecting it.
“Why did you give me so many?”
Money laundering? Surely not. No matter how reckless he was, he still obeyed the law.
Chen Yansi met her gaze without flinching, perhaps even catching some of her unspoken thoughts.
He lowered his eyelids and replied effortlessly: “To settle accounts with my ex.”
She was stunned: “...Huh?”
The answer was unexpected.
“I get what you mean,” she said suspiciously, “But… were the gifts I gave you really that valuable? And if we were to tally them up…”
I owe you more.
She swallowed the thought.
Chen Yansi’s expression remained unchanged, his dark eyes indifferent, harboring a slight disdain for what he considered trivial matters.
He said, “There’s a thing called inflation.”
“...”
The air between them stiffened for a moment. Wen Shuhan reluctantly pressed on, “So you’re still going to ‘pay back’?”
“Otherwise?” It was implied it was only natural.
Wen Shuhan pondered silently. According to him, this level of inflation should have been recorded in history.
Uncertain of his true intentions, she deliberated and decided to cut to the chase: “Don’t send me anything else.”
As the words landed, Chen Yansi’s lips twitched into a faint smile. A muffled laugh rumbled in his chest, his tone teasing: “Just in case you get married someday, remember you still owe your ex, and drag your family along to settle accounts with me. Clearing the slate early is better for both of us.”

—What nonsense. Only he could come up with that.
Wen Shuhan felt a bit exasperated by his casual fabrication.
Her emotions were clear on her face; he smiled and said, “I was just teasing you, and you believed it.”
“...” So annoying. “Then what exactly do you want?”
At his words, his inscrutable gaze appraised her, tone carrying a hint of dominance: “Aren’t those things all very suitable for you?”
Suitable for her?
Before she could reply, Chen Yansi turned and descended the stairs, ending the conversation.
Wen Shuhan stood still, pressing her lips together, furrowing her brow, then raised her hand and lightly punched the air twice at his retreating back.
This man was as troublesome as ever. What exactly was he up to?
They had agreed at the breakup that neither would disrupt the other’s life.
But now he had already broken the rules.
Upstairs on the mezzanine, a small internet celebrity who often mingled with Zhou Ji looked down and asked, “Who’s that girl? I haven’t seen her before. Is she Mr. Chen’s girlfriend?”
Someone at the card table immediately corrected, “Watch your words; that’s his sister.”
“Oh...” The girl smiled, calculating something in her mind.
After Wen Shuhan left, Chen Yansi returned to the card table as the dealer, propping his head with a weary expression. When others spoke to him, he merely nodded and replied briefly, showing no interest in conversation.
After several rounds, he mercilessly swept the points from the entire table, his expression cold as if he were the one losing money.
Three minutes earlier, he had received a message.
[All those gifts, I haven’t opened them. I’ll return them to you together later.]
He didn’t reply.
Zhou Ji, tired of losing, switched to playing with a girl—the internet celebrity who had just asked the question.
The girl’s cheeks were touched with a faint blush, her long hair cascading over her shoulders, exuding a pure charm that invited affection. When the wealthy young master invited her to join, she was shy, declining a few times.
Zhou Ji joked casually, “Don’t be shy, I’m not gonna scam you. I’m just taking you as a lucky mascot.”
The previous “cute mascot” had already left the scene half an hour ago.
Chen Yansi’s brow twitched. Just as he was about to light a cigarette, he suddenly tossed the lighter onto the table intriguingly and made no further moves.
Beside him, Lu Chenghao sipped tea, savoring the moment.
The girl hesitated before sitting at the table, looking nervous: “Um… I really don’t know how to play…”
As the dealer dealt cards nearby, Chen Yansi didn’t even raise his eyelids, reclining in his chair and casually offering, “Want me to teach you?”
The girl was surprised and blinked her earnest eyes: “Really?”
“No.”
“...”
“Pull up your collar.” He suddenly commanded.
“Ah, okay...”
The girl was startled but quickly obeyed, inwardly lamenting.
She had barely managed to wear the sweater so low; now it was all undone in one move.
Though she didn’t know why, she reluctantly pulled the thin sweater’s collar to the top, unintentionally covering a conspicuous mole near her collarbone.
Chen Yansi’s expression darkened. People around exchanged glances, signaling the atmosphere was off and that no one should trigger trouble.
One round passed, and the red two of hearts and red four of diamonds appeared repeatedly on the table.
Both red.
Like the faint red mole on Wen Shuhan’s chest.

—
Several days passed. Wen Shuhan continued practicing dance as usual, spending little time in the old house.
Chen Yansi was busy with work recently; apart from dining together, they rarely met.
As the year’s end approached, the Yisong Group held meetings frequently.
A large screen displayed tree diagrams and analysis reports. Chen Yansi sat at the head of the table, silently listening to subordinates’ analyses. His half-lowered eyelashes cast a soft shadow; his finger joints guided the pen, which occasionally scratched softly on paper.
No one dared to slack off during the meeting; everyone sat up straight. When the boss wrote, no one stopped taking notes.
The department spokesperson hesitated mid-speech as Chen Yansi lifted his eyelids and stared at him.
The subordinate froze, unsure whether to continue. Others looked up, sensing something ominous.
The next moment, Chen Yansi asked in a deep voice, “Do you think your analysis is wrong?”
The room fell silent instantly.
“Uh… well…” The person on stage was caught off guard, nervously stammering, “Probably, yes… some parts should be.”
Chen Yansi said nothing, just quietly watching him.
A penetrating chill slowly descended. The subordinate forced his mind into overdrive, begrudgingly finding three or four errors.
After a pause, Chen Yansi nodded softly: “That’s about it…”
He glanced briefly at the large screen, then tapped the pen on the table.
“Who’s responsible for monitoring existing production capacity?”
“Rick and I,” the subordinate replied meticulously. “He’s on a business trip in Port City; I’m handling a small part of it afterward.”
The pen tapped the table again, bored.
“Got it. You two fix it together.” Chen Yansi withdrew his gaze, marking something on the paper. “Regarding the second error you mentioned, deadline is three days.”
“Understood!”
The meeting resumed, and the previously tense atmosphere relaxed significantly.
Chen Yansi’s seemingly calm, precise efficiency was seen by subordinates as a kind of relaxed strictness.
When he was silent, head bowed writing, this aura of quiet authority grew even stronger.
He seemed deeply focused, but was really just passing time.
After the meeting, Assistant Qiu helped him organize documents and often noticed doodles on his scrap paper—some looked like cats, others like dogs.
Some resembled little suns.
Tonight’s meeting ended at nine. Chen Yansi checked his schedule with his secretary; another online meeting would start in half an hour, connecting with the Los Angeles branch.
He finished a cigarette at his desk when his phone buzzed with a message: [Are you coming home for dinner?]
The sender’s avatar was a watercolor sunrise, no note attached.
It must have been arranged by Chen Zhitang.
He typed briefly: [Not coming back.]
After a moment of “typing,” the reply came gently: [Then we won’t wait for you.]
Chen Yansi traced the phone’s edge with his finger, replied “Hmm,” and placed the phone face down on the desk.
The online meeting started on time. Leaning back in his chair, Chen Yansi multitasked lazily, scribbling beyond the screen.
Unconsciously, a new blank sheet was nearly filled again.
—“Mr. Levin?”
A soft voice called through the speaker.
Chen Yansi lifted his eyelids, nonchalantly drew another circle around the little sun doodle, and smoothly rejoined the meeting.

…

The penthouse’s floor-to-ceiling windows glowed brightly. When Wen Shuhan arrived at the corporate building, she deliberately glanced upward, guessing that was his office.
She held the insulated food container Chen Zhitang had given her, calmly passing through the security door and approaching the front desk.
Since she lacked authority to entrust the reception with delivery, she had to explain her purpose first.
The staff listened and cheerfully picked up the handset: “Alright, please wait a moment. I’ll notify him right away.”
Wen Shuhan tapped the edge of the container, waiting quietly.
Seconds ticked by. The phone line almost disconnected before someone answered.
The attendant respectfully said, “General Manager Chen, Miss Wen is here with something for you. She said it’s dinner delivered from your home.”
Wen Shuhan paused.
She raised her eyebrows slightly, looking at the small hole on the receiver, faintly hearing his low voice:
“Where is she?”
The staff replied, “Right here in the lobby of Building A. If it’s convenient, I can have Alan bring it up to you.”
“Alan’s off work.” The voice on the other end suddenly said.
“Is that so? Then I’ll…”
“You’re off work too.”
“...?” The staff was confused, holding the receiver dumbfounded and cautiously asked, “I’m off work now? Do I need to report it in the OA system?”
Wen Shuhan blinked and kindly inquired, “Are you about to leave work?”
The staff couldn’t answer immediately, listened for a moment, then responded seriously. After hanging up the phone, they looked at Wen Shuhan blankly and nodded.
“Then I’ll take it up myself.” Wen Shuhan didn’t want to delay anyone’s departure, lifted the container, and cautiously asked, “Is that alright?”
“That’s fine, that’s fine.” The staff handed her an access card with the supervisor’s last instructions. “Here’s the elevator card. Turn right ahead and swipe it for direct elevator access.”
“Thank you.” She took the card, unaware, heading toward the elevator.