Chapter 49

Shu Shiran called for a designated driver right as she prepared to head back.

Though she had not consumed much alcohol that evening, her mind remained in a haze the entire way. One moment, she found herself pondering Qin Shengyan’s inquiry about how she had been, and the next, she was caught on Ji Xi asking her what she and Qin Shengyan had discussed. A heavy weight seemed to press against her chest.

Upon reaching the underground parking garage, she saw the Cullinan parked in Ji Xi's usual spot, its engine just cut off.

The designated driver stepped out first, followed by Ji Xi.

Ji Xi spotted her as well.

The two of them walked toward the elevator lobby together.

During the days Luke had spent in Nancheng, they had practically run into each other daily, but they had not crossed paths since the previous Saturday. Living on floors directly above and below one another did not guarantee daily encounters.

"Working overtime tonight?" Ji Xi's tone carried a casual nonchalance.

The spacious elevator lobby was quiet, the lights casting a cool, solitary halo over his figure.

"I went out for dinner with Xu Ying and Zheng Tingyan," Shu Shiran replied.

"And you?" She looked up.

Ji Xi was looking at her as well, their gazes locking.

"A dinner hosted by the eldest of the Shen family."

The elevator doors opened. Each withdrawing their gaze, the two stepped inside.

Just as the doors were about to close, another man hurried in.

Despite the ample space in the car, Ji Xi shifted closer to Shu Shiran.

His sleeve brushed against her shoulder.

The elevator ascended rapidly.

The man who had boarded last was busy typing messages, his phone chiming repeatedly with notifications.

Shu Shiran had intended to bring up the matter involving Qin Shengyan, but with a third person present, the timing felt entirely inappropriate.

Moments later, the man stepped out of the elevator.

The ascent resumed, leaving only Shu Shiran and Ji Xi alone in the car.

They were still eight floors away from her apartment.

Without the interruption of the phone alerts, a profound quiet settled over the elevator.

Shu Shiran could hear the uneven rhythm of her own breathing.

Amidst such an atmosphere, she suddenly had no idea how to break the silence.

As the elevator continued its upward climb, each floor felt like a second ticking down on a timer.

A countdown that would stop precisely at her floor.

"Did you drink?" Ji Xi’s voice broke the stillness.

Shu Shiran nodded. "A little, with them."

The eight-floor countdown was ruthlessly brief; she had barely finished answering when they arrived.

The elevator came to a halt.

"Good night," Ji Xi said.

Shu Shiran parted her lips.

The elevator doors slid open.

Seeing that she had not moved, Ji Xi asked, "What is it?"

The open elevator doors felt like an accelerated, urgent countdown, silently urging Shu Shiran to step out and filling her with a quiet anxiety.

"Good night."

Shu Shiran stepped out of the elevator in an almost mechanical motion.

The familiar entrance foyer lay before her, while the elevator doors behind her began to slowly close.

Her heart tightened with a sudden jolt, and she abruptly spun around.

Noticing her movement out of the corner of his eye, Ji Xi raised his gaze.

It was an instinctive, utterly effortless action.

"Wait," Shu Shiran said. "I have something to tell you."

***

The elevator doors had already closed, carrying the car to the floors above.

Yet Ji Xi, who should have continued upward to his own apartment, was currently standing right inside Shu Shiran’s entryway.

The moment she turned around and uttered those words, Shu Shiran suddenly regained a measure of calm, realizing that her impulse had been fueled entirely by the remnants of alcohol.

Ever since she had entertained the notion that Ji Xi might have misunderstood her relationship with Qin Shengyan back in high school, she had not been thinking clearly.

Perhaps she was simply overthinking, and Ji Xi had never given it a second thought.

However, she had already called him back; she was now riding a tiger and dared not dismount.

Shu Shiran remained silent, and Ji Xi did not rush her, merely watching her quietly.

The heavier the silence grew, the more scorching the anxiety became, unsettling her mind.

Shu Shiran could hardly bear it any longer. "You’ve seemed to be in rather low spirits these past few days," she prompted.

Ji Xi arched a brow. "So my wife *is* capable of telling when I'm in a bad mood."

Shu Shiran fell silent.

With a slight curve of his lips, Ji Xi asked, "What is it you wanted to tell me?"

Pausing for two seconds, Shu Shiran said, "Qin Shengyan came to our firm today."

The faint smile vanished from the corners of Ji Xi’s mouth. "He seems to have plenty of time on his hands."

"It was... work-related," Shu Shiran explained. "We had a meeting with the team he brought along. Since it happens to be the kind of project Della specializes in, she’ll be taking charge of it moving forward."

"I—"

Lowering her gaze, Shu Shiran stared at his white shirt within her field of vision.

"I haven’t kept in touch with him over the years, so we’re rather distant now. Back in high school, we were just ordinary friends."

Her heart raced with every word, her throat growing dry by the final syllable.

She did not look up even after she finished speaking, fixing her eyes on a semi-transparent button on his shirt.

No response came immediately.

The brief silence was almost unbearable, plunging her into instant regret.

Then, the voice above her broke the quiet: "Shu Shiran, are you suddenly telling me all this because you're afraid I'll mind?"

The question brought a burning heat to her face, making her instantly retreat inward.

Though her temper was mild, she had always maintained her pride and self-restraint.

She could not bear the thought of making a fool of herself by reading too much into things, especially in front of Ji Xi, and especially regarding this matter.

"I simply wanted to inform you of the situation, given that we are husband and wife. It’s getting late, you should head upstairs."

With that, she turned toward the door.

She had taken barely two steps when her wrist was suddenly caught in a firm grip, yanking her whole body backward.

The pull was sudden and authoritative, causing Shu Shiran to stumble several times before she regained her footing.

The distance between them vanished, and a clean, crisp scent washed over her.

"I do mind."

Shu Shiran’s eyelashes fluttered, and her heartbeat skipped a beat.

Ji Xi continued, "So, what exactly did the two of you talk about alone behind the backs of everyone at the reunion?"

"..."

Shu Shiran finally realized what he had misunderstood.

"I had gone down to meet you, and I just happened to run into him."

She added, "He asked me how I’ve been doing."

Ji Xi replied, "He's unusually concerned about others. Perhaps I should go ask those former classmates if they've ever received such care from him."

"You can go ask them, by all means."

Provoked by his sarcastic tone, Shu Shiran finally looked up.

Ji Xi was gazing down at her, his expression having lost much of its habitual aloofness.

They stood exceedingly close; if Shu Shiran were to tilt her chin up just a fraction more and lean in ever so slightly, their breaths would mingle.

"And how did you answer?" Ji Xi asked.

His dark, fathomless eyes mirrored her reflection, carrying a faint trace of anticipation.

Her heart thumping wildly, Shu Shiran averted her gaze. "I said... I've been doing well."

Ji Xi let out a low chuckle.

Her breathing hitched abruptly.

They had closed the distance further still without her noticing. With a flutter of panic, she lowered her gaze and saw the prominent curve of his Adam’s apple bobbing.

Their breaths intertwined, beat by beat.

Her wrist remained caught in his grasp, radiating a steady, persistent warmth.

"Shu Shiran."

She acknowledged him with a faint, breathy hum trapped in her throat.

Having spoken her name, Ji Xi offered no further words.

It was as if he had called out to her simply for the sake of it, devoid of any obvious meaning—yet heavy with implication, filled with probes and silent queries.

The air around them grew thin under the weight of that single spoken name.

Though she had lived here for quite some time, Shu Shiran felt as though she had never lingered in the entryway for this long, nor had she ever been so acutely, agonizingly aware of every subtle shift in her surroundings.

The lighting, the shadows, the color of the walls, the faint hum of the elevator.

The atmosphere was far more intoxicating and disorienting than alcohol.

Her spine grew rigid and tense, yet a part of her was willingly sinking into the sensation.

His familiar scent was closer than it had ever been. Amidst that cool, refreshing aura, Shu Shiran faintly caught a trace of another fragrance.

It was perfume, extremely faint.

It lingered on his clothes.

He had gone to the gathering hosted by the eldest of the Shen family that evening.

The eldest of the Shen family was a notorious playboy in Nancheng; gatherings he hosted were never without women.

At the thought, a heavy dullness gripped Shu Shiran’s chest, and she turned her face away.

A warm breath brushed across her cheek, coming to rest against the side of her neck.

The air abruptly froze, heavy enough for a falling pin to be heard.

As the heat receded, a biting, wintry chill took its place, leaving her gasping for breath.

Pulling her wrist free from his grip, Shu Shiran said coldly and stiffly, "You've been in contact with other women tonight. I happen to be a mysophobe."

Ji Xi paused for a fraction of a second, then let out a sudden, low laugh, turning his face back toward hers.

Shu Shiran kept her expression taut.

What on earth was so amusing?

"I haven't," Ji Xi said, his tone gentle.

Surprised, Shu Shiran stared at him, unconvinced.

With a sigh, Ji Xi murmured, "Never."

"What—"

Before she could process his words, her chin was tilted upward, and her field of vision darkened.

He refused to let her hide.

A soft pressure met her lips, and Shu Shiran’s heart leaped into her throat.

After a brief pause, the contact shifted into a series of gentle pecks, lightly teasing and pressing against her lower lip.

The mild sting made her draw in a sharp breath, prompting his movements to instantly soften into something even more tender.

Slowly, nothing remained except warmth and dampness.

With every touch against her lips, Shu Shiran’s heart rose and fell; her thoughts were seized, her mind dissolved into a fog, and soon she could no longer recall a single coherent thing.

The warm-toned lights of the foyer spilled over them.

Two slanted shadows fell across the floor. At their feet, the shadows were apart, but their heads overlapped completely.

The tickling sensation on her lips gradually crept down to her lower back, and Shu Shiran involuntarily clenched her fists in his shirt, bunching the fabric into tight wrinkles.

After kissing her for a while, Ji Xi drew back slightly, his breath still brushing against her lips.

The kisses had been confined entirely to her mouth, leaving her lips flushed and swollen.

It took her several seconds after he stopped to finally flutter her eyes open.

Both of their breaths came in shallow, hurried gasps.

Ji Xi’s face was inches away.

"Shu Shiran."

He spoke her name again, a smile lacing his low, husky voice.

"Can you open your mouth?"

It took Shu Shiran a beat too long to comprehend his meaning, and she glared at him with a mixture of embarrassment and annoyance.

Flushed, her lips over-reddened, and her gaze still hazy with distraction, she possessed not an ounce of intimidation.

Ji Xi’s fingers still rested on her chin, his thumb rhythmically tracing the skin before he called out to her once more, "Shu Shiran."

"..."

In truth, when he leaned in again, she would naturally part her lips, but Shu Shiran was far too shy to admit it.

"Princess."

"..."

Under his steady gaze, Shu Shiran’s defenses finally crumbled, a slight gap slowly appearing between her upper and lower lips.

The thought of parting her lips like this in breathless anticipation felt unbearably intimate and scandalous, threatening to set her entire body ablaze.

Ji Xi let out a soft laugh. Lifting his hand from her chin, he tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, pressed his palm against the back of her head, and lowered his gaze.

As he leaned in to kiss her, Shu Shiran instinctively closed her lips.

Only to be gently parted by him once more.

The tip of his tongue brushed across the roof of her mouth, sending a shiver of delicious friction down her spine.

This time, the kiss was far less gentle.

The fingers resting against the back of her head curled, the distinct bones carrying an undercurrent of firm, unquestionable strength.

Her long, dark hair was ruffled into a tangle under his hand, escaping in wisps between his fingers much like the muffled sounds occasionally slipping from her lips.

Inside the entryway, the only sound was the damp, heavy rhythm of their kiss.

The shadows on the floor shifted.

Outside, someone had pressed the elevator button; the digital floor indicator for the other car began its steady descent to the garage, before rising back up once more.