Regarding the matter of studying abroad, Fu Xiling’s reaction was pretty chill. The stuff he handed to Shi Zhi, in her eyes, was kinda good news.

Fu Qian needed some capable help, and that was great.

The only tricky thing right now was that preparing to study abroad had started a bit late.

So Shi Zhi was getting busier and busier.

She had to attend English classes, prep for final exams, go to work, and also get her graduation thesis ready.

With all these things piling up, time flew by fast.

By the winter break, people in the dorm building started heading home one by one. Fu Xiling straight-up brought Shi Zhi to stay at his place.

Shi Zhi asked him why, and he tossed her two words without hesitation: convenient.

But the second night after moving in, they almost got into a fight.

That day, Shi Zhi came back from work, and Fu Xiling wasn’t home.

He’d sent a message earlier, saying there was a last-minute meeting at the company and he’d be back a bit late.

It was cold outside, and after sitting in the office all day in high heels, knowing dinner would wait for Fu Xiling anyway, Shi Zhi decided to take a hot bath first.

She was filling the tub when she spotted that lipstick.

A fancy brand, sitting on the bathroom counter right next to Fu Xiling’s razor. The metallic logo gleamed under the mirror’s light.

So…

That night, the moment Fu Xiling stepped through the door, a violin came swinging at his face.

He had to lean back to dodge it.

The violin had been sent for maintenance and brought back but not put away yet. It’d been sitting by the entrance, and now it was Shi Zhi’s weapon.

Her face looked awful: “You brought a woman back here?”

Fu Xiling raised an eyebrow.

He locked eyes with Shi Zhi, kicked the door shut with his foot, and with the violin pressed against his chest, set down a big bag of bo bo ji and la zi ji by the entrance.

Leaning against the door, he drawled lazily, “The cleaning auntie—you’ve seen her a bunch of times, haven’t you?”

The takeout bag let out a tempting spicy aroma. Shi Zhi glanced at it for two seconds.

It was from a place she really liked.

But only for a moment. Then she went back to glaring at Fu Xiling: “The cleaning auntie would leave her lipstick in your bathroom, huh?”

Fu Xiling studied her for a sec, then started laughing.

His laugh was a little wicked, totally shameless, but damn good-looking: “The lipstick’s new. Saw it at the counter when I went to buy face wash, so I grabbed one for you.”

“Crazy.”

Shi Zhi tossed the violin into Fu Xiling’s arms, turned around, grabbed the lipstick, opened it, and twisted it up.

A bold reddish-brown shade, oozing vibe.

The surface was smooth as a mirror—yep, brand new.

And it was only then that Shi Zhi belatedly realized why Fu Xiling had bought her lipstick.

Right before the winter break, at the end of the solar year—before New Year’s Day— Xingrong Group held its company annual meeting.

Per higher-ups’ orders, everyone had to wear makeup and dress up in formal attire. No matter how drained they were from work, they had to show up full of energy at this event, displaying the group’s spirit and unity.

The dress was rented, and the makeup artist was hired by the company.

The makeup artist was pretty skilled. Shi Zhi, all dolled up and trailing behind Fu Qian, got asked her name by a few groups of people.

That night, when she got back from the event, Fu Xiling had just showered and was halfway through toweling his hair. Hearing the door, he came out, took one look at Shi Zhi, dragged her into the bathroom, and got busy with her before she could take off her makeup.

He went at it pretty hard.

He didn’t say much, but his actions spoke loud and clear about his interest.

Shi Zhi put the lipstick on in front of the mirror.

Turning around, Fu Xiling was leaning against the doorframe, hands in his pockets, watching her.

She walked up to him and started unbuttoning his shirt.

Fu Xiling’s clothes were usually the latest big-brand stuff, super trendy.

No clue if the designer was nuts or what, but to jack the shirt’s price up to five figures, they went all out.

The buttons were a chaotic mess, double the amount of a normal shirt.

By the time Shi Zhi’s patience was nearly gone, she finally got them all undone.

She pressed a reddish-brown lip print onto Fu Xiling’s abs, then looked up at him.

Provocative, and totally seductive.

Fu Xiling’s gaze never left her face. His eyes went from amused curiosity while she unbuttoned his shirt to something deeper, until his breath hitched. He pulled her up and kissed the lipstick right off her.

What happened next was only natural.

They didn’t make it to the bedroom, getting tangled up on the couch instead.

When she first moved into Fu Xiling’s place, this kind of instant spark made Shi Zhi pretty happy.

A week later, she couldn’t keep up.

Plus, it was seriously messing with her English homework and thesis progress. One late night, Shi Zhi brought it up with Fu Xiling, saying she wanted to move out.

They’d just washed off a thin layer of sweat, both exhausted.

Fu Xiling didn’t even open his eyes, just wrapped an arm around Shi Zhi’s waist: “Don’t move out. Too much hassle. The end of the year’s packed with family gatherings anyway, so I’ll be staying at my parents’ place.”

And then Fu Xiling actually left. Didn’t show his face for a whole week.

The next time she saw him was the last day off before New Year’s Eve.

Shi Zhi only got one day off a week anyway. After English class, she had just half a day left.

While digging through thesis materials, she got a call from Fu Xiling. He said he’d booked a hairstylist to come over and do his hair, but something came up, and he couldn’t make it back.

Shi Zhi had her phone on the table, on speaker, so she could keep looking at her stuff while talking.

She flipped a page in her book: “Should I tell the hairstylist to leave?”

“Just called him—he’s already in the complex. Since he’s here, let him do your hair instead.”

Fu Xiling was busy on his end, all noisy. She could hear someone talking to him. After a quick rundown with Shi Zhi, he rushed off.

A few minutes later, the hairstylist rang the doorbell.

Shi Zhi talked tough, but she had a soft spot—especially when it came to hardworking folks getting the short end.

He was already here; she couldn’t let him come for nothing.

Shi Zhi figured making money wasn’t easy, so whatever the hairstylist suggested, she went along with.

After a full treatment, by the time he left, her already gorgeous long black hair was soft as satin, practically glowing with healthy shine.

When Fu Xiling got back, Shi Zhi was sitting at her computer, typing her thesis with her pricey, pampered hair loose.

A few textbooks and A4 papers clipped with paperclips were scattered on the carpet.

Hearing him, she turned, paused for a few seconds to pull her mind out of her research, and saw Fu Xiling. Her first words were: “Your usual haircuts cost this much too?”

Fu Xiling came over and sat beside her, casually running a hand through her hair: “What’s wrong? Not enough money in my card?”

Fu Xiling had a prepaid card for the salon. He found it a hassle to carry around, so he just left it with the shop.

Sometimes his buddies, friends, or younger siblings would use it too. He had no clue how much was left on it.

Shi Zhi typed another line on her computer: “Left you twenty bucks.”

She was wearing blue-light-blocking glasses, a prize from the company raffle at the annual meeting.

Fu Xiling hooked the frame on her nose, took the glasses off, and held them up to check them out.

He used the glasses to trace her ear, sliding down slowly, lifting her chin: “You’ve been busy for a while. Wanna go out and unwind?”

Fu Xiling hadn’t taken off his down jacket when he came in—clearly, he had plans after this.

He said there was a friends’ hangout and he’d swung by to see if she wanted to join.

Shi Zhi had been way too wound up lately.

No going out, no dates with Fu Xiling—she’d basically cut out anything relaxing. Her appetite was the same, but she’d still dropped a couple pounds.

Tonight, writing her thesis had her head spinning, so she didn’t say no. She tagged along with Fu Xiling to get some air.

It was a familiar crowd, meeting at the bar where they’d celebrated Shen Jia’s birthday. They’d taken over a bunch of big booths.

Shi Zhi didn’t drink.

Fu Xiling didn’t either—just played dice with the group.

In some ways, Shi Zhi and Fu Xiling were a lot alike.

They didn’t binge drink or let themselves get hooked on anything. When it was time to grind, they’d work themselves to death, but once the serious stuff was done, they’d chill out too.

Midway through, Shi Zhi hit the bathroom. When she got back, someone had taken her spot.

A girl—super pretty, super stylish, rocking leather boots with bare legs in the dead of winter.

She was sitting next to Fu Xiling, chatting with him. Her artsy earrings swayed lightly as she talked, giving off a flirty vibe.

From Fu Xiling’s expression, he knew her.

It was too loud around them. The dance floor was packed with wriggling shadows, the younger crew at another table was playing “San Yuan,” and Yao Yao and a few others were snapping selfies.

Fu Xiling was shaking dice in his hand. Hard to tell if he was really listening to the girl—he just smiled and said something back.

Shi Zhi had a bit of a bad vibe about this bar.

After all, the first time some guy had the guts to lie to her face in this lifetime was right here in this damn place.

It pissed her off for no reason.

The girl finished talking and left, patting Fu Xiling’s shoulder on her way out.

Shi Zhi went back to his side and sat down. He put the dice down, stopped playing, and turned to her: “What took you so long in the bathroom?”

Shi Zhi said, “Wouldn’t have mattered if I came back earlier.”

Fu Xiling caught on: “This couch is huge—there’s no way there’s not enough room for you.”

Their group, the ones still in school, were clearly set to pull an all-nighter.

The ones with stuff to do, once it hit midnight, quietly slipped out early.

Shi Zhi had work the next day, and Fu Xiling wasn’t exactly free either, so they didn’t stay too late.

Fu Xiling parked in the underground garage, got out with her, and walked side by side up to the apartment. In the elevator, he even played with a strand of her hair.

Shi Zhi figured he’d naturally stay over.

But he just leaned in close, pinned her against the door, and kissed her for a bit.

While kissing, he punched in the code, pushed the door open, and said “good night.”

Shi Zhi frowned but didn’t say anything.

Usually, Fu Xiling was the one taking the lead in their dynamic. This sudden shift threw her off a little.

Two nights later, a delivery guy rang the bell, dropping off seven or eight boxes of soda water.

The recipient was “Mr. Fu.” Shi Zhi signed for it.

The soda water stacked up by the entrance. Shi Zhi sat back at her computer and got to work on her thesis.

The more she wrote, the messier her head got.

She just saved the file, grabbed her phone, and shot Fu Xiling a message.

“Your place got a few boxes of soda water.”

This kind of trivial nonsense wasn’t even worth mentioning to Fu Xiling.

Shi Zhi knew that.

Twenty-something minutes later, Fu Xiling didn’t text back—he just punched in the code and walked in.

Shi Zhi had wireless earbuds in, listening to music.

It was the shadow on the floor-to-ceiling window that tipped her off. “How’d you get here?”

“Didn’t you send me a message?”

Fu Xiling pulled off his cashmere scarf, a faint whiff of alcohol on him.

He checked his phone, then glanced at the soda water by the entrance: “My second aunt knew you were at my place, so she got double the soda water. You called me over just for this?”

Since he was already here, Shi Zhi didn’t play dumb and cut straight to it: “Your drinking thing done?”

“Family drinks. More elders, fewer peers—doesn’t matter if I’m there or not. They’ll keep drinking and chatting.”

“You wanna go back?”

He said, “Depends on you.”

Shi Zhi took out one earbud and put it in Fu Xiling’s ear.

It was playing Body Language. She said, “Then don’t go back.”

Before shedding his down jacket, Fu Xiling dug something out of his pocket and tossed it onto the coffee table with a clack.

Shi Zhi followed his move with her eyes.

A rectangular box—they’d used them before. No need to look close to know what it was…

He’d never planned to leave!

“You did that on purpose?”

Fu Xiling grinned, then scooped her up by the waist and kissed her.

Sparks flew, and Shi Zhi, stubborn as hell, wasn’t about to let that one failed position from their first try slide. No way she’d admit defeat—she had to give it another shot.

It was messy, a little clumsy, but her mood finally lifted.

The gloom from the past few days melted away, and Shi Zhi’s guard wasn’t as heavy anymore. She finally spilled what’d been bugging her—

“Before you get a girlfriend, you gotta tell me. I don’t mess around with guys who have girlfriends.”

“Got it.”

They each had one earbud, the song on loop, stuck on the same track.

Fu Xiling held her waist, whispering in her ear: “Boss Shi, you’re too slow.”

Then he crashed into her hard.