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Zhong Yang wouldn’t dare trouble someone like him and quickly shook her head to refuse. “Thank you, but no need.”

With a barely audible “Mm,” the front passenger window rolled up decisively. Without another word, he drove off, leaving Zhong Yang with nothing but a puff of expensive car exhaust.

Seriously? If he was in such a hurry to leave, why stop in the first place? Just to show off his Rolls-Royce?

Zhong Yang stared in the direction Pei Yunzhe had driven off, and for some reason, her eyes felt warm.

“So annoying.”

Some people get to drive luxury cars and spray others with exhaust, while others are stuck out on the street acting like human air purifiers. No matter how hard she worked, she could never compete with someone born into a good family. The gap was simply too vast.

Streetlights flickered on, and night fully descended.

The last bus zoomed toward the stop, the driver staring straight ahead like a gust of wind, brushing past the station and continuing without even slowing down.

It didn’t stop for Zhong Yang.

She pushed away the hair that had blown all over her face. “Fine. Just my luck.”

Zhong Yang wiped her tears, took out her phone to call a ride-hailing car, when out of the corner of her eye, she noticed someone silently approaching from the right.

Her heart skipped a beat. Instinctively, she tried to get up and leave—forgetting about her injured ankle.

Pain shot like lightning from her foot to her brain. She couldn’t help but let out a muffled groan as her body tilted uncontrollably to the side.

She almost fell—but a hand caught her just in time.

In the dim light, Pei Yunzhe’s tall figure was bathed in the warm glow of the streetlamp. His usually sharp features softened slightly in the light.

Like a surprise scene after a movie’s end credits—unexpected and striking.

Zhong Yang stared in a daze, eyes wide.

Truly… such a dangerously alluring face.

Pei Yunzhe looked down and met her dazed gaze.

“Miss Zhong?”

Zhong Yang snapped back to her senses and quickly pulled her arm free from his grip, holding onto the bus stop sign instead.

Trying to act like nothing had happened, she asked awkwardly, “M-Mr. Pei, you didn’t leave?”

“You don’t have a driver’s license?”

She blinked. “Huh? I do.”

“Then you don’t know you can’t park in front of a bus stop?”

“…”

Any admiration stirred by his good looks instantly vanished. Zhong Yang silently thought: Are all CEOs like the novels describe—aloof, sharp-tongued, and fond of dry humor?

A silver-gray Volkswagen sped by, and Zhong Yang didn’t notice the deep look in the man’s eyes beside her.

A moment later, Pei Yunzhe spoke again. “Where are you going? I’ll take you.”

Zhong Yang’s gaze flickered.

The Rolls-Royce was back. She might as well consider it repayment for purifying his car’s exhaust earlier. No point wasting the opportunity… It’s totally not because she didn’t want to spend money on a ride.

She asked cautiously, “This doesn’t count as the compensation you mentioned the other day, right?”

If it was, that’d be a serious loss for her.

“Do I seem that stingy to you?” Pei Yunzhe turned to walk toward where the car was parked. After a few steps, he paused and glanced back. “Can you walk?”

“I can. It’s fine,” she said firmly.

“Mm.” Pei Yunzhe nodded and walked off without hesitation—just like he had driven away earlier.

Zhong Yang limped after him, feeling bitter.

Thankfully, the distance wasn’t far. Even limping, she managed to keep up.

Once inside the car and buckled up, Pei Yunzhe asked, “Your home address?”

“Xiangming… No,” Zhong Yang blurted out before correcting herself, “Just drop me at a hotel, thanks.”

The black car glided smoothly down the wide road. The enclosed space was silent.

Gurgle…

A loud growl came from her stomach.

She’d only had breakfast and had been busy all day—her stomach could no longer stay quiet.

Pei Yunzhe clearly heard it.

He glanced at her and smoothly turned the wheel to make a U-turn, still in that indifferent tone. “We’ll eat first.”

Half an hour later, Zhong Yang sat in front of a table full of dishes, momentarily overwhelmed.

Why was Pei Yunzhe being so nice? What did he want? He’d given her a bag, apologized, given her a ride, and now even treated her to a meal…

Zhong Yang observed him secretly as he ate calmly and elegantly.

She didn’t think he liked her.

She’d seen plenty of men with bad intentions—no matter how well they hid it, their eyes always gave away a desire for possession.

But Pei Yunzhe didn’t have even a trace of that.

The way he looked at her was the same as how one would look at an ant, a tree, a flower. How could there be anything romantic in that?

Could he have some ulterior motive?

But… what could she possibly have that he wanted? Besides her looks, she had nothing.

So strange.

Zhong Yang broke the silence. “Mr. Pei, why are you driving yourself today?”

Pei Yunzhe unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt casually. “The driver’s on leave.”

Not a lie—his usual driver had indeed taken half a day off.

Normally, a backup driver would have taken over, but Pei Yunzhe noticed the backup was an unfamiliar face…

Someone was clearly trying to mess with him again.

He had a pretty good idea who it was and didn’t feel like wasting time dealing with it. Without saying a word, he simply switched cars.

But the stalker didn’t give up and kept tailing him. Even after a lot of effort, he could only widen the gap—he couldn’t shake off the silver-gray Volkswagen.

Then, after taking a sharp turn, he happened to see Zhong Yang slumped at the bus stop…

He timed it just right, parked the car nearby, then walked back to the stop.

Once the stalkers realized the car was empty, they’d assume he’d just moved again and rush ahead.

He had used Zhong Yang to his advantage—so as repayment, he was willing to offer her what she needed.

A ride. A meal. And maybe…

Pei Yunzhe set down his napkin and said, “If you don’t have anywhere to go, you can stay temporarily at my Nanan apartment.”

Zhong Yang immediately looked wary. “How do you know I have nowhere to stay?”

Pei Yunzhe pointed at her. “It’s written all over your face.”

“Is it that obvious?” Zhong Yang touched her cheek. “Forget it. I can find a place myself. Also, we’ll split the bill for dinner. I really appreciate the ride already.”

Pei Yunzhe was slightly surprised. “Split the bill? Do I really seem that stingy?”

“Not you—me. I don’t want to owe you anything.”

“I don’t want to owe you either,” he replied. “Consider all this repayment for using you to avoid a stalker tonight.”

Zhong Yang blinked. “Stalker?”

“Mm.” He didn’t want to elaborate and said, “If it makes you uncomfortable to stay for free, you can pay rent.”

“Uh, if you don’t mind me asking… how much per month?”

She liked the idea, but her wallet might not.

“8000?”

“Sorry to bother you.”

“No—my mistake. It’s 4000.”

“Still kinda pricey. I’ll pass.”

“Wait, I meant 2000.”

“Deal! When can I move in?”

“Tonight.”

“Thank you, Mr. Pei! This meal’s on me!”

When it came time to pay, Zhong Yang grabbed the receipt, glanced at it, then silently put her phone back in her bag.

6258! That was more than three months’ rent!

She smiled awkwardly. “Actually, I think it’s better if Mr. Pei, a prominent entrepreneur of the Imperial Capital, pays today. Next time it’s my treat! That way we’re even!”

Pei Yunzhe, unsurprised, took the bill and paid.

---

Nanan Apartments were mid-range rentals in the tech district of the Imperial Capital, where many white-collar workers lived.

Pei Yunzhe brought Zhong Yang to the 18th floor. “Default code is 1 through 6. You can change it after moving in.”

Zhong Yang entered excitedly and turned on the lights. The apartment had a minimalist, warm wooden style. It wasn’t big—one bedroom, one living room, one kitchen, one bathroom—but everything was well designed and practical. A floor-to-ceiling window in the living room, a small balcony in the bedroom—it had good lighting.

For just 2000 yuan a month in a prime area of the city, this was rare good fortune.

“Is this your apartment, Mr. Pei?” she asked.

“Nanan is one of Pei Group’s developments,” he replied. “This building is dorm housing for Tuowen Tech staff.”

It was actually his first time here. His eyes swept across the room, subtly inspecting it like he was evaluating his team’s work.

“Oh, I see…” Zhong Yang hobbled around, pulling dust covers off the furniture.

As she touched the sofa fabric, she sighed, “Pei Group really treats employees well. I wanna work there too.”

These were fully furnished apartments—what overworked employee wouldn’t envy that?

Pei Yunzhe watched her hobbling around, busy but still chatty, and suddenly recalled her eyes at the bus stop.

Red-rimmed, vulnerable, and wary—strangely affecting.

“Miss Zhong,” he called.

She turned and met his deep, bottomless gaze.

“Why were you crying today?”

She froze.

Was it that obvious? She thought she hadn’t let anything slip…

Before she could think of a reply, the apartment let out a “beep”, and all the lights went out.

She said nothing. Neither did Pei Yunzhe. The small apartment fell into a heavy silence.

Zhong Yang’s eyes hadn’t adjusted. She couldn’t see anything.

Alone with a man in the dark, with a huge power imbalance, and inside Pei Group’s territory—if Pei Yunzhe wanted to do anything now, no one could help her.

But strangely, she wasn’t afraid.

Maybe it was because Pei Yunzhe was just too cold?

His words, his actions—everything was emotionless. Like nothing in the world interested him. It was hard to imagine him being passionate or impulsive.

She replied, even with a hint of a smile, “Just bad luck. But I’m used to it—it’s no big deal.”

Under the moonlight through the window, Pei Yunzhe stared at her slender figure and said,

“Have you figured out how to compensate me yet?”

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