Ling Ling was a kind but somewhat simple girl.

She stayed in the room, refraining from meddling with Shi Zhi’s personal belongings. While humming an off-key plaza dance tune, she kindly lit a mosquito coil for Shi Zhi.

The wardrobe, an old item Shi Zhi’s aunt must have picked up from somewhere, had loose doors.

Shi Zhi tilted her head slightly. From her angle, the faint light slipping through the gap illuminated Fu Xiling’s face.

The light, no wider than two fingers, slanted across his eyes and the bridge of his nose.

Fu Xiling’s eyes glowed with light, resembling amber, their golden-brown hue mesmerizing.

The wardrobe wasn’t tall, so he had to keep his head lowered. When he spoke, his warm breath tickled the hollow of Shi Zhi’s neck.

When her glare silenced him, his breaths fell audibly into her ears.

The wardrobe was getting increasingly stuffy, and Shi Zhi could feel sweat forming at her hairline.

Outside, Ling Ling seemed to be admiring herself, standing in front of the wardrobe mirror and spinning around, her footsteps just one door away from them.

Fu Xiling chuckled softly.

Shi Zhi, annoyed, reached back to grope around and pinch him.

The sound of him sharply inhaling was clear, followed by his hand grabbing her arm.

The way he held her almost felt like an embrace.

Their skin touched along their arms, the air stifling.

Clothes hung on either side of them, and any larger movement would make the hangers creak, so neither dared to move recklessly.

Well, one of them didn’t.

Shi Zhi was the only one afraid to move.

Ling Ling was so close, yet Fu Xiling didn’t bother to restrain himself. He even whispered to her about how suffocating it felt being cooped up in the wardrobe.

“It’s hot,” he murmured.

His lips were so close they brushed against her ear, his breath sweeping over her skin like a feather tracing her neck.

Shi Zhi had the distinct sensation that if he lowered his head just a little more, his lips would land on her neck.

It was undeniably hot.

So hot that even breathing felt laborious.

Suddenly, the sound of a ringtone rang out from outside. Ling Ling answered the call. “Hello? Wan Ran? I’m waiting for Shi Zhi to come back, but she’s not in the room, and her phone’s not here either…”

The silence was so deep that even Wan Ran’s voice from the phone was faintly audible.

Wan Ran, probably tipsy again, sounded lazy and resigned as she lectured Ling Ling, “Why don’t you just leave the stuff there? Why wait for her? Come pick me up already—I’m tired and want to go back to sleep.”

Ling Ling quickly agreed, and at last, she left. Her footsteps descending the stairs grew increasingly distant.

As soon as Shi Zhi was sure they wouldn’t be overheard, she pushed open the wardrobe door.

The room reeked of mosquito coil.

She didn’t turn around, instead awkwardly touching her earlobe.

In the wardrobe, there had been an undeniably physical sense of provocation.

Her mind was foggy, filled with memories of past, passionate kisses.

She went to open a window and only then turned to look at Fu Xiling.

He stood leaning against the wardrobe door with arms crossed, his gaze downcast, as if deep in thought.

When he lifted his eyes to meet Shi Zhi’s, his gaze was anything but innocent.

It was utterly beguiling.

Inviting someone to a bedroom in the middle of the night to discuss serious matters had definitely been a lapse in judgment.

Shi Zhi and Fu Xiling stared at each other, sensing a mutual, surging greed.

Fu Xiling was the first to break the silence, steering the conversation back to business as if nothing had happened.

Pulling out a chair, he sat down and began talking about how they had already contacted the landlord named Tian, as well as several businesses on the street…

Shi Zhi sat on the edge of the bed, unusually distracted.

Her online class, still playing on her phone, buzzed in the background. She unplugged the earphones and closed it.

On the desk sat a box of cherries that Ling Ling had delivered earlier. They were out-of-season and outrageously priced—just a small box with a “53.07” price tag stuck to it.

Her gaze flitted over these things before inevitably drifting back to Fu Xiling.

He had already stood up, the old folding chair creaking under his movement.

Walking over to her, he snapped his fingers and bent down, meeting her gaze with a teasing smile. “You’re zoning out, huh?”

Shi Zhi tilted her head slightly, forcing a stern expression. “No, go on.”

Shi Zhi had originally assumed Fu Xiling would follow the standard approach—meet with her uncle and aunt, offer them some incentives, and then let them introduce him to the landlord, Mr. Tian.

But Fu Xiling was more cunning than she’d imagined. Instead, he went straight to her aunt’s biggest “enemy” on the street.

That woman, a strikingly beautiful business owner, had once flirted with Shi Zhi’s uncle, and her aunt had caught them. Since then, the woman had been her aunt’s sworn nemesis.

Fu Xiling’s people paid a hefty price to acquire the enemy’s shop and spread rumors that some rich, clueless heir was interested in setting up shop on this street.

The street wasn’t worth much, and many business owners scrambled to sell their struggling stores to the “fool,” afraid of missing out on such an opportunity.

The “enemy” happily pocketed the money, laughing all the way, while Shi Zhi’s aunt grew green with envy.

“People don’t fear scarcity, they fear inequality.”

Her aunt had tried contacting Fu Xiling’s people several times without much success. Frustrated, she went directly to Mr. Tian.

Mr. Tian had offered to sell his property at a price that aligned perfectly with Fu Xiling’s goals.

The other businesses on the street, tied up with corporate red tape, needed to go through lengthy evaluations, project meetings, and multiple layers of approval to finalize a sale.

Fu Xiling, bypassing all these steps with precision and speed, left them all in the dust.

“Your aunt’s a real talent for stirring things up,” he said. “Without her exaggerations, some of these deals wouldn’t have gone through so smoothly.”

Shi Zhi knew her aunt’s flair for dramatics well. She could spin the most lifeless situation into something compelling, making her a perfect salesperson.

No sooner had Shi Zhi thought this than Fu Xiling remarked, “Your aunt should really consider a career in sales.”

“Tomorrow, my people are meeting your uncle and aunt. Any idea what price range they have in mind?”

Shi Zhi booted up her laptop, calculating the inventory value. Taking into account all the stock in the shop, she applied an 80% markdown to the retail price and quickly arrived at a figure.

Turning the laptop to Fu Xiling, she said, “My aunt will definitely want you to take over the inventory. Just add two or three thousand to this price, and the deal’s yours.”

Fu Xiling moved a chair closer to the bed, his elbows resting on his knees. He glanced at the screen briefly before turning his gaze back to Shi Zhi, making her so nervous she nearly snapped.

Finally, he grinned. “I think if we calculate the stock at 70% of the retail price, your aunt would still agree.”

Shi Zhi stayed silent.

He continued, “Not only would she agree, but she’d even help me persuade the other shop owners to sell quickly. At that point, I’d promise her an extra three thousand.”

Shi Zhi knew he was right.

Her aunt would accept the deal, overjoyed and grateful.

Fu Xiling teased her further. “Family, huh? You’re really bending over backward for them, even at your partner’s expense.”

He clearly knew how to maximize the benefits but still came to her under the guise of seeking advice.

Irritated, Shi Zhi retorted, “Fine. Tomorrow I’ll contact suppliers to order the most expensive liquor and have dozens of cases delivered.”

Fu Xiling looked around the simple room. “Doesn’t seem like your uncle and aunt are particularly kind to you, but you’re still looking out for them.”

“So, what’s the price you’re giving them?”

“Whatever you say,” she replied. “We’ll go with your suggestion.”

By the time they finished, it was already 2:30 a.m.

Fu Xiling stood up. “I’m leaving, Mengmeng.”

He’d only meant to tease Shi Zhi, amused by how her easily riled temper didn’t match the cute nickname “Lin Meng.”

Her reaction, however, was far from pleasant.

Unlike the cool demeanor she displayed when called “Little Zhi,” she now looked as though she’d been stabbed.

The moment she heard “Mengmeng,” her spine straightened abruptly, her nerves visibly on edge as she turned slowly toward him.

Fu Xiling’s confusion lasted only a moment.

Realizing he’d crossed a line, he immediately apologized. “I’m sorry.”

Shi Zhi remained tense for almost half a minute before shaking her head lightly. “It’s nothing.”

But it clearly wasn’t “nothing.”

For the first time, Fu Xiling regretted agreeing to keep their relationship at arm’s length.

Actually, the regret had started in the wardrobe. Now, it was simply worse.

The nickname “Mengmeng” had struck a nerve, dredging up some unpleasant memory for Shi Zhi.

Fu Xiling tried to shift her focus, deliberately provoking her.

“Since we’re partners and will be seeing each other often until this acquisition is done, do you want to share any taboos I should avoid?”

He added, “Otherwise, I might accidentally offend you one day, and you’ll retaliate by ordering a hundred cases of ridiculously expensive liquor and sticking me with the bill.”

“I don’t like ‘Mengmeng,’ and I don’t like ‘Lin Meng.’ Don’t call me those again.”

Shi Zhi was still sitting on the bed, her laptop perched on her legs as she looked up at Fu Xiling. “You were curious before about why I changed my name, right? It’s simple—my dad died.”

She spoke with the calm detachment of someone recounting someone else’s story.

She explained that her biological father was both an alcoholic and a gambler, who came home every day for two things: ransacking the house for money and abusing his family while reeking of alcohol.

“One winter, he got drunk and passed out on the roadside. He froze to death.”

“After that, my mom moved us to a different city.”

The mosquito coil had burned a quarter of the way down, its ashes falling to the floor.

A gray moth clung to the mesh of the screen, and a stray cat’s meows echoed faintly outside.

Hearing Shi Zhi’s story, Fu Xiling’s first reaction was a sharp pang of sympathy.

The calmer she seemed, the more it hurt.

His second reaction was to hug her, but he restrained himself.

Finally, he realized why Shi Zhi had chosen this moment to share.

Shi Zhi knew he had agreed to discuss the bar’s closure compensation out of consideration for her.

She’d taken a small advantage for her aunt and used this as leverage to offer him a piece of her past.

If Shi Zhi put as much effort into fighting for her own interests as she did for others, Fu Xiling might feel more at ease about their partnership.

Shi Zhi clearly didn’t need sympathy or comfort. After finishing her story, she shut her laptop, stood up, and said, “Let’s go. I’ll lock the door behind you.”

The bar’s wooden staircase, long outdated, creaked underfoot as they descended the narrow hallway to the back door.

Shi Zhi pushed it open and glanced outside, confirming the street was empty before coolly saying, “You can go now.”

At that moment, it really felt like a secret affair.

In Fu Xiling’s eyes, Shi Zhi was far less endearing when calmly negotiating her past for gain than she had been, flustered and breathless, in the wardrobe.

He would have preferred her to share these memories over drinks in a moment of sincerity.

Fu Xiling rarely felt cheated in business dealings, but this left him with a trace of frustration.

As he passed her, he suddenly stopped, withdrawing his foot from the threshold. Turning back, he closed the distance between them.

“What are you—” Shi Zhi frowned, retreating.

Behind her were stacks of cardboard boxes filled with empty bottles. She took two steps back before being cornered.

Fu Xiling’s gaze was deep, locking onto hers.

Something flared between them, an undeniable spark teetering on the edge of eruption. Shi Zhi tilted her head up in a subtle challenge, meeting his eyes.

As he leaned in closer, she prepared herself for him to break their agreement, for them to lose themselves in a kiss.

Instead, Fu Xiling tilted his head at the last moment.

He didn’t kiss her. Instead, he whispered softly into her ear, “Goodnight.”

Before leaving, he flicked her burning earlobe with his finger, grinning mischievously. “I’m off.”