Work ended with the same robotic routine: folders closed, computers off, mechanical goodbyes echoing through L&Z international sleek hallways.
Xu Meilin was organizing her desk when a soft ding from her phone made her pause. One message.
> "Come to the underground parking lot. – LZ."
No please, no reason, just few words and his initials. As always.
She sighed, tucked her phone into her bag, and headed down. A few heads turned, some out of curiosity, others out of jealousy, but she ignored them.
When the elevator doors slid open into the cold, dim underground lot, the sleek black car was already waiting. He stood beside it, arms crossed, eyes unreadable, jaw sharp as ever.
Neither of them said anything.
No "good evening."
No "get in."
Not even a grunt.
She simply opened the door and got in. He followed.
The ride was a long silence made longer by tension. She kept her eyes fixed on the city lights blurring past the tinted windows. He drove with one hand, the other resting casually on his thigh, his expression carved in stone.
When they arrived at the Moon Pavilion, he didn't wait for her.
He stepped out and walked ahead, leaving the air perfumed with cool cologne and cold tension.
Xu Meilin entered the bedroom quietly, dropped her bag, and headed for the shower. She let the hot water fall over her like a shield, washing away the pressure of the day. Once out, she changed into her comfy house shirt, the oversized, cozy one that fell just past her thighs,and plopped down on the bed with a towel wrapped around her damp hair.
Phone in hand, she opened Weibo, scrolling aimlessly.
Trending topics: celebrity breakups, cat videos, some rich heir with scandalous abs…
Abs, she thought with a scoff, rolling her eyes.
But as her mind drifted, her thoughts did too ,back to earlier that day.
That office.
That conversation.
> "The driver didn't mean for it to happen."
"I know."
She stared at her phone, eyes unfocused now. Why had his voice sounded almost… tired? Almost like he didn't know how to explain what was happening between them either.
She barely had time to chase the thought when the sound of the bathroom door swinging open snapped her back to the present.
Her eyes lifted instinctively, and immediately widened.
Li Zeyan stood there, steam curling behind him, towel slung low around his hips, water still dripping from his dark hair and sliding down his bare chest like it had permission.
His abs were sharp, well-defined, and unnecessarily distracting.
His v-line was carved so perfectly it could probably lead lost tourists back to civilization.
She blinked.
Twice.
Then very slowly lowered her gaze to her phone as if praying it would turn into a shield.
But it was too late.
"Like what you see?" he asked, voice low, a smirk barely tugging at his lips.
"I... I was checking the weather," she replied quickly.
"Oh?" He stepped further into the room. "Does it say anything about sudden heatwaves?"
"No, but I think there's a chance of embarrassment and secondhand shame," she shot back, eyes still locked firmly on her screen.
He chuckled, an actual chuckle , and walked into the closet, pulling out a pair of black lounge pants. But he didn't leave the room.
He stood there, towel still very much in place, clearly not in a hurry.
Meilin tried scrolling again, pretending nothing was happening. But her Weibo feed betrayed her, she accidentally liked a post that said:
> "When he walks out of the shower like THAT and all you can do is repent."
She gasped and quickly unliked it.
Too late.
"Was that about me?" he asked, tilting his head.
"I'm blocking this app," she muttered.
He finally turned around, slowly buttoning up a shirt, but not before flashing one last smirk.
"You should take a picture next time," he teased. "Might last longer."
She threw a pillow at him.
He caught it with one hand, effortlessly, still smirking, and dropped it back on the bed.
And for a split second, the tension between them didn't feel so heavy.
It felt... normal.
Awkward. Real. Almost playful.
Like maybe, just maybe, the distance between them was shrinking.
If only for tonight.