Jiang Yue stared at the mirrored wall of the elevator, her lips twitching into a half-amused, half-exasperated smile.
"Of all things in this cursed life," she muttered, crossing her arms, "why is it always the elevator?"
Beside her, Li Zhenkai leaned casually against the wall, his tall frame almost too large for the confined space. He glanced at her, the faintest curve tugging at the corner of his lips.
"Maybe the building is conspiring to trap us together," he said smoothly, though there was a flicker of concern in his eyes as the lights above flickered once again before stabilizing.
The metallic groan of the elevator stopping mid floor was followed by the soft hum of silence. They weren't moving. Again.
Jiang Yue groaned dramatically and threw her head back. "First time it was me, scary. Second time, humiliating. Third time, with you? Clearly fate is a comedian with terrible timing."
Her system chimed in, its voice oozing with smug delight.
[System: Ohhh, romantic tension in a 5x5 box! Jackpot! Cue the slow-burn music!]
Shut up, she hissed inwardly.
Li Chen tilted his head, watching her with that unreadable gaze that somehow always managed to disarm her. "You really have bad luck with elevators," he said, his tone softer now, almost teasing.
"Don't remind me." She slid down to sit on the floor, hugging her knees. "If this happens one more time, I'm suing the building management."
He didn't argue. Instead, he pressed the emergency button again, but the static-filled reply confirmed what they already knew: maintenance was on the way, please wait. Which meant… at least two hours.
Jiang Yue sighed. "Two hours. Trapped. With you."
Li Chen arched a brow. "Is that such a terrible thing?"
Her heart skipped a beat at the subtle challenge in his voice. She quickly looked away, busying herself with examining her fingernails. "Depends on who's asking."
The silence that followed wasn't heavy, it was… warm, and awkward And that unsettled her more than the malfunctioning elevator.
Fifteen minutes passed with only the hum of electricity as company. Li Zhenkai had taken a seat opposite her, long legs stretched out, arms folded loosely. His sharp features softened in the dim light, and Jiang Yue found herself sneaking glances more often than she should.
Why does he have to look like a sculpted masterpiece even when stuck in an elevator? she grumbled inwardly.
[System: Because he's the Male Lead, honey. Perfect bone structure is part of the job description.]
She coughed, trying to hide a laugh. Li Chen noticed.
"What's funny?"
"Nothing," she said too quickly.
He didn't press, though his eyes lingered a moment longer than necessary.
An hour in, conversation started to flow naturally.
"Tell me," Li Chen said, his voice low and calm, "why poetry?"
She blinked. "Why not?"
He smirked faintly. "That's not an answer."
She hugged her knees tighter, hesitating. "Because… it's the only way I can breathe sometimes. Words carry things the heart can't say directly."
He studied her for a long moment, and she could feel the weight of his gaze, heavy and grounding. "I've read your book," he said suddenly.
Her head snapped up. "You… what?"
"To Love, To Lose, To Heal," he recited the title as if it had been carved into his memory. "Your words… they stay with people."
Her throat tightened. Of all the confessions she expected from the cold and aloof CEO, that wasn't one of them.
"I…" she started, then faltered. "…didn't think you'd be the type to read poetry."
"I'm not," he admitted, lips curving into the faintest smile. "But yours… is different."
Her chest tightened painfully. This man had a way of saying things that left her defenseless.
[System: Ohhhh, sis, his heart rate is spiking like crazy. Want me to narrate it like a love drama announcer?]
Don't you dare.
At some point, exhaustion crept in. The soft lull of silence, the dim lights, the warm air, it all pressed down on her until her eyelids grew heavy. She shifted, trying to stay awake, but her body betrayed her.
Her head tilted. Slowly. Inevitably. Until it landed gently on Li Zhenkai's shoulder.
Her breathing evened out, soft and rhythmic, the sound echoing faintly in the small space.
Li Zhenkai froze.
Every instinct screamed at him to move, to adjust, to do something. But he couldn't. His body betrayed him, locked in place as if her weight on his shoulder anchored him to the spot.
Her hair brushed against his jaw, the faint scent of lavender surrounding him. His heart thundered, each beat louder than the last.
[System: Breaking news! CEO's heart just broke the sound barrier!]
He ignored it, eyes fixed on the opposite wall though his mind was a storm. He had sat across from ruthless investors, stared down competitors who would kill for his downfall, but never, not even once, had he felt this kind of panic.
Because panic wasn't the right word. It was… something else.
Something terrifying.
Something he couldn't look away from.
Time blurred. Maintenance eventually announced over the intercom that they'd resume movement soon, but Li Zhenkai didn't move an inch. He stayed perfectly still, letting her sleep peacefully against him.
His shoulder grew stiff, his arm slightly numb, but he didn't dare disturb her.
When the elevator finally jolted back to life and began moving again, he only tightened his jaw, his expression unreadable.
Because in that quiet, confined space, with Jiang Yue's head resting trustingly against him, he realized something he wasn't ready to admit, not to her, not even to himself.
That maybe… just maybe… he didn't want the elevator to be fixed so soon and that his love for her was getting deeper than he thought