The sun had long set, painting the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Qi Group building with the glittering lights of the city nightscape. The office was exceptionally quiet, with only the soft hum of the air conditioner and the occasional sound of Xiaochen Yan's fingers tapping on the keyboard breaking the silence.
Qiyu had "accidentally" assigned her a large amount of data analysis work just before leaving, demanding that it be completed and placed on his desk by tomorrow morning. The task was immense, clearly impossible to finish during normal hours.
Xiaochen knew he was doing it on purpose—perhaps to retaliate for her running away during the day, or perhaps for some other reason she couldn't fathom. But she didn't complain. She simply accepted the documents, sat back down at her desk, and got to work.
One hour passed, then two...
The office lights gradually dimmed, leaving only her desk lamp casting a warm, isolated glow. Her eyes grew sore, her neck stiff, but she stubbornly persisted.
Unbeknownst to her, in the top-floor security monitoring room, a figure stood silently before a bank of screens.
Qiyu's deep gaze was fixed on the monitor displaying the finance department office. On the screen, Xiaochen was bathed in soft light, her brows slightly furrowed as she focused on her work. Occasionally, she would rub her tired eyes or gently massage her temples.
His lips tightened almost imperceptibly.
Time continued to slip away.
Around 2 a.m., Xiaochen could no longer fight her exhaustion. Her vision blurred, her head grew heavy, and she gradually slumped onto the desk, falling into a deep sleep amidst the spread-out documents.
The office fell completely silent.
Not long after, the door to the office was pushed open from the outside.
Qiyu walked in quietly, his footsteps unusually soft. He stopped beside her desk, looking down at her sleeping face.
Under the warm light, her usually sharp and stubborn features softened considerably. Long eyelashes cast faint shadows, and her lips were slightly parted as she breathed evenly. She looked peaceful and utterly vulnerable.
Qiyu's gaze lingered for a long moment, deep and unreadable.
After a while, he slowly took off his tailored suit jacket—worth enough to cover her salary for years—and gently draped it over her shoulders with a careful, almost reverent motion, as if afraid to wake her.
The jacket carried his body warmth and the faint, clean scent of his cologne.
Xiaochen seemed to sense something in her sleep, unconsciously snuggling deeper into the jacket, like a kitten seeking comfort.
A faint, almost imperceptible curve touched Qiyu's lips.
He reached out, as if to brush away a stray strand of hair from her forehead, but his hand paused mid-air. Finally, he withdrew it, turned, and left as quietly as he had come.
The door closed softly.
The office returned to silence, with only the sleeping Xiaochen under the warm light, unknowingly wrapped in the scent that belonged to him.
Back in the monitoring room, Qiyu did not leave.
He sat back in his chair, his gaze once again fixed on the screen. The image showed Xiaochen sleeping soundly, his suit jacket draped over her shoulders.
He watched intently, not moving an inch.
The security guard on duty cautiously reminded him, "Mr. Qi, it's already 5 a.m...."
Qiyu waved his hand dismissively, his eyes never leaving the screen.
He watched her sleep for three hours.
Until the first light of dawn seeped through the windows, gradually illuminating the city.
On the screen, Xiaochen stirred slightly, showing signs of waking.
Only then did Qiyu finally rise, his expression once again cool and detached, as if the tenderness of the night had never existed.
He turned and walked toward the door, leaving behind a command:
"Delete the monitoring records for tonight."
(End of Chapter 11)