QIN KAI'S POV.
The boardroom smelled of leather and old ambition. My father sat at the far end of the long glass table, staring at the quarterly reports as if his eyes could bend numbers into submission. I should have been focused. I should have been listening.
But I wasn't.
Her face kept flashing in my mind…the way she looked at me in that mall, her voice trembling but still trying to stand tall. She had that kind of defiance that shouldn't have mattered to me, but it did. I could still feel her hand under my grip, that strange spark that crawled through my veins like fire.
My father's voice cut through the noise.
"Qin Kai, ni zai ting ma?" [Qin Kai, are you even listening?]
I blinked, dragging my thoughts back to the table. "Duìbùqǐ, bà." [Sorry, Father.]
He frowned, tapping the file in front of him. "You're the one leading the expansion into Singapore. You cannot afford distractions."
I nodded, though my mind was miles away from Singapore.
The board members droned on about logistics, contracts, and projected profit margins. Mr. Han sat two seats down, glancing at me from time to time. He knew something was off. He always did.
I loosened my tie, staring at the reflection in the black screen before the presentation started. For the first time in years, I didn't recognize the man looking back.
When the meeting finally ended, my father lingered. "Son," he said, his tone softer but firm, "you're twenty-two. You have more power than most men ever dream of. Don't waste it on… worthless things."
Distractions.
That's what he would call her.
I didn't respond. I just bowed my head slightly and walked out. My Dad had always been strict and mean when it comes to business.
★★★★★
The night air hit differently outside. Cold, heavy, and almost cleansing. I sat in the back of the car, staring at the city lights blurring past the tinted window.
Mr. Han cleared his throat. "Young Master, should I drive you home?"
"Hmm."
He looked uncertain. "You don't seem well."
I turned my head slightly. "I'm fine."
But I wasn't. Not even close.
Inside my head, I replayed that scene again and again…her raised chin, her fiery glare, her trembling voice when she told me to let her go. She was proud, too proud, even when she was scared.
A proud girl with shaking hands.
Who does that?
No one in my world dared look at me like that. Everyone bowed, smiled, agreed, pretended. But she… she threw juice at me.
When I got home, the mansion was silent. My mother was probably still in the piano room, pretending to care about the melody while ignoring the emptiness in our house.
I went straight upstairs, pulled off my jacket. I pulled out the shirt that was stained from a bag and threw it on the bed. The white shirt beneath still carried the faint stain of her accident. I stared at it, almost laughing at the irony.
I should have forgotten her by now.
But I can't.
★★★
Later that night, I opened my phone.
The headline hit me first.
> "Foreign Girl Causes Scene with Qin Group's Heir."
"Who is the Black Beauty that Offended Qin Kai?"
Videos. Photos. Replays. Angles.
Her eyes widened, her lips parted…caught right at the moment the juice spilled over my shirt.
The comments were merciless.
Some called her brave.
Some called her stupid.
Some said I looked amused.
Maybe I was.
Because right now, as I watched her again on that tiny screen, amusement wasn't the right word. It was curiosity. It was irritation. It was something else I didn't want to name.
I wanted to see her reaction when she realized who I was.
I wanted to see how long she could keep that pride up before it cracked.
I wanted to see if she'd tremble again when I touched her.
That thought made my throat tighten. I ran a hand through my hair and stood, pacing the room.
This is ridiculous.
I don't even know her name properly.
"Mr. Han," I called.
He appeared almost instantly, bowing slightly. "Young Master."
"Find out everything about that girl," I said. "The one from California. I want her full name, background, family, where she's staying."
"Yes, sir."
"And I want it before morning."
He nodded, hesitated, then asked, "If I may, sir… did she do something again?"
I turned to him, my voice colder than I meant. "No she didn't, Just do as you're told."
Mr. Han looked startled but said nothing more. He bowed again and left quietly.
★★★★★
When the door clicked shut, I sat on the edge of my bed, staring out the window at the glowing city.
I could have any woman I wanted. Every girl my parents introduced to me was polished, proper, silent. The perfect accessory to a legacy.
But her?She was loud. She was chaos.
She looked at me like she didn't care who I was, and that… that was the part I couldn't shake off.
There was a dangerous satisfaction in imagining her face again…the defiance, the fear, the way she tried to sound bold even when she wanted to run.
She wouldn't apologize. I knew that type.
Prideful. Reckless. Untamed.
And maybe that's what I wanted to break.
Not destroy…no.
Just… bend.
I wanted to see what she looked like when the walls around her fell apart. When she realized I wasn't the kind of man she could walk away from.
But more than that, I wanted to understand why she mattered at all.
Why a stranger could walk into my perfectly ordered world and leave me like this…unsteady, curious, alive.
Just then…The phone buzzed on my table. A message from Mr. Han:
> "Still searching. Will update before sunrise."
Good.
I took one last look at the faint stain on the shirt before tossing it into the bin.
"You owe me," I murmured. "And I always collect my debts."
Then I turned off the lights and sat back, letting the silence crawl in.
I could almost see her again…the way she glared at
me, the way she said 'asshole' like it was her only weapon.
For some reason, that made me smile.
"We'll meet again," I whispered.
And I mean it.