POV: Xian Lu
Morning sunlight poured into the CEO office of Lu Corporation… warm, bright, and irritatingly peaceful.
Xian Lu felt none of it.
He had been staring at the same line in a contract for ten straight minutes — not reading, not thinking, just seeing him every time he blinked.
That boy.
That stupid, reckless kiss.
Lu's jaw tightened as the memory returned like it had claws.
Ren Liwei leaning in too close at the club… breath warm against his cheek… whispering, "Sorry… it was a dare," and kissing him like it was the easiest thing in the world.
A soft kiss.
A bold kiss.
A kiss Lu should've forgotten the moment it happened.
But it hadn't left him for a single second.
"This is absurd," he muttered, snapping the file shut harder than needed.
He had been kissed before — by people who wanted money, attention, influence.
But no kiss had ever followed him into the next morning like this one.
And it wasn't the kiss itself.
It was the audacity behind it.
The confidence.
The look in Ren's eyes — mischievous, unashamed — as if he knew exactly what he was doing.
Lu wasn't used to people who weren't scared of him.
Another knock.
"Gege?"
Leo Ziyan walked in, uniform messy as always, backpack hanging off one shoulder like it offended him.
"You didn't fix your tie," Lu said flatly.
"I forgot," Ziyan said, already flopping onto the couch. "Anyway, gege, school wants to meet you tomorrow. My class teacher. Something about my 'progress.'"
Lu raised a brow. "Which teacher?"
"No clue. They didn't write a name."
Ziyan tossed the notice on the desk like garbage.
Lu scanned it — and indeed, there was no name.
Ziyan squinted at him suddenly.
"Ge… why are your ears red?"
Lu immediately grabbed the nearest thick file and held it in front of his face.
"Get out."
Ziyan snorted. "You're acting weird. But okay! Love you, gege!"
"Out."
When the door closed, Lu slowly lowered the file.
His ears were still warm.
He hated how ridiculous he probably looked — the cold, untouchable CEO, losing focus over one kiss from one boy he was never going to see again.
At least… he convinced himself he wouldn't.
---
Next Day
The school hallway buzzed with students, lockers slamming, chatter filling the air.
Lu walked through it like a storm in an expensive suit — tall, cold, intimidating enough that students parted naturally, whispering behind their hands.
The principal practically ran up to greet him.
"Mr. Lu! Thank you for coming! Your brother is doing well. His class teacher will meet you soon. Please wait in this room."
Lu nodded and stepped into the empty classroom.
It was calm.
Sunlit.
Almost too peaceful for his mood.
He stood near the teacher's desk, hands in his pockets, letting silence settle…
Then—
Click.
The door opened.
Footsteps approached — slow, unhurried… almost confident.
"Sorry, I'm late—"
Lu turned.
And the air left his lungs.
Ren Liwei walked in.
Not the wild, teasing boy from the club.
Not the drunken daredevil who stole a kiss.
This Ren wore a crisp white shirt, sleeves neatly rolled, glasses resting lightly on his nose, hair tied loosely — looking elegant, calm… and yet somehow even more dangerous.
But most importantly—
He wasn't shocked.
He wasn't flustered.
He was smiling.
A slow, flirtatious smile that reached his eyes.
Ren's gaze traveled from Lu's face… to his chest… to his hands… and back again, shamelessly slow.
"Oh," Ren said softly, voice dipped just enough to tease,
"so you're Leo's guardian."
Not professional.
Not shy.
Bold.
Playful.
Confident.
Like fate had played a joke… and Ren was enjoying every second of it.
Lu felt his heartbeat slam painfully against his ribs.
Ren stepped closer — not too close, but close enough that Lu could smell the faint scent of something clean and warm on him.
He tilted his head slightly, a tiny smirk pulling at his lips.
"Should I call you Mr. Lu again?"
His eyes glinted.
"Or do you prefer something… less formal?"
Lu said nothing.
Because suddenly, he wasn't the powerful CEO who frightened boardrooms.
He was a man whose heartbeat had been stolen once…
…by a kiss.
And was being stolen again…
by the man standing right in front of him.
This time, Xian Lu wasn't going anywhere.
And neither — it seemed — was Ren Liwei.