The car was quiet. Too quiet.
Ji Yanluo sat in the backseat, one arm resting on the window ledge, watching the world pass by in sharp blurs of gray and gold. The city stretched around them, tall and fast, but his mind was somewhere else entirely.
Back in that room.
Back to the way Bai Zhiqi looked at him. Broken and brave. That kiss—her lips trembling beneath his, the way her fingers gripped his shirt like she wasn't sure if she wanted to pull him closer or push him away.
Ji Yanluo shut his eyes briefly.
He hadn't meant for it to happen. He'd only gone in to check on her, only planned to say something comforting—just something to ease the chaos stirring around her. But then he'd seen the tears. The way she looked like the entire world had finally caught up to her.
And suddenly, words hadn't felt enough.
"You're awfully quiet," Han Su's voice broke in from the passenger seat. "Too quiet for a man who said he's going on a business trip."
Ji Yanluo didn't reply.
Han Su turned the radio dial lazily, fingers tapping against the console until a soft-toned female voice filled the silence. A talk show. Mid-morning romance segment. Just Ji Yanluo's luck.
"…and you know," the host was saying, "sometimes emotions hit hardest when you're least expecting them. You think you're in control, but then the moment catches you off guard, and suddenly you're kissing someone you weren't even sure you liked."
Ji Yanluo tensed.
Han Su didn't say a word, but the smirk forming at the corner of his mouth said plenty.
The radio host continued, oblivious, "It's always messy the morning after. That awkwardness. The shift in energy. You're not sure if you regret it, or if it meant more than you're willing to admit."
Ji Yanluo reached forward and calmly turned off the radio.
Han Su stared straight ahead, lips twitching.
"I don't want to hear it," Ji Yanluo said flatly.
"I didn't say anything," Han Su replied too quickly, biting back a laugh.
The silence returned, heavier this time.
Ji Yanluo leaned back, staring at the ceiling of the car now. He hated that the host's words were spot-on. That everything about what happened last night sat heavy in his chest like a knot refusing to loosen.
It wasn't just a kiss. And he knew it.
The weight of her sadness. The quiet tremble in her voice. The fact that it had been *him* she broke down in front of—it all meant something, whether he liked it or not.
"You good?" Han Su asked suddenly, glancing back at him.
Ji Yanluo didn't answer immediately.
Then, "I kissed her."
Han Su blinked. "Well, that escalated."
"It wasn't planned."
"It never is," Han Su muttered under his breath.
Ji Yanluo's jaw clenched slightly.
"I'm not sure what it means yet," he admitted, almost more to himself than to Han Su.
Han Su tilted his head. "You think she's okay?"
A pause.
"She looked away this morning," Ji Yanluo murmured. "Didn't say anything."
Han Su gave him a long side-eye. "You kissed her. What exactly were you expecting? Morning coffee and heart-shaped pancakes?"
"I was expecting less awkward movie-level teasing and more silence," Ji Yanluo muttered.
Han Su let out a low laugh. "Well, if it helps, she looked redder than a traffic light when she walked in."
Ji Yanluo pressed two fingers to his temple.
"And you," he added dryly, "are absolutely useless."
Han Su just grinned. "You're the one who kissed her. I'm just here for the ride."
The car sped on through the city, and Ji Yanluo turned his face toward the window again, but his reflection in the glass gave nothing away. Not the tension in his chest. Not the confusion in his gaze.
He wasn't sure what the kiss meant for her.
But it had done something to him.
And now, there was no going back.