𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 2

My Xu Minghao wrote poems about dust motes in the morning sun and always wore mismatched socks. He wouldn't be running a multimillion dollar company. He wouldn't have forgotten me.

Right?

I rode the elevator in silence, surrounded by people who smelled expensive and typed with both thumbs. The air was cool, almost too cold, and the smooth jazz playing above only made the tension worse.

Twenty-second floor. Twenty-third.

My fingers clenched around the strap of my bag.

This was just a job. One year of experience. That's all I needed. I'd survive.

The doors slid open with a ding, and I stepped into a hallway of polished glass and silence. A receptionist in a white blouse looked up from her screen.

"Lihua?" she asked.

"Yes," I said, trying not to sound like I'd just climbed Everest.

"Mr. Xu's meeting ran over. He'll see you shortly. Please wait inside."

I nodded, unsure whether to thank her or run. Instead, I walked into the office she gestured to-a wide, modern space with floor-to-ceiling windows, sleek black furniture, and a smell of citrus and something sharper underneath. Like cologne. Expensive cologne.

I sat in the chair nearest the desk and looked down at my lap, trying not to fidget. The clock on the wall ticked once. Twice. Ten times.

And then I heard it.

The sound of footsteps. Sharp, unhurried. Like someone used to being listened to.

I didn't look up right away. I was too busy mentally rehearsing my lines:

"Good morning, Mr. Xu.""I'm honoured to join your team.""I'm very organized."

The door opened. I stood up.

And then I looked up.

And the words died.

Right there in front of me, in a grey suit that looked like it cost more than my entire wardrobe, stood Xu Minghao. His hair was neater now, swept back, his jaw more defined, but his eyes-God, his eyes - were the same. Dark, alert, unreadable. My heart dropped somewhere past my knees.

He didn't flinch. Didn't blink.

Just said, "Miss Lihua, I assume?"

My mouth opened, but nothing came out. He didn't even pause. Not a twitch of recognition. Not a flicker of anything.

"Yes," I said, finally. "Good morning, Mr. Xu."

He nodded once, crisp and cool. "We'll keep this brief."

𝙳𝙾𝙽'𝚃 𝙵𝙾𝚁𝙶𝙴𝚃 𝚃𝙾 𝚅𝙾𝚃𝙴 𝙽 𝙲𝙾𝙼𝙼𝙴𝙽𝚃 𝚈𝙾𝚄𝚁 𝚃𝙷𝙾𝚄𝙶𝙷𝚃𝚂 (⌒‐⌒)