The celebration party quickly devolved into a full-blown collective stress-relief session.

The bottle spun across the table—and stopped directly in front of Pei Yuhang. The entire room erupted into cheers. Unbothered as ever, he casually chose: “Truth.”

“Mr. Pei! Have you ever been in love?” one particularly brave employee blurted out.

“I’m currently pursuing someone,” he took a sip of his drink, answering concisely.

The room lost its collective mind. “WOOOOO!!!”

“What kind of goddess requires Mr. Pei to actually pursue her?!”

“How are you pursuing her?”

He set his glass down, letting out a soft laugh. “That’s a second question.”

The game resumed, and this time, the bottle pointed straight at me. My assistant squealed instantly: “CEO Ji has to pick Dare!”

My task: imitate the signature quirk of someone of the opposite sex in the room.

I pondered for a single second, then launched straight into character:

A deep, dramatic scowl.

A rhythmic tapping of fingers against the tabletop.

A hand resting on my forehead, fingers massaging my temple—the picture-perfect portrait of ‘I’m pondering the mysteries of the universe.’

The room exploded into laughter.

“That arrogant, high-and-mighty vibe… that’s Mr. Pei, isn’t it?!”

“It’s totally him!” I laughed so hard I could barely close my mouth.

Pei Yuhang simply sat there watching me, the corner of his lips curling into a soft smile. He didn’t say a word, but his eyes were clearer than any answer he could have given.

Living like this… honestly didn’t seem so bad after all.

Midway through the party, I slipped out to the hallway to catch a breath of fresh air. Coming out after washing my hands, I found Pei Yuhang already standing there waiting.

Under the soft corridor lights, his eyes carried a faint trace of alcohol-induced laziness—yet held a rare, relaxed warmth.

“A-He.”

His low voice echoed through the empty hallway, sounding almost like a deliberate temptation. I walked over to stand beside him by the window. Outside, the city sparkled with vibrant lights, a stark contrast to the loud chaos inside the party room.

“Why’d you sneak out?” I asked.

“It’s too noisy in there. Thought I’d get some fresh air… and hide from someone while I’m at it.” He loosened his collar, his gaze drifting into the distance.

After a brief silence, I feigned complete casualness and offered: “…Thanks for this time.”

I distinctly heard him let out a low chuckle. “Oh? Turns out you actually know how to say thank you?”

I whipped around, ready to snap back, but he had already closed the distance between us, his voice dropping an octave. “A-He, you know what I want.”

The next second, he unexpectedly… rested his head against my shoulder.

“A-He… you know I like you. The person I mentioned earlier… it’s you. You know that, right?”

I knew. The problem was that my logic and my emotions were locked in a violent brawl.

Logic warned: The guy is bad news, stay away.

Emotions countered: Well… he’s not so bad.

The result? I stood completely frozen, letting him invade my space. He nuzzled gently against my neck, his hair brushing against my skin and sending a prickling warmth right down my spine.

“You’re drunk, Pei Yuhang,” I said, giving him a light shove.

He instantly straightened up, cupping my face in his hands. “I’m not drunk. A-He… will you give me a chance?”

I looked straight into his dark eyes, turning uncharacteristically serious. “Then can you… stop pretending?”

He froze for a fraction of a second, then broke into a laugh.

I looked down, my voice dropping to a murmur: “…Fine. I agree.”

They say top CEOs are master strategists who win every battle, but right now, he stood there completely frozen, like his Wi-Fi connection had just dropped. When someone stepped out of the party room to check on us, Pei Yuhang marched back inside like a stiff, malfunctioning robot.

His untouchable CEO aura? Completely out the window.

When the party wrapped up, I went home first. But at midnight sharp, my phone rang: “CEO Ji… Mr. Pei is completely wasted!”

I rushed to the scene, only for his assistant to shove him straight into my arms before sprinting away like his life depended on it. I wrapped an arm around his waist, hauling him back to my apartment while trying to be as gentle as possible.

The moment we reached my bedroom door, he suddenly planted his feet, stubbornly refusing to budge—and even had the audacity to lean in for a kiss.

Classic drunk instincts. Before I could even dodge…

The door to the opposite bedroom swung wide open. My mother and Uncle Pei stood right there in the doorway.

Four people. Eight eyes. A collective, instantaneous freeze-frame.

My mother recovered fastest. Spinning on her heel, she shoved Uncle Pei right back into their room. “Oh dear, look at me sleepwalking again…”

“Me too! Must be contagious!” Uncle Pei synchronized flawlessly.

The door slammed shut.

I summoned every ounce of strength to drag Pei Yuhang into my room. The second I turned around after shutting the door, I found him sitting upright on the bed.

Alert. Composed. Without a single trace of intoxication left in his eyes.

“You were pretending?!”

He reached out, grabbing my wrist and pulling me close to drop a soft kiss on my hand. “If I didn’t pretend… how else was I going to lock down an official status?”

His voice dropped low, thick with a deep, breathless urgency.

“A-He, I’ve waited three years for you. I can’t wait any longer.”

I went quiet.

Ah, whatever. It was bound to happen sooner or later anyway. Consider it payback for all the times I misunderstood him in the past.

Pei Yuhang… looks like you and I have a long, long lifetime ahead of us to keep going head-to-head.