Chapter 3: Into the Lion’s Den

“That’s it?” I looked at Pei Yuhang, asking one more time to make sure I hadn’t misheard.

“That’s it. If we’re doing this, we’re doing it right,” he said with a faint smile.

I went silent. Terms this absurdly good would tempt anyone into taking the deal. But it was precisely because it was so perfect that it smelled so damn fishy.

“Mr. Pei, I expect complete equality between us throughout this partnership.”

“No problem. As long as you deliver on the project, I won’t interfere.”

He signed his name on the dotted line so fast I barely finished my sentence. Pushing the signed contract back across the desk toward me, he offered a low, weighted promise:

“A pleasure doing business with you.”

—

That evening, sticking to our unspoken agreement, we both retreated into the study. I sat at the desk, my fingers hammering away at the keyboard like a woman charging into battle. He lounged on the sofa, lazily flipping through a book.

My head, however, was a complete warzone.

I cut a glance his way once. Twice. A third time. The man remained infuriatingly calm. It felt like I’d willingly waltzed straight into a lion’s den, only for the lion to sit there offering me a polite, gentle smile.

Snap!

I slammed my laptop shut the moment he walked over to my desk.

“I don’t get it. Why are you handing over so much profit? Pei Yuhang… what’s your game?”

He took a step closer, effectively trapping me against the edge of the desk.

“You’re right. Businessmen only care about the bottom line. But for you… I’m willing to throw profit out the window. So tell me… what do you think I’m after?”

The proximity was lethal. His eyes locked onto mine like a predator sizing up its prey.

I turned my head away, forcing my voice to stay level. “It only proves you have some hidden agenda you can’t say out loud.”

He let out a low laugh. Slipping a hand around my waist, he suddenly lifted me off my feet and set me squarely on the desk. Leaning in with both hands planted on either side of my hips, his gaze pinned me in place.

“A-He… tell me. What is it I want?”

The air turned thick enough to choke on. Right at that exact second, my mother’s voice called out from the hallway: “A-He, don’t stay up too late!”

Saved by the bell. I shoved his chest hard. “You old rogue!”

—

The partnership went surprisingly smoothly, right up until the project reached a critical juncture. For the first time, we hit a hard wall over a difference in opinion.

Me: “This strategy is way too safe, way too conservative. We need to innovate!”

Him: “Absolutely not. The risk profile is way out of bounds. It’s too dangerous.”

Me: “Let’s be real, you’re just chicken. Or is Mr. Pei no longer capable of handling a small project?”

His brows knit together, his dark eyes locking straight onto mine.

“A-He. This is your very first project. Whether it’s worth taking a gamble like this… you need to think it through carefully.”

I froze.

Turns out he wasn’t worrying about the Pei Group’s money at all. He was protecting my career.

“Go home and think about it. I’ll wait for your answer.”

—

I didn’t sleep a wink that night. He wasn’t wrong. One wrong move, and I could lose everything before my career even got off the ground. But after an agonizing internal war, I marched into his office the next morning.

“I’ve made up my mind. I still want to push for it. But… we tweak the execution plan.”

He nodded in agreement so fast it caught me completely off guard.

I practically sprinted out of his office to dive straight into work. Domestic regulations were a whole different beast compared to the textbook theory I’d studied abroad. To guarantee bulletproof results, I pulled two all-nighters back-to-back at the office.

Whenever sleepiness hit, I’d collapse face-first onto my desk for a power nap. By the time I forced my eyes open, only half an hour had ticked by.

Late into the night, almost every floor in the building had gone dark. Only my office remained lit up like a beacon of corporate martyrdom. Staring at a proposal that was stuck tighter than rush-hour traffic, I buried my face in my hands out of sheer frustration.

I rubbed my sore eyes, a sudden prickle hitting the bridge of my nose. Where the hell had I gone wrong? Uncertainty closed in around me like a fog so thick even Google Maps would give up.

“If your brain isn’t working, take a break.”

I opened my eyes a crack through my fingers and spotted Pei Yuhang standing right beside my desk. I instantly pulled myself together, slapping on a face that said I definitely wasn’t just having a breakdown.

“Don’t touch my hair, it gets greasy easily.”

“Want me to drive you home?” He pulled his hand back with practiced restraint, pulling up a chair to sit beside me.

I closed my eyes, letting out a soft, defeated nod. “…Fine.”

—

Pei Yuhang drove like a man with nowhere to be, the ride so smooth I passed out without even realizing it.

When I blinked awake, I saw him hammering away at his laptop like a legitimate hacker.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“You were sleeping so soundly. I was afraid I’d get my head bitten off if I woke you.”

My hands froze mid-adjustment on my jacket. “Are you sick or something?”

He let out a quiet laugh. “Give me a minute. Let me finish this up and we’ll go.”

Curious, I leaned over to steal a glance, and completely went numb.

He was editing my proposal. The exact roadblock that had kept me trapped all evening was being dismantled by his hands as effortlessly as first-grade math.

“Wait… you can do it like that?”

“Of course.”

I leaned in closer to inspect his work. I had to hand it to him, the man was terrifyingly brilliant.

Deep in concentration, I suddenly realized the clicking of the keyboard had stopped. Looking up, I caught him staring dead at me.

“What are you looking at? Afraid I’ll steal your tricks?”

He let out a slow sigh. “You’d be a lot cuter if you just stayed quiet for five minutes.”

—

Everything after that went so smoothly I began to suspect I was dreaming. Two months later, the new product line launched to a wave of rave reviews.

I won.

That night, the entire team acted like they had been released from prison.

“CEO Ji! CEO Pei! You’re buying drinks tonight, or it doesn’t count!”

“Yeah! We just fought side-by-side on our very first project!”

I laughed out loud, turning to Pei Yuhang. “You should come too. My treat.”

“No thanks. You kids go have fun. If I tag along, I’ll just make everyone nervous.” He leaned into the word kids with deliberate emphasis.

“Nobody called you old. It’s just dinner.”

“Are you inviting me?”

I whipped around, stepping away. “Suit yourself.”

Behind me, a stifled laugh slipped through his lips.

“I’m coming.”