The banquet was in full swing when the heavy grand doors of the hall suddenly swung open. Every head turned in unison toward the entrance.

The man standing at the doorway… was Pei Yuhang.

Talk about a long time no see. He looked like he had arrived in a hurry, but from head to toe, he remained impeccably tailored, without a single hair out of place.

“My apologies. Things got tied up at the office, so I’m late.”

During the two years I was abroad, I had never missed a single piece of domestic news. As for Pei Yuhang… he had become a sensation. Single-handedly, he had dragged the Pei Group to absolute dominance, ruling the business world like a titan. The Ji Group, which used to stand on equal footing with them, was now practically trailing in his dust.

I watched him from across the room, my gaze gradually darkening as my fingers tightened around my wine glass. My mother stepped up, gently squeezing my hand.

“A-He, don’t get impatient.”

“It’s my welcome-home party. Why did he have to come?” I didn’t even bother hiding my irritation.

“You just returned to the country, and there’s still so much you need to learn. Having A-Hang mentor you puts my mind at ease.”

The moment those words left her mouth, every fiber of my being rebelled. “I don’t need his help!”

The sound of clinking glasses echoed right behind me. I turned around—Pei Yuhang was already standing directly behind my back.

“Yunhe, welcome home.”

I reined in my emotions, instantly switching into full corporate-politeness mode. “Thank you, Uncle.”

His hand holding the glass paused for a fraction of a second. Then, letting out a soft laugh, he took a sip. Seeing the tension, my mother quickly pulled Uncle Pei away to socialise elsewhere, leaving me stranded in the middle of a battleground.

I spun on my heel to leave, only to nearly crash straight into his chest. He leaned down slightly, locking his dark eyes onto mine.

“Ji Yunhe, are you avoiding me?”

“Did you forget I went abroad to study, Uncle? How does that count as avoiding you?” I let out a cold laugh.

He looked down at me, calling my bluff with excruciating slowness. “Is that so? Ignoring my calls, leaving my texts unanswered… I was starting to think my number had turned into a ghost line.”

Now I remembered. On my very first day overseas, he had sent a message: [If you need anything, contact me anytime.] And I had blocked his number in a heartbeat.

I lied without batting an eye. “My bad. I thought it was a spam number.”

“So you did see it?” The corner of his mouth curved up slightly.

…Dammit. Trapped.

I instantly dug my heels in, leaning into pure shamelessness. “So what if I saw it? Pei Yuhang, don’t go thinking that single night buys you the right to make me drop my guard.”

My ability to adapt had always been fierce. In less than a week, I had already taken charge of my first major project. The only hitch? The business partner turned out to be the Pei Group.

“CEO Ji, partnering with the Pei Group this time is going to be a walk in the park!” my young assistant chirped happily.

I knit my brows. A walk in the park? Given Pei Yuhang’s personality, I’d be lucky if he didn’t conveniently throw me under the bus. This whole deal smelled like a sugar-coated trap.

When I got home after work, I froze in my tracks—Pei Yuhang was sitting right at our dining table.

My mother greeted me with warm enthusiasm. “I invited A-Hang over so he can offer you some proper guidance.”

I sat down directly across from him, my tone ice-cold. “No need. Uncle, once you’re done eating, feel free to head out.”

Uncle Pei completely misread the room, chiming in, “We’re family! Keep bothering him all you want.”

I was just about to push back again when Pei Yuhang put down his chopsticks and looked at me with meaningful intensity.

“Don’t tell me you’re scared?”

An unprovoked flame ignited inside my chest. “Scared of what?”

“Scared that asking too many questions will expose how little you know… so you don’t dare to ask me.” He laid out the provocation with total composure.

“If you want to stay, then stay!” I scoffed, my lips curving into a sharp smirk. “Just be careful—don’t be shocked when the student leaves the master in the dust.”

He let out a low, amused chuckle and resumed eating.

I knew all too well that textbook knowledge from abroad couldn’t always be applied overnight. The fastest shortcut right now was to leverage the power of the Pei Group. The negotiation coming up this weekend… I had to win it, and win it clean.

The knock on my bedroom door was so faint I almost thought I’d imagined it. Suspicious, I cracked the door open a sliver… and immediately locked eyes with Pei Yuhang.

Without a second thought, I slammed the door shut. But his eyes were fast, and his foot was faster—wedging itself directly into the doorframe. I threw my full weight into slamming it twice more just to give him a nice send-off. The result? A low grunt of pain escaped his throat, but the man stubbornly refused to pull his foot back.

“What could possibly be so important that it has to be said tonight?” I lowered my voice, gripping the doorknob so tight my knuckles turned white. “Get lost before my mother and Uncle Pei catch you.”

Pei Yuhang smirked—a look that was equal parts lazy and dangerous. Slipping his hand through the gap, he gripped the edge of the door firmly.

“Naturally… it’s about the relationship between us.”

With just a light push, the door swung wide open. Realizing I had nowhere left to hide, I grabbed him by the collar and dragged him straight into my room. The door clicked shut behind us with a ominous snap, sending my temper flaring straight through the roof.

“Fine! Here’s your chance to talk. We’re both adults here, it was mutual—why do you keep dragging this out like some unresolved melodrama?”

I smirked, my voice dripping with deliberate mockery. “Or is it… that two thousand yuan wasn’t enough for you, Uncle?”

His eyes darkened instantly. Step by step, he closed the distance until the back of my heels hit the edge of the mattress.

His voice dropped low, vibrating with quiet menace. “Ji Yunhe… just how many faces do you have?”

His hand settled heavy on my waist. Fuck. My knees went weak, and I tumbled backward onto the bed.

But if there was one thing I hated most, it was being pinned down. Refusing to take it lying down, I launched an immediate counterattack. I grabbed him by his tie, yanking him down hard toward me.

“Why do you care if I’m being real or fake? Or could it be… that dear Uncle just can’t get me out of his mind?”

Outsiders called him an untouchable, ice-cold prince, but I knew the truth—when he lost control, he was nothing more than a rogue dressed up in a polished suit. I tightened my grip, wrapping his tie around my hand twice more to force him even closer.

Before I could even finish my sentence, he leaned down. A fiercely possessive kiss crashed over my lips, consuming every breath.

“What if I can’t?” he murmured against my mouth.

Right at that moment, my phone started blaring. The second my hand reached for it, his quick fingers brushed it aside, sending it sliding across the nightstand.

“Why are you running? Didn’t you tell me to keep up the good work? Time for your inspection.”

This guy was out of his mind! Struggling with everything I had, I finally managed to push his chest back enough to hold up the glowing phone. “Stop moving! It’s my mother.”

A quiet laugh escaped him. Far from stopping, he reached out and swiped the screen to answer.

“A-He, I know you’re not asleep yet…” My mother’s voice drifted through the speaker, starting up a late-night heart-to-heart.

Meanwhile, the man in front of me had zero intention of backing off. He leaned right back down, his hand shamelessly roaming over my waist. I gasped as his teeth grazed softly against my skin. My entire body turned to jelly.

I ground my teeth, whispering through a fierce hiss: “Can you… wait until I hang up the damn phone?! Pei Yuhang!”

Unable to take it any longer, I summoned every ounce of strength to flip our positions—straddling him, my hand coming around his throat to force him into silence.

Holding the phone with my other hand, I said in the calmest voice I could muster: “Mom, I’m really sleepy. Let’s talk tomorrow.”

The second the call ended, I let out a sharp breath and yelled, “Pei Yuhang, are you insane?!”

“Yeah. I went insane three years ago,” he murmured, leaning back against the headboard with complete nonchalance.

On the day of the negotiation, I skipped the pleasantries and slapped the contract flat on the table right in front of him.

“A ninety-ten split. I take ninety. You take ten.”

Pei Yuhang raised an eyebrow, flipped through a few pages, and let out a faint laugh. “Ji Yunhe… are you getting back at me?”

“Mr. Pei, our strength speaks for itself. As far as this project goes, I am confident we can execute it best. The value you stand to gain goes far beyond the immediate numbers.”

I had fully braced myself for him to reject it, planning to let him bargain me down step-by-step to seventy-thirty, or maybe sixty-forty…

Instead, he stared at me for a long moment, then casually drawled:

“I agree.”

The sheer ease of it sent a wave of unease through me.

Rubbing his fingers together lightly, he added, “On one condition. I will be involved in the entire project. From decision-making… to execution.”

I stayed silent. Having him on board guaranteed higher returns, but it also meant he could stick his nose into every single thing I did.

Still, compared to a lucrative ninety percent cut, those were minor details.

For now, seizing the upper hand was all that mattered. As for Pei Yuhang… we’d just have to wait and see who actually ends up holding the knife.