Chapter 2: Green Tea & Jealousy

Recently, the company hired a new intern, Hou Xiao, six-foot-one, ridiculously handsome, and sweet-talking enough to drop a smooth “Hey, sis” every time he opened his mouth. As a certified sucker for pretty boys, how could I possibly find the heart to push away such a hardworking younger guy?

The result? I was thirty minutes late getting home for the very first time.

That night, Ji Shiye’s face was darker than the storm brewing outside the window. He yanked me onto his lap, burying his face deep into the crook of my neck. Just as I was secretly rejoicing, thinking he’d finally “seen the light,” he abruptly asked, “Why do you smell like another man’s cologne?”

Does he have the nose of a bloodhound?!

While I was stammering, trying to explain that it was just the new intern, he let out a cold, sharp laugh. “You claim you love me every single day, yet you’re already bored in under three months? Got someone else on the side now?”

What is with this whole discarded-wife routine?!

He then reached under the pillow and pulled out a phone. “What’s his name? I’m calling HR to fire him.”

My eyes nearly popped out of my head. “Wait a second… where did that phone come from?! I confiscated it!”

He had a phone this whole time and didn’t call for help?!

Ji Shiye froze for a split second before nonchalantly tossing the phone aside. He pinned me down on the bed and began unbuttoning his shirt. The ambient light caught the honeyed, carved contours of his back, causing my brain to instantly short-circuit.

As for the phone? Sorry, that could wait!

Ji Shiye leaned over me with an aloof expression, the corner of his lips curling into a smile so icy it rendered the air conditioning obsolete. He pinned both of my hands above my head, using the very same silver chain, which he had somehow already unlocked from his ankle, to bind my wrists firmly to the bedpost.

His voice was entirely offhand, like he was announcing a meeting schedule: “You’re half an hour late today. Time for your punishment.”

—

From that night on, our relationship veered off into a territory that was nearly impossible to define. Neither of us put it into words, and I didn’t dare to ask. I was terrified that a single question would shatter this fragile, artificial peace. I was far too used to chasing after him, and when you love someone too much… you rarely have the courage to face the raw truth.

People often say, “Lucky in love, unlucky in life.” It seemed my achievement of “sleeping with my crush” was currently demanding its payment through my atrocious office luck.

The next evening, just as I packed up my things to sneak out early, my team lead, Wang Cheng, blocked my path. Ever since he found out I owned my own place, his “care” for me had turned downright invasive. Despite me shooting him down more times than I could count, he stuck around like gum melted into hair.

“Little Trinh, a great hotpot place just opened on the East side. How about I give you a chance to get closer to your supervisor? Dinner’s on you tonight?”

I squeezed out the absolute bare minimum of politeness. “Sorry, I have plans tonight.”

“What plans? Got a boyfriend?”

I paused for a second, then nodded. “Yeah.”

Who would’ve guessed he’d be stubborn as a mule, immediately spewing out a string of words as filthy as they were toxic: “Who are you trying to fool? Where’d a girl like you get the cash to buy an apartment? Hundreds of thousands of dollars… what, got yourself a sugar daddy? Hurrying home after work to serve your master, huh?”

I was shaking with rage, but physically, I couldn’t match him. Just as I was about to snap, an arm reached out from behind me and shoved him back with sheer force!

Hou Xiao stepped forward, his expression deadpan as he crushed Wang Cheng’s wrist in his grip.

“You’re just an intern, what the hell are you meddling for?! Want to get fired?!” Wang Cheng shrieked.

Hou Xiao didn’t say a word; he simply tightened his grip until cold sweat beaded on the older man’s forehead. He let out a low, mocking smirk. “Jealous that she can afford a house? Why don’t you try selling your body too? Ah… assuming anyone’s actually willing to buy.”

Wang Cheng’s lips trembled with fury, but standing before Hou Xiao, who towered over him by a full head, he could only swallow his embarrassment and scurry away.

In an instant, Hou Xiao transformed from a ruthless menace back into an innocent college kid. “It’s nothing, sis. Let me drive you home, it’d be a pain if you ran into him again.”

—

Hou Xiao drove a beat-up old Honda, but the watch resting on his wrist was easily worth a dozen of those cars. Everyone at the office assumed he was a rich heir just out experiencing life. Poverty can be faked, but innate aura can’t.

“So, going home this early… are you really meeting your boyfriend?” He cast a glance side-long at me.

I choked on my own air. Boyfriend? Was I supposed to say, “The man I kidnapped is waiting for me at home”?

I gave a vague reply. “He’s just… a friend.”

Hou Xiao smiled, keeping his eyes on the road ahead, his voice light yet deliberate: “Good. For a second, I thought… I didn’t stand a chance anymore.”

Lately, I had been pouring all my energy into mentoring Hou Xiao, and as a result, he stuck to me like superglue. My coworkers were already whispering: “Is he trying to court you?” I immediately waved it off, telling myself I was three years older than him, there was zero reason for a wealthy young heir like him to waste his time on me.

Yet, Hou Xiao merely smiled, a sly, knowing grin that translated to: “Say whatever you want, sis, but I’m still doing things my way.”

—

The car pulled up in front of my building. Before I could unbuckle my seatbelt, Hou Xiao leaned in impossibly close. The rich scent of masculine cologne laced with a faint hint of tobacco enveloped me, making the tight space feel suffocating all at once.

“Sis, the seatbelt’s jammed.”

His fingers were slightly calloused, probably from playing sports, not as pale or refined as Ji Shiye’s, but undeniably real against the skin. The overwhelming proximity turned me into a frozen statue.

A few agonizing seconds later, click. The latch popped open.

He looked straight into my eyes, making no effort to mask his intentions. “Aren’t you going to invite me up for a cup of tea?”

My face flushed bright red. I mumbled a hasty refusal, flung the door open, and sprinted upstairs at a speed that could outrun a ghost.

—

Thanks to the “incident” in the car, I ended up five minutes late.

Ji Shiye was standing right there, his gaze icy enough to freeze the entire apartment solid. Remembering the “one minute late means one extra round” rule, I knew I was absolutely doomed tonight.

To save my own skin, I chose to go on the offensive first: “How dare you get mad at me?! I got sexually harassed at work today! What kind of trash are you hiring at your company anyway?!”

The temperature in the room dropped several degrees instantly. After hearing me out about Wang Cheng, it took Ji Shiye less than a single phone call to have that team lead permanently blacklisted from the industry.

He turned back to look at me. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

My voice caught in my throat. “What are we even to each other…? What’s the point of telling you?”

The question turned the air completely brittle. Maybe my mood was just at rock bottom today, or maybe Hou Xiao’s sudden appearance had made me desperate for a clear answer.

He could sleep with me, he could act possessive over me, but he had never given me an actual title.

I tossed the silver chain onto the bed, my voice trembling: “You don’t have to answer right away. But if you actually feel something for me… I want to see you still here when I get off work tomorrow. If not… then just leave.”

Without waiting for his response, I turned and bolted into the other room, unable to stomach the thought of being rejected right to my face.

That night, the apartment was terrifyingly quiet, save for the occasional, delicate clink of the silver chain echoing from the bedroom.