Hunt her

Back home, Yan Xu pressed Shen Yi down on the sofa and took out alcohol and cotton swabs from the first-aid kit.

She took his hand and noticed several small abrasions on his knuckles, the blood already dried.

"Does it hurt?" she asked softly, gently wiping the area with a cotton swab dipped in alcohol.

Shen Yi frowned, but didn't pull his hand away: "What's a little injury like this?"

"Don't resort to violence so easily in the future." Yan Xu lowered her head, her movements gentle. "I know you mean well, but..." She paused, "I don't want to see you get hurt."

Shen Yi used his other hand to lift her chin, meeting her eyes: "Worth it."

Yan Xu sighed and continued to disinfect his wound.

The only sounds in the room were the soft clicks of the alcohol bottle being opened and closed, and the intermittent breathing of the two people.

A few days later.

Yan Xu pushed the shopping cart through the supermarket shelves, his fingertips tracing the rows of product labels.

As she bent down to choose shampoo, she suddenly felt a burning gaze on her back. The moment she turned around, Xu Sen's face, adorned with a fawning smile, came into view.

"What a coincidence, Miss Yan." Xu Sen quickly stepped forward, holding a bouquet of roses that were clearly newly bought. "Shall I help you push the cart?"

Yan Xu took a half step back imperceptibly: "No need." She turned to leave, but Xu Sen blocked her way.

"I wanted to chat with you at the party last time," Xu Sen suddenly lowered his voice, "that violent maniac Shen Yi isn't good enough for you. He didn't come today, did he?"

Yan Xu's eyes turned cold: "Get out of the way."

Xu Sen leaned even closer: "I know you've been talking about the project in the west of the city lately, and my uncle happens to be there..."

Before he could finish speaking, Yan Xu had already pressed the emergency contact button on his phone.

Hurried footsteps came from afar, and Shen Yi appeared at the corner with a gloomy face, carrying two bags of freshly weighed fruit.

Shen Yi rushed between the two, slamming the fruit bag heavily onto the shopping cart. "Can't you fucking understand human language?" He grabbed Xu Sen by the collar, his knuckles turning white from the force. Roses scattered all over the floor, and crushed petals stuck to Xu Sen's shiny leather shoes.

Yan Xu pressed down on Shen Yi's tense arm: "There are security cameras in the supermarket." She tapped his wrist, where the veins were bulging, three times with her fingertips—this was their agreed-upon code.

The moment Shen Yi released her grip, Xu Sen staggered backward: "If I ever see you harassing her again..."

His voice was extremely low, like a blade slicing through ice, "I wouldn't mind having your uncle go to the hospital to discuss the project."

Xu Sen awkwardly grabbed the shelf for support, his tie hanging askew around his neck.

He opened his mouth, but fell silent when he met Shen Yi's gaze.

The surging ferocity in those eyes reminded him of the cracked tiles in the restroom of the party last week.

"Let's go." Yan Xu hooked Shen Yi's finger and gently tugged it.

As they passed the fresh produce section, she suddenly tiptoed and whispered in his ear, "Just now..." Shen Yi froze, but heard a soft, amused whisper: "Pretty handsome."

In the dim light of the parking lot, Shen Yi had just put the shopping bags into the trunk when he heard hurried footsteps behind him. Xu Sen caught up, panting, his suit collar still stained with crushed rose petals from the supermarket.

"Miss Yan!" Xu Sen forced a smile. "It's lunchtime, and I know a Michelin-starred restaurant nearby..." He glanced at Shen Yi deliberately. "The three of you together?"

Yan Xu's hand, which was about to pull the car door shut, froze. Shen Yi slammed the door shut with a cold laugh, the metallic clang echoing through the parking lot: "Is your skin made of bulletproof material?"

"Shen Yi." Yan Xu suddenly pressed down on his arm and tapped his sleeve twice with her fingertips—this was the signal for their new agreement.

She turned to Xu Sen with a businesslike smile: "Perfect timing, I'd also like to discuss the West City project with you, Mr. Xu."

Shen Yi's pupils contracted slightly, but when he saw the cunning glint in Yan Xu's eyes, he suddenly understood something.

He stood half a step behind Yan Xu, one hand in his pocket, like a cheetah poised to pounce. Xu Sen, oblivious to the exchange between the two, eagerly pulled out his car keys: "I booked a private room..."

Yan Xu lightly scratched Shen Yi's palm with his fingertips, a half-smile playing on his lips: "Since Mr. Xu is so enthusiastic, why don't you tell me about the plot ratio of the western city area first?"

Xu Sen's eyes lit up, and he was about to take out his phone to show the information when Yan Xu suddenly grabbed Shen Yi's arm: "But our Director Shen hates discussing business over meals." She traced circles on Shen Yi's elbow with her fingertips, "Right?"

Shen Yi's Adam's apple bobbed, and he gave a cold snort in agreement.

Xu Sen stood frozen, phone in hand, watching helplessly as Yan Xu stood on tiptoe to straighten Shen Yi's collar: "You said last time you wanted some home-cooked food?"

She turned to Xu Sen with an apologetic smile, "I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you, Mr. Xu."

"Yan Xu!" Xu Sen suddenly grabbed her wrist. "You know perfectly well what I feel for you..." Before he could finish speaking, Shen Yi had already clamped his wrist and twisted it, causing Xu Sen to fall to his knees in pain.

Yan Xu looked down at him. "Xu Sen," she said softly, as if discussing the weather, "touch me one more time, and your uncle's approval document will be on the disciplinary committee's desk."

Shen Yi released his hand and wiped his palm on Xu Sen's suit.

As Yan Xu opened the car door, she suddenly turned around: "By the way, I heard President Xu is getting married?" She looked at Xu Sen's instantly pale face. "Remember to send out invitations."

Shen Yi drove the car out of the parking lot, his knuckles tapping an irregular rhythm on the steering wheel.

Neon lights cast shifting shadows on his taut jawline through the windshield.

"The way he looked at you," Shen Yi suddenly spoke, her voice laced with suppressed anger, "like a stray dog ​​that's been starving for three days seeing a bone."

Yan Xu was looking down at work messages when she heard this. She chuckled softly, unlocked her phone's photo album, and handed it over: "What about this one?"

The screen showed a candid shot of Shen Yi—standing in a corner of the company's annual meeting, his gaze piercing through the crowd and locking onto her, the possessiveness surging in his eyes almost scorching through the lens.

"This is different." Shen Yi's ears burned, but she still stubbornly refused to admit it.

Yan Xu suddenly unbuckled her seatbelt and leaned forward, her rose-scented hair brushing against his Adam's apple: "Of course it's different."

She touched his chest with her fingertips, "A stray dog ​​only wants to gnaw on a bone, but here—" Her soft lips pressed against his throbbing carotid artery, "I've hidden a treasure with my name engraved on it."

Shen Yi slammed on the brakes and grabbed the back of her head in the shadows where the streetlights were barely on.

The sound of a cleaning worker pushing a cart could be heard in the distance. Yan Xu, panting, pressed her forehead against his: "Now you know? There are thousands of other people who like you..." The last part of her voice was sealed by Shen Yi's kiss, the sweet and bitter taste of lemon candy melting between their lips and teeth.

The air inside the car still carried the lingering scent of roses and lemon candy. Yan Xu twirled Shen Yi's tie with her fingertips and suddenly chuckled, "Director Shen is so fierce, are there any young ladies who dare to pursue you?"

Shen Yi restarted the car, his Adam's apple bobbing: "No."

The streetlight's beam swept across his tense profile, and Yan Xu deliberately rubbed his trousers with the tip of his shoe: "Liar."

"Really." Shen Yi suddenly turned on her turn signal and pulled over, the shadows enveloping her. "Ever since high school, they've gone out of their way to avoid me."

He ran his thumb over the red mark he'd bitten on her collarbone. "Except for someone incredibly audacious."

Yan Xu suddenly recalled the image of him standing in front of her with a baseball bat in hand during high school, and chuckled, "So standing up for me has this kind of side effect?"

Shen Yi lowered his head and bit her earlobe: "It's too late to return it now."