Chapter 21

“Evening, Lin Jinshen. We’re all friends of Lu Yi’s.”
Yu Yin was the first to recover, no point hoping her drunk friend would handle introductions, she took the lead to greet Lin Jinshen.
“Yes, yes, we’re all friends from our study abroad days in the UK. Long time no see, figured we’d get together tonight.”
“I’m Wu Sidong, but everyone just calls me ‘Guess’.”
“I’m Yu Yin, Lu Yi’s BFF…”
Everyone instinctively introduced themselves, six faces, talking over each other, pretty lively, honestly.
It must’ve been even rowdier before he walked in.
Lin Jinshen’s eyes scanned the room, pausing on each person. He nodded when the introductions wound down. “Nice to meet you all.”
He swapped his shoes at the door and glanced at the table, half-empty bottles, Lu Yi’s cheeks flushed, her bleary eyes obvious proof she was drunk. No way she’d say what she just said if she was sober.
Lu Yi’s head spun, her grip on the table the only thing keeping her upright. “Why are you back? Weren’t you staying at a hotel after work?”
Honestly... kind of a buzzkill.
Now that he was here, the fun was basically over.
“Changed my mind last minute,” Lin Jinshen said, walking over. His gaze locked on her bright red cheeks. “Are you drunk?”
“Not that much.” Lu Yi denied, biting her lip awkwardly.
Yu Qian hurried to explain, “We were just playing a game, and Lu Yi, well, her luck kind of sucks. She lost the most.”
Truth be told, she never liked Lin Jinshen and had always tried to convince Lu Yi to pick someone else. But seeing him in person now, it felt exactly like getting caught at a wild party by your parents. She was so anxious, and the others were even less reliable, so she stepped up.
If she didn’t, Lin Jinshen might really think they’d bullied his wife or something.
Lu Yi’s dizziness came in waves. She tried to steady herself. “Guys, let’s call it a night.”
She turned to Wu Sidong, who’d just returned from abroad, and tilted her head with a tipsy grin: “Guess, let’s catch up again another time.”
Totally innocent on her end, but his ears caught it differently.
That sounded... ambiguous. Like she and Guess had plans to hang out alone next time.
He’s innocent, okay!
Wu Sidong could feel an arctic glare aimed his way. He immediately ditched his playful rich boy persona and straightened up, looking downright upright. “No, no, I only just got back from abroad today. What Lu Yi meant is, the whole group should get together again later.”
No special treatment here, he didn’t need to be singled out.
“Your luggage?” Lin Jinshen’s gaze landed on the pile of suitcases and travel bags by the door, clearly a guy’s.
“Yeah, um…”
“Staying over?”
“No, no, definitely not, bro. I just landed, didn’t have time to go home, so I brought my stuff here. We’re all headed out now.” Under the pressure, Wu Sidong’s words tumbled out, addressing him like a big brother.
Should’ve had the family driver pick him up and drop the luggage at home, regret hit hard.
“Meeting up fresh off the plane, must be close?” Lin Jinshen’s voice stayed perfectly level.
Lu Yi jumped in before anyone else, nodding hard: “Yep, super close.”
Around the table, heads whipped in her direction.
Lu Yi was lost, what, did I say something wrong? They were close. She wasn’t lying.
Wu Sidong practically covered his face, unable to meet Lin Jinshen’s eyes. In that moment, he’d mentally written his last will and testament. The rest of the room tried (and failed) to hide their laughter behind nervous tension. This was good gossip.
They’d all been “guilty” a moment ago, but Wu Sidong was clearly Public Enemy #1 now.
Yu Yin bit back her nerves so hard her jaw ached, running through the top ten most embarrassing moments of her life for fortification.
Lin Jinshen frowned at them, “How much did she drink?”
“A few glasses? She doesn’t have much tolerance, she’s totally gone,” Yu Yin said. “But Lu Yi’s harmless when she’s drunk. Gets chatty, is all. Otherwise she’ll just curl up quietly somewhere.”
“There’s some hangover soup in the kitchen. We should get her to drink it.”
“You all want some too?” Lin Jinshen asked.
“No thanks, we’re fine, not much for us.”
“Alright.”
Lu Yi gave a tranquil smile. “Next time my husband isn’t home, you guys can come over to play again.”
“…”
Yu Yin wanted desperately to slap a hand over her mouth, she was definitely going to die of embarrassment tomorrow when she remembered all this.
“She talks nonsense when she’s drunk, President Lin, don’t take it to heart.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
Lin Jinshen headed for the kitchen island to serve up the soup.
The group exchanged glances, ready to leave. Before heading out, they cleared all the takeaway boxes, tossing them in a bag, these pampered rich kids set a land speed record for tidying up, even wiping the table down with cleaning wipes.
Of the six, two grabbed the trash bags. Wu Sidong rolled his suitcase and politely said goodbye to Lin Jinshen as they left.
Lin Jinshen reheated the soup, nodded at their farewells, and reminded them, “Don’t drive drunk. Watch your speed. Stay safe.”
“Wouldn’t dare, sir.”
“…”
Out the door and into the elevator.
Everyone snapped out of it at last, shoving one friend. “This is exactly what your parents say whenever we visit your house.”
Someone chuckled, “No wonder it sounded so familiar just now!”
“Are we really okay leaving Lu Yi alone back there?” asked Wu Sidong. They all knew tipsy Lu Yi had zero filter, she’d spill any wild truth.
“She’ll be fine. President Lin actually seems kinda caring, he did the soup thing and even reheated it. If anything, it’s got dad-watching-his-kid energy.”
“Guess, why don’t you just stay? You brought your luggage anyway, a sleepover won’t kill you.”
Wu Sidong burst out laughing, half in English. He yanked up his T-shirt sleeve and pointed at his arm. “The goosebumps from earlier aren’t gone, I swear. The look President Lin gave me? Thought I was a dead man walking.”
Laughter exploded in the elevator.
The soup was bubbling. Lin Jinshen turned off the heat, lifted the ladle, and poured it into a white porcelain bowl.
Here he was, a patient himself, having to take care of a drunken mess tonight.
By the time he carried the bowl out, the table was spotless, except for the lingering aroma of hotpot still hanging in the air.
Lu Yi wasn’t at the table. She’d curled up by the floor-to-ceiling windows, knees hugged to her chest, cradling Puff the cat and gazing at the city lights. One girl, one cat, a scene so peaceful, it practically radiated warmth.
Just like Yu Qian said: when Lu Yi got drunk, she talked more, but she always kept to herself, quietly lost in her own world.
“Lu Yi, come drink this hangover soup.”
Lu Yi made no move.
Lin Jinshen held back his impatience and walked over. Puff, sensing him getting closer, tensed up and tried to burrow deeper into Lu Yi’s arms. But she was far too plump, no matter how hard she tried, there was just no way to hide herself.
Foiled, she shrank her head down, wide-eyed, staring anxiously at him.
“It’s okay, don’t be scared,” Lu Yi whispered, cradling Puff and soothing her, then turned to meet Lin Jinshen’s dark gaze head-on.
Lin Jinshen repeated, “Come drink the hangover soup.”
“Can I not?” Lu Yi asked softly. She really didn't want to move. When she was sober, she’d always make sure to care about other people’s feelings, do everything she was supposed to do. But now, all she wanted was to listen to her own heart.
“No.” Lin Jinshen’s voice was icy as their eyes locked, colder and more unyielding than ever.
“But I don’t want to get up,” she said, sitting comfortably right where she was.
The city lights outside shimmered like fireworks that could never burn out, a view too pretty to leave behind.
Lin Jinshen’s brows unknotted. He compromised, “Fine, I’ll bring it here for you.”
“You will?”
“Thank you.”
Lu Yi’s lips curled in a soft, gentle smile that went straight to his heart.
He brought the hangover soup, which had cooled to a pleasant warmth. She sipped it slowly while he waited, only placing the bowl back on the table after she’d finished. But honestly, the soup tasted weird. Lu Yi struggled to get it down.
“God, that’s awful,” she sighed, hugging the bowl stubbornly, refusing another sip.
“Did you enjoy the alcohol then?”
Lu Yi considered, then nodded. Yeah, she liked the feeling of being just tipsy enough to float above the world, a little numb, a little free. Their little party was like an escape from endless gray for a while, the same comfort as waking up drunk at midnight in rainy old England.
Shame it got cut short because someone decided to come home.
She set the soup down on the floor beside her and asked, “Why did you come back tonight?”
The way she said it, it sounded more like: “Why did you even bother coming home?”
Lin Jinshen leaned against the floor-to-ceiling window, tilting his head, looking down at her from his usual height. “Lu Yi, do you wish I hadn’t come home?”
“Yeah.” Lu Yi answered with a blunt honesty, no need to hide what was simply true.
Something dark flickered in Lin Jinshen's eyes. “If that’s true, then why’d you text me?”
“Text?”
“You asked if I’d be home tonight.”
Lu Yi frowned, looking confused, and pretty while she was at it. “I needed to know if you’d be back or not. You said before, if you aren't coming home, I can have friends over.”
Like she was saying: whatever happened tonight, wasn’t her fault.
It was his.
He’d said he wouldn’t be home, but showed up anyway, flip-flopping again, as always.
After a few drinks, every emotion she had shone through, almost painfully honest in its innocence.
Lin Jinshen slid one hand into his pants pocket, squatted down so his eyes were level with hers, and asked, “So Lu Yi, you really don’t want me home?”
Why ask the same thing twice?
Lu Yi said nothing. It was like she’d tumbled into those bottomless eyes of his; the surface was too still, almost menacing.
“Without me around, are you actually happier?”
“You could have your friends over, your cat with you, as long as I’m not here, you’re more comfortable?”
“…”
“Lu Yi, do you hate me?”
Lin Jinshen said it with calm precision, as if noting a clinical fact.
His brand-new wife, in all honesty, disliked being around him.
He’d always figured he could handle that with indifference, they were a marriage of convenience, after all. Interests first, emotions optional. If they got along, great; if not, no big deal. As long as their business partnership held, the marriage would hold too.
If his wife had no feelings for him, or even despised him, then he should back off, respect her wishes, keep things polite between them.
But this... this didn’t feel like indifference. He realized he was feeling something way sharper than just disappointment.
Lu Yi could sense his mood shift. He seemed genuinely upset now, while she mulled over her answer. It was almost funny: yes and no.
No, she didn’t hate Lin Jinshen, if she had, she’d never have chosen to marry him.
Lu Yi shook her head, wanting to explain, though she wasn't sure he’d believe it. She stared back at him, and when he tossed out a string of questions, she leaned forward on her hands, accidentally colliding straight into his lips.
It really was a collision. She’d misjudged the distance and force, bumping nose-to-nose. By the end, their kiss was all clumsy angles and messy breathing.
Their lips stung a little, but after the ache faded came a tingling electric rush. She pulled back slightly, caught up in shaky breath, and asked, “Still think I hate you now?”
She didn’t even finish the last word, it got swallowed away.
Puff yowled in fright and leapt out of Lu Yi’s lap.
Lin Jinshen caught her lips in his, quick and precise, like a leopard who’d been waiting for this moment and finally pounced. His arms circled her waist, drawing her in, pressing forward until her back hit the cold glass of the window.
His palm pressed against her damp hand, fingers twining with hers as they fumbled and tangled against the cool pane in the heat of their kiss.
Lin Jinshen’s mind was crashing and chaotic. He’d wanted to kiss her from the moment he’d held her. Now, with the taste of alcohol, faint, sweet, mixed with fruit, he felt like he was the one getting drunk.
Lu Yi clutched at his collar, the heat from his body melting every steady thought. Lips and teeth parted; his tongue deepened the kiss, leaving her senses sparking and numb. Even the air between them felt feverish.
Their clothes grew rumpled, her jacket sliding down her arms, the strap of her camisole slipping off one shoulder.
No telling if it was intentional or not; neither of them showed the slightest sign of wanting to stop.
Lin Jinshen’s fingers, sometimes burning hot, sometimes icy cool, traced slowly up her spine, finally hooking around the back of her neck and drawing her in, just as she was running short of air from the kiss.
They broke apart, breathless, for barely a second, then he dove in again.
One kiss would never be enough.
It felt like they were trying to make up for every kiss they'd missed in that month apart.
Five minutes a day, for a month, how long is that? Two and a half hours.
Lu Yi had no idea how long they'd been kissing. Her first real kiss, and she was slick with sweat, half-convinced she’d come down with a high fever too.
They were up so many floors, but pressed against the window, it still felt like someone might see them, see the beautiful mess they’d become together.
They pressed their foreheads together, gasping like marathon runners. Lu Yi’s lips were swollen and tingling. In a husky whisper, she asked, “You still mad at me?”
As if that whole make-out session had been just to win his forgiveness.
Lin Jinshen’s gaze was dark, his voice rough: “Is that how you usually make up with people?”
“No,” said Lu Yi.
And, after a pause, “My ex never got mad. You’re the only one who does.”
“…”
Lin Jinshen leaned in and caught her lips, not for a real kiss, but a not-so-gentle bite, teeth grazing her mouth, a playful punishment.
He let go before she could complain.
Afraid he’d bite again, Lu Yi blocked him, fingertips pressing to the corner of his mouth and then trailing lightly across his lips. She couldn’t look away from their shape, her lashes lowering and fluttering up again, her gaze dreamy and dazed, like a girl soused on too much champagne.
She murmured, “Did you know, Lin Jinshen? You may talk tough, but your lips are ridiculously soft.”