The rumors started the next day.
"She married him for money."
"She's pretending to be gentle."
"She won't last a month."
Lianrui listened without reacting. She had expected whispers, judging glances, and even subtle sabotage. But one comment made her blood boil.
"She should know her place."
Her fingers clenched around her coffee cup. She didn't speak immediately—waiting for the right moment. Shen Kaizhe arrived just in time to hear it.
Before he could say anything, Lianrui's lips curved into a deliberate smile.
"My place?" she said softly, but her voice carried across the room. "Is beside my husband. If you have an issue with that, speak to him. I don't deal with strangers."
Silence.
All heads turned toward the cold, commanding presence of Shen Kaizhe. He looked at her—really looked. His expression was unreadable.
Then, without a word, he nodded ever so slightly. That tiny acknowledgment was enough. He didn't need to say he respected her—his stance, his silent agreement, said it all.
After the murmurs died down, Lianrui sat at her desk, calm but internally aware of the shift. For the first time, the office seemed like a battlefield she could win—not just survive.
Later, when the day ended, Shen Kaizhe found her leaving the office.
"Walk with me," he said, voice low.
They strolled through the quiet streets of the city, the night air crisp around them. Neither spoke for a while.
Then he said, almost reluctantly, "You shouldn't provoke them so openly."
"And you shouldn't underestimate me," she countered.
He stopped walking. The streetlight caught his face in the shadowy glow. "You're clever, but clever doesn't always mean safe."
"I prefer clever and alive," she replied, meeting his gaze steadily.
He considered her words. A slow, rare smile flickered—half amusement, half exasperation. "One day, your defiance will cost you something," he murmured.
"And one day," she said softly, leaning slightly closer, "it might cost you, too."
He stiffened. For the briefest second, the city around them faded. There was no contract, no rules, just the tension between them—a dangerous, magnetic pull neither could ignore.