Qin Shu didn't even have time to enjoy her shopping victory.
She went to her grandfather's company with him, sat in his office, listened to secretaries report work, and watched her grandfather try on the sports watch she'd bought him like a proud child.
Her grandfather casually asked, "What gift did you buy for Han Pei?"
Qin Shu smiled. "I won't tell you."
Grandpa Qin looked pleased. "Good. Good. As long as you get along well."
Qin Shu's heart was strangely warm.
But warmth never lasts long.
She got bored upstairs and went to find her father.
She wandered toward the meeting room.
Her father was shaking hands with someone.
The crowd shifted.
And Qin Shu's eyes locked on the tallest figure.
A dark blue trench coat.
A familiar posture.
A calm, elegant aura.
Time froze.
Four and a half years passed in a single heartbeat.
He Jingnan.
Her former teacher.
Her first love.
Her most humiliating rejection.
He turned.
And saw her.
He walked toward her, and she forced herself to smile.
"Teacher He… what a coincidence."
He nodded. "What a coincidence."
He asked if she'd been back long.
Then, in the most natural tone possible, he said:
"It's been a few years. You seem to have grown a little taller?"
Qin Shu replied flatly, "Yes. I've taken quite a few calcium supplements."
He Jingnan: "…"
Some things never changed.
He invited her to lunch.
Qin Shu knew why.
He was smoothing things over.
Because soon, she would work under him.
Because he didn't want emotional awkwardness.
Because he was always… thoughtful.
Always reasonable.
Always controlled.
And Qin Shu hated herself for once loving him for that.
At the restaurant, He Jingnan arrived early.
And so did Yan Chen.
And so did…
Han Pei.
Qin Shu walked into the private room and nearly felt her brain shut down.
Han Pei and He Jingnan were sitting there like this was a normal lunch.
Like her entire emotional history wasn't sitting at the same table.
Yan Chen grinned. "You call He Jingnan 'Teacher He,' but Han Pei and I are the same generation. So logically, you should call us 'Uncle,' right?"
Han Pei said calmly, "You're old yourself. Don't drag me into this."
Yan Chen laughed like he'd won.
Qin Shu sat next to Yan Chen immediately.
Because sitting between Han Pei and He Jingnan would've been psychological warfare.
Lunch was… a mess.
Not outwardly.
Everyone was polite.
Everyone was "talking business."
But Qin Shu could barely breathe.
Han Pei said little.
He Jingnan said little.
Yan Chen did all the talking.
And Qin Shu noticed nothing…
Except that every time the turntable rotated and her favorite dish came near, Han Pei would quietly press it with his hand and stop it—
until she picked up food.
Every time.
Without looking at her.
Without making a show of it.
Just… quietly taking care of her.
Then Yan Chen, of course, decided to set the table on fire.
"What was wrong with you that night? Why did you play piano in a bar?"
Han Pei answered calmly, "To make her happy."
Yan Chen laughed. "So you can be bewitched too."
Then he mentioned Qiu Lan.
"She was crying. Probably telling her friend you rejected her. Then she decided she'd sleep with you in a different way."
Han Pei: "…"
He Jingnan: "We still have children here."
Yan Chen: "Then let's talk about which season Peppa Pig is on."
Qin Shu: "..."
After lunch, He Jingnan asked Qin Shu for coffee.
It was familiar.
Too familiar.
They'd done this so many times in London.
But now, sitting face-to-face again…
Qin Shu couldn't feel what she used to feel.
The nostalgia was there.
The warmth wasn't.
He asked about her eyes.
He answered a client call.
Qin Shu's phone vibrated.
Han Pei: Where are you?
Qin Shu replied: In a coffee shop.
Han Pei: Okay. I'll contact you later.
When the coffee ended, He Jingnan extended his hand.
"It'll be nice to work with you."
Qin Shu shook it.
His fingertips were warm.
Hers were icy.
They separated quickly.
And He Jingnan drove away.
Qin Shu sat in her car, stunned.
Then she replied to Han Pei: I'm leaving the coffee shop.
Han Pei called her immediately.
"Do you want to come to my office and wait for me to leave work together?"
His voice was warm, deep, and calm.
Qin Shu agreed.
And for the first time that day…
She felt like she could breathe.
In Han Pei's office, she expected comfort.
Maybe a conversation.
Maybe some "psychological guidance," like he promised.
Instead, Han Pei gave her math problems.
Then he went back to work.
Qin Shu stared at him.
Then called, "Han Pei."
He didn't look up. "Hmm?"
"You… don't have anything you want to ask?"
"No."
Then he added, "What do you want to know?"
Qin Shu: "…"
That's the thing about Han Pei.
He never asks unnecessary questions.
He never begs for reassurance.
He never plays.
And somehow, that made him even more dangerous.
Later, a secretary came in with repairmen.
Because Han Pei had apparently ordered:
"Take all the chairs in my office to be repaired."
Qin Shu stared.
Sir… are you okay?
The secretary, professional to the point of fear, said:
"Mr. Han, it was my mistake. I didn't explain clearly. Your chair wasn't repaired in time. I brought the repairman."
Han Pei calmly played along.
"It's fine. Take it back and fix it."
The chairs were removed.
The office was quiet again.
Qin Shu still didn't understand.
Han Pei moved to sit opposite her.
Then he said casually, "Pour me a glass of water."
Qin Shu laughed. "You think I'm here to be your tea server?"
Han Pei replied without hesitation:
"Besides pouring me water… I'll do everything else from now on."
Qin Shu froze.
Two hours passed.
Han Pei came over.
"How are you feeling now?"
Qin Shu thought for a moment. "It's alright."
Then she asked quietly, "Am I the kind of woman who's particularly pretentious?"
Han Pei answered without thinking:
"Being sentimental and being loyal are two different things. You belong to the latter."
He paused.
"That's good."
Qin Shu's eyes stung.
"Thank you."
Then Han Pei asked the one question he had been holding back:
"What do you like about him?"
Qin Shu met his gaze.
And answered honestly:
"Handsome. Mature and charming. High emotional and intellectual intelligence."
Han Pei put his hands in his pockets.
Silence.
Then he said, slowly:
"If you only like these three things in men…"
"I have them all."
"And more than anyone else."
Qin Shu: "…"
She felt like her brain short-circuited.
She forced out, "Are you confessing your feelings to me?"
Han Pei's eyes were dark.
"So, will you agree or not?"
Qin Shu's heart pounded.
She tried to escape. "You said you would pursue me until graduation."
Han Pei nodded.
"I did."
"But that doesn't matter."
He stepped closer.
"You promised."
"I'll pursue you until you're happy."
Then, like a man who enjoyed digging pits for her, he asked again:
"So… will you agree or not?"
Qin Shu was speechless.
Again.
Han Pei finally smiled and said, "I'll give you some psychological counseling now."
Qin Shu blinked. "Chatting?"
Han Pei: "That's a psychologist's job. I'm not good at it."
Qin Shu: "Then what method will you use?"
Han Pei unbuttoned his cuffs.
"Hold this for me."
He rolled up his sleeves.
Qin Shu's brain panicked.
"You know qigong?"
Han Pei: "…"
He stared at her for several seconds.
Then laughed—actually laughed—like he'd been defeated by her stupidity in the cutest way possible.
Then he pointed to the top shelf of the bookshelf.
"There's a book on the top shelf. Could you take it down for me?"
Qin Shu turned her head.
Looked up.
And froze.
Because the book wasn't the problem.
The problem was the shelf.
The shelf was high.
Too high.
And Han Pei was standing right behind her.
Close.
Too close.
And the air suddenly felt…
dangerous.
Qin Shu slowly raised her arms to reach for the book.
Her fingertips barely touched the spine.
Han Pei's breath brushed the side of her neck.
And then he leaned in and said softly:
"Qiqi…"
"Don't move."