Chapter Scene 1: When Desire Breaks Through Every Careful Wall
Tang Han Qiu sat stiffly on her high - backed chair of her father's office, the polished mahogany desk cold beneath her fingertips. She could feel the faint thrum of her pulse in her temples, the sunlight streaming through the floor - to - ceiling windows glinting off the diamond in her ring.
A token of power, of expectation — but it didn't matter. She didn't care. Not about her father's endless deals, not about the empire she was supposed to inherit, not even about the men who were supposed to orbit her life like predictable planets.
"I can't stand this anymore," she muttered, pressing her palms against her face. Her fingers flexed, catching the light off the diamond ring. "Let me go… just let me live for me."
For years, Tang Han Qiu had been a marionette, strings invisible but suffocating, tugging her toward obligations and a life she hadn't chosen. But today, for reasons she couldn't explain, something inside her snapped. Her body, her mind — hers alone. And in that sudden liberation, the world seemed both terrifying and infinitely possible.
A gentle knock on the door pulled her from the swirl of her thoughts. She looked up, squinting through the light, and there she was: Yu Ru Bing. Bright, deliberate, effortless.
Her smile seemed to catch the sun itself and bend it into human form. Even standing there, casually confident, she radiated a warmth that made Tang Han Qiu's chest tighten in a way she hadn't anticipated.
"President Tang," Yu Ru Bing said softly, voice low but commanding, "would you consider… keeping me?"
Tang Han Qiu blinked, her mind stuttering. "Keeping… you?"
Yu Ru Bing's grin widened, mischievous. She leaned forward, resting her chin delicately on her hand, her gaze holding Tang Han Qiu's like a quiet dare. "The price isn't high," she said, voice teasing, almost conspiratorial. "A piece of candy is enough."
Tang Han Qiu's cheeks heated, her pulse quickening. "What… do you mean by that?" she asked, though her curiosity betrayed the carefully constructed calm she'd tried to project.
Yu Ru Bing tilted her head, letting her hair fall in a smooth arc over one shoulder. "I mean… I want to be near you," she said, each word deliberate. "All the time. Watching you, learning from you… maybe even cheering for you." Her tone was light, almost playful, but there was a razor edge beneath it that made Tang Han Qiu's stomach flutter.
Tang Han Qiu's mind spun. She was supposed to resist this woman, to keep her at arm's length, maybe even to despise her. But here she was, sitting frozen, drawn into the pull of something sharp, electric, dangerous. Desire. Affection. Something that smelled dangerously like longing.
"You're… different," Tang Han Qiu finally admitted, voice low, almost a whisper. "I'm not used to this."
Yu Ru Bing laughed softly, a sound that felt like silk brushing against bare skin, and something inside Tang Han Qiu loosened, uncoiled. "Good," Yu Ru Bing said, leaning forward slightly, her lips curving in a slow, magnetic smile. "I want you to get used to it. I want to see that stubborn, impossible side of you. The side that never gives in."
Tang Han Qiu's breath caught.
The gleam in Yu Ru Bing's eyes was no longer simple admiration. It wasn't playful teasing either. It was focused. Intentional. Almost territorial.
"I'm not interested in any women," Tang Han Qiu said, her voice steady but thinner than she wanted it to be. She wasn't even sure who she was trying to convince anymore. Yu Ru Bing… or herself. "So whatever you're thinking — forget it."
Yu Ru Bing didn't answer right away.
Instead, she reached for the candy on Tang Han Qiu's desk. Their fingers brushed.
The touch was light. Accidental, if someone were watching. But neither of them pulled away immediately.
Tang Han Qiu felt it like a spark running up her arm. Her spine stiffened. Her pulse betrayed her.
Yu Ru Bing noticed.
A slow, knowing smile curved her lips. "You're very sure of that," she said softly.
"I am." Tang Han Qiu withdrew her hand first, annoyed at the heat lingering in her skin. "You're misunderstanding something."
"Am I?" Yu Ru Bing tilted her head slightly, studying her the way one studies something rare. "Then tell me what I'm misunderstanding."
Tang Han Qiu opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
Because the truth was — she didn't know what Yu Ru Bing was implying exactly. And that uncertainty unsettled her more than any direct confession would have.
"I don't date women," Tang Han Qiu repeated, firmer this time. "And I'm certainly not interested in… being someone's experiment."
Yu Ru Bing's expression shifted at that. Not offended. Not embarrassed.
Hurt.
"Do I look like I'm experimenting?" she asked quietly.
The softness in her tone made Tang Han Qiu's chest ache.
"That's not what I meant," Tang Han Qiu replied, frowning. "You're young. You're impulsive. You get attached easily."
Yu Ru Bing's eyes darkened at that. "So this is attachment to you?"
Tang Han Qiu hesitated.
Yu Ru Bing took a small step closer.
"I'm not thinking about him," Yu Ru Bing murmured, her voice lowering, losing all trace of teasing. "I'm not thinking about anyone else."
Her fingers hovered near Tang Han Qiu's hand again — not touching this time, just close enough for the air between them to feel charged.
"I'm thinking about you," Yu Ru Bing continued. "Only you."
The words weren't loud.
They didn't need to be.
Tang Han Qiu felt them like a weight settling under her ribs.
"That's ridiculous," she said automatically, but her voice lacked conviction. "You barely know me."
Yu Ru Bing gave a faint smile. "I know enough."
"You know my job title," Tang Han Qiu shot back. "My schedule. The way I drink my coffee."
"I know," Yu Ru Bing said, cutting her off gently, "that when you're stressed, you press your thumb against your ring finger without realizing it. I know that when someone praises you, you pretend not to care, but your ears turn red." Her gaze softened. "I know that you're lonelier than you let anyone see."
Silence fell between them.
Tang Han Qiu hadn't realized she'd been seen that clearly.
"That doesn't mean anything," she said, but this time it sounded weaker. Defensive.
"It means I pay attention," Yu Ru Bing replied.
The distance between them had disappeared at some point. Tang Han Qiu could see the faint rise and fall of Yu Ru Bing's breathing. Could feel the warmth radiating from her.
"This isn't admiration," Yu Ru Bing said quietly. "And it's not rebellion. And it's definitely not confusion."
Tang Han Qiu's heart was beating too fast now.
"Then what is it?" she asked before she could stop herself.
Yu Ru Bing held her gaze steadily.
"It's choice."
The word lingered.
Tang Han Qiu swallowed. "You don't get to choose me like I'm something on a shelf."
Yu Ru Bing's lips curved slightly. "You think I see you as something to own?"
"No," Tang Han Qiu said, too quickly. Then more honestly, "I don't know what you see."
Yu Ru Bing reached out again.
This time, she didn't touch Tang Han Qiu's hand. She gently adjusted the collar of her blouse instead — slow, deliberate, intimate in a way that made Tang Han Qiu's breath hitch.
"I see someone who's afraid," Yu Ru Bing said softly. "Not of me. Of herself."
Tang Han Qiu caught her wrist then, instinctively.
The contact was firm.
But she didn't let go.
"You're overstepping," Tang Han Qiu warned.
Yu Ru Bing didn't pull away.
"If I were overstepping," she whispered, her eyes flicking briefly to Tang Han Qiu's lips before returning to her eyes, "you would've moved back already."
Tang Han Qiu realized with a jolt—
She hadn't.
The office felt too small. The air too warm.
"I'm not interested in women," Tang Han Qiu repeated, but now it sounded like a line she had memorized years ago.
Yu Ru Bing's voice turned gentle.
"Maybe you're not interested in women," she said. "Maybe you're just interested in me."
That silence again.
Heavy. Trembling.
Tang Han Qiu finally released her wrist.
"This is inappropriate," she said, retreating a step, regaining her composure piece by piece. "You're crossing professional boundaries."
Yu Ru Bing straightened slightly, but her expression didn't change. "Then tell me to stop."
Tang Han Qiu looked at her.
Really looked at her.
At the vulnerability hidden under the boldness. At the stubborn devotion in her eyes.
"Stop," Tang Han Qiu said.
Yu Ru Bing searched her face carefully.
"Is that what you want?" she asked.
And that—
That was what had been missing.
Because Tang Han Qiu realized, in that moment, that wanting and allowing were two very different things.
Her silence answered louder than any confession could.
Yu Ru Bing smiled faintly, not triumphant — just certain.
"I'll wait," she said.
And that promise felt far more dangerous than any kiss would have been.
Tang Han Qiu's heart thundered, and she realized she didn't want to look away. She wanted to turn, to flee, to hide herself — but she couldn't. Every fiber of her being leaned toward this woman, toward the warmth and daring in her gaze.
"Then… what do you want from me?" Tang Han Qiu asked, voice barely audible, trembling in a way that was entirely new to her.
Yu Ru Bing leaned in closer, closing the distance between them until the warmth of her breath brushed Tang Han Qiu's cheek. Her voice was a soft murmur, intimate, teasing. "To stay," she said. "To be yours… in every way that counts."
Tang Han Qiu's fingers curled against the edge of the desk. She wanted to pull Yu Ru Bing closer, to close the distance with her lips, with her hands, with every unspoken confession burning between them.
She wanted to melt into her. But for a fraction of a second, she hesitated, caught between the instinct to surrender and the habit of control she had been raised to wield.
Yu Ru Bing noticed, of course. She tilted her head, her lips brushing the tip of Tang Han Qiu's ear, and whispered, "You can let go. No one's watching. No one matters right now."
Tang Han Qiu's breath hitched. Her hand reached up, almost unconsciously, to brush against Yu Ru Bing's jaw, tracing the line of her face. Yu Ru Bing leaned into the touch, the contact sending shivers through both of them.
"You're… dangerous," Tang Han Qiu breathed, a smirk threatening the edges of her composure. "I'm supposed to resist you."
Yu Ru Bing's laughter was a soft ripple, teasing. "And yet… here you are," she said, eyes glinting with challenge. "I could stay like this forever, if you let me." Her hand slid just slightly closer to Tang Han Qiu's, brushing the inside of her wrist with a touch that was intimate, charged.
Tang Han Qiu's chest tightened. She wanted to push Yu Ru Bing away, to assert control — but the thought of doing so felt impossible, even undesirable. She leaned forward slightly, the edge of her lips brushing Yu Ru Bing's in a ghost of a kiss. "And if I give in?" she asked, voice low and sultry, more daring than she'd intended.
Yu Ru Bing's response was a slow, deliberate grin. She closed the last fraction of the distance, letting her lips brush Tang Han Qiu's, just enough to tease, just enough to ignite. "Then… we'll see," she whispered, the heat of her words pressing against Tang Han Qiu's skin.
Tang Han Qiu swallowed hard, every rational thought fleeing as she found herself leaning into the kiss, into the warmth, into the danger. She had never wanted anything like this before — never desired so openly, so completely. And yet, with Yu Ru Bing, every boundary she had built seemed to melt.
Yu Ru Bing's hands slid to Tang Han Qiu's waist, gentle but insistent, anchoring her, teasing her, drawing her closer without force. "Relax," she murmured against her lips, her voice velvet and fire all at once. "You don't have to think. Just… feel."
Tang Han Qiu's hands trembled as they found Yu Ru Bing's shoulders, pressing lightly, testing, exploring. She wanted to touch, to hold, to claim some fragment of this intensity. And in response, Yu Ru Bing's hands roamed with a tender authority, tracing lines along her back, along her sides, igniting fires in places Tang Han Qiu hadn't even realized existed.
"You're… addictive," Tang Han Qiu breathed, her lips hovering near Yu Ru Bing's jaw. "I… I don't even know your limits."
Yu Ru Bing's laughter was low, sultry, teasing. "Then we'll discover them together," she whispered, leaning closer, letting the warmth of her body press against Tang Han Qiu's, the faint scent of her perfume wrapping around her senses, making her dizzy.
Tang Han Qiu's pulse raced, her mind swimming with sensations, thoughts, and unspoken desires. She wanted to push Yu Ru Bing away and pull her closer all at once, to assert dominance and surrender simultaneously. And in Yu Ru Bing, she found herself challenged, mirrored, consumed.
"I've never…" Tang Han Qiu started, but her words faltered, lost to the intensity building between them.
"Shh," Yu Ru Bing said softly, her lips brushing the shell of Tang Han Qiu's ear. "You don't need to. I'll show you." She pressed a gentle kiss to the nape of her neck, a promise of warmth, teasing, and possession that made Tang Han Qiu shiver violently.
Tang Han Qiu could feel herself melting into her, the office, the desk, the rules — they all vanished. Only the two of them remained, locked in a delicate push - and - pull of teasing, desire, and unspoken confessions. Each touch, each glance, each sigh was a conversation more potent than words.
And in that space, Tang Han Qiu realized something extraordinary: for the first time, she wanted to surrender, wanted to explore the forbidden, wanted to let herself be consumed by someone else — and that someone else was Yu Ru Bing. Every glance, every brush of fingers, every teasing smile made it impossible to resist.
"I don't… know if I can control myself," Tang Han Qiu admitted, her voice low, trembling.
Yu Ru Bing's grin was triumphant, playful, and full of heat. "Then don't," she whispered, pressing a lingering kiss to Tang Han Qiu's lips. "Not tonight. Not ever."
And for the first time, Tang Han Qiu didn't resist.
She let herself be seen. She let herself feel. She let herself be claimed, teased, and adored in ways she had never imagined. And in Yu Ru Bing's arms, she felt something she had never known before: complete freedom, unshakable desire, and the intoxicating thrill of being wanted — truly, entirely, without reservation.
For once, she didn't need to think about destiny, power, or expectation. All that mattered was the warmth of Yu Ru Bing's hands, the brush of her lips, and the dizzying, irresistible pull of a desire neither of them could deny.