The Lighter and Princess Gown

In the early morning, Zhu Yun had already packed her things into the car.

“Are you sure you don’t need us to send you?” Her mother suggested again, “Why don’t we call for a driver to send you?”

“It’s alright.” w.a.n.g Yuxuan pat his chest. “Auntie Liu, I have years of experience as a driver. I promise to send Zhu mei safely back to school.”

While w.a.n.g Yuxuan arranged the car trunk, Zhu Yun’s mother pulled her aside and told her quietly, “Don’t fall asleep on the way. Stay alert. Road conditions abroad are still different from those at home.”

“Mmh.”

“When you get there, you should reserve the hotel room. Let him drive. When you go out, don’t let him spend any money.”

“Okay.”

“Also—”

“I got it, I got it. Don’t worry, I’ll wait on him properly. We’re going now.” Zhu Yun slipped out of her mother’s grasp and slid into the car.

When the car finally drove out of the courtyard, Zhu Yun let out a long sigh. w.a.n.g Yuxuan grinned and stepped on the gas. In a clear voice, he said, “Ladies and gentlemen, you’re currently watching the Dreamworks production, The Island. (t/n: The 2005 film is about a guy trying to escape an island, after finding out the island inhabitants are used for organ harvesting.)

Zhu Yun looked over out of the corner of her eye.

w.a.n.g Yuxuan laughed and said, “Come on then, give me the directions.”

“Keep going straight, and get on the highway.”

The whole trip, w.a.n.g Yuxuan chattered on incessantly, which only made Zhu Yun yawn continuously. She rested her head against the car window and pulled out her cellphone. No missed calls or unread texts.

Zhu Yun had already informed Li Xun that she’d be returning today. On the days leading up to the new year, the two of them had been in constant contact. But shortly after, Li Xun had accepted a new project, so there hadn’t much news from him lately.

Zhu Yun and w.a.n.g Yuxuan safely arrived at the school in the afternoon. Since winter break hadn’t wasn’t over, the campus was empty and deserted.

Zhu Yun grabbed her luggage from the car and said, “I’m going. You can find a hotel yourself, right?”

“You can’t be serious.” w.a.n.g Yuxuan looked at her, dumbfounded. “You’re just going to burn the bridge after crossing the river?”

It did seem rather disingenuous…

“How about this?” Zhu Yun suggested, “I’ll make some time to show you around tomorrow. It’s too late today, and you must be tired from driving. You should rest.”

w.a.n.g Yuxuan swung the car keys on his finger. He was about to speak but stopped, as he squinted at something behind Zhu Yun. Motioning to behind her, he asked quietly, “Hey, do you know him?”

Zhu Yun turned around and her hair stood on end. A certain person with golden hair, dressed in casual clothes, stood there. His hands were stuffed in his pockets, a plastic convenient store bag hanging off his arm, looking like someone just pa.s.sing by. He lazily looked over Zhu Yun and w.a.n.g Yuxuan.

Zhu Yun considered whether or not to introduce the two. In the end, she decided against it. From the way Top Score Li looked right now, he probably didn’t much care for getting to know w.a.n.g Yuxuan.

“You’re back?” Li Xun asked.

“Mmh.”

Li Xun said plainly, “Let’s go.” He turned to head back to campus.

Zhu Yun quickly told w.a.n.g Yuxuan, “I’m heading back first. I’ll contact you tomorrow.”

w.a.n.g Yuxuan shrugged and replied, “Okay. Have a good rest.” He returned to the car and start it up. When he raised his head, he saw that Zhu Yun had caught up with that boy up ahead.

Zhu Yun dragged her suitcase as she walked beside Li Xun. She glanced at Li Xun, the latter walking leisurely, composed as before.

She cleared her throat and said, “About that…”

The lazy voice came, “About what?”

“What are you doing for the new project you accepted?”

“An integrated system for shipping and receiving forms for an auto parts company.”

“Will it be hard?”

Li Xun pulled out and lit a cigarette without responding.

Fine, let’s just pretend I didn’t ask.

“Who was that just now?” Li Xun’s voice was a bit unclear because of the cigarette hanging from his mouth.

Zhu Yun answered instantly. “My driver.”

Li Xun snickered. “Oh?”

When they returned to her dorm, Li Xun said to Zhu Yun, “Princess, do you need help carrying your bags up?”

I wouldn’t dare trouble you.

“I’ll be fine. I don’t have many things, so it’s not heavy.”

Li Xun nodded and added a quick, “When you’re done, come to the project base,” before leaving.

Now that winter break had reached its midpoint, the dorms had been unlocked. Zhu Yun carried her luggage in, but was already huffing and puffing halfway to her room. She started to regret letting her face swell just to look imposing when she slapped it. (t/n: To impress by feigning abilities)

But he was really something. She’d declined as a polite gesture, and he really didn’t help her.

Neither Ren Di or Fang Shumiao had returned yet. When she’d left for break, she hadn’t closed the window tightly enough, so there was now a layer of dust covering their dorm room. After Zhu Yun finished unpacking her things, she mopped the floor once over. Then she ran over to the lab building.

The project base was the only room open in the entire building. Zhu Yun hurried in to see Li Xun’s long legs raised up as he worked.

“Come here. Make a copy of these files and the code.”

Zhu Yun was deathly tired, and her throat felt like it was on fire. Instead of answering him, she walked over to the corner, grabbed a bottle of water, and gulped half of it down.

Li Xun looked up from his laptop at her. He taunted, “Carrying a suitcase tired you out that much? Truly pampered…”

Zhu Yun couldn’t be bothered with him.

Li Xun put down his laptop. Resting a hand on the back of his chair, he leaned to look at Zhu Yun. With a smile, he said, “Why aren’t you saying anything? Are you really that tired?”

“Not as tired as you.”

“The words in your head are different from the ones coming out of your mouth.”

Zhu Yun secretly rolled her eyes.

“Hurry and get to work. Finally, I have an a.s.sisstant.”

“……”

Although her work up until then, and even the reason she returned to school early, had been to help him, it was sufficient that she knew that. Hearing him say it out loud really felt s.h.i.tty.

Zhu Yun put down her bottle of water. Calmly, she said, “School hasn’t started yet, so you don’t have any reason to ask me to work. This is cruel overtime.”

“Oh?” Li Xun tilted his head ant looked at her. “Then what will it take for Your Highness to start working?”

“Improve your att.i.tude.”

He raised his eyebrows. Zhu Yun stared back, wordlessly. He walked over to the metal cabinet and bent down to grab a bag.

After a moment, Li Xun put his laptop on the table and stood up. Zhu Yun extended her head to look over with interest. Li Xun brought the bag over and placed it in front of Zhu Yun. It was a pretty large paper bag, and it seemed decently heavy.

“What is this?”

“Your overtime pay.”

“……”

Faintly, he said, “Take a look.”

Zhu Yun opened the bag. Inside was an exquisite, long box. When she saw the branding on the box, she had a suspicion regarding its contents. And after she opened the box, her suspicion was confirmed. Although her expression was calm and collected, her heart was pounding.

A dress!

Why would he gift her a dress?!

When had he bought it? How long ago? No, put those questions aside first. The dress was newly released, wasn’t it? And this brand was f.u.c.king expensive…

Zhu Yun looked up to see Li Xun leaning against the metal cabinet, calm and relaxed.

“Is it enough?”

How was she to answer that…

“If it’s enough, come over and start working.”

Since Boss Li had given her a way out of the situation, Zhu Yun respectfully accepted. She packed away the dress and then returned to her seat. Li Xun also walked over and sat down beside her to send over the doc.u.ments.

“Why did you give me this?” Zhu Yun asked quietly.

As his hands continued typing, Li Xun chuckled and replied, “It’s only right for a princess to have a gown.”

Zhu Yun trembled. She felt like there was someone in her heart, twisting and turning uncontrollably.

A master. Truly, a master.

“I’ve copied the files to you. Read over the program first. If there’s something you don’t understand, ask me.”

“…Mmh.”

Zhu Yun focused and got to work. By evening, she’d combed through the entire program. She asked Li Xun, “I’m done. Do you need me to do anything.”

“Not right now.”

Ah? You said earlier that I’d be a.s.sissting you.

Li Xun asked plainly, “Don’t you need to hang out with your driver tomorrow?”

He’d heard her conversation with w.a.n.g Yuxuan?

Zhu Yun blurted out, “It’s fine. I’ll get him to leave.” When Li Xun didn’t respond, she continued, “I can work tomorrow. I’ll tell him to leave right away.”

After a few quiet seconds, Li Xun laughed. He spoke lightly, “Tell him to leave, then.”

At 8 o’clock that evening, Zhu Yun called w.a.n.g Yuxuan, who was overcome with boredom in his hotel room, watching TV. “Zhu mei! You finally thought of me!”

“Xuan ge.”

“…………”

“Xuan ge, there’s something I have to tell you.”

“Stop. Wait,” w.a.n.g Yuxuan cut her off. “What are you trying to do?”

Zhu Yun replied, “Let’s go out to eat. My treat.”

A cautious w.a.n.g Yuxuan said, “Something’s not right. What are you planning? What are you going to do to me?”

Zhu Yun was in a rush, and she couldn’t be bothered to joke with him.

“I’ll wait for you at the school gate. Hurry over.”

Thirteen minutes later, the two met up at the school gate. Zhu Yun directed w.a.n.g Yuxuan downtown. After driving in circles a bit, they finally stopped at a high-end shopping mall. “There’s a restaurant here that’s pretty good. It’s on the top floor.”

w.a.n.g Yuxuan pouted.

Zhu Yun said, “Let’s go.”

w.a.n.g Yuxuan looked up at the building and said, “You should have told me earlier that we were coming to this kind of place. I would have changed my clothes.”

Zhu Yun replied, “There aren’t so many formalities in China. Get out of the car.”

When they walked inside the building, they were greeted with a brightly lit lobby. The specs for the place were top-cla.s.s. The first two stories were filled with imported goods.

“Aiyo, the tariffs must be high.” As they walked, w.a.n.g Yuxuan pointed to one of the stores. “This brand costs half the price where I’m at.”

Zhu Yun took a look. “Are they any good?”

w.a.n.g Yuxuan laughed. “I don’t know, I don’t smoke.”

The restaurant was just off the elevator on the top floor. It was past mealtime, so there weren’t many customers. The waiter brought them to their seats, and then Zhu Yun handed the menu over to w.a.n.g Yuxuan. “You order.”

He responded, “I won’t hold back then.”

“Order what you’d like.”

After they ordered and the waiter left, Zhu Yun spoke up. “About tomorrow, I won’t be able to show you around.”

w.a.n.g Yuxuan paused. “Ah?”

“After dinner, go back and get some rest. I’ll make up a guide for you, and you can go around on your own tomorrow.”

“So this is what was waiting for me.” w.a.n.g Yuxuan crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. “I was thinking that you couldn’t possibly be so kindhearted that you’d even invite me out for a meal.”

Zhu Yun explained, “There are important matters I have to deal with at school, otherwise I wouldn’t have come back so early in the first place.”

w.a.n.g Yuxuan opened up his napkin and tucked it into his collar. He chuckled and muttered, “The way I see it, you have an ulterior motive in mind.” Zhu Yun pretended not to hear.

When the food was served, w.a.n.g Yuxuan said, “Who was that blond kid?”

“A b.a.s.t.a.r.d.”

“…Can’t we have a civil conversation?”

Zhu Yun cleared her throat. “Let’s eat.”

w.a.n.g Yuxuan stared at Zhu Yun and didn’t move.

Zhu Yun asked, “Why are you looking at me?”

w.a.n.g Yuxuan shook his head slowly. “I have a feeling that I need to get to know you again.”

Zhu Yun straightened her posture, and w.a.n.g Yuxuan put up a defensive gesture. Zhu Yun gave him a strange look and then said, “I need to step out for a minute. You should start eating first.”

“Where are you going?”

Zhu Yun didn’t reply and stepped out. Ten minutes later, she returned, and w.a.n.g Yuxuan looked her over. Rather regretfully, he said, “It’s true, that saying. The more well-behaved a person is, the scarier they get when they rebel.”

Zhu Yun lowered her head and drank some soup. w.a.n.g Yuxuan gave a bit of genuine advice, “Zhu mei, young girls nowadays love picking out people based on their pretty faces. Don’t fall into that cliche.”

“……”

He picked up his fork, and looking at Zhu Yun, he said again, “Auntie likes those properly raised, undirtied, pure and innocent boys.”

Zhu Yun couldn’t help lifting her head to look at him. “You’ve gone crazy, right?”

“The first two things I said… You can take them as my going crazy. But the last thing…” w.a.n.g Yuxuan leaned in and fixed his eyes on Zhu Yun. “That blond kid, I don’t think he’s dependable.”

Zhu Yun dropped her spoon. “What do you mean?”

“His first impression may be that he’s very individualistic, but he’s too self-aware and lacks constraints. He doesn’t suit you. You won’t be able to change him. In the end, you’re the one who will end up getting hurt.”

Silence.

Then Zhu Yun responded quietly, “Where have your thoughts gone to…”

w.a.n.g Yuxuan said, “Zhu mei, I know you too well.”

When she heard that, Zhu Yun suddenly laughed.

She raised her head, and in that moment, w.a.n.g Yuxuan saw a frightening slyness in her eyes. Zhu Yun’s skin was soft and tender as tofu. With her dark eyes, and lips turned red from drinking hot soup, under the high-end restaurant lights, she looked indescribably beautiful.

Without realizing it, she spoke in Li Xun’s relaxed tone, “It’s obvious that you don’t know me well enough.”

“Zhu mei…”

Zhu Yun placed w.a.n.g Yuxuan’s spoon into his bowl of soup. “Eat your food. It’s getting cold.”

When that topic ended, the dinner table turned silent.

Under the table, there was a small box in Zhu Yun’s hand. She’d just bought it. An expensive, high-duty lighter.

This doesn’t mean anything. It’s just a present, since that dress had been so expensive. From a young age, her mother had always told her that she couldn’t spend others’ money without giving something in return.

An eraser formed in Zhu Yun’s head, slowly erasing w.a.n.g Yuxuan’s words from earlier. At the end of their meal, the only thing on her mind was how she would gift the lighter.

When they separated that evening, Zhu Yun handed w.a.n.g Yuxuan a small notebook. “Those are some travel itineraries and shops that I recommend. If you run into any problems tomorrow, give me a call.”

w.a.n.g Yuxuan scoffed, clearly unhappy.

Zhu Yun spoke up, “About that…”

“Mmh?”

“I really do have work. Don’t be angry.”

w.a.n.g Yuxuan looked to her, but Zhu Yun was feeling guilty so she didn’t dare look him in the eyes. He said, “Zhu mei treated me to a nearly four figure dinner. Would I dare be angry?”

“……”

“Ah.” w.a.n.g Yuxuan feigned grief, “Like the saying goes, when you eat food from others, your mouth becomes soft. It’s true.”

Zhu Yun immediately raised her head. “Then, if my mom calls to ask about things, you’d better not reveal anything.”

“Don’t try to take a foot after winning an inch!”

Zhu Yun pat w.a.n.g Yuxuan’s shoulder. With a smile, she said, “Cooperate, won’t you. I’ll treat you next time.” Then she turned and headed back to the school campus.

w.a.n.g Yuxuan touched the spot where she’d hit him and muttered, “How half-hearted.” He opened the small notebook and saw the detailed commentary. Seeing that she’d been conscientious enough, w.a.n.g Yuxuan let out a small sigh.

Zhu Yun returned to her dorm room. After showering and changing her clothes, she put her things away. Sitting in her chair, she spun in circles a bit, before finally stopping to look at the box on her desk. Compared to a box for clothes, a box for a lighter was much smaller, indeed.

Would she lose out on grandeur?

In the quiet night, Zhu Yun’s thoughts flit about.

How should she give it to him? She didn’t want to be too casual and not give it the proper amount of respect. But she didn’t want to give it too much importance, lest she end up putting herself in a disadvantageous spot.

How could she skillfully recreate an atmosphere similar to ‘It’s only right for a princess to have a gown.’ For whatever reason, this small matter had her mind working so hard that it nearly bled.

The next day, she headed over to the project base with dark circles around her eyes. Li Xun had already split up the roles for their new project. He put all of Zhu Yun’s responsibilities into a doc.u.ment and sent it to her.

A few hours later, Li Xun came by to check on her progress. “The size of the page is wrong. What are you thinking about?”

Zhu Yun replied, “I’m not done with it yet.”

“Your skills turned into this after celebrating the new year?”

“……” She was just a bit distracted, is all.

The lighter was in her pocket.

Zhu Yun looked over by Li Xun’s hand. Next to his computer, there was already a lighter.

No chance…

Li Xun said, “Forget it. If you’re going to be absent-minded, it’s better not to work. Let’s go eat. You can pick the place.” Boss Li was being quite magnanimous today as well. He got up to get his coat, and then Zhu Yun followed suit.

As the light flickered, a thought crossed Zhu Yun’s mind. She glanced over at Li Xun, and then, at the speed of lightening, she s.n.a.t.c.hed the lighter on the desk and hit it behind the computer tower. Her move had been quick and smooth, and when Li Xun turned around after putting on his jacket, he didn’t notice a thing.

“Let’s go.”

“Mmh.” Zhu Yun nodded, her face even and calm. “Let’s go.”

They headed to the plaza just off campus. Since school hadn’t started yet, many shops weren’t open. They pa.s.sed by a cosmetics store, and Li Xun stopped in front of the wall mirror by the door.

Zhu Yun watched him ruffle his hair in the mirror.

To what extent does your narcissism go…

“Come here,” Boss Li ordered.

Zhu Yun walked over.

Li Xun said, “Look.”

Look at what…?

It wasn’t a slimming mirror like they had in fitting rooms, nor was there any atmospheric lighting, so your flaws were made very obvious. The dazzling lights inside the store, coupled with the ceramic floor tiles, truly revealed a person’s true appearance.

His looks really withstood the test…

Then, what did she look like today? Zhu Yun quietly looked at her own reflection. Haggard…

It was all that lighter’s fault.

Zhu Yun’s thoughts ran wild. She didn’t dare look at Li Xun, afraid that he’d see her shortcomings. She kept moving around, so that he wouldn’t be able to catch a still image of her.

“Is it getting too long?” Li Xun asked.

“What?”

He frowned and grabbed at his hair. “I can see the black.”

Zhu Yun just realized that Li Xun’s hair had grown out a bit. When he ruffled his hair, the black roots were visible.

“So f.u.c.king annoying.”

Then why do you insist on dying your hair blond?

It was an imported item, and the box had a Chinese translation slapped onto it. Zhu Yun could only see the bottom row in large print: Natural, permanent look; no stiffness!

She had no words.

After buying the hair dye, the two of them headed to find a place to eat.

“Why don’t you go to the shop to dye your hair?” Zhu Yun asked.

“Nowhere’s open. Downtown is too far of a walk. Not worth it.”

Zhu Yun nodded. And then she realized that Li Xun was looking at her.

“You pick the place. My treat.”

You’ve already said that.

“Then when we get back, you can help me dye my hair.”

“…………”

That condition hadn’t been in place earlier!

“I don’t know how.”

“That’s okay.”

“I really can’t.”

“Just read the directions and you’ll get it.”

“I’ve never dyed hair before…” There was no one around her who dyed their hair; he was the first.

Li Xun finally lost his patience. “You can’t even do that, how can you be a woman?”

“……”

Does a woman have to know how to dye hair?!

Zhu Yun really wanted to talk back, but after seeing Boss Li’s expression, she decided against it. To relieve her resentment, she purposefully chose an expensive j.a.panese restaurant. Without another word, Li Xun yawned and walked inside.

While they ate, Zhu Yun couldn’t help glancing over at Li Xun’s hair.

“What do you keep looking at? Eat your food.”

Across from her, he took a bite of his sushi roll. With a strange pressure pushing down on her, Zhu Yun ate without tasting a thing, wasting the exquisite food in front of her.

When they left the restaurant, Zhu Yun watched the direction that Li Xun was walking and asked, “Are you going to Ren Di’s studio?”

“Mmh.”

“Is Ren Di back too?”

“No. They’ll be back when school starts.”

“Oh.”

Zhu Yun looked around.

Since everyone was on vacation, the atmosphere around campus couldn’t help feeling a bit chilly. She recalled her experience last night in the dorm. The campus was quiet, large and open.

There was just the two of them. Two dots joined by a line.

The studio had been emptied out quite a bit, probably because the musicians had taken away their instruments. There was a full-length mirror on the south wall. When Li Xun walked in, he immediately pulled a chair over in front of the mirror. Then he pushed the hair dye he’d just bought into Zhu Yun’s arms.

“Study this a bit.”

Zhu Yun opened the box and pulled out the instruction pamphlet. The process was simple. After Zhu Yun read the instructions, her confidence doubled.

“Okay, I’ll start dying…” If I mess up, don’t blame me. Zhu Yun pulled on a pair of plastic gloves.

The sky was overcast, and though it was still early, the room was rather dark. Not to the extent that they had to turn on the lights though.

Zhu Yun thoroughly mixed together the two tubes of dye. Since there was no s.p.a.ce to put the container down, she handed the mixed contents to Li Xun. “Hold this for me.”

Li Xun lazily accepted it.

Things often look easy, but in reality are hard to do.

It was Zhu Yun’s first time dying hair, and she was indeed not proficient at it. She was worried the hair dye would get something dirty or end up where it shouldn’t be, so she worked very carefully. So carefully that she still hadn’t finished after a long while.

“Are you still hungry or something?”

Zhu Yun lifted her eyes and happened to catch Li Xun’s gaze head on.

With his hair was wet, the shape of his face became more distinct.

Zhu Yun replied, “I’m full.”

“If you’re full, why are you so weak?”

Zhu Yun cleared her throat. Then she added a bit of strength. Through the thin layer of plastic, the temperature and feel of his head clearly pa.s.sed onto her fingertips to her nerves.

Quiet.

The open s.p.a.ce and the cold, concrete walls made the scene more stark.

“Get me a smoke,” he said quietly.

Zhu Yun took off her gloves and grabbed the box of cigarettes from his coat. She pulled one out and Li Xun lowered his head and opened his mouth. She looked at his back, his neck, shoulders, over to the collar of his dark shirt. Dark, like a riddle.

When she put the cigarette into his mouth, she suddenly realized something.

Fire…

Where there is a cigarette, there must be a source of fire.

Fire…

My f.u.c.king chance!!!

G.o.d has opened his eyes. The question she’d been thinking about all night—how to skillfully create the same atmosphere as ‘It’s only right for a princess to have a gown’—finally had an answer.

“Light. What are you thinking about?” he asked, the cigarette in his mouth.

Zhu Yun suppressed the sputtering volcano inside of her. “Mmh,” she replied quietly, and then grabbed the lighter from her pocket. His expression immediately stiffened. It was indeed an eye-catching lighter. Wrapped in a golden snowflake pattern, it shined brilliantly and looked extremely beautiful.

With a press of her finger, fire leapt up smoothly. Fortunately, she’d prepared the lighter earlier. It’s lighting mechanism was a bit different from ordinary lighters, and so required a bit of skill.

He was quiet for a moment. When he turned his head, his expression softened, he narrowed his eyes, and dipped his head to light his cigarette. His wet hair and slender neck looked like a slow-motion shot in a movie. The light reflecting on his face gave off an indescribable s.e.xiness.

After exhaling a mouth of smoke, he looked at the lighter again. “Not bad.”

Zhu Yun’s hand trembled a bit. Several responses tumbled around in her head, but in the end she just ended up saying, “If it’s not bad, then I’ll leave it with you.”

Eh? That wasn’t too bad.

Li Xun lowered his head and his shoulders shook.

He was laughing…

What was so funny…

At first, Li Xun laughed just a bit, but then, he started laughing loudly, as if he could no longer hold back. He raised his head up and cracked up with laughter. His clear and bright laugh echoed through the room, bouncing off the walls and into her heart.

Gooseb.u.mps covered Zhu Yun’s body. She couldn’t stand it anymore, and she really wanted to find a crack to crawl into.

Just as Zhu Yun was about to break, Li Xun finally stopped. The continuous laughter had turned his face a bit red. Eyes curved, he said, “Alright, leave it with me. Help me put it away.”

Success. No matter what he says, her plan was a success.

Zhu Yun turned around and put the lighter into his coat.

“What are you doing?”

Zhu Yun turned back and looked at Li Xun leaning back in his chair. A smile still on his face, the cigarette hanging from his mouth, he narrowed his eyes and looked down. “Put it away here.”

Zhu Yun looked down and saw that he’d stretched out his right leg.

A pocket on his black pants.

h.e.l.l…

f.u.c.king h.e.l.l, I underestimated Top Score Li again!

Zhu Yun looked at his calm, composed expression. She refused to lose. She walked over and put the lighter into his pants’ pocket.

He was sitting, and his pants were tight, especially at the thighs. There looked to be something in his pocket. Money, or keys? His legs looked very solid. Although he didn’t have a muscular build, he looked slender and flexible.

This was Li Xun’s body…

When she recalled that, Zhu Yun’s legs turned to jelly.

She lowered her head, as if doing something, but actually just trying to hide her face. It was definitely completely red. Definitely.

Li Xun was very near, and the air was filled with cigarette smoke.

Zhu Yun finally stuffed the lighter into his pocket, and then she stood up. Their faces touched. Compared to her burning hot face, Li Xun’s face was cold, like a piece of silk. Zhu Yun’s courage had been broken, and Li Xun was still smiling.

“…I need to use the washroom.” Zhu Yun didn’t dare look up at the mirror as she mumbled a few words, turning to leave. She headed straight into the washroom, locked the door, and leaned with her back against it.

She clenched her hands into fists, pressing, pressing. Inside of her, she screamed to the heavens.

Pull yourself together!

Fortunately, Zhu Yun had a strong mentality. After a short while, she washed her hands and calmly stepped out of the bathroom.

With the lighter episode behind them, and Li Xun’s hair-dying completed, after returning to the project base, Zhu Yun was finally able to concentrate on her project.

After that incident, the two of them acted the same as before, as if nothing had happened between them at all.

Several days later, Gao Jianhong returned. He happened to see Li Xun’s new lighter and curiously asked, “Ay, what good taste. Where’d you get it? Let me see.”

“Get away.” Li Xun put away the lighter. “Hurry up and start working with the princess on the project. We have other things to do, so we need to finish this before school starts.”