Chapter 5: Don't you want your pearl earrings anymore?

"……I hear Miss Gu likes art?" Young Master Li braced himself to make conversation.

"It's alright," Gu Yan stirred the coffee in front of her, "depends on my mood."

The atmosphere was a bit dry.

Young Master Li changed direction again: "What sports do you usually like? Golf? Or equestrianism? I……"

He didn't finish his sentence.

A shadow loomed over her.

It carried a faint, cold scent, like pine trees after snow.

Gu Yan froze and looked up.

The man was extremely tall, wearing a perfectly tailored black suit; he wore no tie, and the top button of his shirt was undone.

He stood by the table, his gaze lowered, looking right at her.

It was Shen Yanhui.

Gu Yan blinked, not understanding why he would appear here.

Young Master Li clearly also recognized this Mr. Shen, whom everyone in Jingcheng feared, and was so startled he stood up immediately, his chair letting out a screech.

"M-Mr. Shen? You……"

Shen Yanhui did not look at him.

He only looked at Gu Yan.

"Are you finished eating?" His voice was not loud, as flat as if he were asking about the weather today.

Gu Yan subconsciously shook her head, then nodded, her mind a bit dazed.

"Then let's go." He reached out his hand.

His palm was broad, his knuckles distinct.

Gu Yan didn't move.

Go? Go where? Why should she go with him?

"Don't you want your pearl earrings anymore?" The man's low, magnetic voice sounded by her ear; his deliberately lowered tone fell into Gu Yan's ears, sexy and provocative.

Young Master Li's expression changed; he wanted to say something, but under the faint glance Shen Yanhui swept over him, all his words got stuck in his throat.

That was the look only an absolute superior possessed.

Indisputable.

Gu Yan blinked innocently again. Hmm, pearl earrings?

She didn't really need them, but since he had delivered them to her doorstep, she might as well take them.

Thinking this, she very naturally placed her slender, soft hand into his palm, her eyes lifting slightly, her curled lashes fluttering like a butterfly.

Shen Yanhui closed his palm, pulling her up gently.

The warm touch instantly enveloped her slightly cool fingertips.

"Mr. Shen, this…… this is my and Miss Gu's……" Young Master Li finally squeezed out a sound.

Shen Yanhui paused his steps and turned his head.

"Not anymore."

Gu Yan had a perfectly appropriate look of helplessness and apology on her face, gazing at Young Master Li; she didn't want to abandon her blind date like this either.

It was just that this man was a bit overbearing.

Shen Yanhui led her out of the restaurant entrance to the quiet private elevator foyer.

Gu Yan immediately pulled her hand back.

With his palm empty, Shen Yanhui's fingertips paused slightly, then he calmly withdrew his hand and tucked it into his suit pocket.

Gu Yan turned around to face him, lifting that excessively bright and beautiful face.

She spread out her slender palm and reached it out in front of him.

"Where are my earrings?"

Her posture was haughty.

Matter-of-fact.

Shen Yanhui lowered his eyes, looking at the clear lines on her fair palm.

He didn't move.

"Does Miss Gu think I carry a woman's earrings on me at all times?"

Gu Yan widened her eyes, her delicate brows furrowed, and her voice rose a notch as she accused him: "You lied to me!"

Shen Yanhui took a half-step forward, closing the distance.

His crisp, cold scent enveloped her, "Didn't lie to you, they're at my place."

Gu Yan's beautiful eyes darted, she withdrew her hand, put it behind her back, and gave a light huff, "Then when do you plan to return them to me?"

Shen Yanhui's gaze was deep as he stared at her.

The young woman had something applied to her lips, moist and bright red, setting off her bright eyes and white teeth.

An itch suddenly surged in his throat.

These lips should be for tasting slowly, not for chattering on about nonsense.

Gu Yan felt his gaze was a bit oppressive, making her earlobes heat up.

She felt a bit cowardly.

This couldn't be blamed on her.

It was his aura that was too strong, his gaze too heavy.

Anyway, it was all his fault.

She could not show weakness, so she lifted her chin and said haughtily, "Why aren't you speaking? Is Mr. Shen really going to pocket even a single pearl earring?"

Shen Yanhui laughed abruptly, "Has Miss Gu forgotten that I just helped you get away?"

It was clearly he who had helped her, yet she was the one turning the tables first.

It made no sense.

But with her, it seemed it ought to be this way.

A girl who grew up in a pile of brocade, her temperament was both delicate and arrogant, carrying a just-right amount of unreasonableness.

Gu Yan choked, muttering, "I was planning to leave anyway."

"Is that so?" Shen Yanhui said noncommittally, his gaze sweeping over her slightly reddened earlobe, "Then it seems I did something unnecessary."

"It was unnecessary to begin with." Gu Yan turned her face away, "But... forget it, I won't ask for the earring, is that enough? Considering you did indeed save me some breath."

After she finished speaking, she turned around, making a show of leaving.

"Miss Gu."

Shen Yanhui's voice sounded from behind, unhurried and steady.

"I helped you get away; does Miss Gu not intend to show some appreciation?"

Gu Yan's footsteps paused, and she turned back to look at him.

The man stood before a dark marble wall, his posture tall and straight, the light casting faint shadows over his deep contours.

He looked at her, his expression faint, his eyes calm, yet there seemed to be undercurrents surging within them.

Unfair; for this man to grow up looking like this was simply unfair.

Gu Yan was, after all, someone who had seen big scenes; what handsome men or beautiful women had she not seen? But to grow up like this, with such an exquisite temperament, he was truly the first.

Which window did God close for him, exactly?

"Appreciation?" Gu Yan blinked, revealing a sly and delicate smile, "Does someone like Mr. Shen still lack a 'thank you' from me?"

"I do." Shen Yanhui answered crisply, "I never do business at a loss."

"Then..."

Gu Yan deliberately drew out her voice, her toe turning lightly.

She suddenly took a step forward.

The movement was so fast it carried a delicate, willful stubbornness.

Her warm, soft, and moist lips lightly imprinted onto the man's sharply defined cheek.

It was a touch and go.

Like a butterfly brushing against a petal.

She landed back in her original spot, tilting her head slightly, her curly hair sliding down from her shoulder, her eyes shimmering with a triumphant, sparkling light.

"How is this 'thank you'?"

Her voice was delicate and soft, carrying a bit of sweetness, the tail end sounding like it had a little hook.

The brave enjoy beauty first; Gu Yan gave herself a thumbs-up.

Shen Yanhui did not move.

He didn't even flutter his eyelashes, but those eyes of his suddenly deepened.

"Miss Gu's thank-you gift," he began, his voice lower and hoarser than before, "... is very unique."

He raised his hand.

He pinched her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze completely.

Gu Yan let out an "um,"

This man, how could his strength be so great!

"However," he leaned down, his breath brushing against her ear, carrying a scorching temperature, "it's not enough."

Gu Yan's heart jumped, sensing danger.

The skin touched by his fingertips felt as if tiny electric currents were darting across it.

Had she played too far?

The moment this thought flashed through her mind, her body had already reacted before her consciousness—

She abruptly lowered her body, like a nimble fish, and slipped out from the gap of the confinement formed by his arm and body.

The movement was so fast she almost twisted her high heel.

After standing steady, she left without looking back, her retreating figure revealing a hint of panic.

"Goodbye, Mr. Shen!"

The voice drifted over; although she was clearly fleeing in a panic, it still carried a bit of slyness.

Shen Yanhui laughed lowly.