Chapter 27 Friday
Song Xu was terrifying.
So terrifying that Wen Bairan didn’t want to see him at night for a while.
After being kept up all night and only getting two hours of hazy sleep in the morning before being dragged out of bed, she almost scared herself to death when she saw her reflection in the bathroom mirror—
Pale face, dark circles, lifeless eyes, and hair as messy as a rat’s nest.
Indeed, every night stayed up past the age of twenty-five would be written all over a woman’s face.
For the first time, she felt she couldn’t be seen without makeup.
It was already late, so she had to quickly do her makeup in Song Xu’s car.
Truth be told, Wen Bairan’s skin wasn’t in bad condition; it even looked dewy and supple. But she was just too exhausted, feeling completely wiped and running on empty.
She applied some mascara to make her sleepy eyes appear more awake and, dissatisfied with her pale lips, rummaged through her bag for lipstick. She picked one and was about to apply it when the man beside her suggested she try a different one.
Song Xu was driving and didn’t even glance her way.
But she knew all too well his ability to divide his attention.
It was just before nine, the time when the sun was getting warmer. Sunlight filtered through the black car window, bright, illuminating his strikingly handsome face with a clear and sharp clarity.
No stubble, no pores, not even the slightest trace of dark circles.
His almond-shaped eyes were sharp and profound, his expression relaxed, and his eyelashes seemed gilded by the sun, catching the light as he glanced around.
(She sighed.) "Trust me," he said with a hint of a smirk.
Ugh.
How could he look so refreshed and energetic after an all-nighter, as if he’d gotten a full eight hours of rest?
While lamenting the unfairness of the world, Wen Bairan twisted open the lipstick in her hand.
She never believed men had any say in cosmetics, especially good-looking men. What did they know about the difference between matte lipstick and glossy lip tint? They’d only ask if you forgot to wipe your mouth after eating.
Surely Song Xu would say something like that.
But as it turned out, he seemed to be right again.
The moment she applied the lipstick, Wen Bairan knew it was a disaster—her skin was too fair, and the bright red created a stark contrast, making her look like a vampire.
"......"
She could sense the person beside her seemingly laughing.
Wen Bairan silently pulled out a tissue, wiped it off, and switched to another shade, a rosy nude.
Hmm, this one was much better.
The soft pink closely matched her natural lip color, adding a touch of color without being too over the top.
Alright, she admitted that whether a man understood cosmetics wasn’t important; what mattered was that he had a good eye.
They were almost at the company.
As usual, Song Xu dropped her off at the intersection, and she walked from there.
Before getting out of the car, Wen Bairan grabbed her stuff and suddenly pulled out her phone to ask, "By the way, did you answer my call this morning?"
The car’s Bluetooth was connected to Song Xu’s podcast, and a very old English song had just ended. The brief silence before the next track began filled the car.
He didn’t answer her question.
No parking here. Glancing at her blank phone screen, Wen Bairan quickly put it away and opened the door to get out.
"I’m heading off now."
The dense skyscrapers of the Central Business District (CBD) blocked the sun, casting cool shadows on the roadside.
As she turned to close the car door, the window rolled down. Song Xu’s even tone, much like the scent in his car, felt calm and soothing on this rushed morning.
"Don’t be late for the morning meeting."
"......"
And here she thought he was going to say something.
Ruthless capitalist.
Wen Bairan rolled her eyes inwardly.
The traffic light at the intersection turned green.
Song Xu’s face disappeared behind the rising window, and the silver-gray Volvo put on its left blinker, unobtrusively turning heads in the morning commute.
Checking the time, she didn’t dare linger for a moment and hurried straight to the company.
Fortunately, she wasn’t late.
Before she could even settle into her seat, Qiao Yi came over and pulled her aside, asking how it felt to be worked to the bone by Song Xu.
Wen Bairan was surprised—how did Qiao Yi know she’d been worked to the bone?
Qiao Yi: "You’re wearing makeup! You never wear makeup, but today you did. Why? Must’ve been up all night and woke up looking terrible. I saw it—you left your dinner untouched in the kitchenette. Must’ve been rough going hungry, huh? Haha, now you understand why I would never work for him!"
She analyzed it all so logically, completely missing the subtle shift in Wen Bairan’s expression.
"He really isn’t human," was all Wen Bairan could say.
Her dejected tone only fueled Qiao Yi’s glee. "Come on, tell me, what did he make you do? Prepare contracts? Review documents?"
What did she do?
Wen Bairan thought back but couldn’t recall doing much of anything. In fact, Song Xu had done most of the work.
From front to back,
Left to right,
Top to bottom.
She had been thoroughly worn out.
Feeling a knot of frustration in her chest, Wen Bairan weakly said, "Well, it was just... one thing after another."
"Hahaha!" Qiao Yi's inhuman laughter earned her a dirty look, and she quickly covered her mouth, though her shoulders still shook with mirth. "Sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh, but your expression right now looks exactly like a good girl who’s been messed with by some bully—the kind left all by herself in an empty room."
Wen Bairan: "?"
"Why 'left all alone in an empty room'?"
"Because he got his kicks and left!" Qiao Yi laughed even more recklessly.
"......"
It had to be said—Qiao Yi had a knack for seeing through appearances to the truth.
If Wen Bairan didn’t know she was just talking out of her ass, she might’ve suspected Qiao Yi had been following them yesterday.
But it did serve as a wake-up call.
Working in the same company, some things were just too obvious and could easily lead to trouble.
She hadn’t considered this when she applied to be his secretary.
Hormones give you away—the more they did, the more clues there’d be.
It seemed she needed to keep him at arm's length.
As quitting time rolled around, Wen Bairan received some news.
The project for Dayun’s suburban hospital got the green light, and they would soon send someone to handle the bid for the land.
It could be as soon as tomorrow or as late as next week.
The person coming was Zhong Yu.
After their bad breakup last time, she’d given Song Xu a little punishment—this time, she probably wanted to see his attitude. Rumor had it she’d applied for the assignment herself and would be staying in Shenjiang for about a month.
Qiao Yi said she was definitely planning to have Song Xu for breakfast during this month.
Wen Bairan agreed with the term "devour whole," but she strongly doubted who would be coming out on top.
The two placed a bet over WeChat.
A fancy dinner cruise on Shenjiang Harbor.
Whoever lost would pick up the tab.
Wen Bairan was very confident in herself.
Song Xu was cold on the outside but... okay, fine, at least he’s warm.
Even if he wasn’t interested in Zhong Yu now, there was a saying: "Where there’s a will, there’s a way." If Zhong Yu stuck to him like glue and came on to him over the month, he might give in after some resistance and hook up with her.
Once there was one night, a second and third would surely follow.
She had experience in this matter.
Seeing how confident she was, Qiao Yi thought Wen Bairan had inside information and cried foul, saying she’d been tricked—the cruise dinner was 998 per person! She was out two grand like this, and she insisted Wen Bairan pay her back.
Song Xu was in his office. As he shut down his computer, he spotted two women arm in arm passing by outside, their laughter floated in. He faintly heard that Wen Bairan was buying dinner tonight at Yanzi Lou in Zhongzhan.
She was in a good mood.
He texted her: "See you tonight."
It wasn’t until almost midnight, as he stepped out of the shower, that her reply finally showed up.
[Vivi]: Tired, resting for two days.
Between the lines, it seemed last night was still weighing on her.
Song Xu tossed his phone onto the bed.
The champagne on the cart was still slightly chilled. He opened it and poured a glass.
The crisp bubbles wetted his palate, the high-rise night view spread out like a sky full of stars.
He lowered his eyes and chuckled softly. "No taste for the finer things."
//
Wen Bairan only found out about Jiang Shijin’s phone call on Friday.
Su Yi had been discharged from the hospital and was dead set on seeing her—supposedly to thank her, but most likely to talk about Zhou Lin.
To her surprise, Wen Bairan found that hearing his name again only made her pupils just constricted a little, her fingers gripping the mouse twitched almost imperceptibly. And then... nothing more.
Like a lake on a windless day, the ripples from a fallen leaf spread and faded, not enough to form waves.
She was so calm it felt unbelievable even to herself.
This time, Su Yi came in the afternoon again.
But she’d gotten smarter—waiting in the lobby on the first floor. It had air conditioning.
Wen Bairan wasn’t working overtime and spotted her white dress as soon as she stepped off the elevator.
It was the peak of rush hour. Amid a crowd of people who’d worked all day, brimming with frustration and complaints, Su Yi’s solitary all-white outfit stood out strikingly.
"I’ll give her five minutes at most."
Song Xu’s deep, smooth voice came from above as he passed by.
Only the two of them heard.
Wen Bairan’s stomach clenched abruptly.
She’d said in her message she needed two days of rest, and he’d practically been counting down the hours.
He’d started urging her to meet yesterday, and by today, he’d backed her into the break room.
During lunch break, everyone was on their phones or watching videos at their desks, full from their meals—only the HR team was still hard at work.
This year, the company had upgraded to a foreign enterprise, and campus recruitment was more complicated than ever. Jennifer had several proposals rejected by the manager and was so frustrated she cussed up a storm in her office. Tired of ranting, she went for water—only to find there was none.
She went to the pantry and found the door locked by some jerk. After jiggling the handle for a while, she left, grumbling.
Behind the locked door, the light was off. The blinds on the window didn’t block much light, and through the frosted glass facing the office area, a faint white outline was barely visible.
Wen Bairan was pressed against the glass, her mouth covered, until the person outside walked away. The hand under her skirt roamed restlessly, and she swallowed a scream, her legs clamping shut tightly, refusing to let him go further. But such intense tension also made her extremely sensitive.
The man’s hard chest pressed against her, and he kept leaning in closer.
Heartbeats and breaths were in disarray—impossible to tell whose was whose.
Her entire being was locked in a standoff with that finger.
Advancing meant sinking into the mire.
Retreating meant stepping into wet woods.
Caught between advance and retreat, she was on the verge of a breakdown, fighting the urge to cry.
"Mph!" Her eyes widened in protest.
Song Xu lowered his gaze, tilting his face slightly with a deliberately teasing, mischievous grin. "Really not coming?"
"Suit yourself." He withdrew his hand as if to leave. "I don’t like forcing things."
Wen Bairan breathed a sigh of relief, the tension in her legs easing along with it—but then he suddenly pushed further. Completely caught off guard, she arched her foot, toes curling tight, her high heels lifting off the ground as her body tensed.
"Song—" This time, she really cried out.
But it was swallowed into Song Xu’s throat.
A deep, lingering kiss.
Accompanied by his amused chuckle.
"I don’t like forcing things."
"But you’re playing along pretty well, aren’t you."
He withdrew his hand, smiling as he watched Wen Bairan’s eyes redden, tears glistening with either pleasure or distress. Every inch of her gaze accused him of being a total jerk.
Song Xu narrowed his long eyes, the raw desire in them softening with tenderness.
He bent down to comfort her, kissing her cheeks and lips, his voice deep. "Alright, the rest can wait till tonight."
...
Logically, Wen Bairan didn’t want to let him have his way, but her emotions and body wouldn’t listen.
She spent the entire afternoon feeling as if she were sitting on pins and needles.
She made several trips to the bathroom, and each time she passed Song Xu’s office, she felt an overwhelming urge to charge in and have it out with him.
By the time work ended, he made a point of walking out with them to take the elevator.
Outwardly, he appeared coolly staring at his phone, but in reality, he was sending her WeChat messages.
Her phone kept vibrating in her bag. She had intended to ignore it, but the noise got Qiao Yi’s attention, forcing her to take a quick glance before hastily putting it away.
Qiao Yi whispered, "Who is it?"
Wen Bairan replied, "Just spam."
"Oh."
The elevator was dead silent, like a conference room.
Song Xu gave off a chill, completely unconcerned with how uncomfortable everyone else felt.
Wen Bairan pressed her lips together and, using fixing her hair as an excuse, turned slightly to shot him a look.
Song Xu remained utterly composed, his expression calm and collected.
The slight curl of his lips only made him seem more like a jerk.
"......"
The elevator arrived. Wen Bairan looked away and stepped inside, following the flow of people around her.
It was at that moment that Su Yi’s call came through.
The signal in the elevator was intermittent, but her voice came through the receiver with unusual clarity.
"Wen-jie, I’m here."
Qiao Yi asked again, "Who's that calling you 'jie'? Is she your younger sister?"
Wen Bairan gave a weak smile. "A... distant relative."
As she spoke, she felt eyes burning into her back.
It felt mocking.
Song Xu had clearly recognized who it was.
Then again, he had been there that day at Zhongzhan, and at the hospital on Monday night.
He was a monster who could read people like a book. The more he knew, the more transparent she became in his eyes.
After exiting the elevator and saying goodbye to Qiao Yi, Song Xu left her a final message.
On her phone.
[Song Xu]: Being fake is a waste of time
[Song Xu]: Unfortunately, we don’t have time for that tonight
[Song Xu]: You have five minutes
[Song Xu]: If you don’t come down, I’ll come get you
Wen Bairan didn’t know how he intended to "help" her, but as she stood face to face with Su Yi, she truly felt time being wasted.
"Wen-jie, A-Lin is sick. Can you go see him? Jiang Shijin called you so many times, but you never answered. When someone finally picked up, it was a man... Please, sister, whether you’re together or not now, just go see him, okay?" Su Yi said between sobs.
People passed by around them, many noticing her tears.
Wen Bairan, not wanting to become the subject of office gossip headlines, pulled her aside and handed her a tissue, watching as she dried her tears.
Her expression was too cold, like a cold-blooded monster.
Like Song Xu, a monster.
"I don’t have time for this."
"Besides, there’s something of mine you forgot to give back."
Su Yi paused. "...What?"
......