Entwined

A few minutes later, Xia Yanxi found herself standing in front of the study room. Her hands, frozen in midair, almost but not quite touching the door. 

She tried to convince herself. If it were not because of the lack of cloth hangers, she would never come before him on her own will. Every time he talked, it felt like the air around her got thinner, making it hard for her to breath. 

That night… if she were not intoxicated, even if she were a million times braver, she would never dare to hug him or kiss him proactively. 

Just as the glass-like hand touched the door, it flung open, inward. The man she wanted to see was standing in front of her, towering like a majestic castle. Her heart skipped a beat before it started thumping madly. As his eyes locked with hers, Xia Yanxi's body felt like an alien, like it did not belong. 

The man had removed his suit. His white undershirt sleeves were rolled up to his biceps, revealing his muscular forearms. On his arm, adorning his coarse wrist, was a beautiful watch. 

She might be out of her nest, but she was still once a rich lady from a prestigious family. Unearthly expenses were but natural for the likes of their kind. As such, she was familiar with the car and the watch he had. They were indubitably expensive. 

As expected of the largest company in China, even being an assistant CEO could endow a man with such luxury. The girl from before, Miss He, truly underestimated the man. Even if he were an assistant, he was far richer than anyone of the same rank. 

Qiao Yanli had a look at the girl who was lost in her thoughts. The clothes he gave her were too large for her slender figure. Her long, wet hair rested gently on both her shoulders. His eyes could not help but to trace downward toward the center. The revealing valley below her pinkish neck, the exposed clavicle and everything else below it, was enticing, beckoning to him. 

Qiao Yanli quickly adjusted himself and asked, "Yes?" 

"I'm... I want to ask… Do you have any hangers for me to hang my clothes?" she asked. Even a simple question was poorly articulated. She could not help it. In the face of such a towering man, she felt like a child. It was always a problem for her to act like herself. 

"Wait here," he said, vanishing into his bedroom and reappearing with several cloth hangers in hand. 

After she was done rinsing her clothes, she lowered her head, trying to squeeze out any moisture left in her hair. At that moment, a deep, husky voice was heard. 

"Can you make something to eat?" 

The silent room was suddenly encroached on by a lower-register voice, and that startled her. The floor was wet, and a simple slip sent her tumbling forward. The man saw the falling Xia Yanxi and quickly took a step forward, catching her in midair, cushioning the fall. 

Smack! 

The two were tangled together, lips pressed… or rather knocked onto each other's. 

Xia Yanxi flinched hard because of the pain, and when she tried to ease the pain on her lips, she saw the man right in her face, looking at her with his deep, dark, onyx-like eyes. 

It was then she realized what had happened. 

Not only did she grab onto the man, but she had also forced herself on him, kissing him. 

As blood rushed to her cheeks and ears, she wanted to get away from him. When she tried to push herself off the ground, she felt a sharp pain on her head. Realizing she could not pull herself away from him, she fumbled about and saw that her hair was entangled around the buttons of his clothes. 

The more she struggled, the more painful it was. 

Would he misunderstand the situation? Thinking that she was trying to pounce on him? 

Before he could say anything as he parted his lips, Xia Yanxi quickly interjected. 

"Don't blame me for this. Why did you startle me!" 

Underneath her breath, she added, "It's not like you're a ghost or specter… how could you not make any sound when walking…" 

"Did you say something?" said the man, his voice coming from above as her face was buried in his chest. 

"Nothing…" 

She tried to remove her hair from his buttons. Unlike before, this time, they were really close to each other. The aroma of her body, after the bath, was fragrant…

She finally got up but was bending over. The pajamas were honestly too large for her. With her bent-over posture, everything could be seen, from his angle. Everything. 

Xia Yanxi was too preoccupied in trying to free herself from the goddamn buttons and did not realize that she was bending lower and lower… 

She was practically dropping down on him. 

Even without doing anything, there was this sort of attraction in this youthful girl. A dangerous enticing force to be reckoned with. 

As he continued staring, his gaze grew exponentially stronger. His breathing grew faster, ragged even. 

After finally releasing herself from the clutches of the buttons, Xia Yanxi could finally sit still. She was slightly sweating from the heat in the bathroom and when she wanted to wipe away the dampness, she could feel an intense stare coming from the man. 

What she saw was a pair of eyes, burning with desire as they were was not looking directly at her. She traced the line of sight, and when she realized she was completely exposed to the man, she blushed. Her entire face became bright red, like an overcooked lobster.