Qui Anxin's Idea of Romance

Qui Anxin's heels echoed loudly across the long hallway as she made her way towards the study. Reaching the entrance, she paused, her sharp eyes narrowing at the sight of the slightly ajar door, revealing a sliver of warm light spilling out onto the polished floor.

As she stared at the door, Qui Anxin's posture remained impeccably straight, but a flicker of an unreadable expression crossed her features as she raised a hand to knock, a faint acrid and strangely familiar scent, instantly causing her to halt her action.

Inside the study, oblivious to his wife's arrival, Han Ke Ming was lost in a haze. The air hung thick with the pungent aroma of the cigar.

He took a final, deep drag, and as he exhaled, a plume of smoke drifted towards the ajar door, momentarily obscuring Qui Anxin's silhouette from view.