The neighbourhood was quiet, clean pavements, old trees lining the street, the distant sound of children somewhere out of sight.
Mo Beichuan stood on the pavement and looked up at the building.
Not bad.
He glanced around.
Now. How to make this look like an accident.
A beat of silence.
...I could just buy the building.
He pulled out his phone.
"Secretary Fang"
"Yes, President Mo"
"Buy this building for me"
A pause. Very brief.
"Yes, President Mo"
He hung up.
Simple.
He pocketed his phone and looked up again — and at that exact moment, the lobby doors swung open.
Lin Qinran stepped out.
She was dressed simply, a canvas bag over one shoulder, hair loosely tied back. No particular expression on her face. Just a woman with somewhere to be.
He walked over.
"Miss Lin" he said, his tone carrying just the right amount of mild surprise. "Quite the coincidence, meeting you here"
She turned at the sound of her name.
Her expression didn't change much. Just a brief, calm assessment.
"Hello, CEO" she said. "I live here"
"I see" he replied.
He fell into step beside her as though she had invited him. She hadn't.
"I came to visit a friend" he added, without being asked.
She didn't respond to that.
"So where are you headed, Miss Qinran"
"The supermarket"
"May I follow"
She glanced at him once. Then looked forward again.
"As you wish"
She walked ahead. He followed.
The street was unhurried around them. A vendor was packing up a cart nearby. Pigeons scattered from a ledge overhead. The afternoon light fell at a low angle, catching the dust in the air and turning it gold.
He kept pace beside her easily.
"By the way" he said after a moment. "Where is the little one today"
She glanced at him briefly. "At a friend's place"
"I see" A pause. "What he did the other day — that was quite something"
The corner of her mouth moved slightly. Not quite a smile. "I'm sorry. It happened due to a misunderstanding"
"No offence taken" he said simply.
She nodded once and kept walking.
He looked at her.
The street moved around them a cyclist passing, a woman calling out to someone across the road, the city doing what cities did. And she walked through all of it completely at ease, canvas bag on her shoulder, entirely unbothered.
She didn't notice him looking.
The supermarket doors slid open with a soft chime.
Cool air. Fluorescent light. The low hum of refrigerators and the faint crackle of an announcement overhead.
Qinran picked up a basket and moved toward the vegetables without hesitation. He followed at a reasonable distance, hands in his pockets.
She stopped in front of the eggplants and picked one up without hesitation.
He looked at the eggplant. Then at her. His brow furrowed slightly.
"You like eggplants"
She glanced at him. "Yes"
He said nothing but the frown remained, which made her laugh softly.
"Luoli doesn't though" she added, and something in her expression shifted — just slightly, just for a second. A small, quiet warmth that crossed her face before it settled back into calm.
She put the eggplant in the basket anyway.
He watched her.
Still the same.
He didn't say it out loud.
At the cashier, she set the basket down and began unloading.
"Oh I forgot something" she said. "Could you hold my place"
"Go ahead"
She disappeared back into the aisles.
He stepped forward.
A few minutes later she returned, item in hand, and reached into her bag for her card then stopped.
The cashier was already smiling at her.
"No need, miss. Your husband has already paid"
Qinran stilled.
"...Husband?"
"Yes " the cashier nodded pleasantly toward the man standing just to the side. "Him"
She turned.
Mo Beichuan met her gaze with an expression of complete, unhurried calm.
She looked at him for one second. Then back at the cashier.
"I see" she said. "Thank you"
Outside, the doors slid shut behind them.
The afternoon air was cooler now, the light softer.
"Give me your account number" she said, adjusting the bag on her shoulder. "I'll transfer the amount back"
"No need"
She glanced at him.
"Just think of it as company welfare" he said.
"...I see" she said. "Thank you"
She turned and walked toward home.
He stood on the pavement and watched her go.
The street was quiet again.
He stayed there a moment longer than necessary.