After the call ended, the private room fell abruptly silent.
Fang Yuan stared at the delicate embroidery on the napkin, yet the corner of her eye couldn't help drifting toward Jiang Cheng.
The word "sister-in-law" still echoed in her ears.
Jiang Cheng said nothing, and that made her uneasy.
After a moment's silence, Fang Yuan finally couldn't hold back.
She cleared her throat softly, breaking the awkward hush.
With slight awkwardness she explained, "The way I answered them just now was only to keep them from getting the wrong idea—please don't take it to heart."
Jiang Cheng didn't expose her on the spot; he simply chose to stay quiet.
By now Fang Yuan's attitude toward him had visibly shifted.
Whether in conversation or casual physical contact, everything felt far more natural.
Just then Jiang Cheng suddenly spoke. "Sorry." His voice was low, magnetic, as though it could pierce straight into a person's soul.
Fang Yuan lifted her head at the words and met Jiang Cheng's gaze. To her shock, he was staring at her with a heart-stopping look—a predator's stare that sent a tremor of fear through her.
You grow used to his every move, even to the feeling of having him beside you.
The deeper the infiltration, the harder it is to tear yourself away from the other person.
Some infiltrations hurt even more.
You grow used to him, yet you can never truly possess him.
That feeling is far worse than slowly being permeated by someone after you've already won him.
As a qualified hunter, Jiang Cheng had remarkable patience.
"Sorry." Jiang Cheng spoke again. "They mistook you for someone else."
Fang Yuan looked up to find him studying her with that same heart-stopping gaze.
The predatory glint in his eyes made her shiver.
"It's fine." Fang Yuan's thoughts were in turmoil. "Anyway… we look alike."
The words left her own lips before she realized it, and she froze.
Earlier, when Jiang Cheng had said the same thing, she would study herself in the mirror, searching for every similarity she shared with Zhou Ying.
But after hearing it several times, Fang Yuan discovered she had accepted the claim.
Not only accepted—now she was voluntarily repeating it.
In truth, it was thanks to that video call just now.
Before, she had suspected it was merely an excuse from Jiang Cheng.
Yet the people on the call had all mistaken her for Zhou Ying.
If the two of them didn't look uncannily alike, how could so many people get it wrong?
Seen in that light, it was understandable that Jiang Cheng had been confused.
Just as Fang Yuan herself was coming to terms with the idea, Jiang Cheng suddenly spoke.
"No, you're still a bit different—Zhou Ying can't hold her liquor like you can."
The instant the words left his mouth, his hand reached to the corner of her lips and gently wiped away a drop of wine.
The gesture caught Fang Yuan off guard and set her heart racing.
She had to admit, Jiang Cheng really knew how to tug at a person's heartstrings.
A moment ago he had said she and Zhou Ying were nearly identical; now he was stressing a difference.
The seeming contradiction only made her pulse quicken.
So he had noticed something unique in her?
She said nothing, but the faint curve at the corner of her mouth betrayed her thoughts.
And faced with Jiang Cheng's outstretched hand, her heart was in a fluster.
After all, it was an unmistakably intimate gesture.
By rights she should have dodged, as she had countless times before, to preserve her dignity and reserve as the elder.
Yet alcohol coursed through her veins, and the respectful chorus of "sister-in-law" from those Second-generation rich still rang in her ears.
Fang Yuan found herself unable to resist.
After a brief surrender she quickly pretended nothing had happened and turned her head away.
Softly she said, "When we finish eating I'd like to go back. I'll organize the Zhengde materials."
"You've had a bit to drink; rest tonight, no rush."
"I'm fine, not very tired."
Unconsciously she smoothed her burning cheeks.
The motion made the collar of her sweater slip a fraction.
It revealed a delicate collarbone identical to Zhou Ying's.
The soft curve half-exposed at the neckline gleamed alluringly, inviting touch.
Seemingly unaware, Fang Yuan even tugged the collar lower. "Just a little warm…"
As the words left her, she felt a scorching gaze land on the skin she'd bared.
But before she could adjust the neckline, Jiang Cheng's predatory stare had already been hidden.
He stood first, took the tan coat she'd hung on the rack.
"I'll take you home," he said.
...On that rainy night Chengdu seemed wrapped in a hazy mist, the whole city blurred and indistinct.
In the back seat Fang Yuan gazed through the rain-streaked glass.
She watched the neon lights outside, smeared and dreamy by the downpour.
Her fingers drummed absently on the leather seat, a faint sound easing her nerves.
The tension came because this was her first time sharing the back seat with Jiang Cheng.
Though the driver Wang Sheng sat up front, the rain outside, the sealed windows, the cramped space all brewed an indescribable intimacy.
Seeing Fang Yuan suddenly hug her arms, Jiang Cheng raised the air-conditioning temperature.
"Cold?"
She shook her head, but the hem of her coat slipped with the motion, exposing legs sheathed in sheer stockings.
Before she could reach out, Jiang Cheng had already pulled her clothes back into place.
She'd assumed Jiang Cheng was going to rest his hand on her leg again.
Instead, he'd simply tucked her in, worried she was cold.
The thoughtful gesture made Fang Yuan clamp her lower lip between her teeth.
Right now she had no idea what to say.
She'd been regretting it since the moment they sat down to eat.
Regretting that she'd deliberately asked Jiang Cheng to dinner today.
She'd thought she could treat him like any ordinary friend.
While quietly helping Zhou Ying win more of Jiang Cheng's affection.
But face-to-face with him, she couldn't keep her emotions in check.
After a brief silence Jiang Cheng heard Fang Yuan's voice, barely a whisper.
"Thank you."
She fell silent at once, turned to the window, and pretended to sleep.
When the car rolled to a stop beneath Wangjiang Residence.
Jiang Cheng noticed something odd about Fang Yuan's state.
Moments ago she'd seemed perfectly sober.
Now a strong wave of drunkenness appeared to sweep over her.
As time passed the signs grew more obvious.
A faint blush crept across her cheeks, like a veil of sunset cloud.
Her normally fair skin now carried a hint of wine, making her look alluring.
"Let me help you up?"
Jiang Cheng's low, magnetic voice sounded beside her ear.
It seemed to pierce her eardrum and reach straight into her heart.
Seeing her give a slight nod.
Jiang Cheng slipped an arm around her waist.
Instantly Fang Yuan took it as a cue and leaned her full weight against him.
The tip of her nose brushed the pulsing vein at the side of his neck.
The warm contact made Jiang Cheng's body give an involuntary shiver.
At the front door her dazed eyes suddenly opened a crack.
Through the slit she saw Jiang Cheng at the apartment entrance, unlocking the door with his fingerprint.
A soft beep sounded and the door swung open to reveal darkness within.
Half-carried into the bedroom, Jiang Cheng couldn't stop his gaze from drifting to Fang Yuan's collarbones.
The snow-white skin beneath them gleamed like pearl in the warm light.
Though her eyes were shut, at such close range Fang Yuan still caught the hitch in his breathing.
She knew her body showed not the slightest sign of age.
On the contrary, it brimmed with the allure of a mature young woman.
In this state, plus the flush of wine, what man could resist?
Noticing Jiang Cheng's reaction, she deliberately murmured and snuggled closer.
Her fingertips even grazed his taut abs, seemingly by accident.
"Water… I want water."
The movement sent her sweater slipping off her shoulder, exposing lace straps identical to Zhou Ying's.
Jiang Cheng gave a low grunt and suddenly seized her wandering wrist.
Though Fang Yuan's "record" was only one, when she took the initiative she could make a man hard in seconds.
Jiang Cheng sighed in resignation.
From the instant he'd opened the door he'd known she was faking drunk.
He'd played along, but now he was uncomfortably aroused.
Still, he made no move to go further.
With Fang Yuan's current favorability value, forcing another round of his twisted "egg-eating" game.
Would probably make a third time impossible.
Staring at a face that looked too much like Zhou Ying's.
Jiang Cheng frowned.
As for their relationship, he believed in letting things follow their course—and in infiltration-style interaction.
So-called infiltration meant making the other person grow used to his presence without noticing.
Like the sudden hand-holding just now.
Touch her a few times when she didn't resist, and soon it would feel normal.
Such a habit was subtle; she might not even realize it forming.
Once someone grows used to another, dependence and feelings deepen.
Every move of that person draws attention; being near him becomes second nature.
The deeper the infiltration, the harder the two become to separate.
Because the habit has rooted itself in her life and can't be cut away.
There's another kind of infiltration that hurts.
Getting used to someone yet never truly possessing him.
It feels within reach yet forever out of grasp.
Even worse than having and then slowly losing.
As an experienced hunter, Jiang Cheng's patience far exceeded ordinary men's.
He knew pursuit required calm endurance.
When Fang Yuan couldn't live without him, he would hold the initiative.
Fang Yuan felt the world spin.
Jiang Cheng lifted her in a bridal carry and set her gently on the bed.
Long fingers tucked the quilt in carefully, lingered a moment above her collarbone, then withdrew with restraint.
The gesture made Fang Yuan think Jiang Cheng really meant to do something.
Just as she prepared to open her eyes and let him know she was pretending to sleep.
Jiang Cheng's tone turned teasing; he flicked her earlobe with a fingertip.
"Only when you're drunk… do you dare seduce me so openly."