Shen Gu's study was quieter than the rest of the estate.
No crystal chandeliers.
No shallow laughter.
Just dim lighting and the faint scent of sandalwood and ink.
He stood by the window when I entered.
Tall. Still. Controlled.
The elder Shen brother.
In my last life, he was always in the background — watching, thinking, calculating. The only one who questioned why I disappeared. The only one who didn't celebrate when Shen Yu took my company.
He did not turn immediately.
"I heard," he said calmly, "you've made a dramatic announcement."
"I have."
Now he turned.
His eyes were darker up close. Not soft. Not warm. But not cruel either.
Measured.
"You're impulsive tonight," he continued. "Breaking an engagement publicly is reckless. Dragging my name into it is… unwise."
Unwise.
"I'm honoring the contract," I replied. "Just redirecting it."
"I decline."
The answer came without hesitation.
Of course he would.
Shen Gu had never been easy to move.
"You don't love me," he said plainly. "And I won't be used as a weapon against my brother."
Weapon.
If only he knew how sharp I intended to be.
I stepped closer.
"You're wrong," I said softly.
His gaze sharpened.
"About which part?"
"You do love me."
Silence.
A dangerous kind.
His jaw tightened just slightly — almost imperceptible.
"You're overestimating your importance," he said evenly.
I didn't stop walking until I was standing directly in front of him.
Close enough to feel his body heat.
Close enough to see the faint pulse at the base of his throat.
"In my entire life," I murmured, "you were the only one who looked at me like I wasn't fragile."
His eyes flickered.
Just once.
"You watched me in board meetings," I continued. "You listened when I spoke. You argued with Shen Yu about rushing the merger."
His voice dropped lower. "You're imagining things."
Am I?
In my last life, when they announced my disappearance, he was the only one who demanded a police investigation.
The only one who didn't smile at my funeral.
I reached out.
Slowly.
And gripped the front of his tie.
His breath changed.
Barely.
"You love me," I repeated softly.
"Xie Mei."
A warning this time.
Instead of retreating, I pushed him backward.
He didn't expect it.
He allowed it.
His knees hit the edge of the leather chair behind him.
He sat.
I stepped forward.
And before he could stand again—
I sat on his lap.
The room went very still.
His hands hovered in the air for a split second, uncertain whether to push me away or steady me.
"Get up," he said quietly.
But his voice wasn't as steady as before.
I could feel the tension in his body. The restraint. The discipline.
His Adam's apple bobbed slowly as he swallowed.
There it is.
I leaned closer.
Close enough that my hair brushed his jaw.
Close enough to feel the warmth of his breath against my cheek.
He smelled clean. Subtle. Cedar and something darker underneath.
Not sweet like Shen Yu.
Solid.
Grounded.
My heartbeat betrayed me first.
Faster.
Louder.
This wasn't strategy anymore.
This was dangerous.
"If you didn't care," I whispered, my lips inches from his, "you would have pushed me away already."
His hands finally settled — not on my waist.
On the armrests of the chair.
Containing himself.
"You don't understand what you're playing with," he said softly.
I tilted my head.
"Then teach me."
His eyes dropped.
To my lips.
Just for a second.
And in that second, the air shifted.
No politics.
No revenge.
Just heat.
I leaned in.
Almost.
Almost.
His breath caught.
My fingers tightened slightly in his tie.
Another inch—
The door slammed open.
"Shen Gu!"
Ting Ting stood frozen in the doorway.
Her eyes widened in horror at the sight of us.
Me on his lap.
His face inches from mine.
Intimate. Improper. Indisputable.
For once, her composure shattered completely.
"You— what are you doing?!" she shrieked.
I didn't move.
Didn't flinch.
Instead, I slowly turned my head toward her — still seated comfortably where I was.
Shen Gu exhaled once through his nose, tension coiled tight beneath me.
Perfect timing.
Ting Ting's face flushed red. "I'm calling Shen Yu right now!"
"Please do," I said smoothly.
Her hand trembled as she pulled out her phone.
I finally slid off Shen Gu's lap — slowly, deliberately — letting the moment linger in the air like perfume.
When I stepped away, his composure had returned.
But his eyes?
Darker.
Warmer.
Awake.
Interesting.
Ting Ting backed out of the room, already dialing.
The door slammed again.
Silence returned.
Shen Gu stood.
Straightened his jacket.
Looked at me long and hard.
"You're either very brave," he said quietly,
"or very reckless."
I smiled faintly.
"Marry me," I replied.
This time—
He didn't say no immediately.