Chapter 3

After taking a moment to steady myself, I crawled out from under the covers and opened my door to use the bathroom.

Jiang Tingche emerged just as I stepped into the hall.

He was bare from the waist up, with only a towel knotted around his hips. He normally wore a robe around the apartment. How generous of him to show so much skin tonight.

And from this close, his abs really did look exactly like the photo my online boyfriend had sent me—only the real thing was far more vivid.

Perhaps he had been too worked up on the call. Even the coldest woman alive would have felt her heart race at the sight of him.

I stole a glance.

A faint flush still colored his ears. His expression was cool, but the heat in his eyes hadn’t faded. His lips looked unusually red, as if he had bitten them until they swelled.

Remembering the voice that had trembled with restraint over the phone made my cheeks burn.

I looked away and forced myself to sound calm. “I need to use the bathroom.”

“Mm.”

It was only one low syllable, but the slight rasp in his voice was unmistakable.

My face grew even hotter.

As I walked past him, my arm accidentally brushed his.

A shiver raced through me as if an electric current had passed between us. A trace of expensive cologne slipped into my nose, clean, cold, and mysterious—just like Jiang Tingche himself.

We both turned and met each other’s gaze.

There was a peculiar pull in those handsome eyes. They were deep and damp, like a beautiful winter pool hidden among tangling vines that would ensnare any creature foolish enough to spy from the shadows.

I lost myself in them.

I once saw a line online: [Eye contact is a kiss without words.]

I hadn’t understood it then.

Now, one look from him left me as breathless as a kiss.

The sexual tension around this man was unreal.

If he were my boyfriend, I… I could devour him for every meal.

[Are you sure about that?]

[Does the supporting character not know herself at all?]

[I get it. When I’m hungry, I think I can eat a whole cow too, and then I’m full after three bites.]

Well… maybe I wasn’t completely sure.

“Sorry,” I murmured. “I didn’t mean to bump you.”

Jiang Tingche’s voice held a lazy note. “It’s fine.”

The instant the bathroom door closed, I leaned against it and tried to calm my runaway heartbeat.

The comment feed erupted.

[Ahhh! Will the two of you stop flirting with each other?]

[You both like each other. Why can’t you just be honest?]

[Nonsense. Jiang Tingche isn’t interested in Sheng Ning.]

[He’s a high-maintenance yandere. A quiet good girl like Sheng Ning could never satisfy him.]

[Someone as reserved and low-energy as her isn’t enough for him.]

[He likes a bold, provocative woman like Xia Yu.]

[Sheng Ning is returning the account to Xia Yu tomorrow.]

[Jiang Tingche has been desperate to meet his online girlfriend in person.]

[Once they meet, they’ll hit it off and head straight to a hotel.]

[He’s never dated before. This is his first relationship, and he’s poured a lot of emotion into it.]

[Sheng Ning should get out before her identity is exposed.]

[If Jiang Tingche discovers she impersonated Xia Yu and deceived him, he’s going to be furious.]

[Run, supporting character! A rich heir like Jiang Tingche isn’t someone you can afford to provoke.]

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my slip dress in the laundry basket. Drops of water speckled the fabric, probably splashed there by the shower while Jiang Tingche bathed.

But the sight looked so intimate, so easy to misunderstand.

I really had been flirted past the limit of my endurance.

After splashing cold water over my face, I finally made a decision.

I left the bathroom and knocked on Jiang Tingche’s bedroom door.

“Jiang Tingche, are you asleep?”