chapter 2

chapter 2

Several years earlier, Qin Shen had come home from work with his face dark and grim.

I immediately sensed that something was wrong and asked what had happened. He sat on the sofa in silence for a very long time before forcing out the words: he had met a relative of the person who killed his parents.

When Qin Shen was eighteen, his parents’ car was stopped at a red light when a drunk driver slammed into it at high speed. All three people in the two cars died at the scene.

Lin Jin was the drunk driver’s daughter.

By the time Qin Shen discovered the connection, she had already been his secretary for three months.

His eyes reddened, and his hands shook.

“A-Li, what am I supposed to do? I know she was innocent too, but I can’t stop wanting to punish her. I even—I even want to strangle her.”

I held him and soothed him gently. “It’s over now. You don’t have to force yourself to face her. If you don’t want to see her, you don’t have to keep her around.”

For the first time that day, I saw him as a helpless child. He clung to me and refused to let go.

Some time later, I cautiously asked about it again. He looked perfectly calm.

“I transferred her to another floor.”

I was worried. “Why not fire her outright? Are you sure you’ll be all right?”

“You were right. I can’t spend my life trapped in the past. I’ll treat her presence as a whetstone for my self-control. Don’t worry. I’m fine.”

On my occasional visits to the company after that, I never saw Lin Jin again, nor did Qin Shen ever mention her. I assumed he had laid that old torment to rest.

Yet here she was in his office.

“I thought Qin Shen had a different secretary.”

Lin Jin smiled awkwardly. “Secretary Shen is on maternity leave. Several of us from logistics are taking turns covering for her.”

“That must be hard work.” I smiled and nodded.

Lin Jin was not beautiful. She was short and thin, with ordinary features, plain clothes, and a perpetually timid way of speaking and looking at people.

She seemed like a frail, harmless rabbit.

She bowed to me. “Mrs. Qin, if there’s nothing else, I’ll leave you to it.”

As she lowered her head, I glimpsed several obvious red marks on her neck.

They looked like hickeys.

Qin Shen returned from his meeting in his usual suit and white shirt, tall, crisp, and handsome. He leaned against the doorway instead of coming in and simply smiled at me.

“So there are days when you’ll come and see me without being asked.”

I walked over and hugged him. “Should I visit more often? Everyone at your company seems to welcome me.”

He ruffled my hair. “I welcome you. Why should you care about them?”

I chose my words carefully. “Lin Jin brought me tea just now.”

He went silent for a beat, then gave a low hum of acknowledgment.

“She’s filling in as secretary for a while. A-Li, don’t worry. I learned to face that history a long time ago.”

I looked up at him and said softly, “Mom always said you had the resolve and resilience to overcome anything. You’re so successful now, and you’ve built the company so well. She was right about you.”

His beautiful eyes lowered to meet mine. After a long moment, he bent and kissed my forehead.

“A-Li, that’s only because I had you.”

A week later, I passed the company on my way home from an art exhibition. On impulse, I bought afternoon tea and went to see him.

The receptionist greeted me with a smile. I winked and said I wanted to surprise Mr. Qin.

When I knocked on the chairman’s office door, Qin Shen’s cold voice came from inside.

“I said not to disturb me.”

I laughed. “Qin Shen, it’s me.”

The electronic lock clicked open by remote control, and I pushed the door inward.

The curtains had been drawn, leaving the room dim. Qin Shen sat behind his enormous desk and smiled at me.

“A-Li, what brings you here?”

I pouted. “I brought you afternoon tea, but you sounded so fierce just now.”

“Ten-minute break,” he said to his computer.

Then he removed a Bluetooth earpiece, pinched the bridge of his nose wearily, and smiled. “I’m in a video conference. I didn’t know it was you.”

I whispered, “Is it still going?”

“Yes. I’m muted.”

His eyes curved with amusement. “No matter how busy I am, I have time to eat something my wife brought me.”

His camera was still on, so I stayed across the desk rather than walking around it. “Then Her Majesty will graciously feed you herself.”

I opened the cake box, cut off a piece with a fork, and held it toward him. Smiling, he leaned forward and opened his mouth.

Suddenly his brow tightened, and a muffled groan escaped his throat.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, still holding the cake.

He narrowed his eyes, took the bite, and after a few seconds said in a strained voice, “Nothing. I’m probably exhausted. I felt a little dizzy.”

My heart ached for him.

“Then I won’t disturb you. You still have a meeting to finish, so get some rest while you can.”

His lips pressed together in apology. “Tell me before you come next time. I’ll clear my schedule.”

There was a roughness in his voice.

As I left, I glanced back. Qin Shen was leaning against his chair with his head tipped slightly upward. A sliver of sunlight pierced the curtains and fell across his chest, where light and shadow rose and fell.

I had nearly reached the elevators when unease pulled me back.

As I approached the corner outside his office, the door opened and someone stepped out.

She looked from side to side, and I saw her face.

Lin Jin.

She wore the same ordinary makeup and clothes and looked just as inexplicably fragile as before. The only discordant detail was her lipstick. It was smudged, leaving a faint red haze around her mouth.

I stood frozen.

Less than a minute had passed between my leaving the office, reaching the elevators, and turning back.

When had Lin Jin gone inside?

In that one brief minute?

Or—

An image of Qin Shen’s desk flashed through my mind.

It was enormous.

Large enough to hide a person underneath.