Volume 1, Chapter 159: Adopting Yang Xue's suggestion, wearing a slip nightgown for him to see.

Inside the car, it was very quiet, save for the faint, gentle hum of the freshly turned-on air conditioner.

Liang Jinmo felt that the soft, low female voice lingering in his ear was exceptionally touching and melodious.

He thought this was precisely where Xu Zhi proved irresistible to him. When she spoke to him in such a gentle tone, even if she was merely coaxing him, it was impossible for him not to be moved.

He had once been utterly alone, searching for meaning in the dark for a very long time, yet life itself held no intrinsic meaning for him. That feeling was akin to congealed blood and a heavy heart, merely existing as a walking corpse.

Until he met her once more... It felt as though he had returned to that gloomy attic, and once again, he saw the light.

In the past, he used to care about so many things, becoming sensitive and jealous because of Liang Muzhi. But now...

Let it all go. After all, it was she who had taught him how to wait.

He pulled her back into his embrace, holding her fiercely, possessed by an irrepressible urge to meld her into his very flesh and bone.

The embrace was so forceful that Xu Zhi felt a slight ache, yet she did not push him away; instead, she wrapped her arms tightly around him as well.

Upon returning to the hotel, Xu Zhi discovered a new email in her inbox.

It was from her previous interview, but rather than an offer, it contained a written test.

The document was somewhat lengthy. The email stated that the company was indeed short-staffed and needed someone who could report for duty immediately after the Lunar New Year. Having passed the first two rounds of interviews, Xu Zhi now needed to translate the document and write her translation insights in English. This served as an evaluation round, and the results of this assessment would not be provided until after the New Year.

Holding her laptop, she showed the email to Liang Jinmo, pouting as she said, "Their company's interview process is so overly complicated."

Liang Jinmo replied, "If the platform is good, everything is worth it."

That was true enough.

Right now, whatever he said, she was ready to listen. She accepted the troublesome process without a single principle, and then carried her laptop into the study.

For the better part of the day, she busied herself with this task. Halfway through, Liang Jinmo entered the study to look for a book, but she did not even raise her head.

When Liang Jinmo left, he could not help casting another glance at her.

He had never imagined Xu Zhi to be a career-oriented person, yet she was frighteningly focused when working.

However, he was currently idle.

Zhou He called, saying he had organized a dinner gathering with the team and inviting him to join the fun, but Liang Jinmo declined.

Zhou He protested over the phone, "You can bring a plus-one, you know. Let's all get together and liven things up. It's rare to have free time."

Liang Jinmo answered, "Not going."

"So heartless," Zhou He complained. "You were never this hard to schedule before. What am I going to do? I'm starting to miss when you were single. Why don't you just dump Xu Zhi? Bros before hoes, man."

Liang Jinmo retorted, "You've never been charming."

Zhou He: "..."

"Having a partner makes you think you're hot stuff, doesn't it?" Zhou He grumbled resentfully. "You used to come out every time, but now you ditch your friends for love. Hmph, just you wait! I'm going to find a partner myself, and when I do, I won't invite you either!"

With that, the other end hung up.

He thought Zhou He was rather childish.

After a while, he poured a glass of water and brought it into the study for Xu Zhi.

Xu Zhi still did not look up until he placed the water glass on the desk.

At the sound, Xu Zhi finally raised her gaze. Seeing him standing right in front of her, her almond-shaped eyes widened. "Need something?"

What kind of question was that...

Liang Jinmo said, "Nothing."

Expressionless, he turned and walked back out.

Finding this utterly bizarre, Xu Zhi watched the man leave. As she withdrew her gaze, she noticed the glass of water on the desk and paused.

So he had brought her water.

With her own man being so supportive of her work, Xu Zhi felt profoundly gratified. Even plain water tasted sweet to her. Drinking it filled her with boundless energy, and she pounded away at the keyboard with even greater vigor.

Meanwhile, having turned down Zhou He's invitation, Liang Jinmo spent the entire afternoon reading books around the apartment, feeling somewhat stifled.

That evening, after Xu Zhi finished her work and went to retrieve a change of clothes before showering, she spotted the slip dress hanging in the closet.

She took it out, laid it on the bed, and sighed inwardly.

She had originally planned to win him over as soon as Liang Jinmo returned from his business trip, but after the incident with Liang Muzhi, all the courage she had managed to muster leaked right out of her.

Buying that garment had cost her a lifetime of introversion in a single purchase.

Yet Liang Jinmo showed no signs of wanting to buy anything either...

She began to doubt existence. Was she the only one enthusiastic about this?

Clearly, whenever they slept together, he would react. Why was he able to exercise such extraordinary self-restraint?

She took a shower burdened with a head full of R-rated fantasies and heavy doubts. Upon emerging from the bathroom and returning to the guest bedroom, she froze the moment she reached the doorway.

Liang Jinmo stood with his back to her. Hearing footsteps, he glanced over his shoulder. The moment she saw the item hooked on his finger, her entire world went up in flames.

The shoulder strap of that very slip dress was caught on his fingertip.

She felt as though she were burning up. "Y-y-you... why did you suddenly come over?"

Over the past few days, the two of them had mostly been sleeping in his master bedroom. She blamed herself for being careless; the guest bedroom was also his territory, so naturally he could come and go as he pleased.

Liang Jinmo was still teasing the strap with his finger. Though he wanted to laugh inside, his tone remained calm. "Why did you suddenly start stuttering?"

Xu Zhi's face flushed crimson. She was wearing a light yellow loungewear set consisting of a long-sleeved top and trousers, her half-dry hair draped over her shoulders, and the towel in her hand was crumpled into a tight ball.

Before she could speak, he raised an eyebrow slightly. "Guilty conscience?"

He hooked the slip strap again, lifting it toward her field of vision. "Because of this?"

Xu Zhi felt he looked somewhat flippant at the moment, as if he were deliberately teasing her. Overwhelmed with embarrassment and a racing heart, she reached out to snatch it back.

She grabbed the dress and pulled, but it wouldn't budge. Flushing an even deeper red, she stammered, "Y-you... let go! This, this..."

She closed her eyes and decided to throw her best friend under the bus. "This belongs to Yang Xue! She planned to wear it for Cheng Yu, it has nothing to do with me!"

Liang Jinmo genuinely couldn't help laughing at that. "If it has nothing to do with you, why is it in your possession?"

"She had a bad breakup, and since she never wore it, she gave it to me. I... I..."

Feeling that her tongue had failed her, she wondered why she couldn't explain herself clearly.

"You what?" The man asked leisurely, his dark eyes narrowing slightly as he stared at her. "She gave it to you, so you just took it?"

Xu Zhi felt he had already seen right through her, but she simply couldn't bring herself to confess that she had actually considered adopting Yang Xue's suggestion and wearing it for him.

She fell silent, pouting as she gave the dress another tug, but it still didn't budge.

Just as she was about to give up, the dress in her hand was suddenly yanked from the other end.

Clutching it tightly, she was caught completely off guard and pulled forward, bumping straight into the man's chest.

Liang Jinmo wrapped his other arm around her, lowered his head, and chuckled softly. His thin lips brushed against the tip of her ear as his deep, magnetic voice sounded like a hypnotic incantation, "And yet... I think you'd look much better without it..."