"Who is it?"

However, no answer came from the door. Instead, the knocking started again.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK—!

It felt as if those three knocks were hammering deep into Qin Yuenan’s soul, making her heart pound and her voice tremble.

"If you don’t say something, I’m calling the police!"

With that, Qin Yuenan immediately took out her phone to dial 911. But just then, a familiar, soft chuckle came from the other side of the door.

"Nan, it’s me."

Lin Shen!?

Qin Yuenan’s beautiful eyes widened in an instant. For the first time, she found Lin Shen’s deep, magnetic voice so comforting.

However, after letting out a long sigh of relief, resentment and anger surged within her.

’He was definitely trying to scare me on purpose!’

Gritting her teeth, Qin Yuenan stormed forward, yanked open the door, and was about to give Lin Shen a piece of her mind.

However, she then noticed the large bouquet of vibrant red roses in his arms.

In that moment, Qin Yuenan blinked her beautiful eyes, her expression frozen.

The scolding she was about to deliver turned into a question to which she already knew the answer.

"What are you doing here?"

"Picking you up from work."

Lin Shen handed the flowers to Qin Yuenan. He smiled as she subconsciously took them and held them in her arms.

"Didn’t I say it last time? It’s a boyfriend’s duty to pick up his girlfriend from work."

"..."

Qin Yuenan silently gazed at the roses in her arms. Their fresh fragrance wafted to her nose, dispelling almost all of her negative emotions.

Not just the resentment from being scared by Lin Shen, but also the anger from discovering his "cheating."

The moment she received the flowers, all these emotions dissipated completely.

All that remained was a warmth and a deep sense of being touched that slowly grew in her heart.

Of course, even though she was ecstatic, her cool and sophisticated personality still had a proud streak.

"You came to get me this late? I didn’t ask you to come!"

"I wanted to come."

Lin Shen knew she was just saying that and didn’t really mean it, so he wasn’t annoyed. Instead, he smiled, closed the door, and teased her.

"After all, a certain someone is famous for being afraid of the dark."

"I’m not afraid of the dark!"

"Then why are all the lights on this floor on?"

Lin Shen asked with a smile.

"If you weren’t afraid, shouldn’t you only have the light on in your own office?"

"It’s not like I have to save the company’s electricity..."

Qin Yuenan turned her face away and muttered under her breath, clearly having been found out by Lin Shen.

This made him smile faintly. His lighthearted tone suddenly became serious.

"It’s not safe for a woman to work overtime alone at night. I was a little worried, so I came to check on you."

"Of course, all these reasons can be summed up in one sentence: I wanted to see you, so I came."

"..."

Hearing Lin Shen’s heartfelt and affectionate words, Qin Yuenan’s heart skipped a beat, and she bit her lip.

She had originally planned to use the matter with Jiang Wan to throw a huge, willful tantrum at Lin Shen and vent her anger.

’But you came all this way to pick me up from work so late... How am I supposed to be angry at you now!’

"But I don’t want to see you! I hate you!"

Qin Yuenan shot Lin Shen a fierce glare, then tossed the flowers onto the sofa, stepped forward, wrapped her arms around his neck, and stood on her tiptoes to give him a passionate kiss.

’If I can’t vent my resentment, I’ll just vent my love instead.’

Qin Yuenan’s beautiful eyes were squeezed shut, her actions unusually proactive.

This caught Lin Shen completely off guard.

After all, it wasn’t often that the cool and sophisticated beauty initiated a kiss, let alone one as passionate as this.

’It can’t just be because I picked her up from work tonight, can it?’

Lin Shen was a bit surprised. After all, something so minor shouldn’t have moved the cool beauty this much...

’Or is there some other reason?’

’Well, whatever the reason, since it’s happening, I might as well enjoy it.’

Today, the cool and sophisticated beauty was still dressed in rather formal business attire.

A sleeveless black suit vest over a light gray satin long skirt.

Her aura was simple and sharp, yet she didn’t lack elegance.

Only now, that "elegance" had become a little disheveled.

The average man wouldn’t be able to handle this.

Perhaps sensing something, Qin Yuenan, her pretty face flushed red, escaped from Lin Shen’s embrace, looking both shy and annoyed.

"You’re thinking of doing something bad again."

"I can’t help it."

Lin Shen spread his hands helplessly.

"Who was it that said she hated me but then immediately kissed me?"

"Besides, you know how great your Charm is. I can’t resist it."

"Hmph."

Qin Yuenan snorted coldly on the surface, but the corners of her mouth curved into a faint smile, and her beautiful eyes even crinkled into crescents.

She was quite pleased by Lin Shen’s praise.

So, Qin Yuenan decided to let the matter with Jiang Wan slide for now. It wouldn’t be too late to have a showdown after she had investigated it thoroughly.

’Maybe it’s all a misunderstanding?’

’Though the chances of that are slim...’

"Let’s go."

Qin Yuenan picked up the flowers and her bag, humming a little tune as she left the office in a cheerful mood.

"I don’t feel like driving. You can take me."

"Huh?"

Lin Shen was a little confused.

"If you don’t drive, how will you get to the office tomorrow? Should I come pick you up from your place again?"

"You idiot!"

Qin Yuenan shot Lin Shen a sidelong glance, a look of shy annoyance on her face as a blush gradually crept up her cheeks.

Seeing this, it suddenly dawned on Lin Shen, and he coughed a few times.

"Actually, my place is pretty big. Want to come see it?"

"Mhm."

Qin Yuenan lowered her gaze, took the initiative to hold Lin Shen’s hand, and said softly.

"Thank you for coming to pick me up from work today."

In truth, something so minor shouldn’t have moved Qin Yuenan so deeply.

But today, she’d had a bellyful of frustration at work, and suspicion and cracks had appeared in her relationship.

All these factors combined had left Qin Yuenan’s thoughts agitated and chaotic, making her normally independent heart feel lost and helpless.