You've received your champion reward, haven't you

Chen Zhi walked out of the arrivals corridor with his backpack slung over his shoulder. He looked up and immediately spotted a figure in black.

It was Pei Ningxue.

She was wearing an impeccably tailored, form-fitting black trench coat. Her long hair was tied back in a low ponytail, and she wore flawless full makeup.

At past nine in the morning, Daxing Airport was swarming with hurried travelers dragging their suitcases. She stood there all by herself, directly opposite the exit, holding an Americano that looked like it had only been sipped once.

One look was enough to tell she had not come with good intentions.

Chen Zhi slowed his pace.

According to his initial expectations, today Lao Zhao would simply drive the car over, and he would sit in the back seat enduring a few sarcastic remarks on WeChat, and then the matter would be over.

But Pei Ningxue had come in person bright and early today.

Pei Ningxue had spotted him from a distance. She casually tossed the Americano into a nearby trash can and walked toward him.

Taking a deep breath, Chen Zhi hoisted his backpack a little higher, put on a nonchalant expression, and took the initiative to meet her halfway.

Pei Ningxue stopped half a meter in front of him.

"You..." Pei Ningxue was just about to start her attack.

"What are you doing here?"

Chen Zhi cut her off instantly. Frowning slightly, he preempted her and took control of the conversation.

Pei Ningxue was stunned for a moment.

"Heh."

After recovering, Pei Ningxue sneered, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Boss Chen is actually questioning me first?"

Chen Zhi didn't take the bait at all. He took a half-step forward, took Pei Ningxue's right hand, and expertly slipped his five fingers through hers, intertwining them.

"You're usually so busy with work, why did you wake up so early to pick me up?"

Chen Zhi's tone carried three parts heartache and seven parts blame.

"Did you stay up late looking at financial reports again last night? Why didn't you sleep a little longer?"

Pei Ningxue's hand was very soft, with slender joints, tender and smooth from her fingertips to her wrist.

One touch was enough to tell that these were hands that had been pampered since childhood and had never done any rough work.

Pei Ningxue looked down at their tightly clasped hands.

She paused for two seconds.

Then she forcefully pulled her hand away.

"Why do you think I'm so tired?"

She took a step back to create some distance and said sarcastically:

"Isn't it because a certain someone decided to be a hands-off boss and ran off to rendezvous with another woman?"

Chen Zhi shut his mouth.

Pei Ningxue stared at him for three seconds. Seeing him playing dead and staying silent, she turned around and walked out.

"Let's go, busy man."

"The company still has a mountain of critical matters waiting for you to handle."

Chen Zhi followed obediently behind her.

Outside the terminal by the VIP lane, a Rolls-Royce Phantom was parked quietly by the curb.

Lao Zhao stood by the car door. Seeing the two walking out one after the other, his years of professional intuition told him that the atmosphere today was very off.

"Mr. Chen, Miss Pei."

Lao Zhao quickly stepped forward to open the door, his eyes fixed firmly on his own shoes.

Pei Ningxue didn't look at Lao Zhao. She bent down and got straight into the car, sliding all the way to the left window seat. She picked up the tablet on the seat and immediately entered work mode.

Chen Zhi closely followed and sat on the right side.

Lao Zhao returned to the driver's seat and smoothly started the car.

The soundproof partition for the back seat hadn't been raised yet, but Lao Zhao was very tactful. He kept his eyes straight ahead, not even glancing at the rearview mirror.

The car merged into the morning rush hour traffic.

Pei Ningxue's fingers continuously swiped across the screen, her brows slightly furrowed.

Her lips were pressed tightly together, and she didn't say a single word.

Chen Zhi felt like he was being subjected to the silent treatment.

He sat on the right for about three minutes, turning his head to sneak a couple of glances at her.

After a while, Chen Zhi leaned forward, reached out his finger, and pressed the button on the center console to raise the partition.

Buzz—

The black soundproof partition slowly rose, completely isolating the front and back rows.

In the front, Lao Zhao let out a long sigh of relief.

The moment the partition closed, Chen Zhi made his move.

Pressing against the wide, soft seat, he inched toward Pei Ningxue bit by bit, pushing his luck.

Pei Ningxue noticed it immediately.

Without taking her eyes off the screen, she shifted her body closer to the left car door.

Chen Zhi moved another ten centimeters.

Pei Ningxue shifted again.

This continued until her left shoulder was completely pressed against the door panel, leaving her with nowhere left to retreat.

Pei Ningxue finally dropped the act. She snapped her head up and glared at him with an unfriendly gaze.

"What are you trying to do?"

Chen Zhi didn't waste words. He reached out his right hand and directly covered her left hand, which was resting on the edge of the tablet.

Pei Ningxue instinctively tried to break free, yanking her wrist back hard.

It didn't budge.

Chen Zhi's grip was incredibly strong. His five fingers clamped down on her wrist, giving her absolutely no room to escape.

"Let go," Pei Ningxue's voice turned cold.

"No."

Chen Zhi decided to take his shamelessness to the extreme. He squeezed right into Pei Ningxue's space and pulled her into his arms.

Pei Ningxue's entire body stiffened.

"You..."

"It's been a long time," Chen Zhi said, hugging her a little tighter. "Let me hold you for a while."

Being held by him so shamelessly, Pei Ningxue ultimately stopped struggling violently, though her breathing became a bit hurried.

But her mouth remained unforgiving.

"Why don't you go hug your championship-winning girlfriend?" Pei Ningxue's voice was laced with sarcasm. "What are you doing coming over here to hug me now?"

"You're my girlfriend too," Chen Zhi answered self-righteously, his eyes closed.

"Scumbag."

"Thank you for the compliment, Boss Pei."

Pei Ningxue was so angered by this remark that her chest heaved violently a couple of times.

The cabin fell into a brief silence.

"Stop joking around with me." Pei Ningxue finally broke the silence. She turned her head, trying to put some distance between their faces. "Does Deep Space Technology have too much money in its accounts? Just to make a beauty smile, you give away tens of millions of dollars without a second thought?"

"That wasn't to make her happy," Chen Zhi braced himself and explained. "Taylor signed a global exclusive endorsement. For Moss to break into the North American and European markets, we need a top-tier Western celebrity with massive traffic to open things up. This money had to be spent sooner or later. Making a guest appearance at the finals along the way was just making the most of it."

"Boss Chen's business logic is truly flawless."

Pei Ningxue sneered, clearly not believing a single punctuation mark of what he said.

She stopped struggling and instead, following Chen Zhi's pull, slowly turned her body to face him directly.

This position brought them within mere inches of each other.

Pei Ningxue's gaze moved down from Chen Zhi's two obvious dark circles, gliding past his nose and lips, before finally landing on his neck.

Right there on the skin, just below the left artery.

There was a conspicuous red mark.

It was thin, very red, and the edges showed signs of slightly broken skin.

It absolutely couldn't be a scratch he made himself while sleeping. It was a mark left by someone pinching or scratching forcefully while in a state of extreme tension, excitement, or some uncontrollable condition.

For example, last night in that business suite in Changsha.

The battle scar left on his collarbone by Lin Wanwan's restless hands, nervous from trying a certain something for the first time.

The moment Pei Ningxue's eyes met that red mark, the temperature of her gaze plummeted.

The atmosphere in the cabin, which had just softened a tiny bit, instantly grew tense again.

Chen Zhi had been resting with his eyes closed, enjoying this brief moment of peace, when he suddenly felt the person in his arms stiffen. Her breathing pattern had also become incredibly eerie.

He opened his eyes and followed Pei Ningxue's gaze downward.

Shit.

He had been in such a rush this morning, completely focused on leaving a note, that he hadn't bothered to check the mirror for any lingering evidence.

"Well, this..." Chen Zhi swallowed hard. His brain went into overdrive, desperately trying to concoct a logical medical or physical explanation within a split second.

But it seemed it was a little too late.

Pei Ningxue reached out her slender, fair fingers and gently pressed against the red mark.

Her red lips curled up slightly, revealing a breathtaking smile devoid of any warmth.

"Spending a fortune to invite a global pop diva as a guest... I thought Boss Chen simply wanted to hand her a championship title."

Pei Ningxue's finger slowly traced down the red mark. Her voice was soft, but it made Chen Zhi's blood run cold.

"But looking at it now, it seems that last night in that hotel in Changsha..."

She raised her gaze, staring dead into Chen Zhi's eyes.

"You claimed your own championship reward, didn't you?"