Lin Ze caught the faint scent of her perfume.
He watched a droplet of water from Su Qingqing's hair slide down her tresses.
It traced a crystalline path along her collarbone before finally vanishing into the towel.
Lin Ze swallowed unconsciously. "President Su misunderstood. I was just worried you might catch a cold with wet hair."
"So concerned about me?" Su Qingqing tilted her head, a flash of mischief dancing in her eyes.
She shoved the hairdryer into his hand. "Then I'll have to trouble you to blow-dry it for me."
Lin Ze took it as if catching a hot potato. "This isn't appropriate..."
"What's inappropriate about it?" Su Qingqing leaned lazily against the sofa.
Turning her back to him, she said, "Hurry up, my head hurts."
Lin Ze took a deep breath.
He plugged in the dryer.
His slender fingers gently scooped up a strand of damp hair.
The warm air hummed to life.
He was surprised to find Su Qingqing's hair even softer than he had imagined.
It slipped through his fingers like silk.
His originally stiff movements unconsciously softened.
He was terrified of hurting her.
Su Qingqing closed her eyes, feeling Lin Ze's gentle motions.
"Do you often blow-dry people's hair?"
Su Qingqing's voice came through the hum of the dryer.
Lin Ze paused for a moment. "My mother... I used to blow-dry her hair a lot when I was little."
The room was left with only the hum of the hairdryer and the sound of their breathing.
His gaze involuntarily fell upon her fair nape, and the earlobes half-hidden among the locks...
He remembered the sight of her drenched figure by the pool just moments ago.
His Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily.
..................
Su Qingqing felt Lin Ze's fingers occasionally brush against the back of her neck, sending a subtle shudder through her.
A pang of wistfulness welled up in her heart.
Why did he always avoid her?
The sound of the hairdryer stopped abruptly.
Lin Ze's thumb unconsciously stroked the ends of her hair. "Done."
A sudden wave of disappointment washed over Su Qingqing.
She didn't want him to leave, yet she could find no suitable reason to make him stay.
..................
A wild thought flashed through her mind.
What if she turned around and hugged him right now?
Would he push her away?
No, what if he pushed her away?
What if it was like two years ago?
Would he disappear again?!
.....................
"Right, your hair is dry, you can go." She put on a brave front, not daring to look back.
She bit her lip.
Terrified that he might see the fragility in her eyes.
Lin Ze stood frozen in place, still clutching the cord of the hairdryer.
He opened his mouth.
In the end, he only managed to squeeze out, "Alright, President Su."
The corners of his mouth twitched in self-mockery.
So he really was just a handy tool.
He packed everything away on tiptoe and pulled the door shut softly.
Leaning against the corridor wall, he let out a long sigh.
He looked down at his new clothes.
Opening his palms, he could still feel the phantom touch of Su Qingqing's hair.
"Ooh la la~"
Bai Weiwei stood not far away with wide eyes,
her gaze darting back and forth between him and the door,
the corners of her mouth curling into a knowing, ambiguous smirk.
"Bai Weiwei, it's not what you think..." Lin Ze felt his scalp tingle.
A single man and woman locked in a room together,
and he had even changed his clothes!!
There was no way he could clear his name now, even if he jumped into the Yellow River!
Bai Weiwei raised both hands, wearing a "I totally understand" expression.
"Relax~ I didn't see a thing~"
"Definitely didn't see you walking out of President Su's room~"
She blinked. "That outfit looks sharp, really suits you~"
Lin Ze practically fled in panic.
..........................
Inside the hotel room.
Wang Jianguo stared with wide eyes, looking up and down at the completely transformed Lin Ze,
and sighed with envy. "Holy shit! That outfit actually looks pretty good on you."
"Looking sharp!"
[Mission: Accompany classmate Su Qingqing on a night walk home, and hold hands amicably twice along the way. (Completed)]
[Reward: Stamina +1]
Lin Ze looked at the System. Though he had received the reward,
he couldn't bring himself to be happy at all—
because back in his WeChat Moments, his fellow designated driver Brother Zhang had just posted a screenshot showing daily earnings of three hundred and sixty.
Damn it!
He was so envious.
Why were there so many orders on a weekend like today?!
It was prime weekend peak hours, and yet he was wasting his time right here!
This was outrageous!
He didn't want to stay at this team-building event for another second.
It was a pure, unadulterated waste of his time.
He stood up with a abrupt swish.
Scaring Wang Jianguo half to death.
"What's wrong!"
"Going to the bathroom."
"Oh, close the door on your way out."
Lin Ze walked in the direction of the bathroom, passing right by the restroom entrance.
Then he executed a sharp, graceful right turn and slipped right out of the resort.
Leaving the resort, he caught a bus home.
Half an hour later.
Half an hour later, he was already straddling his beloved little e-bike,
speeding like the wind down the neon-lit streets.
..................
Back at the resort.
Bai Weiwei was searching high and low for Lin Ze.
She wanted to discuss tomorrow's team-building schedule.
After her WeChat bombing went unanswered,
she grabbed Wang Jianguo by the collar just as he was chatting up a pretty girl. "Where is Lin Ze?!"
"Didn't he go to the bathroom?"
Wang Jianguo stammered, "Didn't he go to the restroom?"
Bai Weiwei hurriedly called Lin Ze.
Meanwhile, Lin Ze was busy snatching food delivery orders.
Seeing Bai Weiwei's call pop up,
he grew more irritated the more he thought about it!
A woman's mouth is full of deceit.
Tricking him into thinking Su Qingqing wouldn't come to the team-building event,
only to team up with Su Qingqing to play him for a fool.
Too much!
And she even watched him make a fool of himself.
Lin Ze mentally cursed Bai Weiwei up and down.
Without hesitation, he blocked her.
On the other side.
Bai Weiwei dialed five times in a row, only to hear the automated message each time: "The number you have dialed is temporarily unavailable."
Staring at her phone, she was utterly dumbfounded.
!!!
Next to her, Wang Jianguo watched the nearly frantic Bai Weiwei
and secretly sent Lin Ze a text message.
[Bro, when are you coming back? I can't take this anymore!]
………………
Glancing at the endless sea of cars crawling along the neon-lit streets,
Lin Ze wore his helmet and sped through traffic on his electric scooter like lightning.
Weaving flexibly through the gaps.
One order, two orders.
Three orders............
"Ding-dong, ding-dong."
Every single sound was the sweet chime of money.
Fabulous!
The smile on Lin Ze's face grew brighter and brighter.
He had no idea that back at the dinner party, the entire company was waiting for him.
..................
Inside the restaurant private room, the atmosphere had plummeted to freezing point.
A table full of delicacies sat untouched.
Wang Jianguo was sitting on pins and needles, cursing Lin Ze eight hundred times over in his mind—
having to face Su Qingqing's icy glare all by himself right now was practically worse than death by a thousand cuts.
Turns out eating soft rice really wasn't a job for just anyone!
Su Qingqing's gaze was practically ready to freeze him into an ice sculpture!
When facing a cold face like that, trying to butter her up with a hot face was mission impossible!
Lin Ze.
He really was something else.
He hadn't expected Su Qingqing to care so much about Lin Ze.
Thinking of the text message Lin Ze had sent him,
Wang Jianguo bit the bullet and fabricated a lie: "Lin Ze said he suddenly got a stomachache."
"He went to the clinic, so this dinner gathering is... is..."
Before he could finish speaking, he felt a piercingly cold glare lock onto him.
Su Qingqing's exquisite face was chillingly pale.
The low pressure radiating from her dropped the temperature in the entire private room by several degrees.
Wang Jianguo's shirt was already drenched in sweat.
Right now, he just wanted to find a crack in the floor and crawl in!
"His exact words." Su Qingqing opened her red lips, her voice as cold as ice.
Wang Jianguo's heart skipped a beat.
Those certainly weren't Lin Ze's exact words!
Wang Jianguo saw Su Qingqing reach out her hand.
Oh crap!!!