10: Under the white mist, his brows and eyelashes entwined her heart.

[Ah Zhi, I'm going back to Los Angeles next week. Would you like to grab a coffee before I leave? Also, I printed out some photos of you that I took before and made a little booklet for you.]

Before going to bed, Shang Zhi's phone popped up with a message from Yu Qing. He loved photography and was quite skilled at it; a set of autumn photos he had taken of Shang Zhi had even gone viral on social media, garnering tens of thousands of likes.

【Okay, I'll find some time in a couple of days.】Even though Pei Yanxiu had repeatedly told her not to go out anymore, saying that the weather was bad these days and something might happen, Shang Zhi only thought that it was a way for him to get her attention.

He just doesn't want her to leave him, he wants to keep her by his side forever, under his control. He's dreaming!

"Go to sleep early." In the darkness, he suddenly turned around, and Shang Zhi silently turned off her phone screen.

"knew."

President Pei's trip to Guangzhou was very busy, with meetings here and there, and he often dragged Shang Zhi along. After listening to the meetings, he would make her summarize and review them, which exhausted her.

This time, Shang Zhi was smarter. She confirmed in advance that Pei Yanxiu had a long international meeting before contacting Yu Qing to go for coffee, thinking that she could return before his meeting ended without being discovered.

After meeting and collecting her things, Shang Zhi chatted with Yu Qing for a while. When she returned, she was stunned. It was raining outside, and the city was flooded, making it impossible for cars to pass. Shang Zhi got out of the car, thinking she could wade through the water, but as soon as she entered the water, she felt herself being pushed along by the current and almost fell in.

Shang Zhi hurried up to the subway station entrance, where it was crowded with people like her who couldn't leave.

Shang Zhi was torn. Should she ask Pei Yanxiu for help? If she didn't ask him for help now, she was doomed. If she did ask him for help, she was doomed too.

A difficult choice.

As the rain continued to fall and more and more people became stranded, Shang Zhi grew increasingly panicked. She dialed that familiar number again and cautiously said, "Uncle Pei, I can't go back."

Upon hearing her voice, Pei Yanxiu said into the phone, "I have some things to take care of here, so the meeting will end here for today."

"What happened? Where are you?"

“Uncle Pei, I’m at Jitang Station. The roads outside are flooded, and we’re all trapped at the subway entrance. I want to wade through the water, but I can’t.”

"Stay where you are and wait for me. I'll come get you."

While waiting for him, she thought about many possibilities: how would he come?

Can you drive here? But the water is so deep, the car might get stuck. Can you bring a speedboat? But it takes time to get a lifeboat, and she doesn't know how long she'll have to wait.

"Xi Xi." Just as she was thinking, a voice called out to her. When she looked up and saw what was happening, she almost burst into tears.

Without a car or a speedboat, he simply waded across the water—such a primitive method.

It's also the fastest way.

"Don't just stand there, come on." He beckoned to her, gesturing for her to lean on his back. He was soaked to the bone, and when she leaned down, he felt icy cold, but when she hugged his neck, it felt unusually warm.

She held him like a drowning person clinging to a piece of driftwood.

"Uncle Pei, I'm sorry."

"I didn't expect it to turn out like this."

"I should listen to you."

She pressed her cheek against his, her voice very soft. He focused on the road beneath his feet, only giving a soft "hmm," his tone devoid of emotion.

Xu Shuo kept looking outside the hotel entrance. When he saw the two of them return, he visibly breathed a sigh of relief: "Xi Xi, you have no idea how worried Brother Pei was about you just now. I told him to go and get a lifeboat, but Brother Pei said he couldn't wait and insisted on rushing out to find you himself. I couldn't stop him no matter what I did."

"Go back and wash up quickly, the rainwater is very dirty, wash it off quickly."

Shang Zhi followed Pei Yanxiu back to her room, and he told her to take a shower first.

"Let's go together, don't catch a cold." The showerhead in the bathroom was already on, and she gently tugged at his arm.

"good."

The hot water gradually dispelled the fear that had plagued her all day, and Shang Zhi's pale face gradually turned red.

He held her waist with one hand, and with the other hand, he carefully rinsed the dirt off her body with the showerhead. Under the white mist, his eyebrows and eyelashes touched her heart.

In this moment, a myriad of thoughts are swirling within me.

Xu Shuo arranged for someone to deliver hot ginger tea.

Pei Yanxiu still had work to do, so he changed into formal attire as he came out. Shang Zhi noticed that his ginger tea was untouched, so she handed it to him.

"Uncle Pei, have a drink, don't catch a cold."

"Okay." He took it without even looking up and casually put it aside.

"Are you angry with me, that's why you're not drinking?" Pei Yanxiu paused his typing when he heard her words, and looked up with a smile.

"What if I said yes?" he teased her, intentionally.

Shang Zhi took his words seriously, her face flushed red, and she clenched her hands, not knowing where to clench them. Then, as if she had made up her mind, she suddenly lay down on his knees.

Pei Yanxiu was also stunned for a moment, one hand hovering in mid-air.

"Uncle Pei, it was my fault today. You can punish me if you want, I accept it."

It was rare for the young lady to be so serious. Usually, even if she knew she was wrong, she would point her finger at him and curse him as an old man. He pulled her into his arms and helped her up, saying, "Let it go today. You got caught in the rain and were frightened outside. You must be exhausted."

"I'll pay you back in a couple of days when I'm done with this."

"I'll drink the ginger tea. I'm not angry. I was busy and didn't notice you. Go to sleep first. I have a meeting later."

"Okay." Blushing, Shang Zhi got off him and looked in his direction. His expression as he worked with his head down reminded her of how he checked her homework four years ago.

They had known each other since childhood, but weren't very close. Then one day at a party, she bumped into him while carrying orange juice, staining his white shirt completely.

She apologized and insisted on making it up to him. Over time, they became acquainted. He was handsome and flamboyant at the time, and it was hard for her not to be moved. The feelings between the young lovers grew wildly, and traces of their love filled every corner of Hong Kong Island.

He was too serious and earnest, and she always found herself wanting to provoke him when she was around him.

She was young and naive back then, so she would deliberately embarrass him at parties, scare away those who were even slightly close to him, and mess things up to observe his reaction.

Seeing him almost cry several times because of her, she looked innocent but secretly felt pleased.

Later, at some point, he automatically unlocked the real way to comfort her.

The methods passed down from our ancestors are simple and effective.

They couldn't say for sure when it all started.