Chapter 3

The footage didn’t stop.

Li Mo thought it would end at the sofa, but the screen only went black for a second before lighting up again.

Still at Liu Ruyan’s place.

The living room lights were off; only the wall lamp at the end of the hallway was on, casting a dim yellow glow against the wall.

He saw himself in the footage lying on the sofa, one arm draped over his forehead, the other hanging to the floor, fingers still touching an overturned wine glass.

Liu Ruyan sat in the single chair beside him.

She had changed positions, legs folded up beneath her, holding a glass of water in her hands as she just watched him.

Watched for a very long time.

Narration appeared.

[No actual intercourse occurred that night. After the alcohol wore off, Li Mo regained partial consciousness and refused any further contact on the grounds of, "President Liu, I can't."]

Li Mo froze.

In the footage, he struggled to half-sit up on the sofa, eyes red, words slurred and tangled.

"Sister Liu... I'm not that kind of person... You're my boss, I can't..."

Liu Ruyan said nothing.

She looked at him, her expression very calm.

The Li Mo in the footage said another line.

"You drank... If I did anything, how would I be any different from an animal?"

Liu Ruyan's hand paused on the water glass.

Then she smiled.

A faint smile, the corners of her mouth lifting almost imperceptibly.

"Fine." She stood and set the glass on the coffee table. "The guest room is the second door on the left down the hall. I had the maid make up the bed."

He in the footage stared blankly at her retreating back.

When Liu Ruyan reached the mouth of the hallway, she stopped for a second.

She didn't turn around.

"Li Mo, you're a good man."

With that, she left.

The scene cut.

The next morning. Liu Ruyan was sitting at the dining table eating breakfast.

Her makeup was immaculate, her hair neatly pinned up, wearing a dark blue blazer. She looked nothing like the woman who had pinned him to the sofa the night before.

He in the footage came out of the guest room, hair a mess like a bird's nest.

They looked at each other.

Liu Ruyan lowered her head and took a sip of congee, her tone as flat as if she were talking about the weather.

"Sit. Eat breakfast."

He in the footage stood there for a moment, lips moving.

"Last night..."

"Eat." Liu Ruyan cut him off, not even lifting her eyelids.

He sat down.

He buried his head and ate without daring to say another word.

Narration.

[For the next three days, Liu Ruyan's attitude toward Li Mo at work showed no difference from before. The incident that night was never mentioned again.]

The footage began to accelerate.

Frame after frame flashed by like a fast-forwarded documentary.

Li Mo saw himself start to change.

Not his personality. His behavior.

In the footage, he followed Liu Ruyan around with a black briefcase in hand.

Liu Ruyan held a meeting until two in the afternoon, and he waited outside the conference room holding a cup of warm water.

Not hot water, not cold water. Warm water. Liu Ruyan took it, drank a sip, and said nothing.

The scene jumped.

Liu Ruyan was dining with a client, and the person across from her kept urging her to drink, one glass after another.

He in the footage stood half a step behind her, and on the third glass, bent down to whisper something by her ear.

Liu Ruyan glanced at him and put down her wine glass.

"Sorry, my stomach isn't feeling great. I'll drink tea instead."

Narration.

[Li Mo began carrying stomach medicine with him at all times.]

The footage jumped again.

Backstage at a signing ceremony.

Liu Ruyan had just come down from the stage, the practiced smile still on her face.

He in the footage handed her a wet wipe.

Liu Ruyan took it, wiped her hands, and casually tossed it into the trash.

Then he offered her a piece of candy.

Liu Ruyan looked down at it. Peppermint candy.

She didn't take it. Instead she looked at him and asked, "When did you find out I get low blood sugar?"

He in the footage didn't change expression. "The last time you finished a three-hour board meeting, your hands were shaking."

Liu Ruyan stared at him for two seconds.

Then she took the candy.

She didn't say thank you.

The footage kept fast-forwarding.

Fragment after fragment flashed by.

He left a blanket in Liu Ruyan's car.

He kept a box of sanitary pads in the drawer of Liu Ruyan's office.

He memorized Liu Ruyan's coffee order: Americano, no sugar, no milk, temperature no higher than sixty degrees.

He remembered which days each month she was especially irritable.

He automatically pushed back every non-urgent report, only bringing over documents that needed her signature, not saying a single extra word.

Narration.

[By the seventh month of serving as the chairman's assistant, Li Mo had fully mastered Liu Ruyan's living habits and bodily rhythms. His level of attentiveness surpassed that of any assistant Liu Ruyan had ever had.]

Li Mo sat on the bed looking at all this, one word rising in his mind.

Bootlicker.

No.

Even more thorough than a bootlicker. A bootlicker was just about pleasing someone.

The version of himself in the footage didn't seem like he was trying to please her. It was more like he had turned another person's life into his own work manual, recording every item and carrying out every item.

No extra expression, no extra words.

Once it was done, he stepped aside and stood there quietly.

The footage cut again.

This time it wasn't a work setting.

A private estate.

Absurdly large. Driving in took two full minutes just to get through the garden.

A row of cars was parked by the main building, the worst among them being Mercedes S-Classes.

He in the footage was wearing a black suit, following Liu Ruyan into the gate.

Today Liu Ruyan wore a wine-red qipao, her hair pinned up, a pair of jade earrings hanging from her earlobes.

It was the first time he had seen her in a qipao.

To be honest, in the footage he kept sneaking looks at her.

There weren't many people in the hall, but every single one of them carried an overwhelming presence.

There were people in military uniforms.

There were old men with white hair and perfectly straight backs.

There were several middle-aged men standing and talking together, their voices low, while even the servants nearby seemed to breathe more softly.

Liu Ruyan walked over and greeted an elderly man seated at the seat of honor.

"Grandpa."

Li Mo in the footage stood three paces away, his spine taut like an iron rod.

The old man looked at Liu Ruyan, then at him behind her.

"This your assistant?"

"Mm." Liu Ruyan said with a smile.

The old man nodded and said nothing more.

A middle-aged man in a Zhongshan suit came over from the side and clinked glasses with Liu Ruyan.

"Ruyan, your father just told me you're taking his place at next month's meeting."

"All right, Second Uncle."

Li Mo in the footage stood there, not daring to let his eyes wander, but his ears were pricked up.

He caught a few words.

"Succession."

"The old man's."

Each word felt like a stone smashing into his ears. Narration appeared.

[Liu Ruyan's grandfather, former vice premier Liu Zhenguo. Her family holds deep influence in both politics and business. The gathering that day was Liu Zhenguo's ninetieth birthday banquet. In attendance were three current provincial or ministerial-level officials and two retired generals.]

Li Mo felt his blood vessels constrict.

Former vice premier?

Provincial-ministerial level.

Retired generals.

He didn't even dare breathe too loudly.

The footage continued.

Halfway through the banquet, Liu Ruyan walked over beside him with a glass of wine.

"What's wrong? Why so pale?"

"N-no... nothing."

"Nervous?" Liu Ruyan tilted her head and laughed softly. "It's not like I'm making you go up on stage to give a speech."

He in the footage tugged at the corner of his mouth, his smile uglier than a grimace.

Liu Ruyan turned her head to look at the people in the hall and suddenly said something.

Her tone was casual, as if she were joking.

"Li Mo, if one day you're not by my side, how am I supposed to get through life?"

He in the footage froze. Liu Ruyan didn't look at him; she took a sip from her glass, eyes on the people ahead.

But the edge of her vision never left his face.

The footage gave Li Mo a close-up.

His expression changed several times in the space of a few tenths of a second.

First he flinched.

Then his lips moved, as if he wanted to say something.

Then he saw the people in the hall.

The ones in uniform, the ones in Zhongshan suits, the gray-haired ones.

His expression snapped back into place almost immediately.

"President Liu is joking," he said, lowering his eyes, his voice reverting to the standard, proper tone of a subordinate. "I'm just an assistant. There are so many talented people in the company. Whoever comes would be the same."

Liu Ruyan's hand holding the glass paused for a second.

A very short second.

Then she smiled.

"That's true."

She turned and walked away.

Narration.

[Liu Ruyan's probe failed to get the expected response. After realizing the true background of the Liu family, Li Mo chose to retreat entirely, strictly locking his own position into the role of "subordinate."]

Li Mo leaned against the headboard, not moving at all.

All those scenes from before replayed in his head in reverse.

He had cared for a woman down to the cracks between her bones.

He had carried her seven kilometers through a torrential downpour.

He remembered every one of her habits, every cycle, every preference.

And then that woman asked him how she was supposed to live if he wasn't by her side.

He said, whoever came would be the same.

"I fucking..."

Li Mo raised a hand and covered his face.

"No, what the hell was I supposed to do?" he muttered at the empty air, his voice weak. "Her grandfather's a former vice premier, and any random one of her relatives could wind up on the evening news. I'm just some damn assistant. How the fuck was I supposed to take that hint?"

"If I'd said yes, I wouldn't even know how I'd die."

He dropped his hand and stared at the ceiling.

The crystal chandelier above threw shards of light across his face.

"But she..."

He remembered the side profile of Liu Ruyan in the footage, glass of wine in hand.

Her peripheral vision had never left him.

After he finished saying that line, she had paused for a second.

Just one second.

Then she said, "That's true," turned, and walked away.

Li Mo closed his eyes. Liu Ruyan's scent was still lingering on the pillow.

This morning that woman had been on top of him, calling him master and calling herself a little dog.

At a banquet surrounded by provincial and ministerial officials, that woman had called him master.

"So what the hell happened after that..."

The footage was still playing.

Li Mo had thought the birthday banquet scene was the climax, but then the screen shifted and returned to Liu Ruyan's office.

The timeline had jumped forward about two months.

He in the footage stood behind Liu Ruyan, both hands on her shoulders, pressing down again and again.

Liu Ruyan leaned back in her chair, eyes closed, head tipped slightly upward.

"A little more to the left... yes, right there."

He in the footage adjusted his position, his thumb pressing an inch down along the edge of her shoulder blade.

Liu Ruyan gave a soft hum.

A very light one, the kind that leaked out through the nose.

Narration appeared.

[After the banquet incident, Liu Ruyan did not distance herself from Li Mo because of his retreat. On the contrary, she began narrowing the physical distance between them in a more private way. Shoulder rubbing, neck and shoulder massage gradually became part of daily routine. Li Mo did not refuse.]

The footage fast-forwarded a little.

Still the office.

Liu Ruyan finished a three-hour video conference, kicked off her heels, and put her legs up on the footrest under the desk.

"Xiao Li, my legs are sore."

He in the footage crouched down, placed his hands on her calves, and started rubbing through the stockings.

Li Mo sat on the bed watching this, his throat bobbing once.

The footage gave a close-up of Liu Ruyan's legs.

Wrapped in gray stockings, from ankle to knee, the lines were smooth enough to tear your eyes away from everything else.

Long, white, and straight, but not the kind of skinny straight. There was a layer of even, supple flesh to them, the curve of her calves just right.

He in the footage kept his head down as he massaged, his expression serious, his technique careful and proper.

From ankle up to calf, to just below the knee, then back down again, and back to the ankle.

Not a millimeter out of bounds.

Liu Ruyan watched him half-lidded, a faint smile lingering at the corners of her mouth.

Narration.

[Li Mo always maintained strict restraint in physical contact. Liu Ruyan had previously regarded this trait as "professionalism," but after the relationship entered a private sphere, it instead became the most effective source of stimulation.]

The footage jumped again.

This time the atmosphere was different.

Half the blinds in the office were drawn; the sky outside had darkened. It must have been very late, overtime work dragged out to the night.

Liu Ruyan sat on the sofa, her blazer draped over the armrest, wearing only a fitted black knit top.

Her legs were folded up on the sofa, one heel already off, the other still dangling from her toes, swaying loosely.

He in the footage sat in the chair opposite her, holding a tablet and reporting something.

Liu Ruyan suddenly cut him off.

"Xiao Li."

"Mm?"

"My foot's gone numb."

He in the footage lifted his head, meeting Liu Ruyan's gaze.

Liu Ruyan said nothing. She simply extended her leg.

The foot without a shoe, wrapped in translucent black stockings, toes slightly curled, settled steadily into his lap.

Li Mo in the footage stiffened for a full second.

He looked down at the foot in his lap.

It was a beautiful foot.

A narrow instep, high arch, each toe a little shorter than the last, neatly aligned; the stockings were stretched over it so tightly that even the wine-red nail polish on her toenails could be seen clearly through them.

His Adam's apple rolled.

"Pres... President Liu."

"Mm?"

"This... should I call front desk Xiao Wang..."

"Xiao Wang got off work already," Liu Ruyan said matter-of-factly. "You're the one here."

He in the footage swallowed and set the tablet aside.

His hand reached out and touched that foot.

The instant his fingertips contacted the stocking fabric, his fingers trembled.

Liu Ruyan saw it.

She didn't say anything, only curved her eyes slightly.

He in the footage started massaging.

Beginning with the sole, his thumb pressed down and slowly traced circles.

He worked very carefully, controlling his force well, just as professionally as he had when massaging her shoulders and calves before.

Liu Ruyan sank a little deeper into the sofa, finding a more comfortable position, and let out a satisfied sigh.

"Your hand strength is really good."

"...Thank you, President Liu."

"Learned it somewhere outside?"

"No... just messing around."

"You can mess around and make it feel this good?" Liu Ruyan laughed softly.

He in the footage didn't answer, just kept his head down and continued, his thumb moving from the sole to the arch, pressing along the curve and then sliding to the heel.

Liu Ruyan's toes curled once, then relaxed.

Just then, the other foot moved.

The one still wearing the high heel slipped out of the shoe, which fell to the carpet with a dull thud.

Then that foot reached over.

It didn't land in his lap.

It landed on his thigh.

Her toes, through the stocking, rubbed lightly against the inner side of his thigh.

Just once.

Every muscle in Li Mo's body in the footage locked at the same time.

His hand stopped. His face went red starting from the neck and racing upward, burning all the way to the tips of his ears.

His breathing turned rough at once, the rise and fall of his chest visibly larger.

He didn't dare look up.

His eyes were fixed hard on the foot in his lap, fingers frozen in place, not moving an inch.

Liu Ruyan watched his reaction, the corners of her mouth slowly lifting.

She didn't pull her foot back.

Her toes moved again, tapping lightly twice on his thigh, as if testing him.

He in the footage made a muffled sound in his throat. It was impossible to tell whether he was swallowing or trying to speak.

"Why did you stop massaging?" Liu Ruyan's voice was lazy.

"I..." His voice tightened. "President Liu, your foot..."

"Mm? Which one?"

"The other one..."

"What's wrong with the other one?" Liu Ruyan tilted her head to look at him, her expression innocently outrageous. "Isn't it uncomfortable just leaving it there? Should I change places?"

Her foot moved up an inch.

Li Mo in the footage jerked his head up.

His face was so red it looked ready to drip blood.

His eyes were wide open, lips pressed tight, his whole body rigid as if frozen in place.

Liu Ruyan met his gaze.

She smiled.

Not a polite smile.

The kind of smile that breaks out because you've seen something interesting and can't help it.

Her eyes curved, and the corners of her mouth couldn't be held back.

"Your face is so red."

"..."

"Your ears are red too."

"..."

"Xiao Li, have you never been touched by a girl before?"

He in the footage opened his mouth. His Adam's apple rolled up and down twice, but not a single word came out.

Liu Ruyan pulled both feet back, folded her legs again, and sat properly, propping her chin on her hands as she looked at him.

"All right, stop massaging. Come sit over here."

He in the footage didn't move.

"Come here." Liu Ruyan patted the sofa beside her.

He stood up, legs a little weak, took two steps, and sat at the other end of the sofa.

Half a cushion's width separated them.

Liu Ruyan looked at that distance and laughed softly.

She said nothing.

She picked up the file beside her and flipped through a few pages as if nothing had happened.

The scene froze for a few seconds.

Then it cut to another angle.

It was a surveillance camera view.

In the footage, after Li Mo left, Liu Ruyan sat alone on the office sofa.

She closed the file, leaned back, and looked up at the ceiling.

Her fingers absentmindedly pinched the edge of the stockings, tugged once, then let go.

She closed her eyes.

Her lips moved.

Narration appeared.

[Liu Ruyan (inner thoughts): "If it's Xiao Li, he can all come in. It doesn't matter if I'm filled to the brim."]

The footage vanished.

Li Mo sat on the bed, his back covered in sweat.

He stared at the empty air in front of him, his head filled only with the images from a moment ago.

That foot wrapped in stockings landing in his lap.

Toes rubbing against his thigh while Liu Ruyan smiled with curved eyes.

And that last sentence.

All come in.

Filled to the brim.

His lips had gone so dry they cracked.

He reached for the water glass on the bedside table and drained it in one gulp, but the cold water sliding down his throat did nothing.

The places that should have been burning were still burning.

He put the glass back, braced himself on the edge of the bed, lowered his head, and panted for several breaths.