Chi Yue looked toward the traffic-jammed street, seeking a spot to park her electric scooter.
The height of summer, the heat provoked irritability in her heart.
Chi Yue walked very slowly.
She was a beautiful university student, delicate and porcelain-like under the night lights, pushing an old electric scooter as if she were strolling down Avenue des Champs-Élysées, her posture erect, her stride breezy, seemingly untouched by the heatwave.
A few passing boys looked her way repeatedly.
Jostling one another and joking, they intentionally came close.
Before even getting near her, they burst into laughter and ran off.
Chi Yue, used to such occurrences, locked up her scooter.
Crown Hotel was right in front of her, its towering presence at night like a lurking monster.
Chi Yue stood for a moment, then readjusted her "delivery outfit"—a hat, glasses, airtight clothes and jeans that completely concealed her slender figure, and black-framed glasses which hid most of her face, nearly obscuring her features.
Privacy.
That's what mattered most to these clients, and to her as well.
That's right, she wasn't just a third-year student at the aviation school; she was also the CEO of a health products online store—as well as the sales manager, customer service manager, and post-sales manager, and when the customers needed, she had to double as the logistics manager, too.
The so-called logistics manager, to put it simply—
was the delivery person.
Today's recipient had noted as "Beast Fighter."
That was Chi Yue's major client.
His name was Zheng Xiyuan, and though what exactly he did was unknown, Chi Yue had seen enough to know that if the people in this city were stacked into a pyramid, he would definitely be living at the very tip.
The elevator ascended.
Fifteenth floor.
This was Zheng Xiyuan's hangout spot.
He and his band of rascals frequented this place all year round.
Chi Yue glanced at the room's lurid lights and stood at the door calling out.
"Zheng, your delivery is here!"
Zheng Xiyuan sauntered over lazily, squinting at her, "Come in and play for a bit?"
Chi Yue was expressionless, "No, thanks."
Zheng Xiyuan's smile had a teasing quality, but he didn't insist. He turned back, closing the door, and isolating that world of debauchery behind it.
"Help me take this to 1919."
Chi Yue looked down.
In Zheng Xiyuan's hand was a neatly packaged box.
She had packed it herself, so even though there wasn't a single word on the box, she knew exactly what was inside.
"It's for a good buddy of mine. Help me out!"
"...Why don't you deliver it yourself?"
"Don't you see I'm busy?" Zheng Xiyuan gestured an "S" with his hands, smiling lasciviously, "Got a new girlfriend, killer body, can't leave."
Chi Yue hummed faintly, taking the box.
"Congratulations on changing girlfriends, again."
"Cost me thirty grand, such a loss!"
Chi Yue shot him a look but said nothing.
"Don't glare at me. I'll donate 1000 trees to Lunar Bay tomorrow, okay?!"
"5000!"
"Why don't you just ask for ten thousand?"
"Deal at ten thousand!"
...
1919.
That number refreshed Chi Yue's understanding.
She had always believed that Crown Hotel only had 18 floors.
Turns out there was a 19th floor, just not open to regular guests, requiring a change of elevators to get there.
Chi Yue looked at the tightly closed door, her right eyelid inexplicably twitched.
She rang the doorbell.
About two minutes later, the door opened.
Dizzy.
Although she anticipated delivering to someone fresh out of the shower, the reality still exceeded her mental preparation.
From a meter away, she felt an intense pressure.
The person's hair was wet and disheveled, wild, and his tall figure cast the light behind him, his face concealed in the shadows of the dim light, making his facial features seem mysterious and profound because they were unclear.
"What is it?"
Chi Yue was slightly taken aback.
Good looks aside, his voice was also so sultry.
It's just a pity that he's flawed—
Thinking this, Chi Yue dutifully handed over the beautifully packaged box, "Hello! This is for you from your friend, Mr. Zheng Xiyuan."
He didn't accept it, just looked at her coldly.
Chi Yue pushed it forward a bit, "I'm delivering something for someone, please take it."
He narrowed his eyes, "Who is Zheng Xiyuan?"
Chi Yue: "..."
Seems like people with secrets are all about face.
"Don't be embarrassed, I've seen this kind of thing a lot, just take it, you can pretend I'm invisible!"
Chi Yue stuffed the box into his arms and along with it, a business card with a QR code, "Here, my shop. If you like it, feel free to come again, one hundred percent privacy guaranteed, support a university student's entrepreneurship. Thank you!"
Chi Yue smiled politely and turned to leave.
"Stop right there!" The man glanced at the item in his arms, then grabbed her by the hand, "Take your thing..." Before he could say "away", Chi Yue reacted as if she had been bitten by a snake, goosebumps spreading all over her body from the tingling sensation. Reacting rapidly without thought, she pushed back.
"Don't touch me!"
Before her voice had fallen, she froze.
A bathrobe tie slowly slipped from her palm.
In front of her was an uncomfortably eye-catching glimpse of spring revealed prematurely—
Heavens!
She had actually pulled open someone's bathrobe tie!
The air suddenly fell silent.
The man casually tied his bathrobe and stepped out from the darkness, looking down at her as if she were some disgusting creature, his voice slow and cool, "I've seen plenty of women trying to hit on me, but you're the clumsiest!"
The corridor lights were dim and subdued.
His voice was cool and detached.
Chi Yue stared at him as if possessed—his face becoming clearer by the second.
It's him!
Is it him?
Her body stiffened, her hair standing on end.
The air around her seemed to thin, a strange fear coursing through her blood...
No! It can't be.
—She must have been seeing things just now.
Chi Yue breathed a sigh of relief, her gaze shifting from his face, noticing her back was sweaty.
She adjusted her glasses, "What do you mean?"
He scoffed, "Wherever you came from, scram back there! Tell your sugar daddy that I'm not interested in women like you."
"..."
The air seemed to freeze.
Chi Yue lifted the corners of her lips, "Narcissists like you shouldn't be out here causing trouble! I have no interest in a pervert like you."
With those words, she turned and sped away, as if ghosts were chasing her, quickly disappearing into the halo of light at the end of the corridor. The man watched her retreating figure, fleeter than a rabbit's, picked up the box that had fallen to the floor, unwrapped the layers of cumbersome packaging, and revealed a sex toy lying inside.
"Tonight, please ignite your desires."
...