Chu Nanxi snapped out of her reverie in two seconds, swiftly hopping out of the other person's embrace and taking two steps back.
Standing a meter away from him, her heart was still pounding rapidly.
Due to unpleasant experiences in her childhood, Nanxi had always been particularly sensitive to physical contact with the opposite sex; other than her father and grandfather, she had hardly ever hugged any adult males. Such close contact put her entire being on edge and in a state of tense alert.
Catching a glimpse from the corner of her eye of the book that had flipped over on the floor, she stepped forward to pick it up, but Li Hannian had already bent down before her and picked up the book from the floor.
Upon hitting the ground, one of the pages had torn.
Nanxi saw this and frowned in distress, promptly apologizing.
"I'm sorry, I will compensate you at the original price and then have the book repaired," she said.
These books were generally not purchased by the average person; they had a small print run, and with time passing, they were now hard to come by.
She couldn't possibly buy him a new one to make amends; the most she could do was provide compensation at the original price and try to have the book repaired.
Hannian didn't even look at the torn page, casually placing the book on a nearby table.
"From today on, there's no 'yours' or 'mine'!"
This statement was clearly fraught with ambiguity, making Nanxi aware of the nature of their relationship at that moment.
She took a deep breath, slowed her breathing, and tried to steady her emotions. The next time she spoke, her voice was cool and distant.
"Mr. Li, I think... we need to have a serious talk," she said.
"Sir!" the butler Zhao Bo's voice came from outside the door, "Dinner is ready."
Hannian raised his right hand, and Zhao Bo immediately turned and left, while the man's gaze still lingered on Nanxi's face.
"Shall we talk over dinner?"
"Sure," Nanxi lightly agreed.
Hannian took a step back, making way for the doorway.
As Nanxi walked past, she noticeably quickened her pace right in front of him.
Following her out of the study, the man's dark eyes slightly relaxed, his stare firmly fixed on her retreating figure.
In the air hung a faint fragrance.
Her scent!
Hannian took a deep breath, subconsciously quickening his pace.
The distance between them gradually narrowed, and by the time they reached the stairs, they were only two steps apart.
As they reached the corner, her long hair, due to the turn, fluttered up, and Hannian lifted his left hand, just in time to catch her drifting hair.
The silky hair brushed against his fingers.
Feeling somewhat unusual, Nanxi instinctively glanced back and met his dark, heavy gaze.
In those phoenix eyes, the look was bold, with emotions churning intensely as if they could surge forth at any moment.
That gaze was dangerous!
On meeting her eyes, Hannian's long lashes dipped slightly, veiling the emotions within the shadows of his lashes.
"I like your scent!"
To make such a rogue comment sound so refined was truly unique to him!
"Oh?" Nanxi "naively smiled," her facial scar twisting with her expression, "The shampoo I bought online, 37.4 a bottle. If you'd like, Mr. Li, I can send you two bottles."
37.4?
Two bottles for 74.8!
So... was she telling him to "drop dead"?
That brat!
Hannian's pupils contracted as his long legs took two steps down the stairs in one stride, standing right in front of her.
Nanxi, standing on the landing at the turn of the staircase, backed away instinctively as he approached suddenly.
There wasn't much space on the platform when two people were standing there.
With that step back, she was already against the wall.
As her back pressed against the hard wall, Nanxi looked up in astonishment.
In her line of sight, the man's handsome face was getting closer!
Again?!