It wasn't that she was trying to win sympathy. Only after collapsing did Raina Lu realize she really did have a bit of a fever—probably from not resting last night and sitting in a draft all night.
Being saved by Mason Han had genuinely surprised her.
Sitting up, she seemed to still feel Mason Han's presence nearby—cool and somewhat distant. Yet she clung to that scent anyway, unrepentant.
Mason Han, in appearance and manner, seemed an extremely cold person. But toward people he was already familiar with, sometimes he wasn't cold enough, wasn't ruthless enough.
Raina Lu smiled bitterly.
She pulled from the drawer the medicine Mason Han had just given her. Good—it hadn't expired. She searched further, found the expired ones inside, and tossed them in the trash. All things she'd done so often they'd become habit.
Her head was still heavy and dull. Instinctively she remembered—didn't Mason Han have a meeting this morning?
She climbed off the bed and opened the door. The general manager's office was empty.
Everything was familiar. Nothing had changed.
Directly facing Raina Lu was a single door leading straight to the conference room.
She turned the handle carefully, very lightly. Everyone inside was focused on the meeting. No one noticed the door opening a crack.
She could already hear Mason Han's cool voice speaking with ease—formulaic in tone but precise and sharp in word choice, his expression radiating a near-powerful certainty. There wasn't the slightest hesitation in his gestures. Not one moment differed from every moment Raina Lu had known him.
The side he showed at work was an absolute powerhouse.
That was the Mason Han she was infatuated with, unable to let go of…
She closed the door. The strength holding her up gradually gave out. She was still a patient, after all. She collapsed back onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep.
When she woke again, the smell of disinfectant filled her nose.
The hospital?
She guessed.
At the slightest movement she felt the cool touch on the back of her hand, a faint sting—cold liquid flowing along her vein into her body… An IV drip.
Mason Han really had taken her to the hospital?
She shifted her eyes. Bright sunlight flooded in. It was already late morning.
On the sofa beside the bed, Mason Han sat with a laptop on his knees. He looked somewhat tired—one hand propping his forehead, the other casually clicking the mouse.
"Awake?" He straightened and looked at her.
"Thank you for taking me to the hospital, Mr. Han."
Mason Han faintly furrowed his brow and replied, "You're welcome."
She hadn't noticed before, but now she realized she hadn't eaten all morning and into midday. Her stomach was starving.
There was no point forcing herself to act tough. Raina Lu struggled to sit up.
Mason Han pushed the laptop aside and helped her up. "Don't move around."
Raina Lu said plainly, "Mr. Han, I'm starving."
He seemed not to have expected that. Mason Han hesitated, then said, "Wait a moment."
Before long Mason Han returned with a pot of soup. Wisps of steam escaped through the vent in the lid, mingled with the fragrant aroma of broth.
"Can you drink it yourself?"
Raina Lu smiled and pointed at the hand with the IV. "Do you think I can?"
Mason Han said nothing and adjusted her pillow higher.
Still expressionless, Mason Han's process of feeding her soup could hardly be called gentle. The spoon bumped the inside of Raina Lu's mouth several times. Broth spilled a few times, splashing onto her clothes.
Yet Raina Lu's heartbeat inexplicably quickened.
Scenes with Mason Han present were actually hard to make romantic. He was too calm, too by-the-book. And precisely because of that, he often gave off a restrained, tempting aura.
So close.
What did she want to see? What did she want to obtain?
A moment's hesitation.
The soup was finished. Mason Han glanced at Raina Lu, lowered her pillow back down, and returned to his computer.
The quiet hospital room now held only the crisp clicks of keyboard and mouse.
"Mason Han."
The clicking stopped. "What is it?"
"Do you want me to come back and keep working only because I've been by your side for three years and I can handle everything an assistant needs to do?"
"What other reason would there be?"
Raina Lu stared fixedly at Mason Han's profile—beautiful lines, beautiful curves. She smiled and said, "Mr. Han, why pretend you don't know?"
"I don't know."
Like hell he didn't.
"I helped you handle Ms. Li, Ms. Zhang, and Ms. He—do you remember, Mr. Han?"
They were all girls who saw Mason Han as a golden ticket or a stepping stone, using young pretty faces to try getting something for nothing. Mason Han never said it outright, but clearly he meant for Raina Lu to take care of it—quietly transferring them away or finding reasons to dismiss them. That had all been her work.
"What are you trying to say?"
"Why do you think I'm different from them? What makes you think I have no designs on you?"
Raina Lu didn't speak loudly, but when she finished, her chest heaved violently.
Mason Han typed twice on the keyboard, found what came out made no sense, and had to hit backspace to delete it.
"Ms. Lu, don't mix work with personal feelings."
Mason Han felt a headache coming on.
Raina Lu's questions at the negotiating table were always sharp and forceful. But right now he wished Raina Lu had a little of the traditional Chinese feminine virtue—indirectness.
Mason Han had always kept life and work strictly separate.
Right now he had no particular requirements for a partner. In his eyes almost all women were essentially the same. So when his father arranged matches, he could accept them—but he wouldn't talk about love or feelings.
Only work could not be handled carelessly. That was his world.
Raina Lu tugged at the corner of her mouth, her smile not quite right. "I quit, Mr. Han. My relationship with you now is only personal."
Three years. Over a thousand days. Side by side. And in the end Mason Han still wanted her to separate personal feelings from work…
Was she that much of a failure?
"Mr. Han, can you answer a question—a question I've asked before?"
"What?"
"…Have you ever liked anyone?"
Mason Han was silent for a moment. His expression turned so cold it almost made one shiver. Then he uttered two words: "No."
Truly he had never "liked" anyone…
It was exactly the answer she'd hoped for, yet Raina Lu fell silent instantly.
Mason Han's reply… was too hard to swallow.
So much so she couldn't tell whether he was telling the truth. Because she didn't know what Mason Han had been thinking in that moment of silence.
The feeling was awful.
Leaning quietly against the edge of the bed, Raina Lu closed her eyes, trying to calm herself.
But things didn't go her way.
Her eyelids fluttered open and shut. Raina Lu suddenly opened them and said softly, "Mr. Han, can you come here for a moment?"
"What is it?"
"Can't you even come over?"
Mason Han paused for a few seconds, but still walked over.
When he reached the bedside, Raina Lu suddenly grabbed Mason Han's collar with her free hand—the one without the IV—and yanked him down toward her.
Before Mason Han could speak, Raina Lu had blocked every sound from his mouth with her own.
Raina Lu had never been kissed, but that didn't mean she'd never seen one.
Copying what she'd observed, she parted Mason Han's lips and explored inside.
Maybe instinct really existed—the stealing of breath, the pure entanglement of lips and teeth, suddenly ragged gasps, mixed with instantly amplified heartbeat.
Thump. Thump.
Beat by beat, like a curse.
Even the faint ambiguous warmth rising between their tongues was intoxicating beyond words—at least in Raina Lu's view.
Still stunned, Mason Han hadn't expected Raina Lu to do this. Caught off guard, his teeth were forcibly pushed apart.
Once clear-headed, he braced his hands on Raina Lu's shoulders to push her away.
But sensing his intent, Raina Lu clenched her jaw and, before Mason Han could react, bit down hard.
That bite was merciless. Even though Mason Han pulled back in time, pain still shot through him and he frowned sharply.
A faint metallic taste in his mouth. A thread of blood seeped from the corner of his lips.
Wiping his mouth, Mason Han stared down at Raina Lu. Though his face showed no obvious expression, Raina Lu could see the displeasure he barely revealed. He was waiting—for her to give him an explanation.
Raina Lu had already approached all of this with a what's-left-to-lose attitude. She couldn't remember how long she'd coveted Mason Han. Finally she couldn't hold back and couldn't care about anything else. A melon forced off the vine isn't sweet—but if you don't force it, you don't even get a melon…
Mason Han's taste still lingered in her mouth, even a trace of his blood—not cold. Warm, salty, metallic, just the same.
Then why could this person be so cold?
Head bowed, she laughed softly, as if making a final struggle. "Mason Han, you don't dislike me."
A statement.
She looked up suddenly, meeting Mason Han's eyes, and asked again, "Since you can accept any woman your father gives you, why can't that person be me? Twenty-two to twenty-five, Mason Han—I stayed with you three years. Can you really feel nothing at all?"
From autumn with leaves falling everywhere to winter with cities buried in snow, then spring with flowers blooming and summer in full splendor—every memory held Mason Han.
Mason Han was busy. Every year he spent at least one quarter traveling on business. As his assistant she not only had to handle all his itineraries back and forth and assist with affairs while he was away, but also follow Mason Han wherever he went.
She knew Mason Han preferred light flavors, liked rice more than dishes, liked golf, liked a wardrobe full of black and white suits though his closet was gray, liked old songs though he couldn't sing a single one, was slightly prone to seasickness and allergic to lamb…
See—she'd thought she understood Mason Han better than anyone. Only now did Raina Lu understand how shallow that understanding was. She couldn't see through this always silent, capable man at all…
Mason Han parted his lips, face blank, voice cold. "Raina Lu, I thought you knew being my assistant is better than being my girlfriend."
True—when subordinates were sick or had problems, Mason Han occasionally showed concern. But toward his girlfriends he was entirely formulaic. Dating, to Mason Han, was like another task called marriage and children—step by step, by the rules, not one extra ounce of effort spent.
Raina Lu's smile held a trace of mockery. "Who wants that little bit of concern from you? If I didn't like you, who would have the patience to endure being your assistant? I don't believe you didn't notice at all!"
Perhaps truly pushed to the limit, Raina Lu simply blurted it out.
Silence fell on Mason Han's side.
In three years there had probably been such guesses. But their contact was too formulaic. Those ambiguous feelings were replaced by other matters before they could form. Besides, he'd never had that inclination in the first place.
Yet hearing Raina Lu say it aloud, Mason Han still felt a moment of discomfort.
Still, he remained silent.
Raina Lu looked away. Her head ached dully. Her arm was cold. Something like irritation spread through her. Swallowing the urge to hit someone, she said flatly, "Forget it, Mr. Han. I'm dizzy. I'll sleep first."
She pulled the covers over herself and closed her eyes. After a long while Mason Han still didn't speak. Whether disappointed or something else, she soon fell asleep.
Sleep blurred the line between dream and reality.
She seemed to return to when she was twenty-two, just starting her internship—the first time she saw Mason Han up close.
She'd stood out in that silent, cutthroat interview and been overjoyed.
Before official working hours she dressed carefully and came to Mason Han's office, knocking lightly.
No one answered for a long time. She quietly let herself in.
The office was empty, but there was a small door to the side.
Surprise wiped away every trace of first-day nerves. Raina Lu didn't hesitate to open the door. What burst into view was Mason Han's exhausted sleeping face.
She hadn't expected such a perk on day one. Raina Lu was just about to steal a longer look when Mason Han's eyes snapped open, gaze icy. "Who are you? Get out."
Raina Lu completely ignored the second half. She immediately straightened, eyes locked on the skin visible beneath Mason Han's slightly open shirt collar, unblinking, smile confident. "I'm the new assistant. My name is Raina Lu. Looking forward to working with you."
The scene shifted—Mason Han pointing at a proposal she'd made, face unreadable.
"This is what you stayed up all night for?"
Raina Lu smiled with pride. "Yes."
Mason Han tore the document to shreds without a second thought and spat out four words: "Trash. Do it again."
Raina Lu gritted her teeth and smiled as if it didn't matter. "Why tear it up? I have a backup anyway. But you have to tell me what's wrong, or how am I supposed to redo it?"
Mason Han looked at her, very calm. "You're my assistant. You adapt to me, not the other way around. I pay your salary to work, not to teach you lessons."
Raina Lu gathered the shredded paper, blinked, a dark glint flashing in her eyes. "Fine, I'll redo it. One day I'll be an assistant you're satisfied with."