Chapter 05
**Fragrant and Soft**
“Well, well, who do we have here? So it’s Shen He.” A delicate, sweet voice, accompanied by the sharp click-clack of high heels, cut into the private room, sounding a little out of place amid the music.
Su Hao and Shen He both looked up simultaneously to see Miss Li standing there in a cropped, midriff-baring top and jeans, hands on her hips, smiling at them.
She was quite tall, casting a shadow over them, but the thorny, sharp quality about her was still unmistakable. Rather than looking at both of them, she seemed to be looking at Su Hao in particular, subtly sizing her up.
Behind her came two more men.
Su Hao’s gaze shifted and landed on Zhou Yang. He frowned slightly. After a few seconds, he called out, “Li Xiu, come out.”
“I just came in to say hello.” Li Xiu turned back and spoke in a sweet, coquettish voice—the kind that could soften a man’s heart.
Li Yi: “What are you doing? Ruining their date.”
His tone was also displeased.
Shen He shot Li Xiu a fierce glare, then called out, “Brother Zhou Yang, Brother Li Yi, are you here to play too?”
“Yeah, just here for some fun.” Zhou Yang walked in, went over to the coffee table, bent down to flick his cigarette ash into the ashtray, then straightened up, cigarette between his lips, and looked at Li Xiu with narrowed eyes.
Li Xiu seemed to realize that his call for her to come out hadn’t been a joke.
Her back stiffened slightly.
For a moment, the atmosphere was rather tense.
Then Shen He had a flash of inspiration. “Brother Zhou Yang, why don’t you all stay and play together?”
Zhou Yang lifted his gaze to look at Shen He. After a long pause, he curled his lips. “For real?”
He saw through Shen He’s scheme in an instant.
Shen He laughed heartily, slapped the pool table, and the earlier annoyance vanished. “Right, stay and play together. Oh, and this is Su Hao.”
He introduced her to Li Yi. Li Yi walked over to open a bottle of wine, cigarette in hand, and said, “Su Hao, hello.”
He looked at Su Hao.
Su Hao nodded at him. “Hello.”
This man had a buzz cut. Because his shirt was unbuttoned, a faint scar was visible on his collarbone. He had a very cold, hard appearance.
They were all part of Zhou Yang’s circle.
Su Hao withdrew her gaze and stood quietly beside Shen He. Zhou Yang stubbed out his cigarette, rolled up his sleeves, walked over, and picked up a cue. Li Xiu said excitedly, “Let me rack the balls for you!”
As she spoke, she glanced at Zhou Yang, as if seeking his approval.
Zhou Yang leaned against the table, cast a sidelong glance at her, then laughed. “Go ahead, rack them. What are you looking at me for?”
Li Xiu breathed a huge sigh of relief, immediately set about racking the balls obediently. Her movements were very precise. Her legs were long and straight, like a model’s. After she finished, she looked at Zhou Yang as if expecting praise.
Zhou Yang let out a derisive snort but didn’t compliment her.
Shen He leaned his head toward Su Hao and said quietly, “You see? Brother Zhou Yang is like that. Wherever he goes, women want to be with him. And they all throw themselves at him. Even a little chili pepper turns as docile as a dodder flower.”
Su Hao listened, smiled slightly, and didn’t respond.
She didn’t know how to respond. This man had always had the ability to make women act like moths drawn to a flame.
“Hao Hao, are you cold?”
Having drawn closer, Shen He noticed that the exposed skin on Su Hao’s arms had broken out in tiny goosebumps. Su Hao shook her head. “No, I’m not cold. The game is about to start. Do your best.”
“Mm, I will!” Shen He’s eyebrows lifted joyfully as he tightened his grip on his cue. “Then you have to cheer me on.”
Su Hao nodded. “Okay.”
Her voice was very gentle. In the private room, her soft, lingering words were as pleasing as the song of a warbler—impossible to ignore.
As she said that “okay”—
*Thud.* Zhou Yang broke. Two balls dropped into pockets. Li Xiu stood nearby, stars in her eyes. “Amazing!”
Zhou Yang straightened up and walked over this way. Su Hao stood at the corner of the table, holding her cue, and took a step back. Zhou Yang’s peripheral vision casually swept over her. The orange light flickered. The gentle expression on her brow hadn’t yet faded, and her eyes looked as if they had been moistened, shimmering with a watery glint. Their gazes touched briefly, then moved apart.
He stood over here, took some chalk, rubbed it on the tip of his cue, set it down, bent over, and shot.
*Thud.*
Another ball sank.
Li Xiu clapped excitedly again. “Zhou Yang, you’re so amazing.”
Her voice was sugary sweet, genuinely proud.
Over on the other side, Shen He clicked his tongue, propping his cue against the table. “Brother Zhou Yang, don’t play too well. Don’t give me a chance. Watch out or you’ll lose your next turn.”
“Right, Hao Hao?” He looked at Su Hao, like a young wolf dog in need of encouragement.
Su Hao smiled and didn’t hold back her praise. “Yes, you played very well just now.”
Zhou Yang walked over to the other side. He raised his cue, swung, and sank two more balls. Then he cleared the table. Li Xiu watched him the whole time with stars in her eyes, full of admiration. Shen He leaned against the screen, chatting with Su Hao. He didn’t mind that Zhou Yang hadn’t gone easy on him.
After all, Su Hao would comfort him.
As long as Su Hao thought he played well, that was enough.
Seeing how Shen He seemed to need nothing else in the world as long as he had Su Hao made Li Yi laugh. Li Yi sat on the coffee table, drinking wine, and said, “Shen He, you’re actually just showing off to us, aren’t you?”
Shen He took a moment away from his chat to reply to Li Yi. “Yeah, you caught me.”
“Oh, impressive,” Li Yi replied with a laugh.
He looked at Zhou Yang. Zhou Yang was holding his cue but had stopped playing. He propped the cue against the table and lowered his head to light a cigarette. Li Yi said, “Zhou Yang, you’re just feeding Shen He’s vanity, aren’t you?”
When Shen He had invited them in to play, that was exactly the idea. Zhou Yang had seen through it immediately, but he’d still come inside. It had to be said—Zhou Yang was really giving the younger Shen He a leg up. Or maybe, since this was his first time playing matchmaker, he wanted things to end perfectly. But if that was the case, why not let Shen He win? Why did he have to sweep every ball off the table?
Zhou Yang raised his head, sat sideways on the pool table, and tapped the cue ball with his finger.
*Thud.*
The ball dropped into the pocket.
Zhou Yang looked at Shen He, who had been chatting with Su Hao the whole time, and smiled lazily. “Come on, your turn. You’d better clear the table in one go.”
“Huh?” Shen He was startled for a moment, then immediately took his cue and, almost reflexively, grabbed Su Hao’s wrist. Su Hao was also startled. For a moment, she didn’t pull away. She followed him to the table. Shen He smiled and said to Su Hao, “Cheer me on, like Li Xiu does.”
Su Hao instinctively glanced at Li Xiu, who was pressed up against Zhou Yang. Li Xiu raised an eyebrow, a provocative glint in her eyes. That kind of brash confidence, just like the car she drove, was constantly clinging to Zhou Yang and acting coquettish—very much the girlish, coquettish type. Completely different from Su Hao. Su Hao smiled slightly and said quietly to Shen He, “I can’t do that. I can only cheer for you quietly.”
Her hair carried a faint fragrance. As she bent her head to speak, her hair fell forward with the movement. Shen He caught the scent. His hand trembled slightly, and he whispered back, “I like it when you cheer quietly. It’s really nice.”
Su Hao was taken aback for a moment.
Then she laughed.
“Mm.”
That little “mm” sounded quite satisfied.
All the men in the room heard it.
Soft.
Different from that sugary-sweet voice. It was tender enough to drip water, like a small claw scratching once and then retracting.
With Su Hao’s nod, Shen He was determined to clear all the balls off the table. Although his skills weren’t as good as Zhou Yang’s, they weren’t far off.
With a little focus, he could do it.
Zhou Yang leaned against the cabinet, smoking. Beside him, Li Xiu chattered on endlessly, acting coquettish and talking nonstop. He took a glass of wine, lowered his head, and took a sip. The red liquid seemed to vaguely reflect a pair of eyes shimmering with watery light.
—
By the time they left the Star Club, it was actually quite late. Su Hao bent down and got into the car. The door closed. The window was rolled up. She took out her phone and checked the time.
The driver’s door opened, and Shen He got in. He was looking down, pressing a voice message. “Brother Zhou Yang, thank you.”
His thanks were sincere.
Su Hao raised her head and looked out the window.
After an entire evening, she had understood the meaning behind Shen He’s thanks. Zhou Yang had deliberately held back, giving Shen He a chance to shine. This was his first time being a matchmaker, and it seemed he wanted to submit a perfect result.
In the past, she would never have imagined that one day, a man she had once liked so much would introduce her to a boyfriend—and put so much thought into it.
She glanced at Shen He.
She thought to herself:
She should also thank Zhou Yang for being so thoughtful.
The car drove along the road. There was a little music playing, but the volume was very low. The moonlight was beautiful tonight, and with the slant of the streetlights, beams of light occasionally hit her face, then slid away, plunging back into darkness. Shen He glanced at Su Hao’s profile and felt that she was gentle as silk.
He was reluctant to part with her.
“Hao Hao, my flight is tomorrow.”
Su Hao snapped back to the present, looked at him, and smiled. “Mm, we’ll keep in touch on WeChat.”
“Okay.”
Their relationship status was still undefined. Shen He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, a little anxious. But he thought: *It’s fine. Let’s be friends first. No need to rush.*
The car arrived at the Huahui residential complex. Since parking wasn’t allowed there, Su Hao got out, bent down, and said goodbye to Shen He. Shen He turned to reach into the back seat and pulled out a bouquet of roses. He handed them to her. Su Hao was momentarily surprised, then reached out and took them. She rested her chin on the roses, looking like a flower fairy, and said, “Thank you.”
What a gentle woman this was.
Shen He coughed a couple of times. “Anyway, remember to keep in touch on WeChat. I’ll come back to Li City once I’m done with my work.”
“Sure. You still owe me a meal, after all.”
“Right, I still owe you a meal.” Shen He was overjoyed. She had left the door open for him to invite her again. Inside, he cheered. The faint melancholy in his heart disappeared.
A car horn beeped from behind.
Su Hao stood up straight and watched the black Mercedes drive away before turning to walk toward the stairwell. She went upstairs, entered her apartment, arranged the roses in a vase, then took her pajamas and went to shower.
After her shower, she poured herself a glass of milk and sat down on the sofa. She picked up her phone and glanced at it.
**Shen He:** I’m home.
**Su Hao:** Good. Goodnight.
**Shen He:** Goodnight.
As she was about to exit the chat, she saw another message in her WeChat list.
She paused.
**T:** I heard you went to Li City?
**Su Hao:** Yes. How is France?
**T:** Very good. Stay strong.
**Su Hao:** Stay strong too.
—
The black Mercedes’s taillights disappeared into the night. It was only then that Zhou Yang, Li Yi, and Li Xiu walked out. Zhou Yang unbuttoned his collar a little and glanced at the valet. The valet immediately scurried off to bring the car around. Li Xiu watched the direction the black car had driven off in, then looked at the lazy, charming man beside her. “Zhou Yang, who is this Su Hao anyway? Did you arrange for her to work at your company?”
Zhou Yang looked at her, smiled, and said, “What do you think?”
Another time she didn’t get an answer. Li Xiu stamped her foot. “I’m just asking! You never answer me.”
She had grown herself exactly to Zhou Yang’s taste—fun-loving, sharp-tongued, bold, thorny, and coquettish. Over the past six months, many women had pursued Zhou Yang, but only she had received any kind of response. She hadn’t gotten his official agreement yet, but she felt she could hold on.
Zhou Yang saw right through the probing in her question. He looked at her with a composed, amused smile.
Li Xiu blushed at his smile.
Why was she so nervous? That Su Hao wasn’t his type anyway.
The black Hummer pulled up in front of the entrance. The three of them walked down the steps. Zhou Yang walked around to the driver’s side. As he opened the door to get in, his phone buzzed.
He took it out and glanced at it.
Two messages.
**Shen He:** Brother Zhou Yang, thank you.
**Shen He:** Oh my god, Hao Hao’s scent is so nice. Fragrant and soft!!
A few seconds later.
**Zhou Yang:** Oh?
One more second later.
**Zhou Yang:** Did you hug her?
