On the day of graduation, I was dragged by my rich father to get the certificate

Sunlight poured into the top floor conference room of the Si Group headquarters building through the French windows. Gu Wan stood in front of the window, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the edge of the design drawing in her hand. Since she stepped into this building in the morning, every inch of air here made her breath tight.

“Designer Nangong, President Si will be here soon.” The secretary respectfully handed over a cup of black tea, and Gu Wan—now she should be called Nangong Wan—nodded slightly to express her gratitude.

Black tea was her favorite in the past. Gu Wan's fingers paused on the edge of the cup for a second, and then she took a sip as if nothing had happened. It was just a coincidence, Si Yehan couldn't recognize her. After all, she was wearing brown contact lenses, had a mole painted on her face, dyed her hair two shades darker, and even deliberately adjusted her tone and posture when speaking.

The elevator made a "ding" sound, and Gu Wan's back instantly straightened.

"Sorry for the long wait." A deep male voice came from behind her, like a blunt knife slowly cutting through her carefully constructed disguise.

Gu Wan turned around with a professional and distant smile on her face: "Hello, Mr. Si, it is my honor to be able to participate in the design of Si's new park."

Si Yehan stood three steps away, wearing a well-tailored grey suit that outlined his broad shoulders and narrow waist. Six years had carved sharper lines on his face, but his hawk-like eyes still made her heart beat out of control. He was more oppressive than when they met in the cafe yesterday.

"We didn't have a chance to discuss this in detail yesterday." Si Yehan approached, the faint scent of ambergris on his body making Gu Wan's fingertips numb. "I saw the ecological park design you made for L Group, and I really appreciate your concept."

His eyes wandered over her face, and Gu Wan forced herself to stay calm. It was impossible to recognize her. She had practiced in front of the mirror for two and a half years, but even Aunt Liu, who had been taking care of her, couldn't recognize her face.

"Mr. Si, thank you for your compliment." She opened the design book, "My initial idea for the new park is to combine traditional garden elements with modern..."

"No hurry." Si Yehan suddenly interrupted, tapping his finger on the tablet, "Let me show you a place first."

Gu Wan was stunned: "Now?"

"The old archive room on the third floor underground." Si Yehan said without even looking up, and Gu Wan's blood froze instantly. "It will be converted into the core data center of the new campus. I'd like to hear your suggestions for space planning."

The account book is in the safe on the third floor underground. Gu Wan's nails dug into his palms. It was too smooth, too smooth to be suspicious.

“Of course,” she heard herself say. “A field trip is very helpful for design.”

During the thirty seconds the elevator descended, Gu Wan observed Si Yehan through the reflection of the metal wall. He stood beside her with one hand in his pocket and swiped his phone screen with the other hand, looking nonchalant. But she noticed that his thumb paused on the screen three times - each time when the elevator passed a certain floor.

He was nervous. This realization made Gu Wan's throat tighten.

The third underground floor was brighter than expected, with transparent glass archive rooms on both sides of the corridor. Si Yehan swiped the door to the innermost room and said, "This part was built thirty years ago, and the structure is somewhat special."

Gu Wan's professionalism allowed her to immediately notice the abnormal thickness of the wall: "The load-bearing wall is 40 centimeters thicker than the standard."

"You are indeed an expert." Si Yehan chuckled, and the sound was like a feather brushing the back of her neck. "This was originally a safe deposit box, and later it was converted into an archive room." He pointed to a metal door in the southeast corner. "That is the area that needs to be renovated."

Gu Wan's eyes were glued to the door. According to intelligence, the account book was in the safe behind the door. She needed to create an opportunity to be alone.

"Mr. Si, can you give me ten minutes to measure the spatial data alone? Too many people will affect the accuracy of the laser rangefinder."

Si Yehan raised his eyebrows. This expression was too familiar. Gu Wan almost thought he was going to expose her. But he just took out his phone and looked at it: "I just have a call to answer. I'll pick you up in ten minutes."

The sound of the metal door closing was particularly harsh in the empty archive room. Gu Wan immediately took out the decoder from the compartment of her handbag, but her movements suddenly froze - in the corner facing the safe, a red light spot was looming.

Surveillance camera. She cursed herself for being careless, quickly hid the decoder back into her bag, and pretended to measure the wall. Time was running out, and she had to take a risk.

Gu Wan walked to the blind spot of the camera and pulled out a special hairpin from her hair. The special training she had received in Brussels three years ago came in handy at this moment. She quickly hacked into the surveillance system and inserted a looping picture. Five minutes later, the electronic lock of the safe made a slight "click" sound.

The account book was thinner than she had imagined. Gu Wan quickly turned to the marked page and aimed the camera of her mobile phone at the key content. At this moment, the lights in the archives room suddenly went out, and the emergency lights cast a strange red light.

"The system has detected an illegal intrusion and initiated a blocking procedure." A mechanical female voice sounded in the darkness.

Gu Wan's heartbeat almost stopped. She quickly put the account book back in place, but when she turned around, she bumped into a solid chest. The scent of ambergris enveloped her, and Si Yehan's voice rang close to her ear, his warm breath causing her to shudder:

"Designer Nangong is so interested in architectural drawings from 20 years ago?"

Gu Wan's back was against the cold safe, with no way to retreat. The emergency light cast a layer of blood on Si Yehan's outline. The muscles of his arm supporting her ear were tense, and his eyes were filled with emotions that she couldn't read.

"I'm...checking the structural data." Her voice was hoarseer than she had intended.

Si Yehan suddenly raised his hand. Gu Wan thought he was going to expose her, but he just picked up a long hair from her shoulder and said, "Brown? I remember you had chestnut hair yesterday."

Gu Wan's blood froze. He noticed it. He had been watching her the whole time.

"I changed my hairstyle temporarily." She tried to remain calm, but saw Si Yehan's fingers touching the back of her ear - there was an almost invisible scar there, which was accidentally left when she was kidnapped six years ago, and she didn't even know it.

Time seemed to freeze. Si Yehan gently rubbed the scar with his thumb, his eyes dim and unclear: "Did you know? When people lie, the back of their ears will turn red 0.3 seconds before their cheeks."

Gu Wan pushed him away fiercely: "Mr. Si, please respect yourself."

Si Yehan let her push him away, but when she rushed to the door, he grabbed her wrist and said, "Why did you come back?" His voice suddenly broke, like a wound that had been suppressed for too long and finally broke open. "It's been six years, Gu Wan."

Her real name split the darkness like a bolt of lightning. Gu Wan trembled all over, and her disguise collapsed at this moment.

“You knew that.”

Si Yehan pulled her closer and stroked her dark hair with his other hand: "Do you think I won't recognize my bride just because she changed her makeup?" He pressed his forehead against hers, "For the past six years, I have fallen asleep every day with the veil you left behind, Gu Wan. Even if you turned into ashes, I would recognize you."

Gu Wan's vision blurred. She shouldn't have wavered, Si Yehan was the offspring of her enemy. But when Si Yehan's lips were almost touching hers, she found herself shamefully missing this scent.

“This account book doesn’t have what you want.” Si Yehan said suddenly. Gu Wan looked up in shock. “That’s fake. It was transferred two years ago.”

"You...set up a trap to lure me here?"

"There's nothing I can do, Wanwan. Who told you to be so cruel that you don't even come to see me?" Si Yehan's thumb brushed across her lower lip, his eyes dangerous and gentle.

His kiss fell on her trembling eyelids, "Don't try to escape this time, Wanwan."

The footsteps of the security guards were heard in the distance. Gu Wan took the opportunity to break free, but when she turned around, she was pulled back into Si Yehan's arms. His lips finally pressed down, and this kiss, with six years of longing and anger, almost swallowed her. When Gu Wan finally broke free and ran away, his warmth was still on her lips.

Before the elevator door closed, she saw Si Yehan standing at the end of the corridor, dangling a silver USB flash drive in his hand - the same one she had just secretly photographed the account book with.

"Same time tomorrow, top floor office." His mouth movements were clearly identifiable. "I have what you want."