Xie Jinbai closed the door behind him, shrugged off his cloak, and strode to the desk.
He was tall and slender, with a commanding presence that made him difficult to ignore.
But Cui Lingyao was long accustomed to his presence, so she had no instinctual fear of him. She didn't notice a thing until he was standing right in front of her.
Her gaze was lowered, her eyes fixed on the ledger.
Xie Jinbai stared at her for a long moment. When she paid him no mind, he finally reached out and knocked on the desk.
The long, broad knuckles of a man's hand entered her vision. Cui Lingyao started, her focus snapping away from the accounts.
She looked up and met a pair of deep, quiet eyes.
She blinked in surprise. "You're back so early today?"
They hadn't seen each other at all in days.
The man was incredibly busy. Ever since that night he'd clung to her in a frenzy, he had been leaving early and returning late every single day.
He often wasn't back by the time she fell asleep.
