Chapter 25: The Boss And Her White Little Lotus
Is she really no better than before? After everything, she still clings to someone who hurt her…
Her jaw set. Fine. I'll show her what's better. I'll show her what she should truly want — what she's been missing all this time.
Lin Qinglan's thoughts steeled her resolve, igniting a quiet, relentless determination.
"What does anything between us have to do with Yao Yinuo?" she asked, her voice steady and smooth, though a thread of irritation ran beneath it.
Yu Zixue's pulse faltered.
Good.
She forced a small pout. "I wasn't… maybe it's you who's still thinking about that pitiful excuse for a man," she teased lightly.
Inside, adrenaline surged through her veins. She had to balance this carefully. Too much, and the thread would snap. Too little, and the hook wouldn't set.
Her fingers lifted, brushing along Lin Qinglan's cheek. The touch was gentle, reverent, almost worshipful. She could feel the warmth of her skin under her fingertips, the subtle tension beneath.
"Qinglan… are you mad at me?" she whispered.
There it was — vulnerability woven into provocation.
Lin Qinglan's eyes closed briefly. She drew in a slow breath.
The sharp edge in the room dulled.
Yu Zixue watched every micro - expression. The slight easing around her mouth. The faint relaxation of her shoulders. Relief unfurled inside her like a blooming secret.
She hadn't gone too far.
Yet beneath that relief lay something more dangerous.
Desire.
It pooled quietly, low and heavy, as she studied Lin Qinglan's face at such close distance. The faint rise and fall of her breathing. The warmth radiating between them. The memory of that last lingering kiss replayed in her mind, over and over.
Her body was far more honest than her words.
She wanted to lean in again.
She wanted to test how far she could push before restraint shattered entirely.
Instead, she forced herself upright.
"It's… getting late," she said, standing slowly, schooling her expression into casual ease. "I should shower first, since you insist Qinglan. There's shooting tomorrow — we should rest early."
But even as she turned away, she could feel Lin Qinglan's attention following her.
That invisible pull between them hadn't lessened.
If anything, it had only grown stronger.
And Yu Zixue knew exactly what she was doing.
She was walking a thin line between innocence and temptation.
Between playfulness and possession.
Between mission… and something far more personal.
Yu Zixue gathered her pajamas and stepped into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her as though she could also shut out the lingering heat in her mind.
The moment the hot water cascaded over her, she exhaled shakily. Steam coiled through the air, wrapping around her skin, dampening her hair, tracing down the slope of her shoulders and spine.
The warmth soaked into her muscles, yet it did nothing to quiet the restless energy beneath her skin.
Her thoughts replayed the earlier kisses in merciless clarity.
The brush of her lips.
The teasing sweep of her tongue.
The way Lin Qinglan had said her name — Ruxue — like it belonged only to her.
Yu Zixue pressed her palms against the tiled wall and lowered her head under the stream. The water slid over her scalp and down her face, masking the faint flush that refused to fade.
"Aiyu…" she murmured inwardly, her voice softer than usual, almost shy. "Do you think Lin Qinglan… likes me?"
Her system: Shutdown.
The abrupt silence made her cheeks burn hotter than the water ever could.
"Unbelievable," she muttered, scrubbing her hair with unnecessary force. "You appear when I don't need you and disappear when I do."
But beneath her complaint was something fragile.
Hope.
She closed her eyes and let the water run over her body, trying to wash away the embarrassment. It clung stubbornly to her — along with the memory of Lin Qinglan's mouth pressing against hers, firm and claiming. Even now, her lips felt sensitive, almost swollen from the repeated kisses.
Her breathing hitched slightly as she remembered the faint bite.
The way her body had yielded without thought.
She pressed her thighs together briefly under the stream, annoyed at herself for reacting so honestly even in solitude. "Get it together," she whispered.
After drying off and changing into her pajamas, she stepped out, hair still damp and trailing cool droplets along her neck. The room felt too quiet.
Too empty.
Lin Qinglan was gone.
Yu Zixue paused in the doorway, blinking as if she might have imagined it. The bed was undisturbed. The air carried no trace of her presence.
A faint unease crept into her stomach.
She quickly opened their group chat and asked a few of the others if they'd seen Lin Qinglan. Each reply came back the same.
No.
Haven't seen her.
Not here.
Yu Zixue's brows drew together. "Where did she go?" she murmured to herself. "She… didn't go scare off the hot water herself, did she?"
She tried to sound light, but worry tugged at her.
Time stretched.
The room darkened as the night deepened. She sat on the edge of the bed, then stood, then paced, then sat again. Every faint sound from the hallway made her heart jolt before disappointment followed.
Why was she so unsettled?
It's not like we're —
She cut off the thought.
Hours later, the door finally opened.
Lin Qinglan stepped inside, coat wrapped closely around her frame. Her expression carried faint irritation and fatigue, something restless radiating from her that made Yu Zixue's pulse leap.
Without thinking, Yu Zixue lifted the quilt aside and stepped forward.
"Qinglan… where have you been? I've been waiting all night," she said softly.
The words came out gentler than she intended.
Lin Qinglan looked at her.
Blank at first.
Distant.
Half a minute passed, heavy and stretched thin.
Then something shifted.
Her eyes sharpened.
Yu Zixue felt it like a spark striking dry grass.
No warning.
No explanation.
Just that piercing look and the unspoken tension thickening the space between them.
Yu Zixue swallowed, trying to steady herself as the atmosphere grew dense with something unnameable.
Tonight wasn't over.
Her breathing grew uneven. Her body reacted before her thoughts could align. The warmth of Lin Qinglan's presence boxed her in, leaving no escape.
Am I really going to be rectified on the spot?
The idea both frightened and exhilarated her.
Lin Qinglan observed every reaction — the quickened breath, the flush climbing up Yu Zixue's neck, the faint movement of her fingers curling against her standing still.
So reactive.
So transparent.
For a fleeting second, Lin Qinglan wasn't seeing the bold, teasing woman from earlier.
She was seeing three years ago.
Lin Qinglan remembered how fragile Ruxue had always been, the quiet, hesitant girl who seemed to float on the edge of every room, careful not to draw attention.
Only when her fiancé at the time had proven unfaithful did she begin to harden, a shadow of her former self, and it worsened when Yao Yinuo started showing interest to her. Back then, though, she had been entirely different — delicate, shy, almost painfully cautious.
Back when Du Ruxue had first appeared in the public eye. She was still inexperienced.
Back when she had stood nervously at fan meetings, clutching paper with hands that barely stayed still, cheeks flushed with a mixture of excitement and anxiety.