She turned to the platter and plucked a grape from the bunch and held it just above his lips.

The man could grab people with his eyes, demand things from them and probably eat them alive.

She waited, frozen in place, holding his intense gaze and going through the motions.

Slowly, he smacked his lips together, ridding them of the juices she wanted to wipe away. Disappointment flashed across his features as he pulled his eyes away. He grabbed the document he had been reading and glance back up at her.

"Delicious little snack," he emphasized the work little before lifting the paper and going back to work.

Qian Meng wanted to dump the platter on his head. But she refrained. If he wasn't willing to eat the whole platter, he would only be getting this little snack and nothing else.

She tore herself away from his side and poured herself a glass of obscenely expensive wine. She took a seat in her assigned seat and looked outside.

Qian Meng wasn't a saint when it came to work-life balance or communicating with people, but Mo Qingchen took it to a different level.

She glanced over at him working intently. Her chest felt a heaviness to it as she tried to imagine why he became this way. She always thought about how aggrieved she was, but it seemed Mo Qingchen was equally damaged.

Did she really want to know?

The answer was yes. But the true question was, how far was she willing to go to find out?

- - - - -

The evening of the Mayor's Anniversary party:

Yun Qian Meng was steaming her evening gown when the bell to her room rang. She looked down at her robed outfit and shrugged. She had ordered her package to be brought up, so she didn't think much of the call.

She sauntered over to the door and opened it. Her expression froze when she saw who was on the other side.

Qian Meng could swear he was looking at her like he saw a goldmine. Bai Ye Qing.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice tight and her hands gripping onto the door. Someone had let out her information, and she was pissed.

"Your father told me to pick you up," he said casually.

"You didn't learn a lesson from our breakfast in Paris, did you?" she mocked.

Bai Ye Qing's expression stiffened but he composed it back into a dazzling smile once again.

"I am adamant on winning you over," he announced.

"You can hold your breath on that," she countered. Yes, hold your breath. 'You'll die, anyway.'

"It's okay. I see it as a challenge." He shrugged. He was about to step over the threshold but she put her hand up.

"Don't even think about it." Her father definitely didn't know which room she was staying in, so it must be one of the evening staff she rarely met. She slammed the door on his face and moved away from it like she would get infected if she was near him any longer.

She scurried towards her bed and jumped into it to calm herself. She did it so fast that she thought she was a gazelle. Apparently, the adrenaline that you get from an attack like that one she was under gave her a brand-new finesse that she had never known she possessed.

She would need to change hotels now. Her safe haven had been tainted by Bai Ye Qing's presence. She picked up her phone and called the front desk.

"Who let an unknown man come up to my suite?" she asked without greeting. There was silence on the other end for half a minute and then anxious apologies.

"Miss Yun, we are sorry. We have a new employee who didn't follow protocol. We will make sure she gets a thorough orientation."

Yun Qian Meng hung up in anger. She knew for a fact that Bai Ye Qing was still waiting for her in the lobby. She knew the man well enough. He liked to ambush people and inconvenience them into getting his way.

He thought that if he forced himself on them, they would go along with his plan because they were polite. She was not in a mood to be polite.

She picked up her phone once again and dialed Mo Qingchen's number. He picked up within a ring. "What is it?" he asked gruffly.

"I have a complaint against your family's hotel," she complained contritely.

"What did they do?" his answer was guarded.

"An employee of yours gave my personal information out to that scumbag Bai Ye Qing. I will inform you that I will find better accommodation and move out immediately."

He was silent on the other end.

"And I need to know this?" he asked, confused. "But that is good. Your money will fill someone else's pockets now."

She huffed. "Sorry to bother you, Mr. Mo. I thought you should know your hotel would lose out on a high paying customer like me." She heard him chuckle and looked at her phone in confusion.

"I understand." Short, concise reply. "Are you ready for the party?"

She heard shuffling in the background and realized he was also getting dressed.

"I was about to start when the piece of shit knocked on my door. Now I don't want to go. He's probably waiting for me downstairs," she groaned.

"Were you going to drive yourself?" he asked suddenly.

"Yes, why?" she asked.

"Don't drive with your heels on. Get a flat pair of shoes and keep them in your car. I'll call the manager and tell him to guide you to the garage, okay?"

She blinked. She didn't know that was an option. "Thanks?" she didn't know if it was a question or not.