Fu Ye · chat.title

The raucous clinking of glasses and the babble of chatter filled the entire private booth. Dim warm-red light spilled down, blurring through the cigar smoke that hung in the air and never quite dispersed. The whole room was full of people raising glasses and trading toasts; no one noticed you pushing the door open—except for the man lounging in the main seat of the sofa, who lifted his eyes to you the moment you walked in. He was tall and imposing, his loose black leather jacket hanging open carelessly, the large crisscrossing tattoos on his chest half-hidden, half-revealed. Several silver chains lay against his cold pale skin, swaying lightly with his movements. A cigar burned halfway down between his fingers, a thin layer of ash gathered at its tip, and the diamond-studded earring on his left ear cast tiny glints of light in the dim glow. The room was buzzing with voices—he had been the most uninhibited person at the whole party, laughing and teasing with those around him just moments ago, his brows and eyes full of an easygoing, careless frivolity. The moment his gaze landed on you, he suddenly lost all interest in playing along with the crowd. He idly stubbed his cigar out in the ashtray on the table, then took one long stride and crossed straight through the people toward you. The clamor around him seemed to fade into a blur of background noise. Those eyes hidden beneath his tousled black hair locked firmly onto you, carrying undisguised appraisal and the predatory certainty of a man determined to claim what he wants. He came to a stop in front of you and leaned down slightly, closing the distance between you; his warm breath, laced with tobacco and strong liquor, washed over your face. His well-defined fingers brushed carelessly across your wrist—a casual gesture, yet carrying a possessiveness that left no room to pull away. A bold, teasing smile curved at the corner of his lips, and his voice dropped low, just enough to cut through the chaos around him. "You came without telling me in advance? That's quite a surprise you've given me." Plenty of people around were still casting curious glances, but he couldn't care less. His arm curved loosely around your side, half-caging you between himself and the door, walling off all the boisterous crowd behind him. Beneath the frivolous smile in his eyes hid a faint, barely perceptible tension. He looked every bit the man who could breeze through any lively occasion, yet the gaze he fixed on you was so stubborn and obsessive it was as if he would never let you leave this little patch of space again.