Shen Yue had her breakfast at a roadside stall, buying two steamed buns to fill her stomach before catching the bus and arriving at the coffee shop ten minutes early.
After changing into her work uniform, she started working diligently.
The cafe got busier around noon, and she was so busy that she barely had time to drink a sip of water.
After a busy day, Shen Yue got off work before it was completely dark.
Thinking it was still early, she rented a shared bicycle to go for a ride.
The pedestrian traffic was quite heavy at this time. Shen Yue felt unlucky when the shared bicycle ran out of power halfway through her ride, and she couldn't see any other shared bikes nearby. She had no choice but to walk.
The autumn wind felt cool and a little comfortable on her face.
The scenery in the city park was beautiful. The tree leaves looked like burning flames, mottled and colorful, swaying gracefully in the wind, creating a dazzling spectacle.
The air seemed to be filled with the scent of decaying dry leaves.
Shen Yue thought the scenery looked good from a distance. As she walked closer, there was a road with a red light, and she waited patiently.
While waiting for the light to change, Shen Yue spotted a black luxury car parked on the opposite side of the road.
Even more dazzling than the car was the man.
Xie Jiangsheng was wearing only a white shirt. He stood casually, with one button of his shirt undone. His well-defined fingers held a phone to his ear, his expression placid.
He was on the phone.
The light turned green, and Shen Yue crossed the road. After a moment's thought, she walked towards Xie Jiangsheng.
Xie Jiangsheng's features were refined and elegant, but he had an unapproachable aura, a sense of pressure and distance that belonged to someone of high status. Even the faint smile that often graced his lips couldn't dispel it.
After finishing his call, he lowered his head, lit a cigarette, and took a deep drag.
Xie Jiangsheng sensed someone approaching him but showed no reaction.
It wasn't until she was right in front of him that a woman's gentle voice, like spring water, reached his ears.
"Mr. Xie."
A familiar voice, an unfamiliar title.
Xie Jiangsheng's eyelids flickered. His expression was hidden by the smoke, and only his voice emerged, betraying no discernible emotion, "Yes?"
She didn't really have anything specific to say, but seeing that Mr. Xie seemed to be in some sort of difficulty, she walked over. After all, Mr. Xie was her benefactor, and she couldn't pretend not to see him.
Shen Yue pursed her lips, smiling, her dimples appearing shallowly. "Mr. Xie, are you encountering any problems?"
The twilight glow wasn't harsh. It shone through the gaps in the branches and maple leaves. The woman's skin was fair and luminous. Her slender neck was graceful, and beneath the clean neckline, her delicate collarbones were faintly visible.
Xie Jiangsheng's throat felt dry. His dark gaze lingered obscurely on her neck and collarbones.
She appeared before him without any pretense, without any loud crying or greedy desires.
Like a pear blossom adorned with rain, she was transparent, clean, and immaculate.
It was strange; his desires were usually fleeting, yet Shen Yue could so easily stir the desires that had been lying dormant within him for a long time, causing them to erupt uncontrollably.
Xie Jiangsheng exhaled a thick plume of smoke. Beneath his elegant exterior, a palpable indifference could not be concealed.
"My car broke down."
Shen Yue nodded. The atmosphere was silent, and feeling a little awkward, the tips of her jade-like ears reddened. Her voice was soft, "Mr. Xie, the scenery in this park looks beautiful. Would you like to take a walk and look around?"
Xie Jiangsheng flicked the ash off his cigarette, his half-lowered eyelids lifted, and his gaze lingered on the woman's face for a long time. Only when he had made her blush crimson did he slowly withdraw his gaze.
He calmly finished his cigarette, then crushed and threw it into the trash bin. He turned his head and looked at the woman who was timidly gazing at him.
His voice was hoarse from just smoking.
"Let's go."
And so, the two most familiar strangers walked in the park, separated by half an arm's length.
Fallen leaves carpeted the ground, as if laying a colorful blanket over the earth.
Stepping on them produced a crunching sound.
Neither of them spoke, yet the atmosphere was no longer awkward.
Xie Jiangsheng had one hand in his pocket, his tall and straight figure prominent. In the peculiar silence, he suddenly spoke.
"You're stalking me, aren't you."
Shen Yue, who had been watching a little sparrow on a branch, was stunned by the man's nonsensical remark and didn't answer immediately.
Xie Jiangsheng didn't even look at her as he spoke, his gaze fixed ahead. His eyebrows were clear and indifferent, his skin pale. A faint smile even played on his lips, as if he were discussing the most ordinary of topics.
"You didn't actually lose your memory, did you?"
One question after another left Shen Yue bewildered. Her face turned pale, but she patiently explained, "Mr. Xie, I don't quite understand what you're saying."
"You don't need to pretend with me." The man, who hadn't looked at her from beginning to end, finally turned his head and looked at her calmly. His deep, dark eyes held a chilling coldness that made it almost impossible to look at him directly.
"Is this your new tactic?"
Shen Yue became more confused the more she listened. Her long, thick eyelashes trembled slightly, and her voice was weak, "Mr. Xie, what exactly are you trying to say?"
Xie Jiangsheng paused. He was only saying these things to try and provoke Shen Yue, as he still didn't believe she had amnesia.
How could something be so coincidental?
She happened to have amnesia, the job she found was in a coffee shop near his company, and he happened to run into her just as his car broke down.
Besides coincidence, he believed it was orchestrated.
However, Shen Yue's expression made him hesitate.
He truly detested things that were beyond his control.
Xie Jiangsheng stopped walking and looked down at Shen Yue, his eyes growing colder, but his tone remained gentle and polite, "I hope you will reduce the number of times you appear before me, otherwise, this will easily lead me to misunderstand."
Shen Yue was taken aback. It took her a great effort to understand the meaning of his words. She couldn't quite grasp the feeling she had, only that she was confused and bewildered by Xie Jiangsheng's attitude.
Didn't Mr. Xie say they were friends? He had kindly paid her medical expenses, so why was he so averse to her now?
Considering that Xie Jiangsheng had paid her medical bills, she could only ask him vaguely and indistinctly.
"Mr. Xie, did I do something to make you angry before? You… seem to dislike me very much."
Why else would he hate her so much?
The woman's voice was soft and weak, like a pear blossom swaying in the wind, innocent and perhaps foolish.
"Aren't we friends?"
She thought she had asked in a subtle and tactful way, cautiously probing, as if afraid of angering Xie Jiangsheng.
But Shen Yue never expected the reaction she received after asking that question.
The man, who had been calm and elegant, changed his expression in an instant the moment Shen Yue asked that question.
It was an expression Shen Yue couldn't describe.