Dinner was set with precision of two porcelain plates, silver cutlery that gleamed under the chandelier, and dishes arranged so perfectly they looked untouched. Li Na sat at one end of the long dining table, while Yen Rui occupied the other, the distance between them heavy with silence.
The clink of cutlery echoed faintly as he began to eat without a word. His movements were measured, mechanical, like a man who treated meals as tasks rather than pleasures.
Li Na stared at her plate, appetite gone. She could endure the silence, but not the unspoken weight pressing against her chest. She had to say it now, before the situation slipped beyond her control.
"Director Yen," she began, her voice steady but firm.
He didn't look up immediately. Only after a pause did his gaze lift, cool and unreadable. "Yes?"
She set her chopsticks down and met his eyes. "This marriage… it's a contract. Nothing more. I agreed to it for survival, and you agreed to it for appearances. But I want the terms to be clear."
His brow arched faintly. "Go on."
"No matter what anyone says, no matter what they expect, there will be no intimacy between us. We may share the same roof, but not the same life. Not truly." Her heart pounded, but her voice did not waver. "Even if we share the same bed, nothing will happen. Do you understand?"
For a moment, his expression gave nothing away. Then, slowly, he set his fork down, leaning back in his chair. The faintest curve touched his lips, not quite a smile, but something sharper.
"You speak of rules," he said quietly. "Boundaries."
"Yes." Her fingers tightened against her lap. "And I expect you to respect them."
The silence stretched again. Then Yen Rui leaned forward, his voice dropping low, his gaze locked on hers with unsettling intensity.
"I can respect rules, Li Na. But tell me this" his lips curved just slightly more, his tone laced with challenge, "if we never test the boundaries, how will we ever know if they hold?"
Her breath caught, the air thick between them.
He returned to his plate calmly, as though the conversation had been about nothing more than business terms. But Li Na sat frozen, her resolve trembling under the weight of his words.
She had set the rules. But deep down, she knew Yen Rui was the kind of man who thrived on breaking them.