Hours bled away on set, and by the time Jinhai dove back into his underwater shoot, Lily finally had space to breathe. Not that she disliked him—far from it. She owed her first singing contract to him. But Jinhai had a way of appearing out of nowhere, tilting her world off balance with that insufferable grin. He surprised her every single time.
With him out of sight, she busied herself, darting around the set to help pack up.
Balancing a pile of boxes, she headed toward the dim stairwell leading to the basement storeroom. Her arms ached. Her legs were sore. But at least Jinhai wasn't around to tease her.
Or so she thought.
A hand suddenly curled around her waist.
"Ahhh!" Lily squealed, twisting to knee her assailant straight in the groin—
—but a warm palm clamped over her mouth. "Shh, it's me, princess," a low voice murmured against her ear.
Big mistake.
Her foot shot out and connected with his shin. Hard.
"OWW! What was that for?!" Jinhai staggered back, wincing.
"To teach you not to sneak up on people, dumbo!" Lily snapped, marching off with her boxes.
"Ouch. And here I thought we were friends."
"No comment." She kept walking, refusing to give him the satisfaction of looking back. If she didn't finish this job properly, she'd never get work here again.
"Listen, Liang Princess!" Jinhai called after her.
"What now?" she huffed, halfway down the stairs.
"It's pouring outside. There won't be any buses. I'll drop you home."
"What makes you think I even take the bus?" she shot back, tossing her hair over her shoulder like the heiress she definitely wasn't acting like.
"The bus card sticking out of your pocket," Jinhai said, smirking.
Her legs practically itched to kick him again. "Well, I can manage."
"Trust me. I'm a safe driver. I'll drop you home."
"No thanks. I'm not trying to get fired on my first day."
"I'll wait for you by the valet lot. On the bench. One hour, princess."
"Whatever," she muttered.
"Meet me in an hour!" he called, retreating down the hall.
She rolled her eyes. He'd never last that long.
------
Three exhausting hours later, Lily locked up the storeroom. The studio was nearly empty now, only the hum of rain against the windows keeping her company. She glanced at the clock—10 p.m. Fantastic. No buses. No umbrella. No choice.
Grandpa and Grandma were probably worried sick. She ducked under the awning of a nearby shop, hugging herself against the wind. A small, traitorous part of her wished Jinhai had actually stayed. But three hours? No one would wait that long.
Except… curiosity was a terrible thing.
She jogged across the slick pavement to the valet lot—and froze.
On a rain-spattered bench lay a tall man, legs stretched out, leather jacket draped over his face.
"Jinhai?" she croaked.
The jacket slid down. A pair of groggy, storm-gray eyes met hers. Jinhai's eyes. So unfairly beautiful, even half-asleep.
"Finally remembered I exist, princess?" he murmured, voice low and rough from his nap.
Lily swallowed hard. "You… waited?"
"I promised, didn't I? Though honestly, I figured you'd ditched me." He stood in one smooth motion, shaking the rain from his jacket.
"This guy," Lily muttered under her breath, "is ridiculous."
"Thanks, Jinhai," she said softly, surprising herself.
"You're welcome… sister."
Her head jerked up. Sister? The word landed like ice water. Nothing about him felt brotherly—not when he looked at her like that, not when he called her princess in that lazy drawl that made butterflies riot in her stomach. She thought of this man as anything but her brother.
Lily cleared her throat, following him like a tail as a familiar car beeped at the curb—the same sleek one from the gala.
"Where's Michael?" she asked. Michael was there to drive Jinhai to the Met gala.
"Sent him home. Wanted to see his kids."
"Oh. Tell him I said hi."
"Of course, dear princess." Jinhai's smirk was infuriating.
She plastered on a mocking smile as he held the car door open, sliding in with a huff. The interior was warm, a sharp contrast to the rain beating against the windows.
They drove in silence for a moment—until Jinhai reached for the audio system, his face lighting up with mischief.
"Remember that song in the elevator? Sing it for me."
"Absolutely not!" Lily groaned, covering her face.
"Come on, Liang Princess. We're in this together."
"You've got to be kidding.", I huffed, embraced by this task. I wasn't about to sing in front of the almighty Jinhai.
"Don't worry. I won't bite. Yet." His grin widened as her cheeks warmed.
"Fine. But only if you sing too."
"Deal. You start, i'll tag along."
The melody of her voice floated through the car, soft and lilting, wrapping around the notes like spun silver. Jinhai froze, breath catching. Her voice was like moonlight breaking through dark clouds—pure, warm magic.
She shot him a warning look mid-note, and he laughed, finally joining in. His deep, steady voice filled the car, harmonizing with hers, every rise and fall blending effortlessly.
Lily thought to herself. This was the voice that made him win the survival show ASTRIX against all odds. This was the voice that had captured millions of hearts worldwide. A heavily, deep voice that danced with the tune. A voice people would have to train years to get.
She stopped singing and so did he as the track came to an end. Lily broke into a smile. This was perfect. Everything was perfect about this moment. They were parked along the side of the road. It was raining heavily outside. The car was cozy and warm. And Jinhai's warm smile lit up the car. PERFECT. Everything was perfect. But perfect things don't last for long.
Her phoned beeped in her pocket. She took it out and checked the message. It was from her dad. He hardly ever messaged her unless something was very very wrong.
"Tomorrow morning you will dine with the Shulong family. At the shulong family manner. Be ready by 9:00."
The warmth in the car shattered.