Listening to Chris gush with sparkling eyes, Jiang Si awkwardly took a sip of her coffee.
She couldn’t shake the feeling that she’d somehow led Chris into a pit.
Chris, however, didn’t see it that way at all. Instead, she wore the expression of an adoring fan and said, “Anyway, I think you’re absolutely right! Everything you said really resonated with me. And doesn’t your country have a saying like, ‘A man chasing a woman is like climbing a mountain, but a woman chasing a man is just lifting a veil’?”
“I just want to try one more time—give myself one last chance.”
“No matter the outcome, at least I’ll know I gave it my all and won’t regret it later.”
Chris already knew Chi Heng’s true identity.
She also knew that Chi Heng had ultimately agreed to work with her for one reason: to lull his mother into lowering her guard so he could obtain the list in her possession.
Chris’s role was to assist him, using her status and connections to provide cover.
When necessary, she could even act as his shield.
Chi Heng was well aware that even without Chris, another woman would inevitably take her place.
And so, the two reached an agreement.
Once the mission was accomplished, they would attempt a genuine relationship for one year.
“If, in that year, I can warm his heart, then after everything’s settled, we’ll return to France and start a new life together,” Chris declared with a tone of finality. “But if, after a year, he still feels nothing for me… then so be it.”
As for whether it was a fair deal, that was no longer her concern.
Helping him would at least fulfill the affection she’d carried for him all these years.
Win some, lose some—that’s what Jiang Si had once said.
And Chris had taken it to heart.
“Not necessarily,” Jiang Si suddenly interjected.
Chris blinked in confusion. “What’s ‘not necessarily’?”
“I mean you might not lose,” Jiang Si replied with a smile, taking another sip of coffee.
That day in the hospital room…
When she’d mentioned Chris’s name—
Chi Heng had reacted visibly, his gaze flickering toward the door.
Chris still didn’t quite grasp it. She tilted her head. “What does that have to do with whether I lose or not?”
“Think about it,” Jiang Si chuckled. “When someone heard his mood was foul that day, didn’t they instinctively bolt?”
A person’s thoughts can be disguised, but instinctive reactions are the hardest to control—and the most revealing of true feelings.
“Oh! I get it now!” Chris’s face lit up with excitement.
No wonder the books said even the most unyielding woman could be worn down by persistent pursuit!
And if that worked both ways, then surely an unyielding man could be worn down too!
“I can’t have lunch with you today,” Chris announced, already fidgeting in her seat. She’d made up her mind to go find Chi Heng right away.
Jiang Si hadn’t planned on joining her for lunch anyway, but—
“Have you been spending every day with him lately?”
“Yeah,” Chris nodded.
They worked in the same unit, so they naturally saw each other daily.
And now, with their engagement in place, they made sure to stick together whenever possible.
Of course, this was mostly Chris’s doing.
She didn’t even spare the weekends, often dropping by his courtyard house to see him.
When Chi Heng went for his hospital check-ups, she tagged along.
In short, she seized every opportunity to deepen their connection.
Speaking of which, Chris suddenly remembered something. “I even booked us a trip to hike the Great Wall next week.”
Jiang Si’s expression turned knowing.
Newly smitten people were all the same—
Eager to lay their hearts bare at the other’s feet.
But that alone might not be enough.
Jiang Si offered some advice: “After you come back from the Great Wall, I’d suggest cooling things off for a while.”
“Why? Shouldn’t I strike while the iron’s hot?” Chris had clearly been studying Chinese proverbs, and she recited them with impressive fluency.
“That’s true in theory,” Jiang Si conceded, “but you also need to give him time to process and respond.”
She wasn’t sure how to explain the delicate psychology of romantic pursuit, so she settled for a simpler analogy.
“Even the most delicious dish will lose its appeal if you eat it every single day, won’t it?”
“No… not really?” Chris had been eating roast duck almost daily for a month, and the mere thought of it still made her mouth water.
Jiang Si sighed, rubbing her forehead. Since when had Chris turned into such a foodie?
“Just remember this: Desperation isn’t attractive.”
Jiang Si continued, “Have you ever flown a kite? Relationships are a lot like that. You need to know when to hold tight and when to let loose.”
“If you keep the string taut all the time, the kite won’t soar—it’ll just crash.”
“But if you give it a little slack, some room to breathe, it’ll fly higher and farther.”
And here was the crucial part: “It has to know that no matter how high it goes, the string is still in your hands.”
Chris’s eyes sparkled with realization.
“Alright, I’ll give it a try!”
Jiang Si had assumed her heartfelt advice would at least bring Chris a step closer to winning over her man, if not outright success.
To her surprise, the next news she received was that Chris had been hospitalized.
When Jiang Si got the message, she was utterly shocked. She immediately put down the phone and rushed to the hospital.
In the ward, Chris lay with her arms and legs wrapped in bandages.
Paired with her bruised and swollen face, the sight was… something else.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine." Chris waved it off casually, gesturing for Jiang Si to sit. "The doctor checked me—just some minor injuries. A slight fracture in my calf, but nothing serious. I’ll be discharged soon."
"What happened? Weren’t you just going to hike the Great Wall? How did you end up tumbling down?"
Well, that’s a long story.
Chris glanced toward the door to make sure it was closed, then lowered her voice to report.
"Listen, I did what you told me to."
Jiang Si blinked. "What I told you?"
"Yeah, you know—giving him the cold shoulder."
Only then did Jiang Si realize that ever since their last conversation, Chris had been freezing Chi Heng out.
No questions asked—just "too busy with work."
She didn’t even have time for their usual lunch together.
If they bumped into each other in the office, she’d just greet him quickly and hurry away.
Finally, over the weekend, the two went to the Great Wall.
But Chris remained distant, her mind clearly elsewhere.
Chi Heng asked her several times what was wrong, but she just brushed him off with a busy excuse.
And so, their conversation limped along, neither paying much attention—until neither noticed the "spicy strip" lying across the ancient bricks ahead.
Having grown up in France, Chris had never seen such a creature before.
The moment she stepped on it, her soul nearly left her body.
She leaped straight into the air—right onto an upward slope.
Her jump threw her balance completely off, and like a rolling ball, she went tumbling down.
Honestly, it was hard to tell what was really going on in her head. Lately, she’d just been acting… weird.
