Su Yang had never listened to a strange man's heartbeat at such a close distance.
The sound, as heavy as a drumbeat, seemed to come from a silent empty room. It was rhythmic and warm. Su Yang felt as if someone was knocking on her heart through the thin fabric.
After a while, she felt the elevator start to descend.
However, the slow and uniform speed didn't bring her back to her senses from the panic. She still tightly grabbed the collar of the man in front of her, looking as panicked as if she wanted to drag someone down with her at the moment of a narrow escape from death.
After a "ding" sound, the elevator stopped steadily on the first floor. The doors slowly opened, and the sounds of exclamations and commotions immediately rushed in.
Su Yang didn't expect there to be so many people outside the elevator: security guards, medical staff, and many employees of the building who were just watching the excitement.
Before she could react, Xu Lize's hand had encircled her waist, half - carrying and half - supporting her out of the elevator.
Su Yang instinctively looked up and met his eyes.
Through the lenses, Xu Lize's gaze was as silent as ever, deep and dark. His shining pupils were like stars dotted in the night sky.
Seeing the medical staff approaching, Xu Lize asked her, "Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere? Do you need to go to the hospital?"
Su Yang shook her head, trying to expel the last bit of fear remaining in her body. She pretended to be calm and then subtly broke free from Xu Lize's embrace.
"No, no need. I... I'm fine." Unfortunately, her voice trembled obviously, easily revealing her true state.
Looking at Su Yang's suddenly blushing face, Xu Lize only thought the little woman's duplicitous look was a bit interesting. He suddenly became very serious.
"You're quite good at being brave now. Why couldn't you let go of me just now?"
Su Yang stared at him with wide eyes and saw a strange glint in Xu Lize's deep eyes and a teasing smile on the corner of his lips.
Not knowing whether he was serious or just joking, Su Yang was about to retort that it was no big deal for a grown man to have his collar grabbed. Suddenly, she saw that the people who had been gathering around to watch the excitement quickly scattered to both sides, voluntarily making way.
"Aze." Then, someone walked out of the crowd and called Xu Lize.
Su Yang looked in that direction. The man who came was about the same build as Xu Lize. He was wearing a well - tailored high - end suit. He was tall and straight, with thick eyebrows and star - like eyes. Every move of his exuded the elegance of a gentleman.
Noticing that the little woman beside him was holding her shoulder bag and taking steps back, Xu Lize ignored the approaching man and stretched out his long arm to block Su Yang's way.
"Do you need me to take you home?"
Su Yang quickly waved her hand. "You're busy. I live very close. It's only two subway stops away."
Seeing that she was about to turn around and leave after saying that, Xu Lize didn't even think and directly grabbed her.
Su Yang was almost pulled backward. When she looked back at Xu Lize, there was a hint of annoyance on her face.
What's wrong with this guy? Does he always act so willfully without consulting others?
Looking at the obvious expression of annoyance but not daring to show it on Su Yang's face, Xu Lize raised his eyebrows, took out his phone from his pocket, and waved it in front of her.
"Nine o'clock on Wednesday morning. You haven't forgotten, have you?" Seeing Su Yang nod, Xu Lize added another sentence after letting go. "Also, I'm waiting for your message about the bank where the account was opened."
Watching Su Yang leave in a hurry, Chen Qichuan, who had rushed down in a hurry after learning that Xu Lize was trapped in the faulty elevator, asked curiously with a puzzled look on his face, "Who's that little girl? She's a new face."
Xu Lize gave Chen Qichuan a sidelong glance, stuffed his hands into his trouser pockets, and tapped the faulty elevator shaft that had been powered off and stopped running with his toe. "Boss, how many years has this venture - capital building of yours been around? The elevator has already started to go on strike. My life is very valuable. If I lose it on your territory, I'm really worried that you'll go bankrupt and still can't afford to compensate."
"You're tough - fated. Even the King of Hell may not want you. Don't blame it on me." Chen Qichuan said and glanced at the direction where Su Yang had left.
Seeing this, Xu Lize immediately said impatiently, "Did you come down like this because the meeting is over and you can leave, or to see if your elevator has really caused a fatality?"
"Let's go." Chen Qichuan smiled faintly and reached out to press the down button of the elevator on the other side.
Unexpectedly, Xu Lize adjusted his glasses and squinted his eyes. "I dare not take your elevator anymore."
Chen Qichuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. While calling to instruct the administrative department to immediately arrange maintenance workers to come and inspect all the elevators in the building, he turned around and followed Xu Lize into the safety passage.
As soon as Xu Lize got into the car, a message from an unknown number popped up on his phone -
"Dear Mr. Xu, this is Su Yang. Here is my bank card number. The bank where the account was opened is..."
Looking at this formulaic text message, Xu Lize lowered the car window, lit a cigarette, and then dialed that phone number.
"Hello?" A clear voice soon came through the phone, as cautious as ever.
Xu Lize was a bit dazed. After reacting for a few seconds, he asked, "Are you on the subway?"
"I'm just about to enter the station. I haven't gone down the escalator yet. When I saw your call, I was afraid the signal would be bad in the subway." Su Yang replied honestly.
After hearing this, Xu Lize didn't know for a moment why he had made this call out of the blue. He could only force himself to continue making small talk.
"Why were you in the venture - capital building of the Chen Group? Didn't I just take you to the hospital before?"
"I... I came to the venture - capital building to handle some business." The soft voice on the other end of the phone hesitated for a moment and then gently said, "Thank you so much today, Mr. Xu."
"Thank me for what?"
Xu Lize suddenly seemed to get excited. He didn't even take a puff of the lit cigarette and just let it burn on its own.
"Thank me for using money to exchange the marriage certificate with you, or thank me for being your support in the elevator?"
"... Both."
Xu Lize let out an "um" sound and very calmly accepted Su Yang's gratitude.
Listening to the little woman hang up the phone in a hurry, the corner of Xu Lize's mouth unconsciously twitched slightly.
Cautious, independent, knowing when to advance and when to retreat. This little woman is actually quite interesting.
When Chen Qichuan walked around to the front of Xu Lize's Grand Cherokee, he saw him staring blankly at the half - burned cigarette in his hand.
"What are you thinking about?" Chen Qichuan waved his hand in front of Xu Lize. "What could have confused our Third Young Master Xu of Haicheng?"
"Do you have any plans for tonight?" Xu Lize put away his hand and extinguished the cigarette in the ashtray in the car.
"No." Chen Qichuan shook his head. "Why? Do you have an idea?"
Xu Lize stepped on the accelerator to start the car. Amidst the low rumbling of the engine, he said to Chen Qichuan, "Call Ah Hui and the others. I'll be the host tonight. Let's go to the winery for a round of drinks."
Among their small circle, Xu Lize was the least fond of drinking.
As soon as Chen Qichuan heard this, he knew there must be something going on. He reached out and patted the car door and asked, "What has put Third Young Master Xu in such a good mood today?"
"To celebrate that I'm about to step into the tomb of marriage and end my life as a single dog!"
After saying that, Xu Lize lifted his chin slightly, stepped on the accelerator hard, and left the stunned Chen Qichuan standing there.