I turned around and saw a man leaning against the door frame, hands in his pockets, lazily looking at us.

He was dressed in a well-tailored black suit, with a low-key luxurious wristwatch on his hand, and gold-rimmed glasses covering his captivating eyes.

I curled my fingers and immediately lowered my head.

Qi Yanjin, the true power holder of the Qi family, only thirty years old.

As soon as Qi Yu saw him, he became completely subdued: "Uncle."

Qi Yanjin didn't look at him, instead, he asked me, "And who is this?"

Qi Yu immediately stood in front of me, assuming a protective stance: "Uncle, this is my fiancée, Shen Shuyi from the Shen family."

I lifted my head slightly and looked at him, but as soon as I encountered the man's aggressive gaze, I quickly averted my eyes.

That gaze was terrifying. I had experienced it years ago.

But I suppose he must have forgotten, after all, he doesn't even remember who I am.

When Qi Yanjin was in college, he was called by the Qi family patriarch to be Qi Yu's physics teacher for a few days.

At that time, Qi Yu and I were just in our second year of high school, and when Qi Yanjin was teaching Qi Yu, he brought me along.

"Uncle, this is my girlfriend. Teaching one person is the same as teaching two. Our Shuyi is very smart," Qi Yu said.

At that time, Qi Yanjin only glanced at me briefly.

If it had stopped there, I wouldn't be in such an awkward situation now.

Now that I think about it, I wish I could bury myself in the ground when I recall that scene from years ago.

It was one noon when I went to find Qi Yu. I had always come and gone freely into his room.

But that day, the curtains in the room were tightly closed, and it was pitch black inside. I walked to the edge of the bed and realized that there was someone sleeping on it, wearing an eye mask, with only the lower half of their face exposed.

Thinking of Qi Yu saying he was dead tired these past few days, I didn't think much of it and assumed the person on the bed was him.

I squatted by the bed and looked at him for a while, then lightly touched his lips with my fingers, so soft.

Feeling bold, I tiptoed and pressed my lips, carrying the scent of fruit, gently against those lips.

The next second, the person on the bed moved, and the bedside lamp was turned on.

He took off the eye mask, revealing his entire face.

When I saw that face, I fell back onto the ground.

Qi Yanjin, sitting at the head of the bed, touched his own lips with his fingers in front of me, and then his gaze fell upon me.

That gaze was like a predator surveying its prey—invading, oppressing, restraining, waiting.

I panicked and got up, "R-Right, I'm sorry, Uncle. I thought it was, it was Qi Yu."

After saying that, I ran out of the bedroom like a fleeing animal.

Later, I realized that I had entered the wrong room and disturbed him.

But that day, neither of us mentioned this incident.

However, I could occasionally feel a strand of gaze pressing down on me.

Since that day, I found excuses not to go to the Qi family for tutoring.

Until later when he went abroad and returned to take over the family business, I never saw him again.