Chapter 1: Drunk Confessions

Friday, 9:00 PM - September 25

Chen Rui leaned back in his chair. His sleeves casually rolled at the forearms as he lazily swirled his drink. The soft clink of ice echoing beneath the ambient hum of the newly opened restaurant.

He wore a light blue button-down. It was a soft pastel cotton that skimmed his frame just right, open at the collar without a tie. His top paired with tailored slate-gray trousers and his usual minimalist watch, understated yet quietly refined.

His deep black hair, slightly tousled in its usual effortless way, framed a face so calm and unreadable. However, his eyes were dark and observant as it swept across the room with a thoughtful and practiced ease.

He thought that the restaurant's interior had a nostalgic charm, the kind that tried to evoke comfort without a hitch. A good pick, honestly. A surprisingly solid suggestion from the team.

He made a mental note to thank them later.

The place was named Golden Chime Bistro, styled after retro 80s elegance. There were faded brass fixtures, vinyl booths, and amber lights hanging from glass orb chandeliers. Outside the glass wall, a neon sign flickered gently: Moonlight Diner. It looked like another contender for "coolest new spot" in town. Someone even joked earlier that Velvet Lotus Lounge should be next on their list.

His gaze flicked over his colleagues. Some are laughing, some engaged in banter, others already digging into sizzling skewers and rice wine. But no matter how many times he tried to redirect his attention, it kept snapping back to his side.

To her.

Lin Yue sat poised, shoulders relaxed but spine straight, fingers moving in quiet rhythm across her phone screen. She hasn't spoken much but she didn't need to. She carried that kind of presence, the kind that never demanded attention but always held it.

The glass in front of her was half-empty, condensation curling down its side. Her gaze flicked from the screen to her drink, calm and unreadable like the surface of a still lake before a storm.

Was she messaging someone? Someone new? Dating again?

He didn't want to care. But the thought caught in his chest like a thorn. Small, sharp, persistent.

Lin Yue wasn't one to drink much. Not like Xu Shiyao, who practically thrived in settings like these with her dazzling lipstick, clinking glasses, and playful laughter that could disarm the most stoic investor.

But tonight, something was different.

At first, Chen Rui dismissed Xu Shiyao's actions as another "Yaoyao special," just like during their university days.

But then... something changed in Lin Yue. Or maybe it already was before he even noticed. 

One drink became two.

Then three...

Then wait—was that her fourth glass?

Even Lin Liang, her ever-composed older brother, lifted a brow when Lin Yue drank her last glass like it was juice. Chen Rui and Lin Liang didn't mind at first. Lin Yue was still herself, after all.

But now? Her laughter rang clearer, sharper, almost musical. Her banter with Xu Shiyao was full of cheek and unexpected boldness.

"Honestly," Xu Shiyao said, swirling her drink with flair, "you look so good tonight it's criminal."

Lin Yue snorted into her glass, cheeks flushed.

Chen Rui's gaze lingered.

Something was unraveling in him and she hasn't even done anything.

"If I didn't know you," Xu Shiyao continued, smirking into her glass, "I'd think you were trying to seduce a CEO."

Chen Rui's eyes narrowed, a flicker of amusement curling at the corner of his mouth.

CEO... meaning me, he thought.

Of course she meant him. And now he couldn't unthink it.

"If I wanted to seduce a CEO," Lin Yue replied dryly, "I'd need better shoes and a lot less shame."

Chen Rui nearly choked on his drink.

"Oh please," Xu Shiyao scoffed. "You don't even need heels. Just walk into a boardroom and blink twice. Half of them would forget how to breathe."

Chen Rui didn't miss the way her words made the others laugh a little too loudly. But his gaze stayed fixed on Lin Yue.

"To accidental intimidation," Lin Yue said, raising her glass. "May it at least get me free desserts someday."

Her smile was a little crooked, a little reckless.

It killed him.

Xu Shiyao: "Or a boyfriend. Either works."

Lin Yue: "Dessert's more reliable."

Xu Shiyao: "You have officially reached peak single-girl wisdom."

Lin Yue: "Just wait, I'll write a book. How to Scare Men and Still Look Good Doing It."

The table broke into laughter.

So did Chen Rui.

Even Lin Liang cracked a smirk.

And then it hit him.

On his next glance—damn it.

She looked... stunning.

Not just attractive. Not just poised.

She looked... alive.

Maybe it was the way her white blouse glowed under the lighting. Or the soft flush painting her cheeks. Her lips were slightly parted mid-laugh, and her eyes which were usually so calculating and quiet—sparkled with a heady, glassy warmth.

She looked unguarded. Carefree.

It was how she felt.

Unreachable. And somehow, closer than ever.

So unlike the perfectly poised Lin Yue he thought he knew.

Was she always this beautiful?

Am I drunk?

He glanced down at his glass like it held answers wondering, what the hell is in this drink?

Or is this just her?

Every glance felt like an unspoken confession.

Her laugh is like windchimes...

He shook his head.

What the hell? Who am I? Tang Xianzu?!

He was losing it.

And it wasn't just him. He could see it now, how the others leaned in a little closer, how their eyes lingered a little longer, even as she slurred slightly and spoke in lazy loops.

But no one cared.

She was magnetic.

And it made his blood burn.

Lin Liang, ever the stoic older brother, muttered under his breath, "Idiots."

Chen Rui caught it. So did the guy across the table who was laughing a little too hard at Lin Yue's jokes.

Back off, Chen Rui thought.

Don't look at her like that. Not when she's like this.

The irritation came sudden and sharp.

Just as he shifted in his seat—half reaching for a glass of water, unsure if she needed it—Lin Yue turned toward him.

Right into his space.

"Brother~" she said sweetly, her voice lilting, gaze locking with his.

It hit him like a punch to the ribs, soft, sweet, and way too close.

Her breath brushed the air between them. Her eyes were glassy, unfocused, but intense. The kind of look that disarmed reason and invited disaster.

That tone was familiar. Sweet. Slightly coaxing. Paired with that look, it was a formula he knew too well.

The kind that used to get her out of trouble when they were younger.

Now, it made his pulse trip over itself. And it gave him a bad feeling. Whatever she's about to say... it wouldn't be simple.

"Have you ever thought..." she paused, tilting her head, "that there's something wrong with me?"

Her voice dropped, soft as silk, painfully sincere.

It was the kind of question you weren't supposed to answer. The kind that cracked something open in the air.

"Pft—" Xu Shiyao choked on her drink, trying to laugh it off.

But Chen Rui didn't laugh.

Because he saw it now. Something fragile beneath Lin Yue's dimpled smile.

Chen Rui's heart skipped, then stilled completely. She was smiling, dimple showing like it was a casual joke.

But her eyes... her eyes weren't joking.

They were wide and gleaming, too bright, too vulnerable.

A quiet ache threaded between them.

God, her eyes were different now. Big, glassy, gleaming.

Vulnerable.

Fragile.

A crack in the marble.

Had she always looked at him this way? Or had he just never noticed?

Before he could respond, her lips wobbled slightly.

"I don't know," she said again, more softly now. "Maybe there's something wrong with me that I don't even know."

She gave a light shrug, almost playful, but her voice trembled just slightly at the edges.

"I always get everything right. I'm good at my job. I look good—" she hiccupped, then chuckled weakly, "—so how come no one even likes me?"

The table went quiet.

It wasn't funny anymore.

Chen Rui remembers now. Xu Shiyao's earlier teasing saying: "You're still single? You're hot, rich, and competent. That should be illegal!"

Someone else even joked, "Maybe you're too intimidating."

He should've stopped the conversation then.

Now, it echoed in the space between them like a weight.

Lin Yue—so composed, always in control.

But not tonight.

Not now.

Chen Rui's chest tightened. He flicked a glance toward Lin Liang, wordlessly asking for help.

Lin Liang didn't move.

His expression said it all: Fix this. Now.

His expression hovered somewhere between "help her, you idiot" and "if you make her cry, I'll kill you."

You're the brother, idiot, Chen Rui muttered inwardly.

Chen Rui cleared his throat, fingers curling lightly around the glass in his hand.

"Xiao Yue..."

It came out softer than he meant it to. Too gentle. Too full of something he wasn't ready to name.

And the others noticed.

He felt it, Xu Shiyao's stare, Lin Liang's twitch of amusement, the brief flicker of smirks around the table.

"You're not the problem," he said. "Not even close. You're..."

Perfect.

That was the word sitting on his tongue.

But he couldn't say it.

Not here. Not now.

Lin Yue still looked at him.

Her head tilted slightly, lips parted just a little, eyes still shimmering in that glassy haze.

She looked like she was waiting for an answer she hadn't dared ask out loud.

Her almond eyes shimmered under the golden lights. Her cheeks still flushed, her hair slightly messy. And she wasn't even trying.

How do I even begin to tell you what you are?

She wasn't just beautiful.

She was the kind of beautiful that burned slow and left marks.

How long have I been blind?

He didn't know how to fix this.

But he knew one thing for sure:

He wasn't leaving her side. Not tonight.

Maybe not ever.

Because somewhere between one drink and four, between her laughter and her quiet unraveling, Chen Rui realized something terrifyingly simple:

He was already falling.

And falling hard.

The evening carried on, laughter rising and fading in soft waves, plates exchanged, drinks refilled.

But something changed in him.

Something quiet. Something irreversible.

It wasn't just the way she laughed, or the way her voice cracked on a vulnerable sentence.

It was the way she'd looked at him, so unguarded, uncertain, asking a question she likely wouldn't remember by morning.

But he would.

He would remember every second of it.

And long after the night ended, when the lights dimmed and the laughter faded, her words still echoed in his mind.

"Is there something wrong with me?"

No.

But there was something deeply, hopelessly wrong with the way his heart ached when she asked it.

Because the truth was, he already knew what he wanted.

He just wasn't supposed to want her.

Not like this.

Not yet.

💬🌸

Note:

Hi everyone! Thank you so much for taking your time to read my first ever novel.

I've always wanted to write something and get some ideas out of my head and into the world but it took me too long to just take this step alone.

This is a story that's been living in my mind for a while, and I'm finally taking a chance to bring it to life—one chapter at a time.

I was set out to write a slow-burn romance. What I didn't expect was to be personally victimized by Chen Rui's quiet longing and Lin Yue's accidental heartbreak at her own birthday dinner.

If you enjoyed reading even just a little, I'd be so grateful for your support!

Your comments and suggestions will be a great help for a newbie like me even just a silent follower would bring me happiness.

I will be learning as I go, so thank you for being here with me!!!

- Z 💙