Pavlovian Response - Chapter 1

The man across from me had his eyes gently closed, even the muscles in his neck drawn taut. His head angled to one side in a practiced gesture of acceptance.

After that split-second, instinctive reaction, he seemed startled by himself. His eyes opened, and his black gaze met mine.

I watched him while quietly keeping track of the comments scrolling before my eyes.

[Is this really my male lead—the rising star of the business world who wouldn’t let a woman within ten miles of him?]

[Congratulations on your success, business wunderkind. You look exactly like the heiress’s favorite kind of dog.]

[Can everyone stop being delusional? The male lead obviously came back for revenge. When Ruan Qingtang humiliated him, she had no idea she was bullying the male lead of this story.]

[She acts sweet and kind in public, but look at what she did to him in private.]

[She deserves it. She used to be adored by everyone, and now she has no one. Her family goes bankrupt and not a single person will take her in. She has to sell her jewelry just to survive.]

[You mean the male lead who’s so conditioned that the heiress taking off a bracelet triggers him is here for revenge?]

[You mean the male lead who hasn’t looked away from her once is here for revenge?]

[Stop staring at him, Miss Heiress. I think he’s enjoying it…]

His gaze had never left me.

Mine traveled over him just as shamelessly. Clean, sharp lines framed deep-set eyes. His lips were thinner on top, fuller below, rich with color. His long legs were neatly encased in suit trousers and crossed at the knee.

He certainly looked like my type.

I simply couldn’t remember who he was.

I had no habit of reconnecting with former lovers, so I was about to find an excuse to cancel the transaction. Then the comments stopped me.

[The male lead isn’t back only for revenge. Ruan Qingtang still owns the company her mother left solely to her. It’s small, but it’s in exactly the emerging sector he’s working in now. He’s probably after her company too.]

[Why is Ruan Qingtang checking her phone? Did she recognize him?]

[Maybe she did and wants another appraiser. Too bad—no matter how many she tries, they’ll all be people the male lead arranged.]

My temple throbbed.

I looked at him again. What a troublesome man.

He was still watching me with that dark, clinging gaze, and it was beginning to irritate me.

[Why does he look so expectant? Is he waiting for the heiress to recognize him?]

[Wait. Did she actually forget him?]

I had.

I made no attempt to pretend otherwise. I placed the bracelet I’d just removed beside the rest of the jewelry in front of him. “I’ll leave these to you.”

Only then did he look away.

Black jeweler’s gloves fitted tightly over his fingers. I lowered my gaze and followed every movement of those fingertips until they stopped over one bracelet.

“You’re certain you don’t want any of them?”

His voice sounded faintly familiar.

I nodded.

“Very well.”

His voice was low and betrayed nothing, but the comments grew frantic.

[He saved for three months to buy her that bracelet!]

Only then did I take a closer look at it. The design was several years old. I had always found it too plain and rarely wore it. If necessity hadn’t forced me to dig it out of some forgotten jewelry box, I might have forgotten it existed entirely.

I certainly couldn’t remember who had given it to me.

The man across from me suddenly smiled.

“My first love had a bracelet exactly like this one.”

He said it lightly, almost casually.

“Your first love?” I feigned confusion.

“She had a terrible temper. Spoiled, picky, domineering.”

Those dark eyes fastened on me again.

“But she treated me well.”

[So that’s what the male lead calls treating him well.]

[Why wouldn’t he? She always took off her jewelry before slapping him. No one else got that kind of consideration.]

[The heiress probably just didn’t want that pretty face scratched.]

“I see.” I nodded as if enlightened. “Then this bracelet has some connection to the two of you. Selling it to you might be a fitting end for it.”

His answer came at once. “What connection?”

“An ex-boyfriend gave it to me. Now that you’ve brought it up, I rather miss him.”

His expression did not ripple.

Only the hand resting on the table betrayed him, the veins rising sharply beneath the glove.

Oh. Such impressive self-control.

He did look like someone long accustomed to my games.

[Male lead: Say that again. Who do you miss?]

[She really doesn’t know the man in front of her is the one who gave it to her.]

[Good news: she finally acknowledged him as her boyfriend. Bad news: posthumously.]

[Why is she still so arrogant? Thank goodness the male lead won’t indulge her anymore.]

He endured for another moment, then drew a slow breath. “Is that so?”

“I’m sure he’d be honored that Miss Ruan remembers him.”

I took the bracelet from his hand, my fingertips brushing his palm through the velvet glove.

The muscles in his body tightened. His breathing quickened.

The response was etched into his very bones.