Ethan Yu pulled Hailey Tang into the restroom and brought her straight to the sink.
He turned on the faucet, grabbed her arm, and started rinsing the scalded area under cold water.
Hailey stared at him in shock.
What… was he doing?
Was he actually worried about her?
Ethan's eyes were fixed on her arm. His voice was low and steady, but clearly laced with concern.
"Does it hurt?"
Hailey didn't respond right away.
He looked up and met her dazed eyes. "I asked you a question—does it hurt?"
She blinked, snapped out of it, and shook her head. "I'm fine."
She gently pulled her arm away and reached for some paper towels to dab it dry herself.
Ethan's gaze moved down to her chest and caught sight of the coffee stain. His brows furrowed.
"Did you get burned anywhere else?"
"No," Hailey replied calmly. Her tone was casual, like it wasn't a big deal.
But the next second, Ethan suddenly raised his hand and reached toward her neck.
Startled, Hailey jerked back. "What are you doing?!"
His hand froze in midair.
Her reaction hit him like a slap. Just like last night, she looked at him as if he were some kind of contagious disease.
His face darkened.
Without warning, he yanked her closer and leaned in, voice cold and low.
"Hailey Tang, try flinching from me like that again. I dare you."
Hailey blinked in confusion. What the hell was he talking about?
Ethan clenched his jaw, snatched a paper towel, and—rather aggressively—started wiping her neck.
It was only then that she realized he wasn't trying to touch her—he was just trying to clean off the coffee.
"Oh… thanks," she muttered, awkwardly pulling away. "I'm really fine. You should go back to work. I'll head out too."
Ethan glanced at the large coffee stain across her chest and sneered, "You're going back like that?"
Hailey looked down—and nearly cursed out loud.
The stain had spread wider than she thought.
She quickly turned on the faucet, wet a few paper towels, and started scrubbing her blouse. But the more she rubbed, the worse it got. Now it was not just stained—it was soaked through.
To make matters worse, the wet spot was right over her chest. The pale lavender bra she was wearing was now nearly see-through.
From the mirror, she caught Ethan staring at her reflection—specifically, her chest.
She crossed her arms in front of her and glared. "Where exactly are your eyes looking?"
Ethan smirked. "Haven't I seen every inch of you already?"
"You—" Hailey's face turned bright red. She hadn't expected him to say something so shameless.
Ethan gave her a look, like she was the idiot here, then shrugged off his blazer and tossed it over her head.
"Put that on. You're coming with me."
Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked out.
Hailey sighed, threw on the blazer to cover herself, and followed him.
The meeting was clearly over—everyone had been dismissed. Ethan brought her all the way back up to the 90th floor, into his personal office.
Just in time, the secretary returned with a small bag in hand.
"Mr. Yu, I rushed to get the burn ointment first, since I was worried about Ms. Tang's injury. Lin Xin'er went to pick up a change of clothes—she said it would be faster that way."
Ethan frowned slightly. "Lin Xin'er?"
"Yes, sir. Team lead from the design department. She offered to help."
Hailey glanced up. Lin Xin'er really was thoughtful. Always seemed to know the right thing to do.
And yet, for some reason… Hailey still couldn't bring herself to like her.
Ethan gave a small nod. "Hand me the ointment. You can go."
"Yes, sir." The secretary passed him the burn cream and quietly exited.
Ethan unscrewed the cap and looked at Hailey. "Give me your hand."
"I'll do it myself." Hailey snatched the tube and quickly applied the cream to her arm, making it very clear she didn't want him touching her.