Chapter One: Three Million for a Fake Romance

Gu Yanchen answered neither question. He only offered Xu Zhi his hand. Clause seven: necessary physical contact in public. She looked at his long, well-defined fingers and remembered the note she had added. He remembered too. He did not hurry her. He left his hand suspended, giving her the choice in full. "You may hold it," she murmured. She placed her hand in his. At the instant their warmth met, the black watch on Gu Yanchen's wrist flashed faint blue. Every speaker in the hall crackled. Reporters' phones, guests' earbuds, shopping-mall screens outside, and connected devices thousands of miles away all fell silent at once. Then Gu Yanchen's low, unmistakable voice sounded throughout the world. [At last. I'm holding her hand again.]