Chapter One: Three Million for a Fake Romance

Xu Zhi's phone vibrated without pause. Her best friend Tang Man sent twenty messages, the last of them reading: DID YOU TWO JUST BLOW UP THE PLANET? Gu Yanchen called his technical department. Before the call connected, Xu Zhi walked toward the door, widening the gap between them. Three meters and one centimeter. Every device returned to normal. She stopped and stepped toward him. Two meters and ninety-seven centimeters. His watch flashed blue. The speakers crackled again. Gu Yanchen caught her arm and pushed her away. The moment she crossed the invisible three-meter boundary, the noise vanished. They stared at each other across the line. "It isn't the touch," she said. "It's the distance."