Chapter 13

After parking the car, Jiang Chao checked the time on her phone and let out a relieved sigh.

Good. She wasn’t late.

“Sheng Huaixi, do you really drive this far to work every day?”

Jiang Chao shut the car door, then hurried to the back seat, grabbed the two small bags, and slung them over her shoulder. Just thinking about the race against time earlier still had her heart thumping.

With traffic on top of the commute, it had taken nearly two hours. If she hadn’t worried that this was her first time taking the route and left earlier than the navigation suggested, they might really have been late.

Sheng Huaixi walked ahead at an unhurried pace, her expression calm. She pressed her lipstick into place with her lips, and only when she was satisfied with it did she turn back to answer Jiang Chao’s question.

“No. I used to rent a place nearby. The lease just expired, and I’m waiting for the agent to find me a new one.”

That was good news, then. Jiang Chao relaxed. But after thinking it over, she felt that something was still off. “Then until you find a new place, won’t we have to keep staying near your place?”

Sheng Huaixi nodded, waiting for the silence beside her.

They kept walking. In the empty garage, the steady click of high heels echoed, step by step, cool and composed.

Jiang Chao’s conflicted thoughts were written all over her face. Sheng Huaixi’s eyes shifted; her gaze lingered briefly on Jiang Chao’s expression, and a trace of hidden amusement flickered in her pupils.

“Do you mind living in a two-bedroom apartment with a living room?” Jiang Chao turned to look at Sheng Huaixi, her eyes landing on her face.

If there was even the slightest hint of reluctance, she’d do her best to find Sheng Huaixi a bigger place.

Sheng Huaixi’s gaze moved to Jiang Chao’s face. Her brows lifted slightly as she asked, “With you?”

Jiang Chao nodded and explained a little about her own living situation.

“I rented a place nearby. It’s about half an hour from the company. The neighborhood is pretty good, security is decent, and it’s convenient for everyday life. If you don’t mind it being small, you can stay with me for now.”

Sheng Huaixi narrowed her eyes. “How long is the lease?”

“Hm? Half a year. Don’t worry, I signed a contract. I won’t be kicked out suddenly.”

Jiang Chao paused at the question, assuming Sheng Huaixi was only asking whether her rental was stable, and explained a little more.

Half a year.

Sheng Huaixi nodded and simply said, “Okay,” then lowered her head to work on her phone.

About half a minute later, Jiang Chao’s phone dinged with a notification:

“Alipay received 60,000 yuan.”

60k?

Jiang Chao stared, startled. She quickly looked down and, not caring that Sheng Huaixi was still standing right in front of her, pulled out her phone to check.

The transfer sender was—familiar.

Jiang Chao looked up, surprise and uncertainty flashing across her face. Her lips parted, about to say something, but the person in front of her lifted her eyes toward the elevator display and avoided her gaze.

“Rent,” Sheng Huaixi said simply.

Sixty thousand in rent. Are you trying to keep me on the side too?

Jiang Chao clicked into Alipay with a sour expression, ready to send the money back, only to discover in shock that she didn’t even have Sheng Huaixi as an Alipay contact. So Sheng Huaixi had scanned her code to transfer it?

“How did you get my payment code?” Jiang Chao frowned at Sheng Huaixi in disbelief, confusion thickening in her mind.

But when she looked again, Sheng Huaixi only gave her a cool side profile and didn’t answer.

With a lift of her brows, Jiang Chao switched to WeChat and sent the money back there. “I’ve received it on WeChat.”

Jiang Chao’s wallet was empty, but not so empty that she needed to sell herself. No matter how she looked at it, 60k was way too much; it could cover half a year’s rent and practically buy her along with it.

“Sheng Huaixi.”

Annoyance flickered in Jiang Chao’s eyes. She poked Sheng Huaixi’s shoulder several times without ceremony, urging her to accept the transfer.

The pressure on her shoulder couldn’t be ignored. Sheng Huaixi took out a phone with a completely black screen and shook it at Jiang Chao, saying blankly, “It’s broken.”

“Do you think I’m an idiot you can fool?” Jiang Chao shot back. She leaned forward, about to take Sheng Huaixi’s phone directly.

Sheng Huaixi stepped back; her wrist drew behind her to avoid Jiang Chao’s reach, and she lifted her brows, a hint of provocation rising in her expression.

Jiang Chao was stubborn and naturally wasn’t about to let it go. She stepped forward and reached over Sheng Huaixi’s arm to hook the phone from behind her back.

One advanced, one retreated. Sheng Huaixi dodged lightly, her body slowly leaning toward the elevator wall, while her eyelids lowered slightly to glance at the floor numbers climbing on the display.

Jiang Chao moved slowly. She failed to snatch it several times and remembered that once they reached the office, she couldn’t wrestle over it in front of everyone. Her brows drew together; she leaned farther forward.

Her wrist pressed firmly against Sheng Huaixi’s side to block her, and Jiang Chao’s body tipped forward, pinning Sheng Huaixi against the elevator mirror. She was utterly unaware of how intimate the posture looked.

She only cared about tiptoeing up to hook the phone held high overhead. She was just a little too short!

Ding—the elevator chimed.

“D-Director Sheng!”

Outside the elevator, Li Sensen was waiting. Seeing the doors slowly open, she held a stack of documents and was just about to step in.

Inside the silver elevator, she suddenly ran into a pair of deep, dark eyes. Once she realized who it was, her legs nearly went weak with fright.

Even worse, after she called her Director Sheng, Sheng Huaixi actually smiled faintly at her; her expression was unusually gentle, even carrying a subtle hint of pleasure.

Li Sensen was shaking uncontrollably.

Only after the elevator doors were fully open did Li Sensen see that familiar back and that familiar small bag; then she looked at the delight on Sheng Huaixi’s face and understood a little more clearly.

Looking at Jiang Chao’s trembling back, then at the two of them in this pose...

Sheng Huaixi, the one being pinned against the wall...

Meeting Sheng Huaixi’s smiling gaze, Li Sensen conscientiously lowered her head and stepped aside, saying respectfully, “Director Sheng, please.”

Sheng Huaixi lowered her eyes and looked over. All she could see was a round little head buried against her shoulder, as if determined not to move an inch and play the turtle with its head tucked in.

Lowering her head, her long lashes dropped to hide the smile in her eyes. Sheng Huaixi reached out, wrapped an arm around Jiang Chao’s shoulder, and pressed down.

Her warm breath, separated by only a thin layer of fabric, brushed against her collarbone. Sheng Huaixi’s body pulled back slightly with a soft laugh, and the hand at her waist pinched and patted her lightly, as if signaling her to hurry up and leave.

When they passed Li Sensen, Sheng Huaixi stopped and turned her eyes to give her a careful look.

That cool gaze swept from the top of her head to the bottom, faint and calm, completely unlike the warmth of her smile just now, yet carrying an overwhelming pressure.

“If you talk nonsense, you know the consequences.”

Sheng Huaixi didn’t mind letting everyone know about her relationship with Jiang Chao; it was the little turtle in her arms who clearly refused.

Hearing the warning, Jiang Chao’s wildly unsettled heartbeat slowly calmed down. She silently apologized to Li Sensen in her heart and swore she would make it up to her properly later.

For now, she’d just borrow Sheng Huaixi’s momentum and stop people from gossiping about her and Sheng Huaixi.

Not long after they walked away from Li Sensen, Jiang Chao finally relaxed, lifting her head from Sheng Huaixi’s shoulder and letting out a breath. The hand around her waist was still holding her tight.

Just as Jiang Chao was about to tell Sheng Huaixi to let go, a familiar voice suddenly came from behind her.

“Jiang Chao! What happened to you? Why is Director Sheng helping you in?”

A sharp pain shot through Sheng Huaixi’s waist.

Jiang Chao had accidentally pinched hard, and red rushed across her face, even the tips of her ears turning an angry crimson.

Yuan Bai! I really want to strangle you!

The startled looks around them seemed to follow that shout and turn in their direction too.

“What should we do, private assistant?” Sheng Huaixi asked her in a low voice.