Chapter 15

When she got fully absorbed in something, time always seemed to fly. Jiang Chao glanced up from her work and saw that there were only a few minutes left before clock-off.

“So tired...” She rubbed her shoulders and blinked, her eyes stinging.

Thinking that she might still have to help Sheng Huaixi pack up after work and move into her place, Jiang Chao sank even lower, exhausted in body and mind.

But she had to go.

Thinking of the nearly two-hour commute she had endured that morning, Jiang Chao straightened with determination. She glanced at the time and casually pulled one file from the mountain of paperwork beside her.

Under Li Sensen’s sympathetic look of “good luck,” Jiang Chao walked calmly toward Sheng Huaixi’s office.

She lifted a hand and knocked on the door with proper, dutiful restraint. A voice inside told her to come in. Jiang Chao gripped the handle and, under the gaze of the surrounding employees, took a deep breath.

Only after putting on a perfectly convincing show of fear and reluctance did Jiang Chao slowly press down the handle and step inside.

Sheng Huaixi was sitting right there, facing her as if she had been waiting for her all along.

Seeing Sheng Huaixi lift her brows slightly, as though she was about to speak, Jiang Chao hurriedly raised a hand and pressed her index finger to her lips, signaling for her not to say anything.

She carefully closed the office door, then lowered her head to check whether it was locked tight. Only after confirming that the colleagues outside wouldn’t hear them did she relax.

“Looking at you like this, it really does seem like you’re getting ready to sneak off and have an affair.”

Sheng Huaixi’s amused voice drifted lazily from behind her. Jiang Chao let out the breath she’d been holding.

Turning around, Jiang Chao pressed her lips together and shot her an annoyed look.

Wasn’t she guarding against exactly this kind of situation?

“There’s plenty of time for an affair after work. There are still ten minutes before I clock out; if I come in now, wouldn’t I look way too horny?” Jiang Chao fixed Sheng Huaixi with a look and reminded her, “Director Sheng.”

Several muffled laughs slipped out. Ripples of amusement spread faintly through Sheng Huaixi’s eyes, and the bad mood she had carried all day was smoothed away by that one line.

Her anger had been her own private matter; her pleasure was something only she knew.

Jiang Chao looked at the softened expression on Sheng Huaixi’s face, puzzled.

The corners of Sheng Huaixi’s mouth lifted lazily. She slowly gathered the joy back into her brows and eyes, then looked at Jiang Chao and asked, “So, Assistant Jiang, are you here to hand in your five-thousand-word report?”

Jiang Chao gave a subtle nod, the smile in her eyes flashing by in an instant. She rolled the file in her hand into her palm, not actually handing it over.

“Check your email. I sent it to you.”

Leaning forward, Sheng Huaixi opened her email, skipped over the work documents, and went straight to the reflection Jiang Chao had sent her.

The title was very proper, and Jiang Chao, standing there in her uniform, also looked very proper. Sheng Huaixi’s gaze rested on Jiang Chao for a long while before she finally looked down to read.

“The rest will be checked after work at the office desk.”

Sheng Huaixi’s lips parted slightly as she read out the final line of the file, which had been printed in bold capital letters.

Her eyes drifted to the person in front of her. Jiang Chao’s brows were curved with a smile; she was leaning slightly forward, and when she met Sheng Huaixi’s gaze, her expression held a trace of anticipation.

She looked very relaxed, half-resting against the desk, one hand braced on the edge. She didn’t seem to fear Sheng Huaixi at all.

The little cat she had raised for a few days had found her courage.

Sheng Huaixi leaned back into the soft chair. The white leather reflected the office’s fluorescent lights, cold and impersonal, while the darkness in her eyes remained faint and deep.

She just looked at Jiang Chao without speaking. Little by little, Jiang Chao’s hard-won courage was stripped away under her gaze, and she pressed her lips together, a little uneasy.

Had she guessed wrong?

Did Sheng Huaixi really want to punish her, and not just because her mood had gotten the better of her for a moment?

“Get off work, Jiang Chao.” Sheng Huaixi suddenly said.

Jiang Chao’s mind blanked for a second. Then she quickly understood the hidden meaning, straightened at once, grabbed her things, and left at top speed.

Before closing the door, Jiang Chao poked her head out with a smile bright as flowers, her peach-blossom eyes shimmering with brilliant spring light that lit up the plain office.

“Sheng Huaixi, I’ll wait for you in the car.”

Sheng Huaixi froze for a moment. Her mind was still turning over the words again and again, but her body had already reacted first and obediently nodded.

Getting her answer, Jiang Chao quickly shut the door.

Sheng Huaixi stared at the plain white door, her gaze burning and complicated, and didn’t move for a long time.

After a while, Sheng Huaixi snapped back to herself.

She stood up, shut down the computer, picked up her bag, and did all of it without the slightest hesitation, striding straight for the door.

She had only taken a few steps when she suddenly remembered that the office lights hadn’t been turned off. She jogged back and switched off the bright white light filling the room.

One by one, the little bulbs went dark. Sheng Huaixi hurried toward the parking lot without a moment’s delay, her heels striking out a quick rhythm.

The floor numbers in the elevator flashed by, like the heartbeat of a girl who had not seen her beloved for a long time; each beat was anticipation for the meeting ahead.

One jump, then another. The spotless white glass reflected Sheng Huaixi’s twitching toes, the slender heel lifting off the floor.

For the first time on the road home, Sheng Huaixi carried the color of anticipation with her.

Joyful emotion bubbled up beneath her feet. Sheng Huaixi walked slowly through the dark parking lot, each step light, careful not to wake the sleeping lights.

As if afraid she might wake a dream.

“Sheng Huaixi.”

Two beams of bright headlights spread out ahead, and a soft female voice rose from the empty underground level.

Sheng Huaixi quickened her pace and walked toward the light. She knew someone was waiting for her there.

This was not a dream.

The car door closed. Jiang Chao put away her phone and naturally took the small bag from Sheng Huaixi, placing it in the back seat.

“We’ll go to your place first to pack your things, and then—”

“Then to your place.” Sheng Huaixi finished for her; the seat belt was already fastened across her body. “Let’s go.”

Jiang Chao smiled and nodded, then started the car and set off.

*

“Last chance: the apartment is very small,” Jiang Chao said from the doorway, making one final attempt to persuade her.

From the clothes Sheng Huaixi usually wore, and from that villa of hers, Jiang Chao guessed she had probably never lived in such a small place before, and worried she might not be used to it.

Releasing her suitcase, Sheng Huaixi didn’t waste words. She simply took the key from Jiang Chao’s hand.

“Small is fine. As long as you’re here.”

She pushed the door open, stood at the entrance, and turned back to answer her, the key pinched in her palm.

Jiang Chao dragged the luggage in after her. Seeing there was no trace of disgust on her face, she finally relaxed and led her to the other room.

“Mm, let’s put your luggage in my room first. After I finish cleaning, I’ll move it over.”

Jiang Chao quickly checked that the place was clean enough, then turned and led Sheng Huaixi into her room.

Sheng Huaixi nodded, slinging the small bag over her shoulder and feeling around inside with her fingertips.

After bringing her in, Jiang Chao pulled over her own chair for Sheng Huaixi to sit on first, then hurried back out to the car to get the documents.

“You can look around, just don’t get on the bed.”

Sheng Huaixi nodded and slowly walked around Jiang Chao’s room, twirling her phone loosely in her fingers.

The desk, the bed, the nightstand... Sheng Huaixi looked them over one by one, her gaze sweeping through every corner of the room until it finally stopped by the bed.

Crouching down, Sheng Huaixi calmly placed her phone under the bed, screen facing up.

The corners of her mouth curled little by little.

Perhaps she should teach Jiang Chao something—

Bringing a wolf into the house was very dangerous.