Chapter 18

The team-building dinner continued. One dish after another was brought to the table, each one fragrant, colorful, and tempting. Li Sensen and Yuan Bai, seated beside her, ate with gusto, their mouths never stopping.

Jiang Chao tried to let herself sink into the atmosphere, which could almost be called lively, if only the occasional looks from across the table were a little more restrained.

The gaze on her wasn’t fixed or lingering. It was faint, almost casual, as if it had simply drifted over for a glance, a brief show of concern.

But Jiang Chao felt as though she were standing at the edge of a cliff. With one breath of that light, insubstantial wind, she might be pushed straight into the abyss below.

A glance so flimsy it should have broken at the touch; instead, carrying the force of its owner, it led her invisibly to the cliff’s edge and made her personally feel the shiver of her heart being clutched tight.

The food she put in her mouth was still delicious. Jiang Chao swallowed bite after bite, her expression calm, while the restlessness churning in her stomach betrayed her discomfort.

She let out the breath she’d been holding in her chest for so long, set down her chopsticks, and picked up the mango juice beside her, taking slow sips.

The fresh fragrance of mango burst across her tongue. Its sweetness briefly pushed back the agitation in her chest. Jiang Chao tightened her grip on the cup, her lips brushing the rim as her long lashes trembled; her eyes lifted by accident.

As expected, she met Sheng Huaixi’s gaze.

Her eyelids were slightly lowered, and those beautifully shaped eyes narrowed just a little. A chill swept over Jiang Chao in an instant, like icy rain pouring down, striking smooth skin and sending a shiver straight through her.

Sheng Huaixi was in a very bad mood.

Jiang Chao silently came to that conclusion. Her wrist, gripping the cup, gave a brief tremor. She set down the sweet mango juice and lowered her eyes as well.

The irritation that had been pressed down by the drink surged back up in full. The delicious dishes on the table now only made Jiang Chao feel nauseated; when she was in a bad mood, even the air in this room became irritating.

Especially since this kind of atmosphere wasn’t going to end anytime soon.

Thinking of that, Jiang Chao’s chest grew even more restless. Frowning slightly, she turned to Yuan Bai and said softly, “I’m full. I’m going out to touch up my lipstick.”

With that, Jiang Chao stood up, habitually putting on a faint smile to signal that she was stepping away for a moment. She opened the private room door and slipped out.

The instant the door shut behind her, the gaze piercing her back was cut off. The expression on Jiang Chao’s face faded; her downcast brows and eyes looked helpless and tired.

The social niceties of gatherings were exhausting. The things tangled up in her heart were even more exhausting.

She patted her cheeks to wake herself up, looked left and right, then headed for the restroom.

The sound of water rushed down in a steady hiss.

It was autumn; even the palms of her hands held a trace of coolness now. Jiang Chao closed her eyes and, without hesitation, splashed water onto her face over and over again.

Once, twice, again and again, until she felt the temperature of her face had finally cooled enough for her to calm down.

Then she lifted her head and stared at herself in the mirror.

Water droplets gathered along her fair, slightly flushed cheeks and slipped down to her chin, sparkling one by one. Her features were lovely in every way. Only the dark circles under her eyes stood out especially clearly under the overhead light.

A week ago, even when she had just joined Shengjing, she hadn’t had such heavy dark circles.

“If I think about Sheng Huaixi any more, I’m going to turn into a panda,” Jiang Chao sighed helplessly, troubled.

Familiar high heels clicked through the empty room.

Jiang Chao lifted her eyes. The mirror reflected the woman’s tall figure as she walked straight toward her, stopping exactly one meter behind her.

“If you’re willing, I’ll take responsibility.” Sheng Huaixi’s lips curved into a faint smile, soft and seductive, as if she were truly talking about taking in a pet.

Jiang Chao remained silent. She only looked quietly as the person in the mirror moved from behind her to her side.

The two of them were almost shoulder to shoulder.

“Did I do something recently?”

Their beautiful faces slowly drew closer in the mirror, Jiang Chao’s shoulder being gathered into a soft embrace without a hint of force.

Sheng Huaixi wrapped an arm around her shoulders and asked gently against her ear.

Just moments ago she had been using their superior-subordinate relationship to bully her, yet now that they were avoiding each other, she acted as though she couldn’t be any gentler.

“...No,” Jiang Chao’s throat moved. She swallowed the rest of what she wanted to say, turning her face away in a self-conscious, embarrassed gesture; the hand gripping the sink’s edge strained until blue veins stood out.

More than anyone, she knew just how vicious and twisted Sheng Huaixi was beneath that beautiful face. And yet that didn’t stop her from falling into Sheng Huaixi’s trap of tenderness for that brief moment.

For Sheng Huaixi, obsession and gentleness had always been separated by the thinnest of lines.

Hadn’t she always worn a mask of tenderness in front of her?

Even if Sheng Huaixi had secretly put her phone under the bed...

That couldn’t possibly be Sheng Huaixi’s way of loving her, could it?

Jiang Chao was still dazed when a wrist resting on her shoulder gave a light tap. The image in the mirror shook again. She focused on the reflection, unable to tell whether it was her heart or her body that was wavering.

“You’re angry with me.”

This time, Sheng Huaixi’s tone was a flat statement.

At the same time, a soft face settled against Jiang Chao’s shoulder. Like a kitten that hadn’t been weaned yet, Sheng Huaixi rubbed and nuzzled against her.

The movement was small, the pressure light; it gave Jiang Chao the illusion that Sheng Huaixi was a harmless little cat, even if only for an instant.

The obedient cat rubbed against her, as though drawing energy from her. When she spoke again, her voice was even softer than Jiang Chao’s had been just now.

“You’re really going too far, Jiang Chao.”

The sudden accusation left Jiang Chao baffled. She even forgot that Sheng Huaixi was visible in the mirror and turned her head to look at the person fussing against her shoulder.

“What?”

Jiang Chao knew she had indeed been avoiding her lately, but she hadn’t neglected a single thing she was supposed to do. How could that count as going too far?

Sheng Huaixi straightened from her shoulder and leaned closer, each low word carrying its complaint.

“You get angry on your own, ignore me on your own, leave me on my own, and even take away my right to coax you.”

When the words fell, their eyes met; silence stretched between them.

Only Jiang Chao’s ears, gradually turning red, showed the passage of time.

“Baby! There’s no one here, okay? Kiss me, will you?”

A sweet voice suddenly came from behind them. Jiang Chao spun around in shock, her body tightening in alarm.

This was the restroom; didn’t they know someone was inside?!

Instinctively, she reached to tug at Sheng Huaixi, her gaze darting over.

Someone had tugged at the cuff of her sleeve. Sheng Huaixi lowered her head and met Jiang Chao’s eyes; her lashes gave a faint blink, and a flash of dawning amusement crossed the bottom of her pupils.

“Baby, don’t be angry anymore. Kiss me, okay?”

A warm breath brushed Jiang Chao’s ear. Sheng Huaixi’s lowered voice sounded rough and husky, intoxicating and pleasant.

Jiang Chao froze in place—

Not only because she heard that sentence from Sheng Huaixi, but also because she caught a glimpse, far off by the corner, of a hem of clothing disappearing around the bend.

In that moment of stunned stillness, her chin was turned back by warm fingertips that brooked no refusal. She was forced to meet a pair of deeply affectionate eyes.

Jiang Chao’s pupils contracted sharply as she watched Sheng Huaixi slowly close her eyes and lean toward her, her lips vivid red, as if—

The next second, she would kiss her on the lips to coax her!