Chapter 21

“You’re that worried about her?”

Jiang Chao was staring unblinkingly at her phone when a quiet voice drifted in from beside her.

Yuan Bai didn’t understand why Jiang Chao was so uneasy about Sheng Huaixi. From what she could see, she was actually more worried that Sheng Huaixi would sell Jiang Chao out and Jiang Chao would still help her count the money.

The worry on Jiang Chao’s face was so obvious it made Yuan Bai feel awkward just looking at her.

“Her wrist was injured because of me,” Jiang Chao said, still watching the screen. “Of course I should be worried about her.”

But right now she’s only going out to reject someone, and you’re acting like you want to tuck her into your pocket so nothing happens to her.

Yuan Bai looked away from Jiang Chao and let out a soft sigh. Her eyes stayed on the phone screen, on the profile picture of the person who had sent the message; her brows pinched slightly, and her frustration only deepened.

Jiang Chao’s own trouble hadn’t even been settled, and now she herself was barely getting by.

The sound of fingers tapping came from beside her; Jiang Chao had no mind to be distracted. Time ticked past second by second, but the message on the screen never changed.

Twenty minutes. Had it still not ended?

Her fingers tapped restlessly against her thigh. Jiang Chao kept staring until her eyelids ached, determined not to look away from the screen for even a moment, afraid she might miss Sheng Huaixi’s message.

Second by second, Jiang Chao’s patience wore thin. Anxiety flashed across her brows; her lips pressed into a tight line.

At last—

The unchanged page suddenly popped up with a voice message!

The breath she’d been holding finally left her. Jiang Chao’s lips curved slightly; with clear relief, she tapped the voice message and brought it to her ear.

At first there was only the sound of running water and rustling bamboo. Jiang Chao blinked in confusion, guessing that was just the recording’s opening, and kept listening patiently.

“Then who is it you actually like? Say it!”

“Hey! Jiang Chao, where are you going?!”

The person sitting beside her suddenly shot up and shoved back her chair; the screech of the legs scraping the floor rang sharply in her ears. Yuan Bai stared in shock at Jiang Chao’s hurried retreating figure.

Li Sensen also chased after Jiang Chao, concern flickering in her eyes.

The door slammed shut with a bang. Jiang Chao had no time to answer the pointless questions behind her; she kept replaying the voice message as she rushed down the corridor.

It was clearly Sheng Huaixi’s voice message, but the voice coming through was Zhou Xu’s, thick with emotion and on the verge of losing control!

The one who brought the roses was Zhou Xu. The one Sheng Huaixi had gone out to reject was Zhou Xu. Why hadn’t she told her?

Last time, hadn’t Zhou Xu already taken advantage of Jiang Chao saying she belonged to someone else? And now she was still harassing them—what was that about... Why hadn’t Sheng Huaixi just called her out directly and dealt with her...

Her hands clenched into fists. Jiang Chao’s mind was in a panic; her nails unconsciously dug into her palm, leaving a faint mark.

Her lips pressed together again and again until they were bitten bright red.

Jiang Chao didn’t know where they had agreed to meet, so she could only run in the direction suggested by the water sounds and bamboo in the voice message, darting around like a headless fly.

Her pace was uneven. Before long, Jiang Chao could hear her breathing turn fast and heavy, her chest rising and falling unevenly.

Cold sweat broke out on her forehead, a thin sheen covering her face. Jiang Chao forced herself to stay calm.

Her breathing remained ragged. Now and then she lifted her phone to check it, but there were no new messages; her brows drew tighter, and she kept searching ahead.

Her gaze flickered as she ran. Once she was beyond the private-room area, Jiang Chao finally spotted a young attendant. She hurried over and played the voice message for her.

“You go straight down this corridor. When you reach the big tree in the middle, turn left and keep going; that’ll take you to Shuizhuyun.”

Jiang Chao nodded her thanks and ran in that direction without hesitation.

Her steps were quick and clumsy, and now and then she kicked at small pebbles along the path, making a pattering sound.

On this near-winter night, the wind cutting at her throat showed no mercy. Jiang Chao panted, hot breath spilling from her lips; the white mist in the air swirled twice before being blown apart.

Sheng Huaixi, please don’t let anything happen to you.

Her fingertips dug hard into her palm. Enduring the burning pain from the run, Jiang Chao’s eyes swept rapidly over the surroundings, searching for where Sheng Huaixi might be.

The sound of water trickling and splashing echoed on and on. Thin streams, clear as silk, fell with gravity into bamboo tubes; one after another they were caught, until the bamboo poles, unable to bear the weight, drooped down.

Jiang Chao’s ears twitched; she stopped at once.

Her gaze shifted, and a familiar back appeared in her line of sight. The person standing across from her was familiar too.

The two of them were facing each other and didn’t seem to be in any physical conflict at all; the worst-case scenario Jiang Chao had imagined hadn’t happened.

Seeing that the figure was unharmed, the knot in Jiang Chao’s chest slowly loosened.

She lifted her foot and walked toward the two of them. Gradually, she could make out their conversation; red roses from the earlier bouquet were scattered all over the ground, petals strewn everywhere.

Sheng Huaixi’s phone had also been thrown to the floor.

Frowning slightly, Jiang Chao quickened her pace and almost suddenly appeared in front of Zhou Xu. Meeting her shocked, furious expression, she didn’t back down.

“Sorry, miss. My girlfriend still has something to do in a moment; could you talk another time?”

Without needing any reminder or instruction from Sheng Huaixi, the moment Jiang Chao arrived, she naturally stepped into the role of Sheng Huaixi’s girlfriend.

Just as naturally, Jiang Chao took Sheng Huaixi’s wrist in her hand and stood slightly in front of her, blocking Zhou Xu’s line of sight; only a sliver of Sheng Huaixi remained visible.

It was as if she were shielding a cub behind her.

She put on the same air as last time at the company; whether she was protecting the person behind her or holding her hand, her posture was natural and intimate.

With a cold laugh, Zhou Xu looked at the two affectionate figures before her, the corner of her mouth lifting in scorn. “You?”

After last time, Zhou Xu had people from Shengjing investigate Jiang Chao’s background. Once she looked into it, it was exactly as expected; when they met that day, Jiang Chao hadn’t even been employed yet.

She hadn’t even started work, let alone known Sheng Huaixi.

“Last time you ruined my confession, and I didn’t settle accounts with you. Now you’re at it again. What, is being a third wheel really that much fun?”

Zhou Xu lifted her chin slightly. The sleeves of her brown trench coat had been rolled up to her elbows; her lips curved in disdain, and she carried herself with a naturally unrestrained air.

“A third wheel?” Jiang Chao’s eyes were bright as she asked her back. “Do you even know who came first? Are you sure I came to know Huaixi later than you did?”

Jiang Chao’s expression was calm and self-assured; her gaze drifted lightly downward as she spoke, showing no real interest in Zhou Xu’s presence.

“Isn’t it...” Zhou Xu tapped a toe idly, narrowing her eyes. Her gaze shifted to Sheng Huaixi and fixed there. It was Sheng Huaixi who had called her here, wasn’t it?

Just as Jiang Chao was about to speak, the fingertips hanging at her side were suddenly lightly hooked by Sheng Huaixi’s. Cold. Like a block of quiet ice.

The heat from having run all the way there was drawn into that chill; slender fingers slid along the trembling veins, across her palm, and under Jiang Chao’s stunned gaze, slowly closed around it.

“You...” Jiang Chao frowned, about to ask why her hand was so cold, when a wash of chill brushed the back of her hand.

Sheng Huaixi had completely hidden herself behind her.

The palms that had shifted and turned now pressed together, cold and hot clinging tightly. The chill from Sheng Huaixi was pinned against Jiang Chao’s back, soft and cold, wrapping around her like a cocoon.

Their tightly held wrists were like nutrients passed between them; the moment Jiang Chao broke away, she would be unable to survive. Sheng Huaixi was the same.

They were a relationship that could never be separated.

Beautiful. Happy.

Sheng Huaixi lazily leaned her body against Jiang Chao, relaxing as she put all her weight on her. As expected, the hand gripping hers tightened even more.

The gaze fixed on their wrists was impossible to ignore, full of anger and urgency. Sheng Huaixi, however, wasn’t flustered at all; instead, she slowly leaned close to Jiang Chao’s ear, her voice soft and gentle.

“Chaochao, can I kiss you now?”