Chapter 29

Silence settled between them.

After Sheng Huaixi asked that blush-inducing question, she rubbed slowly against Jiang Chao’s profile without the slightest rush, their soft cheeks brushing together.

For a dazed moment, Jiang Chao felt as if she had a big cat in her arms.

Sheng Huaixi casually pressed herself against her, her cheek grazing Jiang Chao’s earlobe and the side of her face.

For a brief instant, Jiang Chao even thought that if Sheng Huaixi really were a cat, the faint rasp of a feline tongue might flick across her skin too.

It would announce its presence without a care, making sure its owner noticed it; and if it felt uneasy, it would occasionally step on its owner a little, just to reassure itself.

Its claws weren’t hard, but if it really swiped at someone, it would definitely hurt.

Most of the time, though, it was harmless. It just always wanted attention.

Jiang Chao couldn’t quite tell why Sheng Huaixi had asked that question.

Was it because her irritated words earlier had stirred anger in Sheng Huaixi’s heart, and from that came the unease of fearing she might lose Jiang Chao’s concern? Or was it for some other reason?

But in any case, it seemed like this was exactly the time to comfort her.

Jiang Chao tried to soften her tone, putting sincerity into every word and working hard to smooth out whatever emotions might be building inside Sheng Huaixi.

“Sheng Huaixi, even if I don’t have those kinds of thoughts about you, I’d still care about you.”

“We’re already friends, aren’t we?”

The tip of Sheng Huaixi’s tongue pressed irritably against the roof of her mouth. The answer she wanted wasn’t this, and her steady breathing went out of rhythm.

Sheng Huaixi only wanted Jiang Chao to say yes or no, wanted her to be honest about whether she had any interest in her body.

Not to sidestep both answers and come up with a third one like this.

Whether it was the answer or Jiang Chao herself, Sheng Huaixi wanted only one thing.

Call her greedy, call her selfish; Sheng Huaixi knew herself clearly and without hesitation.

As long as she could get Jiang Chao, she would use any means.

Besides, didn’t Jiang Chao think she was crazy?

Her nose twitched slightly. Sheng Huaixi drew in Jiang Chao’s scent, her eyes sinking into a dazed, possessive light as she rubbed her face against Jiang Chao’s shoulder again.

Half of her face was hidden in the crook of Jiang Chao’s neck. Her expression, obscured by shoulder and throat, was murky and unreadable, while the invasive pressure around her only grew stronger.

In the silence, a low, rough voice suddenly came from behind them, cutting straight through the moment between them.

“Hey, beauty, want to add me on WeChat?”

Jiang Chao turned, her pupils tightening in shock, only to realize with disbelief that it was one of the people she’d just seen making out on the tree earlier.

She’d been kissing one girl a second ago, yet in the next instant she could come over as if nothing had happened and ask for Jiang Chao’s WeChat.

It was the first time Jiang Chao had ever met someone this shameless.

“You think you’re worthy?”

Sheng Huaixi was in a terrible mood, and her expression was especially cold because of it. She stood up, unwilling to waste another word on someone like that.

Her hand caught Jiang Chao’s wrist, and with a hard tug she closed the remaining distance between them in one motion.

Jiang Chao gasped softly; her body reacted on instinct, her arms looping around Sheng Huaixi’s shoulder and neck so they were face-to-face, held close with no space left between them.

The warmth of Jiang Chao in her arms made Sheng Huaixi’s mood ease a little. She lifted her eyes to look at the person in front of her, her face darkening again.

The woman grinning and flashing a QR code at her didn’t care at all about what she’d just said.

The gloom in Sheng Huaixi’s eyes spread outward. In the night, it was a hideous, freezing chill that couldn’t be concealed.

She’d just been intimate with one woman, and in the blink of an eye she could so casually flirt with another girl. That was the kind of person Sheng Huaixi hated most.

With people like that, there was no need to be polite.

“Ugly, rotten life, and I hate dirty things.”

Holding Jiang Chao in her arms, Sheng Huaixi turned and left without a second thought.

Her ears twitched slightly as she heard movement behind them; Sheng Huaixi stopped and shot a cold, straight-on look back.

Like a poisonous snake hidden in the night, it was icy and ruthless, so frightening that no one would dare take another step forward.

The two of them kept walking like that for several minutes.

Only after she was sure no one was following did Jiang Chao finally relax and let out a breath, pulling herself free from Sheng Huaixi’s hold.

She really wasn’t good at dealing with this kind of scum.

The soft, delicate waist slipping out of her hands made Sheng Huaixi let out a barely audible sigh.

“Sheng Huaixi, do you run into that kind of situation a lot?” Jiang Chao turned to look at her and asked.

She felt like Sheng Huaixi’s reaction earlier had been far too practiced.

“Mm. Often. I’m used to it.”

Sheng Huaixi’s face was expressionless, but when she spoke of it, there was an almost painful familiarity in her voice.

As if refusing this kind of shameless person had become second nature to her, because she had encountered it too many times.

Jiang Chao’s chest tightened, and she lowered her eyes in apology.

She had asked something she shouldn’t have.

With perverted pursuers like Zhou Xu constantly appearing around her, even if Sheng Huaixi hadn’t been skilled before, she would have been forced to become skilled. Otherwise, how could she live?

Jiang Chao didn’t know how many times Sheng Huaixi had gone through this to become so practiced today, but just the word used to describe it was enough to make anyone ache.

A habit usually came from hardship, or from surviving in some environment for a long time.

She bit lightly at her lip a few times, then spoke to break the silence.

“Then next time, if anyone comes to bother you, call me to help.” Jiang Chao looked at Sheng Huaixi’s eyes, gleaming with a little light, and curved her lips teasingly. “Anyway, it’s not the first time, right?”

“True, girlfriend.”

Sheng Huaixi answered without changing expression, her face softening as the words rolled slowly off her tongue, light and unhurried.

The evening breeze by the river blew gently over them, as if it too sensed the softness of the moment and brushed lightly across their faces.

Jiang Chao kept smiling at Sheng Huaixi’s answer, taking it only as practice in advance and not paying it any mind.

After thinking for a moment, Jiang Chao jogged a few steps to stand in front of Sheng Huaixi, extended a hand, and gave a standard knight’s salute.

“Then, please take care of me from now on.”

Sheng Huaixi chuckled, her wrist resting lightly against Jiang Chao’s hand as her deep gaze fixed on the little tuft of hair sticking up at the top of Jiang Chao’s head, unmoving for a long while.

The narrowed pupils carried a trace of danger, while what stirred beneath them was unhidden possessiveness.

“Forever, honey.”

You should never think about leaving me.

*

[10:00 a.m., everyone meet in the conference room for a meeting.]

Li Sensen read out the message, poking her head over to remind Jiang Chao, “Chaochao, don’t forget to go to the conference room at ten in a bit; it’s the regular meeting.”

“Okay.” Jiang Chao replied, glancing down at the time, hitting save, and exiting. “Are we going now?”

Li Sensen nodded, packed up her things, and stood. “Let’s go.”

Jiang Chao patted Yuan Bai beside her and followed Li Sensen toward the conference room. Along the way, Li Sensen also explained what the regular meetings usually covered.

“Basically, it’s about summarizing recent experience, or talking about the latest work content...”

The two of them listened as they walked behind her. Jiang Chao tightened her grip on the notebook in her arms and smiled. “Then this regular meeting doesn’t seem all that different from the weekly meetings we have, does it?”

Li Sensen smiled warmly and nodded in agreement.

After a moment, as if she’d remembered something, the smile on her face faded. She shortened the distance between herself and the two behind her and said quietly,

“Though if we run into the Great Demon King getting angry, then things get pretty bad.”

“Getting angry?” Jiang Chao’s attention immediately locked onto that.

She had been at the company for quite a while and had known Sheng Huaixi for some time, but although she had seen Sheng Huaixi’s terrible temper in private, she had never seen it at work.

Li Sensen nodded with a deeply pained expression, clearly having witnessed it firsthand before, and let out a low sigh.

“When the demon king gets angry, the regular meeting turns upside down.”

Seeing the look on her face, Jiang Chao couldn’t help gripping the notebook in her hands tighter and murmured, “That scary?”

“You’re her assistant, aren’t you? You mean she’s never once gotten angry in front of you? That’s impossible...”

Li Sensen looked at Jiang Chao with some surprise, unable to believe that since joining the company she’d never once run into Sheng Huaixi losing her temper.

She hadn’t seen it?

At that, Jiang Chao thought back to Sheng Huaixi’s two previous outbursts, and the words caught in her throat; she no longer dared ask further.

Those really had not been pleasant memories.

The frightening expressions and actions, the way she casually did such unbelievable things, had made Jiang Chao, standing beside her, so nervous her heart raced so fast it nearly came to a stop.

Jiang Chao came back to herself and suddenly found Li Sensen looking at her with a subtle expression; she was trying hard to suppress the smile at the corners of her mouth, her brows and eyes full of mischief.

It made Jiang Chao’s skin prickle, and she hurriedly lifted the meeting notes in her hands a little higher, trying to block the gaze aimed at her.

“You’re smiling so badly. Why are you looking at me like that?”

Yuan Bai also looked at Li Sensen with some curiosity.

Coughing lightly, Li Sensen moved to Jiang Chao’s side, then secretly poked her arm twice with her fingertip. Her eyes flicked around mischievously, her meaning obvious.

“The one you see, of course, is the version that hasn’t gotten angry. Doesn’t she have a thing for you?”

“Huh?!” Yuan Bai instantly turned to look at Jiang Chao, her expression dazed and her shock impossible to hide.

Wasn’t she her sister? How did she not know about this?

“Don’t spread rumors about me.” Under the weight of two sets of eyes, Jiang Chao crossed her wrists in front of her chest in a huge X. “That’s completely not the case.”

Interest was interest; liking was liking. To Jiang Chao, those were two entirely different things.

Yes, Sheng Huaixi wanting her concern was true enough.

But wanting concern could mean she lacked affection, or maybe, after all this time, Jiang Chao was one of the few people willing to pull her out of a battlefield of confessions on her own initiative.

Coincidentally, on top of that, Jiang Chao happened to be one of her employees, and her personality also suited Sheng Huaixi somewhat.

Through such accidental familiarity, their relationship had become relatively harmonious.

But to say Sheng Huaixi had feelings for her, Jiang Chao really couldn’t see it.

Besides, who would silently harbor feelings for someone and, when pursuing them, keep saying things that sounded like they wanted to push the relationship toward a friends-with-benefits direction?

No need for forever; just a good time?

If Sheng Huaixi really were that kind of person, wouldn’t she have long since picked one of those suitors with excellent qualifications and loved them fiercely?

Then again——

At that thought, a bold question suddenly popped into Jiang Chao’s head.

Had Sheng Huaixi ever had sex before?

People always said women in their thirties were like hungry wolves and tigers; Sheng Huaixi didn’t look like someone who’d endure desire either, so before this, had she ever?

“Hey, what are you thinking about? I called you and you didn’t answer. We’re here.”

Li Sensen turned her head and saw Jiang Chao’s face blanked out, clearly lost in thought, and tapped her arm.

Jiang Chao came back to her senses and realized the three of them had already reached the door without her noticing.

Shaking off the stray thoughts in her head, Jiang Chao hummed in response and hurried after Li Sensen into the conference room.

They were among the early arrivals; there was only one other person seated in the room, a woman named Yang Chen, who had joined a year ahead of Jiang Chao.

After smiling in greeting, Jiang Chao put her things on the table and went forward to turn on the projector in advance, finishing the preparatory work.

When she returned to her seat, Yuan Bai leaned over and whispered in her ear, “Talk to me after we get back about what’s going on between you and her right now.”

No choice. Jiang Chao turned to look at her helplessly, seeing the seriousness on her face, and knew she had taken what Li Sensen said earlier to heart.

“Don’t listen to Li Sensen talking nonsense. She and I are just ordinary cohabiting friends; there’s no such thing as liking or not liking.”

Yuan Bai turned her head away and huffed, clearly not believing her.

Jiang Chao sighed and knew she’d have to explain it to her properly later.

“Director Sheng.”

One call after another rose around her, and a cool “mm” cut through the crowd and stabbed into Jiang Chao’s ears.

Sheng Huaixi walked in from outside, her face indifferent, her gaze sweeping across everyone in the room before she went straight to the front and sat down.

Her palm landed on the table with a firm tap, and Sheng Huaixi said coldly, “Everyone sit. Don’t waste time.”

Everyone responded and took their seats.

Jiang Chao sat upright and proper, turning her head toward Sheng Huaixi’s position; her gaze paused slightly.

Was it her imagination? Why did she feel like Sheng Huaixi was staring in her direction?

“First, Yang Chen.”

With no unnecessary preamble, Sheng Huaixi called the first name and began the first matter of the day.

“Here, Director Sheng, go ahead.” Yang Chen stood up shakily from her seat; Jiang Chao could clearly hear her voice trembling.

Sneaking a look, Jiang Chao found she was actually sitting right next to Li Sensen, only two seats away from her.

So the reason Sheng Huaixi had looked this way just now was because she was looking at her.

Eyes shining faintly, Jiang Chao withdrew her gaze and focused on the notebook in front of her, ready to record at any moment.

The conference room was utterly silent. Sheng Huaixi looked down at the proposal and remained silent for a long time.

The rustling sound of pages turning came one after another, cold and regular, as if slicing inch by inch at a person’s heart.

Jiang Chao stole a glance and saw Yang Chen’s calves trembling uncontrollably.

She was nervous.

But at this moment, with everyone else lowering their eyes and even their breathing held in check, only she stood there alone. It was hard not to be nervous.

A crisp tap of fingertips against the tabletop broke the silence.

“Are you taking me for an idiot and trying to fool me?”

A flat question, followed by a casual little huff of laughter, exploded like a bomb in the silent conference room, flames bursting everywhere.

“I wouldn’t dare.” Yang Chen spoke weakly.

Everyone around silently chose to lower their heads, almost unable to breathe under Sheng Huaixi’s forceful presence.

Snap——

Sheng Huaixi flung the proposal across the table. Black words on white paper scraped a straight line across the surface before stopping right in front of Yang Chen.

Her low voice rang out, the chill in Sheng Huaixi’s words almost overflowing; anger stirred faintly in every word.

“This thing is covered in AI traces. On every page, aside from the exquisite work of Baidu and ChatGPT, I can’t see a single thing that’s yours.”

“And that’s your ‘wouldn’t dare’? This is the proposal you handed me?”

The long-suppressed volcano erupted with a roar, scorching magma spraying outward so fiercely no one dared touch it.

Even from a distance, Jiang Chao could feel the heat coming from the head of the table.

Sheng Huaixi was angry.

The scolding at her ears continued, and Jiang Chao kept her eyes fixed on the notebook in front of her, not daring to look up, afraid she might get burned and melt.

“Three days. You can give me sloppy trash, but I will never allow you to hand me garbage wrapped in gold.”

“If I catch you using AI again, get out.”

The words came out coldly. Sheng Huaixi narrowed her eyes slightly, looking down at the person standing below who couldn’t stop trembling, and restrained her anger a little.

Looking at Yang Chen’s pale face, Sheng Huaixi tapped the table lightly with her fingertips, composed herself, and said in a weary, detached voice, “Sit down.”

“Yes.” Yang Chen, as if granted amnesty, quickly sat back down.

“Next, Ning Yu.”

Another eruption. The voice beside her spoke a little, then stopped a little, and this round of criticism from Sheng Huaixi only ended after several people had been called out.

This was Jiang Chao’s first time seeing the so-called demon-king mode at work. She held her breath carefully, keeping her gaze lowered the entire time like a well-behaved child.

So fierce.

When Sheng Huaixi got angry, no matter when it was, her presence was terrifying.

It made people want to hide.

“Alright, back to the Reason proposal.” Sheng Huaixi’s voice paused slightly; her gaze swept across the tabletop, eyes half-narrowed. “Raise your head. Look at me.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Jiang Chao saw Li Sensen straighten up beside her; she obediently followed and lifted her gaze as well.

This was also the first time in this meeting that she had looked properly at Sheng Huaixi’s face.

Their eyes met. Jiang Chao saw the faintly cool expression on Sheng Huaixi’s face, the casual pressure rolling outward.

A fitted high-neck knit top outlined her long neck; her features were sharply defined, her bearing imposing.

She sat at the head of the table, and in conversation she would occasionally show a hint of indifference, her eyes slightly narrowed. One moment she might be lifting her cup and lowering her eyes with apparent softness; the next, she would be sharply pointing out your problem in cutting language.

This was the first time Jiang Chao had seen Sheng Huaixi work seriously.

Her competence was beautiful.

“Jiang Chao, Yuan Bai, in three days, hand in your ideas to my desk as well.”

Jiang Chao’s secretly observing gaze froze. She hadn’t expected Sheng Huaixi to suddenly mention her name. She quickly came back to herself and nodded. “Yes, Director Sheng.”

Her first task after joining the company had arrived.

*

Evening chased off the sunset; one by one, lights came on in the apartment buildings, some bright, some dim, while the cold night wind drifted past.

The arrival of winter was especially clear at dusk, and the temperature had already dropped to the point where you’d feel chilled through if you didn’t cover yourself with a blanket.

For Jiang Chao, who had always feared the cold, she’d long since turned on the heater.

As the room warmed, the chill was slowly driven away, comfortable enough to make one squint in contentment.

Holding a cup of hot tea, Jiang Chao sat by the coffee table in the living room.

With a gray bear blanket draped over her shoulders and blue-light glasses on, Jiang Chao stared intently at the flickering images on the screen, her chin propped on one hand as she carefully took notes.

“So this company’s previous product line was focused on this one..."

It was Jiang Chao’s first time working with a domestic clothing brand, so she needed to learn everything from the ground up. Fortunately, she had helped with similar cases abroad before.

Back then she had a mentor by her side; now, doing it on her own should still be fine.

This was her first project after coming to Shengjing. Even if the chance of it being adopted in the end wasn’t high, Jiang Chao still wanted to do it carefully and properly.

“Sheng Huaixi, come out already; it’s warmer in the living room.”

Turning her head, Jiang Chao called toward Sheng Huaixi’s room, blinking in confusion as a hint of puzzlement flashed through her eyes.

After dinner, Sheng Huaixi had originally been lazily reading a book behind her in the twilight. Not long after, she suddenly got up and went back to her room.

Jiang Chao called to her twice, but the words fell to the floor unanswered.

Sheng Huaixi went straight into the room and closed the door; her tall, slender back cast a long gray shadow on the floor, silent and cold.

The crisp sound of the door closing rang beside Jiang Chao’s ears, and she frowned in confusion.

After hesitating for a long time, Jiang Chao still didn’t ask any more questions and turned back to the video.

Time passed slowly; then the closed door opened again.

Her ears twitching, Jiang Chao lifted her eyelids, straightened up, and looked toward Sheng Huaixi with a bright little wave, inviting her to come closer.

“You went in to change clothes? Come sit and watch their company’s videos with me.”

Sheng Huaixi’s face was impassive. She passed by Jiang Chao without slowing and headed straight for the door, her voice cool and without a trace of emotion. “I’m going out.”

“Now?” Jiang Chao asked in surprise.

Blinking, Jiang Chao only then carefully studied Sheng Huaixi’s clothes, which really were different from what she had imagined.

This outfit didn’t look like something worn at home at all; it looked more like something for going out.

A long brown coat hung loosely down her body, and silky black stockings outlined her straight, slender legs, half-hidden in the light. Her long, wavy hair draped lazily over her shoulders, hot and seductive.

This whole outfit...

Jiang Chao lowered her eyes to glance at the time on the computer; it was already past eight. Worry welled up in her chest as she asked, “It’s already past eight. Is there something you need to discuss?”

Sheng Huaixi said nothing; she only bent down to take a pair of tall boots from the shoe cabinet, her expression hidden by the loose strands of her hair.

The air fell silent. Jiang Chao couldn’t sit still, so she braced herself on the table, her eyes flicking toward the door as she asked again, “Sheng Huaixi, where are you going?”

Alone in the doorway, Sheng Huaixi bent down, her fingertips hooking the boots into place as she adjusted them. After a while, she stood up.

“It has nothing to do with you.”

That cold answer drifted quietly through the air; Sheng Huaixi refused her concern.

The door opened and shut, the lock clicked into place, and the spring caught. Sheng Huaixi said nothing more, nor did she look back.

Jiang Chao stood frozen, staring at the empty doorway, her expression blank with confusion as she looked at that cold departing figure, shock and bewilderment flashing in her eyes.

That sentence kept circling in her ears, and a faint sense of disappointment quietly spread through Jiang Chao’s heart.

“Why so fierce..."

Sheng Huaixi’s sudden coldness dampened Jiang Chao’s enthusiasm. Stiffly, she stared at the tabletop, the cursor on the computer still blinking silently, unmoved.

Jiang Chao pressed her lips together, then couldn’t help glancing back toward the doorway, a thin, self-comforting smile pressing out between her lips.

“It’s fine.”

Only, the filament of the floor lamp suddenly flickered; the dim light and shadow fell across Jiang Chao’s profile, splitting apart the dimples of her smiling mouth.

The smile she had not yet taken back was pinched tightly by the shadow.

As Sheng Huaixi walked past her just now, that cold side profile kept rolling through Jiang Chao’s mind; for some reason, a faint unease had begun to stir in her chest.

Tap, tap, tap—

The tip of her pen knocked against the table.

Jiang Chao stared at the doorway, her palm unconsciously covering her chest.

Her brows tightened; her pounding heartbeat somehow grew faster and faster, thudding in her ears like a drum, sending her anxiety surging upward.

What was wrong with Sheng Huaixi?