Chapter 32
The bitter winter rain was kept outside the door, yet the patter of falling water still did its duty.
But Sheng Huaixi was no longer alone in the wind and rain.
Inside, every light was on. Beneath the amber glow sat a small figure, shaking her head from side to side in distress; the fluffy tuft on top of her head bobbed up and down.
She sat under the light, cherished by it. The gentlest rays cradled every strand of her hair, warm and shining.
Like a tiny spring toy with endless energy, bouncing on and on without rest.
The moment Sheng Huaixi entered, she saw exactly this scene; a corner of anticipation in her heart quietly collapsed.
If she had once been a cold, indifferent castle, then at this moment she would already have fallen. Brick by brick, the walls would be crumbling under the encircling light, the solid interior slowly melting away.
Sheng Huaixi stepped into the living room and said softly, “I’m back.”
“Mm-hm. Come sit. Have some fruit; I just cut it up.”
Jiang Chao, busy drafting copy, looked up with a smile and waved Sheng Huaixi over to sit down before soon burying herself in her troublesome work again.
Wrapped in her fluffy pajamas, Jiang Chao looked like a strawberry bun, her clean surface dusted with a faint layer of sparkling sugar, all of her giving off a sweet, fragrant warmth.
Rubbing her thumb against the inside of her palm, Sheng Huaixi walked past Jiang Chao and did not immediately sit down beside her.
A shadow passed in front of her, the damp scent of rain drifting into her nose. Jiang Chao’s breathing stilled.
When she looked up, it was only after Sheng Huaixi had come closer, under the light overhead, that Jiang Chao could see clearly: the black coat Sheng Huaixi had worn outside was darkened in irregular patches.
Her exquisite long curls from before she left had been soaked by the rain, the ends hanging limp and straight. Even her face hadn’t escaped; her long lashes were weighed down with moisture, and those pure black eyes looked misty and pitiful.
She had been bullied miserably by the rain.
“You got soaked?” Jiang Chao stood up from the carpet and handed her a few tissues. “Wipe your face.”
A ring of thick blankets had been laid around the sofa. Sheng Huaixi had been standing by the water dispenser, and only moved closer after Jiang Chao got up and approached her.
“Mm. There was a short stretch of road from the client’s place to where I parked the car. I had to walk it. My luck was awful, and the downpour started right after I left.”
Sheng Huaixi unbuttoned her coat. Looking at the concern on Jiang Chao’s face, she explained helplessly and shook her head to show she didn’t need the tissues.
“I’m going to shower now. No need to wipe it; just leave them there.”
Since she had already pulled them out, Jiang Chao couldn’t just throw the tissues away casually. She turned back, laid them flat, and, seeing how utterly drenched Sheng Huaixi was, said nothing more.
“Then go shower first. Don’t catch cold later.”
Sheng Huaixi nodded and walked into the room. Jiang Chao thought for a moment, then slipped on her slippers and went to the window.
The gauzy curtains lifted. Rain smashed down outside with the fury of a grudge; heaven and earth were a sheet of black, the clouds so thick they seemed almost tangible, and the crackling sound of raindrops had never once stopped.
“Such heavy rain...” Jiang Chao murmured. Lightning split past the window and lit up the worry in her eyes.
She had been at home, wearing headphones and concentrating on a proposal, completely unaware of the rain growing heavier outside. All she knew was that time was passing, second by second.
The little intern was at home blowing warm air on herself while working on a proposal; the director was out in the rain and wind dutifully meeting clients. Hearing it that way, Jiang Chao seemed to be the one enjoying life in this weather.
Amused by her own thought, Jiang Chao’s eyes curved as she rolled up her sleeves and went into the kitchen.
“Ginger, ginger, where did I put the ginger...” she muttered while searching.
During the last big spring cleaning at home, Sheng Huaixi had reorganized the kitchen. The things that had originally been left out were stored and sorted into a large box, and Jiang Chao spent quite a while finding the ginger she wanted.
Puffs of heat rose one after another, and bubbles rolled and popped in the pot with a steady gurgle in the kitchen. Jiang Chao kept turning around from time to time to listen and check whether the sound of running water in the bathroom had stopped.
Luckily, she finished boiling the ginger soup before Sheng Huaixi’s shower was done.
Damp, lingering steam drifted out slowly. Before the person herself appeared, Jiang Chao first caught the scent of Sheng Huaixi’s body wash; a faint lemon fragrance flowed through the air.
“Drink a cup of ginger soup and warm yourself up.” Jiang Chao lifted the cup she had poured and handed it to Sheng Huaixi.
Sheng Huaixi obediently took it. The hot ginger soup still carried heat as she answered, “Okay.”
The bitter, spicy soup slid down her throat. Sheng Huaixi drank it without changing expression, showing no discomfort at all.
Hesitating, Jiang Chao placed the candy in her hand and asked, “Want something sweet to change the taste?”
Sheng Huaixi didn’t refuse. She ate the candy and looked at Jiang Chao for a long moment before speaking.
“Zhou Xu said she won’t come looking for me again.”
“Huh?! So sudden! Really?”
Jiang Chao hadn’t expected Zhou Xu to give up on Sheng Huaixi so quickly; surprise flashed across her face.
A moment later, a smile spread over her features, and she nodded with genuine pleasure.
“Then that’s a good thing. As long as she’s willing to stop clinging, that’s one less problem.”
One more danger around Sheng Huaixi was gone.
Although compared to Xu Jingwen, Zhou Xu was less lethal, for Sheng Huaixi, having one fewer psycho circling her was still a good thing.
Tilting her head to think about it, Jiang Chao suddenly remembered something and turned to ask Sheng Huaixi, “She wasn’t still hanging around you yesterday? Why would she suddenly give up? She wouldn’t be trying that whole ‘playing hard to get’ thing, would she?”
Playing hard to get was an old trick for chasing someone. Was Zhou Xu using that to try to raise Sheng Huaixi’s favorability?
Jiang Chao didn’t think Sheng Huaixi would be that foolish, but just in case, she asked.
“It’s not playing hard to get, because...” Sheng Huaixi rested her cheek on her hand, her words catching in her throat as her gaze lifted with some hesitation.
“Because what? Don’t leave me hanging.”
Jiang Chao tugged at the sleeve hanging from Sheng Huaixi’s clothes, her voice unconsciously turning coaxing.
The ending rose gently, like syrup drizzled over cotton candy, sweet and sticky.
Sheng Huaixi lowered her head, her long lashes trembling faintly. Her voice broke under the rumbling rain outside, and the hair falling beside her face hid her expression.
Her appearance made Jiang Chao anxious. She went straight for her wrist, shaking her hand and fidgeting around Sheng Huaixi’s legs with curiosity, urging her to speak.
After being jostled for a while, Sheng Huaixi finally opened her mouth with trembling lashes. Her fingertips hooked lightly into Jiang Chao’s palm, their fingers linking together.
“Because I lied to you. I went to see her alone today.”
“You went to see her?!” Jiang Chao shot up instantly, her hands frantically checking Sheng Huaixi all over. “You didn’t get hurt again, did you?”
Jiang Chao had come to fear Sheng Huaixi’s tendency to get injured.
Lately, whenever she ran into those pursuers, Sheng Huaixi never came back without injuries.
If the wounds she had finally managed to help heal were injured again...
Jiang Chao panicked, and her hands grew flustered too, checking Sheng Huaixi’s wrist and shoulders while anxiously looking up at her.
Fortunately, Sheng Huaixi gave her good news.
“Not this time. I promised you I wouldn’t deliberately hurt myself again.”
So long as she hadn’t deliberately injured herself, Zhou Xu had completely failed to do a single thing to Sheng Huaixi.
Sheng Huaixi blinked, a little regretful.
After the last time she deliberately hurt herself, Jiang Chao had become increasingly cautious about it, and Sheng Huaixi had also seen the special research Jiang Chao had done in private.
If she deliberately laid a hand on herself again this time, she wouldn’t escape Jiang Chao’s careful inspection when she came back.
Shaking her wrist, Sheng Huaixi looked at the obvious relief on Jiang Chao’s face, and a thread of delight rose in her heart, lifting the corners of her lips.
“Her hand just grabbed me and squeezed a bit. It hurts a little.”
As soon as the words fell, Jiang Chao immediately seized Sheng Huaixi’s wrist to examine it, her expression serious.
Unlike before, when she had merely held it and checked the wrist, this time Jiang Chao directly rolled up Sheng Huaixi’s sleeve, lowering her eyes to inspect every inch without daring to miss a single detail.
Her gaze moved inch by inch. Sheng Huaixi lowered her lashes and looked at the tuft of hair sticking up on Jiang Chao’s head; the smile on her lips deepened and deepened.
“Good thing there wasn’t any secondary injury.” After Jiang Chao finished her careful examination, the breath she had been holding finally eased out. She looked up at Sheng Huaixi and seriously reminded her, “If you have to meet them again next time, you absolutely have to call me along, got it?”
Her bright, shining eyes were clear and transparent; her expression was firm. Sheng Huaixi’s fingers moved slightly as she confirmed it again.
Jiang Chao’s soft-heartedness.
Jiang Chao’s gentle nature.
Her body shifted lightly, and Sheng Huaixi revealed a pair of eyes filled with moisture. Her post-shower eye rims were tinted red as she stopped beside Jiang Chao.
“We won’t run into her harassing you after this.”
Jiang Chao nodded in agreement, her ankles swaying happily on the carpet, eyes narrowing with delight.
Sheng Huaixi looked at the happy side of her face, her fingers subconsciously catching a lock of hair and twirling it playfully.
“So you don’t need to think about her anymore.”
Just look at me.
Don’t care about anyone else. In those crystal-clear eyes, it’s enough to have only me.
Jiang Chao nodded, so excited she felt as though a pair of wings had been stuffed into her chest, ready to spread at once and soar through the sky.
This was the first pursuer she had dealt with after deciding to stay by Sheng Huaixi’s side and help her; if you really wanted to count it, it was practically a milestone.
Once those psycho pursuers were dealt with, Sheng Huaixi could have a normal life.
“Mm. I really hope that one day no one else will keep clinging to you either.”
Jiang Chao spoke with anticipation, her joy reflected in Sheng Huaixi’s eyes.
Her originally happy mood suddenly sank. Sheng Huaixi lowered her lashes, and the soft sound of rain by her ear seemed to grow louder all at once.
The patter seemed to fall into her heart, dousing the hope she had been clinging to.
Jiang Chao was only caring for her now because she wanted to help. That was why she was attentive, why she looked after her, why she stayed with her.
But if one day that kindness ran dry, if she no longer held those feelings and expectations toward her, she would still leave in the end.
So before Jiang Chao’s goodwill toward her went out, Sheng Huaixi had to get Jiang Chao.
That was the only advantage she had.
*
The sound of raindrops pounding against the window did not stop. The weather outside was still awful; the clouds overhead showed no sign of dispersing and pressed down black and heavy.
The living room was quiet. The faint rise and fall of breathing barely stirred the air.
It had already been an hour with the two of them in this state.
Amid the stuttering taps of the keyboard, Jiang Chao’s slumped figure, propped up on one hand and motionless for a long time, practically gave away her distress by accident.
Licking lightly at the roof of her mouth, Sheng Huaixi turned off the iPad in her hand and broke the silence of the living room.
“Hey, Jiang assistant.”
Jiang Chao froze for a moment, then turned to look at Sheng Huaixi with surprise. Her face clearly showed confusion as she blinked in bewilderment.
“Why are you suddenly calling me Jiang assistant?”
This title had only been used frequently when they had first met, often by Sheng Huaixi when teasing her. Later, after Jiang Chao got used to her teasing, the address disappeared with it.
Whether at the company or at home, Sheng Huaixi was more used to calling her by name. This sudden “Jiang assistant” was rather unusual.
The teasing in the call had vanished. Was Sheng Huaixi suddenly feeling mischievous again now?
Thinking of this, caution tinted Jiang Chao’s eyes as she put on a layer of armor for herself just in case.
“We’re at home right now. For the sake of a friendly cohabitation relationship continuing smoothly, workplace harassment is refused, okay?”
Her vigilance was practically spilling out of her eyes. Seeing Jiang Chao so tightly strung, there was no doubt that if Sheng Huaixi said anything teasing, she would probably puff up instantly.
“Did I ever do anything that counted as workplace harassment to you?”
Sheng Huaixi’s smile was gentle. When she said the words workplace harassment, her slender brows curved innocently downward, as if demonstrating her sincerity.
Jiang Chao didn’t bother evaluating that statement. Instead, her wary expression only deepened, showing no sign of letting down her guard.
Suppressing her irritation, Sheng Huaixi unceremoniously pressed her palm onto Jiang Chao’s head and immediately acted out the so-called harassment right then and there.
Her soft, fluffy hair felt wonderful to touch. That fluffy texture was like a pile of cotton you could sink into; with just a little force, it seemed like you could bury your wrist in it.
The icing on the cake was the pair of eyes that looked mildly annoyed yet still held back their urge to resist. Sheng Huaixi couldn’t help but stroke them a few extra times.
After all, opportunities to pet a cat so openly were rare. Jiang Chao usually wouldn’t be this obedient, suppressing her feelings while letting Sheng Huaixi touch her however she pleased.
“You keep touching me and you’re going to rub me bald.” Jiang Chao decisively escaped, rescuing herself and batting Sheng Huaixi’s wrist away.
As she backed off, Jiang Chao also threw Sheng Huaixi a sideways glare. That previously innocent expression had vanished somewhere; she knew this person would only push her luck.
Jiang Chao combed through her hair with her hand and said sourly, “What do you take my hair for? Can you at least be a little kinder to it?”
It was one thing to stroke and knead it like a cat on top of her head, but then Sheng Huaixi had gotten the urge to thread her hand through her hair and press her head back like she was grabbing her by the nape.
In that instant, Jiang Chao felt as if her hair no longer belonged to her.
Savoring the feeling of control in her palm from just now, the smile in Sheng Huaixi’s eyes deepened. She didn’t care in the least about Jiang Chao’s accusations; in fact, she even leaned her face closer to Jiang Chao on purpose.
A picture of docility, waiting for whatever Jiang Chao had to say.
And yet the smile in her eyes was so openly visible. Looking at her, the rest of the words Jiang Chao had been holding back were embarrassingly forced back down, and she puffed out her cheeks at Sheng Huaixi.
Right now, Sheng Huaixi gave Jiang Chao the feeling that—
The more Jiang Chao complained, the happier and more excited she became, and she might even get shamelessly bold enough to pounce on her and ask how she was supposed to keep complaining.
In other words, Jiang Chao felt that her irritation had become Sheng Huaixi’s stimulant.
What a perverted way to put it. Jiang Chao rubbed her forehead helplessly. But when she raised her eyes again to look at Sheng Huaixi, her longing to be disproved was confirmed a hundredfold by the pleasure on Sheng Huaixi’s face.
Jiang Chao admitted defeat.
Sheng Huaixi really was a pervert who took pleasure in her emotional reactions.
“Fine, fine. Go on then. Why did you suddenly want to call me Jiang assistant just now?” Jiang Chao recalled her own troubled expression from earlier and laughed. “Could it be because you were inspired by the sight of me working so diligently?”
Brushing her fingertips against her cheek, Sheng Huaixi looked somewhat regretfully at the irritation that had receded from Jiang Chao’s face, lightly wagging the distinct bones of her fingers in front of her.
“I just wanted to remind you that you can occasionally make use of an assistant’s rights. For example, right now, when we’re together, you could act spoiled a little and let your boss give you some special treatment.”
Hearing the string of words, Jiang Chao quickly picked out the key point in Sheng Huaixi’s meaning. She reached out and caught the finger swaying in front of her, lifting a brow.
“So Director Sheng’s private motive was to hear me act spoiled?”
Her bright, clear eyes stared straight at Sheng Huaixi’s face.
Under that dazzling gaze, no hidden thought could escape her eyes.
Jiang Chao held the fingertip and waited for Sheng Huaixi’s answer. The smiling face before her suddenly smiled even more deeply, those watery eyes hooking her soul with a trace of seduction.
Her throat rolling faintly, Jiang Chao forcibly pressed down the beat her heart had missed, just about to tell Sheng Huaixi not to smile like that on purpose, when the fingertip she was holding turned unruly too.
The fingertip pinched between her thumb, forefinger, and middle finger; Jiang Chao didn’t mean to hurt Sheng Huaixi, so she lightly circled it, naturally leaving a little space in the middle.
Sheng Huaixi then made use of the little room Jiang Chao gave her and ran wild within the tiny patch of land.
The trapped fingertip pressed its pad against soft skin, rubbing deeper and deeper. The neatly trimmed nail occasionally scraped past, and the itch of an ant’s bite never ceased.
Smiling once, hooking once, itching once.
Not painful, not excessive; it was a kind of playfulness. Sheng Huaixi leaned forward with her chin propped on her hand, watching with great interest.
She really was in a leisurely mood.
The nerves at Jiang Chao’s forehead kept twitching; veins rolled over the back of her hand, and just as her teeth bit down and she was about to tighten her grip and stop Sheng Huaixi’s teasing—
Sheng Huaixi stopped moving, her brows and eyes lifting slightly, her moist gaze already spreading with seduction as she curved her lips into a smile and offered a suggestion.
“Mm. Jiang assistant should try using acting spoiled to bribe me, the one sitting behind you. In return, I’ll answer your question; it’s a very cost-effective exchange.”
Caught in an awkward middle ground, Jiang Chao’s gathered emotions were pricked through by Sheng Huaixi. Even so, the lifted feeling in her still-held hand remained blocked by the fingertip she was holding.
It couldn’t burst out, and it couldn’t be pressed back down. She was miserable from Sheng Huaixi’s deliberate teasing.
Jiang Chao gave a cold snort and refused, “No. I can figure it out myself.”
It would just take a little more time than originally planned; Jiang Chao was confident she could do it.
Although acting spoiled was nothing serious for her, right now Jiang Chao simply did not want to act spoiled toward Sheng Huaixi.
If anything, the reverse would be more like it.
With a sigh, Sheng Huaixi made no attempt to hide her disappointment.
“So firm. I thought I might be able to teach you how to act spoiled so you could do it for me.”
“Wait.” Jiang Chao latched onto one of the words in Sheng Huaixi’s sentence. “Teach me how to act spoiled?”
As the words fell, Jiang Chao unconsciously swept her gaze over Sheng Huaixi’s face, interest flashing in her eyes.
Bright as a fox, cool as ice; she saw those two extremes on Sheng Huaixi all the time. But if you asked about acting spoiled, she had truly never seen it before.
Licking her lips, Jiang Chao’s grip unconsciously loosened, and the resistance in her heart faded away.
Her wavering was obvious.
“You want me to teach you?” Sheng Huaixi asked back with a light laugh.
Jiang Chao lifted a pair of bright eyes. Moisture rippled in their depths, her chin tucking in as she nodded with a hint of composure. “I’d like to hear the details.”
Raindrops slid one by one down the transparent glass; water beads clung to water beads, merging with one another, trembling with their own weight, every breath and pulse swaying.
The buzzing in her ears drowned out Jiang Chao’s ability to judge the sounds around her, leaving her body rigidly frozen in place.
Just now, a fingertip pad had fluttered like a butterfly’s wing and landed on her lips in an instant.
The fingertip Sheng Huaixi had been pinning down had long since been freed; now Jiang Chao was the one being wrapped up by Sheng Huaixi’s breath, like a cocoon with no way out.
The fingertip traced lightly across her lips; the gap between them grew wider and wider, and white teeth as well as her unguarded red tongue lifted with the motion.
Jiang Chao swallowed lightly, the sound loud in her ears. She stared at Sheng Huaixi’s lowered lashes trembling with the fingertip’s movement, not daring to speak.
The so-called instruction had only just begun, yet Jiang Chao’s regret had already grown deep and heavy in her heart.
“The mouth is suited to saying sticky, tender little sweet nothings.”
The faint touch felt like electricity brushing over her lower lip. The damp, suffocating fragrance at her nose enclosed Jiang Chao beneath it, and amid her wildly pounding heart, she finally heard Sheng Huaixi’s first line of explanation.
The buzzing would not stop, but the body pressing down in front of her suddenly changed position. Caught off guard, a white, full swell of flesh showed itself through the loose gap in her clothes before Jiang Chao’s eyes.
Her ears turned red. Jiang Chao snapped her eyes shut, her dark lashes trembling rapidly, and the hand braced at her side clenched uncontrollably.
That rounded arc still swayed unceasingly in her mind, becoming even clearer.
But the person pressing down on her seemed wholly unaware. The fragrance at Jiang Chao’s nose grew thicker and thicker, and she was smoked dizzy by it. Her wrist subconsciously landed on the shoulder in front of her.
“Sheng Huaixi...” Her voice trembled weakly.
Jiang Chao’s awareness blurred. The last bit of reason in her mind reminded her that this so-called acting spoiled did not seem to be acting spoiled in the usual sense.
In the next second, Jiang Chao’s lower back jolted violently, and the trembling of her waist was carefully held tight.
Their bodies pressed closer and closer together; their heartbeats slowly echoed one another, the frantic pounding of their hearts pressing down on their reddened faces.
Cool fingertips quietly settled on the inside of her wrist. Jiang Chao’s mind went blank.
“Tensed muscles, smooth, soft fingertips... through the body or through words, they’ll all tell me—”
Someone lifted her lower back upward. Jiang Chao felt the soft fullness pressing against her heart, and she quietly opened her eyes, her breath and heartbeat both hanging high.
Sheng Huaixi leaned down beside her ear, her gaze dark and intent as she said, “You’re acting cute for me.”
The restlessness in her throat surged upward from her chest; thirsty desire churned. Sheng Huaixi narrowed her eyes, and the bright skin before her flashed past.
The best way to satisfy hunger was right here.
However, she wouldn’t be this obedient.
The arm that had been tightly wrapped around her waist gradually stopped trembling, and Sheng Huaixi let out a low laugh through her nose.
After closing her eyes for only a moment, her body was suddenly supported and forced backward. When she opened them again, Sheng Huaixi was already beneath Jiang Chao’s shadow.
What met her eyes was no longer swaying strands of hair, but the glaring ceiling and, moreover, an assistant lady burning with embarrassment and anger.
Licking her lips, Jiang Chao shoved the person who had been teasing her wickedly onto the sofa and declared from above, “Too bad. Your assistant isn’t some weak, spoiled little kitty; she’s a tiger who’ll bare her fangs and fight for control.”
Sheng Huaixi adjusted herself unhurriedly into a comfortable position, looking up at her with a smile that didn’t fade.
“They’re both felines. What’s the difference?”
In response to Sheng Huaixi’s question, Jiang Chao gave a generous answer.
The hand dangling off the sofa was forcibly pulled over, turned palm-up, and a fair, slender palm pressed down without hesitation.
Their fingers locked together.
“Director Sheng, how does it feel to be under me?”
the tiger asked in a low voice, her ears burning red.
The two entwined wrists were pressed against the gray sofa, tightly wrapped together.