Chapter 36

Jiang Chao’s breathing tightened. Without thinking, the moment Yuan Bai lowered her head, she yanked her ankle back under the chair and reached out to tug on Sheng Huaixi’s sleeve.

“Because I’m stepping on her.”

Sheng Huaixi’s amused voice rang out all at once.

“?” Jiang Chao’s flustered thoughts came to an abrupt stop. She looked at Sheng Huaixi’s profile with a strange expression, her gaze flickering.

She had meant for Sheng Huaixi to pull back the foot rubbing against her calf, but the way Sheng Huaixi said it... the more she listened, the more wrong it sounded.

A quick glance over showed the corners of Sheng Huaixi’s eyes and brows faintly lifted. The delight Jiang Chao had heard in her voice was clearly real.

Sheng Huaixi was hooking her calf and rubbing against her—very happily.

And for some reason, Jiang Chao had the vague feeling that when Sheng Huaixi said that to Yuan Bai, there was even a trace of something almost imperceptible: showing off.

What exactly had those two talked about in the living room just now?

Jiang Chao could only feel helpless.

Yuan Bai’s bent posture froze slightly. At Jiang Chao’s fluttering blink, she straightened up in a hurry, her brows lifting a little with obvious displeasure.

“You stepped on her on purpose?”

However Yuan Bai said it, Jiang Chao felt a wave of relief when Yuan Bai sat back up and stopped trying to look under the table.

But very quickly, Jiang Chao realized she had relaxed far too soon.

The verbal sparring by her ear didn’t stop after Sheng Huaixi said that one sentence. Jiang Chao couldn’t stop them, so in the end she simply sat to the side and quietly picked at her food, doing her best to keep her movements from drawing attention.

Now Jiang Chao had only one question in her mind:

When she had been cooking in the kitchen, what exactly had those two said to each other in the living room to end up like this?

Sheng Huaixi’s aggressive manner wasn’t unfamiliar, but at home, Jiang Chao only ever saw her domineering, impossible-to-refuse side in certain subtle moments.

As for Yuan Bai, Jiang Chao had rarely seen her so claws-out and fierce.

Especially since Jiang Chao was peeling the boiled shrimp in her hand; a bit of sticky moisture slid down her knuckles, and she glanced at Yuan Bai’s faintly irritated face in confusion.

When they first arrived, hadn’t Sheng Huaixi said the two of them had been sitting outside, and Yuan Bai had been so frightened she nearly scraped a layer off the sofa leather?

The way Jiang Chao saw it now, Yuan Bai didn’t look like she wanted to scrape sofa leather at all; she looked more like she wanted to bite a chunk of flesh right off Sheng Huaixi.

Her brows kept lifting, and the faint sarcasm in her words was aimed straight at Sheng Huaixi.

But after listening for a while, Jiang Chao still couldn’t make out what they were actually arguing about; she only knew it was indeed a “war” over her.

“Alright, you two, enough already.”

Unable to stand it any longer, Jiang Chao finally cut in to stop their fight. She pointed helplessly at the shrimp shells beside her.

“I’ve already peeled four shrimp, and you two still aren’t done?”

“!!”

Yuan Bai came back to herself in an instant. Looking down, she saw that of the ten neatly arranged large shrimp, only five remained, and her eyes widened.

“I’m eating right now!”

Compared with Jiang Chao’s shrimp, Yuan Bai decisively gave up on bickering with Sheng Huaixi and plunged into her own shrimp-peeling journey.

She didn’t want to keep arguing with Sheng Huaixi either; even if she’d successfully hit Sheng Huaixi where it hurt, she herself was also bruised all over.

After taking a bite of the shrimp, Yuan Bai narrowed her eyes in delight. The fresh, tender flavor burst in her mouth, and even Sheng Huaixi suddenly looked more agreeable.

After all, Sheng Huaixi was allergic to seafood; she wouldn’t fight her for the shrimp.

The smile on Jiang Chao’s face had just begun to bloom when the sudden pressure on her leg made it vanish instantly.

A pale hand silently settled on her thigh and rubbed lightly.

“Your hand.” Jiang Chao turned her face slightly and squeezed the words out under her breath, speaking so softly that Yuan Bai would never hear her. She was addressing Sheng Huaixi.

Her quiet voice drifted through the air and into Sheng Huaixi’s ear.

Sheng Huaixi didn’t budge.

But the hand slowly rubbing against Jiang Chao’s thigh was very real. Jiang Chao’s eyelid twitched wildly, and she looked down at that brazen hand that had no intention of behaving.

What exactly was Sheng Huaixi trying to do?

Picking up the water pitcher beside her, Jiang Chao licked her upper palate and, with a flickering gaze, first filled her own cup.

Clear water rose little by little inside the frosted glass, sparkling as it climbed past the cup’s markings. Jiang Chao held the black handle, looking perfectly natural.

Without a word, after filling her own cup, Jiang Chao leaned toward Sheng Huaixi.

Their hair tangled slightly in the movement, like two wild vines growing in opposite directions; in the hidden dark, they quietly spread out and then wound around each other again.

Sheng Huaixi lowered her gaze.

Under the interlaced black sheen of their hair, the pale hand resting on Jiang Chao’s thigh looked especially intimate; just looking at it made one’s lips want to curl upward in pleasure.

A fingertip curled slightly, then, through a thin layer of fabric, tapped almost carelessly.

The movement was light, but it was enough to make a person feel irritated and crazed.

The body leaning in drew closer under Sheng Huaixi’s gaze.

“Behave yourself,” Jiang Chao murmured, barely moving her lips, the words slipping out on a breath; only Sheng Huaixi could hear them when the air brushed past.

Yuan Bai was still sitting opposite them, so Jiang Chao didn’t dare say too much. After that warning, she focused on pouring water for Sheng Huaixi.

The transparent stream flowed slowly from the spout, rising in the cup as it touched the bottom. Seeing Jiang Chao’s focused, serious profile, Sheng Huaixi’s lips lifted.

“Mmngh—!” Jiang Chao’s wrist trembled involuntarily.

The straight downward stream suddenly tilted, nearly spilling over the rim and onto the table.

Yuan Bai asked in confusion, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Jiang Chao ground out the answer through her teeth, the veins at her temple jumping as she endured the increasingly maddening movement on her leg.

She was sure she heard Sheng Huaixi’s soft laugh when she spoke.

Sheng Huaixi!

Jiang Chao tilted the pitcher further and quickly finished pouring, then hurried back to her seat.

As she brushed past Sheng Huaixi’s front, Jiang Chao’s gaze trembled and she breathed out, “Take your hand away.”

“No.”

This time Sheng Huaixi gave her an answer.

A clear, unmistakable refusal.

Jiang Chao heard it, and her brows couldn’t help lifting slightly. Lowering her head to keep Yuan Bai from seeing, she shot Sheng Huaixi a warning look.

Was she really this thick-skinned when acting like a hooligan? They were at the dining table!

Her heated stare kept sweeping across Sheng Huaixi’s face.

Sheng Huaixi didn’t react in the slightest. She used her left hand to pick up food and put it into her bowl, while her right hand continued stroking Jiang Chao’s thigh under the table.

Eating and Jiang Chao; neither interfered with the other.

Her fingertips hooked and circled; her fingertips and pads slowly rubbed over the fabric. The repeated friction sent a feather-light itch blooming over Jiang Chao’s skin.

It scratched at her nerves until her heart trembled.

She didn’t know what madness had suddenly gotten into Sheng Huaixi, making her insist on causing trouble under the table.

Jiang Chao drew a quiet breath, her gaze shifting. She lowered her wrist slowly, then decisively reached forward and grabbed!

She caught Sheng Huaixi’s hand in her palm.

Afraid Sheng Huaixi would struggle and press her wrist back against her leg again, Jiang Chao held on tightly, terrified that the stabbing itch would return.

But Sheng Huaixi actually went still.

She let Jiang Chao hold her right wrist and calmly used her other hand to continue eating.

Jiang Chao stole a glance and noticed that Sheng Huaixi’s lowered lashes seemed to have lifted slightly because of her initiative in taking her hand; the pleasure on her face was visible at a glance.

Completely different from the cold expression Jiang Chao had caught when she turned back after pouring water.

Although the person Sheng Huaixi had irritated wasn’t her, this still counted as successfully coaxing her into a better mood, right?

She had pinned down a probably even more troublesome wild cat at the very start of its mischief.

Jiang Chao felt that was fine too.

For the rest of dinner, Jiang Chao ate while holding Sheng Huaixi’s hand like that, her heartbeat occasionally going wild and failing to stay under control; she forced it all down.

Every so often, when Yuan Bai’s gaze swept over them for an instant, Jiang Chao’s heart would seem to twist tight, her ears ringing as her grip unconsciously tightened.

Each time, Jiang Chao would notice the corner of Sheng Huaixi’s lips lifted, utterly fearless.

It made irritation surge in Jiang Chao’s chest, and her fingertips would fiercely pinch the back of Sheng Huaixi’s hand and palm.

What Jiang Chao hadn’t expected was this:

Sheng Huaixi actually just opened her palm and let her pinch.

That reaction made Jiang Chao too afraid to keep making a fuss; with red ears, she waited until dinner was over.

After the table was cleared, Yuan Bai peeked at Sheng Huaixi sitting in the living room, then decisively grabbed Jiang Chao and dragged her straight back to the room.

The door closed behind them; Sheng Huaixi’s fingers, which had been sliding over the iPad, stopped in place. She slowly raised her head and looked toward the doorway.

Outside, the sky was already pitch-black. A cold draft whirled against the window; the gloomy, damp winter had already arrived without a sound.

Sheng Huaixi had also entered that gloom, forced to wait for a flame she didn’t know when would light.

“Jiang Chao, I’m very seriously telling you something right now.”

The moment they got into the room, Yuan Bai pressed Jiang Chao into a chair. Then she spun the chair around to face her, her expression tightly drawn—very serious indeed.

Those round, cute cat eyes stared straight at her, all business.

“What is it?” Jiang Chao blinked, then curved her lips and nodded. “Okay, go ahead. I’m listening.”

Taking a deep breath, Yuan Bai closed her eyes and steadied herself; then she slapped a hand on Jiang Chao’s shoulder and poured words out like beans falling from a sieve.

“I’m telling you, Sheng Huaixi is really no good. She’s shameless and great at putting on an act, she’s ruthless, and behind the scenes she even secretly leaked my information to Fang Yunxi... Anyway, after you help her recover from her injury, you should hurry up and draw a line with her privately. That person is really... ”

The words by her ear crackled on and on. Jiang Chao listened dumbly to Yuan Bai’s advice, or rather her complaints, which she thought was the more fitting word.

Jiang Chao tugged lightly at the corners of her mouth, enduring the slight pain on her shoulder, a helpless smile flashing in her eyes.

She guessed that just now in the living room, Yuan Bai had suffered plenty at Sheng Huaixi’s hands.

As the conversation grew more excited, Yuan Bai couldn’t even stop herself from repeatedly patting Jiang Chao’s shoulder, worked up until she was practically weak with anger.

“Alright, take a break.”

Looking at Yuan Bai, whose face was red from talking, Jiang Chao couldn’t help laughing and interrupted her tirade, then got up and pressed Yuan Bai into the chair instead.

“I won’t—” Yuan Bai’s rapid-fire speech got stuck in her throat.

Only after a beat did Yuan Bai reach up to touch her own face. The moment her fingers landed, she sucked in a hiss; it was so hot she could probably fry a few eggs.

The corners of Jiang Chao’s eyes curved. Seeing her face so red, she turned around and found a few wet wipes on the table, handing them over.

“Here. Wipe your face and cool down. You’re red like you slapped on several layers of blush and went onstage in costume.”

“How is that possible?” Yuan Bai muttered under her breath with pursed lips, but she still obediently took the wipes and scrubbed her face.

Jiang Chao lowered her head and laughed, helpless. “You...”

She wondered if she shouldn’t have let Yuan Bai come home to meet Sheng Huaixi at all, much less intentionally left space for the two of them to talk.

The two of them together; who knew what they had said to end up like this.

As for Sheng Huaixi, she couldn’t even resist touching Jiang Chao at the dining table, full of mischievous intent, yet the look she sent her was incredibly resentful.

It made Jiang Chao uneasy, wondering if Sheng Huaixi had figured out why she’d invited Yuan Bai over today.

As for Yuan Bai, she was much the same, except all of her emotions were aimed at Sheng Huaixi, indirectly telling Jiang Chao that something must have happened between them.

The moment the dishes were washed, she wordlessly dragged Jiang Chao into the room and kept talking trash about Sheng Huaixi like raindrops pounding down from the sky.

What Jiang Chao found strange was that not a single complaint repeated.

“When you and Sheng Huaixi were talking in the living room, did you not only talk about me, but also about Fang Yunxi? Does she know Fang Yunxi too?”

Jiang Chao recalled what Yuan Bai had just said. Her gaze turned curious as she stared at Yuan Bai without blinking, her eyes bright and intent.

She had guessed before that Sheng Huaixi knew Fang Yunxi, but she had never specifically asked.

From what Yuan Bai said, Sheng Huaixi didn’t just know Fang Yunxi; she seemed to know her quite well, or rather, they were friends.

Then what about the bar incident last time...

Jiang Chao thought it over.

Yuan Bai was holding her throat, looking pained. The result of speaking so fast and so excitedly for so long was that now her throat was hoarse and uncomfortable, and she could only nod.

Jiang Chao tapped her chin with her fingertip, suddenly remembering the video call with Yuan Bai from last time.

She remembered that back then, because of the ruthless look from that night at the bar, she had basically not said anything nice when describing Fang Yunxi.

If Sheng Huaixi knew Fang Yunxi, would she tell Fang Yunxi about her judgment of her?...

Jiang Chao frowned and carefully ran through the thought in her mind, then shook the guess away.

She believed Sheng Huaixi wouldn’t do that.

“Did you remember what I just said...?”

Yuan Bai strained her voice as she spoke, her tone scratchy, like frosted glass scraping.

“I remembered.” Jiang Chao came back to herself and smiled as she patted Yuan Bai’s head. “I know what I’m doing.”

She knew better than anyone what Sheng Huaixi really was, or rather, what she would become in the future.

Without a doubt, Sheng Huaixi was a dangerous person. But it was also undeniable that Jiang Chao and this dangerous person now seemed to be getting closer and closer.

Jiang Chao wasn’t sure that when the time really came for her to leave, she would be able to make things clear with Sheng Huaixi and then...

Her thoughts drifted. Jiang Chao stroked the hair beneath her hand; the soft, glossy black strands slipped through her palm and fingers like water, making her think of something else entirely.

Yuan Bai blinked lightly, watching Jiang Chao’s expression; surprise flashed across her eyes.

If she wasn’t mistaken, Jiang Chao seemed to be carrying something on her mind. She didn’t know if it was a worry, but it was clearly troubling her.

Her dense black lashes lowered over her eyes, casting a faint shadow. During her thoughts, the pale pink of her lips unconsciously pressed tighter.

Once that habitual smile faded from her face, Yuan Bai suddenly felt that Jiang Chao seemed to carry a trace of melancholy right now.

But then again, Jiang Chao and Sheng Huaixi were getting so close now. If she really followed what she’d just said and cut things off completely with Sheng Huaixi...

“Sis, if things really don’t work out at Shengjing, how about you go back and give it a try?”

“Shut up.” Jiang Chao flicked Yuan Bai’s forehead without hesitation and shot her an annoyed look. “I said I’m not going back, so I’m not going back.”

She had gone through all that trouble to persuade her mom to leave; how could she go back just because of Sheng Huaixi?

“Absolutely impossible.” Jiang Chao declared.

She hadn’t held back, and Yuan Bai clutched her forehead. The pain spread in thin threads, but since this was entirely her own fault, she could only hum a muffled acknowledgment.

“Then what exactly is your relationship with Sheng Huaixi now?” Yuan Bai cared most about this question.

Yuan Bai’s words sounded by her ear. Jiang Chao leaned lazily against the table, her gaze bright, fingertips idly tapping her cheek as she thought.

Memory flowed like water through a long river, passing stones of different shapes and sizes; some jutted out from the bank, some hid deep under the water, but the surging current would always carry on through them.

Those pebble-like fragments of memory flashed by one after another. After thinking for a long while, Jiang Chao turned her head to look at Yuan Bai, amusement shining in her eyes.

“Maybe... ordinary coworkers?”

Yuan Bai was expressionless. “You’ve sullied the words ‘ordinary coworkers.’”

She decided that before the two of them showed any dramatic changes, she absolutely would not ask another word.

Asking one more question would only be another injury to her already wounded heart.

After seeing Yuan Bai off, Jiang Chao clapped her hands and sat back down in her usual spot in the living room.

The proposal she’d written last time had been altered here and there by Sheng Huaixi, and she still hadn’t finished revising it even now.

Although Sheng Huaixi had given her more time, Jiang Chao decided she would definitely hand it in tomorrow, so she had to finish the revisions tonight.

She sat down with her laptop and, seated in front of Sheng Huaixi, opened Word and started working overtime with scrupulous seriousness.

The clock ticked by second by second. Outside, the sky gradually deepened to black; the moon hung high in the heavens, casting its cool light over the earth.

In the living room.

“Jiang Chao.”

The screen’s glow was a searing white, reflecting in Sheng Huaixi’s cold, deep lashes. Her fingertips resting on the screen had not moved for a long time.

Sheng Huaixi’s sudden voice broke the room’s stillness; the focused figure in front of her swayed at the sound.

Between the syllables of her words, Sheng Huaixi put down her phone, leaned forward, and pressed close to Jiang Chao’s back from behind; the subtle distance between them was swiftly shortened.

Jiang Chao was sitting cross-legged, not convenient to turn around, and her pupils were lit bright by the computer screen.

She softly gave a hum in response, and when she worried Sheng Huaixi might not hear, she nodded again to show she had.

A pale, well-defined hand rested on her shoulder, fingers hanging quietly. Sheng Huaixi said nothing.

“What is it?” Jiang Chao didn’t understand Sheng Huaixi’s prolonged silence, so she stopped what she was doing and turned her eyes toward her, her voice gentle.

“Yuan Bai asked me today whether, if I were in love with you but couldn’t have you, I’d resort to forced love.”

Sheng Huaixi lightly tapped Jiang Chao’s shoulder bone with her fingertips, her eyes lowered, and tossed out that explosive line in a breezy tone, blowing Jiang Chao’s mind wide open.

“What did you say?” Jiang Chao murmured.

The sudden sentence left Jiang Chao dizzy and disoriented.

Her fingertip resting on the mouse lifted slightly; her face looked utterly at a loss. A blank whiteness flashed through her mind, as if her hearing had failed.

Sheng Huaixi, very considerate, repeated it by her ear.

“...” Jiang Chao was full of question marks, her expression blank and stiff.

She instinctively turned to look toward the door. The owner of that question had left not long ago, and Jiang Chao wanted to drag her back and shake her shoulders until she explained everything.

What exactly did you say to Sheng Huaixi?! When you were talking to me just now, you didn’t mention this at all!

Forced love?! You even asked Sheng Huaixi whether she would do something like that to you?

So when the two of you were talking about me outside, that’s what you were discussing...?

At a loss, Jiang Chao suddenly felt soft warmth pressed against her back, a full, rounded shape with an overwhelming presence, clearly covering her from behind.

“Sheng Huaixi?”

Only then did Jiang Chao lower her eyes and realize that, without noticing, Sheng Huaixi had already hugged her from behind.

A pair of arms wrapped over her shoulders and locked across her chest; the familiar scent of laundry detergent surged from the soft fabric and completely enveloped Jiang Chao in that fragrance.

Jiang Chao understood at once:

Because she and Sheng Huaixi used the same laundry detergent, the familiar smell relaxed her, which was why she had let down her guard against Sheng Huaixi without realizing it.

“What do you think my answer is?” Sheng Huaixi asked. She couldn’t help rubbing the tip of her nose against Jiang Chao’s earlobe, her eyes narrowing in pleasure.

The soft, warm body in her arms was huddled there, hot to the touch and carrying a bewitching fragrance, like a private hot pack just for her.

Sheng Huaixi had been staring at it from behind for as long as she’d been able to, and had been craving it for just as long.

Her warm breath brushed the back of Jiang Chao’s ear, ticklish and electric. Jiang Chao’s ear tip couldn’t help trembling as it turned red and translucent, like a cherry just ripening on the branch.

It made one want to bite into it at once.

Sheng Huaixi’s eyes grew dark. Her bright red tongue lightly swept across her lips; desire bloomed quietly in the night, burning in the depths of her gaze, scorching hot.

Jiang Chao instinctively dodged, lifting a hand back toward her neck to block Sheng Huaixi’s burning stare from behind.

“Did you answer her? So obedient?” Jiang Chao shifted the subject, deeply suspicious of Sheng Huaixi’s rare obedience.

She didn’t think Sheng Huaixi would honestly answer Yuan Bai’s question.

What difference would that have from ripping off the mask directly?

“Obedient?” Sheng Huaixi repeated. Her tongue flicked lightly as she savored the word Jiang Chao had used, her eyes holding layers of deep and shallow amusement.

The joy of Jiang Chao understanding her a little more rose in her heart by just a thread, then drifted away and landed softly into a few pink cotton candies.

A moment later, she sank even softer, Sheng Huaixi gently surrendering all her weight onto Jiang Chao and resting her chin against the crown of Jiang Chao’s head.

She offered herself up without reserve, pulling Jiang Chao completely into the close, enclosed space beneath her.

Their scents intertwined; each person’s presence drifted into the other’s nose.

“Then can the disobedient Miss Jiang answer my question from just now?”

“Do you think, if I were in love with you but couldn’t have you, I would forcibly grab you and make you love me?”

Sheng Huaixi insisted on an answer. Her chin lazily brushed over the top of Jiang Chao’s head, then came to rest on Jiang Chao’s shoulder in an aggravating rub.

Their bodies tangled together; their body heat passed through fingertips and breath.

The air slowly grew restless, the beating atmosphere jumping and rebounding over and over. A vivid pink color rose in Sheng Huaixi’s eyes.

She stared fixedly at Jiang Chao’s trembling ear, catching a hint of red.

As Jiang Chao exhaled, she reached back and hooked her arm around Sheng Huaixi’s neck.

The two of them looked at each other, one bright and one deep; a lake crashing into the sea. Their breaths mingled, scorching hot enough to melt.

“Then do you love me right now?”