Chapter 40

“Sheng Huaixi, I’m the one you bit.”

Jiang Chao held out the tooth marks on her palm in front of Sheng Huaixi. The clear imprint flashed by, and when she saw the mist gathering in Sheng Huaixi’s eyes, the corner of her mouth lifted before she could stop it.

Even she thought the smile on her face was inexplicable.

But nothing was more inexplicable than Sheng Huaixi rushing over to bite her, only to end up with tears in her own eyes.

Jiang Chao’s palm hovered in front of Sheng Huaixi. The mark left by the bite was still clearly stamped on the inside of her hand; the tooth imprint had happened to be split by a line in her palm.

“Mm. Then I’ll let you bite me back tonight,” Sheng Huaixi said, lowering her lashes as a smile tugged at her lips. The cool, distant aura around her faded, replaced by a seductive softness that spilled from her brows and eyes.

The faint moisture that had gathered in her eyes quietly receded the moment she met Jiang Chao’s lifted lips.

Seeing those tears come and go so freely, Jiang Chao shot her an annoyed look and forcefully pressed down the tenderness that had just begun to rise in her heart.

She really shouldn’t soften toward Sheng Huaixi.

Crying on command, and when she saw Jiang Chao wasn’t falling for it, she simply took it back without the slightest trace of embarrassment, then kept pestering her as if nothing had happened.

Jiang Chao let out a breath and suppressed the tangle of emotions in her chest, trying her best to keep her voice calm.

“Sheng Huaixi, I told you already. I have to go home tonight. I’m not going back with you.” To keep Sheng Huaixi from overthinking with that sensitive mind of hers, Jiang Chao added on her own, “My mommy has something to discuss with me tonight.”

Jiang Chao wasn’t lying, but after Sheng Huaixi heard her, her expression only darkened further. The pressure around her seemed to sink lower; the smile on her face gradually disappeared.

The sudden change left Jiang Chao baffled. She didn’t understand why Sheng Huaixi had turned into yet another version of herself when she had been perfectly fine just a moment ago.

The pressure on her shoulder gradually increased. Jiang Chao kept looking at Sheng Huaixi, but she still couldn’t stop herself from being distracted by the grip.

Sheng Huaixi bent down, looking into her eyes with a deep, shadowed gaze. Then the corner of her mouth lifted abruptly, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes.

“Is it to discuss blind dates? I heard Miss Jiang has been asking around lately, trying to find out which family’s child is about the right age.”

“How do you know that!”

Jiang Chao’s eyes flew wide open; shock flashed briefly in them.

She didn’t even know that Jiang’s mother had recently been looking for a match for her in social circles.

How was Sheng Huaixi more informed about her blind dates than she was?

Realizing that, Jiang Chao’s mood sank. She fixed her gaze on Sheng Huaixi, her brows suddenly knitting together.

“You investigated me privately?”

She had never mentioned anything about the Jiang family to Sheng Huaixi, and she had never revealed her identity either. Yet Sheng Huaixi not only knew that the gathering she had mentioned tonight was here, she even knew that her mother was looking for someone to set her up with.

At that level of knowledge, if Sheng Huaixi hadn’t deliberately looked into her, it was impossible.

Sheng Huaixi nodded without any intention of hiding it.

“Yes. I knew your identity from the first day you came to Shengjing.”

After a pause, Sheng Huaixi added, “The moment your resume was submitted to Shengjing, once I knew who you were, there was no way I wouldn’t investigate. It couldn’t be hidden.”

Jiang Chao closed her eyes and let out the tight breath in her chest.

Of course she knew she couldn’t hide her identity forever.

But what she hadn’t expected was that Sheng Huaixi had already known so early. What a waste that she had even pretended not to know Yuan Bai at first in front of Sheng Huaixi.

Thinking back now, since Sheng Huaixi knew her identity, she must also have known about her family connection to Yuan Bai long ago; and she had still kept up the act back then.

It really was laughable.

She had once been so pleased with herself for having gotten the upper hand by investigating Sheng Huaixi first; now it seemed Sheng Huaixi had done the same to her.

Only she hadn’t known it.

“You never told me this,” Jiang Chao said dully.

Sheng Huaixi’s gaze paused slightly when she heard the frustration in Jiang Chao’s voice. She didn’t say more, only gave a low hum in her throat.

“What else have you hidden from me?”

The sourness that had lingered in her heart for so long finally broke through her restraint and poked its head up. Jiang Chao looked steadily at Sheng Huaixi.

The scene in the lobby earlier flashed through her mind; the three of them facing each other, and Sheng Huaixi deliberately cutting off Bai Xiangshu before she could go on.

That was clearly a secret Sheng Huaixi and Bai Xiangshu both knew.

Jiang Chao had no standing to know the details, but she wanted to hear Sheng Huaixi admit that such a thing really existed.

She wanted to know whether Sheng Huaixi would deliberately hide things from her now.

And maybe, faintly, she also wanted to know exactly what place she held in Sheng Huaixi’s heart…

Their gazes met. Jiang Chao watched Sheng Huaixi’s face quietly, her fingertips curling inward as her heartbeat quickened without her realizing it.

The two of their scents tangled in the air and slowly drifted to the tip of her nose; their unhidden, distinct fragrances clung together for a moment, then burst apart.

Her heartbeat thudded on and on, and the anxious passage of time drummed by minute after minute. After Jiang Chao waited for what felt like ages, Sheng Huaixi finally stopped merely staring and gave her an answer.

“Nothing.”

It was completely different from what she had expected.

At those words, the corners of Jiang Chao’s mouth pressed down against her will. The restlessness in her chest kept mixing with the image of Sheng Huaixi and Bai Xiangshu together from just now, making her even more irritated.

Her soft heart seemed to have been wrapped in a layer of cement; it couldn’t bear its own weight, and it was dragged down by the damp stickiness of it all. Her chest felt heavy.

Whether it was the private investigation, or whatever Sheng Huaixi was really thinking about…

Right now, Jiang Chao didn’t want to argue with Sheng Huaixi about anything, and she didn’t want to say another word to her either.

Silence spread through the air. The crystal chandelier overhead was glaringly bright, and it only made Jiang Chao more annoyed.

Her lashes trembled. She raised a hand and pushed the person on top of her over to the other side of the sofa.

Then she stood up, lowered her head, and carefully, seriously straightened the folds in her dress, her gaze drifting left and right from time to time.

But no matter what, Jiang Chao never once looked at Sheng Huaixi again, completely ignoring her presence.

Even now, the gaze fixed on her was still burning hot, as if it wanted to scorch her.

After smoothing out the wrinkles in her clothes, Jiang Chao spoke, her voice colder than ever before.

“You should go back.”

“And you?” Sheng Huaixi stood up immediately, her eyes locked tightly on Jiang Chao’s movements, impatient and restless, her body on edge.

She looked ready to drag Jiang Chao away from here the very next second.

Jiang Chao gathered her fingertips, her brows knitting tightly. She didn’t know how many times she had answered this question tonight; the irritation in her heart kept spilling out.

But in the end, looking at that faint expectation on Sheng Huaixi’s face, Jiang Chao still obediently gave her answer once more.

“I’m staying.”

“Staying? Then you’ll keep meeting other people with your mother, keep going on blind dates, keep talking and spending time with different people over and over again…” Sheng Huaixi leaned forward, her low voice dropping as the coldness on her face showed without restraint. Her narrowed eyes held a trace of danger.

As she spoke, her voice gradually rose, and the emotions churning in her eyes grew more and more turbulent.

Especially when she mentioned other people, the look in her eyes was icy and severe, like bone-deep frost.

Jiang Chao looked at Sheng Huaixi with an even, quiet gaze, waiting for her to finish.

The white curve of her shoulder rose and fell slightly with Sheng Huaixi’s agitation.

“What does that have to do with you?” Jiang Chao asked back, her expression calm, the ripples in her eyes firmly pinned down.

“Even if I go on a blind date, she isn’t married, and I’m single. Have I crossed any line?”

Sheng Huaixi’s breath hitched. She bit down hard enough to break the surface of her tongue, and a faint metallic taste of blood spread through her mouth!