Chapter 53

“So what you’re saying is, this happened because I was kissed, not because I have a fever?”

After Yuan Bai finished analyzing Jiang Chao’s lips in detail by her ear, Jiang Chao finally understood why she had sounded so certain.

Yuan Bai nodded. “Right. It’s exactly the same as how I felt once before.”

“Exactly the same, huh.” Jiang Chao’s fingertip, which had been stroking her lips, came to a stop. She looked at Yuan Bai with a smile that barely counted as one, and a low laugh slowly climbed up her throat. When she saw the stiffness on Yuan Bai’s face, she gave a faint hum and looked away again.

In the mirror, Jiang Chao studied her lips seriously. She pressed the tip of her tongue to the roof of her mouth and held back the urge to lick them.

The ointment she had put on before leaving had done a perfect job of moisturizing her dry lips on this winter morning. There was a faint strawberry scent, sweet and tempting; when she had applied it that morning, Jiang Chao had lowered her head and inhaled it happily several times.

She had even started thinking about eating strawberries.

Come to think of it, Jiang Chao’s fingers paused over her lips. She suddenly remembered that when she had said she wanted strawberries this morning, the smile on Sheng Huaixi’s face had seemed to brighten at once.

Could Sheng Huaixi really have secretly kissed her in the middle of the night?

Jiang Chao rubbed her lips, her expression subtle.

“Well? Remember anything yet? When did she kiss you?” Yuan Bai leaned in curiously, her eyes darting everywhere.

Jiang Chao snapped out of her thoughts. Seeing Yuan Bai suddenly so close, she instinctively shoved her face away and said irritably, “Wrong. She never had the chance. You’re overthinking it.”

Yuan Bai wilted at once, letting out a disappointed “oh” as if the whole thing had lost all its appeal. She reluctantly edged back to her original spot, but before she left she still tossed out one last unwilling remark: “Think about it again.”

Jiang Chao waved her off and, without the slightest hesitation, sent her away. Only then did she let out a breath of relief.

The person was gone, but Jiang Chao kept staring at the pale pink, glistening lips in the mirror. Regret flashed through her eyes. She leaned back, covered her gaze with one hand, and let her body sink with a helpless sigh.

What else was there to think about? It had only been two days. If she kept thinking, the only possibilities were some supernatural ghost or Sheng Huaixi circling around her.

But could she really have slept that deeply? Jiang Chao blinked in suspicion.

If Sheng Huaixi had really kissed her while she was asleep at night, would she really not have noticed even the slightest movement?

Jiang Chao bit her lip, and doubt settled in her heart.

After thinking it over carefully, she relaxed, gave herself a quick shake, and patted her arm, forcibly clearing the jumble of thoughts from her head.

If she kept thinking like this, she was going to have to install a surveillance camera in her room before she could sleep soundly at night.

As for whether she had been kissed or not, if it was really Sheng Huaixi, Jiang Chao was one hundred percent certain she would catch her red-handed.

Anyway, she hadn’t been awake; it didn’t count as her first kiss.

Her fingers swept the hair back behind her ear, teasing a few strands away from her cheek. Her lashes trembled lightly, hiding the annoyance in her eyes; her ear had turned as red and translucent as agate.

Her loose hair fell around her, obscuring the flawless line of Jiang Chao’s profile, while her fingertips twisted together in troubled, awkward knots.

Jiang Chao let out a silent sigh, pressed a hand over her racing heart, and lowered her head quietly.

Calm down.

//

“Huh? Whose flowers are these? Why are they on my desk?” Jiang Chao returned after lunch to find a vivid bouquet sitting right on her desk. She blinked in confusion and walked closer.

None of the coworkers around her knew; only one of them said she had seen someone from the front desk bring them up, carrying the bouquet straight to Jiang Chao’s desk.

Who had sent them? And why had front desk staff delivered them personally?

Jiang Chao looked at the flowers filling more than half the desktop, her fingertips brushing apart the rose petals still glistening with dew. The rich fragrance was especially elegant.

Yuan Bai leaned in and pulled the card from the bouquet. After glancing at it, her brows shot up in surprise. She turned and handed it to Jiang Chao. “These really are for you, Jiang Chao.”

“Mine? From who?”

Even more puzzled now, Jiang Chao took the card. Her long lashes fluttered in confusion as she opened it; the signature at the bottom was bold and direct: “Bai Xiangshu.”

Jiang Chao’s smile froze.

Suppressing the card she was holding in her hand, Jiang Chao could not help glancing toward Sheng Huaixi’s office. The lights inside were off; its owner was not there.

Only after a moment did Jiang Chao remember that this morning she had received a message from Sheng Huaixi in the company group chat saying she was going to a meeting today and to email her directly if anything came up.

The card she had been gripping so tightly finally loosened. Jiang Chao let out a sincere breath of relief.

Whatever the case, Sheng Huaixi didn’t know Bai Xiangshu had sent her flowers today; if it could be kept from her, that was certainly best.

Jiang Chao smiled and dismissed the coworkers gathered around to watch the excitement, then without another word carried the flowers out of the office area and dumped them into the trash can. Her eyes flicked over the premium paper in her hand, faintly fragrant and beautifully made.

Her fingertips rubbed at the knot between her brows as she stared at the elegant lettering in the lower right corner and felt a headache coming on.

After pulling out her phone and thinking it over, Jiang Chao still called her mother. It was answered not long after.

“Mommy, did you tell Bai Xiangshu where I work?”

There was noisy background chatter on the other end. Jiang Chao frowned slightly, guessing that Jiang Mother was probably at some kind of social event again; thankfully, her answer still came through clearly over the phone.

“No, I didn’t. She didn’t come ask me.” Jiang Mother paused, then, remembering the faint irritation in Jiang Chao’s tone, immediately guessed what was going on. “She went to your workplace looking for you?”

Jiang Chao was annoyed. She tapped the ground with the tip of her shoe, her thoughts in a jumble. “Maybe. I didn’t see her, but the front desk brought a big bouquet over to me.”

That was even more eye-catching than if Bai Xiangshu had come in person.

A huge bundle of fresh roses being delivered to the front desk—normally, if it were a courier delivery, the front desk would notify the recipient to come down and pick them up themselves. But this time, the flowers had actually been delivered by front desk staff.

Jiang Chao had no choice but to suspect that Bai Xiangshu had sent her secretary over, revealed her identity, and specifically instructed the front desk to bring the flowers up personally.

Wasn’t that practically inviting people to speculate that there was something pink and romantic between her and Bai Xiangshu?

Her foot tapped more and more restlessly. Out of the corner of her eye, Jiang Chao saw the fresh bouquet in the trash can. It had been exquisite, every stem carefully trimmed and beautifully wrapped before it was handed to her; no wonder it had cost a fortune.

Jiang Chao had seen Jiang Mother receive similar flowers before, so she was naturally no stranger to them.

Just growing one required careful pampering all the way through; with even a little less attention or money, they would wither and die on the spot.

Their difficulty to grow was exactly what made them so rare; even with money, it was hard to get a bouquet. Why was Bai Xiangshu putting so much effort into her?

“Chaochao, are you listening to me?” Jiang Mother said helplessly. She had called her several times and still hadn’t gotten a response. She had no idea what this child was thinking about.

Jiang Chao snapped back to attention and quickly answered, “Mm-hm, Mommy, go ahead. I’m listening.”

That vague response only made Jiang Mother sigh softly in exasperation. She clearly hadn’t listened to a single word.

“Just now I said, since she took the initiative to send you flowers, are you planning to go find her?”

Jiang Chao instinctively shook her head, then realized Jiang Mother couldn’t see her. She pinched her earlobe and voiced her thoughts.

“She left her contact information on the card. I—I don’t want to take the initiative to contact her, but...”

Her words trailed off. Jiang Chao frowned tightly in hesitation, her eyes sweeping over the bouquet below her, her lips pressing together unconsciously as uncertainty filled her heart.

Jiang Mother pointed out the thought she was hiding with brutal accuracy: “But you’re worried she’ll keep sending you flowers, or maybe even come deliver them herself next time.”

“Yes.” Jiang Chao didn’t deny it. That was exactly what she was worried about.

If Bai Xiangshu personally showed up with flowers to look for her, their media company was full of connections. Naturally, someone would recognize Bai Xiangshu. Once word got out, it wouldn’t take long before people were talking about the fact that Bai Xiangshu was interested in her.

Just imagining the flood of questions she’d have to face then gave Jiang Chao a headache. And there was something even more terrifying—

What would Sheng Huaixi do after learning that Bai Xiangshu meant to steal her away?

The thought only flashed through Jiang Chao’s mind for a second before she brushed it away without hesitation, her expression turning firm.

“I’ll contact Bai Xiangshu myself. If she comes looking for you, Mommy, don’t agree to anything she asks.”

With that, Jiang Chao hung up, leaving Jiang Mother staring at the disconnected screen, not even having time to say that Bai Xiangshu was already waiting outside her office.

Jiang Mother sighed and still told her secretary to let Bai Xiangshu in.

She also wanted to hear exactly what Bai Xiangshu thought of Jiang Chao.

Jiang Chao didn’t know what was going on on her mother’s end. Following the mobile number on the card, she searched for the WeChat account. The avatar and nickname that popped up were clearly Bai Xiangshu’s private account.

Good. Any chance of talking work had been strangled in the cradle.

Jiang Chao let out a breath and still braced herself to add Bai Xiangshu on WeChat. After sending the request, she decisively closed her phone and stood facing the wall in a prayer-like pose, holding her breath.

Please, don’t let Sheng Huaixi find out that she was in private contact with Bai Xiangshu.

After pulling herself together, Jiang Chao walked back to her seat. Yuan Bai shot her a series of eyebrow wiggles along the way, but Jiang Chao was already in a foul mood, so she just frowned and shook her head without saying much.

Seeing how bad her face looked, Yuan Bai wisely shut her mouth.

By the time Jiang Chao got off work, the friend request she had sent still hadn’t been accepted. The draft she had spent all day preparing had completely failed to land; Jiang Chao’s mood went from high spirits at the start to exhaustion by the end.

Her carefully prepared speech had been delivered to the air.

Jiang Chao took it as Bai Xiangshu deliberately teasing her, and she was so angry she stomped in the bathroom, but in the end she still held herself back.

“I heard them saying you received a very beautiful bouquet of roses today?”

The moment the seat belt clicked into place, Sheng Huaixi’s faint voice sounded in the closed car.

Jiang Chao’s hand tightened on the belt. She licked nervously at her lips and gave a low mm-hm, only to realize she had grabbed the seat belt the wrong way round.

A shadow leaned over her; Jiang Chao could clearly feel Sheng Huaixi moving closer, her throat rolling more and more tightly.

“Who sent them? Do you like them?” Sheng Huaixi’s voice was soft, her tone calm, as if she were simply asking Jiang Chao what she thought.

But the pressure around them only grew stronger; even the air Jiang Chao breathed seemed to turn heavier.

“I—I forgot a document. I’m going back up to get it.” Jiang Chao fled in a panic, too afraid to look back at Sheng Huaixi even once.

Watching Jiang Chao’s embarrassed, flustered retreating figure, Sheng Huaixi let out a deep breath. Her pupils shifted slightly, and the dark, obvious possessiveness and jealousy in her eyes surfaced like a cold current, icy and furious.

Two notification tones sounded crisply in the car; it was Jiang Chao’s phone, which she had left behind.

Sheng Huaixi lowered her eyes thoughtfully.

- Do you like today’s roses? Sorry, I was just eating with Auntie.

Her pupils suddenly contracted. Sheng Huaixi stared at the familiar name, her breathing turning heavier.

Bai Xiangshu.