Chapter 54

Jiang Chao grabbed a random stack of documents and slowly walked back toward the car, doing her best to calm herself down. She slapped her cheeks hard with her palms and kept silently hyping herself up.

"Sheng Huaixi was just asking casually. Don’t overthink it. Stay calm."

That was what she told herself, but by the time she reached the car, her heart was still pounding with uncontrollable nerves. She pressed a hand to her chest, patted it a few times, then opened the door and got in.

"Let’s go," Jiang Chao said first, breaking the silence in the car.

Sheng Huaixi gave a faint mm. Jiang Chao waited a few seconds, then blinked and couldn’t help glancing at her.

That was it? Sheng Huaixi wasn’t going to keep asking about what she’d just said?

Sheng Huaixi lowered her eyes. Her profile looked cool and detached; in the dim underground garage, even the weak light seemed to have a cold edge. The glow from her phone swept across her pupils, leaving them pitch-black.

She looked like a noble, captivating black crystal—deep and unfathomable, its smooth, lustrous surface gleaming with a faint sheen that effortlessly drew in everyone’s attention.

"Aren’t you going home?" Sheng Huaixi looked up from her phone, lifting her chin slightly. Her expression was folded into the early-fallen night, carrying a hint of secrecy.

Jiang Chao came back to herself and realized she’d been staring at Sheng Huaixi again without meaning to. She turned and pulled her seat belt across, then answered with a smile.

"Mm, we’re going home."

The car slowly pulled out of the garage. Jiang Chao gave up trying to guess why Sheng Huaixi wasn’t asking about the bouquet anymore and focused on driving.

The heater chased away the cold, and warmth slowly returned to her body, but it could do nothing about the chill in Sheng Huaixi’s eyes. Beneath her thick lashes, those black eyes were dark and still.

The conversation from earlier grew clearer and clearer in her mind.

Bai Xiangshu.

Sheng Huaixi narrowed her gaze slightly, her sharp eyes sweeping over the shops and pedestrians flashing past outside the window. Her fingertip slowly rubbed against her thumb as thoughts drifted through her head one by one.

If she could help it, Sheng Huaixi did not want Jiang Chao to have even the slightest unnecessary entanglement with Bai Xiangshu. But Jiang Chao, whether actively or passively, seemed intent on sneaking off to talk to Bai Xiangshu about something.

And she did not want Sheng Huaixi to know there was any connection between them.

What did Jiang Chao want to say to Bai Xiangshu?

"If you keep picking at your nails, you’re going to scrape off the cuticle oil I put on last night."

At a red light, Jiang Chao retracted the glance she’d secretly thrown over and reminded Sheng Huaixi.

Sheng Huaixi had a habit that wasn’t exactly a good one; when she relaxed in private and thought about things, she always had the urge to pick at her hands. Luckily, only her nails suffered, and Sheng Huaixi could usually restrain herself.

But sometimes, when she became completely absorbed in something, she simply wouldn’t think to restrain herself at all.

Sheng Huaixi stopped. Looking down at her damaged nail surface, she gave a soft laugh and, little by little, peeled away the fragments that had already begun to tear loose.

The tiny scraps pressed between her fingertips, Sheng Huaixi stared intently and pulled the protective film, already split open at one edge, completely away.

Since one end was already ruined, she might as well rip it all off from the root and start over.

It was only a thin layer of nail oil, wasn’t it?

Sheng Huaixi lowered her eyes, her gaze quietly resting on the slowly parting fingers before her. Long, slender, fair, clean as jade; they were truly beautiful hands.

Even after the uneven scraps of film were removed, they remained the same, leaving no trace behind, still beautiful as ever.

So long as she peeled away the shattered surface, the smoothness underneath would not change at all; things were like this, and so were people.

Sheng Huaixi looked at her smooth nails in a daze, then suddenly curved her lips into a bright smile.

"Jiang Chao."

Jiang Chao was focused on driving and gave a low mm.

"Jiang Chao."

Jiang Chao was confused, but still obediently answered again.

"Jiang Chao."

Jiang Chao glanced at the rearview mirror to make sure no cars were behind them, then stepped on the gas and pulled over to the right. The car came to a gradual stop, and Jiang Chao turned to look at Sheng Huaixi, speaking directly.

"Go ahead."

She handed Sheng Huaixi the conversational lead on her own, her eyes bright and fixed on her, waiting for whatever question she might ask.

Whatever it was, Jiang Chao was prepared to tell her everything.

Sheng Huaixi drew her arms in tightly, her gaze skimming over Jiang Chao’s tense face. Her fingers pinched together a few times before she finally said, "Nothing."

She answered too quickly. This wasn’t what Jiang Chao had expected at all; her gaze froze, all the words she’d prepared piling up in her throat, ignored by Sheng Huaixi.

Jiang Chao’s lips opened and closed in hesitation. Sheng Huaixi caught the movement out of the corner of her eye and turned to ask, "What do you want to say?"

How had it become Sheng Huaixi asking her instead?

Caught off guard by the sudden reversal, Jiang Chao looked blank for a moment, then slowly shook her head.

"Then let’s go. Home." Sheng Huaixi withdrew her gaze, narrowed her eyes, and looked forward again. The side of her face reflected in Jiang Chao’s eyes looked especially cold.

Sheng Huaixi was angry.

That was Jiang Chao’s first reaction, but on closer look, Sheng Huaixi’s lowered lashes were calm and still, and her breathing was slow and even. She didn’t seem angry at all.

Everything looked normal.

Jiang Chao pressed her lips together and bit them lightly, ultimately asking no further questions. She gave a low mm and started the car again.

Each of them was preoccupied with her own thoughts, and the car fell into silence; only the sound of the engine marked the journey, and time passed with it.

When they got home, it was Sheng Huaixi’s turn to cook, according to their agreement. Jiang Chao had wanted to say that since her cold had just gotten better, she could do it today, but Sheng Huaixi shook her head and pointed outward with her slender fingers.

"Sit there. Just watch me."

Her stance was firm, so Jiang Chao obediently sat at the dining table and watched Sheng Huaixi busy herself in the kitchen, waiting dutifully.

A message notification sounded on her phone. Jiang Chao looked down and picked it up, her brows lifting slightly. She had finally managed to get through to Bai Xiangshu’s WeChat after waiting an entire day.

- Free after work on Friday? Want to grab a meal together?

Jiang Chao’s fingers tapped at the keyboard. The reply refusing her was still being typed when Bai Xiangshu sent another message.

- Don’t you want to talk to me about her?

Jiang Chao’s fingers stopped in place. The words she’d started typing, "Sorry...", remained motionless on the screen, the cursor parked after the comma. She hesitated.

The reason she hadn’t outright refused Bai Xiangshu’s bouquet was precisely because she wanted to learn about Sheng Huaixi’s past from her, six years ago, and to probe the hidden connection between them.

At the banquet, Sheng Huaixi had for the first time sent Jiang Chao away for someone else, and that person just happened to be Bai Xiangshu. The words they exchanged made the secrecy between them plain as day.

Jiang Chao had kept this matter in her heart the whole time.

And now Bai Xiangshu had taken the initiative to ask for a meeting, which saved Jiang Chao quite a bit of effort and trouble.

What was Bai Xiangshu’s purpose in approaching her? Jiang Chao didn’t know, but if she thought it through carefully, apart from her, there was only Sheng Huaixi.

No matter who Bai Xiangshu was thinking about, Jiang Chao had no choice but to go.

The sooner she dealt with Bai Xiangshu, the sooner Jiang Chao could truly feel at ease and turn her attention back to Sheng Huaixi.

Rubbing her forehead, Jiang Chao remembered the trouble and unconsciously looked up at Sheng Huaixi’s busy back in the kitchen.

The real problem was the spiked alcohol Xu Jingwen had once mentioned when Sheng Huaixi had a fever.

Jiang Chao had no clue at all about Xu Jingwen, but that one and only confrontation told her one thing: Xu Jingwen was not someone to be trifled with.

The refusal she’d typed in the chat box was deleted one character at a time, and Jiang Chao withdrew her gaze and answered with a quiet "okay."

She tossed the phone aside and let out a soft sigh. Just thinking about the possible hard battle she’d face after work on Friday made her scalp tingle; she couldn’t help shivering.

Since Bai Xiangshu was using Sheng Huaixi to lure her in, there was a good chance Friday’s conversation would have something to do with Sheng Huaixi too.

Should she tell Sheng Huaixi?

Jiang Chao looked up, her gaze complicated as she watched Sheng Huaixi’s back. Thoughts surged and churned in her heart, and her fingertips absently fidgeted with the edge of the table, conflicted.

After a moment, Jiang Chao shook her head and covered her face, giving up on the idea.

Forget it... If she told Sheng Huaixi, even if she repeatedly emphasized that Sheng Huaixi was not allowed to sneak over and listen to her conversation with Bai Xiangshu, Sheng Huaixi still wouldn’t obediently listen.

If Sheng Huaixi went, Bai Xiangshu might not even be willing to speak.

Patting her cheeks, Jiang Chao made up her mind. Her eyes shifted from confusion to determination.

She had to resolve all of this as quickly as possible; otherwise...

Jiang Chao lowered her eyes, and the thoughts in them were gradually swallowed by repressed pain, darkening her pupils until they were a heavy, ink-black void.

She was afraid there wouldn’t be enough time.

"Your face looks awful. Don’t tell me I’ve caught your cold?" Sheng Huaixi set the dishes on the table, her voice cool but unable to hide her concern.

Jiang Chao came back to herself and wiped every expression from her face. Her eyes flickered, then she lifted her lips into a smile and shook her head.

"No, I’m just a little hungry."

Sheng Huaixi’s gaze slowly swept across Jiang Chao’s face. Her features were as fine as jade, her smile bright and gentle; it almost seemed as if the pain and helplessness from earlier had only been Jiang Chao’s imagination.

"Really nothing wrong?" Sheng Huaixi asked again.

Jiang Chao nodded firmly, then got up and went to the kitchen to fetch their bowls and chopsticks, washed them, set them out, and took her seat.

Sheng Huaixi stood beside the table, silently watching Jiang Chao. The dim yellow light overhead wrapped around her, and the warm glow outlined Jiang Chao’s figure with unusual tenderness.

A table full of delicious food, two sets of neatly placed bowls and chopsticks, and the expectant gaze she lifted toward Sheng Huaixi reflected Sheng Huaixi’s own image in it.

Something in Sheng Huaixi’s heart softened, and she slowly pulled out a chair and sat down.

"Delicious! Sheng Huaixi, your cooking is seriously amazing!"

After one bite of the hot stir-fried shredded pork, Jiang Chao yanked her tongue back from the heat, but the flavor bursting across her taste buds only made her happier.

"Really? You like it that much?" Sheng Huaixi took a bite of the shredded pork too and ate slowly, her manner refined.

Jiang Chao reached for the vinegar-tossed cabbage as well. Seeing the rich sauce in the dish, she smiled with narrowed eyes and answered in a cheerful voice.

"Of course. I really, really like everything you make. I also loved the mango yogurt cup you made me last time."

"So many reallys. That sounds more like a canned compliment. Are you lying to me?"

Sheng Huaixi picked up another chopstickful of the vinegar-tossed cabbage with unhurried grace and narrowed her eyes slightly, watching Jiang Chao’s face.

Jiang Chao didn’t react at all. She simply took Sheng Huaixi at her word and assumed she was being modest, or maybe wanted to hear even more praise. Without hesitation, she continued down the line Sheng Huaixi had opened.

"How could I lie to you? What you make really is delicious, even better than the cakes from outside shops."

Waiting until she heard what she wanted, Sheng Huaixi gently set down her chopsticks and asked with a faint smile,

"You’ll never lie to me, will you?"

That pointed question reached Jiang Chao’s ears, and the hand holding her chopsticks slowly came to a stop.