Chapter 65

“Sheng Huaixi, are you insane...?”

Jiang Chao sat in the driver’s seat, clutching the neckline of her sweater so hard it looked like she might rip it apart, staring at the woman in front of her, who seemed ready to lean in at any moment. Her brows knitted in annoyance as she repeated herself.

The dense V-shaped knit pattern had long since lost its original expensive look under Jiang Chao’s hands, twisted into a tight mess by her grip, leaving the skin beneath completely covered.

Jiang Chao guarded it like her life depended on it, staring fixedly at the woman in front of her.

“Just a look, I promise I won’t touch. You looked at me just now too, didn’t you?” To prove how sincere she was, Sheng Huaixi lifted the two water cups in her hand and gave them a little shake in front of Jiang Chao.

But Jiang Chao didn’t buy it at all. Instead, she covered herself even more tightly, her ears reddening at Sheng Huaixi’s words. Her eyes darted quickly over Sheng Huaixi’s chest.

Sheng Huaixi blinked her long lashes; just before Jiang Chao lowered her head, she straightened her shoulders slightly. The black fabric pulled into a curve, and that soft shape flashed right across Jiang Chao’s line of sight.

“...Back up a little,” Jiang Chao said, her fingers tightening as her face went tense. She bit down on her lip and no longer dared to look down casually.

Just that one glance had been enough; the round curve outlined beneath the close-fitting black undershirt had made her heart nearly skip a beat, and her fingertips had unconsciously dug into the back of her hand.

She used the pain to force herself to calm down a little.

Sheng Huaixi had seen every shift in Jiang Chao’s expression clearly. Amusement flickered in the depths of her eyes; with a blink of her black lashes, she leaned closer, that faint smile still lingering in her expression.

“I. Don’t. Want. To.” Jiang Chao refused, word by word.

Her face darkened. Looking at Sheng Huaixi’s wicked smile, Jiang Chao finally understood that this wasn’t something she could solve by refusing out loud.

Fine. Jiang Chao didn’t drag it out; she shifted gears, stepped on the gas, gripped the steering wheel, and turned left before driving straight out of the garage under Sheng Huaixi’s quiet gaze.

“Liar.”

As the car drove out of the underground garage, Sheng Huaixi kept her gaze on her for a long time. The words she spoke carried a faint note of complaint.

Jiang Chao pretended not to hear her. She didn’t answer at all. Maybe Sheng Huaixi was only saying a few words, but if she responded, it might not end with just a few words.

Unexpectedly, Sheng Huaixi really did only say that one thing, and then stopped.

The brakes were still behind them. Jiang Chao tightened her grip on the wheel and glanced sideways at Sheng Huaixi. Her expression was cool and quiet; she propped her cheek on one hand and looked out at the passing scenery.

She really stopped there?

Sheng Huaixi’s rare compliance made Jiang Chao keep glancing at her again and again. The person being watched sat as steady as a mountain, calmly enjoying Jiang Chao’s looks without the slightest panic.

In the end, Jiang Chao drove on with a belly full of questions.

The corners of Sheng Huaixi’s mouth lifted faintly beneath the hand covering them. She narrowed her eyes and glanced at Jiang Chao, the tip of her tongue brushing over a pointed tooth in obvious pleasure.

She’d found a way to get Jiang Chao’s attention.

A melodious ringtone rang through the car, cutting off the music. It was Jiang Chao’s phone.

She glanced at the caller ID; it was Yuan Bai, and she answered, “What is it?”

“Jiang...” Yuan Bai’s voice came through hoarse. Jiang Chao frowned, and on the other end, Yuan Bai seemed to notice it too. After saying “wait a sec,” there was the sound of a phone being set aside and someone drinking water.

After a while, Yuan Bai’s voice returned to normal. She asked again, “Jiang Chao, how long until you get here? My driver’s already on the highway.”

“Left already. I’m on the highway too.”

“Got it.” The phone dinged with another notification. Yuan Bai remembered a message Li Sensen had just sent her and asked, “The people who got there first are handing out room cards. Are you staying with me tonight, or with Sensen?”

“With..."

Jiang Chao had just started to say she’d stay with you when Sheng Huaixi’s voice suddenly cut in.

“With me.”

The instant those words came out, silence fell in the car and on the call.

On the other end, Yuan Bai had to bite down on her self-control to keep from snorting. Her brows twisted tightly together, and the words she spoke came out oddly.

“...Is Director Sheng taking the friendly route now? Sharing a room with employees.”

At that, Jiang Chao couldn’t stop the corners of her mouth from lifting, her brows and eyes curving.

So that’s how these two used to bicker last time? Yuan Bai really wasn’t afraid at all.

Who knew what Sheng Huaixi had said to her before, but it seemed to have completely erased any fear.

Jiang Chao didn’t bother hiding her laughter. Sheng Huaixi gave her a faint sideways look, a hint of stubborn possessiveness flashing in her eyes. She narrowed them slightly, her expression cool as her voice turned lazy.

“No choice. All the budget went into booking the private hot spring rooms and covering the car fare. Even I, as the director, have to make do.”

Sheng Huaixi’s explanation was delivered with complete confidence. The smile on Jiang Chao’s lips faded, and she shot her a disgruntled look before rejecting it without hesitation.

“I refuse. You stay by yourself; I’m going to another room.”

As a joke, if she had to share a room with Sheng Huaixi, Jiang Chao felt the ratio of relaxation to pressure in her body would probably end up fifty-fifty.

But she wanted to relax properly.

“Fine, then Yuan Bai can room with me,” Sheng Huaixi said, not bothering to keep tangling with Jiang Chao. Instead, she asked the person on the other end of the call in a slow, measured tone, “Would you be willing?”

A chill, dark and faintly menacing, seemed to come through even across the line.

The amused look on Yuan Bai’s face froze in place, her curved eyes locking at a ridiculous angle.

The car stopped at a red light. Jiang Chao shot Sheng Huaixi an irritated glare. With the way she was scaring people, who would possibly agree?

Sheng Huaixi rested her wrist against the window, smiling as she met Jiang Chao’s gaze.

“..."

Time passed slowly in the car. Jiang Chao let out a quiet sigh; she felt like she already knew Yuan Bai’s answer.

Sure enough—

“Sis, Sensen just messaged me. She’s already checked in. I’m rooming with her. Have a great time with Director Sheng, okay?”

Yuan Bai sold Jiang Chao out without the slightest hesitation.

“Hey! Couldn’t you have hesitated for even one second?”

Jiang Chao was practically ready to explode at her own little sister. She knew that once Sheng Huaixi said something like that, Yuan Bai would absolutely sell her out; she just hadn’t expected it to happen so cleanly and decisively.

“Gotta go, Sensen’s calling me. I’m hanging up now.”

The very next second after her protest, Yuan Bai tossed out one hurried sentence and hung up without mercy.

“What do we do? You don’t want to room with me, but we still have to stay together anyway.”

Sheng Huaixi’s voice was languid, the smile in it impossible to hide.