Chapter 9

“Sorry... Sheng Huaixi......”

Jiang Chao repeated the name several times. Tears trembled on the tips of her long lashes; every time she spoke, they shook loose with her breaths, the tip of her nose red.

Self-reproach, distress, resentment...

Under Sheng Huaixi’s gentle, patting touch, all those negative emotions surged straight into Jiang Chao’s heart, heavy and packed tight, leaving her chest sore and constricted.

She kept asking herself: why didn’t I do something?

She had known in advance that Sheng Huaixi would lose control at that moment, yet because of cowardice, because of selfishness, because she didn’t want to get tangled up in Sheng Huaixi’s affairs anymore, she had instinctively chosen to avoid it.

If she hadn’t hidden at the start, if she had found an excuse to take Sheng Huaixi away the moment Xu Jingwen arrived, if she had stepped in a little earlier...

Would Sheng Huaixi have avoided dousing Xu Jingwen for her, and even going so far as to hurt herself just to keep Xu Jingwen from coming after Jiang Chao?

It was all because of her.

She clearly knew what would happen to Sheng Huaixi, but because she didn’t want to invite trouble, because she didn’t want any more involvement with her, she had dodged it.

And now, the one she had tried so hard to avoid was the one who had lost control for her sake.

“How am I worth you doing this for..."

Jiang Chao lowered her eyes and looked at the red mark on Sheng Huaixi’s wrist, her heart aching.

After being rinsed with water, the burned skin had turned even redder. The part covered by the cuff was slightly better, but the other side...

Just one glance downward, and the tears that had barely settled in Jiang Chao’s eyes started spilling out again.

Sheng Huaixi’s wrist was wet; her fingertips kept insistently wiping beneath Jiang Chao’s eyes, over and over, her knuckles and palm damp with tears.

After hearing Jiang Chao’s words, Sheng Huaixi casually rinsed the tears from her hand. The hair dryer roared to life. Jiang Chao only caught a muffled reply and gave an uncertain hum.

“What did you just say? I didn’t hear you.”

Sheng Huaixi finished drying her hands and looked down at Jiang Chao through her lowered lashes. “You’re worth me doing this for.”

Jiang Chao froze. The tears that had just fallen from the corner of her eye were caught once more by those gentle fingers.

Wet lashes blinked softly. Under the pale light spilling from the bathroom lamp above Sheng Huaixi’s head, Jiang Chao actually saw tenderness on Sheng Huaixi’s face.

Wrapped in the light, held in the tears, those striking features softened, the corners of her mouth drawing down ever so slightly.

Jiang Chao asked blankly, “You’re this attentive to all new employees?”

If it were someone else standing here, Jiang Chao felt they might really have fallen for Sheng Huaixi in that instant.

Of course, Jiang Chao was certain she would never get involved in an office romance.

Office romance was at the very top of the list of things she rejected. Dating might make people gossip; breaking up would be even more awkward, and she might even become the whole company’s joke.

Sheng Huaixi looked at her deeply for a long moment without answering, then lowered her head and kept wiping her hands.

The moisture on her hands had built up again; the palms she had just washed and dried were once again reduced to a “towel.”

Sheng Huaixi rubbed at her fingertips, looking at Jiang Chao’s bent figure as she rinsed her face, and a trace of amusement flashed through her eyes.

A little crybaby.

So cute.

*

By the time the two of them finished registering, seeing the doctor, and picking up the medicine, it was exactly ten o’clock when they stepped out holding the medicine bag.

A cold wind blew hard at the entrance. Jiang Chao glanced sideways at Sheng Huaixi’s thin clothing; the cheongsam was fitted and beautiful, but the autumn night wind was merciless.

Jiang Chao handed the medicine bag to Sheng Huaixi. Her lips moved. “Take this.”

She quickly took off her outer coat, stepped forward a few paces, and carefully draped it over Sheng Huaixi from behind.

The windbreaker wasn’t very thick, but it was still better than letting Sheng Huaixi face the biting cold in a cheongsam. At the very least, it could block some of the wind.

Jiang Chao turned back, took the medicine bag, and said naturally, “Let’s go. I’ll take you home.”

Sheng Huaixi pulled the windbreaker closer around herself. Hearing that, she blinked lightly and asked, “We’re going home together?”

“Mm, we’re going home together.” Jiang Chao agreed at once.

The two of them turned and headed toward the parking lot.

Night had fallen deep; autumn wind quietly threaded through heaven and earth. As they walked forward, it rushed into the open coat and slipped through the gaps in their clothes.

Sheng Huaixi slowed slightly, looking at Jiang Chao’s back. Her fingertips twitched. Streetlights hung along the roadside, and for the first time, an unbelievable feeling rose in her heart.

Jiang Chao came to a stop and turned back, brows lifting in confusion. “What is it?”

The cold wind wrapping around them no longer felt piercing; even the daylight that lingered into the night still carried a scorching heat, melting away the strange emotion in her heart.

Sheng Huaixi shook her head and smiled as she walked shoulder to shoulder with Jiang Chao.

Jiang Chao hadn’t driven, so the two of them simply took Sheng Huaixi’s car back.

Following Sheng Huaixi’s instructions, Jiang Chao pulled up the navigation to Sheng Huaixi’s home. When she saw the address, she said in surprise, “Your place and my old address are really close.”

The year she went abroad, her family happened to move into a new house. It was practically at the opposite end of the world from the old place; sometimes even wanting to go back and look around felt like too much trouble.

Sheng Huaixi curled up in the passenger seat, her expression flat. “But you’ve never seen me before, have you?”

Jiang Chao thought about it carefully and realized that she really had no memory of ever seeing Sheng Huaixi before, not even any memory of the area around Sheng Huaixi’s home.

If she had met someone like Sheng Huaixi before going abroad, she would definitely have remembered. Since she didn’t, then she probably really hadn’t met her.

Jiang Chao nodded and started the car. “You’re right, I don’t remember ever seeing you.”

The white sedan smoothly merged into traffic. Jiang Chao kept her eyes on the road and, while prioritizing safety, drove as fast as she reasonably could.

Sheng Huaixi’s place was actually pretty far from here; on workdays, she probably had to get up especially early to make it on time.

“Go straight at the next intersection, 700 meters ahead..."

The navigation voice echoed matter-of-factly inside the car.

Sheng Huaixi leaned to one side. Her wrist had been settled properly by Jiang Chao and fastened with a seatbelt by hand. Night and amber light flashed quickly past the window.

It was like a slideshow sweeping across Jiang Chao’s face; her profile was serious, faintly stern.

Sheng Huaixi’s gaze settled, deep and dark, the reflected light entering her eyes with a hint of resentful longing.

If she let it go, she couldn’t bear to; if she loved it, she hadn’t gotten to have it.

The drive was smooth all the way. Jiang Chao parked in the space by the entrance, got out, and went to open the door for Sheng Huaixi.

The weak lights at the entrance shone down in scattered patches, not very bright. Jiang Chao turned on her phone flashlight and followed behind Sheng Huaixi, the white beam shining ahead of her.

Before they went in, Sheng Huaixi reminded her, “There’s a smart light installed at the door. Be careful not to get blinded.”

Jiang Chao nodded. As Sheng Huaixi opened the door, Jiang Chao raised a hand to shield her eyes, fingers slightly parted, ready to close them at any moment.

The door swung open, and with a ding, the overhead light really did flare on as Sheng Huaixi had said. Jumping from darkness to brightness all at once, it was blinding.

Jiang Chao decisively shut her eyes and stood where she was, waiting for them to adjust.

A few steps later, Sheng Huaixi found the familiar switch and turned the light on. A warm, gentle glow spread from the entrance deeper into the house.

Sheng Huaixi opened the shoe cabinet, looked down for a moment, then took out a pair of little dog slippers and placed them at Jiang Chao’s feet. “These haven’t been worn.”

They were white Samoyed slippers. Jiang Chao liked them and obediently put them on, following Sheng Huaixi inside while her eyes kept unconsciously fixed on Sheng Huaixi’s injured wrist.

Jiang Chao glanced around the house. With just her eyes, she could only vaguely make out the general placement of the furniture in the living room; the air freshener smell was the strongest thing in the air.

It seemed Sheng Huaixi didn’t come back here often either. She probably had another place as well.

After looking around casually, Jiang Chao looked up and asked, “Which room am I sleeping in tonight?”

Sheng Huaixi raised an eyebrow. “You’re staying?”

She had thought this one would be too embarrassed to stay and would head back overnight. She hadn’t expected her to ask so directly which room was hers.

After glancing around the living room, Jiang Chao found what she wanted and pointed at the standing clock with a serious expression.

“It’s 11:25 p.m. If I drive back now, it’ll take me an hour to get home. As a young woman, I think I need to keep a proper sense of safety.”

Jiang Chao spoke casually, her gaze drifting unconsciously to the side to hide what she was really thinking.

“And?”

Her body stiffening, Jiang Chao turned a little and sneaked a look at Sheng Huaixi.

Sheng Huaixi was still wearing Jiang Chao’s windbreaker. She stood at the foot of the stairs at a distance, a smile tucked at the corner of her lips. When she saw Jiang Chao look over, she asked again, “And the reason I have no choice but to take you in?”

Jiang Chao’s cheeks puffed up a little. She hated the way Sheng Huaixi asked even though she clearly already knew the answer.

She obviously knew exactly what Jiang Chao was thinking, could guess her thoughts so easily, yet she still liked asking a second time.

People had so many little thoughts. Did she have to dig into every one of them until the other person said the answer she wanted before she’d give up?

Jiang Chao grumbled silently to herself, vowing that next time she absolutely wouldn’t answer Sheng Huaixi so easily.

Rubbing the tip of her ear, Jiang Chao turned her face away, embarrassed. Her skin was thin; saying outright that she wanted to stay and take care of Sheng Huaixi always made her feel a little awkward.

“Because I want to stay and take care of you.”

After a beat, Jiang Chao added softly, “Until you’re better.”

In reason and in feeling, Jiang Chao couldn’t leave Sheng Huaixi, who couldn’t use her right hand for the time being, to live alone.

Especially since the wrist that had already been burned might have been slightly sprained by her rough handling just now.

Thinking that on the way to the hospital she hadn’t even noticed Sheng Huaixi’s wrist might also have been injured, Jiang Chao felt even more guilty.

Her body, turned toward Sheng Huaixi, was a little tense as she tugged unconsciously at her hem. Jiang Chao felt she probably looked pretty unreliable.

Should she hire a nanny?

Uneasy, Jiang Chao even came up with that thought; a moment later she snuffed it out herself, feeling that would be far too insincere.

Sheng Huaixi tapped a fingertip against the corner of her lips, her gaze fixed on the uneasy person in front of her. She hid the curve of her smile and deliberately took a roundabout route with her cool voice.

“So, you’re planning to live with me?”

After a pause, seeing the blush suddenly rush up Jiang Chao’s face, Sheng Huaixi added slowly,

“Like a couple?”