Jiang Nuan’s head was pressed against the back of the sofa, tilted upward so that she met Ye Que’s dark, fathomless eyes.
“Ye Que, move your face away from mine first,” she said. “I’m about to suffocate.”
Ye Que stared at her for two seconds.
Then he smiled faintly.
There was no warmth in it. The corners of his lips merely curved upward.
Alarm bells began ringing in Jiang Nuan’s head.
Ye Que straightened unhurriedly, but the hand braced against the back of the sofa didn’t move an inch.
Jiang Nuan cursed Qinian eight hundred times in her head.
Does your mouth leak? Is there a loudspeaker installed in it?
But after cursing Qinian, she began regretting her own choices.
She should never have holed up in the living room.
She should have gone back to her room, locked the door, and taken Jiangjiang with her.
Turned off the lights and pretended no one was home.
What was wrong with staying in a room with a cat? Why had she insisted on chatting with someone whose mouth was even looser than a colander?
It was too late now.
And worst of all, when Lu Shiyan had said those things in the study, she had at least been able to stand by the door with her hand on the handle, pretending she could turn around and leave at any moment.
Although… she wasn’t sure she actually could. But at least she’d had the psychological comfort of pretending.
Now, even that pitiful illusion of an escape was gone.
What was even more ridiculous was that she hadn’t figured out what Lu Shiyan’s words meant, or how she herself felt about them.
And now she had to give these three men an answer first?
…Why should she?
The silence continued for several seconds.
In the corner, Jiangjiang timidly poked half its head out from beneath the TV cabinet, then quickly ducked back in.
Qinian clicked his tongue.
“All right, all right.” He leaned back, draping an arm over the sofa, returning to his usual devil-may-care demeanor. “Stop this. Her face is practically white.”
Jiang Nuan’s face was indeed pale, but that was because her brain was overloaded.
“So what if the captain confessed?” The heat in his eyes was frighteningly intense, yet with that smile on his face, nothing could be seen. “You think a few words are enough for him to take Nuannuan’s heart all for himself?”
He gave a derisive laugh. “That’s not how this works.”
Ye Que cast Qinian a cool glance. “You sound very open-minded.”
Qinian raised an eyebrow, his smile carrying a hint of provocation. “Aren’t you the same?”
Ye Que didn’t deny it. His gaze shifted back to Jiang Nuan’s face.
Being stared at silently by him was even more oppressive than facing an interrogation.
“In this matter,” Ye Que said, “the captain isn’t the only one who gets to decide.”
The hairs on the back of Jiang Nuan’s neck stood on end.
“Wait a second.” She finally found her voice.
All three of them looked over at her. The weight of their gazes nearly pressed her into the sofa.
“Did you get something wrong?” She stared at the men in front of her. “First of all, no one confessed! Secondly, even if someone said something, that’s his business, not mine. I haven’t agreed to anything!”
Qinian blinked. “So you haven’t rejected anyone, either?”
Jiang Nuan choked.
She realized that this subject wasn’t going to be brushed aside so easily.
All three of them were watching her, and not one of their eyes held even a trace of a joke.
So this was the situation now… everyone was laying their cards on the table?
What was this? After being selected by a company, did she also have to accept offers from several departments at once?
If this were a novel, she probably ought to burst into tears, say, “I can’t handle this,” and dash out the door.
The only thing she wanted to say was: Could someone open a teleportation portal and send her back to school for her final exams?
…At least final exams only required her to deal with one test paper.
She didn’t have to face several answer sheets at once.
And every single one was beyond the syllabus.
It felt as though the air were being sucked away bit by bit.
Ye Que still hadn’t removed the hand braced against the back of the sofa. Although Qinian was leaning against it with an easygoing air, his outstretched arm completely encircled Jiang Nuan within his embrace.
Jiang Ce suddenly stood up, and the sofa lightly bounced as his weight left it.
He walked toward the kitchen. His broad back, almost excessively wide, looked reassuringly dependable.
A moment later, he returned with a cup of hot cocoa.
He went around Ye Que, walked over to Jiang Nuan, and bent slightly to place the cup in her hands.
The warmth of the cup against her palms eased some of the tension wracking her body.
“Nuannuan.” Jiang Ce flashed her a broad grin. “There are a few restaurants nearby that are pretty good. Let’s go out for lunch.”
Jiang Nuan held the cup in both hands. The warmth made her nose sting a little.
Thank you. You’re the only normal person here.
In her mind, she presented Jiang Ce with a dazzling, gold-plated Best Teammate Award.
Qinian immediately objected. His body, which had been lounging against the sofa, shot upright, and he said through clenched teeth, “Jiang Ce, you sneaky brute. Are you the only one allowed to play the good guy?”
He stood up and shoved Ye Que slightly to the side.
Then he bent forward, bracing both hands on his knees, and leaned close to her face.
“Nuannuan, I’m coming too.”
He was far too close—so close that Jiang Nuan could see the dark flames burning in his eyes.
Jiang Nuan pressed her index finger against his forehead and pushed him back.
“Personal space!” she said.
Qinian leaned back from the push, but didn’t move away. Instead, he laughed.
“Nuannuan, do you know something?” He caught the finger she had pressed to his forehead and lowered his head to kiss the back of her hand. “The more you push me away, the more I want to get closer.”
Jiang Nuan pulled her hand back, but the warmth on that small patch of skin didn’t fade.
Seriously, Qinian, do you ever listen to yourself?
This man was definitely sick—and it was the incurable kind.
Jiang Ce pushed Qinian’s head to the side. The force wasn’t particularly strong.
Qinian tried to fight back, but Jiang Ce held his shoulder firmly with one hand.
“Brother Jiang Ce, what are you doing?” Qinian slapped his hand away. “Pushing is one thing, but what’s with the head press? Am I a button?”
“Yep. The mute button.” Without changing expression, Jiang Ce tapped open his terminal.
Jiang Nuan couldn’t help laughing.
Qinian caught sight of her smile, and his eyes lit up at once. “Nuannuan, you smiled! You smiled at him? Why don’t you smile at me?”
“Because she thinks it’s funny when you get muted.” Jiang Ce adjusted the angle of the terminal’s projection and aimed it at Jiang Nuan. “All of these look good. What do you want to eat?”
Qinian ground his teeth. “Jiang. Ce!”
Jiang Ce turned his head to glance at him, then flashed a broad grin. “Weren’t you calling me ‘Brother’ just now?”
Qinian ground his back teeth and glared at Jiang Ce for several seconds. In the end, he snorted and turned away, wearing an expression that said he couldn’t be bothered to argue with him.
Ye Que turned and walked toward the entryway. He picked up the black coat he had taken off earlier and draped over the back of a chair, then put it on again.
Qinian stared at his back. “Why are you coming too?”
Ye Que fastened the final button.
Then he turned around. His gaze passed over everyone and landed on Jiang Nuan.
“Wherever she goes,” he said, “I go.”
