He said she had won.
Won… what did that mean?
Zhang Xiyue didn’t quite understand. But judging by the fact that he didn’t seem intent on punishing her for treason, nor did he look like he was about to reward her, she couldn’t figure out what he was thinking.
Unable to make sense of it, she simply asked him outright.
Cheng Mingjiao didn’t answer. He merely plucked a dog hair from her shoulder and continued looking at her.
Zhang Xiyue understood. He thought she was dirty.
So it wasn’t a reward or a reprimand. He was simply mocking her.
“I’ll go home right away to wash up and change. I’ll come back to cook once I’m ready,” she quickly offered a solution. “It’ll probably take about an hour. If you can’t wait that long, I can order delivery from a nearby hotel. It should take about half an hour.”
As soon as she finished speaking, she saw that Cheng Mingjiao was still holding the tuft of dog hair. She reached over and picked it out for him.
Her fingernail scratched across the pad of Cheng Mingjiao’s finger. He felt a slight itch and moved his finger.
“No need.” Before the tingling in his fingertip had completely faded, Cheng Mingjiao spoke lazily. “I’ll order something.”
So he really did think she was dirty. He didn’t even want her to stay an extra second.
Zhang Xiyue tactfully agreed. “Then I’ll head home.”
She turned and walked away.
Cheng Mingjiao suddenly grabbed her arm.
Zhang Xiyue paused and looked at him in confusion.
“Are you planning to drive while fatigued?” he asked seriously.
Zhang Xiyue: “…”
What did he mean? Was he not even going to let her drive her own car?
She was speechless for a moment and didn’t agree right away. “It probably won’t be easy to get a taxi around here.”
“Then don’t go home.” Cheng Mingjiao glanced at her, not particularly concerned about the matter.
Zhang Xiyue was helpless. “How am I supposed to change clothes if I don’t go home?”
“I’ll have someone bring you a change of clothes. After you eat, go to the guest room, wash up, and sleep. You’re not going to the office today.” After saying this, Cheng Mingjiao paused for a few seconds before adding, “Neither am I.”
Sure enough, as soon as she heard that he would be staying with her, Zhang Xiyue fell silent.
Zhang Xiyue was really easy to read.
People like her were liable to suffer in society.
Fortunately, he was smart enough to look after her.
Cheng Mingjiao’s thoughts wandered a little too far, but soon returned to the matter at hand. “I’ll call the hotel now.”
“…I’ll do it.”
The Emperor hadn’t thrown her out despite her being covered in dog hair. That was already an enormous mercy. How could she dare trouble the Emperor with ordering food?
Zhang Xiyue took out her phone and called a nearby hotel.
Cheng Mingjiao didn’t stop her. He merely reminded her not to order a Western-style breakfast.
The hotel was highly efficient. In less than twenty minutes, steaming-hot steamed buns, fried dough sticks, and eight-treasure porridge arrived.
Cheng Mingjiao looked quite pleased with the selection. “It’s all carbs. Once you finish eating, you can pass out.”
The remark sounded as though he were mocking her for not even knowing how to choose breakfast properly.
Zhang Xiyue pretended not to hear him and silently continued eating.
Come to think of it, she had cooked for him so many times in this house, but this was the first time they had ever eaten together.
Cheng Mingjiao seemed to have thought of that as well. He couldn’t help sighing inwardly.
This was only the beginning.
From now on, he would have to learn to interact with Zhang Xiyue in an entirely new way.
For example, the next time she cooked instant noodles for him, he would have to make her eat with him even if she wasn’t hungry, instead of eating alone. And even during work hours, he couldn’t treat her entirely as his employee and order her around, because human beings were emotional creatures. Not everyone could separate public and private matters as cleanly as he did.
Especially Zhang Xiyue. She liked him so much that it would be difficult for her to keep her emotions under control. If he acted too cold toward her while they were working, she would still get hurt.
In short, this was much more troublesome than he had expected.
Fortunately, he was extremely intelligent. He could grasp the proper boundaries without having to put much effort into learning them.
Cheng Mingjiao nodded, satisfied with himself.
Zhang Xiyue, who was eating her fourth steamed dumpling, gave him a puzzled look before picking up another fried dough stick.
The breakfast at a five-star hotel was indeed delicious. It simply lacked a certain homely warmth. Zhang Xiyue suspected that most of it had been semi-prepared and then processed.
Still, it was better than food that was one hundred percent pre-made.
She ate quite a lot and finished a bowl of porridge. Before long, she began to feel drowsy from the carbs.
When she yawned for the fifth time, the doorbell rang again.
Sleepy and unfocused, Zhang Xiyue started to get up to answer the door, but Cheng Mingjiao beat her to it.
Three minutes later, he returned from outside and handed her a bag. “See if anything’s missing.”
“Thank you.”
Zhang Xiyue took it and carefully looked through the contents.
There were not only clothes for going out, but also pajamas and a complete set of toiletries. Even underwear was included.
She gathered up the bag and bowed respectfully. “Thank you, Mr. Cheng.”
Cheng Mingjiao glanced at her once more, then turned and headed upstairs.
Zhang Xiyue was terribly sleepy, but she still politely watched him go.
Cheng Mingjiao had already reached the staircase when he noticed that she was still staring at him. His brow furrowed.
She was too clingy.
“Hurry back to your room and go to sleep. I’m not going out at all today.” He emphasized it again, so she could rest easy.
Zhang Xiyue agreed, distractedly thinking that he really intended to spend the whole day doing nothing.
With so little ambition, no wonder he had gone bankrupt.
Yawning, she returned to the guest room, took a quick shower, changed into the pajamas from the bag, and collapsed onto the bed.
Last night, the moment Cheng Mingjiao had gone upstairs, she had gone to knock on the door next door. This was the first time she had actually lain down.
Although she would much rather return to her own shabby rented apartment than spend the night in the Emperor’s palace, the year-round climate control and the mattress that felt comfortable enough to sleep on at a touch easily carried her into dreamland.
Compared with her, Cheng Mingjiao had already gotten plenty of sleep the night before. Even after eating all those carbs, he wasn’t particularly tired. His body felt sluggish, but his mind was highly active.
He lazily returned to his bedroom and sat down on the sofa by the floor-to-ceiling windows, allowing himself to sink into the high-resilience premium foam.
Then he made a phone call.
Graduate students never had the luxury of sleeping in, so the phone rang only twice before Guo Fengnian answered.
“Hello, Mingjiao.”
“I’m going to start dating.”
Guo Fengnian: “???”
He suspected that his blood pressure had dropped too low, causing insufficient blood flow to his brain and resulting in auditory hallucinations.
This was a warning sign of a stroke. The situation was extremely serious.
Guo Fengnian began thinking about how to save himself.
Cheng Mingjiao was displeased by his silence. “You don’t have anything to say?”
“Say what?” he asked instinctively.
Cheng Mingjiao: “I said, I’m going to start dating.”
“Ah…” After hearing it a second time, Guo Fengnian’s stalled brain finally began to function. “So it wasn’t my imagination.”
Cheng Mingjiao: “What imagination?”
“You said you’re going to start dating.” Guo Fengnian answered honestly.
A soft scoff came through the phone, followed by Cheng Mingjiao’s mocking voice. “Have all those experiments made you stupid? I told you a long time ago that children who aren’t intelligent shouldn’t try doing academic research. It’s easy to get dumber the longer you do it, but you refused to listen.”
Guo Fengnian: “…”
That viciousness confirmed it was definitely Cheng Mingjiao.
He paused the experiment and turned to enter the break room. Only after closing the door did he ask, “What do you mean, you’re going to start dating? Who are you going to date?”
“Zhang Xiyue.” Cheng Mingjiao gave him the answer.
Guo Fengnian fell silent again.
Cheng Mingjiao was displeased. “Guo Fengnian, if you can’t give me your full attention, you can just hang up.”
“N-No, I’m listening. I just don’t know what to say.” Guo Fengnian pinched the bridge of his nose. “You said yesterday that you didn’t like her, and today you’re saying you want to date her. Logically, I should be shocked, but for some reason, it actually feels perfectly reasonable.”
Cheng Mingjiao: “Why does it feel reasonable? Do you think we’re a good match too?”
“I never said that. Stop imagining things. And what do you mean by ‘too’? Has anyone else said that? …Never mind. Mr. Cheng, can you tell me why you decided to ‘start’ dating her when yesterday you were still saying you shouldn’t keep stringing her along?”
Cheng Mingjiao corrected him, “You were the one who said I shouldn’t keep stringing her along, not me. And I wasn’t stringing her along. Besides, I said I ‘want to’ date her, not that I’m ‘already’ dating her today.”
“…What’s the difference?”
Cheng Mingjiao: “The difference is that she hasn’t formally confessed yet.”
Guo Fengnian: “?”
“She likes me, so of course she should be the one to confess. And it has to be a very formal ceremony, or I won’t agree to date her.” Cheng Mingjiao’s tone was full of haughty self-importance. “Until she confesses, just pretend you don’t know about this. Otherwise, she’ll be embarrassed.”
Guo Fengnian: “……”
Cheng Mingjiao: “Say something.”
“Oh…” Guo Fengnian came back to himself. “Let’s not discuss the confession for now. I just want to know why you decided that you ‘want to’ date her.”
He placed extra emphasis on the words “want to” as well.
This time, it was Cheng Mingjiao’s turn to fall silent.
Guo Fengnian waited for a while before hearing him say, “Because she’s been too good to me.”
Guo Fengnian: “?”
“She came to pick me up in the pouring rain. And last night, she didn’t sleep a wink so I could get a good night’s rest. She stayed next door and kept watch over that mentally ill dog…”
Unable to hold back, Guo Fengnian interrupted, “Isn’t that what an assistant is supposed to do?”
“She’s an assistant, not a slave. With that capitalist mindset of yours, you’ll end up being strung up from a lamppost.” Cheng Mingjiao retorted unhappily.
Guo Fengnian: “……”
Fine. In his lifetime, he had actually been called a capitalist by someone accusing him of having a capitalist mindset.
“Anyway, she’s been too good to me. I have no way to refuse.” Cheng Mingjiao sighed, sounding as though he had resigned himself to his fate.
For once, Guo Fengnian’s emotional intelligence came through. “Leaving aside whether she’s your assistant or not, who around you hasn’t treated you well?”
Even the cat kept at the Cheng family’s old residence used to catch mice and bring them to him.
That was a cat with a mind of its own—not some people-pleasing dog who was friendly to everyone!
“If you date everyone who treats you well, then why don’t you date me? Haven’t I been good to you?” Guo Fengnian continued.
Cheng Mingjiao felt that he was deliberately being difficult. “I’ve never dated anyone before, but I’m pretty sure I like women.”
“There have been women who liked you before. One of them even made you chocolate. Why didn’t you date her? Was it because you didn’t like chocolate?”
“Guo Fengnian, what exactly are you trying to say?”
“I’m just trying to ask whether you like Zhang Xiyue.” After circling around the subject for ages, Guo Fengnian finally returned to the point.
Cheng Mingjiao: “She likes me. When we were on the mountain, she knew how important those few pieces of candy were, yet she was still willing to split them with me…”
“Do you like her?”
Cheng Mingjiao: “And after everything that happened since then, she’s done so much for me. I feel that, after giving me this much, she deserves to get what she wants…”
Guo Fengnian: “Do you like her?”
Cheng Mingjiao: “I’m also at an age where, even though my family hasn’t said anything, I think they probably really want me to…”
Guo Fengnian: “Do you like—”
“Guo Fengnian!” Cheng Mingjiao suddenly snapped. “You’re really annoying!”
With that, he hung up and turned into the bathroom to wash his face.
The cold water washed over him again and again, finally cooling the heat in his face.
Cheng Mingjiao looked at himself in the mirror. Once again, Guo Fengnian’s relentless question surfaced in his mind.
He thought Guo Fengnian was unbelievably irritating.
And not very clever, either.
He was about to date Zhang Xiyue. How could he possibly not like her?
Was he the kind of idiot who couldn’t recognize his own feelings?
Of course not. He was exceptionally perceptive.
He had realized he was falling for her the moment he saw the dog hair on her clothes.
Otherwise, why would he have decided to surrender?
It couldn’t have been out of pity, could it?
Cheng Mingjiao let out a soft scoff. A mocking expression appeared on his sharply defined face in the mirror.
He looked handsome.
And cutting.
His phone rang again in the bedroom. He didn’t need to think to know it was Guo Fengnian.
Cheng Mingjiao couldn’t be bothered to answer, but the man kept calling over and over. In the end, Cheng Mingjiao wiped his face, returned to the floor-to-ceiling window, and picked up.
“Is there something else?” he asked, his expression stern.
Guo Fengnian cleared his throat. “Are you going to tell Liang Xiao that you’re going to start dating?”
“No.” Cheng Mingjiao refused without hesitation. “I plan to tell him on my wedding day.”
They hadn’t even started dating, and he was already thinking about marriage. Guo Fengnian felt that he was an idiot for continuing to ask whether Cheng Mingjiao loved Zhang Xiyue.
This high-powered humanoid robot had probably been infected by a love virus a long time ago.
While sighing inwardly, he asked, “Why do you have to wait until the day you get married to tell him?”
“Because he hid the fact that he was dating someone from me back then.” Cheng Mingjiao was nothing if not petty.
Guo Fengnian: “…That was twelve years ago.”
“Is that a long time ago?” Cheng Mingjiao asked in return.
Guo Fengnian was speechless for quite a while, but he still braced himself and tried to defend his other friend. “He didn’t hide it from you for very long. It was only three days—and they weren’t even officially dating yet. They’d only been flirting for three days before he told you.”
“Only three days?” Cheng Mingjiao sneered. “Is three days a short time to you?”
Guo Fengnian: “……”
It wasn’t short, but surely it wasn’t as long as twelve years.
Cheng Mingjiao didn’t want to hear any more of his excuses. He ended the conversation directly. “If there’s nothing else, I’m hanging up. I’m going to work out.”
“Wait!” Guo Fengnian hurriedly stopped him.
Cheng Mingjiao frowned. “What now?”
A soft laugh came through the phone. Guo Fengnian sounded delighted. “Even though you and Xiyue aren’t officially dating yet, congratulations in advance!”
“…How boring.”
Cheng Mingjiao hung up. His cheeks grew warm again.
On the other end, Guo Fengnian stared at the disconnected phone and smiled for several seconds. Then his expression turned solemn. He clasped his hands together and began praying that their relationship would go smoothly. Otherwise, as the only person who knew the truth, he was sure to be tormented plenty in the future.
Honestly, why wouldn’t Cheng Mingjiao tell Liang Xiao? Compared with being kept in the dark, knowing the truth and constantly being pestered about it was the harsher punishment.
Cheng Mingjiao sneezed and suspected that someone was cursing him.
By the time he had finished talking to Guo Fengnian, it was almost ten o’clock. He went to the gym and exercised for two hours, then deliberately went downstairs to the first floor to get some water.
The guest-room door was closed, and the house was quiet. It seemed she still hadn’t woken up.
Cheng Mingjiao hesitated, unsure whether he should wake her for breakfast or let her keep sleeping.
After all, eating and sleeping were equally important.
He didn’t ponder the matter for long before giving up on waking her. Instead, he called for someone to deliver food again.
Zhang Xiyue had no idea she had narrowly escaped being woken. She slept soundly until she woke up naturally.
When she opened her eyes, all she could see was darkness. She lay there for a long time before turning over to reach for the light.
But even though she used the familiar movement and posture, her fingers grasped at empty air.
After a moment of silence, she remembered that she was still in the world of the novel, in the Emperor’s private palace—not in the tiny one-bedroom apartment she had in the real world.
The loneliness of being in another world suddenly swept over her. It was like a thick quilt that could neither be seen nor touched, yet somehow cut off the air, wrapping around her with an almost gentle tenderness.
Zhang Xiyue felt a tightness in her chest. She was so listless that she didn’t want to move at all. Just as she was about to let her emotions sink endlessly downward, her phone suddenly lit up.
[Zhang Xiyue, are you awake?]
Zhang Xiyue: “…”
The moment she saw the message from the Emperor, all her sadness and loneliness vanished. She felt her way out of bed and pulled open the curtains. The sunlight of the early evening, a little after six, instantly flooded the room.
She stretched vigorously before replying to Cheng Mingjiao: I’m awake, Mr. Cheng.
Cheng Mingjiao replied instantly: You’ve already been asleep for eight and a half hours. If you sleep any longer, I’m going to suspect you’re unconscious.
And then: I’ll call an ambulance.
Zhang Xiyue had no doubt he would do exactly that. She let out a quiet breath and replied: Don’t call an ambulance. I’m already up.
When Cheng Mingjiao saw her message, the corners of his lips lifted another single pixel.
Zhang Xiyue always managed to get his sense of humor.
After such a long sleep, Zhang Xiyue had originally wanted to lie down for a while longer. But there was a living emperor waiting for her outside, so she had no choice but to get up.
Still, sleeping at home was much more comfortable.
After a quick wash, Zhang Xiyue found a lotus-colored dress in the bag.
As she changed, she noticed the logo on the collar.
It was a luxury brand that existed in the real world too. Even its cheapest T-shirt cost five figures. She had no idea how much this dress was worth.
Was Cheng Mingjiao overly generous to his employees?
…He wasn’t going to deduct the cost from her salary, was he?
Zhang Xiyue was still wondering about it when she walked out and saw Cheng Mingjiao in the living room. She spoke at once. “Mr. Cheng, thank you for lending me the clothes.”
She wasn’t wearing makeup, and her hair was tied low at the nape of her neck. Her naturally gentle features looked even more beautiful against the dress, like a lotus emerging fresh and pure from clear water.
Cheng Mingjiao had been slightly dazed by her appearance, but at her words, he frowned. “What do you mean, ‘lending’ you the clothes? They’re yours.”
“That feels like too much. Should I transfer the money to you?” Zhang Xiyue sounded perfectly reasonable, but in reality, if he dared to agree—or said he would deduct it from somewhere—she would immediately go back and change into her dog-hair outfit.
Fortunately, Cheng Mingjiao didn’t do that. “No need.”
Then, as if in passing, he glanced at her. “Consider it thanks for letting me sleep well last night.”
Yes, that was all.
Although he had already decided to marry her, until she confessed her feelings, he couldn’t let her get too carried away.
Zhang Xiyue didn’t doubt his explanation. After all, when she had accompanied her grandmother at the nursing home, she had met several highly sensitive psychiatric patients. One of them would frequently be driven mad by the sound of a dripping faucet a hundred meters away from his room.
Cheng Mingjiao wasn’t mentally ill, but he was a man with obsessive, fragile sensibilities. Judging by how strongly he had reacted to the neighbors the day before, it was easy to imagine how long the barking dogs, even from two gardens and a road away, had tormented him.
Now that she had solved the problem for him, it seemed perfectly normal for him to be unusually generous in a moment of gratitude.
Zhang Xiyue didn’t refuse and thanked him politely.
When Cheng Mingjiao saw the smile at the corners of her lips, he snatched his gaze away as if he had been shocked by electricity. “Um…are you hungry?”
Zhang Xiyue nodded. “A little.”
Cheng Mingjiao wore an expression that said, I knew this would happen. “There’s food in the kitchen. Heat it up yourself.”
Zhang Xiyue had thought she could use dinner as an excuse to go home early, but when she heard that, she had no choice but to head to the kitchen.
The kitchen was spotless, exactly as she had left it after cleaning the night before.
When Zhang Xiyue walked in, she expected to see some leftovers or perhaps a few simple convenience foods. Instead, she found seven or eight complete dishes lined up across the broad kitchen counter like soldiers in formation.
“All of these…are for me?” she asked in surprise, turning around.
Seeing her expression, Cheng Mingjiao nodded with satisfaction.
Zhang Xiyue: “…”
It seemed she really had done the right thing last night.
Although her boss had prepared plenty of food, she took her appetite into consideration and heated only one dish.
Cheng Mingjiao protested vehemently. In the end, the number increased from one dish to four, yet by the time she finished, she had barely made a dent in any of them.
“…I’ll pack up the rest and take it home. I can eat it tomorrow.” She rubbed her stomach.
Cheng Mingjiao said, “Throw it all out. You shouldn’t eat leftovers that have been sitting overnight.”
“That would be such a waste. I can take them home and put them in the fridge. They’ll be fine once I heat them up.” Zhang Xiyue couldn’t bear to part with the food.
Cheng Mingjiao said, “If you get sick, you’ll spend even more money.”
“It has nothing to do with money. Wasting food is shameful.”
Cheng Mingjiao: “…”
Zhang Xiyue kept arguing with him.
She seemed to have realized that he was willing to compromise and was constantly testing the limits of what he would tolerate.
At times like this, he should make his position clear and tell her that even if they would eventually be married, he wouldn’t give in so easily.
Cheng Mingjiao was silent for several seconds before saying solemnly, “I’m not hungry yet.”
Zhang Xiyue: “?”
Cheng Mingjiao continued, “Let’s go out and buy some things first. I’ll eat after we get back.”
Zhang Xiyue: “Huh…?”
Cheng Mingjiao said, “You’ll have to eat another meal too.”
That way, he wouldn’t be surrendering to her, yet he also wouldn’t leave her out of it. It was a perfect solution.
Cheng Mingjiao was once again pleased with himself. Before Zhang Xiyue could argue further, he turned and walked out.
Only belatedly did Zhang Xiyue realize that he actually intended to deal with all the food together with her…
She really had done the right thing last night.
“Are you coming?” Cheng Mingjiao asked unhappily, having already changed his shoes.
Zhang Xiyue immediately ran toward him. “Coming, Mr. Cheng!”
Two minutes later, they left together.
“Where are we going?” Zhang Xiyue asked.
“The mall.”
“To the mall at this hour?” Zhang Xiyue asked in surprise. “Is there something important you need to buy?”
Something important.
Cheng Mingjiao repeated those words silently in his mind and nodded.
Zhang Xiyue: “?”
She had been Cheng Mingjiao’s assistant for quite some time. Usually, she was either working out with him, going to the company, or visiting the research and development center. This was the first time he had taken her to a mall.
She had thought he had something important to do, but once they arrived, he went straight to the supermarket and began stocking up on all kinds of household necessities.
“…This is what you meant by something important?” she asked, looking at him as he studied the hand soaps.
Cheng Mingjiao said, “Which one do you like?”
Zhang Xiyue casually picked one. Cheng Mingjiao put the other back on the shelf and moved on to look at something else.
Zhang Xiyue had no choice but to follow him and fish for information. “Why did you suddenly feel like going grocery shopping, Mr. Cheng?”
If she remembered correctly, the things in his house were regularly restocked by a housekeeper.
Cheng Mingjiao replied, “I’m making preparations in advance.”
Zhang Xiyue liked him far too much. Now that he had given up trying to keep his distance, she would surely be eager to confess her feelings, move in with him, and get married. Rather than buying everything at the last minute after she moved in, it would be better to purchase it all in advance.
He had considered simply asking her to make a list and leaving the shopping to his housekeeper, but then he thought about how they had never gone grocery shopping together, so he came in person.
He had thought everything through, but Zhang Xiyue had no idea what was going on.
“Prepare what?”
Cheng Mingjiao glanced at her. “Which toothpaste should we get?”
Zhang Xiyue pointed to the blue box. “…This flavor should be better.”
Cheng Mingjiao tossed the blue one into the cart.
They spent nearly an hour shopping and ended up with three carts piled high with goods. In the end, the supermarket employees delivered everything directly to the house.
When they left the supermarket, Zhang Xiyue’s hands were empty. She figured that meant she could finally get off work, but then Cheng Mingjiao suddenly stopped in front of a home-furnishings store.
“Do you like the house’s decor?”
Zhang Xiyue blinked. “Huh…”
“The decor,” Cheng Mingjiao repeated. “What do you think of it?”
If she didn’t like it, they could smash it all up and renovate from scratch.
The furniture could be custom-made as well. It would just take longer and might delay their move-in date.
Zhang Xiyue blinked slowly. “It’s—it’s pretty good.”
“There’s nothing you’re dissatisfied with?” Cheng Mingjiao insisted on getting an answer.
Zhang Xiyue didn’t understand why he was asking her all this.
In fact, he had seemed rather strange ever since she got up that morning.
Could he have been possessed by someone from another world?
“Mr. Cheng, have you ever seen Falling for Cinderella?” Zhang Xiyue asked.
Now it was Cheng Mingjiao’s turn to look baffled. “What’s that?”
“Nothing.” Zhang Xiyue smiled. “I think your house is beautifully decorated, and you have such wonderful taste. If I ever become rich, I’d like to live in a house like this too.”
A hint.
It was definitely a hint.
Zhang Xiyue was really in a hurry.
Cheng Mingjiao looked at her again and again before answering vaguely, “You will.”
Zhang Xiyue smiled cooperatively.
By the time they returned to the villa district, it was already past eight in the evening—well beyond Cheng Mingjiao’s usual dinner time. Yet he was in an excellent mood and didn’t complain.
Zhang Xiyue breathed a sigh of relief and slowed down as she drove between the rows of villas.
The car stereo played a lingering male voice singing, “I don’t know how best to love you.” Suddenly, Cheng Mingjiao spoke from the passenger seat.
“That villa is mine too.”
Zhang Xiyue paused and followed the direction of his finger. He was pointing to the villa in front of his own.
“The ones behind it and to the left are mine as well. Only the one on the right isn’t.” Whenever Cheng Mingjiao brought up the matter, his brows still drew together in a frown. “I bought the surrounding properties because I was afraid of noise. I never expected to miss one and give them an opening.”
Zhang Xiyue was speechless.
As someone who lived in a rented apartment, she genuinely had no idea how to comfort a man so extravagantly wealthy.
Fortunately, Cheng Mingjiao didn’t need comforting. After explaining, he turned to her.
“Which one do you like?”
“What?” Zhang Xiyue was busy driving into the garage and hadn’t heard him clearly.
“You can choose one and have it decorated however you like.”
Although she had said she liked the style of the current house, no two people could have exactly the same taste. There were bound to be details she didn’t care for.
Those other villas were still undecorated. She could choose one and have it designed exactly according to her preferences, turning it into a place she would love completely.
But as soon as he said that, he felt it sounded too stingy.
“You can have all of them,” he added.
He didn’t want to treat her too well and risk spoiling her. Giving her a few villas seemed just about right.
Of course, he would also have to cover the transfer fees, as well as the property fees, utilities, and other expenses for the next eighty years. With Zhang Xiyue’s salary, it probably wouldn’t be enough even if she poured every cent into them.
At the thought of that, he wanted to raise Zhang Xiyue’s salary again. Unfortunately, the company policies had been personally established by him. If he broke them first, it would likely cause dissatisfaction among the other employees.
Really, falling in love was such a troublesome thing for him.
Cheng Mingjiao sighed inwardly, then turned to her with renewed enthusiasm.
“If you don’t have any ideas, should I find a few designers to come up with some proposals?”
At that, Zhang Xiyue wanted to quit.
Back in the real world, she had helped her boss oversee a renovation. Even now, just thinking about all the hardship and frustration made her scalp prickle.
Cheng Mingjiao had been bringing up renovations every so often since earlier. She should have realized something was off, but she had been too careless. She had never imagined that even after entering the world of a novel, she would still have to supervise her boss’s home renovation.
And he had even pretended to ask what style she liked, as though he intended to give her the house.
“…I know nothing about renovations and haven’t done any research. You’d better not ask me, Mr. Cheng.” She tried to phrase it as tactfully as possible—though it wasn’t exactly tactful.
Cheng Mingjiao didn’t know whether he understood her. Just as he was about to speak, Zhang Xiyue stopped the car.
“Mr. Cheng, you must be hungry, right?”
His attention was successfully diverted. “Mm. I’m hungry.”
“I’m a little hungry too.” Zhang Xiyue smiled. “Grocery shopping really does help with digestion. I feel like I can go another round. We’ll definitely be able to finish all that food today!”
Looking at her crescent-shaped eyes, Cheng Mingjiao’s lips curved up as well. As for the renovation and the house, he didn’t remember them again until after they had finished dinner and Zhang Xiyue had gone home.
Forget it. He could give them to her later.
Rubbing his overstuffed stomach, Cheng Mingjiao began wondering what gift he should give Zhang Xiyue on the day she confessed to him.
Meanwhile, Zhang Xiyue, completely unaware that she was about to confess to her boss, could finally relax once she got home.
Although she had to go to work again the next day and her progress in the mission was still at zero, that didn’t mean nothing good had happened.
According to the timeline, the female protagonist should have become the male protagonist’s secretary by now and gone with him to another city.
The next time she came back would be nearly two months later, and only a few days after that, she would meet the yandere male supporting character.
In other words, for a long time to come, Zhang Xiyue wouldn’t have to keep a close watch on Cheng Mingjiao to prevent him from meeting the female protagonist.
That was a tremendous relief.
Early the next morning, she went to Cheng Mingjiao’s house on time, prepared his meals on time, accompanied him in his workout, went to the company and the R&D base with him, and got off work on time.
Every day after that passed in exactly the same way. Unlike before, she no longer occasionally tried to fish for information about Cheng Mingjiao’s whereabouts from Guo Fengnian. As for Cheng Mingjiao himself, she avoided seeing him outside of work whenever possible.
This would certainly slow the mission’s progress…but even when she had been working hard at it, the progress had hardly been impressive. Compared to that, she cared more about her current comfort.
There was no denying that once she removed Cheng Mingjiao from her life as much as possible, she was far more comfortable.
Cheng Mingjiao, on the other hand, was not nearly as comfortable.
When Zhang Xiyue didn’t cling to him on the first day, he assumed she was deliberately avoiding him because she was preparing her confession.
For that reason, he pretended not to notice and tried his best not to make her work overtime.
When Zhang Xiyue still didn’t cling to him on the fifth day, he concluded that the confession ceremony she was preparing must be so elaborate and meticulous that she had no time to spare for him.
When Zhang Xiyue still didn’t cling to him on the tenth day, his expression darkened, and his mood sank to rock bottom.
Whenever he was in a bad mood, everyone around him had to coax him.
Since there was only one person who knew why he was in a bad mood, the responsibility of cheering him up naturally fell to her.
Saturday morning was beautiful. The air was fresh, the sunlight was warm, and everything was perfect.
And yet, on such a wonderful day off, Guo Fengnian had to drag himself to Cheng Mingjiao’s house first thing in the morning to deliver a dessert he had bought forty kilometers away.
“I told her yesterday that I had nothing to do today. Not only did she not ask me out, she even told me to get more sleep.” Cheng Mingjiao stared at the exquisite dessert with an expression as cold as ice.
Guo Fengnian was practically dying of sleepiness. He tried to console him through his drowsiness. “Maybe she thinks you’ve been working too hard and wants you to get some extra rest.”
“It’s the off-season lately. She’s my assistant—she knows better than anyone whether I’ve been working hard.” Cheng Mingjiao objected.
Guo Fengnian said, “Then maybe she’s preparing a confession ceremony. Didn’t you say she wanted to give you a huge surprise to prove how important you are to her?”
“If it were a huge surprise, she’d have to buy a lot of things and coordinate with the venue. But she doesn’t even get any calls from unfamiliar numbers.” Cheng Mingjiao continued to argue.
Guo Fengnian said, “When you told her you had nothing to do, were you perhaps being too subtle? Maybe that’s why she didn’t dare ask you out.”
“‘I’m very free tomorrow. If anyone wants to ask me out, I’ll say yes.’ How is that subtle?” Cheng Mingjiao’s tone grew even worse.
Guo Fengnian fell silent.
He had run out of ideas.
He really had.
He took a sip of ice water to calm himself down a little. “Then… is it possible that she actually doesn’t like you at all, and you just misunderstood?”
Cheng Mingjiao exploded on the spot. “How could that be? She’s practically crazy about me!”
Guo Fengnian fell silent again.
Crazy where? He hadn’t seen any sign of it.
His bewildered look provoked Cheng Mingjiao yet again, and Cheng Mingjiao once more began listing all the ways Zhang Xiyue treated him well.
By now, Guo Fengnian had heard it eight hundred times. He had reached the point where Cheng Mingjiao could say the first half of a sentence, and he could recite the next half from memory.
Cheng Mingjiao also noticed that he wasn’t interested. Without further ado, he dragged him into the kitchen.
“She makes soup for me every Wednesday. If she didn’t like me, who else could do that without fail, rain or shine?” As he spoke, Cheng Mingjiao opened the refrigerator right in front of him.
The refrigerator was packed with ingredients, some restocked by the housekeeper and some bought by Zhang Xiyue herself.
Guo Fengnian cleared his throat, just about to apologize to Cheng Mingjiao, when his sharp eyes suddenly caught sight of what appeared to be a yellow box hidden behind the vegetables.
“What’s this?”
Curious, he pulled it out. On the box were several enormous words:
Instant Clay-Pot Free-Range Chicken Soup.
Guo Fengnian: “…”
Cheng Mingjiao: “?”
