Cheng Mingjiao was still standing there in a daze.
Looking at his blank, stunned eyes, Zhang Xiyue finally came fully to her senses.
Then she began to wonder whether, if she got fired, her mission to win him over would be completely doomed.
No, that wasn’t the most important thing right now. More importantly, she had to think about how she was going to explain this to the police.
After all, judging by what she knew of the Emperor… he was definitely going to call the police.
Zhang Xiyue took a deep breath. She knew this incident was serious, and no amount of coaxing was probably going to help. So she simply said nothing and silently waited for the full force of the law to come down on her.
Cheng Mingjiao didn’t get angry. He didn’t seem to have any intention of calling the police, either.
Time slipped through the space between them. The livelier the other tables became, the more oppressive the silence at theirs seemed.
Although her mind had cleared, the alcohol was still working its way through her system. Zhang Xiyue waited a long time for Cheng Mingjiao to say something, but it seemed that nothing was forthcoming. Little by little, she relaxed, sinking into a faint dizziness. Even her joints felt sluggish.
Just as she was about to doze off, a slice of potato suddenly landed in her bowl.
Huh?
Zhang Xiyue slowly lifted her head. There was a trace of confusion in her gaze as she looked at Cheng Mingjiao.
A hint of awkwardness flashed across his face. He lowered his head and refused to look at her, his voice growing indistinct. “Hurry up and eat… It’s getting cold.”
Without waiting to see her reaction, he began eating with determined concentration.
Zhang Xiyue stared at him for a long while before slowly turning her gaze back to her bowl.
The potato slice, flecked with bits of green and red pepper, had been stir-fried over high heat. Its edges were slightly charred, and it looked glossy and crisp—the best-looking slice on the entire plate.
Cheng Mingjiao had put it in her bowl.
The Emperor had put it in her bowl.
He had done it of his own accord.
After she had kissed him.
Zhang Xiyue looked at Cheng Mingjiao again, then back at the potato slice.
After a while, a large question mark slowly surfaced in her mind.
She couldn’t figure out what was wrong with Cheng Mingjiao.
Was he furious to the point of losing his mind?
Or had he lost his memory?
How could he possibly be reacting like this?
Zhang Xiyue couldn’t make sense of it.
If she hadn’t been drinking, she would definitely have started probing him indirectly. But she had been drinking, and although she considered herself perfectly lucid, she couldn’t guarantee that she wouldn’t say the wrong thing.
After thinking it over, she decided that if the enemy didn’t move, she wouldn’t move either. She ate the potato slice, then continued eating the other dishes.
The male and female leads had already left. Only the yandere male supporting character and the transmigrator remained, completely immersed in their meal. Neither of them even lifted their heads.
The restaurant owner was so moved that, when they paid, he rounded down the bill and even gave them two bottles of soft drinks.
On the way back to the hotel, Zhang Xiyue followed behind Cheng Mingjiao with the two bottles in her arms, like a little NPC in a game with the “follow” function turned on.
From the food street to the hotel lobby, and from the lobby to the floor where their suites were located, they walked one after the other. Cheng Mingjiao didn’t speak, and Zhang Xiyue didn’t dare to. For the moment, the atmosphere remained relatively harmonious.
That lasted until Cheng Mingjiao stopped outside her room and turned around to stare at her with a heavy gaze.
Zhang Xiyue knew the long-delayed judgment was about to begin.
She let out a soft breath and made one last desperate attempt. “Mr. Cheng, about what I did just now…”
Before she could finish, Cheng Mingjiao bent down and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.
Because he was inexperienced and hadn’t quite gauged the distance or force correctly, their lips nearly collided. It didn’t hurt, but they felt a little numb.
“What were you saying just now?” Cheng Mingjiao calmly picked up where she had left off.
Zhang Xiyue was speechless. She simply looked at him in silence.
Cheng Mingjiao, who had always been perfectly at ease under other people’s gazes, unexpectedly seemed a little evasive at that moment. But after dodging her eyes a few times and realizing that she was still staring at him, he immediately regained his confidence.
“What are you looking at me for?”
Zhang Xiyue didn’t answer his question. After thinking seriously for a moment, she asked, “Are we really dating?”
“…What?” Cheng Mingjiao failed to follow her train of thought for a moment.
After a few more seconds of silence, he understood.
“Yes, really dating.” He lifted his chin. Under the overhead lights of the hotel corridor, his expression looked slightly arrogant. “I always keep my word. Since you kissed me… I’ll reluctantly agree to date you.”
Zhang Xiyue continued staring at him. In that instant, all her doubts, and all of his strange behavior after she kissed him, suddenly had an answer.
What he had said at the restaurant earlier had actually been serious.
He really was going to date someone simply because they had kissed him.
The Emperor really was… the Chaste Emperor.
“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Cheng Mingjiao was beginning to lose patience when she continued to show no reaction.
Zhang Xiyue came back to herself. After carefully considering her words, she slowly asked, “Then if someone else kissed you tomorrow, would you break up with me and start dating them instead?”
“How could that happen?” Cheng Mingjiao was genuinely surprised that she could have such an idea. “I wouldn’t let anyone else kiss me.”
So it really was first come, first served.
Zhang Xiyue didn’t know whether to praise him for having an excessively strong sense of propriety or for being excessively casual.
Once again, Zhang Xiyue’s thoughts began to wander.
Cheng Mingjiao was a little dissatisfied with her dazed reaction.
In his imagination, even without a grand ceremony or carefully selected gifts, even if they were merely standing in the corridor of a cheap hotel, she should have burst into tears of joy or thrown her arms around him after he agreed to be with her.
She shouldn’t be as calm as though nothing had happened.
Still, he understood how she felt.
When a dream came true, people really could lose themselves for a moment. Although everything Cheng Mingjiao had wanted since childhood had always been within easy reach, he had never truly experienced that kind of overwhelming joy.
But the happiness Zhang Xiyue felt at winning him should be about equal to all the joy he had experienced during every moment of triumph in his life combined.
Perhaps it was even greater than that.
Zhang Xiyue liked him far too much. That was why she was acting so clumsily at this crucial moment.
For some inexplicable reason, Cheng Mingjiao felt a little pity for her. As though trying to give Zhang Xiyue some confidence, he lowered his head and kissed her again.
It was the third kiss of the evening.
Zhang Xiyue instinctively raised a hand and touched the lips he had just kissed.
Cheng Mingjiao’s gaze lingered on her fingertips, his eyes flickering.
The two of them met each other’s eyes again, and Zhang Xiyue asked once more, “So… you really won’t look at anyone else once you’ve decided to be in a relationship, just like you said before?”
At her words, Cheng Mingjiao’s pity for her grew.
How much must Zhang Xiyue like him to start worrying about him falling for someone else the moment they got together?
The more someone cared, the more prone they were to insecurity.
Zhang Xiyue was truly pitiful.
“Of course I won’t.” Cheng Mingjiao comforted the pitiful Zhang Xiyue.
Looking at the certainty on his face, Zhang Xiyue felt as though she had inadvertently obtained the real user manual for Cheng Mingjiao.
A path to winning him over that she had never imagined slowly unfolded before her.
“Go back to your room,” Cheng Mingjiao instructed, speaking like an experienced veteran despite his lack of experience. “Even if you’re too happy to sleep, you should lie down early.”
Zhang Xiyue remained silent for a long time. She decided that tonight was not a suitable time for thinking, so she followed his advice and went back to her room to sleep.
Cheng Mingjiao also returned to his own room.
At half past one in the morning, he called Liang Xiao and asked what he should do if he couldn’t sleep.
Liang Xiao said, “Take a sleeping pill.”
“They’re bad for your health.” Cheng Mingjiao frowned.
Liang Xiao replied, “If you keep calling me, it’ll be even worse for my health.”
“You’re a doctor, for heaven’s sake. You actually think the radiation from a phone can harm people?” Cheng Mingjiao’s tone was arrogant, as though he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
Liang Xiao remained perfectly calm. “Phone radiation won’t harm anyone, but a Liang who’s finally managed to fall asleep after working overtime and then gets woken up will buy a plane ticket to Yangcheng and harm you personally.”
Cheng Mingjiao hung up at once.
It wasn’t that he was scared. He had simply heard the longing for him hidden in Liang Xiao’s threat.
If they kept talking, Liang Xiao really would come looking for him—and he didn’t want anyone disturbing their time alone together.
His friend was far too dependent on him, and Zhang Xiyue liked him far too much. Sometimes, being too charismatic was a burden.
Cheng Mingjiao sighed, set down his phone, and tried to go back to sleep.
He didn’t manage to fall asleep until three in the morning. He had probably drunk too much rice wine; even his dreams were dizzy, as though he were sitting on a rapidly spinning carousel. Amid the swaying, he could still see the dazzling lights and Zhang Xiyue’s blurry face.
By comparison, Zhang Xiyue slept wonderfully.
She usually went to bed around midnight, but this time she had fallen asleep before ten-thirty. When she woke up, it was already nine the next morning.
The rice wine from the night before really had some kick. She had been a little drunk at the time, but after sleeping through the night, she felt perfectly refreshed, without a trace of a hangover.
Zhang Xiyue lay sprawled across the bed, quietly staring at the ceiling. Certain memories drifted slowly before her eyes, like sunlight filtering through the gap in a curtain.
She had kissed Cheng Mingjiao once yesterday.
Cheng Mingjiao had kissed her twice.
And because they had kissed, Cheng Mingjiao had reluctantly agreed to date her.
So she and Cheng Mingjiao were boyfriend and girlfriend now.
Had she become empress of the realm overnight?
Zhang Xiyue shuddered, then decided there was no need to get her hopes up too high.
Cheng Mingjiao had been drinking yesterday too. Who knew whether he had been talking nonsense? Maybe he had sobered up by now and was biting his blanket in regret.
If he regretted it, how would he deal with her?
And if he didn’t, how was she supposed to get along with him from now on?
Before Zhang Xiyue could even determine Cheng Mingjiao’s attitude, she already felt as if countless problems were waiting for her to solve. She buried her face in the blanket and let out a muffled groan of distress.
Ding-dong.
Her phone rang.
She stared at the small rectangular screen as it lit up for a long time before finally unlocking it with a grave expression.
The message was from the little group chat called “What on Earth Does the Emperor Want?”
Fangfang mentioned her and asked whether things had gone smoothly over the past two days.
Looking at her concerned colleague’s message, Zhang Xiyue sighed.
Fang, I’m doomed.
Fangfang: Did you assassinate the Emperor?
Zhang Xiyue: …
Fangfang: Promise me that no matter how much the Emperor acts up, you’ll spare his dog’s life, okay?
Zhang Xiyue burst out laughing, and her mood lightened a little.
All morning, she waited for some kind of response from Cheng Mingjiao.
But even when noon arrived, Cheng Mingjiao seemed to have vanished. He hadn’t knocked on her door or sent her a message. Instead, one of the colleagues who had come on the business trip with her called and invited her to lunch.
Zhang Xiyue had been hungry for ages. The moment she received the invitation, she got out of bed, washed up quickly, and went out to meet everyone.
The moment she opened her door, she came face-to-face with Cheng Mingjiao, who had disappeared for the entire morning.
Their eyes met.
Cheng Mingjiao, who had just woken up and come looking for his girlfriend, froze for a moment. A trace of awkwardness flashed through his eyes, but he quickly pretended to be calm. After a whole series of changes in expression, he finally managed to speak normally.
“Were you coming to find me?”
Zhang Xiyue: “?”
“We’re going out to eat.” Cheng Mingjiao took her left hand and, with rigid precision, laced his fingers through hers.
They fit together perfectly.
Satisfied, he curved his lips into a smile and led her outside. “I want congee.”
Zhang Xiyue: “?”
His movements were awkward, but he was so open and composed about it that all the explanations Zhang Xiyue had been preparing vanished from her mind. Her entire attention was focused on their tightly clasped hands.
Even someone as slow to catch on as Zhang Xiyue understood by then what his decision was.
Before they met, she had considered the possibility that Cheng Mingjiao might not regret it. But even so, she was still surprised when he took her hand.
After all, she hadn’t expected him to slip into the role of boyfriend so quickly, as though he had rehearsed it thousands of times in advance.
Zhang Xiyue silently digested the situation. Just as she was nearly finished processing it, she suddenly heard her colleagues’ playful voices.
Without thinking, she immediately pulled her hand free of Cheng Mingjiao’s.
The force of it left Cheng Mingjiao stunned. Before he could react, her colleagues spotted them.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Cheng. Assistant Zhang.”
“Good afternoon, Mr. Cheng.”
Zhang Xiyue kept smiling. Once they had finished greeting him in a lively chorus, she took the initiative and said, “You all go have hot pot. Mr. Cheng and I are going for congee.”
The moment they heard that, her colleagues gave her sympathetic looks. But none of them wanted to accompany their boss for congee, so they laughed awkwardly and hurried away.
The considerate colleagues took the stairs, leaving the elevator to the rude Emperor.
Zhang Xiyue pressed the elevator button first, then let out a quiet breath and turned to the silent Cheng Mingjiao.
“Mr. Cheng…”
“No need to explain. I understand.” Cheng Mingjiao cut her off.
Zhang Xiyue paused, then cautiously asked, “You… understand what?”
The elevator arrived. Cheng Mingjiao stepped in first, then gestured for her to follow.
Zhang Xiyue walked in silently. The moment she had steadied herself, he took her hand again.
They were standing so close that their arms brushed against each other from time to time. Their different body temperatures tentatively tested one another, giving off an unmistakably intimate feeling.
Zhang Xiyue’s eyes flickered as she looked up at Cheng Mingjiao’s profile.
Putting everything else aside, the Emperor really did have a face that looked good from every angle.
Cheng Mingjiao noticed her gaze and lazily glanced at her. “In other people’s eyes, you and I are just a boss and his assistant. If our relationship is exposed, then no matter how much you achieve at work, people will question whether you received fair treatment. In more serious cases, it could even affect your career development. So it’s only natural that you don’t want them to know.”
Although Zhang Xiyue liked him very much, she hadn’t lost all reason. Cheng Mingjiao was quite satisfied with that.
“Don’t worry. I’ll cooperate with you until you decide the timing is right to make it public.” As Zhang Xiyue’s boyfriend, Cheng Mingjiao felt it was necessary to reassure her.
Zhang Xiyue hadn’t expected her instinctive action to be interpreted by Cheng Mingjiao in so many different ways. For a moment, she didn’t know what to say.
Then she settled on the obvious answer.
“Thank you,” she said with a smile.
Cheng Mingjiao glanced at her.
She was smiling.
Cheng Mingjiao looked at her again.
She was still smiling.
When she smiled, her eyes curved into crescents, reflecting his face as though she were sending him some kind of signal.
Cheng Mingjiao thought about it for a moment and understood.
She wanted a kiss.
Now that she had finally become his girlfriend, Zhang Xiyue was becoming increasingly clingy.
Cheng Mingjiao had no choice but to lower his head and kiss her once.
They had kissed four times in less than twenty-four hours.
And this time, they were both completely sober.
Zhang Xiyue blinked. Before she could even feel much of a reaction to the brief kiss, she noticed that someone’s ears seemed to have turned red.
She cleared her throat. “Mr. Cheng.”
Cheng Mingjiao immediately turned toward her, his eyes filled with wary suspicion.
Zhang Xiyue had no doubt that if she teased him even a little, he would blow up on the spot.
She coughed. “You didn’t select a floor.”
Only then did Cheng Mingjiao realize that the elevator was still sitting where it had been. Zhang Xiyue suddenly burst out laughing, her shoulders shaking so hard that the arm which had been separated from his by mere millimeters pressed directly against his.
Cheng Mingjiao found it inexplicable, but he still quickly turned his face away so she wouldn’t see the corners of his lips lifting.
Lunch was plain congee with a few side dishes, an overly simple meal that suited two people who had drunk the night before.
Eating together as boyfriend and girlfriend seemed no different from eating together as boss and assistant.
Zhang Xiyue was still the one responsible for ordering. She had to explain all the details of Cheng Mingjiao’s tastes to the waiter, fetch the bowls and chopsticks, listen to his complaints about the dining environment, and promptly hand him a tissue whenever he needed one during the meal.
Nothing about the way they interacted had changed. Zhang Xiyue felt relaxed, yet couldn’t help wondering whether he had already forgotten that the two of them were dating.
She did, however, have a unique way of testing him.
After lunch, once they had left the congee shop, Cheng Mingjiao walked ahead while Zhang Xiyue followed behind.
“President Cheng,” she called.
Cheng Mingjiao stopped and turned around. “What?”
Zhang Xiyue took two or three steps toward him, rose onto her toes, and cupped his face in her hands.
Cheng Mingjiao froze for a moment, then, bewildered, bent down under the force of her hands.
Zhang Xiyue kissed him once before asking, “Is it okay if I kiss you?”
His face was still held in her hands, his lips pushed into a pout. “…It’s okay.”
So Zhang Xiyue kissed him again.
The fingers of Cheng Mingjiao’s hands, hanging at his sides, twitched. He had just started to reach for her waist when she let go.
“Come on, let’s go back to the hotel.” Having passed the test, Zhang Xiyue decided to begin a new round of verification. “We’ll pack our things and go rafting.”
Cheng Mingjiao was still dazed from being kissed, but at her words, he instantly regained his composure. “We haven’t secured the contract yet. We can’t leave for now.”
“The terms they’re offering now leave no profit at all. If we negotiate any further, we’ll be doing business at a loss. Is this contract really that important?” Zhang Xiyue asked, pretending to be troubled.
Cheng Mingjiao gave a soft snort. “Even if it means taking a loss, we have to fight for it. Yuhuang can afford it.”
Zhang Xiyue said, “Oh.”
The test was complete.
Even as his girlfriend, she couldn’t stop him from fighting the male lead to the bitter end.
She just didn’t know how much of that determination was because of the female lead.
“Three days at most. I’ll definitely get it,” Cheng Mingjiao promised her for what felt like the umpteenth time.
Zhang Xiyue smiled. She felt like going back and smashing a congee bowl over his head.
Since the boss had decided to obtain the contract at any cost, all she could do as an employee was cooperate.
Cheng Mingjiao and the other colleagues were responsible for battling Gu Feng, while Zhang Xiyue was in charge of liaising with Yangshan Crafts.
Ever since Li Qianshan realized that he was a hot commodity being fought over by two companies, his attitude had changed. Before, he had merely been indifferent; now, he had stopped showing his face altogether.
Zhang Xiyue had contacted him several times, only to be turned away with one excuse after another.
Without meeting him in person, there was no way to show him their latest proposal. That meant Cheng Mingjiao’s war with Gu Feng would never end.
All Zhang Xiyue wanted now was to keep the two of them apart—to separate Cheng Mingjiao from the female lead—so things wouldn’t develop according to the original plot.
After going to great lengths to bribe the receptionist at Yangshan Crafts, she finally received word, after waiting an entire day, that Li Qianshan would be coming to the company.
She immediately messaged Cheng Mingjiao. After waiting several minutes without receiving a reply, she went straight to knock on his door.
But he wasn’t in his room.
It happened to be lunchtime, and all their colleagues had gone out to eat. Even if she called them back immediately, it would take half an hour for them to return.
The receptionist at Yangshan Crafts had said that Li Qianshan was only coming to the company to pick something up and might leave at any moment.
Time was of the essence. Zhang Xiyue simply took the proposal and left on her own.
There weren’t many people in the hotel on a weekday afternoon.
Zhang Xiyue took the elevator to the first floor and jogged through the empty lobby.
Just as she was nearing the entrance, Qing Tian’s voice suddenly came from the small lounge beside the lobby.
“If you keep this up, you’ll only end up with both sides suffering!”
Zhang Xiyue stopped abruptly, seized by a powerful premonition.
The next second, it came true.
Cheng Mingjiao’s cold voice rang out. “You’re overthinking it. It’s only a small contract. It’s not enough to hurt Yuhuang.”
“You… Do you really have to fight us for this order? What good will getting it do you?!” Qing Tian demanded angrily.
Cheng Mingjiao replied, “It’ll make me happy.”
Qing Tian: “…”
Zhang Xiyue: “…”
Was he provoking her, or showing off?
Zhang Xiyue was too far away to make out his tone, but it was definitely the latter.
Didn’t someone keep insisting that once he had a girlfriend, he wouldn’t look at another woman?
What a jerk.
Shameless.
Disgusting!
The receptionist at Yangshan Crafts was still urging her to hurry. Zhang Xiyue wasn’t sure whether a certain someone would be willing to leave with her if she called him away from his private meeting with the female lead, so she decided not to call him at all.
Cursing him furiously in her head, she hurried toward Li Qianshan’s company.
Inside the small lounge, once Cheng Mingjiao had confirmed that Qing Tian wasn’t there to represent Gu Feng and bow down in surrender, his patience had plummeted. He no longer wanted to say another word.
Qing Tian saw that he was about to leave and immediately blocked the door, attempting to continue persuading him to give up the project.
She had spent the entire day lying in wait outside the hotel. After finally managing to intercept Cheng Mingjiao, she refused to let him leave so easily.
Cheng Mingjiao stared at her for several seconds, then called hotel security.
Qing Tian: “…”
Meanwhile, Zhang Xiyue hurried as fast as she could and finally arrived at Yangshan Crafts.
The receptionist on the first floor had been waiting for her. The moment she saw Zhang Xiyue, she said anxiously, “You’re too late. President Li has already left.”
In the past, upon hearing that, Zhang Xiyue would have returned to the hotel and waited for another opportunity to meet him.
But they had already spent several days in Yangcheng, and Cheng Mingjiao had even begun meeting with the female lead alone. If she kept waiting around, the situation would only spiral further out of control.
Zhang Xiyue glanced at the time and asked, “Do you know where he went?”
The receptionist hesitated.
“Don’t worry. I’ll just say I saw his car on the road and followed him. I won’t expose you,” Zhang Xiyue assured her patiently.
After struggling with the decision for a long while, the receptionist finally gave her an address.
Zhang Xiyue thanked her and immediately hailed a taxi to give chase.
Li Qianshan was headed to a villa community more than ten kilometers away.
Once she got into the car, Zhang Xiyue began familiarizing herself with the new proposal. She also organized it into clear, concise talking points, hoping to present Yuhuang’s strongest advantages to Li Qianshan in the shortest time possible.
She had just finished reviewing the first page when Cheng Mingjiao sent her a message:
?
Zhang Xiyue let out a cold laugh, wondering how he had the nerve to send her a question mark.
A second message from Cheng Mingjiao arrived:
Where are you?
He had realized that she wasn’t at the hotel.
Expressionless, Zhang Xiyue sent him the address the receptionist had given her.
Cheng Mingjiao: What are you going there for?
Zhang Xiyue held back the urge to roll her eyes.
To find Li Qianshan and discuss business.
Cheng Mingjiao stopped replying.
Zhang Xiyue ignored him as well and continued reviewing the proposal.
By the time the taxi stopped at the entrance to the residential compound, she had just finished going over it.
Zhang Xiyue quickly got out of the car and followed several residents through the security gate, heading straight for the address listed in her memo.
It was already five in the afternoon. The kindergarten in the residential compound had just let out, and parents were everywhere, walking home with their children.
Zhang Xiyue made her way through the bustling crowd. After turning twice along the broad road, she suddenly spotted Li Qianshan.
Her eyes lit up, and she had just raised a hand to greet him when she saw him enter a courtyard with a solemn expression.
Zhang Xiyue hurried after him. The next moment, she saw the funeral wreaths and white decorations inside the courtyard.
Li Qianshan had just finished speaking with someone when he noticed her out of the corner of his eye. He froze for a moment, then quickly walked out.
“Why are you here?” he asked in a lowered voice.
Zhang Xiyue looked apologetic. “I happened to be passing by and saw President Li, so I thought I’d come over and say hello. I didn’t realize…”
What kind of “passing by” brought her all the way into someone else’s residential compound?
The wrinkles at the corners of Li Qianshan’s eyes twitched. He saw right through her but said nothing.
Zhang Xiyue still felt embarrassed. “President Li, I’m really sorry… My condolences.”
“Condolences for what? I’m just here to give a condolence gift on someone’s behalf.” Li Qianshan found her tone too ominous and immediately explained.
Zhang Xiyue gave an awkward smile. “Oh, I see…”
“All right. If you’re here to discuss the partnership, then please leave. I’m not in the mood to talk about that today.” After saying this, Li Qianshan gave her no chance to speak again and drove away.
Zhang Xiyue watched his car disappear into the compound. Knowing that her trip had been pointless, she calmly hugged the proposal to her chest and turned to leave.
“Don’t tell our daughter yet… Yes, she’ll be taking her entrance exam tomorrow. This exam will affect her future, so we can’t let anything ruin her mood… I know she’s closest to her grandmother. She should be allowed to see her grandmother one last time, but she’s worked so hard for this exam. I can’t…”
Zhang Xiyue stopped and followed the sound of the voice.
Outside the low wall of the villa, a middle-aged woman wearing a white flower in her hair stood in the shade of a tree, sobbing as she spoke on the phone.
Zhang Xiyue lowered her eyes and continued walking.
A few seconds later, she turned back and appeared in front of the woman.
The middle-aged woman had just hung up. Mistaking Zhang Xiyue for a guest of the family, she hurriedly wiped away her tears and said, “Hello.”
“I heard your phone call,” Zhang Xiyue said.
The woman froze.
“You seemed to mention your daughter. Is she about to take an exam?” Zhang Xiyue asked gently.
The woman did not know her, but she still nodded politely.
After considering her words, Zhang Xiyue said, “I think you should tell her that her grandmother has passed away. A person’s life is very long, and there’s plenty of room for mistakes. Even if she does poorly on one exam, it won’t have too great an impact on her future. Besides, she may not do poorly at all…”
“What side of the family are you from?” the woman finally interrupted.
Zhang Xiyue paused. “I’m not a relative. I just happened to be passing by and overheard your call.”
The woman was speechless.
“I know this is presumptuous of me. It’s just that…”
“I’m sorry, but I’m very busy right now. I don’t have time to chat.” The woman composed herself, walked around Zhang Xiyue, and started to leave.
“My parents died one week before my middle-school entrance exam,” Zhang Xiyue said suddenly.
The woman stopped and stared at her in a daze.
Zhang Xiyue’s expression was gentle. “It was a car accident. The fuel tank exploded, and the car burst into flames. They died on the spot.”
The woman’s lips moved. It took her a long time to force out a sound. “I’m sorry…”
Zhang Xiyue shook her head. “At the time, I was staying at my grandmother’s house to prepare for the exam. All the adults kept it from me. I didn’t find out until after the exam was over. By then, my parents had already been buried. The next time I saw them, they had become two photographs on a gravestone.”
“I’m sorry…” The middle-aged woman did not even know what she was apologizing for. She simply looked at the funeral wreaths in the courtyard, her eyes gradually reddening.
It had happened so long ago that, when Zhang Xiyue brought it up again, she no longer felt much emotion.
“I know the adults were only trying to protect me, and I’ve never blamed them. But after all these years, I’ve forgotten every question on that middle-school entrance exam. I still remember that I never got to see my parents one last time.”
Zhang Xiyue looked calmly at the middle-aged woman. Seeing the tears glimmering in her eyes, she smiled.
“I hope your daughter won’t have to live with that regret.”
The woman gave a bitter smile. “I’ll think about it…”
Zhang Xiyue did not know whether the woman would ultimately tell her daughter about the old woman’s death, but she had said what she needed to say and did not press the matter any further.
She let out a quiet breath and turned to leave.
Cheng Mingjiao was standing five meters away, silently watching her.
Zhang Xiyue froze for a moment, then smiled and waved. “President Cheng.”
Cheng Mingjiao remained where he was.
He did not smile, either.
Zhang Xiyue took the initiative and walked toward him.
The kindergarten children had already begun leaving with their parents one after another. Zhang Xiyue followed Cheng Mingjiao home.
He remained silent the entire way. It was not until the entrance to the residential compound came into view that he suddenly asked, “Are you afraid of fire because your parents died in a car accident?”
Zhang Xiyue knew he had overheard her, but she had not expected him to hear so much.
She did not hide it and nodded frankly.
“You might not believe this,” Zhang Xiyue said in a lowered voice, her face taking on a mysterious expression. “But I think I saw the scene of the accident that day.”
Cheng Mingjiao’s eyelashes stirred as he looked at her.
“It’s true. That morning, on my way to school, I passed the intersection my parents usually drove through. There were lots of people gathered there, and I could vaguely see black smoke. But I was about to be late, so I didn’t go over…”
Before she could finish, Cheng Mingjiao suddenly took her hand.
His palm was warm, but she did not find it unpleasant.
Zhang Xiyue fell silent for a moment before asking, “Do you think I’m lying?”
“Has anyone ever said that to you?” Cheng Mingjiao asked in return.
“Lots of people.”
Her grandmother, her paternal grandparents, her friends, her teachers, and even her psychologist…
Everyone had told her that she had been too devastated and had imagined certain details. Then, with a lock called guilt, she had locked herself inside the eternally burning car, trying to make herself suffer alongside her parents.
She did not agree with them, but she did not want everyone to worry, either. Gradually, she stopped talking about it.
Today, she had brought it up with Cheng Mingjiao partly because she had suddenly felt the urge to confide in someone, and partly because she believed Cheng Mingjiao would not “worry” about a girlfriend whose relationship with him had been established after a single kiss.
“So you think it’s fake, too?” For some reason, Zhang Xiyue really wanted to hear his answer.
Cheng Mingjiao released her hand, then threaded his fingers through hers.
“What were your parents’ names?”
Zhang Xiyue did not understand why he was asking, but she answered anyway. “Zhang Yusheng and Zheng Juan.”
“Zhang Xiyue,” Cheng Mingjiao said, casting her a light glance. His tone was as casual as if he were discussing the weather, yet there was an unmistakable seriousness beneath it. “Don’t bully Zhang Yusheng and Zheng Juan’s daughter. She’s their precious girl.”
Zhang Xiyue’s fingertips trembled.
He still had not answered her question, but perhaps the answer was no longer that important.
Zhang Xiyue tilted her head back and held Cheng Mingjiao’s gaze for a long while before saying, “I really do kind of want to kiss you this time.”
Cheng Mingjiao wasn’t surprised. He quickly glanced around to make sure no one was there, then lowered his head and kissed her.
When he started to pull away, Zhang Xiyue suddenly hooked her arm around his and used her full weight to pull him down, biting his lips as she deepened the kiss.
When their lips parted and their tongues met, the tip of her tongue brushed over his palate. Cheng Mingjiao’s heart seemed to shudder, and the symptoms of formaldehyde poisoning appeared again.
He instinctively wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer against him.
Summer clothes were too thin, and body heat was far too easy to lose control of. After only a few seconds of kissing, Zhang Xiyue placed a hand against Cheng Mingjiao’s chest and tried to push him away.
Cheng Mingjiao instinctively chased after her lips, but quickly came to his senses and hurriedly let her go.
Even after getting into the car, Cheng Mingjiao was still distracted.
Zhang Xiyue handed him the proposal directly. “Li Qianshan wouldn’t even look at it.”
Cheng Mingjiao stared at the proposal for a few seconds, then tore it to pieces.
Zhang Xiyue looked at him in surprise.
“If he doesn’t want to look at it, then forget it. He can go find someone else—we’re not taking this project.” Cheng Mingjiao turned to her and suddenly smiled. “Zhang Xiyue, let’s go somewhere and have fun.”
Although he wasn’t the type of yandere male supporting character who went around with a gloomy expression all the time, he rarely showed such a bright, cheerful smile either. For an instant, it was as if all the sunlight in the world had fallen across his face.
Zhang Xiyue stared at him for a long time before smiling and turning her gaze out the window.
She had tried to persuade him so many times, yet he had stubbornly refused to leave. Today, the heroine had only called on him once, and he was willing to give up just like that?
Bastard.
Shameless.
Despicable!
Zhang Xiyue continued cursing him silently all the way back to the hotel. When they reached the door to her room, she didn’t feel like saying another word to him. She went straight inside and shut the door.
The instant the door closed, Cheng Mingjiao’s hand suddenly caught the door. His handsome features appeared in the slowly widening gap.
“Let’s talk,” he said.
Zhang Xiyue’s heart stirred. She glanced uncertainly into the room.
“In my room?” she asked.
Cheng Mingjiao thought for a moment, then replied, “My room works too.”
At that, Zhang Xiyue raised her brows slightly.
