TSDT - 18

For women around the age of twenty-five, staying up late easily leaves traces. When Jiang Ying went to work the next day, her dark circles drew concerned inquiries from colleagues.

Actually, it wasn’t that exaggerated; it was just that she had been radiant the day before, and after just one night, she looked listless, which aroused suspicion.

Especially Xiao Man, who was a closer friend, greeted her with a teasing smirk: “What were you up to last night? It looks a bit too intense, like you’ve been completely drained~~”

Jiang Ying glared at her: “My friend was sick, I stayed up late with him at the hospital.”

It clearly fooled her. Xiao Man instantly transformed: “Ah... is that so? That’s tough, that’s tough... Is your friend okay?”

Jiang Ying said, “He’s fine, just a high fever that needed an IV drip.”

Xiao Man nodded, kindly saying, “Mm... we all need to take good care of ourselves, live healthy lives!”

Jiang Ying: “Mm-hmm!”

At noon, Jiang Ying didn’t order takeout with everyone else. When the time came, she just left, leaving her colleagues looking at each other in confusion.

Meng Jingshu had texted an hour ago saying he was awake, and she figured she needed to go supervise his meal.

When she arrived at his place, Meng Jingshu quickly opened the door. He had probably just showered; his hair was damp, and a towel was draped around his neck for wiping.

His nasal voice was even more pronounced than yesterday: “Perfect timing, I was just about to eat.”

But his spirits were much better.

She couldn’t take advantage of him like yesterday. Jiang Ying quietly put away her urge to stroke his hair.

The helper placed the fresh dishes on the table, greeted the two of them, and then smartly retreated to her own resting room.

Jiang Ying surveyed the area and found no trace of ice water, which pleased her greatly.

After dinner, she praised the helper’s cooking a few times, then ambled around the house to aid digestion. She timed it perfectly and called Meng Jingshu to take his medicine.

Mission accomplished.

Jiang Ying was a bit sleepy, but seeing Meng Jingshu’s fresh and clean appearance after his shower, she remembered and dragged him to change the bedsheets and duvet cover. Last night, when they returned from the hospital, both of them were too sleepy to even keep their eyes open, just washed their faces and crashed. He sweated a lot in the latter half of the night, and the bed was thoroughly worn.

After finishing, she was truly tired. She collapsed onto the sofa, unwilling to move.

Meng Jingshu came over and gently tugged on the ends of her hair: “Go sleep on the bed.”

“No. I haven’t showered, I’m dirty.”

“...Why not wait until you wake up to change?”

Jiang Ying forced her eyes open and glared at him: “I changed it for you to sleep in, silly!”

“...” Meng Jingshu was speechless. That floating sensation came over him again.

Jiang Ying rolled over to face away from him, curling her legs: “I’ll just lie on the sofa for a bit. I wasn’t the one who was delirious from fever last night, I’m not that delicate.”

The sofa cushion dipped as he sat down by her feet.

“...What did I say?” he asked in a low voice.

Jiang Ying was dead tired and humored him: “Mumbled, couldn’t hear clearly... I’m going to sleep now, don’t talk to me.”

Meng Jingshu fell silent.

Jiang Ying adjusted her posture, her foot resting against his thigh, warm and cozy.

In autumn, the midday sun offered the most warmth, spilling into the room, drying the air, making it gentle and serene.

Until the alarm rang, Jiang Ying still felt a warm, solid mass under her foot. Every autumn and winter, her feet would be icy cold, and she relied on a hot water bottle to get through the night. Today, with Meng Jingshu sitting there, her feet were warm the whole time, and she had a comfortable sleep.

She yawned, taking advantage of him: “Why are you still sitting here?”

Meng Jingshu didn’t answer, only saying, “I’ll take you to work.”

Jiang Ying said, “No need!” She warned him with her expression, “You’re not well yet, don’t drive.”

Meng Jingshu explained: “Not me, Assistant Liu is driving. He’ll be here soon. I still have two more bottles of IV drip to finish this afternoon, so it’s convenient.”

Jiang Ying readily agreed.

Meng Jingshu got up and went to the walk-in closet to change. Jiang Ying followed, going to the adjacent bathroom to wash up. The short nap had relieved her fatigue. She washed her face, put on some lipstick, and her complexion was quite good.

She moved quickly. When she came out, Meng Jingshu had just changed his pants and was taking off his shirt. The man removed his shirt efficiently; he pulled at the collar with one hand, and the shirt easily came off like a sheath.

Then, his superior physique was revealed.

Men’s muscles seemed to thicken and become more defined with age. Jiang Ying remembered a certain evening in high school when she passed by the basketball court and saw that boy drenched in sweat, pulling at his shirt to wipe away sweat and cool down.

A slender, well-built waist, with faint abdominal muscles flexing with his breathing. She had only seen it once from a distance, and it was dark so she couldn’t see clearly, were there six or eight packs? Every time she thought about it back then, she would blush fiercely.

It was different now; watching him, she felt thirsty.

She had thought it would happen last night...

She sighed softly.

Meng Jingshu noticed her gaze and didn’t avoid it. He put on his shirt in front of her, then turned his head to look at her: “What do you want to eat tonight? I’ll ask the helper to make it.”

Jiang Ying said, “I’m not coming over tonight.”

Meng Jingshu, who was adjusting his collar, paused his movements and asked, “Something on?”

“Ah.” Jiang Ying nodded, “I have a business trip tomorrow, so I’m going home to rest tonight.”

Meng Jingshu walked towards her: “When will you be back?”

Jiang Ying said, “I’ll be back the same day.”

Meng Jingshu said, “Okay,” then paused and added, “If you’re back late, call me, and I’ll pick you up.”

Jiang Ying’s back was against the wall. He stood close, naturally creating a sense of oppression. She seemed to feel the warmth from his body enveloping her.

She didn’t speak for a moment, just looked at him.

Meng Jingshu received some signal from her gaze, and his rosy lips also held an implicit invitation. He slowly leaned down, closing in...

Suddenly, a soft small hand rested on his waist, mischievously trailing downwards, and at a certain spot, gently pressed. Slender fingers closed around it—

That area instantly changed.

Her voice became seductive: “Even when you’re sick... you’re still so wild...”

Meng Jingshu’s breathing grew heavy, a faint flush appearing on his face. He reached out to embrace her waist, wanting to do something even wilder. Jiang Ying flexibly dodged, slipping out from under his arm and darting to the bedroom door, looking at him with a mischievous smile.

He was gritting his teeth somewhat: “Jiang... Ying.”

Having succeeded in teasing him and seeing his expression change in an instant, Jiang Ying burst into uncontrollable laughter: “Hahaha, I’m going to work now, hahahaha! You don’t need to pick me up tomorrow, I’ll be with my colleagues! You get some good rest, and ask me out again when you’re better!”

Meng Jingshu grabbed at her with a dark face. She took off running, yelling at the top of her lungs, “Assistant Liu! Assistant Liu is almost here! We should go downstairs, CEO Meng!”

Her cheerful laughter echoed throughout the house.

This day’s farce ended with Assistant Liu’s utter bewilderment.

The smiling and cheerful Lawyer Jiang and the stone-faced, silent Boss Meng came out of the boss’s room together?

Had they gotten together?

But what was with this strange atmosphere?

Why was the boss unhappy, regardless of whether Lawyer Jiang was happy or not?

It seemed the boss really wasn’t very good at pursuing girls...

Assistant Liu was trembling, not daring to speak loudly.