TSDT - 23

Because of this small interlude, Jiang Ying declined Meng Jingshu’s invitation to shower together. Meng Jingshu didn’t insist and took his shower first.

By the time Jiang Ying came out, the man was already expertly settled in bed, waiting.

He was half-reclined against the headboard, looking at industry trends on his tablet. Someone walked past the bed to the balcony to hang personal laundry. Meng Jingshu, predictably, got distracted.

It was hard to say whether she was intentionally or unintentionally provocative. She was as comfortable as if she were the only person at home, dressed extremely casually in only underwear and a loose T-shirt. Her dark hair was half-wet, and where the ends reached, the slight rise of her chest was faintly visible. Below the hem of her shirt, her full, rounded buttocks and long, fair legs were completely exposed.

Yet, she didn’t seem to be deliberately seducing him. Her clothes were visibly old, washed to the point of being misshapen and faded. She truly didn’t treat him as an outsider, or perhaps didn’t care if he thought her lifestyle was rough.

With one look, his heart fluttered erratically, unable to settle.

With a pair of legs like that, why did she always wear school pants before?

Meng Jingshu put down his tablet. Just as she entered the room to get her phone, he, being close by, picked it up and walked over to hand it to her.

She turned to go to the balcony again, and Meng Jingshu followed her out.

Jiang Ying squatted at his feet, had him turn on the balcony light, and then took 180-degree photos of the small mint plant—she couldn’t do 360 degrees because the mint couldn’t stand steadily and one side had to lean against the glass panel.

Meng Jingshu: “Taking so many pictures?”

Jiang Ying, eager to compete: “Of course! I need to record it comprehensively and frequently to see whose, Piglet or Panda, grows better.”

Meng Jingshu was speechless and nudged her with his foot. No reason, he just wanted to touch her.

Jiang Ying seized the opportunity, directly sat back, and firmly pressed down on the man’s foot with her weight.

Meng Jingshu smiled, not moving.

After she took a few more pictures, he said, “Are you done? Aren’t your legs cold?”

“Almost...” She tilted her head and body, taking two more quick snaps. “Done!”

Meng Jingshu directly bent down and lifted her up by her armpits.

They went inside, closed the glass door, and kept the cold night wind out. The warmth from the shower had mostly dissipated, and Jiang Ying was feeling a bit cold and wanted to snuggle into bed. Meng Jingshu wouldn’t let her. He extended his long arm, blocking her path.

Jiang Ying immediately bent her knees and slid down, trying to duck under his arm. Meng Jingshu reacted faster than her, his other hand gripping her waist and lifting her up. She was pinned between the wall and him, with no space in between.

She stretched her neck, glaring at him, but after a few seconds, she couldn’t help but laugh first, “What’s the meaning of this?”

Meng Jingshu also stared into her eyes, raising an eyebrow, “If I didn’t come, could you have done it yourself?” He lifted his chin, gesturing towards the mint outside.

Was he asking for credit?

Jiang Ying’s front was pressed against him, her back supported by his hand. She wasn’t cold anymore, and thus had the mind to be coquettish.

She wrapped her arms around him and deliberately said in a cutesy voice, “I couldn’t have done it, so I’d call Meng Jingshu, and he would definitely come~”

A flush of unnatural red flashed across the man’s face. He inhaled deeply, suppressing himself.

He said, “Is that all I’m good for?”

“Of course not, you also have...” Jiang Ying twisted her hips to rub against a certain area. She chuckled, enunciating with emphasis, “th-is effect.”

Meng Jingshu gritted his teeth, breathing heavily, “Is teasing me that much fun?”

Jiang Ying’s fingers traced his back, and she asked softly, “Do you hate this?”

They were pressed so close, she knew all his reactions.

Jiang Ying, as if casting a spell, whispered, “You like it...”

He swallowed her exhaled breath, taking her lips, kissing her urgently. Jiang Ying’s physique could only be described as petite compared to Meng Jingshu’s. She was easily controlled, and he pressed her tightly against the wall.

He only released her swollen lips just as she was about to run out of air.

Both of them were breathing heavily.

Meng Jingshu moved on to nibble her earlobe and neckline, his palms burning on her skin.

The most primal male strength held the most direct attraction for women. Whenever he easily took firm control of her, her body instinctively clamored with desire.

The feeling of weightlessness was incredibly stimulating, and sweat dripped onto the wall.

Her faint voice made his heart burn, and he spoke nonsensical, crude words.

Hoarse, broken.

“Jiang Ying, the floor is all dirty.”

“You love it to death, don’t you? Little hooligan...”

In the end, both of them lost their heads.

________________________________________

Meng Jingshu stayed at Jiang Ying’s small apartment for two consecutive days, spending the weekend in bed. They only separated on Monday to go to their respective jobs.

The law firm was abuzz with gossip early in the morning. Colleagues were discussing how the young front desk girl, who had only been there for a few weeks, had resigned because she was constantly harassed by Director Hu.

In the industry, senior partners are usually referred to as directors. Director Hu, Hu Guowei, was the biggest partner at their law firm. The “Wei” in Weihe Law Firm came from his name, and “He” came from another director, Yang Xiaohe.

Privately, they jokingly called Hu Guowei the boss and Yang Xiaohe the boss’s wife. Both of them had their own families, yet they maintained a certain relationship for years. This was an unresolvable secret that everyone at their law firm often discussed.

Director Hu was quite a character. Not only could he navigate effortlessly between his legal wife and his close partner, but he also didn’t spare the young women at the law firm.

Young lawyers like Jiang Ying were relatively okay, at most experiencing occasional verbal advances. But the girls working at the front desk were truly miserable. The interview process was as difficult as selecting a concubine, and after being hired, they had to endure his long-term harassment. He didn’t even need to do anything illegal; a wealthy and powerful middle-aged man always had ways to tease a young girl.

This was already the third front desk staff to resign this year.

The perpetrator didn’t care at all and had already asked HR to start recruiting, of course, the final decision would still be his.

And that wasn’t all. Hu Guowei’s hunting ground extended far beyond his home and the law firm. It was commonplace for him to socialize and network his way into bed, and every so often, colleagues would run into him out with some unfamiliar beautiful woman, acting intimately. These had long been idle chatter topics at the law firm.

“Director is already over fifty, can he still keep up physically?”

“Maybe they’re just good at acting and very cooperative? Don’t let Director’s ordinary clothes fool you, his watch alone is worth years of our salary.” He gestured with his hand to indicate a large sum.

“Awesome!”

“His wife must have incredible patience!”

“The weirdest thing is that Director Yang and his wife have a good relationship too!”

“Oh my God... This must be an extreme case of mutual benefit, right?”

“It’s just a shame for those pretty front desk girls. Even if they don’t suffer any substantial harm, it’s still a mental loss.”

The sound of keyboards typing and faint gossiping alternated in the office until a superior came in to assign work, at which point the discussion ceased, and everyone returned to their normal duties.

During lunch break, Meng Jingshu was probably free and chatted with Jiang Ying on WeChat, the content being utterly empty.

He asked: “What did you have for lunch?”

Jiang Ying: “The cafeteria of the company next door.”

Meng Jingshu: “Was it good?”

Jiang Ying: “On par with the school’s second cafeteria.”

She was referring to their university’s largest cafeteria, which had accompanied countless students through hundreds, even thousands, of meals. It left a deep impression on everyone with its heavy oil, consistent dishes, and widely fluctuating saltiness and spiciness. Although they didn’t meet often during university, they would always cross the same paths at different times.

Meng Jingshu: “Mediocre.”

He gave an objective and accurate assessment.

Jiang Ying smiled: “What about you?”

Meng Jingshu: “Takeout.”

Jiang Ying: “Does the boss live so mediocrely too?”

Meng Jingshu: “Otherwise?”

After lunch, the office was peaceful and lazy. Everyone was sprawled out on their folding beds, some sleeping, some playing games, some watching shows. Jiang Ying lay on her side, covered by a large scarf, a sliver of sunlight peeking through the curtain revealing dancing dust motes.

Jiang Ying put on her headphones to listen to music and suddenly asked him, “Is the little girl at your front desk pretty?”

Meng Jingshu replied: “The front desk is a guy, looks pretty good.”

Jiang Ying: “Oh...”

Her “oh” was quite meaningful.

Meng Jingshu: “What’s wrong?”

Jiang Ying took a sip of water, then slowly typed to him: “It’s just that...”

She briefly explained the situation to him, speaking with a mournful tone, growing more and more emotional as she talked.

“...It’s so scary to finally find a job and then encounter a boss like that... I really don’t understand, do men with a bit of money find it so satisfying to toy with young girls? Hopping around between so many women, doesn’t he get tired...?”

After a long rant finally vented, Jiang Ying felt refreshed. However, her satisfaction didn’t last long before she was choked by his reply.

He slowly said, “Are you hinting at something?”

???

Jiang Ying: “Just casual chat, OK?”

He ignored her dismissive attitude: “Don’t overthink it. You know my ‘time limit,’ you alone are enough to keep me busy, I don’t have time to look for others.”

Who was talking about that with you?!

Jiang Ying rolled her eyes at him through the screen and typed quickly: “You stay busy, goodbye.”

When the door was pushed open, the smile on Meng Jingshu’s face hadn’t faded, and Wei Zhanfeng caught him red-handed.

“Who is it, who is it? Smiling so shamelessly? That loli from last time?” He craned his neck, and in the zero-point-zero-one second that Meng Jingshu’s screen went black, he spotted the WeChat nickname with his excellent eyesight. Goosebumps immediately rose on his skin. “Holy shit! Little hooligan??!! Meng Jingshu, seriously! Are you still alive?! That’s so cheesy!”

Meng Jingshu flipped his phone face down, his cold expression returning: “State your business.”

Wei Zhanfeng rubbed his arm, complaining: “Damn it, you really prioritize women over friends... Chatting with a woman makes you so sweet, but to your brother you’re like an autumn wind sweeping fallen leaves...”

“Get out if you’re not going to say anything.”

“Son of a b*tch... It’s just that I’m going to that tech ecosystem conference this afternoon, and a client needs to come to the company. You’ll receive them.”

“Who?”

“That female boss of the small company Zhang Zong introduced last time, the one who always tried to flirt with you.”

Meng Jingshu mused for a moment: “I’ll go to the conference. You stay at the company.”

Wei Zhanfeng pulled out a chair and sat down, spreading his hands behind him: “Old Meng... When have you ever gone to these meetings? Don’t tell me it’s just to avoid that female boss? Look, she’s much more interested in you than in our products. She’s coming for you, and you want me to receive her?”

Meng Jingshu: “Is that all the class we have? For such a small order, you want me to sell smiles? What about bigger ones later, will I have to sell myself?”

Wei Zhanfeng: “Young master, even a small ant is still meat. Our conditions for investors are so strict, so of course we have to cherish every client. What’s wrong with selling a smile?”

Meng Jingshu: “No need. You’re much better at talking than I am. I trust you, Mr. Wei.”

Wei Zhanfeng was somewhat famous in the computer science department back in the day, but later, as he studied, he found it boring. These standard and stable characters were too damn uninteresting. He preferred interacting with people. So after graduating with his bachelor’s degree, he went abroad, applied for a management major, and since then found his true calling, excelling and being an eloquent speaker. But no matter how eloquent he was, he would wither when it came to Meng Jingshu.

Wei Zhanfeng: “Damn it, I’ve always been unable to persuade you.”

Meng Jingshu smiled: “About something, that project you mentioned last time, I went and talked about it. They just confirmed, we can get one spot. Get ready,” he tapped the calendar, “within one and a half months, send it for approval.”

Wei Zhanfeng was overjoyed, slapping the table: “Holy shit! You actually pulled it off!”

When Shufeng was founded, they had already planned the company’s positioning and development. Investors who shared their vision and were willing to give them freedom were rare, so the company’s budget was never generous. When this season’s funds arrived, they had to think about the next season. They had always been looking for ways to expand their revenue channels with limited resources.

Actually, during the most financially strapped times, Wei Zhanfeng had thought that worst case scenario, the wool could be taken from the sheep’s back; the two bosses could just reach out to their families, it wouldn’t be so hard. Meng Jingshu firmly rejected that idea immediately, saying: “Isn’t it because we’re bored at home that we started our own thing? Now that it’s a bit difficult, you want to rely on your family, is that interesting?”

Wei Zhanfeng wanted to cry: “...Not interesting.”

During difficult times, Wei Zhanfeng recalled a social survey he conducted on women’s mate selection during his master’s degree. He had put in a lot of effort for the competition, with detailed data and countless interviews and questionnaires. From this, he conceived the idea of making a dating game. Technologically, it wasn’t complex and was easy to attract popularity. He even had a project evaluation done. But with policy tightening, it became difficult to proceed.

Hence, today’s conversation.

Meng Jingshu leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers on the desk: “Don’t celebrate too soon. Whether it works or not depends on market feedback.”

“Hehehehehe...” Wei Zhanfeng kept pulling at his collar, then his cuffs, so happy his eyebrows almost flew off. “Don’t worry about that, I’ve done my research, this idea will absolutely hit home, hahahaha. You know, the data I collected back then could fill the entire Bianjiang River; it’ll definitely make lonely girls addicted, hehehe...”

He saw Meng Jingshu’s complex expression and chuckled again: “Didn’t you used to think this game was low-class, why did you agree to it now and even proactively handle the approval? Hahahaha, you really are my good brother!”

“The company needs open source, it’s better than selling smiles.”

Wei Zhanfeng was still laughing: “Don’t be so unwilling, go wash your face, tidy up, and be the most handsome one in the whole venue this afternoon! Oh right, there’s also an interview!”