TSDT - 42

Jiang Ying returned home to find the lights on, but Meng Jingshu was nowhere in sight.

She sent him a message, but he didn’t reply.

A moment later, the sound of keys jingling at the door echoed. The new key still hadn’t fully yielded.

Jiang Ying, nibbling on a ginseng fruit, tiptoed behind the door.

When he pushed the door open, just as he was about to close it,

“Boo!” she popped her head out from the side, surprising him.

Meng Jingshu gave her a calm glance, clearly unfazed. “Mm.”

“Mm?”

What did that mean?

Jiang Ying asked, “Where were you?”

He lowered his head to change his shoes. “Nowhere in particular, just got back.”

“...”

“When I came back, the lights were on,” Jiang Ying said unhurriedly, chewing on her fruit.

Meng Jingshu paused.

He changed his explanation. “Went downstairs to buy cigarettes.”

There was indeed a faint smell of smoke. There was a supermarket on the second floor; sometimes when he ran out of cigarettes, he’d replenish his stock there and smoke a few outside, both to satisfy his craving and avoid bothering her with the smoke.

“Oh. No wonder I didn’t see you.” The clues matched, no anomalies, everything was okay.

Jiang Ying popped the remaining half of the ginseng fruit into her mouth, her cheeks bulging, and went to wash her hands.

Meng Jingshu stood behind her, his voice lowered by a sinking emotion. He asked, seemingly casually, “Did you take the subway back?”

“No,” Jiang Ying shook the water off her hands and turned to talk to him. “Director Hu sent me back. You know, that annoying director I told you about last time. Ugh, seriously... Good thing a colleague was with me...”

“He harassed you?” He frowned.

“N-not really...” Jiang Ying hesitated. Actually, such things were not uncommon in the workplace, just to varying degrees. As long as no bottom line was crossed, no one wanted to risk their career by causing a scene.

Jiang Ying was afraid that Meng Jingshu, having been accustomed to smooth sailing since childhood, despite maturing considerably, was still fundamentally arrogant and prone to extreme reactions in such situations.

She pretended to be lighthearted. “He’s just too overly familiar, a bit annoying, but he’s not brainless. Why would he harass a lawyer from his own firm?”

“You didn’t say that last time when you were talking about your receptionist.”

Jiang Ying was speechless. A playful mood suddenly struck her, and she simply splashed water on his face with both hands. Fine droplets flew straight into his eyes, and she giggled as she watched him dodge. He was both annoyed and amused, turning his head and leaning back slightly, squinting as he tried to grab her mischievous hands.

He trapped her between himself and the countertop. “Speak properly.”

“It’s really nothing,” she looked up at him. “If it really reached that point, I wouldn’t tolerate it.”

“Don’t go hit him,” Jiang Ying added in a small voice.

Meng Jingshu was truly amused and exasperated by her. “Are you really treating me like a street thug?”

Jiang Ying also laughed. “This impression is a historical legacy, who told you to hang out with thugs every day in high school?”

He scoffed, not bothering to argue with her.

“What I wanted to say is, if it’s annoying, just quit. Find somewhere else; you don’t have to put up with him.”

Jiang Ying said, “It’s not that serious. I won’t be working with him often, and our firm’s conditions are quite good. Compared to that, the trouble he causes is insignificant. Besides, where is there a perfect job? Are we just going to quit if we encounter something we don’t like?”

“Mm,” he nodded. “If you don’t like it, don’t do it. Don’t let people bully you.”

“Are you going to keep me?”

He smiled. “Not keep you, but support you.”

The conversation gradually veered off track. The current confinement and closeness set the stage for restlessness. Jiang Ying pressed her lips together and smiled, suddenly unable to bear his scorching gaze, wanting to look away.

Meng Jingshu didn’t let her hide, lowering his head to follow, pecking her red lips a few times.

His breath enveloped her lips and nose. “Do you know what ‘keeping’ means, just spouting nonsense?”

Jiang Ying was indignant at this.

She suppressed a laugh and glared at him. “Why wouldn’t I know? Do you still think I’m some naive bookworm?”

“Mm.”

He tightened his grip around her waist, demanding a deeper kiss.

Jiang Ying hated grease and insisted on cleaning the kitchen thoroughly after every use. The countertop was dry and clean, facilitating their current intimacy.

She was kissed until she felt weak, his body heat gradually warming hers.

Meng Jingshu cupped her face with one hand, stroking, gently kneading, kissing her over and over.

They looked at each other in the shadow he cast. When they kissed, he was a blurred world; when they parted, she saw herself occupying his eyes.

“Jiang Ying...” he murmured huskily, “How are your eyes so beautiful?”

She hugged him and laughed.

He said, “It’s like they can pull a person in.”

Her body was too hot, her heart was hot, her mind was hot. She was passionate and unrestrained.

She kissed his Adam’s apple, kissed his chiseled jawline, then went to his ear, whispering in a low breath, “It’s not just my eyes that can pull you in...”

And then, they lost control.

________________________________________

That night, Jiang Ying paid a heavy price for her mischievousness.

Sweat, or something else, stained the kitchen and furniture.

They used and discarded, eventually ending up on the carpet.

Jiang Ying was utterly exhausted. She whimpered and struggled, trying to push him away. Instead, he held her hands and pulled her into his embrace, coaxing her,

“Kiss me.”

Jiang Ying turned her head away.

Meng Jingshu kissed her over and over, holding her, clinging to each other like they were steeped in honey. “Little rascal, be a good girl...”

During the cleaning process, Jiang Ying was already drifting in and out of consciousness. Finally, back in bed, she fell asleep almost instantly.

“Good night.” Saying good night before bed was already their fixed routine.

Jiang Ying was utterly exhausted; how could she possibly respond to him?

But Meng Jingshu was still not satisfied, as if he couldn’t sleep soundly without hearing that one phrase.

“Jiang Ying, say good night.”

She frowned slightly.

Meng Jingshu, for some inexplicable reason, suddenly thought of how she had been smiling and chatting with that man downstairs earlier that night.

He gently pinched her cheek,

“Hurry up.”

She finally reacted, letting out a soft “woo.”

“Say good night,” he repeated.

“Good—night—”

Her voice was soft and delicate, full of a wronged tone, smoothing out the tiny creases in his heart.

He curled his lips, kissed her, and whispered again, “Good night.”

“Mm—” she responded unconsciously.

He then couldn’t resist, and kissed her again.

________________________________________

The ring on Jiang Ying’s hand was spotted by sharp-eyed Xiao Man within five minutes of her walking into the office. And just like that, this unclear relationship was exposed.

Xiao Man feigned anger: “Well, well, Jiang Ying, you secretly found a boyfriend and even made my little boyfriend help you arrange things, and then you just let that young man down, didn’t you?”

Jiang Ying came forward to apologize: “I didn’t mean to... I’ll treat everyone to dinner tonight.”

“What’s the point of you treating us alone? Bring your boyfriend along!”

“Probably not possible lately, he’s incredibly busy, either working overtime or on business trips.”

“Then in a while, no rush. He can’t run away from the temple.”

“Okay,” she responded with a smile.

Work hours began, and colleagues returned to their desks. Only Xiao Man, at the adjacent desk, was whispering to her.

“Goodness,” Xiao Man’s eyes gleamed as she touched the delicate diamond link ring. “This one is worth three months of our salary.”

She gave Jiang Ying a thumbs up.

“This is good, you should hold onto him.”

In most cases, colleagues rarely become close friends. But after two years as co-workers, with no conflicts of interest, their camaraderie was pure, like the friendships from their school days. They genuinely wished each other well.

Jiang Ying said proudly, “Just because he’s rich?”

Xiao Man chuckled softly, “I think he has a good heart. Generally, rich guys like to pick popular influencer styles, but your series is quite niche. Hmm... how should I put it, it feels like he doesn’t want something like what everyone else has, maybe he thinks you’re just very special.”

Jiang Ying was surprised. “Are you an emotional psychology analyst...?”

“Hehe, practice makes perfect.”

Jiang Ying recalled that morning, when she came out of the bathroom after washing up, still half-asleep, and he grabbed her hand and slipped a ring onto her middle finger. She looked down, her eyes dazzled.

Then she stammered, “Wh-why... no, if you’re going to buy a ring, a simple one would be fine, why diamonds?”

“Doesn’t it look good? The salesperson said this style sells less. Don’t you think it’s very special?”

Special.

But it really was too special.

Aren’t diamond rings usually for proposals? Putting it on the middle finger was indeed very special.

But she was so dazed by the sparkle that she could only smile.

As for Meng Jingshu, he simply didn’t want to see her wearing the same ring as another man someday.