After Being Forced to Kiss My Superior (GL) - Chapter 10
Still needed a “good afternoon”?
Autumn Li froze for a second, then turned back instinctively and asked softly,
“Do you also want to hear a story?”
Ji Jinyan smiled and nodded. “I wouldn’t mind.”
Autumn quickly replied,
“Good afternoon.”
She said it in a hurry, then quickly walked out of the room. Just as the door closed, she heard a quiet chuckle from behind her—soft, pleasant, and somehow lingering in the air, mixed with the faint scent of Ji Jinyan’s perfume.
Friday arrived before she knew it.
After a full day of work, Autumn took a relaxing shower and curled up in bed feeling refreshed and content.
She had just settled under the covers when her phone rang. It was Yan Weiwei.
Autumn reached over, answered the call, and lay on her stomach lazily.
“Hello?”
“What are you doing?” Yan Weiwei asked. “There’s an event tomorrow. Song Yu found a new place for us to go work out together. Want to come?”
“Nope.” Autumn hugged her pillow and rolled to the side.
“I’ve already made plans. I’m going out with someone—I won’t have time.”
“You have plans?” Yan Weiwei paused for a second, then asked suspiciously,
“Is it with Guan Chun? I heard she’s back in town. After everything you went through with her, you’re still hanging out?”
“It’s not her.” Autumn shook her head.
“Then who is it?” Yan Weiwei’s tone eased a little, but quickly turned playful again.
“Wait… something’s going on, isn’t it?”
“Of course not,” Autumn replied, a bit defensively, then admitted honestly,
“I’m just treating Ji Jinyan to dinner.”
There was a long pause on the other end.
“…You what?” Yan Weiwei finally said. “You’re taking her out? Is something going on between you two?”
“Huh?” Autumn was caught off guard.
“I mean seriously,” Yan Weiwei said with mock seriousness, “what normal person asks their boss out for dinner? That’s not a casual thing!”
Autumn sighed, clearly a little helpless.
“It’s not like that. Something happened before, and I kind of owe her a favor.”
“Oh…” Yan Weiwei muttered. Her voice sounded a little disappointed.
“You know, tons of people online are in love with Director Ji,” she said after a moment. “You really haven’t thought about giving it a try? She’s only seven years older than you. That’s not even a big gap.”
Autumn laughed. “You’re overthinking it.”
“Alright, alright,” Yan Weiwei sighed dramatically. She could tell Autumn didn’t want to talk about it anymore, so she changed the subject and started chatting about the latest drama at the club.
They talked for a while before finally hanging up.
After ending the call, Autumn glanced at the time. Ji Jinyan probably hadn’t gone to sleep yet. She hesitated for a few seconds, then opened WeChat and sent her a message to confirm their meeting time for the next morning.
No reply came for a long time.
Autumn didn’t mind the wait. Her thoughts drifted back to something Yan Weiwei had said. Out of curiosity, she opened her browser and searched Ji Jinyan’s name.
The page loaded quickly, and the top search results were mostly articles about Bixia—praising Ji Jinyan’s leadership, the beauty of the winery, and her role in shaping its future. There were also expert analyses about the wine industry and Bixia’s market direction.
And of course, plenty of compliments about her looks.
Autumn clicked into a popular forum thread. It had already racked up hundreds of replies. Besides screenshots from news clips and videos, most of the comments were full of admiration and praise.
User A: Director Ji is seriously stunning. Why don’t I have a boss this good-looking? She’s unreal. If I switch careers now and learn winemaking, is it too late?
User B: There’s still time! But winemaking is a serious craft… it might not be that easy to learn.
User C: You two should just go to bed. Dreaming about it is probably easier.
User D: Agreed.
User E: Seconded.
…
It was unexpectedly entertaining.
Autumn Li scrolled further down, genuinely amused. She even noticed that a lot of people were comparing Ji Jinyan to different animals—some said she looked like a cat, others said she was more like a fox. Just as the thread turned into a playful debate, one particular GIF caught Autumn’s eye.
It looked like it was taken at some kind of high-society gala. The event was clearly winding down—the lighting around the venue was dazzling and vaguely romantic. In the GIF, Ji Jinyan was wearing a pale blue evening dress. Her waist was slim, her legs long and graceful—she stood out instantly.
She was holding a wine glass, walking quietly through the crowd, commanding attention without even trying. Then someone called her name from the side. She stopped, turned slightly, and looked up with a soft smile.
In that moment, everything around her seemed to fade.
The lights dimmed.
All eyes fell on her.
She looked stunning—like a spellbinding fox.
Autumn paused, caught off guard by the thought. She had just typed out that very phrase in her head when suddenly, her phone buzzed in her hand.
Startled, she picked up the call.
Her voice came out more flustered than she expected.
“Hello?”
“I just finished up and saw your message,” Ji Jinyan’s calm voice came through the speaker. “Tomorrow’s time works perfectly.”
“…Okay.” Autumn nodded slowly, still not fully recovered from the image in her mind. “Then… I’ll see you tomorrow.”
There was a brief pause, then Ji Jinyan asked,
“Autumn Li. Are you alright?”
“Huh? Oh—yeah.” Autumn quickly shook her head and gave a small, embarrassed cough. “I was just… about to go to bed.”
“I didn’t wake you, did I?” Ji Jinyan asked.
“No, not at all.” Autumn responded quickly.
“That’s good.” Ji Jinyan’s tone softened. After a short pause, she added,
“Goodnight.”
The words slid into Autumn’s ear like a whisper, making it tingle slightly.
She quietly replied, “Goodnight.”
Then paused, ready to hang up.
But before she could, Ji Jinyan’s voice came again—light, teasing, with a smile hidden between the words.
“Autumn Li, do you need a bedtime story?”
The next day.
It was the first time Autumn had seen Ji Jinyan outside of work. She was more nervous than expected and spent a long time just deciding what to wear.
After some thought, she chose a simple white dress.
But when she arrived, she realized Ji Jinyan wasn’t in her usual workwear either.
She had swapped out her suit for a long, elegant black dress.
The two of them—one in black, one in white, one taller, one shorter—walked side by side. Without even trying, they looked perfectly matched, almost as if they had coordinated it ahead of time.
Autumn Li stepped forward and asked softly,
“Did you… wait long?”
“Not really,” Ji Jinyan shook her head. “I just got here a minute or two before you.”
“You said you were treating me to lunch. Have you decided where we’re going?” she asked.
“Of course.” Autumn smiled as she opened the map on her phone and showed it to her.
“It’s not far. Should we walk, or take the subway?”
It was Saturday afternoon, and the streets were a little crowded. Neither of them had driven. Ji Jinyan glanced down at the phone, thought for a moment, and said,
“Let’s walk. It’ll be a nice bit of exercise.”
“Alright,” Autumn nodded and put her phone away.
Before her parents’ business became stable, they used to move often. When Autumn was ten, she had lived in this area for a while. Time flew by. More than ten years had passed, but the neighborhood hadn’t changed much.
As they walked, Autumn pointed out the buildings around them, sharing old memories from when she used to live nearby.
Ji Jinyan listened quietly, then said,
“I actually know a little about this place too.”
“You do?” Autumn looked surprised.
Ji Jinyan nodded. “Yeah. I’ve been here before.”
“When was that? And why?” Autumn asked, curious.
Ji Jinyan gave a faint smile. “It was a long time ago. As for why…”
She paused, her eyes playful. “That’s a secret.”
She raised an eyebrow slightly, and the smile at the corner of her lips made her look just like a clever fox—mischievous and hard to pin down.
“…Alright,” Autumn said, nodding with a smile of her own. Since Ji Jinyan didn’t want to say, she didn’t push any further.
The restaurant wasn’t far, and after a short walk, they arrived.
Autumn had already made a reservation. They took the elevator up, and a server led them to a private dining room. Once seated, Autumn handed the menu to Ji Jinyan.
“You can order,” she said gently. “The food here is really good. Not too salty, not too bland—I think you’ll like it.”
Ji Jinyan glanced up, a little amused.
“And how would you know what I like?”
“That time we visited Elder Liu together,” Autumn said, slightly embarrassed. “I paid attention. I remembered.”
Ji Jinyan nodded. “I see. In that case, I won’t hold back.”
She lowered her gaze and started to browse the menu.
Autumn sat quietly across from her. As Ji Jinyan leaned forward slightly, her long lashes fell over her eyes like soft wings. Her features were already so refined, and in that moment, she looked even more beautiful.
Autumn stared for a few seconds before suddenly understanding the people online who were constantly praising her. Even if she normally wasn’t drawn to older women, she had to admit—
Ji Jinyan really was stunning.
Just as she got caught in that thought, Ji Jinyan looked up.
Autumn quickly looked away, flustered, then tried to cover it up.
“What is it?”
“For drinks—what do you want?” Ji Jinyan asked with a slight smile.
“Orange juice?”
“No need for that,” Autumn said quickly, waving a hand. “That night I just drank too fast… and it was strong. A little red wine is fine. I won’t overdo it.”
“Sounds good.” Ji Jinyan nodded and passed the menu back.
“Want to check the order?”
“No need.” Autumn shook her head and stood to hand the menu to the server waiting outside.
As she sat back down, Ji Jinyan suddenly said,
“Actually, even if you have a few more drinks, it’s fine.”
Autumn blinked. “What?”
“Red wine,” Ji Jinyan said lightly. “We’re out to relax. As long as you’re having a good time, that’s what matters.”
She smiled again, and the light from the window caught her face just right, softening her already elegant features.
“If you get drunk again…” she added casually,
“I’ll just take you home—just like that night.”