After Being Forced to Kiss My Superior (GL) - Chapter 20
Ji Jinyan didn’t ask Li Wanqiu to join her for the afternoon’s work.
She had her reasons for that decision. Wanqiu asked a few questions, but once she heard the explanation, she nodded and didn’t push further.
The trip was set to last two days. Assistant An had already booked the hotel online for the group. Wanqiu was planning to take a taxi back herself, but in the end, she gave in to Lu Ye’s enthusiasm and accepted a ride from him.
“What about President Ji?” she asked.
“Someone’s coming to pick her up,” Lu Ye replied. “No need to worry.”
“Is it a business partner?” Wanqiu asked again.
Lu Ye thought for a moment. “Something like that.”
“I see.” Wanqiu nodded. For some reason, she suddenly thought of the woman she had seen that night at the auction.
But she didn’t ask any more. She didn’t want to sound too nosy. Instead, she looked down as if something came to mind, and quickly searched through her bag. She found a lollipop tucked inside and handed it to Lu Ye while they were waiting at a red light.
“Oh, a lollipop,” Lu Ye chuckled as he took it. “Ever since I quit smoking, I haven’t had one of these in ages.”
Wanqiu was curious. “Did you use candy to help quit smoking?”
“Yes and no,” Lu Ye said. “The candy itself doesn’t really help much. It’s more about having something in your mouth to take the edge off. When you’ve smoked for a long time, your mouth just feels empty without something there.”
“I see,” Wanqiu replied quietly, thinking about what he said.
The hotel wasn’t far from the conference venue. By the time their conversation was winding down, they had already arrived. Lu Ye had other things to take care of, so they went their separate ways.
“Drive safe,” Wanqiu waved goodbye. She watched his car until it disappeared from view before turning around and walking into the hotel.
After checking in at the front desk, she took the keycard and went up to the third floor.
Assistant An knew Ji Jinyan’s travel preferences very well. Everything had been arranged perfectly. The hotel was clean, quiet, and comfortable. Wanqiu got off the elevator and found Room 303. She unlocked the door with her card and stepped inside.
It was a large room with a king-size bed. The decor was elegant and modern—low-key but luxurious. Wanqiu walked around to get familiar with the space.
Normally, she had trouble sleeping in new places. But she had woken up too early that morning, and after all the travel and meetings, the exhaustion finally caught up to her.
Figuring there wasn’t much planned for the rest of the day, she washed up, changed into the pajamas she brought, and lay down on the bed. Before she knew it, she drifted off to sleep.
She was woken up by the sound of her phone ringing.
Still half-asleep, Li Wanqiu reached over and grabbed her phone. She glanced out the window—it was already dark outside.
She answered the call. Ji Jinyan’s calm voice came through the phone.
“Have you had dinner yet?”
“No…” Wanqiu’s voice was soft and a little hoarse from sleep. “Not yet…”
“Were you sleeping?” Ji Jinyan seemed to pick up on something and quickly lowered her voice on the other end of the line.
Li Wanqiu raised a hand to rub her temples. “Mm…”
“Anything you’re craving? I can bring something back for you,” Ji Jinyan asked gently.
Wanqiu actually gave it some serious thought. But in the end, nothing specific came to mind. She mumbled, “Anything’s fine. I’m good with whatever.”
“Got it.” Ji Jinyan let out a soft chuckle over the phone. “I’ll be back soon.”
“Okay.” Wanqiu nodded. She wasn’t even sure if the call had disconnected or not. She stayed curled up in bed a little longer, lingering in the warmth, before finally dragging herself up and into the bathroom to wash her face.
When she came back out, she was clearly more awake. The stars were bright that night, and the sky outside was beautiful. The tall streetlights cast a soft golden glow over everything, wrapping the night in a quiet, almost tender stillness.
It was a lovely scene—one that naturally lifted her mood.
Standing by the window for a while, she admired the view and, feeling content, even started humming a tune to herself. It wasn’t until she returned to the bed to check the time that she suddenly realized—she had never hung up the call.
Li Wanqiu: “…”
Wait… did Ji Jinyan hear all that?
Her eyes widened in alarm. She quickly scrambled to hang up, fumbling with her phone. And just as she had gotten herself back together, there was a knock at the door.
Wanqiu rushed over to open it. Peeking through the peephole, she saw Ji Jinyan standing there, holding a bag of takeout.
There was quite a bit of food—more than just one person’s portion.
“You haven’t eaten yet either?” Wanqiu opened the door and stepped aside to let her in. She sniffed the air as the delicious aroma drifted in. “Is that hot pot stir-fry?”
“Mm,” Ji Jinyan nodded. “I wasn’t sure what exactly you’d want, so I got a bit of everything—vegetables and meat.”
As she spoke, she set the containers down on the table and casually sat down on the sofa. She rolled up her sleeves and carefully unfastened the ties on the plastic bags.
“Li Wanqiu,” she said, glancing up with a calm smile in her eyes. “Why are you still standing over there? Don’t like hot pot?”
“It’s not that.” Wanqiu shook her head, glanced down at her pajamas, then subtly compared them to Ji Jinyan’s tailored suit. “…Are we eating together?”
Ji Jinyan raised an eyebrow slightly. “What else?”
Wanqiu let out a small laugh. “Nothing.” She was really starting to feel hungry now, so she didn’t argue. She walked over and sat beside her.
As she looked at Ji Jinyan up closely, she realized she’d never sat this near to her before.
She hesitated a moment, then picked up the remote from the table. “Wanna watch something while we eat?”
“Sure,” Ji Jinyan replied softly.
Wanqiu turned on the TV and flipped through a few channels before settling on a light, entertaining variety show. She glanced over and asked, “This, okay?”
Ji Jinyan smiled. “It’s perfect.”
“Then we’ll watch this one,” Li Wanqiu nodded. Since it wasn’t her first time having dinner with Ji Jinyan, the initial awkwardness had slowly faded. As she relaxed, her attention gradually shifted to the show on the screen.
At that moment, the program was doing a rapid-fire Q&A segment. The host asked sharp and tricky questions, and if the guests didn’t react fast enough, they were bound to slip up.
At first, the guests managed to keep up. But the questions kept coming, one after another. Eventually, mistakes started happening. Someone called white black, someone else confused red with purple.
Li Wanqiu laughed, her eyes curving with amusement. She turned toward Ji Jinyan with a bright smile. “He just called wine ‘peach hunter juice.'”
Her voice was cheerful, her expression full of genuine joy.
Perhaps sensing her gaze, Ji Jinyan looked over at her just then.
The sound of laughter from the TV filled the room, but outside the screen, everything was calm. In that quiet moment, their eyes met. Neither of them looked away.
After a moment, Ji Jinyan smiled gently. “It is pretty funny.”
“If I ever happen to make a wine like that, I’ll let you try it first.”
Her voice was soft, her tone light and teasing, like a sip of good wine—subtle, smooth, and quietly intoxicating.
Li Wanqiu was momentarily dazed by her smile. It took her a while to pull her thoughts together. Realizing she had been staring, she quickly turned her head back to the screen.
“Sure,” she said with a small nod. She could still feel Ji Jinyan’s gaze on her, which made her feel slightly embarrassed. Suddenly remembering what Lu Ye had mentioned earlier that day, she grabbed her bag and began rummaging through it.
But there was nothing left. She had already eaten the last lollipop.
Just as she was thinking of changing the subject, Ji Jinyan asked her a question.
“Li Wanqiu, what are you looking for?”
There was a soft hint of curiosity in her voice, maybe even a little expectation.
“I…” Wanqiu let out a small sigh, gave the bag one last look, and finally gave up. She looked up and met Ji Jinyan’s eyes.
“Ji Jinyan, do you want a lollipop?”
“I don’t have one right now, but I can get you one later,” she said, smiling at the silliness of it but still finishing her sentence. “You’ll have to let me owe you for now.”
After dinner, they rested for a bit. Then Li Wanqiu stood up and began cleaning the table.
“Heading to bed?” Ji Jinyan asked, standing up when she noticed her movements.
“I’ll take care of it,” Wanqiu said quickly. Ji Jinyan had already gone out to get the food. There was no way she would let her clean up too. “No rush to sleep. You can sit for a while longer.”
“I’m just going to take the trash out.” She spoke while carefully tying up the garbage bags. Then, remembering her promise about the lollipop, she headed straight to the nearby convenience store.
Not knowing which flavor Ji Jinyan might like, she bought one of each.
On her way back, she started thinking about how to bring up the topic of smoking—maybe suggest using lollipops as a replacement whenever the craving hit. She was still considering how to say it naturally when she opened the door to the room.
The variety show was still playing on the television. The hosts were arguing dramatically, their voices mixed with the audience’s laughter. The sound was loud and lively, but the person on the sofa sat quietly, completely still.
Li Wanqiu paused, sensing something. A thought surfaced in her mind, and she stood silently for a few seconds before slowly walking closer.
That was when she saw that Ji Jinyan was still sitting there, but her eyes were closed. Her posture was more relaxed now, and her breathing had become deeper.
The light above cast a soft glow over her face, stretching the shadows of her lashes across her cheeks. Her lips were gently closed, and her fair skin was framed by a few strands of loose hair.
She looked calm, quiet, and beautiful.
She had fallen asleep.