After Being Forced to Kiss My Superior (GL) - Chapter 3

Ji Jinyan wasn’t just beautiful—she also drove a luxury car, the kind of vehicle most people couldn’t even dream of affording.

Maybe it was her presence that overwhelmed the man from earlier, but for a moment, he froze. Then, almost instinctively, he let go of Li Wanqiu’s sleeve and backed off without saying another word.

Li Wanqiu narrowed her eyes, making a mental note of his face. She quickly stepped toward the car and got in. The moment she sat down, she was wrapped in a light, elegant fragrance.

It was Ji Jinyan’s scent—just like when they first met. Soft and fresh, like mountain spring water, calming and pleasant. Back then, she had only thought it smelled nice. But now, it stirred something else inside her.

A strange sense of comfort.

The commercial street was always busy, and with a police station nearby, the man hadn’t dared to go too far. At first, Li Wanqiu had planned to call a nearby friend to come pick her up.

But to her surprise, Ji Jinyan showed up just in time.

“Thanks for earlier,” Li Wanqiu said. Her emotions had been tightly wound, but now that things had calmed down, she was finally able to relax. As she sat there beside Ji Jinyan, she gradually became aware of how awkward the situation felt.

“No need to thank me,” Ji Jinyan replied calmly. She accepted the gratitude with grace, lightly tapping her fingers on the steering wheel before pausing and setting her phone to silent.

Then she turned slightly to glance at her. “Where are you headed? I’ll drive you.”

Li Wanqiu hesitated. “Are you sure? I don’t want to bother you.”

“It’s no trouble,” Ji said with a faint smile. Her voice was cool and steady. “I just finished work and don’t have anything else planned.”

“…Okay,” Li Wanqiu finally agreed with a nod. Technically, today was their first time properly meeting. She didn’t feel comfortable asking for favors, but after what had just happened, she really didn’t want to be alone. So she quietly gave the name of her apartment complex. “I want to go home.”

“Alright.” Ji Jinyan responded, then turned the car at the next intersection. “Put on your seatbelt.”

The two of them barely knew each other, and there wasn’t much to talk about. Silence quickly filled the space between them. Luckily, Li Wanqiu didn’t live far. After a few turns, the car came to a stop.

Li Wanqiu was still thinking about what had happened that morning. Now that the car had stopped, she didn’t get out right away. Instead, she glanced at Ji Jinyan, cleared her throat softly, and said, “Um… I wanted to apologize.”

“For what?” Ji turned to look at her.

“For saying you were old… earlier today,” Li Wanqiu admitted quietly.

The air seemed to freeze for a second.

Then, Ji Jinyan gave a soft laugh and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s fine. You were just being honest.”

“You should go rest,” she added, her voice even and calm. “I’ll have someone send you a set of materials later. Tomorrow’s the weekend—it’s a good time to go over them. It’ll help you with your work.”

“Okay.” Li Wanqiu nodded. She thanked Ji Jinyan again, got out of the car, and started walking toward her building.

Before she even reached the door, her phone rang—it was Yan Weiwei calling.

The familiar voice instantly put her at ease. The memory of that awkward encounter with the man came flooding back, and her frustration bubbled up again. She didn’t hold back, immediately venting to Weiwei. Her words were sharp, her complaints flowing fast and furious.

She kept her voice low, but the night wind still carried her words.

Right into Ji Jinyan’s ears.

And just then—almost like fate—Ji Jinyan’s own phone began to ring.

Ji Jinyan casually picked up the phone. “Hello?”

Shi Qian’s voice came through right away. “Didn’t we agree to meet soon? I cleared my schedule just to see you, and now you’re not answering my calls.”

“Sorry,” Ji Jinyan replied calmly. “Something came up just now, and I couldn’t answer in time. I’ll treat you later to make it up to you—order anything you like.”

“That’s more like it,” Shi Qian snorted. “What were you so busy with anyway?”

“Nothing major,” Ji Jinyan said, almost absentmindedly glancing in the direction where Li Wanqiu had walked off. The girl had moved quickly—by now, she was nearly at the end of the road. Her soft, pale-blue dress shimmered slightly under the moonlight, elegant and refined.

She really was beautiful. The kind of beauty that caught the eye without even trying.

Ji Jinyan slowly looked away, the corners of her lips lifting slightly. “I just happened to run into a little hedgehog. Gave her a ride home.”

“I’m on my way over,” she added as she restarted the car. But she didn’t hang up immediately. After a few seconds of silence, she spoke again—this time more casually, like she was just tossing out a thought.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

Ji Jinyan took a quiet breath. “Do you think… I’m really that old?”

The night passed quickly.

Li Wanqiu had always been an early riser. By six in the morning, she had already washed up and was sitting quietly on her balcony.

The morning sunlight was beautiful—soft beams slanting down from the horizon like a light veil cast over everything. Li Wanqiu loved scenery like this. It was one of the reasons she chose this apartment complex—she’d specifically picked a unit with the best view.

Today looked like another good day.

The early wind carried a bit of chill. She instinctively pulled her jacket tighter, then stretched lazily like a cat, soaking up the sunlight in peaceful silence.

After a while, she picked up her sketchpad. With a composition already taking shape in her mind, she was just about to begin painting.

But before her brush even touched the page, her phone buzzed with a new message. It was from Yan Weiwei.

Yan Weiwei: “Ah Qiu, I asked my friend about that guy last night. She doesn’t really know him either. No idea who brought him to the party.”

Yan Weiwei: “But don’t worry, we’ve already dealt with him. Turns out he had a few drinks and got a little full of himself. That’s probably why he dared to act like that around you.”

Yan Weiwei: “Anyway, there’s no way he’s showing his face again. If he does, we’ll beat the crap out of him!”

Her tone was full of righteous fury—fired up and ready for battle, even first thing in the morning.

Li Wanqiu couldn’t help but smile a little, her mood instantly lifted. “Well done,” she replied. “Tell your friend I said thanks. I’ll treat her to a meal next time.”

Yan Weiwei: “You got it.”

And with that, she made her grand (and satisfied) exit.

Li Wanqiu put her phone down and went back to her painting. She was just about to start adding color when another message popped up—this time from her mother.

Her phone buzzed nonstop as long paragraph after paragraph came through, just like always. The sheer volume of messages made her frown. Being interrupted twice in a row had already tested her patience. She quickly typed a short reply—“Got it.”—and was about to lock the screen.

But just then, a new message arrived.

This one—from Ji Jinyan.

They had exchanged WeChat contacts the day before after parting at the vineyard. Her profile photo was a beautiful shot of the starry night sky—simple, but memorable.

Ji Jinyan: “Are you busy right now?”

Li Wanqiu glanced at her sketchpad. Then, remembering the favor she owed her from the night before, she hesitated for only a second before replying:

Li Wanqiu: “Not busy. What’s up?”

“I’m going to visit an elderly gentleman. He’s an old friend and also one of Bixia’s important clients,” Ji Jinyan’s message came through quickly. “He happens to live not far from your place. Come with me.”

It wasn’t phrased as a question—more like an instruction from a boss to her employee.

Li Wanqiu lowered her eyes and typed a short reply: “Alright.”

“Perfect,” Ji Jinyan responded with a final message. “See you at the entrance in ten minutes.”

Li Wanqiu blinked.

…Ten minutes?

It was a rare day off. Most people were still at home enjoying their morning, and the neighborhood was unusually quiet—aside from a few elderly couples out for their morning walk.

In her formal outfit, Li Wanqiu felt oddly out of place.

Then again, so did Ji Jinyan.

She had said ten minutes, but she still arrived a bit early. She stood with her back to the car, not moving, as if lost in thought. At that moment, she was quietly watching the branches overhead.

Only when Li Wanqiu got closer did she realize Ji wasn’t just looking at the trees—she was gently teasing a small bird perched on the branch.

Just then, an elderly woman walked past them with a birdcage in hand. Her kind smile and the way she gently played with her bird mirrored Ji Jinyan’s actions almost exactly.

As if sensing someone behind her, Ji slowly turned back and said, “You’re here.”

Li Wanqiu gave a small nod. “…Yeah, I’m here.”

Ji Jinyan’s gaze lingered on her face a little longer than usual.

Li Wanqiu started to feel a little self-conscious. “What is it?”

“Nothing,” Ji replied with a light smile. She turned and opened the car door. “Let’s go.”

The car pulled out smoothly and moved through the quiet morning streets without much traffic. Ji Jinyan drove with a steady hand, fast yet precise. But to Li Wanqiu’s surprise, she suddenly pulled over by the side of the road.

“We’re here?” she asked, puzzled.

“No.” Ji Jinyan shook her head and gestured toward the front. In the distance, a small cat darted across the road in front of them.

Li Wanqiu looked and said instinctively, “Oh, there’s a little tabby cat here.”

“Mhm,” Ji replied softly. After a brief pause, she added, almost meaningfully, “There’s one in the car too.”

Li Wanqiu blinked, confused. She instinctively glanced over her shoulder. “Where?”

This time, Ji didn’t answer.

Li Wanqiu looked around for a while but didn’t see anything. She turned back. “There’s no—”

Before she could finish, her eyes caught the subtle smile tugging at the corner of Ji Jinyan’s lips.

Something felt off. After a few seconds of silence, realization hit her. She quickly reached into her bag, pulled out a small mirror, and checked her face.

Sure enough—on her left cheek were two smudges of paint.

In the rush to get ready within ten minutes, she hadn’t noticed when she got paint on herself. Thinking back to the look Ji Jinyan had given her earlier, it was clear—she had already noticed.

A flush of embarrassment spread to her ears. She turned to the woman beside her and stammered, “Ji… Ji Jinyan…”

“Hmm?” Ji responded with a nod, meeting her gaze directly. Her smile deepened slightly as she gently reminded, “We’re on work hours now. You should call me President Ji.”

Though her words were formal, her tone held no hint of reprimand. On the contrary, she calmly pulled a wet wipe from the console and handed it over.

The corners of her lips lifted again—subtle but amused. “Such a casual little thing, aren’t you?”