After Stealing a Kiss from My Sponsor Sister - Chapter 3

The café.

The director had come today specifically for Yu Shuang. If it weren’t for recommending other projects to the wealthy patron to boost his political achievements, Feng Gu and the notary would have been enough just to sign the termination agreement.

With the big client gone, the director gave a few instructions and left shortly after.

The notary uploaded some data on his laptop, finished in less than half an hour, then stood up to bid farewell to Feng Gu and Jiang Ya before pushing the door open and stepping out into the rain.

The café fell quiet.

Feng Gu looked at Jiang Ya and tapped the table. “What’s your plan?”

Jiang Ya’s mind was in turmoil. She pulled out a set of practice exam questions from her bag and absentmindedly started working on them.

“The mountain roads are slippery in the rain. I’ll wait for it to stop before heading back.”

From the town, it only took half an hour to reach Jiang Ya’s home, but the road wasn’t well-maintained—cobblestones and dirt paths winding together.

Feng Gu thought for a moment. “Then let’s go together. I’m heading home today too.”

Feng Gu’s home was right next to Jiang Ya’s—they had been neighbors since childhood.

Jiang Ya nodded. For a while, the only sound in the café was the soft scratching of pen on paper.

Late spring brought frequent rain.

After finishing half the practice set, Jiang Ya felt slightly calmer. When she looked up, she realized the weather outside had changed.

The light drizzle had turned into a downpour without her noticing. Scattered raindrops on the window had merged into streaming rivulets. The thick, low-hanging clouds made the sky oppressively dark—so much so that the shops across the street were barely visible, their outlines blurred and distorted by the heavy rain.

She seemed trapped in the café.

The girl’s face remained calm, unbothered.

She even found herself enjoying this sense of isolated solitude.

Yu Shuang’s figure surfaced in her mind again, but Jiang Ya was much clearer-headed now.

The truth was, they had always been strangers. She needed the sponsorship money to pay her tuition, while the other party needed the policy benefits that came with philanthropy—advantages for their company.

It had always been a transaction.

Besides, Yu Shuang was the benefactor.

By any measure, she had no obligation to go out of her way to pay attention to her.

Jiang Ya’s eyelashes fluttered slightly as she rested her forehead in her hand, her gaze unfocused, drifting aimlessly across the table.

But Yu Shuang didn’t seem like that kind of person.

She was polite, considerate in her interactions.

A small voice in her heart protested.

She had acknowledged everyone present—except for…

Jiang Ya closed her eyes.

She shook her head, deciding to think about something else.

Like her newly awakened orientation.

Pulling out her old phone, she opened a video site. After a moment’s thought, she typed in the keywords supermodel and figure, then hit search.

Wow.

Such long legs.

Such a slender waist.

Such a defiant gaze.

So hot, so…

The more she watched these ostensibly serious videos, the more flustered she became. Rubbing her burning earlobes, she mentally echoed a floating comment—Step on me, sis—before flipping her phone face-down.

The answer seemed obvious.

But the reasoning process had to be rigorous. She turned her phone back over and typed in male model.

Suits, ties, broad shoulders, long legs…

Her heart remained much calmer.

She exited, hesitated, then upped the ante by adding muscle to the search.

Less than two minutes later, Jiang Ya slapped her phone onto the table.

The borderline-explicit videos made her face grow paler the more she watched.

“What’s wrong?” Feng Gu asked, noticing her hands covering her face.

“…I feel sick.”

“Huh?”

“N-never mind.” Jiang Ya took a deep breath and lowered her hands. “Has the rain not let up yet?”

“Oh right, it’s been raining for a while now and still hasn’t stopped… I’ll go ask the owner. If it comes to it, we might have to have dinner here,” Feng Gu muttered as he got up to look for someone.

Once he was out of earshot, Jiang Ya let out a long sigh.

The answer seemed clear now.

The brief distraction had dulled her tendency to overthink things.

Actually, it wasn’t a big deal—

Just a youthful crush, a fleeting springtime fancy.

Besides, someone that good-looking—who wouldn’t be drawn to them?

But it didn’t matter anymore.

Today, they had signed a termination agreement. In the future… there wouldn’t be any more interactions.

So, that was that.

No more dwelling on it.

Just a beautiful stranger, an older sister she’d never see again.

No big deal.

None at all.

Another half-hour passed, and the rain showed no signs of letting up. If anything, it seemed to be pouring even harder, as if someone were dumping buckets from the sky.

Feng Gu received calls from both the notary and the director.

Both were stranded on the road, unable to descend the mountain, and had decided to turn back and stay in town for the night.

After hanging up, Feng Gu murmured, “Did Miss Yu make it down the mountain? She left early… Well, might as well call and check.” After all, she was a potential major client—Feng Gu took such things seriously.

Jiang Ya, who had been bent over her test papers, paused her pen. Her lips twitched slightly, but she said nothing.

The phone rang for a long time, nearly cutting off before it was finally answered.

“Hello?”

The voice was muffled and slightly hoarse, as if the speaker had just woken up.

Jiang Ya bit her lip and went back to her test.

Feng Gu: “Miss Yu, did you make it down the mountain safely? The rain’s really heavy today—a lot of people are stuck.”

Yu Shuang had indeed just woken up.

Feeling frustrated and with her life in disarray, she’d decided sleep was the best escape.

Before dozing off, she’d driven her car up to a high slope. Now, hearing Feng Gu’s voice, she sat up and glanced out the window. The world outside was blurred and distorted by the relentless downpour.

Yu Shuang made a vague noise in response.

Feng Gu misunderstood. “Oh, you’re already down? That’s great. I hope I’m not disturbing you…”

Yu Shuang paused for a moment before lying back down calmly. “No, it’s fine. Thanks for checking in.”

Jiang Ya jabbed her pen into the test paper. Not my business, not my business…

Feng Gu: “Alright, well, in that case…”

Jiang Ya closed her eyes briefly.

Feng Gu: “I won’t keep you—”

“It takes nearly two hours to drive back to the city from town. With the rain and poor road conditions, it’ll take even longer,” Jiang Ya interjected quietly.

Both sides fell into silence, the girl’s words carrying clearly through the phone.

Yu Shuang: “…”

Feng Gu looked at Jiang Ya in confusion, clearly missing the subtext.

Jiang Ya kept her expression blank. “From the time she left until now, it’s only been an hour and a half.”

Feng Gu: “…”

Yu Shuang: “…”

Feng Gu: “!”

Just then, the owner pushed the door open, shaking off his umbrella as he announced loudly, “This rain’s something else! You folks won’t be going anywhere for a while! It’s so bad there’s been a landslide halfway up the mountain. A bunch of cars are stuck on the high ground up ahead—heard there’s even a sports car among them. Ha! Money won’t get you out of this one. Everyone’s trapped!”

Jiang Ya asked innocently, “That sports car… it wouldn’t happen to be black, would it?”

Yu Shuang: “…”

Feng Gu: “…”

The owner looked surprised. “Ya girl, you heard about it too?”

Yu Shuang smacked a hand over her face—she really wanted to hang up now.

–

Another half-hour later, the storm weakened, and the sky began to brighten.

When the rain began to drizzle and seemed nearly over, Yu Shuang got out of the car to check the situation. At the same time, Feng Gu’s call rang again.

“Miss Yu, the rain has stopped. Can you make it down the mountain safely? Do you need me to come pick you up?”

During their earlier call, Feng Gu had already offered to drive her back to town. Yu Shuang had politely declined several times, but the young man was persistent, insisting on checking in with her once the rain let up.

Without hesitation, Yu Shuang replied, “No need—”

Just as the car door closed, the scene at the foot of the slope came into view.

Feng Gu: “Really?”

Yu Shuang: “…Actually, no.”

“?”

Closing her eyes briefly, Yu Shuang took a deep breath and forced a smile. “Sorry, but I might need to trouble you to come after all…”

After a flurry of thanks, she hung up, feeling utterly drained.

Another glance down the slope—hiss—!

She knew to park on higher ground during a landslide, but how had she forgotten that landslides could also send boulders tumbling?

One, two, three, four—five, six, seven, eight—countless massive rocks, far too large for a sports car’s undercarriage to clear, lay scattered densely across the path, like a forest of stone!

Thud!

She shut the door and collapsed back into the car, all strength and solutions exhausted. With serene resignation, Yu Shuang clasped her hands and prayed devoutly:

Amitabha, Amen, Wuliang Tianzun!

Jiang Ya and Feng Gu had dinner at a café.

The town was full of familiar faces, and the owner had watched them both grow up. There was no talk of payment—just two extra bowls of rice added to the table.

After two bowls, Feng Gu was full.

Glancing at Jiang Ya, he said, “I’ll go ask Aunt Feng to borrow her car and pick up Miss Yu. You…”

Jiang Ya: “This has nothing to do with me.”

Feng Gu nodded—he’d thought the same. “Then you can head back on your—”

Jiang Ya swallowed her last bite, set down her chopsticks, and said, “I’ll go with you.”

“…”

Rushing against time, they managed to reach Yu Shuang just before nightfall.

Having just returned from a business trip, Yu Shuang retrieved her luggage from the trunk and was ready to leave immediately.

Feng Gu helped load her suitcase onto the vehicle.

Pausing briefly before the rickety electric tricycle, Yu Shuang lowered her head and climbed in.

“Hold on tight, we’re moving~” Aunt Feng called out as the vehicle started.

Yu Shuang’s rigid posture jerked violently from the momentum.

“There’s a handrail on the side,” Jiang Ya murmured in reminder.

Yu Shuang found it and gripped tight. “Thanks.”

The elegant woman straightened herself once more, impeccable as ever.

Still not looking at her, Jiang Ya lowered her gaze. Even though they were sitting so close now—their knees barely a hand’s width apart…

“Miss Yu, is it really okay to leave your car on the slope?”

Feng Gu couldn’t shake his unease. A quick phone search later, the car’s price nearly made him drop his device.

“It’s fine. It’s insured.”

Feng Gu hesitated. “Does insurance cover natural disasters?”

Many policies excluded such incidents now. What if another landslide happened overnight…

Yu Shuang frowned slightly. “Not sure. But it doesn’t matter.”

Right. For someone like Miss Yu, that kind of money probably meant nothing.

Yu Shuang added, “It’s a friend’s car.”

“…”

Feng Gu gaped. “Y-Your friend won’t mind?”

Yu Shuang replied calmly, “Her ex gave it to her.”

“…”

Feng Gu was rendered speechless.

Silence settled once more inside the three-wheeler.

The path was rough and uneven. In her peripheral vision, Jiang Ya noticed their knees occasionally brushing close, then drifting apart, and her heart began to race again. How strange—this never happened when she watched videos of her.

She stole a glance upward.

The dim yellow glow of the streetlight fell just right on Yu Shuang’s face.

Her skin was fair and luminous, the curve of her nose bridge rising and falling in a delicate slope. Lower still, the slightly upturned peaks of her lips were full and flushed red… Jiang Ya swallowed unconsciously before hurriedly looking away.

Yu Shuang’s expression was cool and detached, sitting upright and solemn like a deity.

The girl just a hand’s breadth away was a mess of emotions, silently berating herself.

The electric tricycle rattled along, swaying gently under the eternal moonlight as it carried them back to the mountain town.

The situation had unfolded suddenly—several sections of the mountain road had collapsed due to landslides. Those who hadn’t left in time, along with those stranded on the road, were all forced to gather in the town. Yu Shuang was among the last to turn back. By the time Feng Gu led them to the hotel, the line at the front desk had already stretched out the door.

Yu Shuang wheeled her suitcase to the end of the queue, thanked them once more, and bid them farewell.

It’s nothing.

She had only wanted to try. This outcome wasn’t all that disappointing.

Jiang Ya walked away, trying to convince herself.

Forget it.

Just let it go.

We won’t see each other again anyway—

Her footsteps halted. Jiang Ya turned and jogged back to Yu Shuang.

“Miss Yu, I have a question for you.”

Slightly breathless, her pale brows faintly furrowed, Jiang Ya met Yu Shuang’s gaze with determination.

“Hmm? What is it?”

Yu Shuang was typing a reply to her assistant but glanced at Jiang Ya from the corner of her eye, fingers still moving. “Go ahead.”

Jiang Ya took a deep breath, straightening her spine. “Do you… not like me very much?”

Since they’d never meet again, what was there to lose by asking?

She even managed a small smile. “Was it something about me today, or do I just not appeal to you?”

“…”

Yu Shuang’s fingers stilled.

Silence.

After a moment, Yu Shuang responded gently, “Why would you think that?”

It was common knowledge that adult social interactions were governed by unspoken rules.

For instance, when someone who was usually tactful didn’t outright deny something, it was tantamount to tacit admission.

At that moment, Jiang Ya was certain: “You don’t like me.”

The sparse, cold light cast a faint glow over Yu Shuang’s impassive face. Slowly, she lifted her head. This time, those beautiful ink-dark eyes finally reflected Jiang Ya’s figure.