After Stealing a Kiss from My Sponsor Sister - Chapter 31

Yu Shuang: Take a look at little Huang

Jiang Ya: Not coming home for lunch today. Will the supplies be enough?

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Kisses to our adorable little Huang

Jiang Ya’s heart skipped a beat when she read this.

Her fingers remained steady as she typed, When I get back, I’ll get a close-up of her dog nose for you.

Yu Shuang: Promise me.

Promise!

Alright then, I hope I’ll wake up to see that cute dog nose.

Mm, rest early. Goodnight, Miss Yu.

See you tomorrow, little alarm clock.

“Miss Yu” patted my Jigglypuff head.

Jiang Ya lowered her gaze, a faint smile lingering at the corners of her lips, and didn’t reply further.

“Is that… your sponsor?” Mu Xiao suddenly asked.

“Yes, what about it?”

When she looked up, Jiang Ya’s expression had returned to its usual calm. Mu Xiao hesitated, then said, “Actually, I’ve been meaning to ask—are you…”

“Yes.”

“…”

Jiang Ya glanced at her phone again, and Mu Xiao clearly saw the shift in her eyes.

It was impossible not to read into it.

“…I hadn’t even said what I wanted to ask.”

“Were you going to ask if I like my sponsor?”

Mu Xiao froze.

Her eyes widened in shock.

Jiang Ya chuckled at her reaction. “I don’t think I guessed wrong.”

That was precisely what made it terrifying!

Mu Xiao didn’t know where to begin with her astonishment. After staring blankly at Jiang Ya for a moment, the girl cleared her throat and asked softly, “Did you know that I…”

“Not really. About a year ago, I thought you’d ask, but you held back for a whole year. You’re quite good at keeping things in.”

Because something had happened back then.

Yu Shuang had been negotiating a business deal with Tan Xiao and got held up by a client who loved drinking.

After the college entrance exams, Jiang Ya returned from the Arctic and immediately enrolled in driving school. She passed the tests smoothly step by step, and once she got her license, Yu Shuang never drove herself in the city again when they went out together. At first, she only took out a cheaper car from the garage for Jiang Ya to practice with, but within a few months, all of Yu Shuang’s cars bore the “Learner” sticker required by the state, and the driver’s seat had shifted from her to Jiang Ya.

That time, Jiang Ya had also been the one to pick Yu Shuang up.

While Yu Shuang was handling the business meeting, Jiang Ya had been with her classmates earlier. The gathering on Yu Shuang’s side dragged on endlessly, and on Jiang Ya’s side, everyone except Mu Xiao, who was catching a ride, had already left.

After waiting for a long time with no sign of Yu Shuang, Jiang Ya went to find her. She used some tactics to wrap up the dinner. Tan Xiao was quite drunk by then, and Jiang Ya couldn’t handle her alone, so she called Mu Xiao over to help.

It was during that incident that Mu Xiao witnessed how the two interacted.

Of course, there was more. That time, Yu Shuang had also been half-drunk. As soon as she stepped outside, she threw up everything into a roadside trash can. Jiang Ya was furious, her face icy, and she didn’t hold back as she usually would.

Mu Xiao saw with her own eyes how Jiang Ya held a cup of water for Yu Shuang to rinse her mouth, patiently feeding her sip by sip. The drunk woman wasn’t fully conscious, and though the water dripping from Yu Shuang’s lips was gently wiped away, Jiang Ya didn’t bother with the mess on her own hands.

Mu Xiao even remembered Yu Shuang’s tone.

“No more, let’s go home.” The unsteady woman turned her head away, forcing herself to endure the dizziness. Her lips, damp from the water, were more delicate than flower petals, parting and closing with a coquettish lilt that left Mu Xiao staring in a daze.

“Miss Yu, take a couple more sips, or you’ll feel worse.”

Jiang Ya maintained her usual cool and composed tone, yet it carried an unprecedented level of patience—gentle yet firm as she indulged Yu Shuang’s antics until everything was finally settled as requested.

“Xiaoxiao, move to the back. Let Miss Yu sit in the front so I can keep an eye on her.”

Someone drunk and vomiting shouldn’t lie down to avoid choking.

When Mu Xia tried to help in the middle, Jiang Ya gently pushed her aside and took care of Yu Shuang herself.

After fastening the seatbelt, she didn’t drive off immediately. Instead, she made a quick stop to buy medicine—anti-nausea, pain relief, hangover remedies—everything was accounted for.

“Miss Yu, take this first.”

Once back in the car, she broke the pills one by one, carefully and patiently feeding them to Yu Shuang…

Mu Xia had never seen Jiang Ya treat anyone with such care and attention.

Even while driving, her peripheral gaze kept drifting to the passenger seat, clearly concerned.

Mu Xia had also never seen that look in Jiang Ya’s eyes before.

Worried.

Focused.

She couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was, but Mu Xia was certain Jiang Ya would never look at her elders or guardians that way.

A long-held suspicion suddenly had its answer, and Jiang Ya’s bluntness left Mu Xia speechless.

“Aren’t you afraid…?”

Jiang Ya: “You don’t even have Miss Yu’s contact info.”

“……” Fair point.

Wait, no.

Ugh.

That wasn’t what she meant.

Mu Xia glared. “So your sponsor is the same person you’ve been secretly in love with, right?”

“Mhm.”

Jiang Ya tilted her chin up, looking smug.

“You seem pretty proud of that, huh?”

“Why be insecure? Miss Yu is amazing. I have high standards.”

That made… absolutely no sense!

Stop derailing the conversation!

Mu Xia really didn’t have the energy to play along anymore.

“Aren’t you afraid she’ll find out?”

The smile faded from Jiang Ya’s face. “That’s my problem to deal with.”

“……Did it have to be someone this difficult?”

“You’re not trying to talk me out of it, are you?”

“……” After a brief staring contest, Mu Xia muttered, “No.”

If Jiang Ya could’ve given up after all these years, Mu Xia wouldn’t have even noticed in the first place.

Was Jiang Ya not smart?

She was far more self-aware than Mu Xia.

They walked in silence for a while before Mu Xia asked, “Why her? Because she treated you especially well?”

“Love at first sight.”

“She was nice later, but the first time we met was when she terminated the sponsorship agreement.”

“……”

Mu Xia: “So you like women.”

“Yep.”

“Then your sponsor, does she also…?”

“I don’t know.”

“……”

Mu Xia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “A lovesick fool was right beside me all along!”

“Takes one to know one.”

“……Thanks for the subtle insult.”

“You could always impress me with a breakup.”

“Get lost—”

Mu Xia swung her backpack playfully, pretending to hit her, and the mood lightened again with laughter.

Once the teasing died down, the inevitable interrogation from her best friend followed.

“After all these years, you’ve really kept it under wraps.” Leaning on her hand in a corner of the dessert shop, spooning ice cream, Mu Xia gave her verdict.

Jiang Ya smiled faintly but didn’t respond.

Only she knew the truth—it wasn’t like that at all.

She hadn’t been as restrained as she claimed.

Especially in the last two years, she’d come dangerously close to slipping up multiple times.

Maybe Miss Yu trusted her too much, or maybe fate pitied her—either way, she’d narrowly avoided exposure every time…

Jiang Ya wasn’t sure if she should feel relieved.

But one thing was clear: the closer she got to Miss Yu, the harder it became to control the emotions in her heart.

At first, she thought it was enough just to be by her side.

Then she started wanting good morning and goodnight texts.

And now, she silently took on countless mundane tasks—driving, being Miss Yu’s personal reminder, always sending her little memes, coordinating with the housekeeper… the list went on.

Miss Yu called her a little alarm clock, and Tan Xiao-jie jokingly referred to her as a life assistant.

Only she herself knew that she was just finding another way to make her presence known.

To carve out a place for herself in Miss Yu’s life.

An undeniable place.

She lowered her head and took a bite of ice cream, but the sweet taste of strawberry melting on her tongue went unnoticed. Her lashes fluttered a few times, the confusion welling up in her eyes before she forced it back down.

Looking up, she replied softly to Mu Xiao, “Mm.”

–

Yu Shuang was dragged by Tan Xiao to stroll around a manor in the South of France, while the collaboration project between the He Corporation and their advisor officially kicked off.

Jiang Ya’s senior worked at He Corp. When a last-minute operational issue arose in a previous project, he returned to seek their advisor’s help, and Jiang Ya was assigned to assist.

After a grueling week of nonstop work, the code was fixed, and her senior remembered Jiang Ya well.

When she graduated, he invited her to work under him, promising to mentor her personally.

Honestly, the salary offer was tempting. But after careful consideration, despite the prestige of He Corp, she turned it down.

Her true reasons were simple, but whenever asked, she had to dress them up in proper, diplomatic words.

Her seniors all said she was suited for research, and leaving academia early for corporate work would be a waste.

Their advisor was delighted by Jiang Ya’s “good judgment” and enthusiastically encouraged her to pursue a direct Ph.D. under him.

Perhaps none of her classmates noticed the regret hidden in her heart—except Jiang Ya herself.

Over the weekend, her senior messaged her, and they agreed that on Monday, Jiang Ya would bring her team to his company for a face-to-face discussion about project collaboration.

After reporting to their advisor, since the team leader was busy with graduation, Jiang Ya, as the deputy leader, took a senior and a junior to the meeting.

So tired

Finally here

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Miss Yu sent Jiang Ya a photo of the manor upon arrival.

Jiang Ya: It’s beautiful

Has Tan Xiao-jie still not picked a location?

By her count, this was already the fourth place Miss Yu had visited.

At the mention of this, Yu Shuang’s urge to vent surged. Ah, I’ll have to tell you all about it when I get back.

Long story short, the one she likes, Professor Shu doesn’t, and the one Professor Shu likes, she hates.

We’ll check out two more. If it still doesn’t work, I’m flying back alone and letting those two argue it out themselves.

Jiang Ya’s heart skipped a beat. Can you really just leave halfway?

I don’t care.

Even beasts of burden aren’t worked this hard.

The clients can’t even agree!

I’m terrified they’ll both end up thinking the first place was the best after all!

Jiang Ya laughed, her long hair swaying slightly from the air conditioning, the corners of her eyes crinkling.

Anyone who’d worked on projects knew the devastation of clients reverting to the first draft.

Jiang Ya: Miss Yu, you’ve been too busy—your brain’s still stuck in project mode.

Yu Shuang: Picking venues for them is worse than taking on projects.

“Jiang Xiao-Ya” patted Ning’s half-dead fish tail.

Yu Shuang: Fish flopping.jpg

Jiang Ya lowered her head, laughter bubbling up, her eyes sparkling like a river of stars.

You could come back early.

Leave them time to get their marriage license abroad.

Jiang Ya suggested.

A terrible idea.

Selfish motives at play.

She received a brilliant “Nice!” expression from Miss Yu.

This reason is perfect. I’ll use it when I get back.

I’ll send the same to Professor Shu after boarding.

That way, Annie won’t have time to hunt me down.

Annie was Tan Xiao’s English name.

Jiang Ya couldn’t resist and tapped the avatar again.

“Jiang Xiaoya” patted Ning’s half-dead salted fish tail.

“Xiaoya, we’re here.”

Her senior called her, and when Jiang Ya looked up, her radiant expression left the senior momentarily stunned.

“So happy—texting your crush?”

Jiang Ya felt that wasn’t entirely wrong and nodded with a sweet smile. “Mhm.”

The sugar overload shocked her senior.

Entering the company, the senior brother, now an engineer, was already waiting for them in the lobby.

After greetings and small talk, the three followed him upstairs.

The meeting lasted just over forty minutes—simply aligning their respective responsibilities, clarifying the deliverables for the first phase, and setting the expected deadline for handover.

Jiang Ya: “That’s the gist, but it still needs Professor Shen’s final approval.”

Meaning the green light from Jiang Ya’s advisor.

The senior brother, also a student of the professor, knew the lab’s workflow and had no objections.

The remaining hour was spent with the senior brother showing his juniors around the company, treating them to afternoon tea while expressing his earnest hope that they’d consider joining the company.

“Though we’re a new company, the benefits are genuinely good.”

“The He Group has many subsidiaries, but our department is directly overseen by Young Master He. Funding is ample, and they’re willing to invest. Right now, we’re just short on people—very short.”

Jiang Ya: “Young Master He?”

The senior brother lowered his voice and began detailing the He family tree.

“Eldest Master He is the heir, no question. But the real economy has been tough these past few years.”

“Young Master He took over several of the He Group’s new ventures starting two years ago, with staggering results. Early this year, he took charge of our division. The past six months have been nonstop busy, but bonuses and perks have kept pace.”

“I have a feeling this project is just a test run. The hardest part is collaborating with the professor’s lab. Once everything stabilizes, bigger projects will follow—it all depends on how well this one goes.”

Jiang Ya interrupted, “Young Master He—is his name He Minqian?”

“You know our Young Master He?”

“…We’ve met.”

More than met—he’d once looked down on her.

Thankfully, she hadn’t been impulsive enough to apply here after graduation.

Otherwise, the interview would’ve been a battlefield.

Jiang Ya’s phone rang—a video call from Miss Yu.

“Family needs me for something. I’ll take this call.”

Coming from the same lab, her seniors just waved her off.

Answering in the glass corridor, it was afternoon for her, evening for Miss Yu.

The screen lit up, first showing a suitcase.

Jiang Ya understood. “Can’t find something?”

Miss Yu’s voice came through, slightly drowsy. “Yeah, can’t find the bath bomb. Where did you say you put it?”

This trip was long, and Jiang Ya had packed for Yu Shuang.

No choice—Yu Shuang would fill two suitcases with what Jiang Ya could fit into one.

“Side pocket, second zipper. Take a look, Miss Yu.”

The suitcase flipped over, and a pair of pale hands appeared on screen, fingers pinching the zipper to pull it open.

The octopus-shaped bath sponge was taken out.

“Honestly! Alright, I’m going to take a bath.”

The off-screen voice turned cheerful again.

Jiang Ya: “Are you settling in okay?”

Just that one sentence tripped up Yu Shuang again. The camera panned upward, as if sharing a tour of the room with her, accompanied by her own commentary. The voice came through the headphones, soft with the drowsiness of someone about to sleep.

Jiang Ya: “I’m still outside. The meeting’s over. Senior is over there sweet-talking some recruits. He’ll probably head back to campus soon.”

After a pause, Jiang Ya added, “Goodnight, Miss Yu.”

As expected, the camera wobbled and flipped.

First to appear on screen were those mesmerizing eyes, followed by the bridge of her nose and her full, luscious lips.

Her lips curved into a smile as she reached out, her fingers dancing nimbly in the air like playing piano keys, as if tapping lightly against Jiang Ya’s heart, sending a tingling sensation through her.

“Goodnight. I’ll sleep after my bath.”

“Mhm, don’t soak too long. You’ll get dizzy.”

Yu Shuang threw her head back and laughed, bright and unrestrained, her voice lively and playful. “Got it!”

“Bye~”

Her fingers brushed her lips before she playfully blew a kiss.

The call ended.

The black screen reflected Jiang Ya’s lingering gaze, intense and unwavering.

Jiang Ya chuckled to herself.

But as she set her phone down, she caught sight of an unexpected face.

Dressed in a tailored suit, polished leather shoes gleaming, with a crowd of people trailing behind him—

He Minqian stood on the opposite side of the glass corridor, locking eyes with Jiang Ya from afar.

Slowly pocketing her phone, Jiang Ya offered a polite smile.

Before she could speak, she saw her senior step forward to greet him, followed by the other seniors and juniors who had come with her. After a brief hesitation, Jiang Ya moved to join them.

Her senior made the introductions.

He Minqian looked at them, but Jiang Ya had the distinct impression he only wanted to look at her.

She wasn’t wrong.

After the introductions, she heard He Minqian say, “Since you’re all Professor Shen’s students, why not join the follow-up meeting? I’d like to hear about the current progress.”

Great.

No leaving anytime soon.

Jiang Ya kept smiling as her senior went out of his way to praise her a few extra times.

He Minqian lifted his gaze. “Already leading projects at such a young age. Impressive.”

Jiang Ya: “It’s only because Professor Shen and my seniors are kind enough to give me opportunities to learn.”

The group headed upstairs.

He Minqian pulled Jiang Ya aside to ask about Professor Shen’s lab, while the others instinctively kept their distance.

The moment they stepped out of the elevator, Jiang Ya heard a low voice beside her ask, “Were you just video-calling Yu Shuang?”

Jiang Ya’s smile widened. “That’s not work-related, is it, Young Master He?”

He Minqian: “Fine. We’ll talk about personal matters after work.”

Jiang Ya’s smile didn’t falter.

Inside, she rolled her eyes hard. Who wants to chat about personal matters with you?