Cohabitation With The Maniacally Gorgeous CEO - Chapter 3
Chapter 3
After the morning classes concluded, An Yiqing heated up the food she had cooked the night before, added some rice at the cafeteria, and quietly ate by the window.
A colleague approached her to ask about the class situation. After talking through the meal, An Yiqing returned to the office, just in time to receive a greeting from Yu Sirou.
[Yu: Miss An, did you sleep well last night?]
Was she worried that An Yiqing would leave, unable to bear the trouble, or was she subtly asking about Xu Lingyin’s condition?
If it was the latter, then her relationship with Xu Lingyin was more than just roommates.
Qing: Very well.
Yu: That’s good. Ah Yin asked me what dishes you’ll be making tonight.
An Yiqing casually listed a few dishes.
Yu: Miss An is so thoughtful. Ah Yin’s health will surely improve. Thank you in advance, Miss An.
An Yiqing: …
She was truly afraid she would leave.
After finishing the afternoon classes and completing her work, An Yiqing left on time.
Today was Monday, her day for filming videos.
She uploaded cooking videos to a website, and the results were quite good.
After buying ingredients at the supermarket, An Yiqing hurried back, watching the time.
Xu Lingyin already found her annoying; if she used An Yiqing filming videos as a point of contention, it would be hard to refute.
She needed to finish quickly before the other woman got off work.
She set up two cameras, one for close-ups and one for medium shots.
After adjusting the angles, she began cooking.
The kitchen here was large, so she didn’t need to manually change positions.
One switch between prepping and cooking was enough.
She added more dishes, but her efficiency remained the same as usual.
At six o’clock, the five dishes were ready.
After packing up the cameras, Xu Lingyin still hadn’t returned.
An Yiqing placed three servings of her food into the insulated cabinet and leisurely enjoyed her solitary time.
After tidying everything up, An Yiqing did yoga and took a shower.
The phone rang.
She didn’t receive many calls all year, so she thought it was her mother and answered without looking.
A choked female voice came through the receiver.
“Teacher An, are you free to come to school now?”
During the afternoon P.E. class for Class 7, student Zhao Junfeng had taken leave and seized the opportunity to go to a bar.
The person calling was Huang Qian, the colleague who had sought information from her at noon.
An Yiqing went to the school and then headed to the bar with her to retrieve the student.
Passion was located on the Yanhe West Road in Ning City. Huang Qian parked the car and followed behind An Yiqing.
This was the liveliest time for the bar.
As the two walked in, a beautiful hostess greeted them.
Huang Qian didn’t dare to say a word, so An Yiqing had to speak.
“Excuse me, we are looking for someone.”
The hostess smiled politely and invited them to look around freely.
The colorful flashing lights were blinding, and with so many people, finding Zhao Junfeng was very difficult.
An Yiqing walked towards the scattered tables: “Let’s start looking here.”
Huang Qian nodded and followed.
With many people at the scattered tables, they searched meticulously.
After a circuit, they hadn’t seen Zhao Junfeng.
He wasn’t in the high-seating area or the booths either.
“This can’t be right. My ‘intelligence’ shouldn’t be wrong,” Huang Qian was on the verge of collapsing.
An Yiqing scanned the area: “Maybe there are still places we haven’t checked.”
Unfamiliar with bars, she called Ye Qian’ge.
As a tour guide who traveled extensively, Ye Qian’ge was knowledgeable and would surely know more about this.
After talking with Ye Qian’ge, An Yiqing learned that bars also have VIP rooms.
Ordinary people couldn’t enter.
Ye Qian’ge was out of the province with a tour group and couldn’t come in person, but thoughtfully contacted Yu Sirou.
While waiting for the return call, An Yiqing asked, “Has Zhao Junfeng been in contact with people from outside the school recently?”
After a moment of thought, Huang Qian suddenly realized: “I saw him with some people who seemed to be delinquents near the school gate before. He said they were his cousins, and I actually believed him.”
Yu Sirou’s call came through quickly.
“Sorry, Miss An, I can’t come over now. Just tell them my name and number, and go to room 1314 to find Ah Yin; I’ve already told her.”
An Yiqing: …
After hanging up, An Yiqing’s expression was complicated.
Huang Qian’s eyelids twitched, and she asked with a tremor, “Did it not work?”
Seeing her anxious look, An Yiqing stopped hesitating.
After following the procedure, they arrived at room 1314. The waiter knocked, and indeed, someone opened the door.
An Yiqing told Huang Qian, “Wait for a moment, I’ll go inside and take a look.”
Stepping into the room, An Yiqing smelled a pungent odor of alcohol.
It was much stronger than outside.
The woman who opened the door followed, openly scrutinizing An Yiqing.
“Where did this fairy sister come from? Want to have a drink with us?” Her tone was teasing.
An Yiqing politely refused and walked straight up to Xu Lingyin.
The long-haired woman sat on the sofa with her legs crossed, holding a glass of orange-colored liquor, drinking by herself.
She didn’t look at An Yiqing.
Her posture was relaxed, not at all like she was in a bar.
She drank very quickly.
Glass after glass, a row of drinks on the table quickly vanished.
An Yiqing wanted to say something but couldn’t.
She stood and waited for her to finish drinking.
The other three girls got excited and tried to persuade An Yiqing to drink.
An Yiqing was tired of dealing with them, and her voice was polite and calm: “Excuse me, I have something I need to ask Miss Xu about.”
This finally caught Xu Lingyin’s attention.
She put down her glass, her gaze falling on An Yiqing.
“I apologize for disturbing you, Miss Xu. Could I trouble you to help us find someone? He might be in one of the VIP rooms,” An Yiqing kept it as brief as possible.
The multicolored lights flickered, and the fox-like eyes curved into a meaningful smile.
Putting down her glass, Xu Lingyin said leisurely, “Move out tonight, and I can help you.”
“Okay,” An Yiqing agreed without any hesitation.
Her promptness suggested she had been wanting to escape for a long time.
Xu Lingyin’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly, and she extended her hand.
Palm facing up.
Not understanding what this gesture meant, An Yiqing observed her sitting posture and offered her own hand.
With their palms touching, An Yiqing grasped the fair hand and used a subtle pull.
Her movement was so swift that Xu Lingyin didn’t even know what was happening.
Having had some alcohol, her body felt a little light, and Xu Lingyin followed the force, uncontrollably stumbling forward.
Her waist-length curly hair brushed against An Yiqing, and she completely pitched forward.
An Yiqing hadn’t expected her to be so light, flying over with a single tug.
Worried she might fall, An Yiqing raised her arm to block the forward-leaning body.
The tall, thin person bumped into her arm, and her arm was pressed down.
An Yiqing increased her strength and lifted up firmly.
Her elbow rested against Xu Lingyin’s body; it was soft and pliable, with the scent of green tangerine lingering intensely.
An Yiqing thought of a phrase: soft, fragrant jade.
She felt quite uncomfortable, yet her hand didn’t let go.
Xu Lingyin seemed drunk, and An Yiqing was afraid that if she released her, the person would fall.
She was unaware that, from the side, she and Xu Lingyin looked like they were hugging.
The other three women witnessed this scene and were greatly shocked.
They exchanged glances and hurried over.
One went to steady Xu Lingyin, and two others forcefully pushed An Yiqing.
Both pushed quite hard, but An Yiqing’s feet were glued to the ground, not moving an inch.
She gave them a faint, indifferent glance.
Cui Ke frowned, pulled Bai Ya back, stepped back, and stood between An Yiqing and Xu Lingyin.
“Miss, drinking here is about mutual consent. Getting handsy is not acceptable,” Cui Ke said sternly.
Bai Ya also wanted to speak, but Xu Lingyin stopped her: “You all drink as you please, I’ll go take care of something first.”
The three wanted to say more, but Xu Lingyin had already left.
Moving to the adjacent room, Xu Lingyin was unusually calm and called a waiter over.
An Yiqing also brought Huang Qian along.
Xu Lingyin had the waiter inquire about the situation.
After Huang Qian briefly explained, the waiter held out his hand, palm up.
“Hello, please provide a photo of the guest.”
Huang Qian quickly took out her phone and searched her photo album.
Meanwhile, An Yiqing’s face was slightly flushed.
Earlier, when Xu Lingyin reached out her hand, she was asking for Zhao Junfeng’s photo and absolutely did not need An Yiqing to pull her up.
An Yiqing admired her own ability to misunderstand.
After seeing the photo, Xu Lingyin instructed the staff to take Huang Qian to look for the person.
Huang Qian originally wanted to call An Yiqing with her, but seeing Xu Lingyin, she opened her mouth but couldn’t make a sound.
She left with the waiter.
Only two people remained in the room.
The air was silent.
An Yiqing rubbed her fingers, looked at Xu Lingyin, and apologized proactively: “I’m sorry, I was presumptuous just now.”
She had thought Xu Lingyin’s leg was numb and she couldn’t get up easily, so she had been overly helpful by pulling her.
She never expected it to turn into a mistake.
Xu Lingyin wasn’t as aggressive as she had been that day; she was unexpectedly silent.
Leaning forward to pick up the fruit knife on the table, she traced the blade edge with the side of her finger.
The chilling knife scraped against the delicate skin, and one could almost hear the sound of metal friction.
It felt like bl00d might burst from the blade at any moment.
The action was extremely dangerous.
An Yiqing straightened her back and spoke: “What would you like to eat? I can peel it for you.”
Xu Lingyin sneered, her expression the same as when they first met—bold with a hint of mockery.
“Do you know what happens to people who touch me?”
It was An Yiqing’s turn to be silent.
The one who might bleed wouldn’t be that beautiful hand, but herself.
An Yiqing didn’t know how to plead for herself. After thinking for a long time, she awkwardly squeezed out a sentence: “Miss Xu’s hands are not suited for getting bloody.”
The fruit knife clattered onto the table in front of her.
“Fine, cut yourself.”
The beautiful mouth always uttered such cold words.
An Yiqing didn’t reach for the knife. Holding her hands, a small smile forced its way onto her lips: “Would Miss Xu mind a different form of punishment? My hands probably have more important things to do.”
Xu Lingyin stared at her hands, smiling but not smiling: “If you can’t bring yourself to do it, I’ll find someone to help you.”
Her gaze was like an eagle’s, locked onto the fruit knife, waiting for An Yiqing to pick it up on her own.
Thirty seconds passed, and An Yiqing still hadn’t spoken. Xu Lingyin waved towards the door.
The waiting waiter stepped in, asking for her instructions.
“Miss Xu, I’ll do it myself,” An Yiqing picked up the knife.
The blade reflected the light, clearly illuminating her calm, expressionless face.
She cooked often, so she could tell at a glance how sharp the knife was.
A light slice across the wrist would definitely cut deep.
An Yiqing gripped the knife and looked at the expectant Xu Lingyin.
“Miss Xu,” An Yiqing began, “If I cut myself, you will have to take responsibility. I figure you probably don’t want to be responsible for me, so I’ll just peel an apple for you.”
She chose an apple from the fruit basket, held the stem, stood the knife upright, and rotated the apple.
The bright red peel fell off in one perfect strip.
Huang Qian’s voice sounded in the hallway.
An Yiqing stood up and walked to Xu Lingyin.
Xu Lingyin didn’t know if she was stunned by anger or had other plans; she just stared intently at her, not saying a word.
An Yiqing needed to go check on Zhao Junfeng and didn’t have time to play games. She placed the apple in Xu Lingyin’s palm, said thank you, and walked away.