Contractual Cohabitation GL - Chapter 15

“Deputy Director Jing is here!”

“Hi!”

“Good morning, Deputy Director Jing!”

“Mhm, good morning to you too!”

Unlike Gao Jiong’s law firm, where she was treated with collective reverence by the employees, most people at Peng Ju treated Jing Xiaonan with admiration and respect. With an appealing appearance, an easygoing personality, and strong capabilities, their Deputy Director Jing commanded internal respect and was the pride of the company externally. In the years since Peng Ju was founded, Jing Xiaonan’s law firm has always been highly popular.

As the saying goes, if you are a little better than others, they will envy you. But if you are much, much better than these people, they will only worship you. As for what Jing Xiaonan went through to get so far ahead of everyone else, the average person didn’t care.

Although Deputy Director Jing usually greeted everyone with a kind smile and a nod, the employees who greeted her on her way in from the company entrance subtly felt that Deputy Director Jing’s mood today seemed much brighter than usual. With curved eyes and curved lips, Deputy Director Jing expressed a joy that exceeded her usual politeness and friendliness. Abnormality in the senior management is prone to various speculations among employees. The company’s performance has been normal recently, and the contract with Maple Leaf has been dragging on for so long without being signed. Could it be that Deputy Director Jing is unlucky in business but lucky in love?

Is this an illusion?

It’s not an illusion! Hearing the door of the Deputy Director’s office close from the inside, Secretary Qin heavily placed a stack of documents down, her eyes coldly fixed on the blank page at the top.

Jing Xiaonan had just passed by, and even though it was only a few short sentences, she could detect the unusual glow in her eyes today. Yesterday’s unexplained absence from work, coupled with various clues over this period, caused Qin Yan’s hands, resting below the desk, to quietly clench, leaving several perfect crescent marks on her palms.

Meanwhile, Jing Xiaonan, the central figure of today’s gossip, who had just walked into her office, had no mind to deal with the rampant rumors and idle talk flying around every corner of the large law firm. She pulled the high-quality executive chair behind the desk, sat down, and reached out for her private mobile phone.

The clean screen, as expected, showed no new messages. But this time, Jing Xiaonan showed no hesitation or disappointment. She immediately opened her contacts, her fingers deftly sliding down to the contact named ‘Luo Shen,’ and clicked to edit a text message.

Ye Luochen’s contact information was not deleted after the date, unlike in the past. After Ye Luochen left the farm that day, Jing Xiaonan had habitually opened her contacts, gently stroked the string of numbers with her long fingers, finally sighed, and changed the contact name to ‘Luo Shen.’

As Jing Xiaonan’s fingers moved, a line of text appeared on the phone screen:

“How was your sleep last night? Are you feeling better today?”

Without carefully considering the phrasing or tone, she simply typed out and sent the coherent message of greeting. Jing Xiaonan clicked back to the home screen, turned off the screen, and placed the phone aside. She thought about the general scope of work for the day, took a large gulp of strong, bitter coffee to wake herself up, and began flipping through the mountain of documents piled on her desk.

Unexpectedly, before she could finish reading the first page, her phone vibrated, signaling an incoming text message.

Jing Xiaonan’s slightly tired eyes widened, and her ears, matching her expression, subtly raised towards the back and up. She quickly picked up the phone, which still held her warmth, and unlocked it with dazzling speed.

Ye Luochen’s reply contained only two words—”All good.”

She blinked, just about to react to this concise reply, when another chat window popped up on the screen: “What about you?”

Jing Xiaonan laughed despite herself, automatically imagining Ye Luochen’s pensive expression after sending the first message, and her serious look when sending the second. How could she be so cute? Jing Xiaonan happily smiled at her phone.

“I worked for a while last night, so I slept a bit late, but it hasn’t affected my good mood.”

After dinner yesterday, Ye Luochen had voluntarily suggested going home to rest. Jing Xiaonan did not hesitate to offer to drive her home. After spending the day together, something between the two had begun to warm up, a certain subtle affection slowly intertwining. Ye Luochen felt it, and Jing Xiaonan also felt it, and since both of their personalities leaned towards being rational and slow to warm up, it was only reasonable for the guest to go home after dinner.

But reason could not stop this gradually forming yearning.

Pressing the send button, Jing Xiaonan held the phone in her hand this time and continued to look at the documents, not even turning off the screen. She was not disappointed; before the screen went completely black, the phone vibrated again, bringing Ye Luochen’s faint yet subtly thoughtful words:

“Will you be very busy today?”

“Probably,” Jing Xiaonan listed the urgent tasks the law firm needed to handle in her mind one by one. She replied: “But there are no tasks that must be completed.”

She sent this message, but it was a while before she got a reply.

“Mhm. I’m thinking about your proposal from yesterday.”

Naturally, a second message popped up a few seconds later.

“Focus on your work.”

A caring instruction, and also a polite way to end the short chat. Jing Xiaonan re-read the few short sentences, feeling generally pleased. She replied with a simple “Okay” and put down her phone to focus on her work. Her bright mood remained, but she no longer allowed her mind to wander.

This state lasted for a while until the office door was knocked twice, and then opened from the outside. The time between the knock and the opening of the door was too short to allow for a response, making the knock a mere formality.

Without looking, it could only be Qin Yan.

Jing Xiaonan spared a glance at the lower right corner of her computer screen: lunchtime. She quickly spent a few seconds finishing a section of her work, then stretched, using her feet to push the leather chair out from under the desk. She walked to the sofa set in the corner and sat in the single armchair. She was so tired.

Qin Yan didn’t speak. She followed and sat next to Jing Xiaonan. She unfolded the lunch she brought onto the glass coffee table, arranging the utensils neatly.

The aroma of the lunch was invigorating. Jing Xiaonan rubbed her eyes and sat up straight on the sofa to eat. Qin Yan didn’t leave, but still remained silent. Jing Xiaonan lowered her head and enjoyed her Hainanese chicken rice, convinced that Chinese food was simply the best.

“There’s an extra appointment tomorrow,” Qin Yan finally spoke after Jing Xiaonan had almost finished her rice and most of her soup. The moment she spoke, it was the news Jing Xiaonan didn’t want to hear.

“Mhm?” Jing Xiaonan wiped the corners of her mouth with a tissue and waited quietly for the rest.

“We had a good collaboration with Longyue Real Estate in Sydney a while ago, and Kanghuang here in Melbourne has also expressed an intention to cooperate. Their boss originally proposed meeting next week for negotiations, but due to an urgent matter requiring him to return home, the time has been moved up to tomorrow night, and the venue is ours to choose.”

“Kanghuang? Real estate?” Jing Xiaonan frowned. “This is so sudden. Why didn’t you mention it to me beforehand?”

“I sent a text message yesterday,” Qin Yan replied concisely, not saying anything more, but Jing Xiaonan could easily read the implied meaning in her drifting gaze.

Rubbing her temples, fine, her phone did vibrate when she was walking on the beach with Ye Luochen yesterday. She had quickly skimmed the text message content and then forgotten to deal with it.

Glancing at her watch, she estimated she didn’t have much time for extensive preparation. Jing Xiaonan knew how important this business was to the company. Although its significance was not quite on par with the Maple Leaf cooperation, the profits it could bring were not far behind. With this opportunity, she could completely expand the company and solidify its strength.

Furthermore, thinking of Maple Leaf, Jing Xiaonan had both professional and personal reasons to strengthen the capital backing her.

“Is there anything else I need to know?” Jing Xiaonan flexed her hands and asked.

“President Kang of Kanghuang is a heavy drinker,” Qin Yan said emotionlessly, meeting Jing Xiaonan’s peach blossom eyes.

President Kang was a heavy drinker, so naturally, Gao Jiong couldn’t go. But after being forced to drink enough baijiu (white liquor) to knock out an elephant, Jing Xiaonan realized that the look in Qin Yan’s eyes when she said that sentence was one of concern.

Stumbling, she was helped into her Porsche by Qin Yan, and her personal secretary drove her all the way home. Jing Xiaonan was then half-carried and half-supported back into her house, where she collapsed onto the sofa like a pile of mud.

Standing in the Jing family living room, Qin Yan looked at Jing Xiaonan, whose brows were uncomfortably locked together. Once she confirmed that Jing Xiaonan’s eyes were closed and she was clearly unconscious, she slowly bent down. Her right hand, trembling slightly from overexertion while helping Jing Xiaonan, gently touched her right knee. The coldness on her face was replaced by pain.

After a moment, she spread out her palm. In the faint light filtering through the window, she could vaguely see embedded sand and shocking fresh bl00d on her palm.

She silently clenched her hand, used her left hand to turn on the living room light, and expertly found the bathroom. After quickly washing her hands and knees, she didn’t take time to bandage them but fetched a basin of warm water and a blue towel, and headed downstairs.

When she returned to Jing Xiaonan, she found that William had jumped onto the sofa at some point and was snuggling against his owner. But even in the few minutes she was gone, Jing Xiaonan had only adjusted her posture, curling up in the soft sofa with her hands covering her stomach. Her expression still revealed her discomfort and distress. She hadn’t noticed how strong the smell of alcohol on her was when she was with Jing Xiaonan earlier, but returning now, she realized just how much she had been forced to drink tonight.

A rare emotion flashed in Qin Yan’s eyes as she looked at the unconscious Jing Xiaonan. But quickly, she returned to her usual poker face, helped Jing Xiaonan untie and remove her shoes, unfolded the blue towel, soaked it in the water, wrung it out until it was half-dry, unfolded it, and approached Jing Xiaonan.

Jing Xiaonan occupied most of the sofa, and William was hogging the only remaining small space. Qin Yan knelt on the floor in front of the sofa. Her brow furrowed when her knee touched the ground, but she maintained the posture. She started wiping the familiar face, which she knew down to the bone, with the warm towel, beginning at Jing Xiaonan’s forehead beneath her bangs, with meticulous gentleness.

Whether it was because the towel smoothed out the tightly locked brow, or because the cleansing relieved some of her discomfort, Jing Xiaonan’s sword-like eyebrows slowly relaxed under Qin Yan’s touch, and the hand covering her stomach dropped to her sides.

Qin Yan returned to the basin, scrubbed the towel, wrung it dry, and came back to wipe Jing Xiaonan’s neck and hands.

Not until Jing Xiaonan’s brows were completely unfurled did Qin Yan put the towel back in the basin and carry it away. When she returned, William rubbed against her before going back to guard his owner.

Jing Xiaonan’s position on the sofa was a bit more orderly now, leaving some space next to her legs where Qin Yan could sit. But she still knelt in front of the person, just as she had when wiping Jing Xiaonan’s face, intently gazing at the smooth, sleeping face.

A pair of thick eyebrows over a contoured brow bone looked quite heroic, complementing her straight nose, perfectly fitting this person’s strong and resilient personality. Yet, the fair skin and the shape of her lips revealed her female identity. Her peach blossom eyes, which were always slightly smiling, were now hidden by her eyelids, exposing long, slightly curled eyelashes.

Gazing intently, she unconsciously extended a finger and, with her eyes softened, traced Jing Xiaonan’s features one by one, starting from the eyebrows. Her fingertip trembled when it lightly touched the person’s lips, but it lingered without retreating. Qin Yan’s eyes were filled with emotions that were hard to decipher.

They say thin-lipped people are fickle and heartless. Jing Xiaonan, will you betray my heart for you?

While she was lost in thought, her train of thought was interrupted by a vibrating sound. Qin Yan slightly narrowed her eyes, then quickly located Jing Xiaonan’s phone in her right pocket. Fearing the continuous vibration would wake Jing Xiaonan, Qin Yan leaned over to take it out, intending to place it on the table and ignore it. But as her eyes swept across the screen, she inadvertently caught sight of the caller ID.

Luo Shen.