Contractual Cohabitation GL - Chapter 25

The next day, Jing Xiaonan woke up early, changed into a well-tailored light purple shirt, put on gray slacks, fastened her belt, combed her hair, and put on her watch. She walked out of the guest room where she had been sleeping for nearly a month, gently closing the door behind her.

The walk from the guest room to the kitchen required passing the staircase leading to the second floor. As Jing Xiaonan passed, the corner of her eye caught a glimpse of a graceful figure. She stopped and turned around, looking up towards the top of the stairs.

Ye Luochen, also an early riser, stood on the second floor. Her left hand, clad in a long, thin leather glove, rested gently on the railing, as she looked down at Jing Xiaonan with a slight, gentle smile. Miss Ye, whose looks and intelligence were both favored by the heavens, was wearing a fitted, pearl-white short suit jacket with a matching skirt suit today. Her long, wavy, chestnut hair, which reached her chest, draped smoothly like seaweed in front of and behind her. Her deep brown, moon-shaped eyes were filled with tenderness.

“You look very beautiful today.” Her vermillion lips slightly parted, and her relaxed tone revealed the young lady’s good mood today.

Jing Xiaonan’s slightly parted lips, due to her astonishment, had yet to utter a sound when Ye Luochen stole the compliment. Recovering herself, she looked down at herself; she was, at most, clean and presentable.

“Luochen has learned to joke.”

Standing motionless at the bottom of the stairs, Jing Xiaonan extended her hand and gazed at her with a smile. The invited woman slowly walked down, her newly polished high heels tapping gently as she supported herself with one hand on the railing. She had only meant to try the shoes at home to see if they fit, but she hadn’t expected to encounter such a scene.

When that small hand, covered by the ivory-colored glove, slid into Jing Xiaonan’s palm, a flash of joyful light sparkled in her peach-blossom eyes. Holding her smile, Jing Xiaonan used the leverage to pull the person closer, taking the opportunity to wrap her arm around the slender waist, and slowly began to move her feet, dancing a slow dance.

As the daughter of Maple Leaf, various social engagements, including ballroom dancing, were second nature to her. Her brain hadn’t fully reacted, but her body was already moving with the steps. Ye Luochen looked down and smiled; this person was in a truly good mood today.

She lifted their clasped hands and twirled Ye Luochen around. It was a pity that her skirt suit today was fitted; otherwise, if she were wearing her usual long dress, the swirling of the skirt would have been very dazzling. As she turned back, Jing Xiaonan pulled her arm in, hugging the beauty back into her arms, and seized the moment to lightly peck those enticing lips, then smiled as if nothing had happened and asked: “Luochen, where are you going today?”

The act of stealing a kiss was too sudden, and the thief did it without changing her expression, maintaining that harmless appearance afterward. Ye Luochen almost wondered if the scene just now was an illusion. Only the unusually warm spot where she was kissed reminded her of the person’s naughtiness. She looked down and rolled her eyes, which could be described as cute, before answering: “I’m going to negotiate with the milk powder factory people with Manager Li today.”

Oh! Jing Xiaonan nodded. Yes, a few days ago, she saw on the company’s schedule that Lawyer Zhao was supposed to accompany the Maple Leaf people to the milk powder factory, which had a high probability of signing a contract. Although both sides had already expressed their intention to cooperate, it was still the initial stage of talks. Jing Xiaonan and Gao Jiong naturally did not need to attend. Lawyer Zhao, as the qualified senior staff member of Pengju other than the two of them, was perfectly suitable to accompany them.

She looked down at Ye Luochen’s attire today—mature, intellectual, elegant, and generous. Jing Xiaonan felt a subtle sense of displeasure for some reason. Whether she saw her as a beauty through a lover’s eyes or not, a woman like this would be considered a beauty even through an enemy’s eyes! People with poor taste are a minority in the world after all.

A living disaster!

“What did you say?” Ye Luochen raised her head, her moon-shaped eyes looking clearly at Jing Xiaonan, having heard her mumble something indistinctly through clenched teeth.

“Ah, nothing.” Never mind, she would just take things as they come. “I’ll drive you.”

“No need, Manager Li’s car should be waiting for me outside the front door.”

“He knows we live together?!”

“I only told him the address to pick me up; I didn’t mention anything else.”

Jing Xiaonan thought for a moment, “Fine then. Text me when you’re done, and I’ll come pick you up?”

Ye Luochen, about to turn and leave, paused her gaze on the beautiful face because of that sentence, then nodded: “Mmm.”

Because of this small interlude, Jing Xiaonan arrived at the hospital a little late. Qin Yan was in the process of being discharged.

“Where’s A-Jiong?” Jing Xiaonan looked around but didn’t find the General Manager Gao, who should have been accompanying the patient, and casually asked.

“She went down to buy breakfast,” Qin Yan replied faintly as she signed her name on the paper the nurse handed over, then looked up at Jing Xiaonan, remaining silent.

“Are you still uncomfortable anywhere?” Jing Xiaonan asked with some concern.

Qin Yan looked away, nodded slightly, and then shook her head.

“What’s wrong, Xiaoyan?”

She lowered her head and didn’t answer. Just as Jing Xiaonan was starting to get anxious and was about to ask again, Qin Yan’s usually emotionless voice sounded again.

“Nothing.”

Accustomed to Qin Yan’s cold, decisive, and stoic personality, Jing Xiaonan easily detected this abnormality. Upon closer reflection, she suddenly realized that this unusual behavior hadn’t started today; Qin Yan’s various odd behaviors had been ongoing for an unknown number of days. And a person with this iceberg-like personality would certainly be a martyr during the War of Resistance. If she didn’t want to talk, no one could make her open her mouth.

Her brows tightly furrowed, Jing Xiaonan scrutinized this schoolmate she had known for many years, pondering deeply. The answer in her heart gradually became clear, almost ready to be spoken, but her train of thought was suddenly interrupted.

“Pig! Your feeder is back!” Gao Jiong walked over from not far away, shouting excitedly, waving one hand, and carrying two lunch boxes in the other. “Ay, when I was buying the food, they asked if I wanted a small or medium portion! I thought of the two of you, especially Xiaonan’s stomach capacity, so I had to shamelessly ask for the large size! If the three of us formed a team to fight monsters, the team name would be easy to come up with: ‘Scarlet Fire Clan’! Ay… it’s really tough on me, the ‘Clan Leader,’ having to feed you ‘Foodies’ every day.”

After saying this, she didn’t wait for any reaction from the two and lowered her head, preoccupied with distributing the lunch boxes.

The silent, subtle atmosphere was completely disrupted by this cheerful rambling. Jing Xiaonan took the lunch box Gao Jiong handed her and said to Qin Yan:

“Take a few more days off. Come back to the company after you’ve recovered.”

Qin Yan moved her chopsticks but didn’t eat much, and she completely ignored Jing Xiaonan’s words.

Busy times always fly by. Immersed in various case essentials, Jing Xiaonan unknowingly stayed in the office until after seven in the evening. Although her mind was fully focused on work, her personal phone was always within reach, set to unmuted mode, waiting for a message from a certain woman asking her to pick her up and go home together.

But she waited until eight o’clock and still hadn’t received one.

Most people in the company had already left. Pengju employees, knowing that Deputy General Manager Jing was still fighting behind her desk, silently admired such a workaholic while secretly fearing being discovered leaving earlier than their superior, so they tiptoed out quietly, leaving no trace behind.

Finally, at nine o’clock, the hungry Jing Xiaonan signed the last document and, somewhat confused, unlocked her personal phone. How could there be no message at all?

After thinking for a moment, she finally dialed Ye Luochen’s number. It rang for a long time, but no one answered. She hung up and dialed the home landline. After only a moment, Ye Luochen’s clear and pleasant voice rang out from the other end of the phone:

“Hello?”

Hello? Hello my foot. The worry she had earlier was swept away by this sound, replaced by a subtle displeasure. Jing Xiaonan took a few breaths to steady her emotions. Ye Luochen, hearing no reply, switched to Chinese: “Nǐ hǎo? (Hello?)”

“It’s me.” The low voice still conveyed a hint of dissatisfaction. “Why did you go home by yourself?”

Ye Luochen, busy in the kitchen preparing dinner and now answering the call on the portable landline in the living room, paused. Recognizing the emotion in her tone, she softly replied: “The General Manager of… Ntrigr milk powder factory drove me back.”

Recalling her worries from the morning, Jing Xiaonan frowned and pressed the phone tightly to her left ear, “The General Manager of Ntrigr? Male or female?”

Ye Luochen didn’t answer.

Shaking her head, Jing Xiaonan suddenly realized that her question was actually quite unnecessary. Regardless of whether the person was male or female, as long as they had the intention to drive Ye Luochen home, weren’t they all potential love rivals? Did the gender matter?

She sighed, but it still didn’t relieve the gloom in her heart. Jing Xiaonan’s question still carried a hint of reproach: “Didn’t I tell you to text me so I could pick you up and take you home?”

She waited for a while, but the other end still remained silent.

Jing Xiaonan couldn’t hear any sound and was a little anxious: “Luochen, what are you doing?”

“Cooking.”

“Ah? You haven’t eaten dinner yet!?”

“I have eaten.”

“Then…?”

“Cooking for you.”

Now it was Jing Xiaonan’s turn to be speechless.

After a long time, a soft sigh came from the other end of the phone. Ye Luochen’s somewhat tired voice sounded in Jing Xiaonan’s ear: “Is there anything else? If not, I’m hanging up now.”

Jing Xiaonan let out an “er” before she could react, which was misinterpreted as agreement. A beeping sound quickly came from the phone, beeping with the Deputy General Manager Jing’s full annoyance.

Therefore, she ran downstairs hastily. Therefore, she rushed home against time. Pushing open the door, her gaze quickly fixed on Ye Luochen sitting on the sofa. Jing Xiaonan kicked off her shoes and walked quickly over, reaching out to clasp the slightly cold small hand in her palm. She squatted down and looked up at Ye Luochen’s face, which was intently reading a certain book or magazine.

Shaking the soft, gentle hand in her palm, Jing Xiaonan cautiously began: “Are you angry?”

The beauty did not answer.

“It’s my fault.”

Still ignoring her.

“Luochen…” With a little childish whine mixed with a hint of coquetry, Jing Xiaonan finally gained the attention of the young lady, who put down her book, turned her head, and looked at her with calm, unwavering eyes.

“Luochen, I was wrong. I didn’t mean to snap at you. It’s just that I was looking forward to the feeling of finishing work and picking you up to go home together all day. So when I found out you were already home, and that someone else had driven you, while I was foolishly waiting for you in the office for an afternoon and half a night, I felt bad for a moment.”

Hearing her say this, Ye Luochen finally shed her cold and distant expression and was willing to communicate: “So you blame me? And question me so arbitrarily?”

“I… it’s my fault.”

“You slept so late last night and got up so early this morning. When Ntrigr suggested having dinner together tonight, I thought I shouldn’t make you rush out from home just to pick me up. But when I got back and didn’t see you, I thought you might have gone to look after Miss Qin.”

Later, I was afraid you’d be too busy to eat dinner, afraid you’d go hungry and get stomach pain, so I changed my clothes and went to the kitchen to wash the vegetables and prepare the meal.

Ye Luochen didn’t say it, but Jing Xiaonan understood. She pulled Ye Luochen’s soft, gentle, jade-like hand and pressed it against her face, closing her eyes: “I’m sorry…”

Ye Luochen averted her gaze from her but still allowed her to hold her hand.

“Luochen, are you still angry?”

She didn’t answer, but nodded slightly.

“What are you angry about?”

Ye Luochen turned her head and slightly lifted her exquisitely beautiful, artfully crafted chin, looking at the food on the table.

“It’s all your fault, they’re burnt.”

Jing Xiaonan looked, released her hand, and stood up to walk to the table. She lifted the plastic lid on the serving plate, picked up her chopsticks without thinking, and put a mouthful into her mouth.

“Aiy~” Ye Luochen let out a soft cry, but it was too late. Jing Xiaonan chewed a few times, swallowed, and smiled: “Even if you burnt it, I still want to eat it.”

Seeing Ye Luochen’s expression finally completely thaw, Jing Xiaonan finally breathed a sigh of relief. She walked over, embraced the person on the sofa, coaxed her a couple of times, and held the soft, fragrant body in her arms, the two soft bodies nestled together, swaying gently.

“Luochen, tomorrow is Saturday. Let’s go out and have some fun.”