Forbidden Deep Affection (GL) - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Late at night, Ming Shuang returned to her apartment and took a bath.

The doorbell rang.

She slipped into pajamas, opened the door, and saw the woman standing there.

“Sorry for coming back so late.” Zhu Bingzhi pouted, trying to act cute to get a pass.

Ming Shuang hooked her finger around the maid outfit and tossed it at her, saying with disdain, “You didn’t even wash it before giving it to me.”

“It was sudden! My professor called me away last minute. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have begged you to cover for me. Anyway, thanks a lot for today. I’ll treat you to dinner another time!” Zhu Bingzhi hugged the clothes, full of gratitude.

As she gathered the clothes, a few slips of paper fell from the pocket. She picked them up—phone numbers and one address.

“Not bad, quite the charmer,” Zhu Bingzhi teased with a laugh.

“Take them. Call whichever number catches your eye.”

“Quit joking. They’re not into me.” Zhu Bingzhi smiled, looking at the woman leaning against the doorframe, curious. “So, did you meet anyone you liked tonight?”

“Nope, just a bunch of…” Ming Shuang trailed off, pausing suddenly.

“Huh? You actually met someone?”

“Not like that. Just ran into a really weird woman.”

“Is she your type?” Zhu Bingzhi immediately went into gossip mode.

“No.”

“So what’s your type, anyway?”

“No idea. Depends on the vibe.”

“People who say it’s about the vibe are usually just into looks. But you’re already so gorgeous, it’s probably hard for anyone to give you that vibe.”

“You’re right.” Ming Shuang accepted the compliment without a hint of guilt.

“…”

“Oh, by the way, if I don’t message you by ten tomorrow morning, call the police for me,” Ming Shuang instructed.

“Call the police? What happened?!” Zhu Bingzhi instantly got nervous, asking with concern.

“Nothing major. I just got hired by a woman.”

“????”

Zhu Bingzhi’s jaw dropped. She swallowed hard, then asked in disbelief, “What do you mean? Like, that kind of hired?”

“Yup. Me, Ming Shuang, got hired.” Ming Shuang said it casually, like it was no big deal.

Zhu Bingzhi was baffled. “You? Need to be hired? Wait, no… who would hire you? Some super-rich lady?”

“Doesn’t seem like it. She only offered 188,888, and that’s for a whole month.” Ming Shuang shook her head, laughing at herself.

“??????”

Zhu Bingzhi’s brain nearly crashed. “Is something wrong with her, or with you?”

“Probably both.”

“What’s in it for you? You’re not exactly short on cash.”

“It’s fun.” Ming Shuang flashed a bright grin. “If she offered a high price, I probably wouldn’t have bothered.”

Zhu Bingzhi felt like the world was unreal. “Is it safe?”

“That’s why I’m asking you to help.”

*

The next morning, Ming Shuang arrived at the hotel and knocked on the door.

Soon, Ye Ting Shuang, dressed in casual loungewear, opened the door.

“Morning, Boss,” Ming Shuang said with a cheeky grin. “Xiao Ming reporting for duty.”

Ye Ting Shuang glanced at her a few times. “Come in.”

“Alrighty.” Ming Shuang strutted in, dropped her bag in a corner, and looked around.

It was a suite. The coffee table in the living room was covered with papers and pens. The balcony let in bright light, and a rocking chair was still gently swaying.

“Have you eaten breakfast?” Ye Ting Shuang walked ahead, barefoot on the floor.

“Yup.”

“Oh…”

“Boss, need me to do anything?”

“Go get me some breakfast.” Ye Ting Shuang lowered her head and sent her some money.

“…Sure thing.” Ming Shuang smiled slightly, asked what she wanted, and headed downstairs to run the errand.

Ye Ting Shuang stood on the balcony, stretched, and cleared the crumpled papers from the coffee table. Just then, her partner July called.

“Shuang, how’s the design progress?” July asked in English.

“I’ve got some ideas.”

“Good. I trust you’ll create something even better soon. Don’t worry about the studio for now. Your top priority is finding your inspiration.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem. Where are you at with it?”

At the part where I spent money to hire a woman…

Ye Ting Shuang scratched her ear, half-laughing, half-crying.

Hard to say if last night’s impulse was adrenaline or alcohol, but now the “maid” had shown up, and the deal was done.

“I’ve started sketching.”

“Great. Looking forward to your updates!”

A while later, Ming Shuang returned with breakfast.

“You’ll stay in that room.” Ye Ting Shuang pointed to a small bedroom next to the master.

Ming Shuang nodded, carried her bag into the clean, tidy room—no one else had been in there.

After settling in, she returned to the living room and saw Ye Ting Shuang sitting cross-legged on the sofa, eating breakfast absentmindedly. She bit her tongue, hissed in pain, clutched her cheek pitifully, and then slowly kept eating.

“…” Ming Shuang checked the time and sent Zhu Bingzhi a message.

Ming: [All clear.]

Zhu Bingzhi: [Sure it’s safe?]

[Yup.]

Looking at Ye Ting Shuang’s awkward state, Ming Shuang couldn’t imagine her doing anything dangerous.

Ye Ting Shuang ate slowly, licking the wound on her tongue, then got up to clear the table. She suddenly noticed Ming Shuang lounging on the sofa, playing on her phone.

Almost forgot someone was here.

“Why so quiet?” Ye Ting Shuang asked.

“You didn’t tell me to talk. Should I?” Ming Shuang countered.

Ye Ting Shuang pressed her lips together, letting it slide because she was pretty, and tossed the trash. She was about to get to work.

But after a few steps, Ming Shuang called out to her.

“Wait.”

Ming Shuang went to her room, grabbed a pair of new slippers, and tossed them at her. “Here, bought these on the way.”

Ye Ting Shuang looked at the slippers, then at her, then back at the slippers. After a moment, she said, “I have shoes. The hotel has spares too. If I need some, I’ll just ask housekeeping.”

“Then why aren’t you wearing any?”

“Don’t feel like it.”

Ming Shuang pursed her lips. “So what do I do with these?”

“Use them yourself.” Ye Ting Shuang stepped around her. “Don’t do pointless stuff like this. If I don’t ask you to do it, don’t bother.”

“Fine, call me a busybody.” Ming Shuang shrugged, muttering under her breath.

The room was quiet, so the slight complaint reached Ye Ting Shuang’s ears. She ignored it, went back to her room, and called out, “Come in.”

Ming Shuang turned, saw her busy in the bedroom, and narrowed her eyes slightly.

Ye Ting Shuang set up her workspace, turned, and locked eyes with Ming Shuang in the living room.

After a long moment, she asked, “Why aren’t you coming in?”

Ming Shuang walked to the doorway, leaned against the frame, and smirked. “Come in to do what?”

“Come in, sit.” Ye Ting Shuang pointed to the edge of the bed.

“Do?” Ming Shuang’s smile froze. She sized her up and said, “You strip first, then I’ll come in.”

“???”

Ye Ting Shuang had to remind her, “I’m your boss now. Per the deal, you listen to me.”

“Your deal didn’t say anything about sleeping with you.”

Ye Ting Shuang was stunned for a moment, then pressed her lips together in exasperation, grinding out word by word, “I said come in and sit, not come in to do it.”

“Oh…” Ming Shuang glanced at where she pointed, half-doubting, walked to the bed, sat down, crossed one leg, and looked up at her. “Now what?”

“Just like that. Don’t move.” Ye Ting Shuang stared at her.

Ming Shuang didn’t flinch, staring right back, then reached out, pinched her chin, and asked slowly, “What exactly do you want to do?”

Ye Ting Shuang brushed a curl of hair away from her chest, then moved her hand down. “What I want to do is my business. You don’t need to ask.”

Ming Shuang wanted to say more, but saw her walk to the desk a meter away, pick up a pen, and start sketching on a notebook.

Ming Shuang tilted her head, trying to see what she was doing.

“Don’t move.” Ye Ting Shuang looked up, pen propped under her chin, staring at her motionless.

Ming Shuang sat back.

Soon, she guessed Ye Ting Shuang was probably drawing, and she was likely the model.

“How old are you?” Sitting for a while got boring, so Ming Shuang couldn’t help but chat with this stranger.

“No comment,” Ye Ting Shuang said without looking up.

“Are you drawing?”

“None of your business.”

“Do you know me?”

“Nope.”

“Then why’d you hire me?”

“Because you’re pretty.”

Ming Shuang’s lips curved. She switched legs, leaned forward, propped her elbow on her knee, rested her chin in her hand, and asked with a hint of a smile, “So, do you like me?”

Ye Ting Shuang stopped her pen, looked up, and said sternly, “Don’t move.”

“…”

Ming Shuang leisurely returned to her original pose.

Ye Ting Shuang kept drawing, answering after a while, “No, I don’t.”

Ming Shuang tugged at her lips.

Around one o’clock, Ye Ting Shuang told Ming Shuang to go buy lunch.

Outside the hotel, Zhu Bingzhi came up to her. “How’s it going? All good?”

“Fine.” Ming Shuang smiled.

“Really? What’d the rich lady have you do?”

“She told me to go to her room.”

Zhu Bingzhi’s eyes widened. “Oh god! Then what?”

“Then she had me model for her and drew a portrait of me.”

“No way! She paid to hire you for a month, didn’t ask you to sleep with her, and even drew you a portrait?!” Zhu Bingzhi could hardly believe how dreamy that sounded. “Is she still looking for models? I’m available!”

Ming Shuang shook her head. “No idea.”

“But the way you describe it, I’m starting to think she’s trying to woo you with money.”

“Great minds think alike.” Ming Shuang laughed.

“Show me the portrait she drew!” Zhu Bingzhi said excitedly.

“You sure you want to see it?”

“Yup!”

Ming Shuang opened her phone and showed her a sneaky photo.

Zhu Bingzhi leaned in eagerly, looked once, then again, and slowly turned to her. “What’s this supposed to be?”

“Chicken scratch?” Ming Shuang didn’t get it either. How could someone look at her gorgeous face and draw a mess of random lines?

“You sure she was drawing you?”

“What else would she be doing? She had me sit there the whole time, staring at me now and then. If she wasn’t drawing me, why make me sit there?”

“Decoration?”

“…Forget it. Let’s go eat.”

Ming Shuang took her to lunch outside. While paying, she suddenly remembered she still had a task, so she packed a lunch to go.

“Oh, I went to the Asian supermarket nearby and got some Lao Gan Ma. Want one?” Zhu Bingzhi pulled a jar from her bag.

“…Not my thing.”

“You’ll come around. Our Chinese stomachs never change. I still can’t get used to Western food. Lao Gan Ma’s my real mom out here!”

In the end, Ming Shuang accepted her gesture and took the jar, carrying the food back to the hotel. As she opened the door, she saw Ye Ting Shuang sprawled listlessly on the coffee table, raising her eyes with a voice like she was about to keel over. “Why’d it take so long?”

Ming Shuang felt a twinge of guilt and set the food in front of her. “It’s lunchtime. Too many people. Took a while to get it.”

Ye Ting Shuang propped herself up, opened the bag, and pulled out a burger, a steak salad, and… a jar of Lao Gan Ma???

Ming Shuang’s eyelid twitched, about to take it back, when she heard her say, “This is nice. Where’d you get it?”

“Uh… you like it?”

Ye Ting Shuang weakly tried to twist the cap. It didn’t budge. She tried again, still nothing. She got up, went to the kitchen, and grabbed a kitchen knife.

Ming Shuang: “…”

Ye Ting Shuang came back, noticed the cap was already open, and pointed at Ming Shuang, puzzled. “You did that?”

“Yeah! Put the knife down before we talk!!!”