As he walked through the office area, Jiang Cheng noticed that it was unusually quiet.
Apparently, everyone should have gone out for lunch by now; only one or two girls in the office were still buried in their work.
Arriving at Zhao Linger's office door, Jiang Cheng raised his hand and tapped lightly.
"Who is it? Come in." Zhao Linger's gentle voice came from inside.
Hearing this, Jiang Cheng gently turned the doorknob, only to find that the door was surprisingly unlocked.
He pushed the door open and entered, his gaze landing on the sofa by the window.
There sat Zhao Linger, posed gracefully with a cup of Starbucks coffee in her hand.
She was savoring it leisurely while staring at the bustling crowd outside the window, as if deep in thought.
Sunlight streamed through the bright window, softly spilling over her supple body.
It draped her in a golden veil, sketching a mesmerizingly beautiful scene.
At this moment, she exuded an indescribable air of laziness.
Compared to her usual easily-startled and open-minded self, she seemed like a completely different person.
When she saw it was Jiang Cheng, Zhao Linger immediately puffed out her cheeks and said huffily, "Chairman Jiang, hmph! You just made me the laughingstock of those girls for a long time."
Jiang Cheng asked with a look of confusion, "Laughing at what?"
Zhao Linger glared at him and replied crossly, "What do you think?"
Jiang Cheng immediately understood what Zhao Linger meant.
But in this situation, Jiang Cheng would absolutely not admit to teasing her with his words earlier.
If he admitted it, knowing Zhao Linger's temperament...
The best course of action right now was to play dumb.
Since she hadn't understood back then, Jiang Cheng could likewise pretend not to understand now.
Seeing Zhao Linger's expression begin to waver, Jiang Cheng couldn't help but feel secretly pleased, yet he maintained a look of utter bewilderment on the surface.
He reached out and scratched his head lightly, saying with a hint of confusion, "What on earth are you talking about?? Weren't we just talking about piercing ears and having lunch?? What's so funny about that?? Isn't it perfectly normal??"
Seeing Jiang Cheng's righteous demeanor, Zhao Linger, who had intended to vent her doubts and accusations, was suddenly left speechless.
She began to carefully recall the conversation between them.
After trying to discard those messy stray thoughts, she found that what Jiang Cheng said actually seemed to make sense.
It was just a simple Ear Piercing; why had she associated it with other things?
Swayed by Jiang Cheng's acting, Zhao Linger actually started to blame herself, feeling that she had been too influenced by the people around her, causing her thoughts to deviate from the right track.
Keenly capturing the change in Zhao Linger's emotions, Jiang Cheng took the opportunity to press further, "Tell me, what exactly happened? I'm quite curious."
Hearing this, Zhao Linger's expression changed slightly, and she made up an excuse on the spot: "It's... nothing. They were just laughing at me for buying so much food when you wouldn't help me eat it." As she spoke, her eyes darted around evasively.
Looking around the somewhat empty office, Jiang Cheng asked in confusion, "Who said that? Where's the food? I haven't had lunch yet."
With this question, it was Zhao Linger's turn to feel a bit embarrassed.
She subconsciously patted her slightly bulging belly and stammered an explanation, "Uh... well... I thought you had already gone to Sister Xueer's office to eat, so I just ate all that food by myself. I'm actually feeling a bit stuffed now."
Jiang Cheng frowned, his face a mask of unspeakable expressions as he stared straight at Zhao Linger, his heart filled with helplessness.
He reached out and gently pinched her rosy cheek. "The two of us were just talking about Film and Television Investment, and here you are, having finished off all the food."
Seeing Jiang Cheng looking at her speechlessly, Zhao Linger immediately put on a fawning, pleasing smile and said coquettishly, "Chairman Jiang, you are a magnanimous person. Please, please don't be angry with me! Whatever you want to eat, I'll go buy it for you right this second."
Seeing Zhao Linger pick up her phone from the desk and head for the door, Jiang Cheng quickly reached out and pulled her back.
"Forget it, never mind the food. Let's do 'it' first."
At this moment, Zhao Linger's heart was racing like a trapped deer, as if a great drum was being beaten violently inside her chest.
Her hands were pressed tightly against Jiang Cheng's chest where his heart was, her body trembling slightly, betraying an unconcealable nervousness.
Even her usually sharp tongue began to stutter, "Ah... do we really have to 'do it'?"
Hearing Zhao Linger ask this, Jiang Cheng couldn't help but feel a bit puzzled.
For a moment, even Jiang Cheng couldn't quite tell what she meant by that.
These two words, but the meaning they represented in this context was worlds apart.
Could it be that Zhao Linger had some kind of special thoughts about him?
To ponder such a question for even a second would be a form of self-disrespect.
"Of course... I want to."
Noticing Jiang Cheng staring at her with such a strange and surprised look, Zhao Linger suddenly snapped out of it, realizing she might have misspoken just now.
Jiang Cheng wanted to help her put in her earrings, but in her panic, she had mistakenly said 'do' instead of 'put in'.
"Ah... no, that's not it. I mean... I misspoke." Zhao Linger's large, watery eyes, like two translucent grapes, were now looking at Jiang Cheng with embarrassment.
Seeing that Zhao Linger had indeed just misspoke, Jiang Cheng felt a pang of regret.
"Maybe we shouldn't... I'm afraid of the pain..." Zhao Linger lowered her head, her cheeks flushing as red as a sunset. Her delicate body trembled slightly, like a flower in the wind that evoked pity.
Jiang Cheng gazed tenderly at the shy and lovely Zhao Linger in his arms, whispering softly, "Don't be afraid. Everyone feels a bit nervous and uncomfortable the first time, but you'll get used to it. Don't you have some oil? I'll rub a little on for you, and it won't hurt."
"Alright then... but you have to be very gentle. I'm really afraid of pain; that last experience left me with a psychological shadow... so be gentle, okay? I'm really scared of the pain, I still have a shadow from last time..." Zhao Linger's voice grew smaller and smaller, almost like the buzzing of a mosquito.
For some reason, as Zhao Linger said this, her hands were uncontrollably tracing circles on Jiang Cheng's chest.
Her bashful appearance made it seem as if something was about to happen between the two of them at any moment.
Before she could finish, the two of them suddenly heard a startled gasp from the doorway.
Both of them turned their heads simultaneously, only to find Chen Xueer standing there, her face full of shock.
"This... I... I'm sorry, I'm interrupting you." Chen Xueer's face was slightly pale, and her voice trembled a little.
Seeing this, Zhao Linger's heart tightened. She hurriedly jogged forward and grabbed Chen Xueer's hand to explain, "Sister Xueer, please don't misunderstand! Really, nothing happened between us."
"Linger, this is your private matter after all. I didn't see anything." Chen Xueer tried to remain calm, but a hint of anger still flickered in her eyes.
Seeing that Chen Xueer seemed to have misunderstood her and Jiang Cheng, just like the other girls in the office, Zhao Linger was anxious.
Zhao Linger immediately mimicked Jiang Cheng's righteous tone and said, "Sister Xueer, we were just discussing my Ear Piercings. Where is your mind going? Didn't you hurt my ears a lot last time? So Chairman Jiang offered to help me. Don't get the wrong idea."