Two hours later, Baba had already fallen fast asleep.
She hugged the quilt, thighs pressed lightly together, breathing soft and even.
This Girl had just been talking tough, vowing to make him regret it today.
Who would have thought… the outcome…
The corners of Jiang Cheng's mouth curved into an involuntary, victorious smile.
He leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Sleep first; I'm heading to the study to handle something."
Baba, half-asleep, seemed to catch his voice and nodded faintly.
A glance at the clock showed 11:50 p.m.
He picked up a coat from beside the bed, slipped it on, and stepped lightly out of the bedroom toward the study.
When he pushed open the study door, Wang Sheng had already been waiting inside for a long time.
"Young master." Wang Sheng rose hurriedly in greeting.
Jiang Cheng smiled and nodded. "Any news?"
Wang Sheng answered, "While dragging them out, I caught someone cursing us in thai language; from the look of it, those goods were probably smuggled from Tyrande."
Hearing this, Jiang Cheng's brows drew together slightly.
According to what he knew, Hengcheng Company's underground arm shouldn't profit from that sort of merchandise.
He actually understood very little about the organization.
Though he was now Hengcheng's second-largest shareholder, Mario was the one who ran daily operations.
Compared with the old Burmese region, Tyrande appears better governed on the surface, but its internal situation is equally messy, rife with constant strife.
Against that backdrop, Tyrande's social environment teems with factions and forces—nothing like the stability of Huaxia.
Many unrecognized groups are, to put it bluntly, born of the underworld and possess no real legitimacy.
Hengcheng Company, however, operates with impunity across both legal and illegal spheres in Tyrande and wields enormous influence.
For such outfits, firearms are the bare minimum.
With chaos everywhere and powdered poison flooding the country, Jiang Cheng naturally connected the two.
At his words, Wang Sheng slowly shook his head, a helpless look crossing his face.
"Back before I followed you, young master, I drifted around Southeast Asia for years. As far as I know, Hengcheng doesn't fund itself through powdered poison but through small loan companies. Our people on the ground haven't taken any related orders…."
Jiang Cheng felt a heavy stone lift from his heart; he exhaled in relief, worry draining from his face.
After a pause, Wang Sheng continued, "That said, it doesn't mean individual employees won't dabble privately. In Tyrande, trafficking powdered poison is practically common trade."
Jiang Cheng nodded in agreement.
During the earlier clash, he too had heard the men conversing in thai language.
What worried him most was whether this powdered poison had been smuggled into Huaxia under Hengcheng's banner.
If so, it would be a bloody mess.
He waved Wang Sheng off to rest.
Tyrande's clock runs one hour behind Huaxia's.
Right now it should be only around 11 p.m. there—nightlife might just be starting.
Jiang Cheng picked up his phone and dialed Mario without hesitation.
They'd been through life-and-death together; calling at midnight was nothing—true friends don't stand on ceremony.
The call connected quickly, and the two talked for more than half an hour.
After hanging up, Jiang Cheng set the phone down; his stomach rumbled.
He wondered whether to have someone prepare a late-night snack.
He might as well ask Big Secret if she wanted something to eat.
Phone in hand, he left the study to arrange it.
Then he noticed Big Secret sitting in the side hall.
Winter moonlight, cold as frost, filtered through carved latticework and veiled the flagstones in a pale hue.
Big Secret lounged languidly in a huanghuali armchair as though the world had nothing to do with her.
A champagne cashmere cardigan wrapped her body, its thick fabric covering her yet unable to hide her graceful curves—like a work of art.
Floor heating kept the room spring-warm; her fuzzy-socked toes brushed the ground, two soft clouds in the moonlight.
The moon gilded her profile in cool silver, the shadow of her nose carving a sharp arc across her cheek.
Chestnut-brown hair was loosely coiled at her nape, a few stray strands catching moonlight like silk.
Nude-polished fingers tapped the table, nails glowing with a pearly sheen.
Most striking of all: when she lifted her gaze, the fan-shaped shadow of her thick lashes quivered.
That tiny motion felt like a ripple sliding across a still lake, making the heart quiver.
When Jiang Cheng stepped into her view, Big Secret's previously unfocused gaze sharpened instantly.
She stared straight at him, as though the rest of the world had vanished.
The cardigan that had been wrapped tightly around her now seemed to have a will of its own.
It loosened soundlessly, exposing a sliver of collarbone in the V-neck.
Jiang Cheng's footsteps stopped dead, his eyes locking on the slightly parted neckline.
"Why aren't you asleep so late?" Jiang
Right now, Big Secret looked completely different from the polite woman who'd faced Jiang Cheng moments earlier.
Her eyes pinned him, half-smiling, carrying a hint of elusive invitation.
"Mm, because I was waiting for you."
As she spoke, Big Secret tilted her chin, and the cardigan slipped another half-inch, revealing those alluring collarbones.
Moonlight pooled in the hollow of her collarbone, then spilled over her shoulder with the movement.
The porcelain skin gleamed under a cold glaze of moonlight, its faint rise and fall with each breath like a silent summons.
Jiang Cheng's Adam's apple bobbed; he stepped forward until he stood before the chair she occupied.
Bracing his hands on the armrests, he leaned in slowly, his shadow swallowing her entirely.
His lips curved in a half-smile. "Really? I'm a serious man; I can't take a joke, you know."
Hearing this, Big Secret felt the courage she'd just screwed up suddenly deflate like a pricked balloon.
Instead of answering, she shifted the subject. "Is Baba asleep?"
When Jiang Cheng nodded yet stayed bent over her with hands on the armrests,
a faint blush—rare for Big Secret—crept across her cheeks.
Mainly because the present situation was… special.
Special enough to feel thrilling.
She sighed softly, rubbing her lower back with a coquettish note: "The wire-work for the drama's been brutal lately; my waist is killing me…"
Her gaze flicked to Jiang Cheng, then slid away as if by accident.
Jiang Cheng raised a brow, eyes gliding along her slender waist. "Is that so? Then you need to relax."
Big Secret pressed her lips in a smile, tapping his arm. "Pity Baba's not here; she could give me a massage…"
Jiang Cheng stepped closer. "Should I wake her up?"
He had some experience sparring with women.
Judging by the Girls around him,
the move from zero to one was always a dance of mutual testing.
Once mutual interest sparked, the flirting began.
If the Girl wanted something too,
the first step was usually holding hands—or, faster, a kiss.
For a guy, a kiss meant he could start touching.
And there was an order to the touching.
Very few started from the bottom up.
Most started at the top… ahem. Judging by Big Secret's signals, Jiang Cheng figured tonight would be a full-course meal.
Big Secret feigned hesitation, fingers twirling a strand of hair.
"Hmm… better not? Let her sleep; I'll find her tomorrow. I can endure tonight…"
As she spoke, her knee nudged the outside of Jiang Cheng's thigh.
Her toes traced slowly up his calf.
While doing so, she murmured, "Chairman Jiang, you must be tired too. Better turn in early."
Jiang Cheng reacted at once, seizing her ankle and yanking hard.
The force made the chair scrape across the floor with a short screech.
Caught off guard, Big Secret gasped and slid right into his arms.
Her cardigan flared open, revealing the thin straps of her silk slip.
His fingers met her warm skin and pressed instinctively.
The friction drew a soft moan from her; she leaned forward with a delicate "Mmm~"
Jiang Cheng's eyes darkened, hand gliding down her curves. "I'm not tired at all—quite the opposite. I was about to fix a midnight snack. Care to join me and get a massage on the side?"
Big Secret turned her head, parted lips brushing his: "You sure you're up to it?"
Their gazes locked; the air seemed to freeze.
Jiang Cheng pulled her closer, lips at her ear: "Try me?"
Her heart raced, but she kept her cool: "Then… inside?"
She nodded toward her room.