"Where's Chen Xueer?"
"Sister Xueer is doing the wrap-up with all the department managers…"
The words had barely left her mouth when the office door swung open and Chen Xueer click-clacked in on her heels.
"I could hear Linger's voice all the way down the corridor—so you two are dividing the spoils with General Jiang?"
She walked straight to the desk, gaze sweeping first over the steaming-hot grilled sausages.
Then past the three cups of papaya milk capped with foam.
By the time her eyes landed on Jiang Cheng's face, her lips already curled in a half-smile.
Hearing that, Zhao Linger quickly ducked her head and gulped two huge mouthfuls of milk.
Then, with a satisfied grin, she sprang up, grabbed Chen Xueer, and gave her own heavy bounty a jiggle.
"Sister Xueer, come on! These are your favorite sausages—still hot. Try one and see if they're crispy outside and juicy inside."
Chen Xueer's cheeks flushed faintly; she shot Zhao Linger a playful scold, a subtle softness in her voice. "Linger, stop the nonsense."
"What nonsense?" Zhao Linger blinked cluelessly and reached for a sausage. "Don't you always love these?"
Chen Xueer rolled her eyes helplessly, then lifted a hand to wipe away the milk moustache on Linger's chin.
The instant her fingertip brushed skin, Zhao Linger instinctively flicked out her tongue.
The tip grazed Chen Xueer's finger.
The sight made even Jiang Cheng's hidden head stir.
He even felt an impulse to recycle the chain-reaction results he'd harvested from Bai Xiaoxiao and Qiao Yinyin onto Chen Xueer and Zhao Linger.
But at the last second Jiang Cheng held back.
This card works on too many Girls.
It could be used on Si Nian and Si Qing, on Yu Xiaoxiao and Su Wan, on Little Xia and Xia Meng.
All of them are way ahead of Chen Xueer and Zhao Linger in progress and acceptance.
Seeing Chen Xueer's tired face, Jiang Cheng motioned for her to sit.
"Hard day? Sit, eat, recharge."
Chen Xueer glanced at Zhao Linger, then couldn't help taking the seat to Jiang Cheng's right.
Luckily Zhao Linger's mind was still on her half-finished papaya milk.
She didn't even notice Chen Xueer's look.
Everyone knows that when you feel guilty and flustered you suddenly get very busy.
Last time she'd told Jiang Cheng she wanted to let things take their natural course.
But since then she and Jiang Cheng had almost no private contact.
Every exchange had been about work.
Jiang Cheng treated her exactly the same as before.
To hide her inner fluster,
she grabbed a sausage the moment she sat.
But as soon as her fingers pinched it,
she jerked back as if burned.
"Burned?" Jiang Cheng caught her wrist.
His warm thumb rubbed the spot, gently blowing on it. "Slower next time."
That little puff made Chen Xueer's already pink cheeks—and now her earlobes—burn.
She tried to pull her hand back, but when she turned her head she met Jiang Cheng's eyes.
Deep Affection Gaze—his focused intensity made her heart skip.
Out of the corner of her eye she glanced at him,
changed the subject. "Sigh, I've been running all morning without a sip of water; finally finished."
Zhao Linger chimed in with a laugh: "Sister Xueer's been fierce—lately the whole company panics at the sight of her, scared she'll dump another task on them."
When she'd entered the conference room, Jiang Cheng had seen those executives stand rigidly respectful, not daring to breathe.
Chen Xueer's icy, silent aura really was intimidating.
A total contrast to the coquettish tease sitting beside him now.
That stark Contrast is exactly what men love most in real life.
He gauged his strength,
and with a crisp smack landed a light swat on Chen Xueer's backside.
Then he slid the papaya milk closer, scooped a spoonful and lifted it to her lips.
Chen Xueer covered her bottom, ready to protest,
but when she saw the spoon approaching, a warm feeling bubbled up inside.
Her face grew hotter.
Instead of refusing, she shot Jiang Cheng a flirtatious glance and obediently opened her mouth.
Sweet, cloying milk mixed with the faint scent of his fingertip; she swallowed carefully.
"Don't push yourself so hard," Jiang Cheng said, voice lower than usual, laced with careless indulgence. "It's just one project—if it fails the company won't collapse."
Chen Xueer held the spoon in her mouth; when she looked up her eyes were misty, flushed by the milk.
She gently shook her head, voice syrupy as she drew the spoon out: "I'm just scared of disappointing my boss—drawing such a big salary and botching the job."
Truth be told, Chen Xueer and Zhao Linger's two-million annual income already puts them in China's top five percent.
But that two million is only what Jiang Cheng spends on a single mall trip.
Jiang Cheng merely smiled, saying nothing.
Setting physical temptation aside, he was still the boss.
Smelling the faint milky scent drifting from Chen Xueer, Jiang Cheng instinctively shifted closer.
Watching her trembling lashes, he suddenly reached out to ruffle her hair.
As his fingers threaded through the strands he felt her tense, then slowly relax like a docile little beast.
A low chuckle escaped his throat as he scooped another spoonful of milk.
"Disappoint me? However you are, I like it."
Zhao Linger had been laughing along, but her smile froze at the sight.
The sausage she'd been nibbling stopped moving.
A strange feeling coiled around her heart like vines.
When Chen Xueer had wiped her mouth earlier, she hadn't thought anything of it.
But now watching Jiang Cheng wipe milk from Chen Xueer's lips,
watching Chen Xueer look up with that shy, delicate charm,
and when Jiang Cheng leaned in, Chen Xueer didn't tease "cut it out" like usual—
she even moved a little closer to him.
Usually slow on the uptake, even Zhao Linger could see how blatant their actions were.
Before, Chen Xueer would horse around with Jiang Cheng,
but she always kept an appropriate distance.
That moment just now had been undeniably intimate.
And the way Chen Xueer looked at Jiang Cheng seemed different too—
less the collegial appreciation, more an indescribable mix of charm and shyness.
The two of them didn't even notice her gaze; right then their eyes held only each other.
Each time Jiang Cheng offered the spoon, Chen Xueer opened her mouth willingly—
no different from any ordinary couple.
Watching their natural interaction, that weird feeling grew stronger.
She had no idea what had happened between Chen Xueer and Jiang Cheng,
but she could sense something had changed.
It was as if a once-clear boundary had blurred.
She pulled the sausage from her mouth.
With a stiff grin Zhao Linger quipped, "Wow, President Jiang, you're spoiling Sister Xueer—don't play favorites…"
Hearing that, Chen Xueer—who'd been happily accepting Jiang Cheng's feeding—suddenly snapped back.
She glanced awkwardly at Zhao Linger.
Seeing the probing look in Linger's eyes, her face blazed scarlet.
A regular guy might have ignored it,
but Jiang Cheng caught the scent of opportunity; following her gaze he turned and fed Zhao Linger a spoonful too.
"I saw you drinking as well—open up."
From the start these two Girls had hit it off famously,
sharing food wasn't anything new.
So Jiang Cheng was sure Zhao Linger wouldn't mind eating after Chen Xueer.
The moment the spoon reached her lips, Zhao Linger grew shy.
But since she'd started it, she could only blush and open her mouth.
Right then Chen Xueer's attention was on her own embarrassment at being discovered;
she didn't find Jiang Cheng's move inappropriate.
Instead she thought Jiang Cheng's mind worked pretty fast.