The moment Chen Xueer heard that, her smiling face crumbled; her eyes held a helpless little glare.
She nudged Jiang Cheng's shoulder. "Quite the time-saver, aren't you?"
Following her movement, Jiang Cheng slid his hand along her arm, indulging himself, and gave her palm a playful squeeze.
"Of course. Haven't you heard the saying—Time Flies Like an Arrow? There's more than one arrow in this world; when we see good times, we have to seize them."
He delivered the line so solemnly that for a moment Chen Xueer couldn't think of a comeback.
Yet, knowing Jiang Cheng, she sensed there was more beneath the surface.
As if some deeper innuendo lurked there.
Zhao Linger watched in amusement, drawing out her tone: "President Jiang certainly has good fortune. But a friend of mine wants to know—after dinner, then what? You can't keep eating forever; who will you choose to spend a little extra time with?"
Chen Xueer flushed scarlet under Zhao Linger's teasing glance and shot her a warning look to behave.
After all, she'd always told Zhao Linger that Jiang Cheng was a scumbag.
Yet today her own eyes when looking at him were slipping out of control.
Chen Xueer pretended this "friend" wasn't her.
She flipped through documents, even gesturing meaningfully at the papers.
Jiang Cheng, however, reached out and gave Zhao Linger's bottom a light swat. "Relax, I'm a decent man—just grabbing a bite and a bit of social intercourse."
"Relax, I'm a decent man—just grabbing a bite and a bit of social intercourse."
Zhao Linger squealed, cheeks burning, and slapped his arm. "Is your kind of socializing decent?"
Jiang Cheng caught her hand and gave her palm an egalitarian squeeze.
"Why wouldn't it be? Dining, chatting, 'exercise'—all perfectly proper activities."
At his squeeze Zhao Linger laughed and tried to pull free.
"I saw a classic line online: you guys think if a girl agrees to dinner she's agreed to a hotel room, right? First you test the waters with a meal; if she says she's heading home after, there's no next time. If there's hope, you'll find some excuse to linger, and while chatting you might just pin her against a wall…"
The moment those words landed, Chen Xueer froze as though hit by a paralysis spell.
Her hands stilled mid-motion.
Realizing it, both times with Jiang Cheng he'd indeed pressed her against a wall.
Last time in the bathroom, then again at the Year-End Party.
His warm breath brushing her ear, his palm flat against the wall behind her,
and those teasing, irresistible little touches.
Now, with Zhao Linger's perfectly timed remark, it felt like being called out.
Chen Xueer's cheeks blazed crimson.
Seeing Jiang Cheng smirk at her,
she suddenly felt flustered.
Wait, why am I acting shy? No one even knows.
She was being all coy—not like herself at all.
Collecting herself, she chimed in, "Linger's right. As far as I know, Chairman Jiang is quite adept at chatting with people pinned to walls."
Unruffled, Jiang Cheng stood and pressed Chen Xueer down onto the sofa.
"Oh? You know about it? Like this? Huh? Is this how you chat while pinned? Huh?"
Caught by surprise, hands trapped, she squirmed and giggled. "Stop it, you pest…"
Zhao Linger watched their tussle, a strange tickle in her heart—
envy or something else, she couldn't tell.
She'd started the joke, yet seeing Jiang Cheng and Chen Xueer so cozy made the air's intimacy feel oddly uncomfortable.
Her fingers unconsciously picked at the corner of a report.
Too busy fending him off, Chen Xueer missed Zhao Linger's expression entirely.
Jiang Cheng was already straddling her.
Hair tousled across her flushed cheeks, she dodged his approaching breath and laughed, turning to Zhao Linger for help.
"Linger! Save me!"
The shout snapped Zhao Linger back.
Seeing Chen Xueer's full chest flattened under Jiang Cheng, she set down her Sausage and stepped over.
She tried to pry Jiang Cheng's arm away, chuckling, "President Jiang, you're awful. If we're exercising, let's be fair. Lucky for Sister Xueer her breasts are real—look, you've squashed them flat."
Jiang Cheng released Chen Xueer, hooked an arm around Zhao Linger's waist and pulled her closer.
His fingers brushed her side: "What, you want in on this?"
At the tickle Zhao Linger squealed, clutching his sleeve,
laughing and dodging. "Who's joining in? I just saw Sister Xueer was tired of chatting and came to rescue her."
"Is that so?" Jiang Cheng suddenly yanked her in.
Off balance, she tumbled onto the sofa beside Chen Xueer.
With one large hand Jiang Cheng boxed them both in.
Looking down at them,
he pinned them beneath him, chests pressed together, their breaths mingling.
Chen Xueer's cheek against his chest felt his strong heartbeat and forgot to struggle.
Zhao Linger's hand still rested on his arm; the faint cedar scent filled her mind with blankness.
Any odd feelings from moments ago vanished under this sudden closeness.
"So, am I as good at pressing as you said?"
He gazed down, bangs falling, arms caging them in, a teasing smile on his lips.
Just as Chen Xueer was about to call him a rogue, his wandering hand landed on her thigh.
He gave a pat. "Come on, think—what should the three of us chat about?"
P.S. The next chapter's gone in; edits will have to wait until tomorrow…