Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It took me a full minute to process that information.

“Your place?” I narrowed my eyes and checked the smart lock again. “Mr. Jiang, you used my birthday as your passcode?”

Jiang Siyan burst out laughing. “You don’t remember who set it?”

“Don’t tell me it was-”

Halfway through, I suddenly remembered a business dinner last year. Jiang Siyan had been there too, and the two of us had fought over a deal until things got downright heated.

In the end, Jiang Siyan won by a hair and secured the client’s contract.

I’d had some red wine, and the whole way home I followed him, rambling in sheer resentment. If I recalled correctly…

I followed him all the way to his door, mistook it for my own place, and kept trying to enter the passcode over and over.

He sighed. “Huaqing, 2722.”

“Wrong. What the hell do you know?”

Jiang Siyan just stood there, watching me throw my drunken tantrum, until the door lock froze from too many incorrect attempts.

In the middle of the night, Jiang Siyan and I squatted in the hallway, resetting the passcode.

“What do you want to set it to?”

“0401.” I crouched beside him with a bright smile, chin propped in my hand. “My birthday.”

Jiang Siyan said nothing and changed the passcode without hesitation.

I swayed to my feet and blocked the doorway. “I’m home. You’re not allowed to come in-”

“Huaqing, I suggest you shut your mouth and go inside to sleep.”

That night, Jiang Siyan dragged me into his place, dumped me on the bed, and I slept through until morning with the covers over my head.

When I woke up the next day and saw Jiang Siyan looking utterly exhausted, I instantly felt like I’d lost all dignity.

After that, I deliberately tried to forget it, and eventually I really did.

Now Jiang Siyan stood below the steps and spread his hands helplessly.

“Huaqing, I truly never imagined the exact same thing could happen twice.”

My face heated. Pretending to be calm, I headed back out.

Jiang Siyan caught my arm. “It’s this late. Where are you going?”

“Somewhere else to sleep.”

“I saw your feet are rubbed raw. Doesn’t it hurt?” Jiang Siyan tugged at his tie, stepped inside, and turned on the lights. “Come in. It’s not like you’ve never slept here before.”

“…”

This man really couldn’t go one minute without taking a jab at me.

To be honest, walking around in eight-centimeter heels had already made my feet go numb.

Blood had started seeping from my heels.

My scalp prickled. I turned around and plunged straight into Jiang Siyan’s apartment, politely tossing out, “Sorry to bother you so late.”

Jiang Siyan was long used to my hypocritical act. He snorted a few times and pulled a brand-new pair of women’s slippers from the shoe cabinet.

How well prepared. He probably brought women back all the time.

The moment I entered, I kicked off my heels and flopped barefoot onto Jiang Siyan’s sofa, letting my hair fall loose.

When Jiang Siyan came over with the first-aid kit, I was squinting at the news on my phone.

“President Jiang, hurry up with calling off the engagement. If this blows up tomorrow, neither of our families will have an easy time cleaning up the mess.”

“Don’t worry.”

Jiang Siyan suddenly took hold of my ankle, and a damp cotton swab pressed against the wound.

A faint sting shot through me. I hissed and instinctively tried to pull my foot back.

Jiang Siyan tightened his grip and dragged it back. “Disinfecting it. Don’t move.”

The scorching heat of his palm seeped unmistakably into my skin. Jiang Siyan’s movements were very gentle. His fingertips lightly supported the skin around my ankle as he patiently applied the medicine bit by bit.

By comparison, my ankle looked much more slender in his large hand-pale and fragile.

I narrowed my eyes, propped up my chin, and studied the side of his face seriously. “Jiang Siyan, why don’t you consider marrying into the Song Family?”

Jiang Siyan’s hand paused. He looked up and stared at me for a few seconds before suddenly laughing. “Huaqing, what bad idea are you cooking up now?”

“Hmm…” I stretched lazily. “Then all your businesses would be mine.”

“Sure. Swallow them up as you like.” Jiang Siyan lowered his head with a smile and put a bandage on me. “Including me.”

As if I didn’t know what he was like.

I pulled my foot out of his palm. “No thanks. You and Jiang Yu are birds of a feather.”

Jiang Yu had bragged to me that his uncle changed girlfriends eight times a month.

I was just about to get up and take a shower when a familiar, dangerous rush of heat suddenly surged through my lower abdomen.

I froze in that exact position.

“What’s wrong?” Jiang Siyan had finished packing up the first-aid kit, and his gaze turned probing.

With all his experience in romance, his place should… have some supplies, right…?

After hesitating for ages, I asked, “Do you have any sanitary pads?”

Jiang Siyan’s gaze locked onto my face for a brief second. Then he confirmed slowly and patiently, “Sanitary pads?”

For a moment, I had the distinct feeling that Jiang Siyan’s elite brain had crashed.

“Yes.” I gritted my teeth. “You don’t?”

“No…” Jiang Siyan’s expression was subtle, even a little serious. “Wait here. There’s a supermarket downstairs.”

He grabbed his coat and went out again.

I was sitting on the toilet when Jiang Siyan called.

After I picked up, his voice sounded tense. “Which brand?”

“Whatever.”

“And the length…”

I scratched my head. “The longer the better…”

Then I heard Jiang Siyan turn to the sales assistant and say, “A pack of sanitary pads. The longer the better. Any brand.”

His tone made it sound as if he were negotiating a deal worth several hundred million.

I covered my face in despair…

The sales assistant had a great attitude. She just spoke a little quickly.

“Sir, if your girlfriend has a heavy flow, I recommend period underwear. It prevents side leakage even when she turns over, and it’s thoughtful and comfortable…”

I would bet money that in all his years in business, Jiang Siyan had never once encountered any of these terms.

Because long after she finished speaking, Jiang Siyan was still silent. After a while, he asked, “…What underwear?”

“Period underwear.”

He took a deep breath. “I’ll take them all. Thank you.”

“May I ask which brand you’d like, sir?”

“All. Of. Them.”

Sitting on the toilet, I hung up the phone and burst out laughing with absolutely no sense of decency.

A little while later, someone knocked on the bathroom door.

A moment later, the door opened a crack, and Jiang Siyan’s hand appeared in my line of sight, hooked around a plastic bag.

A huge pack of overnight sanitary pads and a chaotic assortment of period panties were stuffed inside. Paired with his fair, slender fingers, the image was oddly out of place.

Holding back a laugh, I said, “Thank you. President Jiang really is… well-informed.”

Bang.

Jiang Siyan shut the door.

By the time I finished up and came out of the bathroom, Jiang Siyan was sitting by the dining table. On the tabletop was a cup of brown sugar water he had made at some point.

Our eyes met. I couldn’t help it; the corners of my lips curled again.

“Thanks.”

I picked up the brown sugar water and sipped it slowly.

Jiang Siyan suddenly asked, “What’s the difference between sanitary pads and period panties?”

The water shot straight down the wrong pipe. I doubled over, coughing so hard I couldn’t breathe, my face flushing red.

Then I realized he was genuinely thinking about the question. Annoyed, I said, “What, did President Jiang discover another business opportunity?”

He handed me a tissue and patted my back to help me breathe, then smiled. “So I’ll know which one to buy next time.”

“Worry about yourself…” I dodged Jiang Siyan’s hand, fled a little farther away, and sat on the sofa to scroll through my phone.

Jiang Siyan was on a call with someone. From the sound of it, it was about the deal in C City.

Not long ago, President Yan from C City had made a special trip to visit A City. Jiang Siyan and I had accompanied him the whole way, and in the end, President Yan had still chosen to work with Jiang Siyan.

I stared at him with a face full of resentment.

Sensing my gaze, he turned his head. His usual composed arrogance had returned. “Huaqing, you can’t kill someone with your eyes.”

I tapped the table and stared at the clock in the corner. Ding…

Jiang Siyan’s phone and mine rang at the same time.

My secretary sent me a text: “President Song, we secured the C City deal. We got the contract signed before Jiang Group could!”

Only then did I break into a grin. I had crouched under the blazing sun in C City for an entire afternoon and finally managed to win over his wife. Thank goodness it hadn’t been for nothing.

Before a contract was signed, everyone was free to use whatever skills they had.

The text about the failed deal reflected in Jiang Siyan’s dark eyes. He looked up and quietly fixed his gaze on me.

“I’m truly sorry for letting President Jiang get excited over nothing.”

No wonder Jiang Siyan hadn’t corrected me when I’d pointed him down the wrong road tonight. He had needed to seize the first opportunity and sign the contract with President Yan.

I drained the brown sugar water in one go and said regretfully, “President Jiang, you can’t kill someone with your eyes. Care to share your thoughts?”

“I was thinking…” The corners of his lips slowly curved up, a faint smile filling his eyes. “Why didn’t I slip poison into your brown sugar water just now?”

I laughed out loud, delighted. “Business is business. As for President Jiang’s great kindness tonight, I will remember it with all my heart. If you ever find yourself in trouble, I will definitely give everything I have to help. It’s cold tonight, President Jiang. Remember to add another blanket.”

Jiang Siyan answered with remarkable cultivation, “All right.”

Jiang Siyan’s home had a guest room. I pushed the door open and found that the decor inside was completely different from the rest of the place.

It looked more like… it had been prepared for a girl.

I smiled. “President Jiang, you don’t secretly have a daughter, do you?”

Jiang Siyan ignored my teasing. Leaning against the door of the master bedroom opposite, he took off his glasses and wiped them. “It was all prepared especially for you. As long as you like it.”

On the bedroom wall hung Thorny Rose.

It was the painting Jiang Siyan had won at a high price at an auction last year. I hadn’t expected him to hang it here.

I opened the wardrobe. It was filled with silk nightgowns that still had their tags on.

Every single one was expensive.

My formal dress was really uncomfortable, so I casually picked one and changed into it. Then I checked the tag and transferred Jiang Siyan the money.

It had black lace trim, a relatively conservative design, and a smooth, lustrous hammered finish.

Who would have thought Jiang Siyan actually had good taste?

After a long, exhausting day, I fell asleep the moment my head hit the pillow.

In the middle of the night, I woke up from a sharp cramp in my abdomen, drenched in cold sweat.

The few glasses of chilled wine I’d had that evening had become the culprit behind my period cramps.

I opened my phone and found that the nearby pharmacies were all closed. Left with no choice, I gritted my teeth and went out to pour myself a cup of hot water.

At two in the morning, a small lamp was on in the living room. Jiang Siyan was sitting on the sofa, a pile of documents scattered in front of him. He had taken off his glasses and was leaning against the back of the sofa with his eyes closed, resting.

The light outlined his handsome, chiseled profile.

Hearing the door open, Jiang Siyan opened his eyes and saw me standing in the doorway in a black lace camisole nightgown.

He didn’t move. His gaze swept over my entire body before finally settling on my face. His voice was a little hoarse. “What’s wrong?”

I suddenly regretted showing off in front of Jiang Siyan before bed. Embarrassed, I said, “Do you have any painkillers?”

The intense cramping made my vision black out in waves.

I held on to the wall, trying my best to look normal and not embarrass myself too badly.

But I had still overestimated myself. Another burst of pain hit, and I slid down along the wall into a crouch.

The next second, Jiang Siyan reached out and caught me by the small of my back, stopping me from sinking any lower.

Warmth spread from his hand at my waist, penetrating through the fabric of my nightgown.

“Lie down first. I have some at home. I’ll get it for you.”

His voice was steady, easily soothing my anxious mood.

I leaned against him. “Let me catch my breath…”

Jiang Siyan didn’t even wait for me to finish. He scooped me up in his arms, kicked the door open, and tucked me into the blankets.

He touched my damp forehead, pulled out a tissue and wiped it, then went to the living room and brought back a brand-new box of ibuprofen and a cup of hot water.

“Sit up and take the medicine.”

“Thanks. I can do it myself.”

I was sweaty, and the nightgown clung to my body, making it hard to move.

Jiang Siyan pressed the capsule to my lips. “Open your mouth.”

I couldn’t win against him, so I opened my mouth and took the capsule.

My lips accidentally brushed against the pad of Jiang Siyan’s finger. It was hot and a little rough.

He lowered his eyes, handed me the water, and helped me swallow the capsule down.

I drank too quickly, and water spilled all over me.

The droplets slid along my collarbone and all the way into my nightgown.

Jiang Siyan’s gaze froze slightly. He turned his head away. “Change your clothes in a bit. I’ll be outside. Call me if you need anything.”

With that, he walked out in hurried steps and closed the door behind him.