Chapter 47
People tend to get sleepy in places where they feel safe. After hanging up the phone, Jiang Siyi burrowed back under the covers and drifted off to sleep.
She had often suffered from insomnia in the past four years.
Unable to sleep at night, she would force herself to stay awake during the day, clutching a cup of coffee as she rushed from class to class.
After a full cup of Americano, her heart would pound so loudly at night that she felt like she was fighting herself.
But now…
She could fall asleep peacefully even without medication.
Was her condition improving?
She slept soundly.
Jiang Siyi knew she was sprawled across the bed, but she was too sleepy to move, her body aching after a while. Her arm, which she had been using as a pillow, was completely numb.
After a while, she was surprised to find herself floating in the air.
Amazing, this must be a dream.
As a child, Jiang Siyi had always fantasized about being a martial arts hero, flying over rooftops and scaling walls.
She thought hazily, Well, even if it wasn’t real, it was still a dream come true.
So she spread her arms, waving them around, muttering, “I’ll fly to Shen Shiwu first and impress her…”
The person holding her: “…”
“Are you hungry?” Shen Shiwu’s voice was soft, as if afraid of disturbing her, as she gently smoothed Jiang Siyi’s messy hair.
Jiang Siyi, who had been mumbling, slowly opened her eyes at the sound.
Her beautiful dream was shattered.
The moment she met Shen Shiwu’s gaze, Jiang Siyi instinctively frowned, her expression clearly saying—Why are you holding me?
***
Shen Shiwu seemed to be angry.
As for why it was only “seemed,” Jiang Siyi, holding her bowl, took a bite of cauliflower, stealing glances at Shen Shiwu—because the woman’s expression remained unchanged.
But the low pressure surrounding her was undeniable.
Jiang Siyi, feeling guilty, ate slowly, trying to figure out what she had said to upset Shen Shiwu.
Oh, maybe her expression had been too cold when she woke up, she had unintentionally glared at her.
Well, it was just a matter of coaxing her.
Jiang Siyi glanced at Shen Shiwu, who was eating quietly, not even making a sound as her chopsticks touched the bowl, and suddenly felt a little hesitant—she had never coaxed anyone in her life.
She tried coughing a few times.
Shen Shiwu didn’t react, simply taking a sip of seafood soup.
“I want some too,” Jiang Siyi said, licking her lips.
Shen Shiwu placed the soup spoon in front of her, gesturing for her to serve herself.
“I want yours.”
The woman slowly looked up. “Didn’t you say you were tired of it?”
It wasn’t her fault.
Shen Shiwu was truly committed to her pig-feeding mission. Ever since Jiang Siyi had complimented the soup, she had been making it for every meal, adding more and more ingredients, each bowl filling half her stomach.
Jiang Siyi tilted her head, her expression unusually ingratiating. “The soup in your bowl isn’t.”
Step one of coaxing a woman: say something nice.
Shen Shiwu lowered her eyes, then leaned back in her chair, and said, her voice laced with amusement, “Then come and get it.”
Jiang Siyi had a bad feeling.
And her intuition was usually right.
But since she had decided to coax her, she couldn’t back down now. Little Jiang hesitated for a few seconds, then resolutely stood up.
Strangely, Shen Shiwu didn’t react at all this time.
Jiang Siyi glanced at her as she picked up her bowl, only to see Shen Shiwu calmly drinking water, then taking a candy out of her pocket.
“I want some too.”
Jiang Siyi took a sip of soup, pulled over a chair, and sat down, looking expectantly at Shen Shiwu, waiting to be fed.
Shen Shiwu’s expression finally changed, her eyebrows raised. “You’re usually so picky, what’s with you tonight?”
Seeing that Shen Shiwu was finally talking, Jiang Siyi felt that her coaxing strategy was working.
She softened her tone. “I just want some.”
“Is that so?” Shen Shiwu’s fingers twitched, then she popped the candy into her mouth, her eyes darkening. “Then get it yourself.”
Get it myself? Isn’t that just a fancy way of saying “steal the candy from my mouth”?
Jiang Siyi hesitated—she still had to work on her manuscript tonight, if she accidentally got carried away again… where would she find the energy to type?
Seeing that she wasn’t moving, Shen Shiwu tapped the table, her expression questioning and urging. Jiang Siyi gritted her teeth, thinking, Just live in the moment, don’t worry about what will happen later.
But before she could even move, Shen Shiwu grabbed her chair and pulled her closer, the legs of the chair scraping against the floor.
Their chairs were so close that Jiang Siyi’s legs were pressed against Shen Shiwu’s, forcing her to spread them slightly.
The back of her head was gently pushed forward, and as she blinked, she heard Shen Shiwu say, “Didn’t you say you wanted some?”
“Why aren’t you moving?”
Her words were slightly muffled because of the candy in her mouth, but Jiang Siyi still heard them clearly. Provoked, her competitive spirit flared, and she looked down at the candy, then opened her mouth without hesitation—
Crunch.
But just as she leaned in, Shen Shiwu bit down on the candy, crushing it.
The woman chuckled softly, then, holding the back of Jiang Siyi’s head, she kissed her.
The air was filled with sweetness, the taste of grapes lingering on their lips.
The kiss wasn’t gentle, but possessive.
Jiang Siyi didn’t understand what had gotten into Shen Shiwu, she tried to resist, but it was futile, only deepening the kiss.
By the time she felt her body go limp, practically melting into Shen Shiwu’s arms, the woman finally eased up. Just as she was catching her breath, the phone on the table lit up.
Shen Shiwu effortlessly picked it up.
“Password?”
Jiang Siyi closed her eyes. “The date we got back together.”
“Mm, good girl.”
Little Jiang, praised, silently wagged her tail.
“Ms. Jiang, we’ve booked the recording studio, it’s on Ninglu Street in Beicheng,” Shen Shiwu said, her eyes scanning the phone screen. “You might need to come two days earlier, we need to revise the script.”
She chuckled softly. “The script needs to be revised in person?”
Jiang Siyi finally understood the reason for her unusual behavior.
She must have seen the message from Kong Yin while she was asleep.
The woman glanced at the message and tossed the phone back onto the table.
She looked at the girl in her arms, her eyes unreadable. “Our Xiao Si is quite popular.”
“She was popular back in school, and even more so now.”
Jiang Siyi had wanted to retort, “You have the nerve to say that?”
But she thought better of it and said, “Don’t be angry, I’ll tell her I have a girlfriend.”
“Actually, I’ll tell her now.”
She reached for her phone, but Shen Shiwu stopped her.
“She’ll find out, and what you need to do now is kiss me.”
Her breath was stolen away again.
Jiang Siyi wanted to cry, her lips already sore.
***
Kong Yin had checked her phone fifty times in the past half hour.
She decided to wait for a reply while she got ready for bed.
Just as she picked up her pajamas and was about to go to the bathroom, her phone screen lit up. She excitedly opened the message, only to see that it was a call from Ah Yun.
“Do you know Mr. Shen?”
The question confused her.
Sitting on the edge of her bed, she replied, puzzled, “Which Mr. Shen? I don’t know anyone by that name.”
“Ms. Jiang’s girlfriend! Didn’t you even do your research before pursuing her? Find out if she’s seeing anyone?”
“Girlfriend?” Kong Yin’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Since when?”
“I’ll send you the screenshots, see for yourself. But there’s also good news,” Ah Yun said excitedly, “they invested 200,000 yuan in our project.”
“I was stunned when I saw the number. As expected of rich people, they throw money around like it’s nothing. They even said they might invest more later.”
Kong Yin was also stunned.
She ignored Ah Yun’s excited chatter and looked at the screenshots.
The WeChat account wasn’t Shen Shiwu’s, but her assistant’s. And the first message was: “Our boss, as Ms. Jiang’s girlfriend, would like to invest in your project.”
“A minimum of 200,000 yuan, with the possibility of more later.”
“Consider it a wedding gift for the whole team.”
Mr. Shen…
She remembered the woman sitting next to Jiang Siyi at the book signing.
So, they were back together.
Kong Yin slowly lowered her head, a bitterness in her heart—she had liked Jiang Siyi for a long time. She had entered the voice acting industry hoping to one day collaborate with her.
The allure of her “white moonlight” was too strong.
She was lost in thought, her mind filled with memories of their walks together in the snowy London nights.
Should she finally let go?
The call hadn’t ended, and Ah Yun was still lamenting why there weren’t more rich people like that, but Kong Yin only found it annoying.
She said, “I’m hanging up,” and was about to end the call when Ah Yun, sensing her change in mood, quickly said, “Hey, it’s okay, what if they break up soon?”
“Break up?” The woman smiled wryly. “Then they’ll just get back together again.”
It would never be her turn.
“Forget it, let it be.”
She would keep this unrequited love a secret.
After showering, Kong Yin didn’t go to bed immediately, but sat at her desk, preparing for the audio drama project. Shen Shiwu’s investment had indeed helped her a lot, and although she was unwilling to admit it, she had to acknowledge it.
After working for a while, it was late, and she should go to bed. She turned off her desk lamp and was about to get into bed when her phone, which was on the nightstand, vibrated.
She was already in a bad mood, and now she felt a surge of inexplicable anger.
Picking up her phone, she saw a text message. Thinking it was spam, she was about to ignore it when she paused.
[Is this Ms. Kong? Your WeChat has restrictions on adding new contacts, so I had to contact you this way. Please add me.]
Receiving such a message late at night was unsettling.
She had wanted to ignore it, but the more she thought about it, the stranger it seemed—the sender knew her last name.
Afraid of a potential information leak, Kong Yin stared at the unfamiliar number for a while, then added the contact on her alternate WeChat account.
The other person accepted her request quickly, as if they had been waiting.
“Ms. Kong, I’m Shen Shiwu’s mother. Are you interested in collaborating with me?”
The message was straightforward.
She frowned, puzzled—Shen Shiwu? Could it be that Mr. Shen?
After a long while, Kong Yin hesitantly replied, “What do you mean?”
…
That night, she tossed and turned, unable to sleep, her mind filled with conflicting emotions. Thinking of Shen’s mother’s words, she felt both excited and guilty.
After all, she had accepted her 200,000 yuan investment.
But… there was nothing she could do about it now.
A smile appeared on Kong Yin’s lips, looking almost eerie in the dark room. Thinking this, even the last shred of guilt vanished.
She would get what she wanted.
From now on, she wouldn’t give up on anything related to Jiang Siyi.
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