Chapter 46
On her first day back in a relationship, Jiang Siyi pondered for half the night.
Why, even though they were back together, hadn’t Shen Shiwu suggested sleeping together?
She fell asleep, filled with resentment, and woke up with dark circles under her eyes, only to be woken up by a phone call.
“Spit it out.”
“My goodness, someone’s grumpy. Oh, I forgot, it’s only seven o’clock there.” Lin Yusheng was lying in bed, enjoying the sun. “Kong Yin has an audio drama script, and she wants you to be the director. Are you interested?”
Jiang Siyi rolled over in bed, phone in hand.
After thinking for a moment, she mumbled, “Yeah, sure.”
She didn’t like staying in her comfort zone when it came to work, and besides writing, directing also seemed interesting.
The other person chattered on, but Jiang Siyi, sleepy, didn’t catch most of it.
By the time Lin Yusheng called out her name several times, Jiang Siyi had fallen back asleep.
The editor was speechless for a moment, then sent her the time and location on WeChat.
She was woken up by a paw touching her face.
Jiang Siyi sniffed, then sneezed violently: “…”
Opening her eyes, she saw Shen Shiwu holding Eleven’s paw, clearly up to no good.
Jiang Siyi pulled the blanket higher, muttering curses under her breath.
Until her face was nibbled on a few more times, and she couldn’t take it anymore. She sat up and raised her voice. “Don’t you have to go to work?”
Eleven, startled by her sudden movement, hopped off the bed and ran away. The two of them were left staring at each other, the atmosphere tense.
Of course, it was only Jiang Siyi who felt the tension.
“With my wife at home, how can I focus on work?” Seeing her fierce expression, Shen Shiwu reached out and ruffled her hair, her tone soothing.
Jiang Siyi, appeased by the gesture, her morning grumpiness slightly lessened, pouted. “That won’t do, what if you go bankrupt?”
“Then I’ll have to rely on my wife to take care of me.”
Jiang Siyi, having just woken up, her mind still foggy, actually started considering this seriously.
She counted on her fingers, her hair a mess, and finally concluded, “With my current savings, even if you go bankrupt, we’ll still be able to survive.”
“But I don’t know for how long.”
She spoke seriously, a hint of worry in her eyes, and Shen Shiwu’s heart softened.
“Come on,” she pinched Jiang Siyi’s cheek, “how could I go bankrupt so easily? Your wife is so capable, have a little faith.”
Jiang Siyi couldn’t swat her hand away, so she let her pinch her cheek.
Going downstairs for breakfast, the housekeeper hadn’t left yet, and Jiang Siyi chatted with her for a while. When the topic of Wu Ying came up, the housekeeper’s face lit up with pride. “Xiao Ying got into a university in the capital!”
Lin Yusheng had actually mentioned this to her.
But Jiang Siyi pretended to just find out, gasping, “Wow, that’s amazing.”
The housekeeper was a little embarrassed. She smoothed her hair, then, as if remembering something, she turned and rushed to the kitchen. “Oh, I almost forgot about the seafood soup Miss Shen made.”
Seafood soup.
Hearing this, Jiang Siyi closed her eyes for a moment, feeling the air around her thicken, and went to the living room.
When working from home, Shen Shiwu would have three online meetings a day, and Jiang Siyi had long been used to it. She walked quietly, thinking she would go upstairs and write for a while since breakfast wasn’t ready yet.
But a hand suddenly appeared in her view.
Then, Shen Shiwu asked, “Running away?”
Who’s running away?
Jiang Siyi, about to go upstairs, stopped at those words.
“Come sit for a bit.”
She mouthed, “Aren’t you in a meeting?”
The woman, leaning back on the sofa, didn’t lower her voice. “Yes.”
“…”
Knowing Shen Shiwu, if she went over there, nothing good would happen.
Jiang Siyi continued walking upstairs. “I’ll have to decline.”
But the next moment, laughter erupted from the laptop screen. “Hey, Mr. Shen, is your wife avoiding you?”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk, didn’t expect to see the day.”
Shen Shiwu took off her glasses and rubbed her temples, sighing dramatically. “Yes, my wife often avoids me.”
“…”
“And she’s always so fierce.”
Jiang Siyi stood on the stairs, radiating coldness. She went to the kitchen to grab a knife.
“Take a break, everyone, I have something to attend to, we’ll continue later,” Shen Shiwu said, watching Jiang Siyi’s stiff figure disappear into the kitchen.
“Mr. Shen, what’s so urgent?”
“Probably something to do with his wife.”
The others in the meeting started gossiping, showing no intention of hanging up—after all, this was the first time in four years that Shen Shiwu had left a meeting midway.
“She’s angry again,” the woman said, her voice filled with mock helplessness, but her smile deepened, “I have to go appease her.”
Before leaving the meeting, she added with a sigh, “You single people wouldn’t understand.”
The others: “…”
Meanwhile, Jiang Siyi was leaning against the kitchen counter, asking the housekeeper which knife was the sharpest.
The housekeeper was startled and quickly asked what she was planning to do.
Jiang Siyi thought for a moment. “Slaughter a pig.”
Footsteps approached, the pig must have arrived. She stood beside the housekeeper, ignoring Shen Shiwu.
“It’s still months away from the Lunar New Year, why are you slaughtering a pig?” The housekeeper was puzzled and asked again.
Jiang Siyi glanced at the “pig” and retorted, “I’m going to slaughter it anyway, might as well do it now.”
After the soup was done and the other dishes were ready, the housekeeper was about to leave. She left, puzzled, looking around the house, wondering where the pig was.
They sat side by side at the dining table. Jiang Siyi ate sideways, as if afraid Shen Shiwu would steal her food.
Shen Shiwu watched her, her chin resting on her hand, then tried calling her nickname, “Xiao Si.”
Jiang Siyi’s mouth twitched. “What?”
Mm, she’s still talking, the situation isn’t too serious.
Shen Shiwu thought, leaning closer. “See, you’re being fierce again.”
Little Jiang was silent for a few seconds, then moved to the opposite side of the table, taking her food with her.
The woman, watching her eat quietly, felt her heart flutter.
So cute.
Seeing that Jiang Siyi was about to retreat to her room again, Shen Shiwu quickly stood up, grabbed her arm, and pulled her into a hug.
Her back pressed against something unspeakable.
Jiang Siyi froze, letting herself be held.
“It was my fault, I shouldn’t have said bad things about you to them.”
It wasn’t exactly “bad things,” but Jiang Siyi still hummed softly and asked, fidgeting with her fingers, “They’re… your employees?”
If she had a time machine, Jiang Siyi would slap herself for asking that question.
On the sofa, out of view of the camera, her hand was trapped in Shen Shiwu’s grip, unable to escape.
“Hello, Ms. Jiang, we’re Mr. Shen’s project partners.”
The other end was lively. The people in the online meeting, who had been sitting properly just moments ago, were now all standing up.
Jiang Siyi, caught off guard by the sudden attention, swallowed nervously.
But her acting skills were still decent, and she managed a calm smile. “Hello.”
The chatter continued.
“Wait, that name sounds familiar… aren’t you that author?”
“Now that you mention it, I remember too, the one who recently returned to China?”
“Holy crap, I think it really is her.”
They were buzzing with excitement, as if they were about to jump out of the screen.
Shen Shiwu tapped the laptop screen, frowning. “Quiet down.”
The noise instantly subsided.
They scurried back to their seats, one of them even bowing. “Sorry.”
Jiang Siyi, seeing this, nudged Shen Shiwu, telling her to be nicer.
Shen Shiwu quickly understood.
She had to listen to her wife, so she softened her tone. “Quiet… down.”
This made the people on the other end freeze, not daring to move.
They thought they had gone too far with their jokes and lowered their heads, not daring to look up.
Jiang Siyi: “…”
For the next hour and a half, she was forced to listen to a business discussion, bored out of her mind, fidgeting with Shen Shiwu’s fingers until her legs went numb, and she finally couldn’t take it anymore—
“I’m going upstairs to write, you guys continue.”
The people on the screen immediately replied, “Goodbye, Ms. Jiang!”
“Goodbye, Teacher.”
Hearing the different forms of address, Shen Shiwu clicked her tongue, her eyebrows raised.
Instant silence again.
Jiang Siyi calmly, or rather, awkwardly, went upstairs under Shen Shiwu’s gaze. Closing the door behind her, she immediately threw herself onto the bed.
She called Kong Yin.
“Ms. Kong, I received the schedule, but the location hasn’t been decided yet?”
The other person seemed to be busy, the background noisy, but it quickly quieted down, she must have moved to a quieter spot.
She held her phone, wanting to chat with Jiang Siyi for a while longer, so she made an excuse. “Yes, we haven’t chosen a recording studio yet.”
“Ms. Jiang, do you have any recommendations?”
Kong Yin hadn’t been back in China for long and didn’t have her own studio or team. For this project, she needed to rent a studio.
But Jiang Siyi was just a writer. Kong Yin should be the one researching recording studios.
She thought for a moment. “Ask my editor, she has some connections in that area.”
Kong Yin could only agree, then she said, “Teacher, the recording for this audio drama will take a while, you might have to stay here.”
Jiang Siyi thought for a moment. “In Beicheng?”
“Yes. Once we’ve chosen a studio, we’ll book a hotel for you nearby, expenses covered… or,” she hesitated slightly, “my home is in Beicheng, you can stay with me.”
“Don’t misunderstand! I, I told Ah Yun and the others the same thing.”
“It would be more convenient if we all lived together, we can discuss the script at night and such.”
Jiang Siyi nodded, her tone calm. “I’ll stay at a hotel.”
“It’s next week, right? Please find a recording studio as soon as possible, you can send me the details on WeChat.”
“I won’t keep you any longer.”
Kong Yin could only say, “Okay, goodbye, Ms. Jiang.”
In the empty hallway, Ah Yun suddenly walked over and patted her shoulder. “Xiao Yin, what are you doing?”
Kong Yin turned around and mumbled, “I was on the phone.”
“With Ms. Jiang?”
She smiled awkwardly, her face slightly flushed.
“Oh, you said before that she had a beautiful ex-girlfriend and that you didn’t dare to pursue her, what’s going on now?”
“Still hung up on her?”
Those words hit her right in the heart.
Kong Yin was silent for a moment, then smiled bitterly. “It’s not easy to find someone you like… I don’t want to give up.”
“Then go for it.” Ah Yun patted her shoulder. “This is a great opportunity.”
“I’ll tell Ms. Jiang that all the hotels nearby are fully booked and ask her to stay at your place with us.”
“You’re silly, she can just check online,” Kong Yin whispered, as if sharing a secret.
Ah Yun paused. “That’s true.”
“…”
“Just wait and see, I’ll find a way to get you two together.”
Kong Yin lowered her eyes. “I hope so.”