Chapter 42: The Ice Queen’s Fierce Love
Guan Qiuyi, preoccupied with thoughts of Tao Ning, accidentally drank too much that evening.
The banquet was winding down, many guests having already departed, leaving only those who intended to partake in the unspoken after-party activities.
Tao Ning, half-carrying, half-supporting Guan Qiuyi, helped her into the car, gently placing the now pliant figure onto the back seat. She straightened up and addressed Assistant Bai. “It’s getting late. You should head home, Assistant Bai.”
Before Assistant Bai could respond, a pale hand emerged from the car’s interior, tugging on the hem of Tao Ning’s green dress.
Like a petulant child demanding attention.
Tao Ning leaned down, taking Guan Qiuyi’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “We’ll be home soon. Just saying goodbye to your assistant.”
A soft grunt came from the shadows of the car’s interior. Assistant Bai wasn’t sure how to interpret the sound, the same sound that sent shivers down the spines of other employees, but Tao Ning seemed to take it as a sign of agreement.
She even smiled indulgently, as if finding her girlfriend’s childish behavior endearing.
Assistant Bai: “…”
Tao Ning, a hint of nostalgia in her voice, said, “She still gets flushed after a few drinks. Some things never change.”
Assistant Bai, having finally met the elusive “lover” only to discover she was the Tao heiress, stammered, “Ha… haha… Ms. Guan must be… happy.”
Drunk as a skunk, of course she’s happy, she thought.
I’m just an employee. As long as you’re happy, I’m happy.
She wondered which was more shocking: their CEO’s legendary alcohol tolerance failing her, or the fact that she had kept the Tao heiress confined to her residence for over a month.
The rumors alone had been enough to cause a stir. She couldn’t imagine the fallout from a public announcement. The word “explosive” came to mind.
Watching the car drive away, Assistant Bai, her professional smile firmly in place, let out a long breath, clutching her briefcase, and got into her company car, heading home.
In the car, Guan Qiuyi slept soundly, only waking up as they arrived at the residence. Her face flushed, she was carried out of the car by Tao Ning.
The housekeeper, who had been waiting for their return, rushed over to assist. Tao Ning, handing Guan Qiuyi over, commented, “She’s a happy drunk. Doesn’t get unruly.”
She then led Guan Qiuyi upstairs, presumably to help her freshen up. The housekeeper, however, hearing Tao Ning’s words, looked puzzled.
“Hangover cure?” she asked, her brow furrowed.
Tao Ning replied, “Don’t you have any on hand?”
Tao Yan often had business dinners, and hangover cures, both over-the-counter remedies and homemade concoctions, were always available.
The housekeeper, quickly recovering, nodded. “Of course, Miss Tao. I’ll bring some up right away.”
Tao Ning, giving her a look that clearly said, Not very professional, are you? carried Guan Qiuyi into the elevator.
The housekeeper, understanding the unspoken criticism: …But I am! I swear!
As a professional housekeeper, she was always prepared, supplies regularly replenished. However, their employer never needed them.
Tao Ning gently placed Guan Qiuyi on the bed, feeling her slightly flushed cheek with the back of her hand. She doesn’t get as drunk as she used to, she thought. Just a slight flush.
Guan Qiuyi, her eyes fluttering open, her hand, warm against Tao Ning’s, murmured, “Hmm?”
Tao Ning leaned down, pressing a light kiss to her lips. “Feeling unwell? I’ll wash my hands and get you some water, okay?”
Guan Qiuyi’s breath was warm against her skin, her eyes slightly unfocused, and she let out a soft moan.
Tao Ning, assuming she was simply drunk, went to the bathroom to wash her hands.
The water ran, washing away the soap suds, and as she straightened up, she saw Guan Qiuyi standing in the doorway, her face flushed.
Tao Ning, drying her hands, walked over to her. “Why aren’t you wearing any shoes?”
She followed Guan Qiuyi’s gaze to her bare feet, her toes curling slightly, perhaps from the cold tile floor.
Tao Ning retrieved a pair of slippers from the closet. “Don’t catch a cold. Put these on.”
Guan Qiuyi, her mind slowly clearing, slipped on the slippers, then looked up at Tao Ning, her eyes slightly unfocused. “I was… in a hurry,” she murmured.
Tao Ning, who had been crouching down, stood up. “What’s the rush? Do you need to freshen up? I’ll help you.”
Seeing no place for Guan Qiuyi to sit, she simply picked her up and placed her on the bathroom counter. Guan Qiuyi, startled, instinctively wrapped her arms around Tao Ning’s neck, a soft gasp escaping her lips.
The expensive designer dress now pooled around her on the counter, the fabric dampening slightly.
Guan Qiuyi’s back touched the cool mirror, the sudden chill momentarily clearing her head, but the warmth in her heart remained.
She sat there, watching as Tao Ning, her movements gentle and efficient, prepared a change of clothes, makeup remover, and a basin of warm water.
Then, she carefully wiped Guan Qiuyi’s face, asking occasionally, “How does that feel? Are you comfortable?”
Guan Qiuyi, her eyes half-closed, shook her head slightly.
She wouldn’t have dared to imagine such a scene before. There had been similar moments, of course, always in private, during their student days.
Back then, it had always been Guan Qiuyi fussing over Tao Ning, Lü Xinxi teasing her for turning Guan Qiuyi into a “mother hen.” Tao Ning had simply laughed it off. But in private, it had often been Tao Ning taking care of her, her quiet strength a reassuring presence.
Like a guiding light, even after her departure, her influence remained, a constant presence in Guan Qiuyi’s life.
“You were like a guardian angel,” Guan Qiuyi murmured, her voice barely audible above the running water. “Then… you disappeared.”
Tao Ning, not having heard her clearly, tilted her head. “What was that?”
Over the years, in the quiet hours of the night, Guan Qiuyi’s dreams had often been filled with memories of their time together, each moment replayed, cherished.
Then, one day, she had stopped reminiscing, a question haunting her: when had Tao Ning first hinted at leaving?
The answer, when it came, had been bittersweet: the signs had been there all along.
She reached out, her hand gently cupping Tao Ning’s face, her skin pale, her eyes still slightly red from the alcohol. “From the moment we met, you were already planning to leave, weren’t you?” she asked softly.
The friendship with the Jin and Lü heiresses, the introduction to Tao Yan, even the downfall of the Nangong family—all of it had been orchestrated to ensure Guan Qiuyi’s future.
Tao Ning, her breath warm against Guan Qiuyi’s skin, her hands gripping the edge of the counter, remained silent.
Sometimes, silence was an answer. The usually eloquent Tao Ning, faced with this direct question, couldn’t summon a convincing lie.
As an agent, her mission’s completion meant departure. She had believed time would heal all wounds, that memories would fade, like water smoothing the edges of a stone, her own arrival in this world a blank slate.
But she hadn’t anticipated that the blank slate would become filled with one person’s name, etched so deeply it almost obscured everything else.
Guan Qiuyi, gently tilting Tao Ning’s face towards hers, asked, “I used to wonder… how many people’s savior were you trying to be? Couldn’t you just be mine?”
Then, her voice softening, almost pleading, she asked, “You came back… Are you pitying me?”
Tao Ning replied, her voice firm, “Of course not.”
Guan Qiuyi, convinced she was drunk, her vulnerability exposed, her carefully constructed walls crumbling, repeated, “You’re not pitying me?”
Tao Ning’s voice was steady, unwavering. “No. I… ache for you. I love you.”
The simple words, spoken so casually, brought tears to Guan Qiuyi’s eyes. Tao Ning, her fingertip gently wiping away a tear, watched as it shimmered in the light.
She leaned closer, her lips brushing against Guan Qiuyi’s cheek, tasting the salt of her tears. “Did I… start this?” she asked softly.
Guan Qiuyi smiled, shaking her head, her eyes crinkling at the corners, a familiar expression from their younger days, as if she were still wearing her school uniform. “I did. You didn’t start anything.”
She added, her voice barely above a whisper, “You’re always so… controlled. Only in moments like these do I see you unguarded. It’s… captivating.”
Tao Ning’s restraint, her carefully constructed walls, only intensified Guan Qiuyi’s desire to see her lose control, to witness her true emotions.
Tao Ning, amused by her unconventional definition of “captivating,” her own heart pounding, her emotions a turbulent mix of tenderness and something else, reached out, her hand gently cupping the back of Guan Qiuyi’s neck, and kissed her.
When they parted, their breaths mingled, both slightly breathless.
Guan Qiuyi’s legs, like a mermaid’s tail, wrapped around Tao Ning’s waist, and she whispered in her ear, “My dress is wet. Help me take it off.”
Downstairs, a housekeeper, watching the other housekeeper staring at a box of medication, asked, “Aren’t you going to take that upstairs?”
The housekeeper, startled, her professional composure returning, replied simply, “No.”
The housekeeper: “???” Why not? Didn’t Miss Tao ask for a hangover cure?
The other housekeeper didn’t explain. This was the difference between managing the entire household staff and being a maid.
She placed the box back in the drawer, the soft click echoing in the silence.
Upstairs, a wet hand rested on the dark wood of the nightstand, leaving a faint trail of water, then the fingers, their tips flushed pink, tightened their grip.
“Mmm… wait…”
A soft gasp, a muffled moan, escalating into a series of whimpers, initially sounding like sobs, filled with unspoken grievance, then shifting, a hint of laughter emerging, uncontrolled, unrestrained.
Two arms, slick with sweat, reached up, initially wrapped around Tao Ning’s neck, then pulling away, as if seeking escape, finding only a smooth, unyielding surface.
Seeking purchase, finding none, the arms retreated, only to be pulled back, a hand brushing against a phone precariously balanced on the edge of the nightstand.
The bed creaked rhythmically, the movement intensifying, and the phone, unable to maintain its precarious position, slipped and fell.
It landed, thankfully, on a discarded green dress on the floor, its screen lighting up, illuminating a pile of tangled clothes, the green dress intertwined with a red one, their colors a stark contrast, their fabrics clinging together, inseparable.
…
Tao Yan, a worried mother, having canceled all her appointments and rushed back, had envisioned various scenarios for her reunion with Tao Ning.
First, she would scold her, lecture her, demand an explanation for her sudden departure and equally sudden return, for not contacting her.
Second… she hadn’t decided yet. She would improvise.
However, when she arrived, she was greeted by the sight of two girls holding hands.
One, her biological daughter, the other, the girl she had jokingly called her “goddaughter” for seven years.
A seasoned businesswoman, her instincts honed by years of experience, her first thought was: Do other families… hold hands like this?
As she approached them, she tried to recall seeing Guan Zhichun holding hands with anyone. The answer was a resounding no.
She removed her sunglasses, her arms crossed, her voice firm. “Don’t think you can hide behind anyone today, Tao Ningning. We need to talk.”
Tao Ning, her expression as infuriatingly cheerful as ever, smiled sweetly. “It’s not like that, Mom. Qiuyi isn’t here to defend me.”
Tao Yan raised an eyebrow. “Then why is she here?”
Tao Ning replied, “As my… fiancée? Future wife?”
Tao Yan: “…?”
Her jet-lagged brain slowly rebooted, the gears grinding, and after a long moment of stunned silence, she turned to Guan Qiuyi, her expression questioning.
Guan Qiuyi: “…”
Tao Yan’s suspicion that this was some sort of elaborate prank was shattered by the blush creeping up Guan Qiuyi’s neck, her gaze avoiding Tao Yan’s.
Tao Yan’s voice rose. “You’re serious?!”
Her assistant, struggling to keep up with her in her high heels, her boss’s suitcase bumping against her legs, rushed towards them.
Then, she saw Tao Yan’s sunglasses clatter to the floor, her body swaying, as if about to collapse.
“Boss!!!” she shrieked, dropping the suitcase and rushing to Tao Yan’s side.
Tao Yan, however, didn’t collapse. Tao Ning had caught her, and she now lay in her arms, her eyes closed, hearing Guan Qiuyi’s panicked voice. “Godmother! What’s wrong? I’ll call an ambulance…”
Tao Ning, pulling Guan Qiuyi back, took Tao Yan’s pulse, then said calmly, “It’s nothing serious. I can handle this.”
Guan Qiuyi’s voice was filled with anxiety. “How can you ‘handle this’? What if it’s a heart attack? Or a stroke?”
Tao Ning explained, “During my travels, I visited Mongolia. I helped an elderly woman, and she, impressed by my intelligence, insisted on teaching me her… traditional healing techniques. I’m her disciple. A… Mongolian doctor.”
Guan Qiuyi: “…”
Tao Yan: “???” A Mongolian doctor? A quack?
Tao Ning continued, “She said, if someone faints, the first thing you do is press their philtrum.”
With that, she raised her hand, her finger poised above Tao Yan’s philtrum.
Tao Yan’s eyes flew open, and she swatted Tao Ning’s hand away. “You! Your own mother faints, and you pretend to be a Mongolian doctor?! You’ll be the death of me!”
Tao Ning, her hand still hovering in mid-air, said brightly, “Mom! You’re awake!”
Tao Yan, picking up her sunglasses and using them as a mirror, checked her reflection, then complained, “You smudged my makeup!”
Tao Ning, her eyes wide and innocent, said, “But I really can heal you!”
Tao Yan, retrieving her sunglasses and putting them back on, said, “I’m your mother! I know what you’re capable of! You have less medical knowledge than Qiuyi! You came back just to torment me, didn’t you?”
She stood up, grabbing Guan Qiuyi’s arm. “Come on, Qiuyi. Let’s leave her to her… Mongolian medicine.”
Guan Qiuyi, being dragged away, gave Tao Ning an apologetic look.
And so, a strange scene unfolded at the airport: two figures walking ahead, Tao Ning trailing behind, eventually catching up and joining them in the car back to the Tao residence.
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