Jiang Lai stared at the time on her phone screen, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the bed beside her. The bedding beside her had long lost its warmth, leaving an empty feeling.
She propped herself up on her elbows and sat up, her hair messily sticking to her cheeks. Last night, after all the commotion, Shen Ruxue had held her and coaxed her for a while, soothing her like a kitten until she fell asleep.
‘It was clearly Shen Ruxue who worked harder yesterday, so why did I sleep so soundly?’
‘If it weren’t for not being familiar with this bed, I feel like I could have slept until afternoon.’
Jiang Lai looked down and poked the empty pillow beside her. The bedding was neatly folded, without a single wrinkle, clearly showing that Shen Ruxue had been especially careful when getting up, afraid of waking her.
Throwing off the covers, she stepped barefoot onto the soft carpet and glanced at the foot of the bed… The clothes she had taken off yesterday were now neatly placed on the bed. Jiang Lai casually picked them up and put them on.
After tidying herself up a bit, she felt the size of Shen Ruxue’s clothes. Although they fit a bit snugly, the feeling was as if Shen Ruxue had tightly held her yesterday.
She adjusted her collar in the mirror, folded the cuffs up twice, then tiptoed out of the bedroom.
The living room was silent. Jiang Lai glanced at the breakfast placed on the table, but her gaze involuntarily drifted toward the study. That dark brown solid wood door was tightly closed; although she couldn’t hear any sound, she was sure Shen Ruxue was working inside again.
She didn’t dare push the door open immediately. Instead, she stood close to the door panel for a while, then quietly pressed her ear against it, trying to listen for any sound from the study.
When she was sure she couldn’t hear anything at all, Jiang Lai gently pushed the door open.
As expected, even though she got up early, Shen Ruxue was working in the study again.
She was wearing loose, comfortable pajamas, but had loosely tied her long hair back, securing it with a black clip. A few stray strands hung at her neck, and as the door was opened, those strands gently swayed.
“Why are you up so early? Couldn’t you sleep a little longer? I thought you could sleep another two hours.”
“You weren’t by my side, so I couldn’t sleep.”
Jiang Lai walked over to her and reached out to touch her wrist. The skin was cool to the touch, completely different from the warmth of last night.
“Why are you up so early? How long did you sleep? You didn’t sleep much at all, did you…”
Shen Ruxue took her hand and pulled her onto her lap, wrapping her arms around her waist, resting her chin on top of her head, her voice a little husky from just waking up.
“I woke up a little after five. I tossed and turned and couldn’t sleep, and I remembered there were a few documents I needed to revise, so I came over. We’re starting to discuss a collaboration next week, so some things have to be finished in advance. Sorry… I can’t be by your side all the time.”
Jiang Lai leaned into her arms, clearly hearing the sound of her heartbeat. She raised her hand and touched Shen Ruxue’s eyes, her fingertips gently brushing the dark circles under them.
“Your eyes are all red, so many bloodshot eyes…”
She didn’t know what to say now.
‘I can’t just keep Xiaoxue from working…’
“It’s okay. I had a cup of hot water this morning, and I feel much better. Are you hungry? I’ve prepared a little breakfast on the table. Do you want to go eat?”
Jiang Lai shook her head, instead snuggling deeper into her arms, rubbing her nose against the collar of her shirt.
“I’m not hungry. I want to stay with you for a while. Do you have any other plans today?”
“I can handle all the work from home this morning, but I have a meeting this afternoon…”
As soon as she heard about the meeting, Jiang Lai thought about how she couldn’t be with Shen Ruxue the whole afternoon. It was a rare chance, but they couldn’t be together all the time. Just as Jiang Lai was feeling a little sad and hugging Shen Ruxue tightly, Shen Ruxue gently stroked her back.
“So you’re coming with me this afternoon.”
She was very clear that even though she was now the nominal leader of the listed company, there were still many other factions in the company, especially many of the Shen family’s spies. Whatever she did in the company would basically be known to them that same day.
Shen Ruxue had also thought about how she could let the Shen family know how important Jiang Lai was to her without making Jiang Lai uncomfortable. Going directly to those stubborn old folks of the Shen family would probably make them furious… But she didn’t care about those old grumps’ thoughts or attitudes.
What she worried about was whether Jiang Lai would feel uncomfortable when facing those people. This morning when she got up, she had thought for a while and finally decided that it would be better to bring Jiang Lai to the company first. Then any problems would probably be directed at her directly.
“Okay… But will I affect your work if I go?”
“Not at all. With you there, I actually have more motivation to work. And sometimes when I miss you too much, I can just hug you directly. How happy is that?”
“Okay…”
She buried herself in Shen Ruxue’s arms, rubbing her nose against the fabric of the other’s pajama collar.
“Who hugs someone while working? What if someone from your company sees? Won’t they say something?”
Jiang Lai’s voice was muffled, but she secretly tightened her arms around Shen Ruxue’s waist.
“That would be the best. That way, other people will know that the person by my side is you. Will that make you feel more at ease?”
Shen Ruxue was very worried that Jiang Lai would be jealous or upset because of other people around her, so she wanted to give Jiang Lai a sense of security.
“Actually, I’ve always been at ease, because I trust you very much.”
Jiang Lai, buried in Shen Ruxue’s arms, spoke with a slightly nasally voice.
“And I’ve always been at ease too. You don’t have to do this on purpose.”
The two snuggled together for a while longer before Jiang Lai got up from Shen Ruxue’s arms. Because she had just woken up and hadn’t even washed up yet. In this state, Jiang Lai herself felt disgusted, so it was better not to let Shen Ruxue see her for too long.
Supporting herself on Shen Ruxue’s knees, she stood up, lowered her eyes, and adjusted the hem of her clothes.
“I haven’t washed up yet. I’ll go get myself ready.”
Shen Ruxue looked at her flustered little face and couldn’t help but let out a low laugh. She reached out and gently grabbed her wrist, pulling her back in front of her. She lightly brushed the stray hairs from her cheek with her fingertips, her voice gentle with a hint of huskiness.
“Don’t be in a hurry. Our Jiang Jiang looks good no matter what. Besides, don’t you want to stay with me a little longer? Why are you so eager to go wash up…”
Jiang Lai had originally thought that if she said that, Xiaoxue would let go of her hand and let her go brush her teeth and wash her face. But she never expected that the other would pull her back into her arms. Then, she gently kissed her on the lips.
“I like it.”