“You’re really adorable, you know. Looking at you like this, my heart is filled with you.”
A faint scent of shampoo wafted over.
As Shen Ruxue lowered her head, her hair tips brushed lightly across Jiang Lai’s cheek.
Jiang Lai couldn’t help shrinking her neck, but Shen Ruxue’s palm gently pulled her closer by the waist with just the right force—neither binding nor suffocating, but full of reassurance.
Shen Ruxue’s fingertips gently pinched Jiang Lai’s skirt hem, and her nose nuzzled against Jiang Lai’s flushed earlobe.
That warmth made Jiang Lai’s heart feel hot too.
Her gaze fell on the perfectly tied bow at Jiang Lai’s chest, the tenderness in her eyes like melted honey, and her voice softened a few degrees.
“I think we’d better change it after all. This outfit makes you look too cute—so cute that I want to hide you away and not let anyone see you.”
“It’s not that exaggerated.”
Jiang Lai pressed even closer into her arms, her cheek against Shen Ruxue’s crisply ironed shirt.
She could clearly feel the warm body temperature beneath the fabric, and the steady heartbeat transmitted through the cloth, which inexplicably made her feel at ease.
“It really is.”
Shen Ruxue lowered her head and gently pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
The touch was soft as if brushing a tuft of cotton, but her voice was exceptionally serious.
“A little too cute, like a freshly unwrapped candy that I want to hold in my mouth.”
Jiang Lai was amused into laughter by this remark.
She reached out to wrap her arms around Shen Ruxue’s waist and asked while looking up at her:
“Wasn’t this outfit one you specially picked out for me? Then find me another one!”
Hearing this, the smile in Shen Ruxue’s eyes deepened.
She reached out and gently tapped the tip of Jiang Lai’s nose.
“Okay, whatever our Jiang Jiang says. I’ll find you a loose one right now, something comfortable and not too eye-catching.”
As she spoke, she took Jiang Lai’s hand and walked back to the wardrobe, pulling open the door that held casual clothes.
Inside hung quite a few outfits that Shen Ruxue had specially bought for Jiang Lai—either cute styles or figure-flattering cinched dresses.
When she bought them, she only thought, “Jiang Jiang will definitely look good in this,” without considering whether they were suitable for going out.
Shen Ruxue’s fingertips lightly traced over the rows of clothes, her gaze carefully filtering, finally stopping at a light apricot-colored knit cardigan.
The hem of this cardigan reached mid-thigh, with a loose fit that didn’t sag.
The fabric felt soft and fluffy, surely comfortable to wrap around the body.
The gentle color was particularly flattering.
For Shen Ruxue, this kind of homey style wasn’t something she’d wear out, but on Jiang Lai, it was absolutely perfect.
“How about this one?”
Shen Ruxue took down the cardigan, spread it out in front of Jiang Lai for comparison, then bent down and picked out a pair of wide-leg culottes in the same color from the drawer underneath.
“These two together are neither flashy nor uncomfortable—just right.”
Jiang Lai took the clothes from Shen Ruxue’s hands, her fingertips pinching the soft knit fabric.
She originally wanted to find a room to change, but when she looked up, she met Shen Ruxue’s gaze.
The other woman’s eyes were sparkling, staring straight at her, obviously waiting to watch her change.
“You… why aren’t you turning around?”
Jiang Lai’s voice was as light as a feather, and even the tips of her ears had quietly flushed red.
Actually, she knew Shen Ruxue didn’t mean anything else, but she couldn’t help asking.
What if Shen Ruxue needed to prepare something else?
“Why would I turn around?”
Shen Ruxue raised an eyebrow, walked over to the bed and sat down, leaning back against the headboard with a relaxed posture, but her eyes were full of tenderness.
“My Jiang Jiang isn’t an outsider. Take your time, I’ll wait.”
Jiang Lai looked at her sitting on the bed, swallowed lightly, tightened her fingers gripping the clothes, then turned her back to Shen Ruxue.
Her fingertips first undid the bow on the dress she was wearing.
The moment the ribbon rustled loose, the dress slowly slid down along the waistline.
Jiang Lai instinctively glanced behind her, just meeting Shen Ruxue’s gaze.
That look was exceptionally pure, without any impropriety, only full of tenderness, as if looking at an extremely precious treasure, making even the air soften a little.
Jiang Lai quickly averted her gaze and hurriedly picked up the knit cardigan to pull it on, but her fingertips still trembled uncontrollably.
Actually, it was just two pieces; putting them on would take less than a minute, but under Shen Ruxue’s gaze, Jiang Lai felt that time passed especially slowly.
But that was fine.
Slower made the time they spent together feel stretched out.
After all, she had to go back tomorrow; every extra moment counted.
When Jiang Lai had finished changing, Shen Ruxue stood up and helped her straighten the twisted collar, then bent down to smooth out the wrinkles on the culottes.
After confirming everything was fine, she tidied up a bit the things they needed to bring.
As they walked out of the house side by side, Shen Ruxue naturally held Jiang Lai’s hand, their fingers interlaced.
The warmth of her palm wrapped around Jiang Lai’s, making her reluctant to let go.
Before sitting in the car, Shen Ruxue had already turned on the seat heater in advance.
Just after Jiang Lai sat in, Shen Ruxue leaned over to adjust the seatback, making the angle more comfortable, and also reached out to raise the air conditioner temperature by two degrees.
“This way you won’t be cold.”
When the car smoothly entered the company’s underground parking lot, Shen Ruxue got out first, walked around to the passenger side, opened the door, and extended her hand to help Jiang Lai out.
As their fingertips touched, Jiang Lai could clearly feel the warmth in Shen Ruxue’s palm, more reassuring than the car’s seat heater.
“Just stay by my side later. If you feel stuffy, there’s a restroom in my office—you can hang out in there. You can also tell me if you want to eat anything.”
Shen Ruxue helped Jiang Lai adjust the collar of the light apricot knit cardigan, her voice extremely soft, as if afraid of disturbing something.
Jiang Lai nodded, her fingers gripping Shen Ruxue’s sleeve even tighter.
This was her first time at Shen Ruxue’s company.
Looking at the unfamiliar surroundings, she couldn’t help feeling nervous.
Only by grasping Shen Ruxue’s clothes did she feel more grounded.
The two entered the elevator.
Just as they stepped out, they ran into Shen Ruxue’s special assistant, Lin Wei.
The assistant was holding a stack of documents.
The moment she saw Shen Ruxue, she instinctively straightened her back and was about to report:
“President Shen, the meeting materials for this morning…”
But her gaze swept to Jiang Lai beside Shen Ruxue, and then she caught sight of their tightly clasped hands.
She froze completely, not knowing what to say.
In the past, when President Shen came to work, she always seemed wrapped in a layer of coldness, without any extra expression.
But today’s President Shen was not only holding someone’s hand, but her eyes also carried noticeable softness—utterly different from the usual “work machine” version of President Shen.
The assistant stood dumbfounded for two seconds, losing all intention to continue speaking, and simply watched them walk away.
She had been working for Shen Ruxue for a while now, and had never seen President Shen being so gentle with anyone.
Previously, President Shen’s fiancée would occasionally come to deliver meals, and President Shen would just take them blandly, without even an extra glance.
On the contrary, her expression would soften a bit when she saw the delivered food.
At that time, she secretly thought that in President Shen’s eyes, her fiancée probably wasn’t as important as the food.
The assistant’s mind was full of confusion.
Who exactly was this girl by President Shen’s side?
She looked soft and gentle, but had an excellent figure, and standing next to President Shen, they looked exceptionally well-matched.
But the assistant also knew she was just a hired hand; there was no need to pry into the boss’s private matters.
Just doing her job well was enough.
Still, her mind couldn’t help replaying the image of President Shen holding the other’s hand just now.
Actually, Shen Ruxue had noticed the assistant’s curious gaze, but she didn’t mind.
She just tightened her grip on Jiang Lai’s hand and continued walking toward the office.
As soon as they entered the office, she pulled Jiang Lai to the sofa and gently pressed on her shoulder, indicating for her to sit down.
“Jiang Jiang, sit for a while. I need to handle some documents. If you get thirsty or want snacks, you can ask the assistant to prepare them. If there’s anything else, you can also tell me—I’ll be nearby.”
Jiang Lai nodded and obediently sat down on the sofa.
But inside, she couldn’t help thinking about the consequences of Shen Ruxue bringing her to the company.
Although the company was now under Xiaoxue’s control, there were definitely still some people from the Shen family lurking in the shadows.
Bringing her here and holding her hand the whole way—such unusual behavior would surely be reported back to the Shen family.
She could roughly imagine that her presence would stir up plenty of trouble in the future.
But all of this would have to be borne by Xiaoxue alone.