Chapter 31 : “Why did you suddenly hug me?”

jiang Nanshu appeared uneasy on the surface, but in her heart, she was very sincere.

She was indeed very fond of Song Ye’s neck, as if she had a thing for hands, legs, and waists.

She found the cold, sharp jawline that connected to his neck particularly attractive.

This attraction was fully evident in Song Ye, a mature man, where the slightly bulging veins on his neck were especially sexy.

It made her imagine if beneath his restrained and calm exterior, there were moments of loss of control or passion.

She felt that the reason she focused so much on Song Ye’s neck was because of the bite she had accidentally left on it.

During that time, she couldn’t help but keep looking at his neck to see if it had healed.

She didn’t know if other people were like this, but she would often find herself repeatedly drawn to a specific person at unexpected times.

“I wasn’t doing it on purpose,” Jiang Nanshu muttered under her breath, looking down, “Besides, my teeth hurt too.”

Song Ye leaned in and reached out to pinch her chin. “Let me see.”

Jiang Nanshu froze and reluctantly met his gaze.

Song Ye lowered his eyes, his intense gaze landing on her lips.

Though her expression didn’t show much emotion, and she appeared indifferent, Jiang Nanshu felt as though his gaze was somehow hot.

She turned her face away uncomfortably.

“It doesn’t hurt that much.”

Song Ye paused for a moment, then lazily leaned back against the sofa.

The atmosphere was silent, with a hint of ambiguity in the air.

“Meow”

The little cat, Mei, meowed again.

Jiang Nanshu snapped out of her thoughts, took a deep breath, and picked it up.

“I’m going back now.”

She walked a couple of steps forward, then suddenly remembered something and turned back to look at Song Ye.

Her gaze fell on his neck, which now had a suspicious bite mark, and she seriously reminded him, “You… should put a band-aid on it before your meeting tomorrow.”

Song Ye looked at her carelessly, nodding slightly.

A faint smile tugged at his lips.

“Sure, it doesn’t look that great.”

“…”

Jiang Nanshu walked off with Mei, then stopped by the dining room.

She took out her phone and took a photo of the vase.

She had told Lu Youchuan about breaking the vase tonight, but he wasn’t too concerned and told her not to buy a new one.

However, Jiang Nanshu still wanted to see if she could find something similar online.

Song Ye probably knew what she was up to and was about to remind her that she wouldn’t find something like that online.

But after she took the picture, she quickly left, as if wolves were chasing her.

The cat, Rou Song, jumped onto the sofa and kept rubbing against her, begging for attention.

She raised her hand to touch her sore neck and scratched Rou Song’s back with the other hand.

Her voice was low and teasing: “I’ll give you some dried fish later.”

Back at home, Jiang Nanshu sat on the sofa and searched for a similar vase on an online shopping platform.

There was nothing.

At that moment, her interior designer sent her a message wanting to discuss the living room design plan.

After the discussion, she sent the picture to the designer: [Do you know where I can buy this vase?]

Soon, the designer replied with a website: [If I’m not mistaken, it’s from this brand.]

Jiang Nanshu clicked on it and found that it was the official website of an Italian creative design brand.

She found the vase and was shocked to see the price it was over 8,000 yuan.

“….”

Song Ye said it would only be a few hundred.

What a lie! Maybe a zero would make sense!

She then found Lu Youchuan’s similar vase.

Great, it was over 6,000 yuan.

Jiang Nanshu worked hard in a previous big project, earning a substantial bonus and some savings.

But at that moment, she really felt a bit resentful of the rich.

She angrily picked up Mei and stared into its round eyes, lamenting, “Mei, you’re such a little money-waster!”

Jiang Nanshu stayed up late to tidy up her house, putting away all fragile items that could break, fearing she might damage something expensive since her salary wouldn’t be enough to cover it.

The next afternoon, Song Ye and Li Yi went upstairs to meet with the higher-ups for a meeting.

In the elevator, Li Yi seemed nervous, remembering the past when projects faced cuts, and each meeting with senior management would bring a lot of pressure.

Even now, he still had lingering fears.

“Brother, what if Mr. Hu cuts the project again?”

“I’ll handle it,” Song Ye said calmly.

Song Ye wasn’t too worried about them cutting the project.

If they still wanted to cut it based on the test data, he could take the opportunity to talk to them about buying the project.

The elevator doors opened, and Song Ye stepped out confidently.

There were already a few people in the meeting room.

The operations director, Tang Xuan, saw him and raised her eyebrows with a smile.

“Your test data this time is very good.”

“It’s okay,” Song Ye replied indifferently, glancing at her before sitting down in a chair that was one seat away from hers.

He wore a black turtleneck sweater that covered his Adam’s apple, giving him a colder, more restrained appearance.

Tang Xuan glanced at him but didn’t say anything further and sat down as well.

“You’re nervous?”

Tang Xuan asked as she sipped from her water cup.

Li Yi steadied himself and answered calmly, “No, I’m just a bit impatient waiting.”

They waited for more than ten minutes before Hu Shengkai finally arrived.

He was in his fifties and had the air of a nouveau richer.

After investing in a gaming company, Extreme Fan, he became involved with the project.

However, Song Ye wasn’t too impressed, as he didn’t understand the gaming industry well.

In fact, Extreme Fan’s success was largely due to luck.

After looking at the test report, Hu Shengkai turned to Song Ye and asked, “When do you plan to conduct the next round of testing?”

“By the end of May,” Song Ye replied.

“A large-scale data wipe test?”

“Yes.”

Hu Shengkai frowned.

“The end of May is too late.

How about March?”

Li Yi almost choked on his breath and was about to curse.

The end of May was already tight, and now they were suggesting March.

Did they expect the project team to work around the clock, day and night, in the office?

Another trick to pressure them, or was it just an excuse to cut the project?

He held back his frustration and looked at Song Ye.

Song Ye was silent for a while before raising his head and calmly addressing Hu Shengkai.

“The end of March is possible.

But the company should base the performance review on the results and offer the project team members a year-end bonus.”

After coming out of the meeting room, Li Yi let out a sigh of relief.

Song Ye’s expression was cold, his brow furrowed as he walked into the elevator.

Li Yi followed him inside and turned to look at him.

“Brother, are you upset?

Although the end of March is tight, with the year-end bonus, everyone should still be able to accept the overtime.”

He had also tried to get the project team a year-end bonus, but at that time, the project was on the chopping block, and the negotiation fell through, resulting in many people leaving the project, making it a scattered mess.

“I’m annoyed,” Song Ye said, clearly irritated.

He shoved his hands in his pockets and spoke with a cold, restrained tone.

“There’s not enough time.

I don’t have time to date.”

Li Yi: “…”

He was taken aback for a moment, then asked, “Are you back together with Jiang Nanshu?”

Song Ye replied indifferently, “No.”

“…”

Then what was he talking about?

Li Yi wisely shut his mouth and didn’t ask further.

Back on the 16th floor, Song Ye held a meeting with the team.

He said that the next test was scheduled for the end of March and that the timeline was tight.

Amidst the team’s wails, he tapped the desk and added, “I’ve managed to get the year-end bonus for everyone.

According to performance reviews, it shouldn’t be too little.”

Only then did the complaints stop.

One person asked, “Really?

There’s a year-end bonus?”

Song Ye smiled lightly.

“Really.”

The workers were all busy, and what they really looked forward to was the year-end bonus.

Having a bonus gave them something to look forward to, and overtime wouldn’t feel so hopeless.

Jiang Nanshu calculated her own year-end bonus it would probably just be a few thousand yuan.

It should just about cover the cost of the vase.

She sighed.

After the meeting, back at her desk, she received a message from Song Ye on WeChat.

S: [Did you buy the vase?]

Jiang Nanshu looked down and replied: [Bought it.]

She couldn’t help but add: [It was expensive. What a lie about a few hundred bucks.]

Song Ye silently curved his lips.

He knew that the photo she took last night was for this.

Leaning back in his office chair, he replied: [Do you want to watch a movie?]

Jiang Nanshu froze for a moment, then looked around cautiously.

Once she was sure no one was watching her, she looked down and replied: [Tonight?]

S: [Mm, it’s going to get busier soon.]

“…”

So, was he asking for a date before they got swamped with overtime?

Jiang Nanshu bit her lip, still hesitating, or maybe wanting to be a bit reserved, but then another message appeared in the chat.

S: [Didn’t you say I should try to chase you?]

Jiang Nanshu: “…”

She lowered her head and typed: [Okay.]

Although they were supposed to watch a movie together, their work hours meant it would be quite late. Around 9 p.m., the two of them finally left the company, one after the other.

Song Ye’s car was waiting at the roadside, and Jiang Nanshu walked over, quickly opening the door and getting in.

It felt a bit like sneaking around.

Song Ye didn’t rush to drive.

He handed her his phone, which displayed the movie ticket purchase page.

“What do you want to watch?”

Jiang Nanshu took his phone, feeling a bit awkward.

“I can book it myself.”

Phones were so private; it felt strange to be handed his phone like that.

Normally, she wouldn’t have been this casual with someone else’s phone.

Wasn’t he worried she might peek at something?

“Just choose for me,” Song Ye said lazily, leaning back in his seat and glancing at her.

Jiang Nanshu blinked, lowered her head, and started choosing a movie. Recently, there were a few films released around Christmas and New Year’s, so she picked a well-reviewed commercial film, selected her seat, and handed the phone back to Song Ye.

After purchasing the tickets, Song Ye started the car and drove out.

Jiang Nanshu hadn’t watched a movie in a long time.

The last movie she saw was during the Chinese New Year, when she went with Cheng Jia Jia to watch a holiday film.

Song Ye hadn’t watched one for even longer his last movie was probably two years ago when a few friends dragged him along.

The car parked in the shopping mall’s underground parking lot.

As Jiang Nanshu got out of the car, she forgot that her phone was on her lap.

When she got out of the car, it fell to the ground and seemed to roll under the car.

Song Ye opened the door and got out, his gaze unintentionally meeting a man standing nearby.

Chen Qingyue stood stiffly in front, first noticing Jiang Nanshu, then turning his gaze to Song Ye.

The two of them locked eyes for a moment.

Song Ye’s expression suddenly darkened, and he turned to look at Jiang Nanshu.

Jiang Nanshu was still tidying up her clothes and bag, looking down for her phone, not noticing the man in front.

Song Ye slowly withdrew his gaze, turned, and strode toward Jiang Nanshu.

She was about to look up at him when

Thud.

She was suddenly pulled into a warm, broad embrace.

She was spun around, her face buried in his chest, unable to see anything.

She froze, her breath filled with the scent of his cologne.

Her heart raced uncontrollably as she muttered, “Song Ye… what’s going on?”

Why did he suddenly hug me?

Chen Qingyue watched them from a distance, his lips tightly pressed together.

He looked back at Song Ye.

The underground parking lot was only a few meters wide.

The two of them stood a few meters apart, silently staring at each other.

Chen Qingyue’s lips twisted into a self-mocking smile as he opened the car door and got into the driver’s seat.

Song Ye held Jiang Nanshu tightly in his arms, his expression cold as he watched the car leave.

He finally lowered his head and said, “It’s nothing. Just ran into someone from the company.”