Wen Xuxue slept soundly until the sun was high in the sky.
When she opened her eyes, the space beside her was empty.
She pushed back the covers, got out of bed, and made her way to the bathroom while rubbing her bleary eyes.
Still half-asleep, she accidentally bumped into a man’s back.
The impact made Wen Xuxue cover her nose in pain, finally prompting her to open her drowsy eyes fully.
Zhou Shijing was shaving at that moment.
He turned his head, glanced at the dark circles under her eyes, and said in a light tone, “What’s wrong? Didn’t sleep well in Older Brother’s arms?”
Wen Xuxue walked to his side, turned on the faucet, and splashed water on her face as she replied, “I had a nightmare.”
Zhou Shijing’s gaze lifted slightly, settling on her with a faint look. “What did you dream about?”
Wen Xuxue stared at him, droplets of water still clinging to her face, making her look dewy and radiant. “You.”
Zhou Shijing said, “Older Brother is your nightmare?”
Wen Xuxue looked at him without blinking. “Older Brother is my nightmare.”
A low, ambiguous chuckle came from above her.
The corners of Zhou Shijing’s lips lifted, carrying a trace of lingering amusement. “Then what did Older Brother do in your dream to become your nightmare?”
Wen Xuxue’s eyelashes fluttered slightly, and she suddenly lowered her head, stammering, “I… just…”
After struggling for a while, she couldn’t get the words out and finally said petulantly, “Nothing at all!”
Zhou Shijing looked down at her, easily catching sight of her reddened earlobes. A flicker of understanding passed through his eyes as he smiled and said, “It seems it wasn’t a nightmare but a wet dream.”
His blunt words made Wen Xuxue’s heart skip a beat, and she instinctively looked up.
Zhou Shijing met her gaze, his expression stern as he continued, “Xiao Xue, having such dreams without Older Brother’s permission is very naughty.”
“I…” Wen Xuxue was left speechless.
His words were unreasonable, yet delivered with such authority that they were impossible to refute.
Biting her lip, she blurted out defensively, “You’re really annoying.”
Seeing that she was about to throw another tantrum, Zhou Shijing reached out and pinched her cheek, softening his tone. “Alright, hurry up and brush your teeth, then come to work with Older Brother. We’ll be late if you dawdle.”
Mentioning being late reminded her of the ten-thousand-yuan perfect attendance bonus. All of Wen Xuxue’s grievances instantly vanished. She dashed to finish washing up and quickly changed her clothes.
By the time she pushed open the door, Zhou Shijing was also ready.
He wore a dark suit, impeccably dressed, exuding an air of coldness and detachment.
He was breathtakingly handsome.
Zhou Shijing gave her a brief glance and said, “Let’s go.”
Wen Xuxue followed behind him and casually asked, “Aren’t you having breakfast?”
Zhou Shijing remained calm and tossed the question back to her. “Is Xiao Xue going to treat Older Brother to breakfast?”
“No way,” Wen Xuxue replied, stingy to the core, especially toward someone as wealthy as him. “I was just asking.”
Zhou Shijing naturally saw through her thoughts and expressed his displeasure. “How much money has Older Brother given you these past few days? Can’t you treat him to one breakfast?”
Wen Xuxue’s face fell. “Ah… you’re already so rich, why do you still want me to pay?”
Zhou Shijing said, “It’s not about the money. It’s about the sentiment.”
He looked at her intently, his gaze deep and almost tangible. “Does Xiao Xue not care about Older Brother at all, unwilling to even spend a little on breakfast?”
The words “I really don’t have Older Brother in my heart” were already on the tip of Wen Xuxue’s tongue.
Yet, meeting his cold gaze, she swallowed them back and said, “Yes, Xiao Xue certainly has Older Brother in her heart. Older Brother is the most important person in Xiao Xue’s heart.”
This successfully pleased Zhou Shijing.
But words were too pale, too easy to say, costing nothing at all. He didn’t want to let her off so lightly and added, “Then where will Xiao Xue take Older Brother for breakfast? Let’s drive there now.”
“No need!” Wen Xuxue’s voice suddenly became impassioned.
Zhou Shijing said coldly, “No need?”
“I mean,” Wen Xuxue forced a smile, her heart aching at the thought of the money about to be spent, “no need to go to such trouble.”
At that moment, the car had already reached the street. She casually glanced out the window and, seeing something, her eyes lit up: “I think this looks just fine. Stop the car, and I’ll go buy it for you.”
Zhou Shijing glanced indifferently at the noisy wet market, fell silent for a moment, but still unlocked the door for her.
Wen Xuxue immediately opened the door, got out of the car, then “swished” as she ran in and “swished” as she ran back, her movements swift and seamless.
Once back in the car, she pulled a transparent plastic bag from her purse and said with a smile, “Older Brother, I bought you a steamed bun.”
Zhou Shijing: “…”
Seeing his silence, Wen Xuxue added, “What, is Older Brother so used to delicacies that he looks down on this little bun? Or does he look down on Xiao Xue, so he doesn’t like what Xiao Xue bought?”
Having put it that way, Zhou Shijing had no choice but to say, “I’m not looking down on it.”
“Then eat.” Wen Xuxue pressed a warm bun to his lips.
Zhou Shijing took a small bite.
It was a vegetable bun.
Wen Xuxue said with a beaming smile, “Delicious, right?”
Zhou Shijing: “Mhm.”
He drove while she fed him the bun beside him.
The bun was quickly finished.
Wen Xuxue pulled another transparent plastic bag from her purse.
Zhou Shijing, as before, waited for her to feed him, but after a long while, nothing happened.
He subtly turned his head to glance at her and saw her holding two meat buns, eating with such gusto that oil dripped from her mouth.
“…”
She gave him a vegetable bun, and only one.
She herself ate meat buns, and two at that.
Forget it.
Forget it.
Forget it.
Zhou Shijing held it in.
The child is still young, with little earning ability. Being stingy is… perfectly normal.
It definitely wasn’t aimed at him.
He remained sullenly silent the entire way, steadily driving the car into the company’s underground parking lot.
Wen Xuxue didn’t notice his minor displeasure at all.
As soon as the car stopped, she hurriedly dashed out, heading toward the regular elevator lobby while saying, “Older Brother, I need to avoid suspicion, so I won’t go with you, okay?”
Zhou Shijing completely ignored her, turning and walking away.
Early in the morning, he walked into the office with a dark expression.
Several assistants trembled in fear.
It’s over.
The boss seems to be in a terrible mood.
“Thud—”
Sure enough, the sound of documents being slammed heavily onto the desk rang out repeatedly.
Zhou Shijing called several senior executives over one by one, reprimanding each of them.
Everyone in the company sat stiffly upright.
Meanwhile, Wen Xuxue, who had just joined and was at the lowest level, was completely unaware of all this.
After spending the morning finishing the work at hand, she took out her phone and calculated, discovering that Zhou Shijing had transferred a total of 3 million to her last night.
Wen Xuxue’s eyes darted around, and without hesitation, she transferred 1.5 million to Jiang Jing.
“Best friends forever, walking through life together.”
She even added this note in the transfer message.
The money had just arrived in the account when Jiang Jing’s call came through the next second: “Holy shit, my dear, where did you get another 1.5 million from?”