Not one box, not two, but a full five boxes of condoms.
Her face flushed, her heart racing wildly, and even her breathing turning erratic, Song Xi couldn’t help but wonder—was Jiang Yanzhou planning to use all of these with her?
Fortunately, she had bought plenty of other shopping bags, preventing those five boxes of condoms from standing out too conspicuously.
Back in the car, Song Xi’s face was still burning.
Jiang Yanzhou remained in the front passenger seat beside her, and Song Xi kept her eyes glued straight ahead as she started the engine.
She pressed her lips tightly together, telling herself not to ask a single question.
Based on her three years of close observation, Jiang Yanzhou wasn’t the type to lead a chaotic private life.
Still, it never hurts to be cautious. If she asked and it turned out the President intended to use those boxes with some other woman, the sheer awkwardness would be enough for her to literally excavate a castle out of the floorboards with her toes.
As the car came to a halt at a red light, Song Xi suddenly realized she hadn’t asked Jiang Yanzhou where they were going!
She swore she had zero intention of dragging the President back to her own apartment.
Overwhelmed by a sense of guilt, Song Xi asked cautiously, “President, are you heading back to the Shuimo Mansion residence?”
The President, who had been resting his eyes, let out a soft “mhm,” showing zero inclination to voluntarily bring up the five boxes of condoms sitting in the car.
That only solidified Song Xi’s resolve: Don’t ask about anything. Her only job was to deliver the President safely back to Shuimo Mansion.
Driving with extreme steadiness and caution, Song Xi finally brought the car to a smooth stop outside Shuimo Mansion a little over half an hour later.
“President, we’ve arrived.”
In the past, Song Xi had occasionally daydreamed about buying a place in Shuimo Mansion and becoming the President’s neighbor.
However, the moment she looked up Shuimo Mansion’s housing prices online, she instantly abandoned that fantasy.
A nine-figure property was simply not something someone pulling in a six-figure annual salary could ever dare to dream of.
Slowly opening his eyes, Jiang Yanzhou looked at Song Xi and instructed, “Brew me some hangover tea.”
Song Xi’s mouth twitched several times, though she managed to keep her tone relatively calm. “President, if I recall correctly, you have several domestic staff at home.”
“But I only want to drink the hangover tea brewed by Secretary Song.”
He was blatantly acting like a rogue, yet the President delivered it with such absolute solemnity and righteousness!
After taking a few deep breaths, Song Xi replied, “Understood, President.”
She was a dying woman anyway—what was there left for her to be afraid of?!
Popping the trunk, Jiang Yanzhou reached in and grabbed only those five boxes of condoms.
Seeing him carry them so casually, so openly in his hands, Song Xi desperately wanted to turn around and run.
However, Jiang Yanzhou deliberately slowed his pace, walking stride-for-stride beside her.
“Secretary Song, why is your face so red?”
Filled with the urge to swear a string of traditional curses and commit a violent crime simultaneously, Song Xi: “…”
The President didn’t let her off the hook just because she maintained a stony silence.
He shoved two of the boxes directly into her hands, adding with perfect, courteous poise, “Please help me carry these into the bedroom, Secretary Song.”
So hot, so hot!
Song Xi felt like her hands were being cooked alive, making her desperately want to fling them away.
She hadn’t remembered incorrectly—there really were several housekeepers and black-suited bodyguards around.
Operating purely on pure, instinctive reflex, Song Xi shoved the items behind her back.
Yet the President continued acting completely unbothered, as if terrified someone might miss what he was holding!
Fortunately, the domestic staff and bodyguards were all disciplined, tight-lipped professionals, but that didn’t make the walk any less agonizing for Song Xi.
The moment the bedroom door clicked shut, Song Xi immediately dropped the two “hot potatoes” onto the sofa.
As for the three boxes in Jiang Yanzhou’s hands, they were neatly deposited into the drawer of his bedside table.
Though Jiang Yanzhou hadn’t actually done anything yet, Song Xi could already sense the encroaching danger.
She hurried to say, “President, I’ll go brew that hangover tea for you.”
Before Jiang Yanzhou could reply, Song Xi turned on her heel.
Just as her hand brushed against the door handle, the man wrapped his arms around her from behind.
His cool, thin lips brushed against her ear. “Secretary Song, do I look like I’m drunk to you?”
Song Xi knew Jiang Yanzhou’s alcohol tolerance all too well; you could throw a few more bottles of hard liquor at him, and he wouldn’t necessarily even feel a buzz.
Thus, she had already guessed that the “hangover tea” was nothing more than an excuse.
But she was a secretary—forget brewing hangover tea, if her boss told her to brew an elixir of immortality, she would still have to give it her absolute best shot.
Povev-forced to turn around, forced to meet his gaze eye-to-eye, Song Xi saw a brewing tempest in Jiang Yanzhou’s eyes!
Even with her days numbered, she still felt her knees turn weak with fright.
The man’s callused fingertips gently stroked her delicate, fair chin.
At that exact moment, the scene playing in a loop inside Song Xi’s head was Jiang Yanzhou snapping Gu Pingping’s wrist.
Shivering visibly, she stammered, “President, what happened last night was my fault. I apologize—I’m truly sorry.”
Even someone on the verge of the grave knew how to be afraid of pain, okay?!
With a chilling expression, Jiang Yanzhou replied, “There’s no need for an apology, Secretary Song. I happen to be the kind of person who likes to lean into a mistake and just keep making them.”
Song Xi: “…”
She hadn’t been drinking alcohol last night; she must have swallowed a leopard’s gallbladder! Why else would she have dared to provoke a madman like Jiang Yanzhou?
The man’s ruthless hands drifted away from her chin and came to rest upon her legs.
Song Xi shuddered violently, her voice turning terribly hoarse.
“Jiang Yanzhou, you surely can’t still… want to continue?”
As her tight red skirt was rolled up toward her waist, the man asked with a half-smile, “Take a guess—how long do you think those five boxes will last?”
Song Xi’s face flushed so violently she looked ready to drip blood. She hadn’t regretted it this morning, but right now, her intestines were practically turning green with regret!
Weakly, she pleaded, “President, what we had last night was just a fleeting, one-night affair. There’s no need to compound the mistake… mmph…”
Had Jiang Yanzhou not been supporting her weight, Song Xi’s knees would have buckled completely.
The hands roaming across her grew increasingly uninhibited.
“Jiang Yanzhou, stop…”
Without halting his movements, the man spoke in a cool, deep, low timbre. “Song Xi, tell me honestly—do you regret tangling with me last night?”
A moment later, Song Xi ground out between clenched teeth,
“I don’t regret it. Not even a tiny bit.”
As if!
If she could turn back the clock to last night, she never would have gone to the company to find Jiang Yanzhou—hell, she wouldn’t have touched a single drop of alcohol.
As a cancer patient, she should have stayed home, rested properly, taken her meds, and completely skipped any wild ideas like pole dancing!
The man let out a low chuckle. “Good to know.”
Less than ten minutes later, a pitiful Song Xi whimpered,
“President, I regret it. I really… can’t stand up anymore. Please let me go!”
“Does the Secretary want to sit, or lie down?”
With tears welling in her eyes, Song Xi choked out, “Lie… down…”
The man’s veins bulged as his powerful hands locked around her slender waist. “Actually, I think Secretary Song looks much better standing. Be a good girl, stand a little longer…”
Inwardly, Song Xi had already thoroughly saluted twenty-eight generations of Jiang Yanzhou’s ancestors.
When she was finally permitted to sink onto the sofa, the only garment remaining on her body was the narrow red skirt cinched around her waist, making her skin look as pristine and flawless as freshly fallen snow.
Shielding her front with one hand, Song Xi frantically tried to tug the red skirt down with the other.
Making no move to stop her, Jiang Yanzhou simply watched Song Xi with an unreadable, enigmatic gaze.
It wasn’t until she got her wish and managed to pull the red skirt back into place that the black tie currently clutched in Jiang Yanzhou’s hand finally came into play.