Missing Your Adolescence, I Don’t Want to Miss Your Menopause Even More
Jessica Lewis stopped the pen in her hand, her eyes somewhat dazed.
She pulled open the curtains behind her, the blinding sunlight making it hard to keep her eyes open.
She almost wondered if she were a vampire, this being the first time she’d ever disliked sunlight so much.
Working for so long had made her lose track of time, with even her rest periods being few and far between.
Jessica walked to the mirror and looked at the woman reflected in it – hair disheveled, eyes bloodshot.
She could hardly believe the person in the mirror was actually her!
“How long have I been busy for…”
She rubbed her temples; the feeling of exhaustion washed over her like a tide.
But the work wasn’t finished yet. Joseph had left far too many messes.
Even with the Noel Family’s help, there was simply too much for the Empire itself to patch up.
That scum – over the years, he had turned the Empire, which her mother had painstakingly managed, into a complete disaster.
Jessica only hated that he had died too late.
She sat back down in her chair, intending to continue working.
But just then, a knocking sound came from the door.
She frowned slightly. She had clearly told Roger not to let anyone else disturb her.
Roger had just brought her a meal, so he shouldn’t be knocking again.
“Who is it?”
She called out, but the other party didn’t respond. Instead, they simply pushed the door open and entered.
Seeing this action, Jessica instinctively frowned in anger.
But when she saw who it was, she froze in place.
“Hen… Henry? What are you doing here?”
“Missed you, so I came to see you.”
Since that day, Jessica had not seen Henry again.
The mess Joseph left behind was simply too vast; Jessica had no time for her own affairs.
Precisely because of this, upon seeing Henry, a smile unconsciously appeared on her face.
But quickly, she remembered her current appearance was utterly unsuitable for receiving anyone.
She instinctively covered her face with her hands, her tone carrying a hint of panic.
“You go out first, I… I haven’t done my makeup yet!”
Jessica didn’t want to show her slovenly side to Henry.
After all, she was still just a girl.
No girl wants to show her worst side to others.
The desire for beauty is innate to all, and Jessica was no exception.
But Henry calmly closed the door, then carried the food over to Jessica and set it down.
“Whether you wear makeup or not, you’re beautiful in my heart.”
Henry sat down opposite her, cupping his chin in his hands as he stared at Jessica.
Peeking through her fingers, Jessica saw Henry’s action.
After a moment of silence, she finally decided it was hopeless and dropped her hands.
Pouting, she looked somewhat unhappy.
“I didn’t want you to see me like this. Don’t I look like a crazy woman…”
“Where could you find such a good-looking crazy woman? Get me a dozen!”
Jessica blinked at Henry’s words, then pressed her lips together, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
Her previously bad mood improved quite a bit because of Henry’s sweet talk.
But Henry pushed the food in front of her and said seriously,
“I’m telling you, can’t you take better care of yourself? How can you skip meals just for work?”
He picked up his chopsticks, picked up a piece of meat, and held it out to Jessica.
Jessica was startled by Henry’s bold move for a moment, but soon opened her mouth and ate it.
“The holes that person left were too big. If I don’t fix the problems soon, many citizens will suffer.”
“But that’s no reason to skip meals. If I hadn’t come today, how long were you going to leave that food outside untouched?”
Listening to Henry’s concerned scolding, Jessica felt nothing but pleasure.
The tension that had been etched on her face for so long finally eased at this moment.
She leaned forward and opened her mouth, signaling for Henry to continue feeding her.
Henry scooped up a spoonful of rice and put it into Jessica’s mouth, continuing,
“Don’t blame me for nagging. Work is work, rest is rest. Look at the bloodshot veins in your eyes – they are enough to stir-fry a dish.”
“It’s not that exaggerated!” Jessica shyly patted Henry.
But she seemed to notice the dark circles under her own eyes, which made her look like she was wearing smoky eyeshadow.
She sighed helplessly, worried about her increasingly haggard complexion.
“Henry, would you think I’m ugly?”
“Nonsense, of course I would! Why would a perfectly good beauty want to become ugly? Either there’s something wrong with your brain or something wrong with your mind.”
“Pfft, what I meant was, if I get old, will you still be this good to me?”
Jessica stared seriously at Henry, wanting to find the answer in his expression.
Her heart was beating wildly now, and the roots of her ears were slightly flushed.
But Henry didn’t hesitate in the slightest.
He directly grabbed Jessica’s hand and gazed deeply into her eyes.
“Life is just over thirty thousand days. Forget other reasons. If I’ve already missed your adolescence, I absolutely cannot miss your menopause.”
“You… what are you talking about! What adolescence, what menopause… I… I didn’t mean it like that!”
Jessica stamped her feet in embarrassment, yet didn’t know how to explain herself.
“Jessica, I’m cultured enough to suck a field snail, skilled enough to hang a weight! If you’re worried, I can give you a practical demonstration.”
Having said that, Henry began to take off his suit jacket.
His muscular physique was instantly exposed before Jessica’s eyes.
Jessica instinctively covered her nose – a nosebleed had started unbidden.
She slumped weakly against the chair, feeling somewhat broken inside.
It’s over. Just seeing Henry’s physique made her nose bleed. Was she no longer pure?
Was she actually a lecherous woman? And here she had called Sherisa a thieving cat…
Seeing Jessica’s nosebleed, Henry was so startled he quickly grabbed a tissue to wipe it away for her.
“Have you been eating too much heaty food lately? How did you get a nosebleed? Don’t eat so many tonics; you need to learn to have a balanced diet.”
“Henry, could you let me calm down alone for a moment?”
Hearing this, Henry stopped what he was doing and looked at Jessica, puzzled.
“Did I do something to displease you?”
“No… I…”
“Alright, alright, I knew you were getting impatient with me. Fine, I’ll leave, okay!”
Henry threw the tissue paper aside and turned to leave.
But Jessica suddenly sprang up from her chair and tightly hugged Henry around the waist.
“That’s not what I meant! I just thought you must be tired and didn’t want you to work so hard.”
Clearly, she was the tired one, so how had it turned into her comforting Henry?
Jessica didn’t seem to realize yet that her and Henry’s roles had reversed.
And Henry, with his back to Jessica, wore a victorious smile.
Sure enough, women can’t resist it when this tactic is used on them!
Henry slowly turned around, raised an eyebrow, and looked at Jessica with great interest.
“Alright then. First, finish your meal. Then drink a few bottles of wine to get tipsy. Then stuff ten thousand Gold Coins into my hand and tell me you love me. And tonight, tell me a story to coax me to sleep.”