Ni Zijing remembered back when she was still studying in the UK; aside from going to the boxing ring, Ji Qinglin always had other forms of entertainment. In her words, if boxing was a pastime outside of her studies, then bars were the pastime beyond all other pastimes.
Ni Zijing often saw that when Ji Qinglin competed, the girls waiting for her outside the boxing ring changed one after another. Ni Zijing, however, had always lived quietly on her own. Ji Qinglin sometimes teased her, saying: “Are you frigid? There are so many girls throwing themselves at you, how come you do not fancy even one of them?”
Was she frigid?
Today, Qiao Qiao made Ni Zijing realize clearly and profoundly that she was anything but.
Ni Zijing felt she needed to calm down. She walked quickly to Qiao Qiao’s bedroom, opened the closet, took out the first long-sleeved bathrobe she could reach, threw it beside Qiao Qiao, and said in a low voice: “Change yourself.”
She decided to go pour herself a glass of water to cool down her temper.
Just as she entered the kitchen and picked up the kettle to fill it, she heard a muffled thud in the living room. She put down the glass and turned around to look, only to see Qiao Qiao had dreamily managed to take off half of her short-sleeved shirt. It was stuck over her head, and the clothing had been lifted below her chest, exposing her slender waist. That muffled thud was from her losing her balance and falling from the sofa onto the rug after her vision was blocked.
Ni Zijing rushed over to scoop Qiao Qiao up and immediately saw the redness on her thigh. She had bumped into the table leg; it would likely be bruised by tomorrow.
She subconsciously wanted to rub the spot for Qiao Qiao, but the moment her fingertips touched that fair skin, she realized what she was doing and pulled her hand back in a rush.
The spot she had bumped was far too sensitive.
Qiao Qiao’s arms flailed, and her voice sounded a bit impatient: “Help me pull this off, quickly.”
Ni Zijing’s hand paused.
If she pulled this shirt off Qiao Qiao, then…
“Hurry up,” Qiao Qiao urged, twisting her body and pressing against Ni Zijing.
“You really have become a little goblin.” Ni Zijing suppressed the waves in her heart and quickly freed Qiao Qiao from her stuck shirt. With a stern face, she wrapped the bathrobe around Qiao Qiao and tightened the belt.
Without waiting for Qiao Qiao to give her any further instructions, Ni Zijing scooped her up and carried her toward the bedroom.
Qiao Qiao frowned, pulled the neckline of the bathrobe open a bit more, and with one motion, discarded the last layer of restraint.
She finally felt comfortable and curled up contentedly in Ni Zijing’s arms.
Ni Zijing watched helplessly as the lingerie was discarded on the floor, and accidentally caught a glimpse downward. Her expression darkened instantly.
Truly.
If Qiao Qiao were sober right now, Ni Zijing might have just tossed her onto the bed and pressed her down.
After finally getting this little goblin tucked into bed, Ni Zijing exhaled a long breath and headed straight to the kitchen to drink that glass of water, yet she felt no relief from the heat in her heart.
She decided it would be better for her to leave.
Ni Zijing returned to the bedside, prepared to turn off the nightstand lamp. Qiao Qiao, however, turned over to face her, muttering: “Do not go.”
“Hm?” Ni Zijing crouched down, her head near Qiao Qiao’s. “What did you say?”
Qiao Qiao suddenly opened her eyes, looking puzzled as she said: “Ni Zijing?”
Great. This little goblin was finally awake and knew it was her?
Ni Zijing sniffed the alcohol on her breath and lowered her voice: “You finally know it is me?”
As soon as she finished speaking, the person lying on the bed narrowed her eyes, looking extremely sleepy, and then closed them again. Her hand reached out instinctively, hooked around Ni Zijing’s arm, and pulled her close.
“Sleep together.”
Ni Zijing leaned over her: “Say that again.”
“Juan Juan, be my body pillow. I am so sleepy, I am going to sleep now.”
She had truly overestimated Qiao Qiao. This person was not sober at all, taking her for someone else or a dog. There really was nothing she could do about Qiao Qiao. She could not leave now, so she had no choice but to maintain this posture while Qiao Qiao held her.
Ni Zijing lowered her eyes and saw a corner of paper under the pillow Qiao Qiao was pressing down on. Curious and careful, she pulled it out to find it was Qiao Qiao’s household registration book.
She was stunned for a long moment, her eyes fluttering. She relaxed her body and sat on the floor, willingly serving as Qiao Qiao’s body pillow. She placed her free hand on Qiao Qiao’s head, stroking it gently, and whispered: “When you sober up, do not you dare renege on this, little hedgehog.”
Under the influence of alcohol, Qiao Qiao slept soundly that night, but Ni Zijing barely slept at all. Her arm went numb from Qiao Qiao using it as a pillow, yet she dared not move, not to mention she had to go to the company the next day.
Seven o’clock.
Ni Zijing moved her arm slightly, rescuing it from Qiao Qiao. She poured another glass of water for Qiao Qiao, set it on the nightstand, and not daring to wake the girl sleeping so soundly in the bed, she thought for a moment before leaving a note under the water glass and departing.
Passing the bedroom door, she even picked up the lingerie from the floor and placed it on the sofa.
Qiao Qiao turned over in bed and continued sleeping until eleven-thirty, when she was woken up by the sunlight outside.
“Sss.” She drew a sharp breath the moment she sat up; her head hurt. She rubbed her hair, sat up slowly, and drew another sharp breath.
Why did the top of her thigh hurt?
Wait.
Qiao Qiao realized all her clothes had been changed; the bathrobe hung loosely on her, and she was wearing nothing underneath.
What was going on?
Generally speaking, this was never a good sign. Qiao Qiao sat on the bed, panicking slightly. She tried to recall what had happened last night; she drank, yes! She drank.
Then, what happened after drinking?
What time did she drink? Six-thirty, and President Ni said she was coming at eight to cook for her.
President Ni?
Qiao Qiao turned her head and saw the glass of water on the nightstand. Suddenly, she pictured the scene from last night where she had dragged Ni Zijing into her home. What had she said? It seemed she said, honey.
It seemed she had crawled into someone’s arms.
It seemed she had told someone not to leave.
It seemed she had invited someone to sleep together.
So?
Did they…
Sleep together?
She.
Did she sleep with Ni Zijing?
“Ahhhhhhh!” Qiao Qiao could not accept this; she grabbed the water glass and saw the note pressed beneath it, along with the household registration page she had kept under her pillow.
The note was written in a clean, sharp hand: “Do not renege on what happened last night.”
Qiao Qiao went crazy.
Had she really forcibly slept with President Ni? What had she said before? She had told the person: “Do not get any ideas about me, do not come looking for me anymore.” Now, not only did she drag the person home, but she had done this, which was a literal slap in the face.
What did “do not renege” mean? Was she asking her to take responsibility?
Qiao Qiao’s mind was a mess, and her memory was only in fragments. She got out of bed and walked to the living room, instantly seeing her lingerie on the sofa.
Did it start in the living room?
Just as this thought popped into her mind, another memory fragment flashed in: she had pulled her shirt up halfway and leaned against Ni Zijing.
The more Qiao Qiao thought about it, the more guilty she felt. She supported herself against the sofa, barely able to stand. If nothing had truly happened, why would Ni Zijing tell her not to renege?
Damn it, Qiao Qiao, you really are not a human being.
She cursed herself, then tried to comfort herself that they were both adults, and it would not be a big deal if something had happened; she had to be steady, stay calm.
Steady my ass!
How could she be calm? Who was Ni Zijing? Was she someone she could sleep with so casually?
Qiao Qiao was on the verge of tears. She supported herself and went to the bathroom to wash her hair and shower. Suddenly, her phone pinged with a WeChat message.
Ni Zijing: “Awake yet? I will come pick you up when I finish work this afternoon.”
When did they add each other on WeChat?! Was it because they had that kind of relationship now that they had even added each other?
Qiao Qiao checked the time; it showed they had become friends at seven-thirty.
Most importantly, it read: “The other party has accepted your friend request, you can start chatting now.”
And she had been the one to add her.
Qiao Qiao did not dare reply to this WeChat message; she was in a state of chaos. Just as she was wondering how to deal with this, her phone rang, scaring her so much she almost threw it.
Seeing it was Sister Zou, she answered.
Zou Jingzhi said in a tone of utter surprise: “You woke up without me pestering you? You have not forgotten the magazine photoshoot at one-thirty this afternoon, have you? Get ready quickly; I will have Xiao Duo come pick you up for the studio in a bit.”
Qiao Qiao finished listening to Sister Zou, let out an “hm,” and suddenly asked: “Sister Zou, how much do you know about President Ni?”
“Huh?” Zou Jingzhi did not expect this question. After scouring her sparse knowledge, she said: “I do not know what she is like in her personal life, but in work, I have heard she is a very decisive and vigorous person. After all, you have to be talented to take over such a large enterprise. Oh, right, today everyone was saying President Ni seemed quite happy when she arrived at work. What is wrong?”
Talented?
No, President Ni not only had talent; she had two fists that could put you down in a minute.
Qiao Qiao could not help but recall their first meeting, when Ni Zijing stepped through the light and effortlessly lifted the man behind her to throw him on the ground.
“Hello?” Zou Jingzhi felt a silence on the other end, unaware of what was going on in Qiao Qiao’s heart.
Just as she was about to urge Qiao Qiao to hurry up and prepare, she heard Qiao Qiao speak.
“It is like this, I was just asking, Sister Zou.” Qiao Qiao’s tone was very steady. “How much is the penalty fee for breaking the contract? Tell me, let me hear it.”
Zou Jingzhi: “?”
Zou Jingzhi: “Do not mess around! You want to terminate the contract?”
Qiao Qiao thought to herself, I do not just want to terminate the contract; I want to disappear from this world, right now, immediately, at this very second.
She felt Sister Zou was on the verge of coming over to grab her and give her a sound scolding, so she had to change her tactic: “My foot hurts, I think I need another twenty days of rest.”
“Do not lie to me. Xiao Duo said you told her yourself yesterday that your foot was healed!” Zou Jingzhi sneered. “Do not you start causing trouble. Xiao Duo is coming to pick you up right away. Do not make a scene!”
Zou Jingzhi hung up the phone.
Seconds after the call ended, another message pinged on Qiao Qiao’s phone.
Ni Zijing: “I have some spare time. I am coming to pick you up with Xiao Duo now.”