She was clearly sitting on his lap, yet she felt as light as a small feather.
The tips of her ears exposed outside her clothes slowly turned from white to pink.
Strands of loose hair from her temples brushed against his black-and-gold judicial robe and his throat, carrying a faint static electricity, as if teasing him.
The man’s prominent Adam’s apple rolled slightly. His throat went a little dry.
He needed to do something to divert his attention.
It was sinful to harbor such inappropriate thoughts toward a child like this.
Yet he could not quite control the restless stirring within his body.
In truth, he knew she had only “lagged out” mentally. With a simple reminder, the little snail would surely spring up and dash out of the office.
After a few seconds of silence, Tan Siyan indulged her and allowed her to continue sitting there.
His breathing tightened. The pain from digging his nails into his own fingers was barely enough to keep him clear-headed.
A cold blade seemed to fall into his palm, blood spreading along the lines of his hand.
He took a sip of the bitter coffee and opened his computer, beginning to process unfinished work from The Hague.
He had once mocked the phrase “a restless mind and wavering heart.” How could anyone invent such an expression?
Now he understood.
It felt as though a giant monkey was in his mind, while his thoughts were being dragged by a horse to places they should not go.
Her scent was quiet, faintly floral, and delicate.
His typing did not stop. The sound of the mechanical keyboard filled the silent room with a strangely pleasant rhythm.
“Tan…”
The door was suddenly pushed open. Liang Chuchu stood at the entrance holding a medical kit.
Tan Siyan frowned.
A large hand pressed on the little snail’s slender shoulder, the other cupping the back of her head, as he leaned in.
Song Shuangzhi stared at his suddenly enlarged, handsome face, her eyelashes trembling.
Her breath caught in her throat.
His face stopped just a few millimeters away from hers.
Their noses almost touched.
Their breathing intertwined.
She nervously licked her lips, so close that she could almost feel him.
“Don’t be nervous,” his magnetic voice said softly, while his hand gently patted her back.
【Ahhh! No way!】
【Your first time is going to be in the office?!】
【And there are confidential documents everywhere!】
【Zhizhi! He’s so wild!】
【Mmm, those cold lips that have sentenced countless people to death must be terrible to kiss!!!】
The system screamed wildly in her mind.
By the time Song Shuangzhi came back to her senses, he had already released her.
She could still hear Liang Chuchu’s hurried breathing somewhere in the background.
Looking at her flushed, breathless face, Tan Siyan seemed to weigh “Thank you” against “Sorry,” before choosing instead:
“Madam Tan, this is your responsibility.”
“Huh?”
The man continued, “Didn’t you notice that Liang Chuchu is interested in me?”
“I did notice.”
He frowned. “Aren’t you going to handle it?”
“I can’t handle her…”
Tan Siyan pressed his lips together. Faced with this foolish AI, his temper rose easily. “Then you handle me.”
“How am I supposed to handle you?”
He was momentarily speechless.
The system suddenly shouted: 【Don’t let him talk to any other women!】
Song Shuangzhi said innocently, “I can’t exactly forbid you from talking to other women, can I?”
Tan Siyan opened a note on his computer. His long fingers moved across the keyboard, adding a line:
【Wife’s Rules:
A notification popped up in Song Shuangzhi’s mind:【Clingy female supporting character mission completed! Reward: Eat as much as you want without gaining weight!】
Her eyes lit up instantly.
Finally, a useful reward!
Turns out farming missions on Tan Siyan were actually quite easy!
She grinned happily.
Tan Siyan then said, “About your father…”
“You can handle it fairly,” she replied. “You came back specifically for that case?”
“No,” he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Didn’t you ask me to come back?”
“Huh?”
He opened his phone, showing her message:【Chief Judge Tan, can you come back and do my manicure with me? (cat pleading emoji)】
Of course, the more important reason was to supervise her taking medicine.
She had gone into the water yesterday and caught a cold today, sneezing several times.
The cold medicine he had sent was still sitting untouched on the coffee table.
“I didn’t…”
She glanced at the system silently.
Fine! The system had completed part of the task for her…
“When?” he asked, opening his schedule.
“I’ll write it down.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Song Shuangzhi,” he said, flipping open his schedule full of dense work, “I need precision down to the minute.”
She chose the least busy time in his schedule.
“12:00 to 12:30.”
“Fine!”
She smiled at the system. “I didn’t expect I’d be completing tasks again so soon!”
System: 【A 30-minute manicure slot? Just wait.】
【That ‘make him break his principles’ mission is still glowing red!】
“Don’t worry,” she said confidently, “I already figured it out!”
“Song Shuangzhi,” he suddenly called.
“Yes!”
“How long do you plan to sit there?”
His gaze stayed on the screen, voice calm and indifferent.
He had a meeting later. If she stayed seated, the meeting would have to be postponed, or they would have to wait until he returned.
Only then did she realize she was still sitting on Chief Judge Tan’s dignified lap.
She scrambled up and bolted toward the door.
“Wait, take your medicine first…”
He stood up, but his leg had gone numb from her sitting on it for so long.
By the time he moved, she had already run out.
He pressed his numb thigh and was about to return to work when—
“Brother!”
Her voice came again from the doorway.
Bright, familiar, intimate.
Brother?
Wasn’t that how Pierre’s wife called him?
A clear male voice came from outside.
“I’ll talk to Mom properly. Zhizhi, will today’s incident affect you?”
Her voice suddenly turned much softer and more animated.
“Brother, of course not. I know Mom was just anxious… ah-choo!”
“Caught a cold?”
“No~”
“You never take your preventive medicine. You get the flu every time,” he lectured gently. “Zhizhi, you’re so careless. You can’t even take care of yourself. How am I supposed to feel at ease…”
Tan Siyan was a proper gentleman and would never eavesdrop, yet their conversation insisted on drilling into his ears.
“Take your medicine,” Song Ting’an said, holding out the preventive dose.
Song Shuangzhi frowned and stepped back, making a bitter face.
“No, it’s too bitter…”
Song Ting’an’s hand rested on the door, blocking her.
The office door swung slightly open.
Revealing Tan Siyan’s cold, expressionless face.
Beside him was the cold medicine he had brought back from The Hague.
“This one isn’t bitter.”
Song Shuangzhi stared at the two bowls of cold medicine, feeling a little dazed.
System: 【A clingy female supporting character also gets a love triangle?!】
【Food! Delicious food! I’m hungry!】