The night enveloped the villa. On the double bed of the second-floor guest room, Jiang Man and Qi Zhicheng lay on the left and right sides of the bed respectively.
Just as Jiang Man had said, this double bed was indeed quite large, sufficient for two people to lie down and stretch out their bodies.
She shrank herself against the rightmost edge of the bed, maintaining a certain distance from the man beside her, with a gap of a full two pillows in between.
It was not that she was afraid of what Qi Zhicheng might do.
From their interactions over these days, she knew that the man lying beside her was a gentle gentleman.
But knowing it was one thing; adapting to it was another.
Although she was the one who opened her mouth to let Qi Zhicheng sleep on the bed, when an exceptionally strong male presence really lay down beside her, a never-before-experienced tension and awkwardness still took possession of her.
A night lamp was lit at the bedside. Jiang Man closed her eyes tightly, her body tensed as she slept perfectly straight, both hands properly placed at her sides, looking exactly like a corpse prepared for a funeral.
Silence stretched between the two of them for a good while before the man beside her suddenly spoke, “Can’t sleep?”
Jiang Man’s eyelashes trembled, not daring to open her eyes, merely letting out a soft “Mm.”
She could feel the mattress beside her sink slightly. It should be Qi Zhicheng turning onto his side, facing her direction.
Her heart began to beat fast again against her will, and she clutched the corner of her clothes, “Can you not sleep either?”
Jiang Man did not hear Qi Zhicheng’s response. What she did not know was that at this moment, the man’s fingers were trembling slightly.
He was excited.
Under conditions of extreme excitement, he could not help but tremble all over, his breathing growing heavier, and his fingers shaking.
Just like now.
This close-range contact made him so excited he could barely control himself. His fingertips trembled, the veins knotted on the back of his hand throbbed, and even his breathing was deliberately suppressed by him, terrified of leaking his unpeaceful heart.
Yet nothing showed on his face, merely responding softly in accordance with her words, “Mm, the crying outside the window is a bit noisy.”
A low, long hoot happened to come from outside the window once more.
From just now, Jiang Man would hear this kind of cry from time to time, exceptionally abrupt in the quiet night, “What kind of bird is crying?”
“It should be an eagle owl, quite common in the suburbs of New Jersey.”
“Do they not sleep at night?” She knit her brows, “The cry is really noisy.”
“Eagle owls are relatively active at the end of winter,” Qi Zhicheng explained calmly, “In order to defend their territory, and also to prepare for early spring courtship, the purpose is to attract female birds and obtain mating and reproductive rights.”
Jiang Man was speechless.
Listening to the man beside her state this without changing his expression, mentioning courtship on one hand and mating on the other, her cheeks began to heat up again.
It was clearly just a very normal discussion about the living habits of eagle owls, yet his exceptionally magnetic tone always made her subconsciously associate it with more private images.
Especially,
Right now they were still sleeping in the same bed.
Jiang Man felt that even her breathing had lost its rhythm, with only one thought in her mind: she could not talk about this anymore, if they kept talking she was going to burn up.
The eagle owl outside the window hooted twice more consecutively.
She recalled that Bernard had thoughtfully reminded her that the guest room’s bedside table was equipped with a brand-new travel kit, containing sleep aids like earplugs and eye masks.
Like grabbing onto a lifesaving straw, Jiang Man gave an unnatural cough, then hurriedly turned over to grope through the drawer of the bedside table.
The light from the night lamp was a bit dim. She groped around blindly and quickly found the small square box of earplugs.
“This is for you to use.” She stuffed the earplug box right into Qi Zhicheng’s hand, her heart still thudding.
After a long while, she did not see any movement from Qi Zhicheng either.
He merely held the box, his expression unreadable in the dimness.
Jiang Man felt it was strange, subconsciously drawing a bit closer, asking him in confusion, “What’s wrong?”
It was also at the moment she drew closer that her eyes adjusted to that bit of dim light, clearly seeing the few bolded and enlarged English letters on that small square box in his hand.
Condom.
With a boom.
Something exploded in her mind, heaven and earth shattering, her beliefs collapsing.
Jiang Man’s cheeks turned completely red in an instant, wishing she could dig three feet into the ground to find a place to hide.
That was not some earplugs at all, but a box of unopened condoms.
It was clearly Bernard, as the host, thoughtfully and thoroughly preparing safety supplies for the staying guests.
Jiang Man’s mind was completely blank. The eagle owl outside the window seemed to have crawled into her head, crying out relentlessly, leaving only a burst of buzzing by her ears.
Not having time to think, she hurriedly reached out to grab that box, “Not this one, I took the wrong one!”
She was too rushed, and her center of gravity had already shifted as she leaned toward Qi Zhicheng.
In her panic, her upper body happened to press against his chest.
Only a thin layer of nightdress fabric separated the two of them.
A scalding temperature came from beneath the fabric, and she could feel the faint ridges of muscle. The firm and full contours of the muscle blocks were slightly tensed, and the sensation beneath her was a sense of absolute power belonging to an adult male.
Jiang Man’s face burned once again, and she quickly took back that small box, searching through the bedside table once more for the earplug box.
This time she deliberately opened her eyes wide to confirm twice, ensuring she would not pull out any more strange things.
“F-Found it! If you find it noisy, just use this.” She stuffed the box into his hand, speaking righteously and emphasizing once more, “It’s earplugs.”
“I know,” Qi Zhicheng let out a soft laugh, “It’s very late, go to sleep quickly.”
Jiang Man gave an indistinct murmur of agreement, took an earplug to block her ear once more, her body sliding down, her face burying into the blanket.
The night gradually sank to its deepest, and the eagle owl outside the window rested its voice at some unknown point.
The warm yellow night lamp remained lit. Beneath the light, Jiang Man’s breathing was long, already fast asleep.
Her long strands of hair spread across the off-white pillow, soft, dark, and gleaming.
Qi Zhicheng had not slept the entire time.
He lay on his side, his eyes open, his elbow propping up his head, his gaze resting heavily on his sleeping wife.
The gentleness of the day was long gone from his eyes, leaving behind an attentive gaze that was almost greedy.
She seemed to be dreaming, her beautiful brows furrowing slightly. An inadvertent tilt of her head in her sleep caused the strands of hair by her cheek to sway, and a few long strands of hair fell onto his side of the pillow.
Those few strands of hair fell by the side of his hand, and his fingertips picked up one of them.
The hair was fine and soft, wrapping around his knuckle.
The pad of his finger rubbed gently against the hair, and with a light turn, that long strand wrapped around an extra turn, becoming inseparable from his finger.
Beneath the dense night, he slowly lowered his head, kissing that strand of hair with near infatuation.
Bernard’s wedding was held at a private estate.
Inside the high-ceilinged banquet hall, an orchestra on the side performed melodious classical music, the sound blending into the wind.
There were not many guests, all of whom were immediate family and close friends.
Bernard appeared hand-in-hand with the bride, dressed in a classic black morning coat.
They exchanged rings with each other amid melodious prayers, embracing and kissing amidst the cheers of the guests.
The after-party following the wedding banquet did not conclude until two in the morning.
The return flight was scheduled for the following evening. The period before takeoff was very ample, so Jiang Man and Qi Zhicheng made a trip back to their post-marriage apartment located in Manhattan.
The car departed from the New Jersey villa, crossed the Hudson River, and finally drove onto Fifth Avenue.
Outside the car window were crisscrossing skyscrapers.
The vehicle merged into the traffic flow, and Jiang Man’s gaze swept past the street. The gray twin towers and intricate spires of St. Patrick’s Cathedral bypassed the car window, slowly receding.
Some image seemed to flash across her mind, and a sharp stab of pain suddenly shot through her temple, causing her to unable to help but press her forehead.
“What’s wrong?” Qi Zhicheng asked with concern.
She shook her head, saying it was nothing, “It might be that I drank a bit too much last night, and suddenly have a bit of a headache.”
Qi Zhicheng gripped her hand, warming her slightly cool fingertips, “You slept very late yesterday, and probably have a bit of insufficient sleep as well. We’ll arrive at the apartment momentarily, you can rest for a while.”
Jiang Man did not speak, turning her head once more to glance at the cathedral behind her, the iconic rose window reflecting the light.
After passing through a private driveway, the car entered the underground exclusive garage.
As a gathering area for the world’s top luxury residences, the apartments here were luxurious and private to the extreme, possessing the finest views, surrounded by densely packed high-rise buildings.
Looking down from the massive curved floor-to-ceiling window, one could overlook most of New York.
Jiang Man suddenly thought of a sentence she had read in a book before.
The book said that if you feel the world is too noisy, it is often because you are not standing high enough.
At this moment, she stood in the penthouse apartment in the center of New York, and all the hustle and bustle of the city was completely isolated.
She could not see the wrapping paper scattered by the trash cans, nor hear the low whispers of pedestrians colliding in their haste, and could no longer see the disorder of the ground-level streets.
Everything within her sight was New York’s most brilliant appearance.
In the distance, the Empire State Building towered majestically, and within the streets was the ceaseless trajectory of vehicle lights, the prosperity of the entire city prostrate beneath her feet.
This was the true face of New York.
Qi Zhicheng took off his coat and walked over, “Does your head still hurt?”
“It’s fine now.” Jiang Man shook her head, “It was probably just not enough sleep, I’ve recovered now.”
He drew close, leaning down slightly in front of her, reaching out his hand, his palm pressing gently against her forehead.
The temperature beneath his hand was normal, and he felt slightly relieved.
“I’ll go mix a glass of honey water for you, drinking it will make you feel a bit better.”
Qi Zhicheng left for the kitchen, leaving her alone in the living room.
She sat down on the sofa, slowly turning her head to size up this unfamiliar apartment.
Although this apartment had not been lived in for a long time, it was clear that dedicated personnel came over for regular maintenance.
The furniture and furnishings in the massive living room were all very clean, without a speck of dust.
Jiang Man picked up the remote control casually, pressing the television on.
Attempting to fill the excessive quiet here with some sound and images.
She did not know which channel she skipped to, but financial news was currently broadcasting inside, with colorful K-line charts and data columns scrolling across the screen.
The boring financial terms made Jiang Man even more drowsy.
She had not intended to listen seriously anyway, treating it as background noise, turning her body to grab the blanket at the other end of the sofa.
“Meanwhile, the HK Hedge Fund exerted its strength once again this month, with a single-week profit exceeding two billion dollars. This is already the fourth time this fund has achieved excess returns through reverse operations since the beginning of this year.”
Jiang Man’s movements ground to a sudden halt, and she turned her head to look at the financial anchor who was professionally analyzing on the television.
HK Hedge Fund.
This name, she remembered mentioning it in a phone call with her mother before.
At that time she had just woken up in the hospital, and in her panic and helplessness after losing her memory, she had called her mother at the first opportunity.
Shen Yalan told her many things that had happened over the four years over the phone, among which she mentioned this hedge fund.
Four years ago, Jiangyuan Real Estate was precisely targeted and shorted by this fund, falling into a desperate situation.
At this moment, the avatar and profile of the fund manager happened to pop up at the bottom of the screen.
Jiang Man’s gaze swept over, seeing a sharp, oppressive Western face, dressed in a suit and tie, his eyes piercing.
A typical image of a Wall Street elite.
The anchor on the television was still continuing to speak about this HK Hedge Fund’s “brilliant achievements”, but Jiang Man had already quickly pressed the channel change button, skipping into a noisy talk show venue.
The exaggerated laughter on the television surged out, diluting that bit of discomfort in her heart.
She let out a breath, leaning back into the sofa, her shoulders slowly dropping down.
In the afternoon, the sunlight outside the floor-to-ceiling window was no longer so dazzling, spilling diagonally onto her lap.
Accompanied by the laughter of the talk show, Jiang Man fell asleep before she knew it.
She had a dream.
In the dream, she came to that St. Patrick’s Cathedral once more.
Inside the cathedral, exquisite Roman columns rose straight up, and a sacred and solemn hymn flowed melodiously among them.
She sat below the stage, closing her eyes with her hands clasped, praying devoutly time and again.
Jiangyuan Real Estate was thrown into a mess under the impact of the HK Fund, while she, on the other side of the ocean, could do nothing at all. She could only place her reliance on the deities, praying that the merciful Lord could see her suffering.
At this moment, she was undoubtedly the most devout believer.
She did not know how much time passed before someone sat down beside her.
“When did you also begin to believe in this?”
The man wore a black windbreaker, his entire person appearing noble and detached, leisurely tilting his head to glance at her.
She maintained her prayer posture, not speaking.
“The things that happened to your father’s company recently, I know a bit about them,” he spoke calmly without ripples, “Actually, rather than praying to these illusory deities, you might as well come pray to me.”
She bit her lip, “What is the condition you want?”
She did not think he would help her without seeking return, after all, no one was a born philanthropist.
“There is only one condition,” he let out a laugh, “You, be with me.”
Inside the cathedral, people were bustling to and fro. Jiang Man’s mind crashed into a completely blank space. Just as she was about to speak, she saw him continue: “No need to be in a rush to refuse me, I will give you time to consider, you can slowly weigh the pros and cons. Only, I am returning to the country three days later, so the time left for you will not be too much.”
He pulled out a business card from the neatly ironed side pocket of his windbreaker, placing it into her palm.
“Once you’ve thought it through, come find me.”
On the business card, there was only a string of numbers.
There was no name or position.
It should be his private phone number.
This naked hint was already clear as day.
She felt she had been insulted.
Blood surged up, a mix of shame and anger.
“Mr. Qi, if you are looking for an object for amusement, then you’ve found the wrong person,” she threw that business card fiercely back onto him, “I’m sorry, I don’t sell my body!”
Having said that, she fled in panic, as if a fierce ghost was chasing her from behind.
The images in the dream slowly blurred and receded, and immediately afterward gathered once more, piecing together.
In the image, she seemed to have just finished a performance, walking absentmindedly on the streets of New York.
She received a call from the domestic side, her mother weeping uncontrollably over the phone.
Jiangyuan Real Estate was pushed to the brink of delisting by that fund, and it was unknown how long the current cash flow could last. In a fit of anger, her father fell ill and was admitted to the hospital.
She gazed blankly at the prosperous New York high-rise buildings before her eyes.
Finally realizing that behind this prosperity lay deep-seated illnesses and a mountain of corpses.
It was built by the wolves of Wall Street stripping skin and reaching the marrow, piled up from the flesh and blood of countless people all over the world.
Caught off guard, a downpour of rain fell.
Failing to dodge in time, she was drenched all over.
The temperature in New York at night dropped sharply, and the soaked dress clung to her body, making her tremble with cold.
She stood beneath a billboard to shelter from the rain, unable to stop her eyes from turning red.
“Miss Jiang, do you need me to send you back? An Uber at this hour is not easy to call.”
A black sedan stopped before her, the car window rolling down, and she recognized it was the assistant beside Qi Zhicheng.
She opened her mouth, finding her voice raspy to the extreme.
“Can you… take me to see Mr. Qi?”
Inside the penthouse apartment in the center of Manhattan, Jiang Man saw the man leaning against a massive black curved sofa. Before him lay a bottle of wine and a transparent wine glass. The ice cubes in the glass had long since dissolved, and the amber liquid in the bottle was more than half empty.
As if he had already waited for a very long time.
As if he had anticipated that she would come.
Before she could speak, the man took the lead in raising his eyes to look over, and his dim gaze gained a focus at this moment as well.
He stood up to walk before her, picking up a strand of her soaked hair, coiling it around his finger.
“How did you make yourself look so pitiful?”
“Mr. Qi, I,”
“Go take a shower first,” he cut off her words, “don’t catch a cold.”
Jiang Man shook her head, continuing to insist, “I want to ask clearly first, how long is the time limit?”
He casually took over the exceptionally high-quality suit resting on the sofa, draping it over her body and thoughtfully helping her pull it tight. Only then did he ask a question, “What time limit?”
The suit was a bit large on her body, and her body temperature, which had been dissipated by the rainwater, warmed up slightly.
“All transaction contracts will specify a time limit, and I think there should be a time limit between us as well,” embarrassment surfaced on her face, “It’s impossible for me to be your mistress forever.”
She was ashamed to speak the final word, saying it extremely softly.
The man seemed not to have heard clearly, “Be my what?”
“Mis-tress.”
Silence for two seconds, and he suddenly laughed.
“You thought I wanted you to be my mistress?”
Jiang Man frowned, her slightly moist eyes staring at him without blinking, as if questioning, is that not the case.
“I don’t need a mistress,” the man raised her chin in a slow and logical manner, locking eyes with her, “What I need is a wife.”
Jiang Man froze completely.
“Marry me.”
“I will handle that mess of Jiangyuan Real Estate.”
His thumb slid slowly across her lips, smiling as he offered a generous bait, “After marriage, the entire Qiheng Group will be your backer.”
Jiang Man detached herself from the dreamscape abruptly, opening her eyes suddenly.
Her heart was still beating violently.
The first thing that entered her sight was the man’s handsome face.
He was currently sitting at the edge of the sofa, lowering his eyes to look at her.
Those deep black eyes overlapped seamlessly with the eyes in the dream.
“Why is your complexion so terrible?” He leaned his body over, the back of his hand going to press against her forehead, “Headache again?”
“No.” Jiang Man propped her body up from the sofa, “I just had a nightmare.”
“What did you dream about?”
“Dreamed about Mom and Dad.”
Qi Zhicheng smiled gently, “Homesick?”
Jiang Man kept silent, nodding her head lightly.
Qi Zhicheng stared at her for two seconds, turning around to take that glass which was still warm from the coffee table.
“Honey water, it’s warm.”
Jiang Man took it, holding the glass to take a small sip.
It was sweet, and also had the fragrance of lemon.
“That project in the Nancheng Industrial Park has entered a stable advancement phase now. The next steps are mainly standardized processes and detail refinement. Your parents won’t be working consecutively like they were during the previous few months, they should have relatively ample private time recently.”
He comforted in a low voice, “If you truly miss them, I will accompany you to make a trip to Nancheng once we return to the country.”
Jiang Man’s nose felt inexplicably a bit sour. After thinking it over, she still refused, “I don’t want to disturb Mom and Dad’s work.”
Adjusting her mood, she placed the glass back onto the coffee table, raising her head to say, “I’m a bit hungry.”
“I’ll have the kitchen prepare delivery.”
Their private chef team in New York could provide door-to-door service at any time, which was their habit when they lived here previously.
“I want to go out to eat.”
“Okay. What do you want to eat?”
Jiang Man recalled those images in her mind that night during Bernard’s bachelor party, roughly describing the outline of that restaurant.
“Is there a restaurant… it’s a sky garden restaurant, it seems to be located in Midtown, it should be near the Rockefeller Center. There are many beautiful fresh flowers in the restaurant, and also a very large curved floor-to-ceiling window.”
“There aren’t many sky garden restaurants in Midtown, but there are a few.”
Jiang Man thought back for a moment, “The restaurant name seems to be Conservatory.”
She asked tentatively, “Is there such a restaurant?”
Qi Zhicheng seemed to freeze for a second, immediately restoring his smile, nodding, “Mm, there is.”
The sky garden restaurant, Conservatory, just like its name, was like moving a greenhouse into the clouds.
The restaurant, situated dozens of stories high in the sky, was dotted with large expanses of fresh flowers.
It was said that every week the restaurant would change to different fresh flowers based on different themes.
This week’s theme was Illusion, and the entire venue was filled with champagne-colored roses.
Jiang Man sat beside the curved floor-to-ceiling window, surrounded by a room full of floral fragrance.
Exquisite dishes were already laid out on the dining table. She absentmindedly stirred that small bowl of thick asparagus soup before her, her vision occasionally drifting outside the window.
“Not to your taste?”
“No, the taste of the food here is very good.”
Just as she finished speaking, she saw the waiter walking over once more carrying a silver tray, “How much did you order? The two of us can’t eat that much, and I’m not that hungry either…”
The waiter walked to the side of the table, removing the dessert from the center of the tray and putting it down.
Jiang Man stared at that dessert, a wave of daze washing over her for an instant.
The beautiful pink mousse was served in a tall goblet, the top adorned with strawberries, and the cream drew an exquisite spiral at the rim of the glass.
Seeing her daydreaming, Qi Zhicheng reached out his hand, pressing down on the bottom of the tall goblet, pushing it slowly before her.
“Conservatory’s limited dessert, a mousse brewed from strawberries, it won’t be too sweet.”
He smiled and said, “It also has a nice name.”
“Strawberry Dopamine.”
Jiang Man spoke lightly, cutting off his words.
Qi Zhicheng’s action of pushing the glass stopped suddenly.
His fingertips were still resting against the bottom of the goblet, and he raised his eyes to look toward her: “What did you say?”
“The name of this dessert is Strawberry Dopamine, right?”
She took a light breath, her expression sinking down, her face showing a seriousness that had never been seen before.
“Qi Zhicheng.”
“I seem to remember the things from before.”
The man’s smile froze on his face.