Chapter 61 "Should I make amends properly tonight?"...

The bedroom ceiling light was so bright that it made Sheng Yu's dark pupils appear to be filled with starlight.

Tang Ci, unable to continue lying under his gaze, clutched her sleeve and stammered, "...I miss you a little."

"A little?" Sheng Yu crossed his arms.

Tang Ci's face flushed slightly. Her eyelashes fluttered as she looked out the window, then at the floor, and hummed, "A lot."

"That's more like it." Sheng Yu stood up, loosening his tie as he walked towards the bathroom. "I'm going to take a shower. You go to sleep first."

Tang Ci nodded, hesitated, and sat up in bed: "Then I'll go back to sleep?"

"It's too late to be shy now." Sheng Yu tossed his tie onto the sofa, turned to her, and called out, "Girlfriend."

Tang Ci stopped moving.

Sheng Yu blinked and announced, "You'll be sleeping in this room from now on."

Tang Ci swallowed hard and said softly, "Okay." Then she lay back down on the bed, pulled the blanket over herself, and her clear eyes followed his movements.

Sheng Yu crossed his arms and took off his shirt. With his back to her, he unbuckled his belt and said, "If you can't sleep, just wait for me in bed."

Tang Ci gave a muffled "Hmm?" and asked, "What are you waiting for me for?"

"sleep."

Tang Ci's cheeks flushed instantly, and she looked away from his bare upper body: "But it's already two in the morning..."

Sheng Yu glanced at her sideways and let out a short laugh: "Tang Ci, you're in a hurry, aren't you? You want to sleep with me right after we officially became a couple."

Faced with his blatant lies, Tang Ci was speechless, her face flushed with embarrassment as she got out of bed again, and returned to her room with her head down to prove her innocence.

But as soon as she reached the bedroom door, Sheng Yu laughed and picked her up around the waist.

"Put me down," Tang Ci said, shrinking back in his arms as if afraid to touch his bare skin. "I really didn't want to sleep with you."

Without a word, Sheng Yu tucked her back into bed, pressed his palm against the corner of the blanket, and kissed her forehead: "I wanted to sleep with you, but not today. Your boyfriend hasn't rested for almost twenty hours."

Tang Ci felt a lump in her throat and reached out to rub her finger on the faint bluish-black mark under his eyes: "Then go take a shower and go to bed early after you're done."

Sheng Yu's Adam's apple bobbed up and down, his eyes dark: "If you keep flirting with me, I really won't be able to sleep."

Tang Ci withdrew her fingers and immediately stopped moving.

The bathroom was very close to the master bedroom. Listening to the pattering water, Tang Ci could hardly believe what had happened that day.

According to Sheng Yu's words, they are now officially a couple.

Like any other couple, they went on dates, held hands, and kissed normally.

They slept in the same room as usual.

In that case, when introducing him to friends and colleagues in the future, should I say, "This is my boyfriend"?

Thinking of that scene, Tang Ci felt instinctively awkward for some reason.

After all, she had never imagined this day would come.

Tang Ci fell asleep lost in thought, and when she woke up it was already morning. She subconsciously turned her head to look at her side, but there was no one there.

For a moment, she thought that what happened last night was just a dream.

Tang Ci sat on the bed in a daze, when she suddenly heard footsteps outside the bedroom door. She looked up and saw Sheng Yu walking in, casually wearing a bathrobe and carrying a glass of water.

Seeing that she was staring at him, Sheng Yu raised the corners of his mouth, sat on the edge of the bed, and shoved the cup into her hand: "Don't you recognize me?"

Tang Ci shook her head, lowered her eyes, and took a sip of water.

The warm water moistened her throat, and her thoughts returned. She said something seemingly pointless: "Sheng Yu, you woke up so early."

As she spoke, her pale lips, damp with water, parted slightly, her soft hair was disheveled from sleep, and two stray strands of hair stuck up beside her ears.

She looks like he's been through a lot with her last night.

Sheng Yu twirled his fingertips on the quilt, but finally couldn't resist. He pressed down on her neck and leaned in to kiss her.

Caught off guard, Tang Ci released her lips when his cool lips pressed against hers.

Sheng Yu's tongue probed directly inside, and Tang Ci felt the force of the palm around her neck tighten. Sheng Yu's slender fingertips inserted into her hair, twisting it with varying pressure.

Tang Ci's heart raced from his intense, all-encompassing advances, but thankfully she remembered to breathe this time.

With each breath, she could smell the scent on Sheng Yu's skin.

Clean and crisp.

Like morning dew in a light mist.

Tang Ci was certain she was addicted to the smell, so even after Sheng Yu released her lips, she still followed up with her nose to take another sniff.

Sheng Yu chuckled softly, playing with her delicate earlobe with her fingertips as she asked, "Baby, you seem to really like smelling me."

Tang Ci felt a burning sensation of shame, unsure whether it was because her secret desires had been exposed or because of his sudden affectionate address: "...The aftershave you use smells very nice."

Sheng Yu lowered her eyelashes and asked in a hoarse voice, "Don't you think this is perverted?"

Tang Ci choked up and said in a choked voice, "I'm sorry, I won't be so...perverted to you again."

Sheng Yu squinted and hummed in response, "But I like it when you treat me like this."

He paused, then lightly brushed his fingertips against Tang Ci's ear canal: "Even more perverted is fine."

Tang Ci looked at the curve of his lips and realized that he was deliberately teasing her. She pulled away his mischievous fingers and got out of bed. Her tone was righteous and stern, but her voice was soft and slow, without any intimidation, as she said, "Don't say such strange things in broad daylight."

Sheng Yu remained seated on the edge of the bed, looking at the red mark on the tip of her ear, and raised an eyebrow: "I understand, we'll talk about it tonight."

Tang Ci hurried out of the bedroom as if fleeing a flood or a ferocious beast.

/

"Are you sure you don't need to take me downstairs?" Sheng Yu bowed slightly and looked out of the car.

Tang Ci closed the passenger door and glanced at the company building across the street: "Let's not go. It wouldn't be good if my colleagues saw us."

Sheng Yu tapped the steering wheel with his fingertips: "You think I'm not presentable?"

Tang Ciyuan opened her eyes and shook her head: "How could you think that?"

It's clearly because she's not presentable.

Tang Ci looked at Sheng Yu sitting in a luxurious car, dressed in an elegant and expensive suit, and then glanced down at her own inexpensive dress and unbranded tote bag.

She thought dejectedly, "He doesn't seem to be a good match for Sheng Yu at all."

Sheng Yu continued to stare at her relentlessly, his expression unfriendly.

Tang Ci swallowed hard and said shyly, "I haven't figured out how to tell my colleagues about our relationship yet."

Sheng Yu couldn't bear to see her looking so pitiful and being bullied, so he immediately raised his eyebrows and relented: "Let's talk about this after you've thought it through."

"But now, come and kiss me."

"Huh?" Tang Ci looked around instinctively.

"If you hesitate any longer, come to your company." Sheng Yu gave her another option.

Tang Ci hurriedly walked around the front of the car to the driver's side door.

Sheng Yu was driving an SUV today. It had a high chassis and high windows. Tang Ci stood on tiptoe and braced her hands on the window before she could get close enough to kiss him on the lips.

"How was it?" Tang Ci asked anxiously after kissing her.

Looking at her expression, like a little animal seeking praise, Sheng Yu's heart melted. She gently rubbed her cheek and said, "Good girl, great job."

When Tang Ci entered the company building, the heat on her face had not yet subsided, and the deep voice of Sheng Yu praising her kept echoing in her ears.

In her dazed state, Tang Ci was startled when someone suddenly called her name, and she immediately turned her head.

He Xiao, standing behind her with his assistant, asked, "Did you oversleep today?"

Tang Ci has always been a workaholic, arriving early and leaving late is the norm for her, so it's rare for her to arrive at the company so right on time like today.

She nodded: "I had a bit of insomnia last night."

He Xiao smiled meaningfully: "Young people still need to pay attention to rest."

Tang Ci nodded in agreement and waited for He Xiao and his assistant to enter the elevator before going in herself.

After arriving at the design department, Tang Ci greeted He Xiao and then got off the elevator.

The elevator doors slowly closed, and He Xiao let out a barely perceptible sneer: "This little Tang looks honest and upright, but he's actually quite shrewd behind the scenes."

The assistant recalled what she had just witnessed on the roadside—Tang Ci taking the initiative to kiss the indifferent man in the car. After a slight pause, she asked, "Is President Sheng really dating Tang Ci?"

"Adults just get what they need." He Xiao smiled. "If you really wanted to date Xiao Tang, why didn't you have President Sheng escort her downstairs?"

/

During a break from work in the morning, Tang Ci received a call from Xia Yi.

Due to the torrential rain, the villa's exterior walls were washed away by the flood, rendering it completely uninhabitable. Even if it were rebuilt, there was a risk of encountering the same extreme weather conditions as before. Therefore, Xia Yi had no choice but to cancel the contract with Tang Ci.

Xia Yi felt guilty about this and was also grateful for her life-saving grace, so she made an appointment to have dinner with her that evening.

After hanging up the phone, Tang Ci worked on the design drafts for a while longer before lunchtime. She and her colleagues went downstairs to a light meal shop.

Along the way, Xiao Jing chatted and gossiped with the others, and Tang Ci listened for a while before realizing what they were talking about.

The design project was affected by the divorce proceedings of a married couple in Group 3.

"This couple dated in college, and when they were preparing to get married after graduation, the woman's parents strongly opposed it, but in the end they couldn't resist their daughter's insistence and agreed to let her marry the man." After sitting down at the store, Xiao Jing explained the whole story to Tang Ci: "The woman's family is in business and has assets worth several small billion. It is said that the woman took over the family business as soon as she graduated, while the man is just a fine artist and his family can't provide any support. Even the wedding house was provided by the woman's family."

"The difference in social status is too great; they're not a good match. Sooner or later, they'll run into trouble," a colleague chimed in.

Xiao Jing agreed, pouting, "That's right. The reason things are so ugly now is because the woman has sacrificed so many years, she's tired, and she doesn't want to support her husband anymore."

As Tang Ci listened to her colleagues' lively discussion, the good mood she had built up from Sheng Yu that morning vanished. Thinking about the gap between her and Sheng Yu, she felt lost and even ate her meal more slowly than usual.

Fortunately, her busy work in the afternoon occupied her mind, leaving her no time to think about other things until she finally had some free time near the end of the workday.

Tang Ci had just gone to the tea room to get a cup of water when Sheng Yu called.

A few colleagues were chatting quietly in the break room. Even though they weren't looking at her, Tang Ci felt guilty and took her phone to the balcony before answering the call.

"What's wrong?" Tang Ci asked in a low voice, having just come out of the room.

"Is it illegal for your company to make phone calls?"

Tang Ci made an "uh" sound, cleared her throat, and raised her voice to say, "My colleagues are all busy."

"Want to come with me to dinner tonight?"

"I have an appointment with a client tonight."

Sheng Yu asked casually, "Who?"

Tang Ci pursed her lips: "Xia Yi, you met her in Xi Town last time."

"What time will it end?"

"I'm not sure yet." Tang Ci sensed that he wanted to pick her up and said gently, "I can go home by myself after I finish eating."

Tang Ci didn't know what she said that pleased him, but before hanging up the phone, Sheng Yu said in an upbeat tone, "I'll be waiting for you at home."

/

Xia Yi picked her up directly downstairs at Jian Chuan's company. Tang Ci got into the car and was taken to a Michelin-starred restaurant known for its high prices.

Knowing that this was Xia Yi's usual spending level, Tang Ci didn't say anything more and went upstairs with her in the elevator.

As the waiter led her to a booth, Tang Ci brushed past a woman coming out of the restroom. When she caught a glimpse of the woman's delicate profile, she paused in her tracks.

Xia Yi noticed that she was in a daze, glanced at the woman walking towards the VIP booth on the terrace, and her eyes widened instantly.

"Isn't that Qin Nong?"

Tang Ci's fingertips twitched: "Do you know him?"

“We attended a dinner together before, but we don’t really know each other.” Xia Yi shook her head and lowered her voice, saying, “Fengming Group belongs to her mother’s family.”

Who in China doesn't know Fengming Group? Tang Ci pursed her lips.

Xia Yi leaned closer to her ear and briefly mentioned the power and influence of Qin Nong's father's family while covering her mouth with her hand.

Before Tang Ci could process what was happening, her gaze fell upon the figure on the terrace, and her breath caught in her throat.

Xia Yi's reserved booth had a perfect view of the terrace, and at that moment she saw a man sitting in the quietest corner of the terrace.

Even from behind, Tang Ci recognized Sheng Yu at a glance.

At this moment, his dark gray suit jacket was draped over the back of the chair, and he was only wearing a crisp shirt. He was speaking to Qin Nong across from him with his shoulders slightly slumped and his posture relaxed.

Tang Ci only glanced at it for a few seconds before looking away, quietly eating with Xia Yi and chatting occasionally.

When they had almost finished eating, Tang Ci got up first and left with Xia Yi. For some reason, she subconsciously blocked the view from the terrace.

When I arrived at the front desk, the waiter handed me two beautifully decorated boxes: "Hello, these are complimentary candy gifts from our store."

Xia Yi reached out and took one of the servings, placing it in Tang Ci's hand: "The lemon flavor is delicious."

Tang Ci glanced at the label on the box, which said durian flavor, and asked the waiter, "Could you please change it to lemon flavor?"

The waiter said "Please wait a moment" and bent down to rummage through the cabinet.

As Tang Ci placed the durian-flavored candy on the counter, she noticed a figure behind her, turned her head to look, and immediately froze.

Sheng Yu and Qin Nong had also left their seats at some point and were walking towards them while talking.

Seeing that she was only three or four meters away from them, Tang Ci whispered to the waiter who was still rummaging through the items, "Thank you, I don't want it anymore." Then she turned and walked towards the door.

She was walking too fast and didn't see the tall, hot plant standing in front of the door. Her forehead went straight into the branch.

The next moment, a large palm suddenly appeared in front of her. Tang Ci bumped into it headfirst, and her feet wobbled. She was then supported by the owner of the palm and steadied.

Xia Yi was taken aback by the series of unexpected events before her. She looked at Sheng Yu, then at Qin Nong standing behind him, and asked, "Mr. Sheng, why are you with Miss Qin?"

Tang Ci twisted her fingers, feigning surprise on her face.

Sheng Yu sneered: "Don't pretend, you saw me a long time ago."

Tang Ci avoided his gaze and swallowed hard.

Qin Nong glanced at Sheng Yu with a teasing look, and was about to speak when the waiter interrupted their conversation with a complicated expression: "Madam, I'm sorry, we're out of lemon-flavored candy."

"It's okay." Tang Ci pointed to the open elevator doors and suggested softly with an embarrassed look, "Let's go downstairs first."

As the elevator hummed as it descended, an eerie silence fell over the car.

Qin Nong raised an eyebrow, breaking the silence: "Sheng Yu, aren't you going to introduce me?"

Tang Ci's heart skipped a beat. She was staring blankly at the floor when she felt a weight on her shoulder. Sheng Yu pulled her into his arms and gestured with his chin toward Qin Nong: "Qin Nong, a shareholder of Yunqi, is my partner."

After hearing his introduction, Tang Ci was completely stunned. She forgot to lift her foot when the elevator door opened and was pulled out by Sheng Yu.

Two men were waiting outside the elevator. One was Xia Yi's husband, and the other was someone Tang Ci didn't recognize. He only understood when he saw Qin Nong walk over and sweetly kiss him on the cheek.

After Xia Yi left, Qin Nong spoke a few more words about work with Sheng Yu. Before leaving, she whispered in Tang Ci's ear when Sheng Yu wasn't looking, "I've seen your photo on Sheng Yu's computer."

Sheng Yu paid no attention to the whispers Qin Nong was saying to her. As soon as Qin Nong's car left, she looked down at her and said, "Wait here for me."

"What are you going to do?" Tang Ci asked, looking up.

"Didn't you want lemon flavor?" Sheng Yu glanced at the convenience store next door: "I'll go buy it for you."

Tang Ci waited for five minutes before Sheng Yu came out of the convenience store carrying a heavy plastic bag.

Tang Ci thought that many square boxes could be vaguely seen inside the semi-transparent plastic bag, probably because Sheng Yu had bought all the lemon-flavored candies in the store.

After getting in the car, Sheng Yu placed the bag on her lap and said, "Pick a flavor."

Tang Ci, still bewildered, tore open the plastic bag and asked, "Didn't you say you wanted to buy lemon flavor—"

Upon seeing the various scented condoms in the plastic bag, she suddenly stopped. After a few seconds, blushing, she stammered, "Why, why did you buy these?"

Sheng Yu smiled and repeated her words: "What do you mean by 'do something'?"

Tang Ci stopped asking, her reddened fingertips curling slightly, and she didn't touch the plastic bag again.

"Xiao Ci is angry with me." Sheng Yu leaned closer, his fingertips gently touching her burning ear. "Shall I make amends tonight?"