Chapter 373 The protective and devoted woman VS The soft-hearted man who harbors a grudge 31

afternoon.

Jiang Zhiyi is checking the accounts in the store.

"Meow—" A kitten suddenly ran in, jumped onto the table with practiced ease, and its fluffy tail swept back and forth on her ledger.

"Why are you here again?" She reached out and picked up the kitten, then grabbed a ball of yarn to tease it.

Ever since I helped Ji Chen take care of his cat for a few days last time, this little guy has been coming here every few days, completely treating this place as his second home.

And each time it comes, its owner will come over shortly after.

Jiang Zhiyi glanced at the doorway.

Sure enough, a familiar figure was slowly walking this way.

After the others entered.

"Are you abusing it? It comes here every day now, it's practically becoming my cat."

Ji Chen sat down next to her, raised an eyebrow, and said, "It likes you... If you'd like to keep it, I can give it to you."

Jiang Zhiyi shook her head, "Forget it, it's not really convenient for me to keep it here. It's fine to play with it occasionally."

“It likes to play with you.” Ji Chen also reached out and teased the kitten.

Afterwards, the two sat there and chatted for a while.

Ji Chen knows a lot, and when he talks about it, it's as exciting as telling a story. It's very interesting to chat with him.

He casually lit a cigarette.

"Your cigarettes are quite unique," Jiang Zhiyi remarked casually.

This was different from what ordinary people smoked; she had never seen it before, and the smell of the smoke was also somewhat peculiar.

"I added something to calm the nerves." Ji Chen held a cigarette in one hand, the cigarette butt rolling gently on the edge of the ashtray, the ash falling in.

Seeing that she kept staring, he simply handed her the cigarette in his hand. "So curious? Do you know how to smoke? Want to try?"

Jiang Zhiyi remained silent for the time being.

This is a cigarette he smoked; how could she possibly touch it again? That would be tantamount to…

The two are not that close yet.

His intentions are becoming increasingly clear, and sometimes he's even unwilling to hide them anymore.

"No, I don't smoke," she refused, moving further away from him.

Ji Chen noticed her attempts to avoid suspicion, chuckled softly, and quickly withdrew his hand. He didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with his actions and smoothly changed the subject, saying, "I saw those black pine trees in the yard earlier..."

...

Around 5 p.m., Fu Chengyan called and said he would pick her up in his car later so they could have dinner together.

When he arrived, he didn't get out of the car; he just waited for her inside.

Jiang Zhiyi got into the car carrying her bag.

He didn't rush to start the car and leave; upon seeing her, he couldn't resist wanting to hug her.

Jiang Zhiyi let him hold her and asked, "Do you have another social engagement tonight?"

"Okay, I'm leaving after dinner. I'll take you home first... When are you coming back to stay? It's been so many days already."

He kissed her cheek, then hugged her tighter and smelled her scent.

Jiang Zhiyi counted the days and realized she had been staying at home for almost half a month. Actually, there wasn't much to do at home these past few days, but she just didn't want to go back yet, so she kept putting it off.

Now that he's come to ask, she naturally can't stay any longer, so she said, "Today is fine. I'm already done with work. You can take me to your place after dinner."

"Why do you smell like smoke?" He frowned.

Jiang Zhiyi lowered her head and smelled her clothes; there was indeed a faint smell of smoke.

Thinking about what happened today, she didn't tell the truth and made an excuse: "...It must have gotten in the store. Several employees like to smoke, and it might have gotten on my clothes. I'll take a shower and change my clothes when I get back."

Fu Chengyan remained silent for the time being.

He discovered something else and reached into her coat pocket to take out a pack of cigarettes.

The white cigarette box had no extra patterns or designs, only a few simple words printed on it.

These are clearly cigarettes specially supplied for special purposes.

Her employees don't get to receive such things.

She was lying to him.

Fu Chengyan squinted at her and asked, "Whose?"

Jiang Zhiyi frowned subconsciously; she had no idea how this thing ended up in her pocket.

These are clearly Ji Chen's cigarettes.

What's going on?

She felt inexplicably flustered and didn't know how to answer for a moment.

She didn't want to tell the truth, but this cigarette was unusual, and he could definitely tell it wasn't something ordinary.

Fu Chengyan looked down at her reaction for a long time, and the smile on his lips gradually disappeared.

He touched her face and slowly asked again, "Baby, whose is it?"