Chapter 37 "Be good, stay up there and don't move..."

When Ying Shixue saw the message about the impromptu meeting, it was already 8:45.

He had just come out of the bathroom, wearing only a bathrobe. He was leaning over, one hand holding the mouse, navigating the computer on his desk to the meeting, while the other hand held a towel, drying his still-dripping hair.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. The software had just been opened and the meeting password was being entered. Ying Shixue didn't have time to turn around before saying, "Come in."

The door clicked open, and he breathed a slight sigh of relief once he was sure he had entered the meeting room. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that the table, which had been empty just moments before, now had a glass of milk placed on it.

He turned around and met Song Mingli's deep, unfathomable eyes.

Ying Shixue was startled and reflexively straightened up, adjusting the oversized collar of her bathrobe.

Song Mingli casually looked away out of politeness, but the scene he had seen when he pushed the door open just now kept replaying in his mind.

Ying Shixue's bathrobe only covered her knees, revealing her straight and slender calves. When she bent over to move the mouse, her waist naturally slumped, making her legs appear even longer.

He took a deep breath to regulate his breathing, and Ying Shixue had already taken this opportunity to rearrange her bathrobe.

Song Mingli pointed to the cup of hot milk and casually said, "Aunt He said you didn't look too well when you woke up this morning, so she asked me to bring you a cup of milk to help you sleep before bed."

If Aunt He heard this, she would probably feel wronged to death. Even if she felt sorry for Young Master Xue, she wouldn't dare to actually order the eldest young master to deliver the things.

Ying Shixue nodded, it was hard to tell whether she believed it or not. Her freshly washed hair was jet black, and her face was pale with a thin layer of powder that hadn't faded from the steam. Even through the air, you could feel the soft, warm touch of her skin.

Song Mingli subtly twirled his fingers together, then released them with a hint of regret: "Want me to help you blow-dry your hair?"

Ying Shixue shook her head and said, "I need to change my clothes."

This is a disguised way of kicking him out.

Song Mingli remained noncommittal: "Call me if you need anything."

His gaze lingered on Ying Shixue for a moment before he turned and left.

However, after leaving for only two or three minutes, they suddenly heard a heavy thud as something hit the ground.

Song Mingli's brow twitched, and the next second he rushed out the door and knocked on the door of the person wiping snow: "What's wrong?"

Their rooms face each other, so they can sense any movement immediately and rush to the scene.

Two seconds later, there was still no response from inside the room. Song Mingli reached for the doorknob to open it when a sharp voice suddenly came from inside: "Don't come in!"

A few seconds later, another voice came from inside the room, but this time it was much softer: "I'm fine."

Inside the room

Ying Shixue fell to the ground, the chair overturned, and the slippers that should have been on his feet slipped down to his calves, while he hadn't even had time to put on his pants.

How embarrassing...

Even though no one saw it, Ying Shixue still felt her face flush.

Time was of the essence. After Song Mingli left, there were less than ten minutes left before the meeting was to begin. He quickly dried his hair and went to the closet to get his clothes. After putting on his shirt, he suddenly remembered that he had left it in the bathroom. Just as he was about to go get it, he found the bathroom slippery and he was walking fast. He slipped and fell straight down, which also caused him to fall over his chair.

Ying Shixue pursed her lips, leaned against the wall to stand up from the ground, grabbed a towel and haphazardly wiped the water stains off her legs. She first fastened her shirt clip, then walked to the bedside with a somewhat awkward posture and began to put on her trousers.

She probably bumped her knee accidentally, but it wasn't a serious bump. Ying Shixue glanced at the time again, and Song Mingli, who had been waiting outside the door for almost a minute, couldn't wait any longer. Apart from the initial thud and the words "Don't come in, I'm fine," he hadn't heard anything else.

Xiaoxue was always good at pretending to be strong, but who knew if she was really alright or just pretending? Song Mingli announced one last time, "I'm coming in," and pushed the door open, just in time to witness this scene.

Under the warm yellow light of the bedroom, Ying Shixue stood by the bed. One leg was already covered by black suit trousers, while the other leg was still bare. It was snow-white, slender, and well-proportioned, with a hint of red at the knee. Above that was the only fleshy part of her thigh. Song Mingli's breath hitched.

The black shirt was wrapped around the legs, pressing them tightly to secure the upper body. The thighs, which were never exposed to the sun, were unusually white, with a little soft flesh spilling out from under the tight shirt. The extreme collision of black and white brought an unparalleled and tremendous impact to the retina.

A tingling pleasure and an indescribable, terrifying desire shot into Song Mingli's brain like lightning from every nerve ending. His breathing became heavier, which was very noticeable in the terrifying silence. The next second, a soft pillow was thrown at his head.

Ying Shixue quickly dressed within that short timeframe. In the darkness, Song Mingli only heard the sizzling sound of the belt sliding across his waistband. When his vision cleared again, Ying Shixue was already impeccably dressed, her shirt and trousers displaying restraint and asceticism.

Song Mingli asked casually, "Did you fall just now?"

Ying Shixue replied indifferently, "I slipped accidentally, it's nothing."

Song Mingli frowned, his attention diverted to the rest of the body: "Where did you fall? Let me see."

The table was very close to the bed. Ying Shixue quickly took a few steps and glanced at the clock in the lower right corner of the computer: "The meeting should start."

Song Mingli's expression was somewhat serious, and he walked towards him as if he were ignoring him.

An inexplicable anger surged through Ying Shixue's heart, and he forcefully shoved Song Mingli away, saying, "I told you I'm fine!"

As Song Mingli stood still, Ying Shixue's elbow inadvertently pressed against the mouse button on the desktop when the reaction force rebounded, causing the video to suddenly bounce away.

At the same time, Zou Xinlei was looking at the video on her computer. In the frame that showed Ying Shixue, Ying Mi was leaning against the table with her back to the screen. Her waist, which was tucked into her shirt, had a beautiful and slender figure.

In front of him stood a tall man. Although his face was not visible, his black shirt made his shoulders and back appear even broader, and the hand in the video showed long, slender knuckles and strong veins.

Ying Shixue turned off the video in an instant, her jawline rising and falling slightly due to the intense emotional fluctuations. She turned her face away as if unwilling to look any longer, even closing her eyelashes in refusal.

Song Mingli looked at him for a long time before finally turning around, leaving the room.

The door closed again, and Ying Shixue slowly opened her eyes, but her eyelashes remained lowered, obscuring all the expression in her eyes.

—

Xiao Ying has a boyfriend?

Zou Xinlei was still in a daze when Ying Shixue's screen lit up again a few minutes later. However, the reappearing Ying Shixue was completely different from before. She was dressed neatly and meticulously, with her usual aloof demeanor.

Before she could think much about it, the boss's camera turned on, and when Song Mingli's serious and imposing face appeared, Zou Xinlei was startled, and half of her thoughts vanished.

It's strange, though. The boss usually has a cold expression, so why does he look especially dark-skinned today?

SK pursues efficiency and rigor, and this was reflected in the meetings as well. Everyone listened attentively, typing away furiously on their keyboards. When it came to the proposal stage, everyone had to share their thoughts.

One by one, they turned on their microphones, which was a very tense moment. After the previous few finished speaking, it was Ying Shixue's turn.

Ying Shixue pulled out a document: "Based on the data report compiled last quarter..."

His voice was like pearls colliding, calm and clear. Zou Xinlei couldn't help but smile, and her eyes revealed her satisfaction. Listening to Secretary Ying speak was a real pleasure. There was no unnecessary formalism, and the key points were highlighted and made concise.

Zou Xinlei secretly glanced at the boss's video and snorted to herself. Sure enough, even if the boss didn't like Ying Mi, he would still make a choice in the face of her outstanding professional skills.

A rare moment of discussion broke the silence of the otherwise quiet meeting. Someone spoke to him briefly on the microphone before turning to Song Mingli for his opinion: "President Song, what do you think…?"

In the video, Song Mingli listened, but his tone remained indifferent, and he did not express much emotion.

During the five-minute break in the meeting, Ying Shixue turned off the video, looked in the direction opposite the room, and curled her fingers.

I…

In the end, she didn't say it out loud. The meeting started again, and Ying Shixue continued the report she hadn't finished.

While waiting for the other side to communicate with him through the microphone, he pursed his lips, shifted his attention, and thought of a specific detail of data that had just been mentioned. He got up and reached for the folder on the stand.

As fate would have it, he was distracted by other things, and the milk bottle was placed near the edge of the table. Unexpectedly, the folder brushed against it, and suddenly the entire milk bottle tilted to one side.

Ying Shixue raised her hand to help, but it was too late. With a crash, the liquid and glass shattered all over the floor.

Because of his speech, the video of him, which was in the center of the big screen, was almost knocked over in an instant. Everyone noticed it and was shocked. Some even exclaimed in surprise.

Before anyone could react, another strange thing happened: the boss's video suddenly disappeared.

What happened? Everyone stared blankly at the sudden turn of events.

A few seconds later, the doorknob behind Ying Shixue turned, and a tall, handsome man pushed the door open and entered. He walked around the mess on the floor, picked up the person who was still standing by the broken glass, and placed her on the table.

"Be good, stay up there and don't move."

It was as if he were handling a delicate and fragile piece of porcelain. Song Mingli ignored the spilled porcelain and gently rubbed the soft back of the person's head to comfort them: "It's okay, don't be afraid."

"I'll handle it."

The man who was once stern and unyielding, always cold and ruthless, was now speaking with such tenderness and affection, leaving everyone stunned.

What was even more surprising was that Song Mingli took off his coat and covered the person with it. After leaving briefly, he returned with cleaning tools in his hands.

Then, little by little, I collected the broken glass shards, cleaned up the milk, poured it into the trash can, and carefully checked it again. Still feeling it wasn't thorough enough, I wanted to check for any glass shards that I might have accidentally missed.

The company's small group chat was in an uproar, filled with a string of question marks, exclamation marks, and greetings.

[What the heck is going on? What's happening?! What's going on here?!]

[What's going on? What's going on? Why is the boss suddenly at Ying Mi's house??]

[Wait a minute, didn't the boss just reprimand Ying Mi? This doesn't seem like he dislikes her at all.]

[Wait, boss, you just walked in like that?! You just barged into someone's house like that?! Is Secretary Ying some kind of child who gets scared even if a bottle is broken?!]

[This is terrifying to think about!!]

[A quick thought in response to the comment above is also alarming!]

[It's not just your opinion on Ying Mi's expression...]

Inside the room, Ying Shixue was covered by a suit jacket that was significantly larger than his, her small face as white as snow.

I don't even need to look to know what the company group chat looks like, or how I'll be questioned when I get to the office tomorrow.

He lowered his eyelashes to stop thinking about it, but Song Mingli gave the screen a cold, warning look.

There was a moment of silence in the company group chat, and the next second the video and microphone were cut off.

Song Mingli put the tools aside, mindful that his hands were dirty from not washing them, and didn't touch him for the time being.

"There might be shards of glass flying out here, and you might accidentally cut yourself. How about you sleep at my place tonight?"

Ying Shixue then looked up at him, her eyes slightly red.