Chapter 43 I'll indulge your arrogance and wait for me tonight.
Hsieh Ching-Tzu made two decisions.
First, I will never again act on impulse and come to Hong Kong Island to see him.
Second, never chat with him again afterward.
However, she was unusually able to sleep well that night despite being in a new environment. She slept soundly until she woke up naturally, and when she opened her eyes and turned over, the seat next to her was empty.
She blinked a couple of times, still half-asleep, and touched the sheets beside her. The warmth had already dissipated; Liang Jingzhuo had been gone for quite some time.
I slept so soundly that I didn't even dream. When I woke up, it felt like I had suddenly emerged from a blank void, and I was still a little disoriented.
I got out of bed and sat on the edge of the bed for a while before slowly picking up my phone from the bedside table.
The screen lit up, and the bright numbers "10:40" instantly shattered any thoughts of lying down for another half hour.
Why is it so late?!
Reaching out, I pressed the control switch by the bedside, and the curtains began to slowly unfold.
Hong Kong Island has a beautiful day today, with dazzling sunlight streaming in without reservation as the curtains are drawn back.
Her vision was momentarily unable to adjust to the bright light, so she raised her hand to shield her eyes, turned her back, and got out of bed.
After washing up, she walked out of the bedroom. The housekeeper, who was busy in the kitchen, peeked out from the door and greeted her with a smile, "Good morning, Madam."
Xie Qingci paused for a moment.
The other person smiled broadly and continued, "Mr. Liang has gone to work. I'll cook for you. You can just call me Aunt Li."
Liang Jingzhuo rarely eats alone at home. Aunt Li was a housekeeper that Ms. Zhuang insisted on hiring for him, saying that he should eat properly no matter how busy he was. However, since he was hired, he has only eaten at home a handful of times, and Aunt Li doesn't come often either.
This morning, naturally awakened by his biological clock, the first thought that popped into his mind was—to skip work.
The person in his arms was still sleeping soundly, and even the bed, which he usually didn't like, seemed to become more attractive.
In the end, she had to carefully remove her arm, get up and leave. Then she had a second thought: to call her aunt to come and cook for her.
He didn't notice it at first last night, until she pinched his mouth shut, preventing him from speaking, and then he saw a clear red mark on the back of her hand.
Frowning, I asked her what happened. She withdrew her hand and replied nonchalantly, "I accidentally got burned by the steam when I lifted the pot lid."
The mark wasn't large, and it was treated promptly. There was no deep burn, and it would heal quickly. However, Liang Jingzhuo immediately got out of bed and went out to buy her burn ointment.
Worried about disturbing her rest when he left, he only sent her a message to tell her that he had called his nanny over and reminded her to apply burn ointment three times a day and not to forget.
She came over and prepared dinner for him, which made him very happy. However, he was injured as a result, and he felt guilty, reflecting that he hadn't managed his work schedule well enough to make time for Jingzhao. Otherwise, she wouldn't have had to travel all that way to come.
Xie Qingci greeted Aunt Li, returned to her room, picked up her phone, and saw the message Liang Jingzhuo had sent her before leaving home that morning.
The email was four hours old.
Her gaze fell on the message reminding her to apply burn ointment. She glanced at the burn on the back of her hand that she had accidentally burned while cooking last night; the mark was no longer visible.
Reply to him: 【It's all better now.】
After a pause, she asked him again, "Are you coming back for lunch?"
Aunt Li just said she didn't see him when she came over, and she doesn't know if he'll be back for lunch.
A moment later, I received a reply: "Uncertain, most likely I won't be going back."
Xie Qingci assumed he wasn't coming back and replied, "Okay." She put down her phone and went to the dressing room to change.
Colleagues in the group's president's office noticed that their usually serious and proper boss looked radiant today, even though he was always full of energy.
While they were busy with their work, the group took a break to chat and gossip, pulling Lu Li aside as he came out of the boss's office to ask, "Assistant Lu, didn't you notice that the boss is a little different today?"
Lu Li held the document in his hand, looking bewildered. "What's different?"
After a moment of struggling to find the right words, the group said, "It's just—exceptionally, refreshingly clear-headed, from the inside out."
Lu Li still didn't understand, "Isn't the boss like this every day?"
At work, whether in public or private, I always maintain the best mental state, looking refreshed and standing tall and straight.
Several people clicked their tongues. "The key word in that sentence is 'abnormal'! It doesn't reflect the boss's image."
Upon hearing this, Lu Li paused for a moment, then turned around and glanced at Liang Jingzhuo, who was reviewing documents with his head down in the office behind him.
His hair was neatly styled, and his well-fitting suit, from the cufflinks to the tie and watch, exuded the same rigorous and elegant demeanor as always.
He frowned and thought for a while, still puzzled, "I didn't find it."
As soon as he finished speaking, he received a lot of eye rolls from the people in front of him. He crossed his index fingers in front of him to make an X and said to him, "OK, you're busy."
After saying that, the group retreated back to their workstations, typed away at their computers for a while, and whispered among themselves, saying, "If you didn't know better, you'd think the young boss's wife had come over."
All Liang's employees know that their boss's wife is a younger sister who is still in college, and her looks and family background are not to be underestimated.
Lu Li was about to leave when he heard this and paused. He turned around, the wrinkles between his brows slowly smoothing out, as if he suddenly understood something. He straightened his back, coughed lightly, and continued walking away.
Xie Qingci woke up late, and Aunt Li stewed some bird's nest porridge for her. After eating, she wasn't in a hurry to have lunch. She decided to carry out the plan she had made last night to clean the windows.
Lunch was almost ready; all that was left was to cook it whenever Xie Qingci got hungry. Aunt Li came out of the kitchen and saw Xie Qingci busy at the window. She quickly went over to take the dishcloth from Xie Qingci's hand, saying, "I can do it. Please sit down and rest for a while."
Remembering why she was cleaning the windows, Xie Qingci's ears burned, and she smiled and declined, "No need, I've been lying down for too long and I'm feeling a bit uncomfortable. I'll move around a bit."
Seeing that she said that, Aunt Li stopped insisting and withdrew her hand, saying, "Then if you're tired, just leave it there, and I'll wipe it later."
Xie Qingci smiled and replied, "Okay."
Just before the end of the workday, Lu Li knocked on Liang Jingzhuo's office door to ask if he was still having lunch with the project team.
In the past few days, Liang Jingzhuo has been eating with the project team almost every day. The Liang family has always provided good benefits to its employees. Meals, afternoon tea, and even snacks, coffee, and milk tea in the tea room are all of a high standard. There is nothing wrong with the boss eating with them.
Three gentle knocks were made on the door when a crisp "Come in" came from inside.
Unlike his usual slow and subdued demeanor at work, Lu Li paused for a moment before pushing open the door and walking in.
Just as I was about to ask about lunch, I saw Liang Jingzhuo stand up from behind his desk, pick up his suit jacket from the hanger, and drape it over his arm.
He hesitated for a moment, then changed his tone: "Are you going out?"
Liang Jingzhuo picked up his car keys, glanced at his watch, and said, "Yeah, I'll be back before lunch break ends."
He has to attend a project meeting for "Nightmare" this afternoon.
Lu Li replied, "Okay, where are you going? I'll take you."
He turned to leave the office and refused, saying, "No need, I'm going home. You go eat."
After saying that, he strode out of the office.
As Lu Li watched his boss's figure disappear through the door, he suddenly seemed to understand the meaning behind the "abnormality" his colleagues in the president's office had mentioned.
-
As lunchtime approached, Aunt Li asked Xie Qingci if she was hungry and if she wanted to eat.
Xie Qingci wasn't actually very hungry, but she couldn't keep Aunt Li waiting for her, so she replied, "Okay."
No sooner had he finished speaking than the sound of a lock being opened came from the front door, and the next second, Liang Jingzhuo stepped in from outside.
After changing her shoes on the doormat, she came in. "Haven't eaten yet?"
Didn't you say you weren't coming back?
Xie Qingci replied, "Not yet, I'm just getting ready. Have you eaten yet?"
He replied, "No."
Hearing the noise, Aunt Li came out of the kitchen and greeted her with a smile, "You're back! I'll add two more dishes."
After saying that, he went back into the kitchen to continue his work.
Hsieh Ching-Tzu was sitting on the sofa, watching a movie.
Although Liang Jingzhuo doesn't live in the house much, it's still fully equipped. Apart from the empty refrigerator that doesn't feel very homey, everything else is fine.
The living room had a neatly laid white marble floor, and a wool cushion was placed in front of the sofa. Xie Qingci, wearing socks, stepped on it. She didn't think much of it at first, but suddenly her presence made her realize something was amiss.
The floor mat was a bit slippery, and she couldn't stand on it several times last night, eventually having to kneel back down on the sofa.
Now it wasn't just the floor mats that felt hot; even the sofa I was sitting on seemed to be burning hot, making it hard to sit still.
Aunt Li went into the kitchen and closed the door, shutting out all the noise. The only sound around her was the dialogue playing from the speakers.
Liang Jingzhuo put down his coat, walked over and sat down next to her, sinking into the soft cushion.
"What are you looking at?" he asked.
The scrolling images were still movies he hadn't seen before.
Hsieh Ching-Tzu turned her attention to the projection screen and replied, "Flipped."
It's also a classic coming-of-age film, depicting very pure young love.
Liang Jingzhuo hadn't seen it. "What's it about?"
The film unfolds from two perspectives, starting with the female lead falling in love with the male lead and pursuing him passionately and bravely. However, the male lead is oblivious and avoids her, but eventually, through growth and conflict, he realizes that he also falls in love with her.
But Xie Qingci felt that Liang Jingzhuo was unlikely to be interested, so there was no need to explain so much. Therefore, she simply said, "It's a coming-of-age romance film about love in youth."
After saying that, he felt it wasn't accurate enough, so he added, "Very innocent and brave."
After speaking, he noticed that the person next to him had turned to look at him, with a calm expression but a somewhat ambiguous look in their eyes.
She turned her head a beat late, looked at him, met his gaze, and asked, "What's wrong?"
She seems to have said there's no problem, right?
"Love in your youth." Liang Jingzhuo looked at him, his lips moved slightly, and his brows furrowed slightly. "Do you yearn for it?"
?
What?
When did it become something she longed for?
Xie Qingci blinked, recalling her last comment, "No, what I meant was that the relationship between the male and female protagonists was very pure and brave."
After saying that, as if he understood why he asked that question, he continued, "I didn't mean you're old, you're very young."
You wouldn't guess she's so sensitive.
Liang Jingzhuo was silent for a moment, then said, "...Thank you."
She smiled and said, "You're welcome."
-
Because Liang Jingzhuo came back unexpectedly, Aunt Li added a few more dishes. After the meal, Aunt Li left work temporarily, saying she would come back before dinner.
After seeing Aunt Li off, Xie Qingci sat back on the sofa. Aunt Wen sent her a video of Xiao Ju and the three little ones.
The three oranges and one flower were climbing up and down in the yard, having a great time. She smiled, counted the days, and realized that she could take them to the vet for spaying/neutering when she got back.
Liang Jingzhuo came out of the bedroom, already changed into his pajamas, and called her name: "Xie Qingci".
"Hmm?" she responded, looked up, and paused when she saw his pajamas. "Are you taking a nap?"
He nodded. "Yeah, didn't you just say you didn't get enough rest?"
During the meal, she only mentioned that she had overslept that morning. When did she say she was tired?
She pursed her lips and ultimately decided not to argue with him. Remembering that he had indeed been very busy lately and probably hadn't been getting enough rest, she figured that her walking around the house might disturb him. So she picked up the remote and turned off the projector. "I'm not sleepy. You can rest. I won't bother you."
The person standing by the bedroom door didn't move, still looking at her. "Aren't you going to sleep with me?"
It was a question, but Xie Qingci didn't detect the uncertainty in it. She blinked twice and understood what he meant.
Her feet, encased in slippers, curled up with her toes for a moment, paused for two seconds, then she used the sofa beside her to support herself as she stood up and replied, "Okay."
What's wrong with taking a nap? There's nothing wrong with that.
The main problem is that he probably can't do anything during his short lunch break.
She went to the walk-in closet in the bedroom, changed into her pajamas, and when she went back into the bedroom, Liang Jingzhuo was already sitting on the bed, looking at work documents on his tablet. When he saw her come out, he looked up at her, turned off the screen, and put the tablet back on the bedside table.
Then, without saying a word, he looked over.
Xie Qingci hesitated for a moment, walked to the bedside, lay down on her side, and was just about to say that she could close the curtains when her phone suddenly vibrated.
She stopped talking, got up, picked up her phone, and glanced at it. It was a message from Aunt Wen.
She had just told Aunt Wen that she would take Xiao Ju and the three kittens to get spayed/neutered when she got back. Aunt Wen asked her if there were any pre-operative precautions.
She had taken a few of her pets to the vet for checkups when she brought them back to Jingzhao, but she wasn't familiar with the process.
Exit the chat with Aunt Wen, search for the veterinarian's WeChat account that I added earlier, and ask about the relevant details.
The other party replied quickly and sent a list of precautions shortly afterward.
Xie Qingci politely thanked her, feeling it was inconvenient to bother her outside of work hours.
Then, the instructions were forwarded to Aunt Wen. At the same time, Aunt Wen sent a photo of the four kittens sleeping on the cat tree, with the caption: "Sleeping! So cozy!"
She smiled, opened the photo, intending to show it to Liang Jingzhuo as well. She turned around and handed him the phone, saying, "Look."
Apart from the photos Xie Qingci sent him last time, Liang Jingzhuo hadn't seen the four little creatures again. He glanced at the screen and thought, "They've grown up."
They've grown a lot bigger than in the last photo I saw them in, and they're much fatter than when I saw them in Shanghai. Xie Qingci is taking very good care of them.
Xie Qingci laughed upon hearing this, swiping through the photos, intending to show him the video Aunt Wen had just sent her. "Yes, she's gained a lot of weight too."
Liang Jingzhuo also saw the pre-operative precautions sheet for the sterilization surgery. "You're going to sterilize them?"
Xie Qingci nodded, "Yes, Little Orange and the three little orange kittens are all female kittens, and the little calico kitten is a male kitten."
Since they are small animals, they have no mental taboos, and she worries that they will have kittens again when they grow up.
Liang Jingzhuo was silent for a moment, then said, "Do you mean you're depriving them of their reproductive freedom?"
Xie Qingci glanced at him and said, "The chances of getting sick are also higher if you don't get sterilized."
Liang Jingzhuo paused for a moment, "Do you need a male kitten too?"
"Of course! The surgery for male kittens is simpler."
In comparison, there are more precautions and issues to be aware of when operating on female kittens.
After replying, Liang Jingzhuo remained silent.
But Xie Qing understood what he wanted to say from the look in his eyes.
He immediately said, "You are not allowed to speak."
He pursed his lips and didn't say anything more.
At the same time, Xie Qingci received a reply to her thank-you message to the veterinarian, a very polite one: "[It's my pleasure to serve such a beautiful lady.]"
This question also caught Liang Jingzhuo's eye. His gaze lingered on it briefly before he looked over. "A male doctor?"
The tone is even.
Xie Qingci nodded, "Yes."
He remained calm and said, "A bit frivolous."
Xie Qingci paused slightly, then explained, "Actually, it's just polite social interaction."
Using such a lighthearted and joking tone in social situations can reduce the other person's apology and liven up the relationship and atmosphere.
As soon as he finished speaking, the man in front of him frowned slightly. "But I don't talk to women like that in social situations."
"..." Xie Qingci remained silent. "Okay."
Liang Jingzhuo stopped talking, glanced at her, pressed the curtain switch, and lay down beside her.
The familiar scent enveloped her once more, and then she answered his call, asking, "When are you going back to Jingzhao?"
Xie Qingci replied, "Tomorrow."
The class schedule was adjusted for the second semester, and she has no classes on Mondays, so she booked a flight back for tomorrow afternoon.
"I send you."
Although she knew he was very busy and probably wouldn't be able to find the time to take her to the airport, she still nodded and said okay.
-
Liang Jingzhuo was late for the afternoon meeting.
The project team members in the conference room looked at each other and waited for twenty minutes before he finally appeared.
I was shocked, yet also intrigued.
How could a boss who's always been so efficient be late?!
It wasn't until Liang Jingzhuo sat down at the conference table and said, "Excuse me, let's begin," that everyone snapped out of their surprise.
However, Liang Jingzhuo was not very focused during the meeting, as he kept catching a peculiar fragrance wafting from his neck to his nostrils.
He had just woken up from his afternoon nap, and Xie Qingci was still asleep. He wanted to leave quietly, but she was still half asleep and rubbed her head against his chest.
So he couldn't resist, cupped her face, and kissed her awake.
In the dimly lit room, the sensations were amplified, and an unusual restlessness spread endlessly. But no, there wasn't enough time. In the end, she could only cruelly leave the person whose face she had kissed until it was flushed red, change her clothes, and go out.
Even so, he was still twenty minutes late.
After Liang Jingzhuo left, Xie Qingci remained buried in the quilt for a long time, her cheeks and neck flushed. She admitted that they were very compatible in some ways, and a long kiss could arouse endless excitement.
She only peeked out when the oxygen in the blanket ran out and she could barely breathe.
I touched my burning cheeks, preparing to get up and wash my face with cold water, when my phone notified me of an incoming message.
She sat on the edge of the bed, picked it up, and glanced at it.
The email notification indicates it was sent by Liang Jingzhuo.
In short: I'll be home around 10:30 PM.
Then, the next message popped up in my eyes: "Wait for me."
-----------------------
Author's note: I'm out for dinner today, so I'll update a little earlier.
If I get back early, I'll update more; if I'm late, see you tomorrow! [kiss]
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