Shen Liao paused in his actions, then frowned at Jiang Lai, feeling an inexplicable wave of tenderness in his heart.
But he quickly snapped back to reality, his expression darkening.
"Don’t be ridiculous."
After saying this, the man walked into the bathroom, and after finishing his shower, he walked out and saw Jiang Lai burying herself under the covers, refusing to show her face. He sighed in frustration, feeling increasingly displeased, thinking this woman was becoming more disobedient. He had already spent two consecutive nights here, yet she still audaciously made demands.
He looked away, got dressed, and directly headed to the office.
For the next week, Shen Liao did not come back.
Jiang Lai didn’t seek him out. She stayed alone in the room, drawing day and night for a whole week, the waste paper piling up like a small mountain in the basket.
Finally, when she finished, Jiang Lai wrote a letter "J" on the drawing, then compressed and sent it directly to the Light Sensing Game’s email.
Stretching her body, she took a breath of fresh air. Just as she was about to lie back down for a rest, she received a call from her original mother’s number.
Ever since being with Shen Liao, Jiang Lai hadn’t returned to her hometown. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to, but she was afraid that if she went back, Shen Liao might find another woman. Although Shen Liao seeing someone else had nothing to do with her going home, the original owner’s thinking was peculiar, as if as long as she guarded this villa, she would be Shen Liao’s only legitimate girlfriend.
"Lai Lai, your dad caught a lot of catfish recently, really fresh. Do you have time to come back? Mom will make soup for you."
"Sure."
Jiang Lai agreed straightforwardly.
Since she was idle anyway, why not go back and have a look?
The journey home was long. After a two-hour high-speed train ride, there was still an hour-long bus ride home.
After all, it was just a small county town. While transportation was inconvenient, the pace of life was much slower.
Her original dad would go fishing whenever he had free time because Jiang Lai liked eating fish. In her absence, Mrs. Jiang would marinate the fish, waiting for Jiang Lai to come back and eat.
This time when Jiang Lai returned, both of her parents were very happy, but also quite worried.
"Lai Lai, are you seeing someone?"
The daughter was different from before, which the mother could sense.
Jiang Lai nodded.
"Mm, I started seeing him after graduation."
"Where is he from? How old is he? What does he do?"
"He’s from Jiang City, twenty-eight years old, started his own company, and is his own boss."
The parents nodded. Young and promising, and a young owner; it sounded like good conditions.
"Why didn’t he come back with you then?"
"He’s busy."
"What kind of boss is too busy to even accompany you for a visit home?"
Mr. Jiang wasn’t easy-going, frowning in disapproval.
Jiang Lai smiled quietly, eating her meal, occasionally responding to them, experiencing firsthand what parental love meant.
Life at home was much better than in Jiang City. Waking up to home-cooked meals, spending days following Mrs. Jiang to sell fruits at the store, and afternoons going fishing with Mr. Jiang by the river, then taking walks with the family in the square after dinner, life was easy and carefree.
While Jiang Lai was happily immersed in her life here, a hundred miles away in Jiang City, Shen Liao had already arrived at the villa door.
"Jiang Lai, Shen Liao is already at the doorstep."
Little Buding spoke up to remind her.
Jiang Lai’s days had been so relaxed that she almost forgot about the old mastermind, Shen Liao.
At this moment, in the living room.
"Sir, Miss Jiang has gone home; she’s been gone for three or four days now."
The man sat tensely on the sofa, a somber aura surrounding him. His assistant, holding a suitcase beside him, was somewhat at a loss, not understanding why the boss had rushed here straight from the airport after his business trip, now looking as if someone owed him money.
The surroundings were silent, and no one dared to breathe loudly.
Suddenly, Shen Liao’s phone vibrated lightly. He glanced down, his eyes first flashing with discontent and anger. However, as he read the message on his phone, his furrowed brows relaxed slightly.
On the phone was a picture sent by Jiang Lai.
The woman in the photo was holding a watch, taking a selfie. The background was a pink and white wall, with photos from her school days hanging on it.
[Saw this watch while shopping, thought it would suit you.]
[I’m at home now, just over a hundred kilometers from where you were on your business trip.]
Indeed, the city where he had his business trip was quite close to Jiang Lai’s hometown.
So she went home to be closer to him?
Thinking of this, Shen Liao’s expression improved significantly.
[My business trip is over.]
[Ah, you’re back?]
The other party sent a pitiful-looking emoji.
Shen Liao didn’t reply because Jiang Lai mentioned she’d be back today.
At night, Jiang Lai returned to the villa, presenting the watch to Shen Liao like a treasure.
"Here, let me put it on you."
The man remained still, so Jiang Lai held his hand and put it on him.
This was a relatively affordable luxury men’s watch brand, costing about thirty to forty thousand, mere change compared to what Shen Liao was accustomed to wearing.
"Do you like it?"
Jiang Lai gazed at him, eyes filled with anticipation, dazzlingly bright and sincere, lacking seductiveness yet full of genuine purity, which left Shen Liao momentarily entranced.
He pursed his lips without speaking, his other hand directly clasping the back of Jiang Lai’s head.
"Mmm..."
Jiang Lai bit him.
The man frowned and wiped his lips, feeling a burning pain.
"Jiang Lai!"
"What? You haven’t seen me for days, don’t you miss me?"
Shen Liao stared at her deeply, a familiar and fiery light kindling in his eyes.
"If you don’t miss me, then I’ll go to sleep."
Jiang Lai turned to leave, but Shen Liao swiftly grabbed her.
"I missed you."
It was inexplicable. Every night during his business trip, all he could think about was this woman. Shen Liao blamed everything on Jiang Lai’s physical presence.
To the extent that as soon as he landed, it felt like a spell was cast upon him, drawing him here just because of Jiang Lai.
For the first time, he wanted to see Jiang Lai, not for her appearance, but for herself.
He knew this girl’s temperament well; she was softer rather than hard. Any shortcomings he faced in words would be made up for in bed later on.
Being a shrewd businessman, he had already evaluated all the pros and cons in a split second.
Jiang Lai blinked joyfully, looking at him.
"Then say you like me."
The man couldn’t help it, directly pulling her close, stripping away the daytime façade of decorum, forcing a sentence out of his throat.
"Behave, and I like you."
Jiang Lai was persistent, still nagging even while being treated like a pancake on a griddle.
"Say you like me."
"..."
"Hurry up, hurry up!"
"I like you."
"Say it more completely."
"I like you."
This statement was quickly drowned out, with a smile on Jiang Lai’s lips as she looked at the swaying ceiling above her, listening to Little Buding’s voice ringing in her ears.
"Heartbeat Value: Thirty percent
Task Progress: Twenty-five percent."