Chapter 13: She Misses You

Her legs had originally gone numb, but now even her ears were tingling.

Big Boss Sister was holding her too tightly. With her body pressed against that soft warmth, Jiang Xiaoyi’s heartbeat fell into disarray.

But who had told Big Boss Sister that she was missing Meng Chuning?

She did want to see Meng Chuning to complete her task—that much was true. After a moment’s thought, Jiang Xiaoyi didn’t argue. She gave a small nod. “Yeah, I guess.”

After all, she’d been squatting outside her house. That excuse still held water.

While working in B City, she’d gotten a call from her assistant, Shen Ling.

After reporting on the day’s tasks, Shen Ling couldn’t resist some gossip. “President Meng, I ran into Jiang Xiaoyi today. She was pestering the front desk to confirm your schedule over and over.”

“She seemed really disappointed when she heard you’d gone to B City. But then she lit up when they told her you’d be back today.”

Shen Ling fanned the flames. “I think Jiang Xiaoyi really misses you.”

Shen Ling was competent enough at her job, but her own love life was a disaster. She loved shipping couples and letting her imagination run wild with fan theories. Meng Chuning didn’t buy it for a second—but she still couldn’t help posting her itinerary on Moments, indirectly reminding Jiang Xiaoyi that she’d be home today.

When she saw Jiang Xiaoyi camped out at her front door, even admitting that she missed her, Meng Chuning just wanted to give her big-mouthed assistant a raise.

Jiang Xiaoyi had already freshened up. A faint scent of body wash clung to her skin. Meng Chuning hugged her even tighter, as if reluctant to let go. “Xiaoyi… I missed you too.”

“Little auntie and little auntie-mom hug!”

A childish voice cut Meng Chuning off. Little Dumpling clapped her hands in excitement.

Meng Fanyu hadn’t managed to cover the girl’s mouth in time. She explained awkwardly, “We couldn’t wait for you to get back, so we came out to check. You two carry on.”

It was an oddly familiar scene.

Jiang Xiaoyi’s legs weren’t numb anymore. She hurried out of Big Boss Sister’s embrace, so flustered that she completely missed the words Meng Chuning hadn’t finished saying.

“Please don’t misunderstand. We weren’t doing anything,” Jiang Xiaoyi said hastily to Meng Fanyu, who was already backing away.

Meng Chuning’s arms felt empty now. She swallowed the rest of her words. “Yeah, we were just hugging. You showed up before we could even think about doing anything else.”

Her tone dripped with complaint about Meng Fanyu’s terrible timing. Jiang Xiaoyi didn’t pick up on it, but Meng Fanyu heard it loud and clear.

“Alright then. Little Dumpling and I are off to bed. We won’t disturb you, little auntie,” Meng Fanyu said sourly as she scooped up Little Dumpling. The little girl squirmed for a moment, then stretched her tiny hands toward Meng Chuning. “Little auntie goodnight kiss!”

Little Dumpling needed a goodnight kiss from both her mommy and her little auntie every single night to fall asleep peacefully. Even if Meng Chuning got home late, she’d still plant one on the girl’s sleeping cheek.

“Baby kiss-kiss,” Meng Chuning cooed, rubbing her face affectionately against Little Dumpling’s soft, chubby one. Then she turned her head and planted a gentle peck on the fragrant, squishy little cheek.

Satisfied with her goodnight kiss, Little Dumpling let out a string of delighted giggles.

Jiang Xiaoyi blinked. To Little Dumpling, that was a goodnight kiss. But to her, it counted as a cheek kiss.

God, she really wanted to soul-swap with Little Dumpling right now.

Meng Chuning turned around and caught Jiang Xiaoyi staring at Little Dumpling with naked envy. She couldn’t help smiling.

“Xiaoyi,” Meng Chuning said, giving her a sidelong glance. “If there’s anything you want to do, we can go inside and do it.”

Jiang Xiaoyi’s mind, already wandering, automatically abbreviated Big Boss Sister’s words into four simple characters.

Come in and do it.

It was just like a scene from one of Su Jiuyue’s novels—the older sister inviting the younger one into the bedroom to “sit for a bit,” only for them to spend the entire day doing exactly that.

Ahhh, those steamy novels were pure poison!

She hadn’t even touched Su Jiuyue’s books for two whole days. So why was her brain still auto-generating these scenes?

Truth be told, even though Jiang Xiaoyi had been gearing up for something, she felt incredibly guilty now. Deep down, all she really wanted was a goodnight kiss just like Little Dumpling’s.

Little Dumpling giggled. “Little auntie and little auntie-mom goodnight kiss!”

Jiang Xiaoyi had no idea why the kid had latched onto calling her “little auntie-mom.” She’d wanted to correct her before, but in that moment, all she could think was how much she wanted to scoop Little Dumpling up and smother her in kisses. What a clever little wingwoman.

Today, she was happy to play little auntie-mom for half an hour.

Meng Chuning smiled too, equally eager to reward her smart little helper.

“Baby, time for bed, okay?” Meng Chuning said, stroking Little Dumpling’s cheek. “Go back with Mommy.”

Jiang Xiaoyi didn’t want her little wingwoman to leave just yet. She hesitated, mouth opening—but before she could speak, Little Dumpling’s big eyes welled up with tears. “Baby not goin’ back! Want little auntie and little auntie-mom goodnight kiss!”

Was this the legendary genius baby wingwoman from the novels?

Jiang Xiaoyi bit her lower lip gently. Now, how was she supposed to convince Big Boss Sister?

Meng Chuning glanced at Jiang Xiaoyi apologetically. “Sorry about this, Xiaoyi. Little Dumpling just loves making a fuss…”

“It’s fine, Sister,” Jiang Xiaoyi said. She parted her lips slightly, steeling her resolve as she leaned closer to Meng Chuning. “We can do it just to soothe Baby.”

Thank you, Little Dumpling, for the perfect excuse.

Next time they met, Jiang Xiaoyi vowed to buy the girl the prettiest doll she could find.

Meng Chuning’s eyes widened a fraction, her long lashes fluttering.

They were so close now—close enough that if Meng Chuning leaned forward just a little, their lips would touch.

Sure, Jiang Xiaoyi was only doing it to calm the fussy child. But for Meng Chuning, this was their first real intimate contact.

She’d never kissed anyone besides Little Dumpling.

Several seconds ticked by, but Jiang Xiaoyi heard nothing from Big Boss Sister.

Was she unwilling?

Of course she was. Coming up with an excuse like “coaxing the baby”? Big Boss Sister was already being nice by not kicking her out.

To avoid getting chased off in humiliation, Jiang Xiaoyi backpedaled awkwardly. “I was just throwing out an idea. Don’t mind me…”

Before she could finish, Meng Chuning leaned in. Her exquisite, beautiful face filled Jiang Xiaoyi’s surprised vision.

Jiang Xiaoyi closed her eyes on instinct. Meng Chuning’s soft lips brushed against her flushed cheek.

Meng Fanyu quietly covered Little Dumpling’s eyes, then scooped her up and hurried back inside to give them space.

They’d kissed. Looked like the Meng family was in for some happy news soon.

Ding-dong—

【Task completed. Host Account balance: 590,000 yuan.】

Jiang Xiaoyi froze completely. Meng Chuning’s alluring perfume filled her senses, and the spot on her cheek where those warm lips had touched began to burn.

Meng Chuning didn’t pull away right after the kiss. Her gaze fell on Jiang Xiaoyi’s flushed earlobe. Leaning close to her ear, she whispered, “Actually, a goodnight kiss isn’t just on the cheek.”

Big Boss Sister’s warm breath tickled her ear. It took Jiang Xiaoyi ages to find her voice again. Her thoughts were sluggish, so she could only follow Meng Chuning’s lead. “What else is there?”

Meng Chuning pulled back slightly. Her heated gaze locked onto Jiang Xiaoyi’s moist eyes.

“It includes kissing on the mouth.”

The three words hung in the air. Jiang Xiaoyi’s long lashes fluttered once, as if she were only just processing them.

Her mind pieced Meng Chuning’s words together.

Meng Chuning’s goodnight kisses for Little Dumpling weren’t just on the cheek—they also involved mouth kisses.

“Oh… oh.”

Jiang Xiaoyi blinked twice and let out a soft breath. All she could think about was how her task was done. Goodnight kisses? Forgotten.

“Sister, then I’ll head ba—” Before Jiang Xiaoyi could finish, Meng Chuning blocked her path.

Big Boss Sister’s warm fingertips brushed her lips. “Want to try it?”

Jiang Xiaoyi’s mind went blank with a buzz.