Chapter 34

Even Xiangxiang seemed to sense the unusual ambiguous atmosphere between the two of them. It jumped down from Jiang Sisi’s arms and burrowed back into the pile of throw pillows.

Leng Xiang was instantly stunned.

A moment later, she came back to her senses. The veins on her wrists bulged out, and her first instinct was to turn around and leave.

She silently recited to herself, Don’t get angry, don’t get angry. Jiang Sisi is just teasing you, messing with you for fun. Hasn’t she always been like this?

If you really get angry, you’re just letting her win!

Hold it in! Don’t get angry, don’t let her win!

Jiang Sisi smiled as she closed in on Leng Xiang. For every step Jiang Sisi advanced, Leng Xiang instinctively retreated one. She was a bit taller than Leng Xiang, which gave her an air of dominance.

Leng Xiang was forced to retreat step by step until she had nowhere left to go. With a “bang,” her back hit the wall by the entryway.

Jiang Sisi’s lips curved in amusement as she feigned concern. “Did that hurt?”

Leng Xiang’s face darkened. She rolled her eyes inwardly but said nothing.

It hurt, and it’s all your fault!

How many people has this hypocritical, pretentious act fooled?

Seeing no reaction from her, Jiang Sisi’s mischievous side flared up again. She wanted even more to provoke some kind of response.

Could she be blamed? If Leng Xiang hadn’t overreacted earlier when she’d accidentally brushed against her, she never would have had this idea.

Jiang Sisi smiled and extended a pair of pale, slender hands, her long, delicate fingers hovering over the third button of her sleepshirt.

With her hands poised to undo the button, she laughed. “You really don’t want to give it a try?”

The button was right at the spot where her sleepshirt strained taut, and through the slight gap in the fabric, the faint outline of curves was visible.

Her top two buttons had been undone from the start, and the night shadows draped her skin in a hazy gray.

Vague and alluring, like a patch of glistening snow under moonlight.

Moonlight couldn’t reach the entryway. In the dim darkness, even her figure was hazy and indistinct.

But Leng Xiang was pressed right up against her, too close to miss any detail.

She wasn’t wearing a bra underneath.

Seeing Jiang Sisi act so shamelessly like she was about to strip, Leng Xiang’s eyes widened in shock. She wanted to back away, but the wall was right there—no escape.

Jiang Sisi was… she was…

Crazy?

This was way too bold!

Leng Xiang could only watch helplessly as those hands lingered on the third button. For a moment, she had no idea what to do. A thin flush crept over her face—embarrassed and furious, terrified that she might actually undo it.

She had never been this close to a woman before.

She’d seen Liu Lingshu’s brand of shamelessness, but Jiang Sisi’s? This was a first!

Blushing furiously, Leng Xiang snapped, “Jiang Sisi, what the hell are you trying to do?!”

The hands hovering precariously over the third button paused. Jiang Sisi looked at her with a half-smile.

Leng Xiang’s nerves had just eased a fraction when Jiang Sisi’s face drew closer.

Leng Xiang held her breath.

“I didn’t want to do anything,” Jiang Sisi murmured, leaning in toward her lips with a low chuckle. “I’m clearly undoing my buttons. How come it feels like I’m stripping you instead?”

Leng Xiang: “…”

The distance between their lips was no more than ten centimeters.

Pinned against the wall by her, Leng Xiang’s eyelashes trembled. Her face burned as she glared at Jiang Sisi, utterly speechless.

Jiang Sisi was amused by her gaze. She loved seeing Leng Xiang like this—so adorable.

But she knew when to stop. Enough teasing; if she actually pissed her off, that would be trouble.

Jiang Sisi casually stepped back a few paces, releasing Leng Xiang, and straightened her sleepshirt as she went.

She’d never intended to actually undo it anyway.

“Alright, no more teasing.”

Jiang Sisi’s lips held a faint smile as she paused. “From now on, you’ll be in my crew. We’ll all eat and live together. I might even drop by your room at night to run lines. I’ll be watching every single scene you’re in. If you feel uncomfortable every time I’m near you or touch you even lightly, how are you going to manage? You gonna dodge me every day?”

She said it so earnestly, almost convincing herself that the teasing had been a legitimate test rather than just indulging her own whims.

Leng Xiang stayed silent for a long moment, her fists clenched tight as if furious. Then she suddenly looked up at her, eyes stubborn.

“You said I could top you to even the score?”

Caught off guard by the question, Jiang Sisi blinked, then laughed. “Yeah.”

No sooner had the words left her mouth than a force yanked and pulled her. Before she could react, she was shoved down onto the carpet.

“Huh?”

The carpet was soft and thick, so the fall didn’t hurt. But her freshly straightened sleepshirt was rumpled again, and her long, wavy hair spilled across the dark rug in sinuous curves that invited all sorts of imaginings.

Jiang Sisi looked up in surprise at Leng Xiang, who was now straddling her, eyes blazing with lingering anger.

Jiang Sisi raised an eyebrow. Whoa, I really overplayed my hand this time.

Leng Xiang grabbed her collar. “You’re right. If I top you, we’re even.”

·

Leng Xiang was truly angry.

Jiang Sisi lay flat on the carpet, watching Leng Xiang’s wooden expression as she slowly leaned in.

Though surprised at first by the reaction, if Leng Xiang really wanted to top her in return, she wouldn’t refuse.

Of course, if this helped Leng Xiang get over that incident, being topped once wasn’t a big deal. Call it payback.

Leng Xiang stared down at Jiang Sisi beneath her.

She knew it was just teasing, a joke—not serious. But she was still genuinely mad.

Why was she always under Jiang Sisi’s thumb? Why was it always Jiang Sisi who got to toy with her?

They hadn’t turned on any lights since entering. Aside from a sliver of intruding moonlight, the room was pitch black.

Leng Xiang had acted on impulse in her anger, pinning her down in the heat of the moment. But now that it was happening, she had no clue what to do next.

Her one and only intimate experience had come from Jiang Sisi too—and back then, she’d been hazy, enduring it all without remembering a thing afterward.

Now with Jiang Sisi under her, she was completely lost, suddenly at a loss for what to do.

Jiang Sisi blinked, her curled lashes fluttering. Seeing Leng Xiang’s awkwardness, a faint smile played on her lips.

“Don’t know how? Want me to teach you?”

As if! I’ve never eaten pork, but I’ve seen pigs run!

Leng Xiang glared. “I don’t need you to teach me.”

Even pinned down, Jiang Sisi showed no embarrassment.

With keen interest, she offered helpfully, “You could start by touching.”

Leng Xiang hesitated, then gritted her teeth and reached out.

Even through the sleepshirt, she could feel the chill of her skin.

Leng Xiang frowned. Her hands were cold enough, but why was her body so cool too?

Amused by Leng Xiang’s martyr-like demeanor, Jiang Sisi laughed. Seeming to catch her confusion, she explained, “I have a naturally cold constitution. Gets like this when it’s chilly. You disgusted already?”

Yeah, totally disgusted.

Leng Xiang thought silently.

Jiang Sisi added, “Now kiss me.”

Leng Xiang froze, then snapped irritably, “No!”

They weren’t lovers sharing some passionate, lovey-dovey romp. This was payback!

Kissing? What was there to kiss?!

She wasn’t going to kiss her!

Jiang Sisi put on a heartbroken expression. “But that night, I kissed you. Shouldn’t you kiss back?”

Leng Xiang: “…”

Damn, that actually made sense?

Seeing her wavering, Jiang Sisi pressed, “If I’m paying you back, it should be the full amount, right?”

Leng Xiang: “…”

Talk about making her own bed and lying in it. No backing out now.

Leng Xiang took a deep breath, neck stiff, and leaned down toward Jiang Sisi.

Suddenly, she recalled that kiss in the office, interrupted by Pei Shuang bursting in.

They’d been this close then too.

Jiang Sisi had tricked her back then, saying one proactive kiss was worth over two million, and she’d bought it.

Now, tricked again by a few words, she was leaning in proactively.

…Am I getting scammed again?

Leng Xiang gazed down intently. Jiang Sisi met her eyes, a faint smile always on her face.

No matter the situation, she seemed utterly composed.

Her lips were plump and red, slightly parted, pearly teeth faintly visible in the dark. Eyes half-lidded, she smiled up at her expectantly.

Stared at so openly, Leng Xiang felt like the one pinned wasn’t her.

Composed, brazen, like they were discussing business—no embarrassment at all.

As if she was certain Leng Xiang wouldn’t do anything.

That gaze ignited a surge of irritation and frustration in Leng Xiang.

What the hell am I even doing?

Before she could figure it out, a few meows broke the silence in the vast, empty living room.

Leng Xiang whipped her head around.

The snow-white Ragdoll cat had somehow emerged from the throw pillows again, padding silently across the carpet—which muffled its steps entirely. It crept up beside them.

It sat obediently on the rug, fluffy tail swishing, its glass-bead eyes fixed unblinkingly on the flat-lying shit-shoveler.

Leng Xiang was still atop Jiang Sisi. Turning, she locked eyes with Xiangxiang.

It had no idea how long it’d been watching, head tilted, sitting still and docile. It meowed softly again, sounding innocent, gentle, and pitiful.

Lying on the floor, Jiang Sisi suddenly said, “Oh right, I forgot—Xiangxiang was hungry earlier. Now that we’re like this—”

She gestured at their position and smiled. “I totally forgot to feed it.”

Leng Xiang’s face turned beet red. She shot to her feet.

What the hell was I just doing? Did Jiang Sisi really make me lose my mind?

She hated Jiang Sisi so much—how could she actually consider topping her?

“Paying back”? Was that how you settled this mess?

For a moment, she thought she’d gone insane.

Leng Xiang stammered, incoherent. She glanced at Xiangxiang, then at Jiang Sisi still on the floor. “Just now… you…!”

What could she say? “I didn’t mean to”?

If not on purpose, then what—on purpose?

She tripped over her words, nearly biting her tongue.

And what was that just now? Did she really want to kiss Jiang Sisi?!

Her mind in chaos, she wanted nothing more than to ditch this mess and bolt.

Still flushed, fuming, ears scarlet, she said, “You feed the cat. I’m going home!”

Moments later, the door slammed shut with a “bang.”

She really just left like that.

Jiang Sisi tilted her head toward the entryway. Leng Xiang’s shoes were still there—she’d run off in slippers, forgetting to change.

Xiangxiang watched the other two-legged creature flee like it was escaping for its life. Tilting its head in confusion at its still-prone shit-shoveler, who suddenly burst out laughing.

What happened? She seemed really happy?

Still chuckling, Jiang Sisi sat up from the carpet and scooped up Xiangxiang, who obediently snuggled into her arms.

She carried the cat to the kitchen to prepare its food, stroking its head while it ate. “Xiangxiang.”

Uncomprehending but hearing its name, Xiangxiang looked up.

Jiang Sisi ruffled the Ragdoll’s fur with a soft laugh. “How are you all so adorable…”

It was too interesting. With Leng Xiang there, she had already begun to look forward to life on set half a month later.

And she was extremely looking forward to it.