~~~
Ah Xiao followed behind, carrying a case of wine. Su Jinglan’s gaze flicked over the bottle in Ah Xiao’s hand before she stepped aside to let Shen Lanyan, who was lingering uncertainly at the door, enter. “Come on in.”
The cool, emotionless tone sent a jolt through Shen Lanyan’s heart. She hesitated. “Am I interrupting something?”
“You arrived at just the right time.”
One had to judge by appearances, not words. Su Jinglan’s neat attire suggested it wasn’t too much of a disruption. Shen Lanyan took the wine from Ah Xiao and stepped inside.
“I know Designer Ning doesn’t drink, but it only hit me when I reached downstairs that I couldn’t show up empty-handed. So I grabbed this from the trunk.” Shen Lanyan set the case on the floor and asked Su Jinglan, “Should I change into slippers?”
Ning Jiuwei heard the voices at the door and emerged from the kitchen. Shen Lanyan repeated the question to her. Ning Jiuwei smiled warmly. “No need, Miss Shen. Just come in.”
With Ah Xiao no longer at her side, Shen Lanyan had to handle the luggage herself. She hauled the wine from the entryway to the living room, then wandered over to the kitchen doorway to watch Ning Jiuwei prepare dinner.
“Who knew Designer Ning was such a talented cook? I’ll head to the living room and wait for the meal.” Shen Lanyan dialed back her playful mood and delivered a perfectly pitched compliment before returning to Su Jinglan’s side.
Su Jinglan sat on the sofa, her face impassive, eyes fixed on the TV screen ahead. She shot Shen Lanyan a sidelong glance from the corner of her eye and spoke coolly. “Looking for her the second you walk in?”
“President Su doesn’t mind, does she?” Shen Lanyan leaned sideways against the sofa back, chin propped on her hand, her smile teasing and inscrutable.
The graceful curve of her body was strikingly alluring in that pose. Su Jinglan frowned faintly. Spotting a shadow from the kitchen that darted back inside, she said disdainfully to Shen Lanyan, “Sit properly.”
The commanding tone brooked no argument. Shen Lanyan straightened up and smiled. “Better, President Su?”
Su Jinglan’s mind replayed the image of Ning Jiuwei pinning Shen Lanyan to the sofa. Only Shen Lanyan, trapped beneath her then, had seen Ning Jiuwei’s expression. If Su Jinglan wanted to know what it looked like, she’d have to ask the source.
This wasn’t the moment, though. Su Jinglan juggled her thoughts and tossed out a casual topic. “I heard you’re unhappy with the new script.”
“I haven’t even joined the set yet. No script’s come my way.” Shen Lanyan glanced back at the kitchen before leaning closer. “President Su, how exactly did you get into your precious designer’s place?”
Her eyes trailed from Su Jinglan’s cool, unreadable face down to the house slippers on her feet. On this spur-of-the-moment visit to Ning Jiuwei’s home, Su Jinglan had clearly been there for a while—maybe even returned home with her.
From the kitchen, their huddled, whispering posture looked intimately close on the sofa. Ning Jiuwei tamped down her churning emotions and calmly set the dishes on the dining table.
The TV’s drone masked their voices, so Ning Jiuwei couldn’t make out the words. But their proximity suggested something private, not meant for outsiders’ ears.
With just the three of them in the apartment, who that outsider was went without saying.
Once all the dishes were ready, Ning Jiuwei carried them out one by one. Su Jinglan wrapped up the conversation and came over to help.
Shen Lanyan kept busy too, cracking open the case and pulling out a bottle of red wine. Without a word to Ning Jiuwei, she uncorked it.
Pop—the cork came free with a crisp sound. Ning Jiuwei glanced her way. Shen Lanyan approached with the bottle, her face bright with excitement. “Designer Ning, where are the wine glasses?”
Ning Jiuwei didn’t drink, but her tableware was fully stocked. She looked at Su Jinglan, then headed to the kitchen.
The tall crystal goblets, pristine and untouched in the cabinet, gleamed spotlessly. Ning Jiuwei rinsed them twice with tap water, dried them carefully, and brought them out.
She set out only two—one in front of Su Jinglan, the other before Shen Lanyan.
“Designer Ning won’t join us for one?” Shen Lanyan steadied her glass as she poured. “It’s your own home—no need to worry about getting tipsy.”
“Go ahead, Miss Shen. I can’t drink.” Ning Jiuwei poured herself water and placed it before her. “I’ll keep you company with this.”
“What a pity. The wine I brought for Designer Ning ends up going down my own throat.” Shen Lanyan set the half-filled glass in front of Su Jinglan and reached for her empty one.
Su Jinglan stopped her. “I don’t drink either.”
“President Su, after all these years, you think I don’t know that about you?” Shen Lanyan filled her own glass generously and raised it in a toast. “To Designer Ning for whipping up this feast—the first glass is hers. And thanks to President Su too. Without you, I’d never get to taste it.”
Su Jinglan had promised Ning Jiuwei she wouldn’t drink that evening. She glanced at Ning Jiuwei. With the atmosphere having built to this pitch, Ning Jiuwei sighed helplessly to herself. Meeting Su Jinglan’s eyes, she smiled and said, “I can’t drink with Miss Shen, so President Su will have to keep her company.”
With Ning Jiuwei’s go-ahead, Su Jinglan lifted the wine glass in front of her. Shen Lanyan clinked hers against it and downed more than half in one gulp.
After draining her glass, Shen Lanyan flashed Su Jinglan a knowing smile and prompted her. “Your turn, President Su.”
Su Jinglan swirled her glass, allowing the red wine to aerate fully with the air, then took a delicate sip.
The floral and fruity notes bloomed after the brief wake-up, rich and velvety on the tongue. Su Jinglan drank with elegant poise, a sight as pleasing as it was refined.
Ning Jiuwei’s gaze flickered over Su Jinglan’s wine-stained lips. Her grip tightened unconsciously on her water glass.
A choking heat surged through her heart in waves, enveloping her bit by bit. Ning Jiuwei looked away and took a sip of the ice-cold water from her glass.
The chill jolted her nerves, loosening her tight throat a little. She picked up her chopsticks, clamped some vegetables, and ate in silence.
Shen Lanyan rested her chin on her hand, her fingertips tracing lazy circles on her glass. Her stunning, sultry eyes caught the light in sparkling glints, her gaze drifting over Ning Jiuwei’s brows, eyes, and lips.
Su Jinglan shot her a warning look.
“Designer Ning, are my design drawings ready yet?” Shen Lanyan dialed back her bold stare and picked a fitting topic for the dinner table.
Ning Jiuwei gave a noncommittal reply. “Almost. The moment the design draft is finalized, I’ll send it over right away, Miss Shen.”
“So, did you think of me today?” Right in front of Su Jinglan, Shen Lanyan cut straight to the chase without beating around the bush, then tacked on an explanation. “I mean, did you think of me while you were working on the design drawings, Designer Ning?”
Ning Jiuwei and Su Jinglan exchanged a glance, both instantly flashing back to the movie they’d watched that day.
Now the female lead sat right across from them. The steamy kissing scenes blurred into reality. Their body heat spiked out of control, feverish and flushed, laced with an electric tingle that raced up their spines and short-circuited their brains in relentless waves.
Overwhelmed by the emotional onslaught, Ning Jiuwei set down her chopsticks and bolted.
She shot to her feet so suddenly that her chair screeched harshly against the polished tiles. The two left at the table stared at each other. Worry plain in her eyes, Su Jinglan hurried after her.
Ning Jiuwei ducked into the bathroom, cranked the faucet, and hunched over the sink, gasping for breath like she’d just run a marathon. Su Jinglan watched from the doorway, hesitating.
“I’m okay.” Ning Jiuwei cupped cold water to splash her face, willing her churning emotions to settle.
Su Jinglan lingered a moment, then stepped up beside her. “Designer Ning, mind if I wash up here too? When Shen Lanyan asked if you’d been thinking of her, it brought the movie scenes right back to mind.”
In the mirror, one figure was bent low, the other ramrod straight. Ning Jiuwei raised her eyes to the Su Jinglan within arm’s reach.
Su Jinglan’s stare burned. “Watching the movie was one thing, but with her right here now… I feel kind of hot.”
Their breaths fell into sync, rising and falling as one. Heart pounding, Su Jinglan locked eyes with Ning Jiuwei and reached for her cheek.
At the last second, she crooked her fingers. The warm pad of her fingertip brushed lightly, flicking away a stray droplet from the corner of her eye.
Ning Jiuwei’s breath caught, her heart hammering. She scrubbed the water from her face and fled the bathroom.
A faint blush colored her pale skin. Su Jinglan savored that captivating response, eyed the damp trace on her finger, and smiled, reining in her fluttering pulse.
They returned to the table one after the other. The red wine sat unfinished, so Shen Lanyan cracked open another bottle and topped off Su Jinglan’s glass.
Buoyant, Su Jinglan matched Shen Lanyan’s enthusiasm drink for drink.
Two bottles were nothing to Su Jinglan’s head for alcohol. The buzz warmed her skin. She unbuttoned her collar and sank into the sofa to cool off.
“Designer Ning, President Su—I’ve got to run.”
Shen Lanyan took a call, bid them farewell, and headed out, quietly assuming Su Jinglan would crash at Ning Jiuwei’s home.
Su Jinglan lounged on the sofa a bit longer, but the heat lingered. The sight of Ning Jiuwei approaching with water only stoked it higher. Ning Jiuwei set the honey water on the coffee table and addressed her from a careful distance. “Try some honey water. It’ll help you feel better.”
Su Jinglan looked half-drunk, her restraint slipping. She fixed Ning Jiuwei with a direct stare. “Come here.”
~~~
