~~~
“Who was that person just now?” Once the woman had left, Ning Jiuwei went to find Su Jinglan. The two of them stayed alone in the office for more than half an hour, standing with their backs to each other the entire time. It was impossible to read their lips.
Su Jinglan propped her chin on one hand, smiling tenderly as she twirled a pen between her fingers. “You’ve met her before—my other assistant, Lin Zhaoyue.”
Had they? Ning Jiuwei searched her memory and recalled a silhouette that matched.
They had indeed met.
But if she was just an assistant, why was she covered up so thoroughly, like some entertainment industry celebrity? Ning Jiuwei had assumed she was someone from showbiz, never imagining she might be an employee of Hengsu Group.
Ning Jiuwei didn’t dwell on the assistant. A president’s assistant meeting with the president was undoubtedly work-related, and the affairs of Group Headquarters were none of her business. She sat down in the chair across from Su Jinglan and got straight to the point. “President Su, have you considered the consequences of what you said in that meeting?”
A teasing edge crept into Su Jinglan’s gentle smile, one that wasn’t there usually. Her observational skills were sharp; from the moment Ning Jiuwei had approached and sat down across from her, she’d been watching her expressions closely. A Ning Jiuwei like this couldn’t possibly dislike her.
Even someone with Shen Lanyan’s masterful acting skills couldn’t fool her when putting on a performance. Su Jinglan analyzed the woman sitting mere inches away, her face betraying no hint of doubt as her smile grew even warmer. “Why don’t you tell me what the consequences might be, Teacher Ning? I’m all ears.”
She only called her “Teacher Ning” when she was flirting. Ning Jiuwei had cataloged that little habit and handled Su Jinglan with ease. “Su Jinglan, are you thinking of going public with our relationship?”
“We’re just boss and designer—subordinate and superior. Calling us bedmates would be unseemly if it got out.” Ning Jiuwei had steered the conversation, but Su Jinglan quickly regained control, asking with intriguing ambiguity, “Is Teacher Ning planning to give me some other title?”
Ning Jiuwei was a master of silence. She simply smiled without a word, her gaze fixed unwaveringly on Su Jinglan.
The transparent glass walls allowed a clear view both ways, with no privacy mode activated. Su Jinglan set down her pen and leaned back in her chair, her languid posture radiating an overwhelming presence as her fingertips tapped lightly on the armrest.
“Come here.” Su Jinglan’s tone was commanding, her smiling eyes conveying an unmistakably clear intent.
Come sit on her lap.
Ning Jiuwei didn’t budge.
“Is Designer Ning too scared, or just unwilling?”
“Is there a difference?”
“If Designer Ning is scared, I can activate the glass walls.” Su Jinglan left the second half unsaid: If she was unwilling, it would prove Ning Jiuwei didn’t like her.
Someone could walk down the hallway at any moment. Ning Jiuwei knew exactly what Su Jinglan was after—she was testing the depth of Ning Jiuwei’s feelings for her. Their eyes met briefly before Ning Jiuwei looked away, clenching her hands as she rose from her chair.
She walked around the desk to Su Jinglan’s side. Su Jinglan swiveled her chair, looking up with a deep smile. The anxiety in her heart pounded wildly as Ning Jiuwei drew near, her desire burning uncontrollably like fire.
“What does President Su want me here for?” Ning Jiuwei knew full well what Su Jinglan wanted but played innocent anyway.
Su Jinglan stretched out a long arm and pulled Ning Jiuwei into her embrace, forcing her to straddle her lap. Their breaths mingled, carrying the familiar scent of cedar white musk—Su Jinglan’s favorite fragrance these days. “I want to kiss you.”
Ning Jiuwei glanced back at the glass walls and started to rise, bracing against the armrest. But the arm around her waist tightened, yanking her firmly back down. Their bodies pressed even closer, and she could swear she felt a subtle grind between their legs.
The hallway was empty now, but that didn’t mean it would stay that way. Su Jinglan grabbed the remote from the desk, activated the privacy mode, and locked the office door. Her throat bobbed with a swallow. “Why didn’t you come home sooner? These past couple of nights, I’ve been sleeping in your bed, thinking of you every single moment.”
Su Jinglan wore no lipstick, her simple makeup giving her the aloof, pristine beauty of frost on a distant mountain peak—untouchable and pure. Ning Jiuwei’s thoughts turned reckless. She cupped Su Jinglan’s face in her hands, her scorching palms warming the cool cheeks and soothing her surging desire.
“You didn’t tell me to come home early.” On those lonely nights, Ning Jiuwei couldn’t stop her mind from replaying every little thing Su Jinglan had done. The pleasures of adulthood were addictive—savoring them in waking moments, reliving them in dreams. It felt so real, as if Su Jinglan were truly inside her body.
She had intended to go back that very night, but Su Jinglan hadn’t said a word. Returning uninvited would seem too clingy.
Su Jinglan tightened her hold, nestling against Ning Jiuwei’s chest and tilting her head up to brush teasing kisses along her jawline. “So it’s my fault, huh?”
The hot breath scorched Ning Jiuwei’s skin. She cradled the back of Su Jinglan’s head and leaned in to capture those enticing lips.
Her body reacted swiftly. Su Jinglan lifted her leg a little, rubbing against Ning Jiuwei until she nearly went weak in her arms. The office wasn’t the place for such intimacy, so Ning Jiuwei pulled back after a brief taste, panting as she suppressed her rising desire. “I have something to ask you.”
She hadn’t come to the President’s Office just to throw herself at Su Jinglan.
“Wait until I’m satisfied, then ask,” Su Jinglan murmured, pressing a hand to Ning Jiuwei’s neck and kissing her back with fervor. Unlike the innocent brush of lips, her kiss burned hot and fierce, as if she meant to pour every ounce of her pent-up passion into the tangle of their tongues.
Su Jinglan was never easy to satisfy. Ning Jiuwei endured the onslaught of those intense emotions, on the verge of suffocating.
The endless kiss dragged on for more than half an hour. Su Jinglan, still unsatisfied, caught her breath and leaned in for more.
“Are you upset that I went to Shi Wanxu’s class?” Ning Jiuwei tossed out the question, hoping to divert Su Jinglan’s attention.
Su Jinglan halted mid-motion and leaned back against the chair. “No. If you’re interested in psychology, why wouldn’t I be happy for you to pursue what you love? Shi Wanxu is both a psychologist and a psychology professor. If I were in your shoes, I’d take her classes too.”
“Really?” Ning Jiuwei rose to her feet, gazing down at Su Jinglan assessingly. “Then why did Director Zhang warn me not to let you, President Su, know I’d gone to school for classes?”
“Her opinions have nothing to do with me.” It looked like Director Zhang needed a private chat—she’d actually dared to whisper those words into Ning Jiuwei’s ear.
Su Jinglan’s eyes narrowed slightly, her pupils contracting. Ning Jiuwei caught the subtle shift and instantly read her intentions. “President Su, if Director Zhang finds out I came here to ask if you’re unhappy about my classes, she’ll never trust or look out for me again.”
Her single sentence snuffed out Su Jinglan’s impulse.
Zhang Xiaoyue had passed along the message to caution Ning Jiuwei, but Ning Jiuwei spoke up bluntly precisely because she was Su Jinglan’s intimate bedfellow. If it had been anyone else voicing displeasure, Ning Jiuwei wouldn’t have given it a second thought.
“Fine, if you won’t let me talk to Director Zhang.” Su Jinglan arched a delicate brow and crooked a finger at Ning Jiuwei. “My lips aren’t sealed tight, Teacher Ning. You’ll have to plug them.”
Her kissed lips gleamed with moisture, flushed and plump. Ning Jiuwei snatched a tissue from the desk and dabbed it over Su Jinglan’s mouth, wiping away the evidence of their exchange.
“That won’t keep my mouth shut,” Su Jinglan said, tugging at Ning Jiuwei’s clothes with a bright smile, urging her to try another way.
Ning Jiuwei wiped the traces from her own lips as well. “I trust President Su can keep a secret. Not a word will slip out.”
She had entered the President’s Office with perfect propriety and left as if nothing had happened. No one would ever suspect what she and Su Jinglan had gotten up to inside.
Assistant Tan stopped by twice before Ning Jiuwei finally returned. Clutching her tablet, she came over to report on the custom order’s progress. Shen Lanyan’s ring was almost finished, but a detail snag required consultation with the designer for adjustments.
Unlike mass-produced jewelry churned out on assembly lines, custom designs demanded handcrafting and polishing by artisans at every step. Ning Jiuwei reviewed the artisan’s feedback on the issues and headed straight to the Production Department herself.
She could handle a modeler’s tasks just as well as an artisan’s.
With her own hands, she engraved the intricate texture into the ring setting and set the sapphire, bringing the design drawings to flawless life. Ning Jiuwei carried the completed ring back to the office.
“Is Miss Shen’s delivery confirmation ready?” They always required a signed document upon handover to ensure clients couldn’t claim they hadn’t received the item.
“It’s all prepared.” Assistant Tan had it ready in advance and brought it over at once when asked. “Please take a look and see if anything needs fixing.”
Ning Jiuwei was meticulous, reviewing the document from top to bottom to confirm it was perfect. She placed the ring and papers together into the company’s dedicated handbag.
She checked with Shen Lanyan for a convenient delivery time, and once again, Shen Lanyan suggested evening.
“I’m free tonight. After wrap at nine, sister, bring it to my place.” Shen Lanyan sent the text to Ning Jiuwei, then handed her phone to Ah Xiao. The rest of her scenes went off without a hitch, full of good cheer.
In the past, meeting clients hadn’t required checking in with superiors—even if a heads-up was needed, it was only to the Design Director. After reading the message, Ning Jiuwei cast a furtive glance toward the office across the way and turned to Tan Yushu. “Little Tan, are you free tonight?”
“Yes!” Assistant Tan’s face lit up with excitement. “Is Designer Ning taking me along for the delivery?”
“Could you handle the delivery on your own?”
Assistant Tan: “…”
Her enthusiasm deflated in an instant.
She nodded without much confidence. “I could.”
Seeing her hesitate and recalling Shen Lanyan’s capricious, uninhibited ways, Ning Jiuwei abandoned the idea of sending her alone. “Never mind. I’ll go myself.”
“You, all by yourself?” Assistant Tan fretted. “Let me come with you, Designer Ning. Whatever time works for you, just say the word—I’m available.”
“It’s a bit late—past nine in the evening.”
“No problem. I’ll wait for you at the entrance to Miss Shen’s residential complex.”
Staying at Su Jinglan’s home tonight was just a matter of heading to the floor below. Ning Jiuwei thought it over and made her final arrangements. “I won’t make you work overtime. I’ll deliver it myself.”
When it was time to clock out, Ning Jiuwei waited for Su Jinglan to come fetch her. Su Jinglan arrived right on schedule, flashed her a smile at the door, and quietly departed.
Su Jinglan waited for her in the parking lot.
“I have a meeting with Miss Shen tonight.” Once inside the car, Ning Jiuwei set the handbag on the seat beside her.
Su Jinglan was well aware of Ning Jiuwei’s every move, including her trip to the Production Department to finish the ring herself. “In what capacity is Designer Ning informing me of this?”
The word “girlfriend” would never pass Ning Jiuwei’s lips as an answer. Instead, she replied, “Reporting to the President as your designer.”
Assistant Lin glanced at the rearview mirror. Without needing any instructions, she drove them straight to Fenglinwu Community.
There was still some time before Shen Lanyan finished work and returned home. The two of them sat pressed close together on the sofa, Su Jinglan’s arm wrapped around Ning Jiuwei’s waist as her gaze slowly drifted from the television screen onto her.
Once Su Jinglan got frisky, she wouldn’t stop anytime soon. Ning Jiuwei checked the time and gently rebuffed her before things could escalate. “Miss Shen should be home any minute.”
After she spoke, Su Jinglan fell silent for a long while.
Ning Jiuwei sensed something amiss and turned toward the gaze that had been avoiding her. Su Jinglan’s eyes were red-rimmed. The moment Ning Jiuwei looked over, she whipped her head forward in an obvious attempt to hide it.
“What’s wrong?” Ning Jiuwei’s heart tightened.
Su Jinglan forced a smile and shook her head. “Nothing.”
“Su Jinglan?” Her condition was anything but normal, so Ning Jiuwei pressed. “What happened?”
Her concern was genuine. Nights had a way of unraveling one’s emotional control. Su Jinglan lowered her eyes for a moment before asking Ning Jiuwei, “Did you really like me back then?”
~~~
