Jing Yan was a guest after all, and it was her first time visiting Dan Wuyan’s home. Dan Wuyan felt delighted, but she had to suppress that flicker of joy when facing her directly.
She stood up, intending to cover the stash of soda water before Jing Yan noticed it, grabbing a cloth to do so.
But by the time she made the move, Jing Yan was already standing by the glass cabinet. She turned and asked, “So you drink this brand of soda water too.”
Dan Wuyan paused for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah, it’s good.”
“Does your knee still hurt after applying the medicine? If it hasn’t improved, I’ll take you to the hospital.”
Dan Wuyan replied, “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”
Jing Yan stood there with her arms crossed, watching her without saying another word. Dan Wuyan felt a bit uneasy inside, wondering if she should have said it still hurt.
“You left something at my place last time.”
Dan Wuyan wasn’t sure which “last time” she meant.
Jing Yan stepped closer, her gaze carrying a hint of detachment. Finally, she pulled out a finger cot and placed it in front of her. “This was tucked inside the coronary heart disease proposal last time.”
Dan Wuyan’s pupils dilated before she could even explain.
Then Jing Yan’s voice rang in her ear again. “Engineer Dan, you’re young—surely you understand the phrase ‘know when to stop’?”
“President Jing, it’s not mine!” Dan Wuyan stood there frozen on one leg.
“You can play around with Xiao Yu however you like. As her aunt, I support it. But please don’t bring this sort of thing into work. Medical procedures demand caution.”
Jing Yan said a lot, leaving Dan Wuyan rooted to the spot, her fingertips clenched as she hesitated to speak. After a moment, she finally said, “No! Li Yu and I have always just been friends. Just friends.” She emphasized the last part.
Jing Yan replied, “I don’t care what your relationship is. I don’t want to see things like this again.”
Dan Wuyan’s emotions surged, mingled with a sense of shame.
She was familiar with this item. Back abroad, a lesbian classmate had told her about it, even explaining how to use it and which positions worked best.
Her head throbbed as she wondered how it had ended up there—she’d never used one. Then she recalled Li Yu’s nervous demeanor that night and suddenly understood.
For the next few minutes, Jing Yan dropped the subject and simply told Dan Wuyan to rest well for the next few days. She would help with the leave request.
Dan Wuyan wanted to see her off but couldn’t because of her knee, so she could only watch as Jing Yan went downstairs. The woman seemed unwilling to linger even a moment longer, flooring the accelerator as she left.
Dan Wuyan drew the floor-to-ceiling curtains and sighed in disappointment. Had she misunderstood herself? Seeing the item still on the table, she opened her chat with Li Yu.
[Don’t come see me for a while.]
Li Yu was baffled: [What’s wrong~ Old Dan~]
[Headache.]
[Easy fix. I’ll have Chen Ran give you some painkillers.]
Dan Wuyan: [Read, no reply.]
[Fine, I’ve been chatting with that beauty lately anyway. No time to mess with you~]
[Good.]
Li Yu sent a ruthless emoji. Dan Wuyan didn’t respond, setting her phone down in utter despair before picking up the item and tearing open its outer packaging.
She slipped it onto her finger and stared at it calmly, a hint of curiosity in her expression.
This did give Dan Wuyan some hope, though. If Jing Yan could tell at a glance that it was for use between women, not between men and women, then it meant she might like women too.
Of course, these were just Dan Wuyan’s wild guesses.
It took her a long time to muster the courage to message Jing Yan. What had just happened was indeed an awkward interlude. Jing Yan was not only her senior but her boss, and getting caught with something like this was embarrassing.
But there was no way to explain without sounding like she was making excuses. She drafted and deleted messages in the chat box until Jing Yan sent the leave approval.
Jing Yan had requested three days off from HR for her, telling her to rest her knee properly. If Group One needed anything, they could do online meetings.
Dan Linghua heard about it and brought some things over.
When Dan Wuyan opened the door, she wasn’t surprised. Instead, the old mischief-maker grinned and held up a paper bag. “Bored? Grandma’s here to keep you company.”
Dan Wuyan flopped onto the sofa. Dan Linghua pulled out several books from the bag and said, “I passed by a bookstore near you and picked these up. Maybe they’ll come in handy?”
There were four in total: What Methods to Use to Chase Girls, 36 Stratagems of Love, She Likes Shameless Pursuit…
Dan Wuyan picked up the top one and flipped to the first page, which seemed genuinely useful.
Dan Linghua asked, “How’s the knee? Better?”
“No problem.”
“Then Grandma’s off—sisters are waiting. Take care of yourself, okay~ good granddaughter~” With that, Dan Linghua shut the door and left.
Dan Wuyan propped up her legs and shook her head helplessly.
Time passed slowly. She kept reading the book in her hands. She finished it in two hours and scanned the QR code on the cover.
There were videos on how to win a girl’s favor. Dan Wuyan spent the entire evening studying them, diligently taking notes in her notebook.
Dan Wuyan didn’t like going out much, but four books weren’t enough. During her leave, she went to a bookstore.
Inside, she found a corner to sit and picked a few more like the ones Dan Linghua chose, plus some on improving her cooking skills.
She jotted down anything complex she couldn’t grasp right away. The three days flew by with reading, studying, and practicing cooking.
On her first day back, Jing Yan checked on her knee recovery.
Dan Wuyan was thrilled.
Fu Lianzhi saw her return and brought two bottles of medicinal wine for bruises, plus some supplements, to her workstation. Colleagues’ gazes gathered around Dan Wuyan’s desk.
The Production Department’s Fu was rarely this caring toward anyone.
But if the recipient was Dan Wuyan, it made a certain sense.
Dan Wuyan refused, but Fu Lianzhi insisted, chattered a bit, dropped the stuff, and dashed off. With her knee not fully healed, Dan Wuyan couldn’t chase after her quickly.
She set the items aside and caught up on the work she’d missed, even staying late—not quite overtime, more like slowing down to wait for the office to empty together.
The R&D floor lights stayed on. Dan Wuyan sat at her desk watching a drama. Glancing at the time, it was nearly nine p.m., and Jing Yan showed no sign of leaving.
She knocked on Jing Yan’s office door with the hot milk and pastries she’d ordered ahead. “President Jing, mind if I come in?”
Jing Yan looked up briefly, then buried herself back in work.
Dan Wuyan set the items down without a word. As she turned to leave, Jing Yan called out, “Why haven’t you gone home yet?”
Dan Wuyan turned her bright eyes and leaned in sideways. “I’ve got too much backlog from my days off. I ordered food anyway—President Jing, join me for a bite?”
Jing Yan said, “I already ate, thanks.”
Dan Wuyan ignored whether she ate or not—the stuff was there now. Seeing Jing Yan wouldn’t finish soon, and with her knee injury and poor sleep lately, she dozed off at her desk.
Jing Yan hadn’t eaten at all. Looking up, she didn’t see Dan Wuyan at her computer and assumed she’d left.
She was hungry; without Dan Wuyan’s food, she’d have forgotten dinner. She set aside her work and unpacked the items from the bag. The hot milk was perfectly warm, and the pastries had just the right sweetness.
Autumn was approaching, the weather cooling. Without this hot milk, she’d have made coffee again.
Coffee kept her alert, but the intense workload and irregular meals sometimes gave Jing Yan stomachaches—little issues she couldn’t shake.
So this hot milk felt like a godsend.
By eleven, Jing Yan finished work. She removed her badge and left the office, only to find Dan Wuyan still slumped at her desk.
She hadn’t left.
Jing Yan tapped the desk lightly in her heels. Dan Wuyan slowly lifted her head, groggy, her forehead bangs flattened, those dewy eyes peeking through stray hairs.
Jing Yan raised her hand but resisted the urge to ruffle them. She asked, “It’s so late—why haven’t you gone home?”
Dan Wuyan said bluntly, “I was waiting to leave with President Jing.”
Jing Yan often worked late, but Dan Wuyan had finished her tasks—there was no need to stay. As she thought this, Dan Wuyan’s voice came again: “It’s too late. It wouldn’t be safe for you alone.”
Jing Yan had never considered anyone worrying about her from that angle. She was used to handling everything solo.
They said Fengcheng employees did the work of two, women worked like men, men like oxen—the system was that harsh.
“Come with me. I’ll drop you off,” Jing Yan said, striding ahead.
Dan Wuyan slung on her bag quickly. Her intent was to ensure Jing Yan’s safety late at night, but if Jing Yan drove her home, it would be even later for her.
“President Jing, no need. I can take a cab.”
Jing Yan walked fast, not agreeing.
Dan Wuyan felt bad—her busted knee had inconvenienced her, especially Jing Yan.
Jing Yan always meant what she said. Dan Wuyan had no choice but to get in. From the moment Jing Yan offered the ride, one dilemma had plagued her.
Should she ask Jing Yan to stay over?
After getting out, Dan Wuyan still lacked the courage to say it through the car window. She gripped her bag strap, hesitating, then turned back.
Looking at Jing Yan about to start the car, she steeled herself. “President Jing, why don’t you rest at my place tonight? Is… is that okay?”
Hearing this, Jing Yan killed the engine with one foot, stunned for a moment, a spark flashing in her eyes. Dan Wuyan looked at her full of expectation, like a concubine in ancient times hoping to be summoned. If Jing Yan had the power, she’d keep this one’s plaque hidden on her person.
For her eyes only.
