Chapter 57: Do You Mind? Part 2

Seemed like it. She vanished right after getting off the plane. Who knew what President Li wanted with her? She was still sick—surely not drinking, right?

Or—

Her phone buzzed in her palm. Jiang Ruoning quickly picked it up to see Wu Jie’s message: [Did you bring facial cream?]

She pursed her lips and replied: [Yes.]

Wu Jie: [Small bottle? Bring me one.]

Jiang Ruoning: [Sure, I’ll bring it down later.]

She took out the facial cream from her suitcase, filled a small bottle, put it in her bag, checked the time, and confirmed Shi Sui hadn’t replied. She grabbed her key card and headed downstairs to find Wu Jie.

The elevator doors opened, and she was surprised. “Yu Ling.”

Yu Ling startled at the sight of her, then grew embarrassed. “Ning—Ning Jie.”

She stepped out, and Jiang Ruoning noticed the elevator had come down from upstairs. She asked, “Heading up?”

Yu Ling explained, “I just went downstairs and ran into President Shi. We chatted for a bit.”

Jiang Ruoning nodded. “She didn’t go eat with President Li?”

“Nope.” Yu Ling said, “She seemed unwell, and there was company stuff too. She’s been on the phone the whole time.”

Jiang Ruoning had seen Shi Sui on the phone nonstop since they got off. She asked, “Company stuff?”

Yu Ling shook her head. “Not sure.”

She waved to Jiang Ruoning. “Gonna grab something from my room. See you downstairs later.”

Jiang Ruoning said, “See you.”

The elevator doors closed slowly. Her finger hovered over the fifth floor, gaze drifting to the 30th floor button. Finally, she bit her lip and pressed five. When she reached Wu Jie’s room, Wu Jie was still unpacking and looked surprised. “You done already?”

Jiang Ruoning said, “I’ll finish when we get back tonight.”

She didn’t have many things and nothing much to unpack, so Jiang Ruoning handed the face cream to Wu Jie. Wu Jie smiled. “Thanks. I checked twice before leaving, but I still managed to forget something.”

Jiang Ruoning was absent-minded. She sat on the chair by the window and tilted her head back to stare at the ceiling.

In Shi Sui’s room, separated by more than twenty floors, she had a video call open. Jiang Nuan frowned. “It’s confirmed. It’s identical to the new product we’re launching this month.”

Shi Sui wasn’t surprised by the conclusion. She coughed dully.

It was exactly like the product they had been preparing—either the designs had leaked, or the designer had plagiarized.

Jiang Nuan said, “I’ve already had someone look into it. It’s most likely your mom behind this.”

Shi Sui nodded. “Mm.”

Jiang Nuan looked at her pale face on the screen and felt a pang of sympathy. “Shi Sui…”

Shi Sui said, “It’s fine.” She told Jiang Nuan, “Use the backup plan.”

When preparing the new product for the month, Shi Sui had been cautious and prepared two sets of designs. If anything went wrong with the first one, they could switch immediately. Of course, she hadn’t wanted any issues, but she knew Xu Qingqing better than anyone.

Jiang Nuan asked, “What about the committee…”

Shi Sui said, “Don’t let it leak. Keep the news under wraps for now. Just say it’s an internal adjustment to the public.”

Jiang Nuan nodded. “Got it.”

Shi Sui lowered her eyes. “Keep a close eye on the factory these next couple of days. Get the samples out as soon as possible.”

Jiang Nuan replied, “Okay.”

They hung up, and Shi Sui suddenly felt a deep exhaustion. Years of hard work were about to pay off, but her body felt like it was sinking into endless darkness. She was so tired, so sleepy—and she missed Jiang Ruoning so much.

Jiang Ruoning was still sitting in her chair when Wu Jie called out to her. “Let’s go.”

She stood up. “Coming.”

Wu Jie saw how out of it she was. “Thinking about President Shi?”

Jiang Ruoning immediately replied, “No.”

Wu Jie said, “Whether it’s true or not, you know in your heart. It’s not like the feudal era anymore—people don’t go around condemning same-sex relationships. Plenty of folks would understand.”

Jiang Ruoning pouted. “My mom…”

Wu Jie inhaled. That was indeed a problem. She asked Jiang Ruoning, “Have you talked to your aunt about it?”

Jiang Ruoning shook her head.

Wu Jie encouraged her. “Why not give it a try? Beat around the bush a little. I believe she’d rather see you happy than worry about anything else.”

Jiang Ruoning zoned out for a few seconds. See her happy—Jiang Qin did seem to think that way. She had even tried to set her up with Zou Nian. But Shi Sui’s family situation made happiness feel out of reach. Wu Jie tugged her arm. “Come on, let’s eat first and think later.”

They went downstairs and met up with Yu Ling and Liu Wenxiu. The four headed to the night market. Though Liu Wenxiu repeatedly stressed that she needed to lose weight and couldn’t eat much, they ended up snacking all the way. They skipped a full meal and finally picked an outdoor café, sitting at a table by the entrance. Yu Ling ordered coffee for them. After sitting down, she kept fiddling with her phone. Liu Wenxiu teased, “Really chatting with President Shi? You’ve been glued to that phone.”

Yu Ling handed over the phone. “It’s my little sister!”

Liu Wenxiu looked disappointed. “I thought you were talking to President Shi.”

Yu Ling said sheepishly, “She’s so busy—” She paused. “I wonder if she’s had dinner.”

Liu Wenxiu jerked her chin. “Bring her some.”

Yu Ling nodded. “I’ll ask her.”

Jiang Ruoning sipped her coffee, the bitterness spreading across her tongue. It was the flavor she hated most. She frowned, awkwardly set down the cup, and pretended to casually pull out her phone to scroll videos. But her ears perked up as she heard Yu Ling say, “President Shi says she’s already eaten.”

The very next second, a message from Shi Sui popped up on Jiang Ruoning’s phone: [Out eating?]

Jiang Ruoning swallowed the coffee and twirled a lock of hair with her fingers: [Yeah.]

Shi Sui: [Bring me some dinner.]

Jiang Ruoning turned slightly: [What do you want?]

Shi Sui: [Anything.]

Jiang Ruoning: [Okay.]

Liu Wenxiu let out a sigh and said to Yu Ling, “Look at Ruoning.”

Jiang Ruoning looked up when she heard her name and saw Liu Wenxiu and Yu Ling staring straight at her. Her heart raced, heat rushing to her face.

Liu Wenxiu said, “Messaging someone you like?”

Jiang Ruoning stammered, “N-no, not at all.”

Yu Ling laughed. “You can totally tell. Ning-jie’s gonna start dating.”

Jiang Ruoning opened her mouth. She didn’t know how to refute—or maybe she didn’t want to.

She just wanted to secretly savor the thrill of this clandestine romance.

She was so sneaky.

Jiang Ruoning pursed her lips. On the way back, she still packed a portion of pumpkin porridge. Yu Ling was surprised. “Ning-jie, you’re still hungry?”

Wu Jie knew what was up and explained, “It’s for her night snack.”

Liu Wenxiu sighed. “Youth is wasted on the young. Able to have porridge late at night.”

Jiang Ruoning was speechless and could only give a dry laugh. She finally made it back to the hotel. Wu Jie pulled her aside, saying she had something to give her, and told Liu Wenxiu and Yu Ling to head up first. Jiang Ruoning followed Wu Jie and paused for a few seconds to take another elevator up.

Room 3118—the familiar number. Jiang Ruoning stood at the door, scratching her eyebrow with her finger and looking down at the pumpkin porridge container. She had just pulled out her phone to message Shi Sui when the door suddenly opened. Shi Sui stood there in a bathrobe. Jiang Ruoning froze for a second. Shi Sui’s hair was still dripping water onto the bathrobe. Jiang Ruoning stood rooted to the spot until Shi Sui said, “When did you get here?”

Jiang Ruoning said “oh.” “Just now.”

She asked Shi Sui, “Why’d you open the door?”

Shi Sui replied, “I had a feeling you were coming.”

That feeling… was pretty accurate.

In reality, Shi Sui had just been standing by the window and spotted Jiang Ruoning. She hadn’t heard a knock, so she figured it was about time and came to the door to wait.

Jiang Ruoning held out the pumpkin porridge and saw Shi Sui’s pale face. She asked, “Are you feeling unwell again?”

Shi Sui coughed dully. “A little.”

Jiang Ruoning muttered, “This cold of yours is dragging on forever.”

Shi Sui’s cheeks flushed slightly from the coughing as she took the porridge and sat cross-legged on the rug next to the coffee table. It was a thick brown shag rug, and she leaned back against the sofa. Her phone vibrated. She glanced at it and ignored it. Seeing Jiang Ruoning still standing, she turned her head. “Why don’t you sit?”

Her tone was so natural it made Jiang Ruoning feel a bit awkward. Jiang Ruoning sat on the sofa, an arm’s length away.

Shi Sui ate slowly and methodically. Jiang Ruoning watched for a while before asking, “Yu Ling said something happened with your company?”

“Mm,” Shi Sui said. “Just a minor issue. Jiang Nuan’s handling it.”

Jiang Ruoning nodded and glanced around. Shi Sui’s suitcase was still unpacked—she really had been busy. Sitting there felt awkward, and just as Jiang Ruoning thought about leaving, Shi Sui said, “Are you free?”

Jiang Ruoning immediately looked at her. “For what?”

Shi Sui said, “I haven’t unpacked anything. If you’re okay with it, could you sort it out for me? I need to reply to an email.”

Jiang Ruoning said “oh” and went to the suitcase, opening it and pulling out clothes. Then it hit her—why was she helping Shi Sui unpack? This woman was always finding ways to boss her around. But thinking of what Yu Ling had said in the car, and seeing Shi Sui’s frail, unsteady state, Jiang Ruoning couldn’t bring herself to refuse. She hung Shi Sui’s clothes in the closet, set up the hanger, arranged the cosmetics neatly. When she finished, Shi Sui had eaten too. She said, “Thanks.”

So polite.

Jiang Ruoning’s voice was stiff. “No problem.”

Shi Sui said, “There’s a hairdryer in the bathroom.”

Jiang Ruoning looked at her. “For what?”

Shi Sui said, “I need to reply to the email, so it’s not convenient for me to dry my hair. Could you do it for me?”

Jiang Ruoning clenched her fist at Shi Sui’s back but still went into the bathroom to grab the hairdryer. There was no outlet, so Shi Sui unplugged her laptop to make room and got up to rinse her mouth in the bathroom. Jiang Ruoning tossed the empty porridge container in the trash. She saw Shi Sui come out of the bathroom, holding a dry towel and wiping her mouth.

Shi Sui sat on the rug in front of her on the sofa, a half-head shorter. Jiang Ruoning removed the bath cap from her wet hair and looked at her beautiful profile. After two seconds of silence, she pretended to fiddle with the hairdryer while probing, “Yu Ling seems to like you.”

“Mm.” Shi Sui’s tone was calm, but she suddenly turned her head. “What’s wrong? Jealous?”

Jiang Ruoning felt pricked. Her expression exaggerated. “How could I be!”

Shi Sui looked at her. “You really don’t mind at all?”

Jiang Ruoning still wanted to play tough, but under Shi Sui’s intense gaze, the words “I don’t mind” stuck in her throat. She couldn’t make a sound. She opened her mouth, but only a faint syllable came out. Shi Sui’s weary face suddenly broke into a smile—a pale one, but genuinely happy. She said, “You do mind.”

Jiang Ruoning lowered her eyes.

Shi Sui placed one hand on the edge of the sofa beside her, propped herself up, leaned forward, and pressed her lips to Jiang Ruoning’s thin ones. The soft touch made Jiang Ruoning’s heart sway. Then, recalling the image of Shi Sui chatting and laughing with Yu Ling on the plane, after Shi Sui’s light kiss, she reached out, hooked her arm around Shi Sui’s neck, and pulled her closer.