Chapter 046　 I think you should sleep with your woman first.

  *

  On Sunday, Su Xian slept until after 11:00 AM. She walked downstairs, bleary-eyed, intending to grab a magazine to take back to her bedroom, only to find her adorable "little chef" already busy in the kitchen. She sat down on the stairs, smelling the aroma of fried chicken cutlets, her mouth watering involuntarily.

  Li Chengshi flipped a chicken cutlet over, sprinkled some spices on it, and turned to grab the side dishes. Seeing Su Xian sitting on the stairs, he waved happily. "Morning, Team Leader!"

  "Morning." Her heart felt like it was melting.

  "Go wash up. Lunch will be ready in twenty minutes."

  "Okay." She stood up to head upstairs, but in doing so, she inadvertently revealed the scar on her left shoulder and the new dark purple bruising on her left arm—it was a startling sight.

  "Wait."

  Noticing his concerned gaze, Su Xian realized what he was looking at. She raised her hand to touch the scar on her left shoulder. "Is it ugly?"

  "It's not ugly." He stepped up a few stairs and gave her left shoulder a gentle kiss.

  Su Xian turned around and warned him, "Don't seduce me! Be careful, or I'll drag you into the bedroom."

  "You—" Li Chengshi turned back to the kitchen in a huff to continue cooking. "You're a lustful woman with zero romance! Every time you open your mouth, it's something dirty!"

  *

  Li ChengShi suddenly remembered why he had been assigned to Design Team 2 by Liang Wenya in the first place. It was because a pregnant employee, Zhang Xiaowen, had been rushed to the hospital with a premature rupture of membranes, and he happened to be the substitute. Back then, he had zero practical experience and couldn't even understand basic instructions. Su Xian had assigned Xu Shuyi to mentor him, but whenever he made a mistake, Su Xian would scold him on the spot without mercy. Well, "scold" might be an exaggeration; her way of pointing out problems was simply too direct, showing little regard for his insecure and fragile emotions. At that time, he hadn't officially graduated yet and had entered the workforce early for an internship. Still in a student mindset, he found his first boss to be so harsh that he actually disliked her quite a bit.

  Then came that night at Youlu Island. He had gotten up in the middle of the night to find something to eat. When he turned on the living room light, he saw the hem of her white silk nightgown fluttering in the night breeze on the terrace. It was the first time he had seen her dress with such femininity. Suddenly, she transformed from that "somewhat aggressive, sexually unattractive female boss" into a "tipsy, enchanting, and seductive older sister."

  If it hadn't been for that bowl of poisonous mushroom soup, would all of this have happened?

  Just now, seeing her in that nightgown again, she looked so beautiful—even with the scar on her shoulder.

  *

  Knit hats absorb cooking fumes far too easily; after cooking, they smell just like the range hood. Li Chengshi stuffed his hat into the washing machine and asked Su Xian to help tidy his hair with small clips to hide the missing patch.

  As Su Xian clipped his hair, she comforted him, "You don't have to be so particular at home."

  "I have to." He turned around and looked at her "granny pants" with disdain. "Look at you. You have such a colorful mind, yet you dress so celibately."

  Su Xian said flatly, "Li Chengshi, I suggest you be a bit more sensible. Do you think I'm exercising this much restraint for my own sake?"

  He immediately became well-behaved and said sweetly, "Team Leader, let me serve the rice for you."

  **

  There was a small shrine near their home. They had passed by it many times but never entered. Today, however, they both stopped at the entrance as if by unspoken agreement. Li Chengshi grabbed a handful of coins from his pocket and gave half to Su Xian.

  They entered the shrine, purified their hands, passed through the Torii gate, and walked up to the offertory box. They tossed in the coins, rang the bell, clapped twice, made their sincere wishes, and finally gave a deep bow.

  *

  It had been a long time since they walked along the river embankment.

  "Li Chengshi, what did you wish for just now?"

  "For you to make a lot of money."

  "Thanks."

  "And you?"

  "I wished for Zhao Nanfeng to recover quickly and get back to work to lead Towa Design through this crisis and back on track."

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  "Just him?"

  "How could that be? The first person I mentioned to the deity was you. I asked her to bless you with peace, health, and happiness. Since you're with me, you're only allowed to be loved—no suffering allowed."

  "Hehe, you're so good to me." He gave her arm a playful shake. "I was worried you’d ask the deity for some 'impure' wishes."

  "That wouldn't work with a deity. You'd be better off picking mushrooms!"

  "You don't need poisonous mushrooms for that." He turned his face toward the distance. "Could you... wait a little longer, please?"

  Understanding his admission, Su Xian wrapped her arms around his waist from behind, pressed her face against his shoulder, and said happily, "Okay."

  **

  On Wednesday, Zhao Nanfeng was moved from the ICU to a private ward. He was still quite weak, so visiting hours were limited to three hours a day, but he was allowed to have his phone and laptop, which solved many work-related problems.

  As he browsed the email history, he suddenly frowned and asked, "Wakui replied to this one, didn't he?" Certain idioms Wakui used were a dead giveaway.

  "Yes."

  "Why did you trust him on my behalf?"

  "Because I was isolated, helpless, and at my wit's end."

  Zhao Nanfeng didn't press the matter. She had only been there for three months; holding things together during such a difficult time was already an achievement. "He has a few good projects lately—a civic hall, a Toyota showroom... you know, I only made a name for myself back then because of a Toyota showroom..."

  Su Xian interrupted him: "When you mentioned recommending me to another company, was it his?"

  "Yes. You came here to do good projects, not just to earn a salary. So, I still feel the same way. I'm willing to recommend you to him."

  "And yet you say you don't trust him. Your clients, your wife, your house, and your ex-girlfriend—you're willing to hand them all without any hesitation. Is he your personal 'unwanted goods' recycling station?"

  Zhao Nanfeng didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Which of those things had he given up willingly? Wasn't it just his own failure?

  "I'm not going." She restated her stance. It wasn't about acting noble; she knew staying here was her own choice. Going there would make her feel like a stray animal being taken in. Besides, would Wakui be willing to take in Li Chengshi as well? Even if he were, she didn't want to go "wandering" with Li Chengshi in tow.

  Additionally, a very small part of her felt she couldn't abandon Zhao Nanfeng at a time like this.

  Zhao Nanfeng only saw her firm refusal to leave and was touched. Looking at her hand resting by the bed as she operated the mouse for him, he really wanted to hold it. But a man whose career had hit rock bottom had no right to love anyone; he suppressed the impulse.

  "Are you and Li Chengshi back together?"

  "Yes!" she answered brightly.

  **

  The company's business volume inevitably dropped sharply, and it was already operating at a loss. Su Xian suggested moving to a smaller office since they couldn't hire anyone anyway, but Zhao Nanfeng said they couldn't lower their positioning. He preferred to use the compensation money from Shinya Suzuki to keep things running. Not only were employee salaries unaffected, but he even gave everyone a bonus as a thank-you for the trouble they faced on his behalf.

  Li Chengshi was overjoyed. Combined with the compensation from Suzuki, he now had a decent amount of money.

  Su Xian was happy for him too. "No matter how you earned it, this is the 'first pot of gold' of your life. Save it. In the future, if you're unhappy, just check your account balance and you'll feel better immediately."

  "Do you check your account balance every night before bed?"

  "I do."

  "Money grubber."

  "Who in this world doesn't love money?"

  "I love it too. But I still want to buy you a Ralph Lauren shirt." He had checked—a shirt with a texture similar to Su Xian's cost about 190,000 yen (roughly 9,000 RMB). It was affordable. "Because I want to spend money on my woman, too."

  Su Xian smiled and said, "I think you should sleep with your woman first. Oh, okay, okay, don't get mad! I'll wait, I'll wait."

  "Seriously, if you mention that again, I'll..."

  "You'll what?"

  "I'll limit the number of times we do it in the future!"

  *