After Becoming a Full-Time Employee, I Signed a Romance Contract with My Ice-Cold Boss - Chapter 18

Your Breathing is Too Loud, I Can’t Sleep

“The Zhao family?”

Xu Que blurted out, “Is it the family of that eldest Miss Zhao you went on a blind date with?”

Jiang Fengyi’s hand, which had been flipping through the contract, came to a halt. “How do you know I went on a blind date with a lady from the Zhao family?”

“I… I heard some gossip in the pantry.”

Xu Que inwardly cursed herself: Stupid mouth, why did you have to be so quick!

“Oh?”

Jiang Fengyi became interested.

“What other gossip is there in the pantry? Tell me about it.”

She tossed the contract aside and leaned back against the sofa, propping her head up with her hand, gazing at Xu Que with great amusement.

“There’s… there’s no more…”

Jiang Fengyi kept staring at her, her face clearly writing the words I don’t believe you.

Meeting that scorching gaze, Xu Que spilled everything like beans from a jar.

“They said that after your blind date with the eldest Miss Zhao, you were preparing for a business marriage—a union of two powerful families. But then, the second Miss Zhao fell in love with you at first sight and jumped out to snatch you away.”

“To sabotage the marriage, she even came to work at your company, staying by your side every single day.”

Jiang Fengyi looked like she found the story hard to even evaluate.

“Have some AI mixed in with the employees on the twenty-second floor? Otherwise, how could they fabricate such ridiculous claims?”

Xu Que muttered under her breath, “It’s an AI that’s been fed too many web novels.”

“You didn’t actually believe it, did you?” Jiang Fengyi suddenly remembered the last time Xu Que mentioned the second Miss Zhao falling in love with her at first sight.

“I was wondering why you brought her up out of the blue.”

Jiang Fengyi glanced at Xu Que and explained, “I have nothing to do with the Zhao family. I’m not familiar with any ‘Eldest Miss’ or ‘Second Miss.’ Only the blind date was real; everything else is just a rumor.”

“I figured as much.”

“Those two from the Zhao family aren’t worthy of you at all.”

One lacked brains, the other lacked manners. Facing potential rivals, Xu Que was always exceptionally cutting.

Jiang Fengyi’s arm felt tired, so she switched hands to prop up her head and asked casually, “Then who do you think is worthy of me?”

After asking, she paid close attention to Xu Que’s movements, a hint of expectation in her peripheral vision that she hadn’t even noticed herself.

Seeing Jiang Fengyi shake her sore arm, Xu Que took a nearby soft pillow and tucked it between the sofa and Jiang Fengyi’s head, freeing her hands.

“Only someone whose heart and eyes are completely full of you would be barely worthy of you.”

Jiang Fengyi lay horizontally on the sofa, her head sinking into the soft pillow. With her hands now free, she picked up a strand of long hair from her chest and wound it around her finger.

Since returning here, this was the first time she felt so relaxed. Was it because Xu Que was by her side?

“Someone whose heart and eyes are completely full of me?”

She murmured softly.

“Does such a person even exist?”

“They do!”

Xu Que’s tone was firm.

“Such a person definitely exists!”

“Alright, then I’ll take that as a good omen.”

Jiang Fengyi smiled radiantly. Her bright smile under the lights dazzled Xu Que, who stared blankly for a long time before coming back to her senses.

“I hope the person you’re talking about appears by my side soon.”

They’ve already appeared by your side, Xu Que answered in her heart.

She was waiting. As long as Jiang Fengyi showed even a flicker of affection for her, she would immediately declare her feelings. Otherwise, it would remain her unrequited love alone.

Having finished her testing, Jiang Fengyi didn’t show whether she was satisfied with Xu Que’s answer or not. She looped back to the previous topic.

“Aside from those, is there any other gossip from the pantry?”

This time, Xu Que could look Jiang Fengyi straight in the eye to answer.

“Really, no more.”

After all, Xu Que hadn’t been working on the twenty-second floor for long. The only person she was relatively close to was He Shuyi, so the gossip she knew was limited.

Jiang Fengyi let her off the hook and turned to say, “The change of clothes and towels are in the wardrobe. If you want to shower later, just go get them from the wardrobe.”

Xu Que stood up. “Then I’ll go shower first.”

The room was filled with traces of Jiang Fengyi’s existence. With every breath, Xu Que could smell that floral scent from the other woman’s body.

And the culprit drawing her gaze, Jiang Fengyi, was currently lying languidly before her. Her slippers had long been kicked off, and her bare feet were currently resting on the leather sofa.

The dark sofa made her fair skin stand out even more. Following her calves upward, the hem of her long dress had been easily brushed up to her thighs by her movements, revealing straight, slender legs.

Every movement seemed to be a temptation.

It certainly wasn’t Jiang Fengyi’s fault; it was her own delusional heart and her ulterior motives toward her.

Xu Que forced herself to look away, using the task of showering to distract herself.

Once the person had disappeared into the bathroom clutching her pajamas, the previously lounging Jiang Fengyi sat up straight. She put on her slippers and pulled her skirt back down below her knees.

Jiang Fengyi’s gaze lingered for a long time in the direction where Xu Que had disappeared, unable to decipher her thoughts.

“Is her concern for me because she likes me, or does she just see me as her boss?”

The hot water spraying from the showerhead extinguished the flickering flames in Xu Que’s heart. She stopped overthinking and enjoyed the simple pleasure of the bath.

She pressed out a pump of body wash, but after spreading it over her body, she realized belatedly that it was the scent from Jiang Fengyi’s body. The flame that had just been extinguished flared up again, burning more intensely than before.

Last time, when they stayed under the same roof because of the typhoon, they hadn’t stayed in the same room or shared toiletries.

Unlike today, where not only were they sharing the fragrance of her body, but they were also about to sleep in the same bed…

Not daring to let her imagination run wild, Xu Que worried she might accidentally laugh out loud from pure happiness.

She changed into the pajamas Jiang Fengyi had prepared for her. After putting them on, she noticed the sleeves were a bit short. She tugged them down firmly, pulling the collar wide open, only letting go once the sleeves were finally as long as her arms.

Hehe, the pajamas Wife prepared fit me just right.

The steam filling the room surged out eagerly as Xu Que opened the door. The bath fragrance, mixed with the scent of sunflowers, gradually drifted outward.

Xu Que dried her hair as she walked out of the bathroom.

“I’m finished!”

“You,”

Jiang Fengyi paused for a moment.

“Why are you wearing my pajamas?”

“These… these are your pajamas?” Xu Que’s face turned red instantly. Her limbs felt like they had just been newly installed; she was so stiff she forgot how to move.

“Maybe the housekeeper accidentally mixed our clothes together.”

Xu Que: “Then… should I take them off…”

Afraid that the other person might actually strip right there, Jiang Fengyi hurriedly interrupted, “No need. I have other pajamas. You can just wear those.”

Her eyes darted away as she fled. “I’m going to shower.”

The water vapor in the bathroom hadn’t dissipated yet, and it was mixed with that scent belonging to Xu Que…

Can’t keep thinking about it!

Having stripped off her clothes, Jiang Fengyi stood under the shower, letting the stream of water wash away the unnecessary distractions in her mind.

She had thought Xu Que would be unable to sleep in a new environment, but as soon as she crawled into Jiang Fengyi’s bed, she was wrapped in the other woman’s scent. Her spirit involuntarily relaxed, and her brain felt dizzy, caught in a haze of happiness.

The pajamas on her body, the thin quilt at her waist, the soft pillowcase—every single thing emitted a faint floral fragrance.

Scenting this fragrance, Xu Que soon sank into a dreamland.

When Jiang Fengyi came out, what she saw was a fast-asleep Xu Que.

“What exactly was I nervous about just now?” she couldn’t help but ask herself. Accompanied by the other’s regular, shallow breathing, Jiang Fengyi turned off the bedroom light and climbed into bed in the dark.

During the process, she accidentally brushed against the other’s body. She looked at Xu Que in a panic, but the person beside her was still sleeping sweetly and soundly, showing no signs of waking up.

Her sleep quality is really good.

Jiang Fengyi couldn’t fall asleep for a while. She tossed and turned in bed, going from being cautious at first to letting herself go later.

Because she discovered that no matter how much she moved, Xu Que remained as immovable as a mountain. Unlike Jiang Fengyi, who had no sleepiness at all.

The moon was bright and the stars were sparse; all was quiet.

When people are in the middle of the night, the brain often makes bizarre decisions. This is why many people advise against thinking about problems late at night.

Jiang Fengyi clearly didn’t know this theory. Her movements became more frequent, and her attitude grew bolder as her sleepiness waned, even bumping into Xu Que several times as she turned.

Whether this behavior was intentional or accidental was known only to her.

The regular breathing finally stopped for a brief moment as she wished.

Xu Que was bleary-eyed, her eyes opening just a crack. The arm closest to Jiang Fengyi felt slightly numb, as if she had accidentally bumped into the corner of the bed.

She wanted to stretch her hand out of the quilt, only to realize she had been tightly wrapped up like a burrito.

Xu Que moved carefully, struggling to pull her hand out. After breaking free from the quilt’s restraint, she let out a heavy breath.

Having woken the person up, Jiang Fengyi finally came to her senses, completely unsure why she had been so insistent on making Xu Que wake up.

Just now, her brain felt as if it were covered by a layer of gauze, preventing her from thinking clearly and letting her bodily instincts control her actions.

Worried that her sigh had been too loud, Xu Que instinctively turned her head to check on Jiang Fengyi beside her.

To her surprise, she turned right into Jiang Fengyi’s large eyes, which were still bright and spirited in the dark.

“So… sorry, I woke you up.”

Jiang Fengyi shook her head.

As she moved, Xu Que could clearly feel the pillow under her own head moving along with her.

“You didn’t wake me up. I haven’t been able to sleep.”

Xu Que checked the time; it was already the middle of the night.

“Why can’t you sleep?”

The ordinary question, because it was the middle of the night—a time that easily feels intimate—lent a touch of tenderness to the query for no reason.

“Because of you…”

Jiang Fengyi buried her head in the pillow. The rising heat felt like it was going to cook her face. She was only thankful it was dark and the lights were off; otherwise, Xu Que would have seen her looking like a fully cooked shrimp.

Her voice came out muffled from under the pillow.

“Because your breathing is too loud, I can’t sleep.”

Jiang Fengyi unreasonably pushed the blame onto the other person.

Xu Que, the target of the slander, accepted it completely, following her lead. “Mm, it’s all my fault.”

Her voice was clear and cool, like a spring flowing past Jiang Fengyi’s ear.

“Then how should I atone for my sins?”

Having made it into Jiang Fengyi’s bed, Xu Que’s courage had grown quite a bit. Or perhaps, having just woken up, her brain hadn’t started thinking yet; she was driven only by her heart.

Her heart wanted to get closer to Jiang Fengyi, so Xu Que followed suit.

On the wide, handmade horsehair mattress, the two silhouettes gradually drew closer toward the center. The sides grew cold from lack of contact, while the temperature in the middle, holding the warmth of two people, began to turn scorching.

Xu Que reached out an arm toward the person on the pillow, gently drawing her body into an embrace.