After Becoming a Full-Time Employee, I Signed a Romance Contract with My Ice-Cold Boss - Chapter 19

It Was You Who Crossed the Line

The night was silent.

Two burning bodies brushed against each other lightly, and a sensation like an electric current jolted through them. Emotions that were too late to be confessed began to vine and spread in the darkness.

“Do you need me to coax you to sleep?”

The voice murmured in Jiang Fengyi’s ear.

Just as she felt she was about to lose her breath, a warm palm rescued her from the soft pillow.

Xu Que let out a light chuckle, the vibration making Jiang Fengyi’s entire body feel numb.

“With your face buried in the pillow, aren’t you worried about suffocating?”

Jiang Fengyi didn’t know what was wrong with Xu Que tonight; the end of every sentence carried a little hook, tugging at her until she was flushed and her ears were burning.

Finally breathing freely, Jiang Fengyi rolled over, turning her back to Xu Que and covering her thumping heart with both hands.

Xu Que pressed close again: “Why aren’t you answering me?”

It was impossible to tell whose body temperature was higher. Xu Que only knew that the heat on her body was constantly rising, and even the air was gradually becoming scorching.

She picked up a strand of the black hair in front of her, twirling it between her fingers. Ever since Jiang Fengyi had been lying on the sofa, she had felt an itch to do this, and now she had finally succeeded.

Xu Que mimicked Jiang Fengyi’s previous actions, letting the strands wrap around her fingertips as the scent of flowers bloomed in her hand. Her palm continued to reach further into the hair, soon brushing against Jiang Fengyi’s long neck.

This—this is?

Xu Que felt the owner of the long hair shudder. Immediately after, Jiang Fengyi raised her hand to touch the back of her own neck.

Fortunately, the inhibitor patch was firmly stuck to the gland; the peeling incident from last time did not repeat itself.

Jiang Fengyi, who was currently in her susceptibility period, gritted her teeth to mask the emotional stir in her voice. She intentionally lowered her tone, making it sound colder.

“Xu Que!”

“We are only in a cooperative relationship!”

Jiang Fengyi used these words to remind Xu Que, but also to remind her own chaotic heart.

“Go to sleep now.”

The ambiguity in the air came to a screeching halt. Xu Que’s long fingers were still wrapped in the other’s hair; for a moment, she didn’t know whether she should continue.

“Are… are you angry?”

“It was you who crossed the line.”

Xu Que’s body stiffened. So, Jiang Fengyi only treated her as an ordinary subordinate.

She thought that in Jiang Fengyi’s heart, she was a unique existence.

She thought…

The testing tentacles retracted back into their shell. Xu Que closed her lowered lashes and silently lay down on the very edge of the bed.

Jiang Fengyi’s lips parted slightly, fluttering a few times, but in the end, no sound came out.

A large space opened up in the center of the bed. The two occupied opposite sides, as if separated by thousands of mountains and rivers. The temperature of the spot they had just shared continued to drop until it returned to the freezing point.

Xu Que carefully controlled the sound of her breathing, worried about disturbing Jiang Fengyi’s sleep. But her effort was redundant; on the other side of the bed, Jiang Fengyi had no desire to sleep, staring wide-eyed as she counted the passing time.

The next day, the two who had shared a bed but different dreams both coincidentally had a shadow of dark circles under their eyes.

With a weary face, Xu Que began to play the role of a qualified subordinate the moment Jiang Fengyi looked over at her.

“Good morning, President Jiang.”

The curve of her lips was neither too much nor too little—just a polite, distant smile.

Jiang Fengyi, equally exhausted, nodded slightly: “Good morning to you, too.”

This was the result she had sought, yet why was she knitting her brows in frustration now?

Both were working hard to play their respective roles, like a pair of clockwork dolls, performing the contents of their agreement without a shred of emotion.

Jiang Fengyi obtained the stock transfer contract she wanted and played out the “weekend-limited mother-daughter affection” drama with Jiang Xuan.

As soon as the weekend ended, she took her only co-actor, Xu Que, and left without looking back.

“Hard work. Sorry for taking up your weekend time.”

Jiang Fengyi’s business-like tone made Xu Que’s heart shatter once more.

“You don’t need to come to the office for the next two days. Have a good rest at home.”

“Thank you, President Jiang.”

“President Jiang is truly considerate of her subordinates.”

Xu Que’s reply similarly caused Jiang Fengyi to choke up.

The two were so alienated that the entire twenty-second floor was discussing in private whether Xu Que had messed something up to earn President Jiang’s dissatisfaction.

This past month, Xu Que had felt as if every day lasted a year. She looked forward to seeing Jiang Fengyi, yet regretted seeing her. Every additional meeting added another layer of regret to her heart.

On this day, He Shuyi had just come out of Jiang Fengyi’s office. She walked straight to Xu Que.

She tapped on the desk.

“President Jiang wants you to go in for a moment.”

Xu Que’s eyes seemed to fill with stars, light bursting forth once again. She had finally waited for Jiang Fengyi to seek her out proactively.

“You were looking for me?”

When Xu Que was happy, her voice always carried an upward lilt. It was very easy to tell her mood.

“Tomorrow is the day of the birthday banquet at the Zhao family. I was afraid you’d forget, so I’m giving you a reminder.”

Jiang Fengyi used the motion of looking down to drink water to hide her true emotions. If Xu Que felt like days were years, she too had been depressed all day long.

“I haven’t forgotten.” So, the reason she proactively sought her out was only for this. The light in Xu Que’s eyes dimmed visibly.

She asked: “What time do we set off tomorrow?”

Jiang Fengyi blurted out: “We have to leave early tomorrow morning.”

After saying it, she guiltily took another sip of warm water.

“Doesn’t the birthday banquet start in the evening?” Xu Que was confused. “Do we need to leave so early in the morning?”

“I need to take you for hair and makeup ahead of time to choose a dress.” Jiang Fengyi had already finished every last drop of water in the cup. “After all, it is Old Mrs. Zhao’s birthday banquet; it needs to be treated with solemnity.”

Jiang Fengyi was clearly not good at lying; she didn’t realize that this sentence contradicted the one she had just spoken.

With her mind wandering and focused entirely on how to ease the relationship, Xu Que did not notice the loophole in the other’s words.

“Then I’ll go ask for leave.”

“Mhm.”

Jiang Fengyi’s eyes were fixed on the empty cup in her hand, avoiding eye contact with Xu Que.

“The styling team isn’t sure when they’ll arrive tomorrow. Move into my place tonight in advance, so you won’t miss them if they arrive before you do.”

Xu Que agreed immediately.

Neither spoke again, and the office fell silent for a moment.

Finally, it was Xu Que who spoke: “President Jiang, if there’s nothing else, I’ll head out first.”

“Mhm.”

When she retreated, Xu Que politely closed the door.

Click—

A soft sound, yet it slammed heavily against Jiang Fengyi’s heart.

She stared blankly in the direction Xu Que had left. She couldn’t help but ask herself: is this really the result I wanted?

Why do I only think about pushing her away?

The worst result of letting her emotions run wild would simply be finding another partner, whereas the good result would be—

The partner becoming a real partner!

Jiang Fengyi, who had been unhappy for a month, suddenly saw the light. Her furrowed brows finally smoothed out. She wished she could call the person back right now and change her attitude to talk again.

Just as Jiang Fengyi was about to move, she considered that if she made a big fuss to call her back, the other employees might think Xu Que had committed some sort of mistake.

Thinking of this, she sat back down.

The future is long; there is no need to rush this very moment.

Walking out of the office, Xu Que’s eyes were dim and soulless as she walked back to her workstation like a walking corpse.

Seeing her like this, He Shuyi was greatly shocked: “Did you go into the office just to get scolded by President Jiang?”

“To hit is to kiss, to scold is to love,” she comforted. “President Jiang is doing this out of concern for you.”

Xu Que only shook her head and said no more.

She would rather be scolded or hit a few times by Jiang Fengyi than have the two of them interact the way they were now.

Xu Que looked back at the office door she had personally closed, a hint of melancholy appearing in her eyes.