After Becoming a Full-Time Employee, I Signed a Romance Contract with My Ice-Cold Boss - Chapter 23

Tearing Off the Inhibitor Patch

Steamed sea bass, celery with beef, and pea shoot meatball soup.

The two people at the dining table ate the two dishes and one soup absent-mindedly. What appeared in their minds were not the food, but other images.

Xu Que blushed, pretending to pick up food while stealing glances at Jiang Fengyi sitting opposite her.

Little did she know that the person opposite was looking over at the same time. Their two gazes collided, like a spark meeting a pile of dry autumn grass—igniting instantly.

Jiang Fengyi felt the gland at the back of her neck heating up. she hurriedly lowered her eyes and spoke in a small voice: “You… don’t stare at me like that. Just… just eat.”

Her long eyelashes trembled slightly, like a butterfly resting on an eyelid fluttering its wings.

Xu Que couldn’t get enough of the sight.

“Mm… eating.”

Her hand reached for the dish closest to her, but her eyes never left Jiang Fengyi. She simply kept smiling at her, sending the chopsticks directly into her mouth.

“Pah, pah pah pah.”

The bitter taste of charred food filled her mouth. Xu Que scrambled up to rinse her mouth and returned to take the burnt dish off the table.

“This dish is charred, it’s inedible.”

She sat back down at the table. Just as she took a bite of something else, she suddenly realized it was a workday; she should be at the office.

“Oh no!”

“I forgot to ask for leave.”

Xu Que was hurriedly looking for her phone to make a call when Jiang Fengyi spoke unhurriedly.

“It’s fine, I already asked for leave for you.”

Xu Que was dazed: “When?”

“While you were in the kitchen cooking.”

Xu Que’s eyes curved into crescents: “As expected, you’re the thoughtful one.”

She released her affection for Jiang Fengyi sincerely and fervently, her clear pupils filled with the other’s reflection.

Jiang Fengyi put down her chopsticks. The discomfort at the back of her neck was reminding her to control her pheromones, but the moment she met Xu Que’s eyes—which were as bright as stars—her rational mind felt like a snapped string. She couldn’t tell if the back of her neck was hotter or her face was hotter, but she knew her face must be flushed beyond recognition.

The quiet fragrance of night-blooming cereus peeked out silently. At first, it was just a tentative probe, but later it grew bolder, wafting over to the opposite side.

Her mind was no longer on the food. Xu Que had approached Jiang Fengyi from behind at some point, asking in a voice lower and huskier than usual.

“Is there a problem with the inhibitor patch?”

Jiang Fengyi shook her head.

The temperature of the skin at the back of her neck was rising higher and higher. The inhibitor patch she had just applied felt like a counterfeit; it wasn’t suppressing her pheromones at all.

With Xu Que in front of her, even the strongest inhibitor patch became nothing more than an ordinary piece of tape.

“You, you…”

Xu Que’s gaze darkened as she inhaled the floral scent.

“Are you feeling uncomfortable?”

Before her voice had even faded, her fingertips had already touched Jiang Fengyi’s shoulder. The heat from her palm transferred to the other woman through the thin fabric.

Jiang Fengyi, held by the shoulder, felt as if she had been scalded. She shrank back, her body trembling.

Jiang Fengyi turned around to face Xu Que. She placed her palm against the other’s chest, trying to push away this person who had suddenly become predatory.

But her body had gone soft, and naturally, her hands lacked strength. The resisting motion fell into Xu Que’s eyes as an act of coquetry.

Xu Que directly took hold of the soft, boneless hand pressed against her chest. Like a child with a new toy, she toyed with it meticulously in her palm.

Her other hand loosely encircled Jiang Fengyi’s lower back.

“Your body is so hot, why are your hands so cold?”

After ensuring every finger was in intimate contact, Xu Que pinched Jiang Fengyi’s wrist and pressed it against the hottest part of her own chest.

“I’ll warm them for you.”

Amidst the night-blooming cereus fragrance, a touch of passionate sunflower pheromones appeared, entwining with the faint floral scent with irresistible strength.

After Xu Que released her own pheromones, the gaze of the Jiang Fengyi in her arms gradually grew misty. She tilted her head back slightly, her pale pupils reflecting Xu Que’s figure.

Because her head was tilted back, her long hair fell entirely behind her, the ends lightly brushing against Xu Que’s hand resting on her waist.

It was like a cat’s tail; before tempting someone, it brushes against them a few times, and the tempted person follows blindly and infatuatedly.

Xu Que was no exception. Her burning fingertips reached deep into the hair, tracing slowly upward along the spine.

Unobstructed, she reached the back of Jiang Fengyi’s neck. The skin here was more delicate than elsewhere; with just a little pressure, it left a red mark.

Xu Que couldn’t help but lighten her movements.

Tearing off the inhibitor patch, the floral fragrance suddenly rushed into her nose.

Xu Que nearly swooned amidst the flowers.

Jiang Fengyi’s legs could no longer stand steady. She leaned her entire body weight against Xu Que, burying her head in the other’s chest to hide her disheveled state.

The fingertips descended, first with gentle strokes, circling inward toward the center of the gland. If a larger movement caused dissatisfaction in the person in her arms, her fingers would patiently linger to soothe and rub.

Xu Que thought of nothing else, focusing entirely on serving Jiang Fengyi. If the person in her arms was happy, she was happy too.

The food on the table had long since lost all its heat.

The two people at the table, however, were each more burning than the other.

Jiang Fengyi gripped Xu Que’s arm, her remaining sliver of reason prompting her to speak.

“Go… go back to the room…”

“As you wish.”

Having said that, she didn’t leave immediately. Xu Que lowered her head, kissing the lips she had desired for so long.

Jiang Fengyi wasn’t wearing lipstick today. Her lip color was a faint pink, like a peeled peach—sweet and delicious upon the first bite, making one lose themselves in it.

“Hiss—”

“Are… are you a dog?”

“You like biting people?”

Xu Que laughed softly: “I don’t like biting people.”

She buried her head against Jiang Fengyi’s neck. The other’s voluminous, thick long hair brushed against her cheek, and the restlessness she had barely managed to suppress began to rebel again.

The canine teeth at the back of her tongue were itching, longing to sink in.

Now is not the time, she patiently counseled herself.

Xu Que took a few deep breaths of the wonderful floral scent to suppress the desire in her heart. She easily picked up the limp Jiang Fengyi, preparing to head toward the bedroom.

“Ding-dong—”

The doorbell suddenly rang.

Jiang Fengyi patted her: “Put me down, I’ll go open the door.”

In Xu Que’s eyes, Jiang Fengyi’s hair was a mess, she was drenched in sweat, her excessively fair skin was flushed with a faint pink, and what attracted her gaze most were those red, swollen lips.

“No, you can’t open the door!”

The petty Xu Que would never allow anyone else to see Jiang Fengyi’s current appearance; only she could see it.

Jiang Fengyi discussed with her in a good-natured way: “Then I’ll stay here, you go open it?”

Xu Que shook her head again.

She didn’t want to let go of the person in her arms; she greedily wanted to stay stuck to her.

She explained with a seemingly reasonable tone: “If someone was urgently looking for you, they certainly wouldn’t just ring once.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the doorbell rang again.

The person in her arms looked up at her. Though she didn’t speak, the expression on her face seemed to say: Let’s see what excuse you find now.

Xu Que just made it up as she went: “Who knows if it’s an acquaintance just from the doorbell? What if it’s a neighbor?”

“I’m the only one on this floor.”

“Then it could be someone from upstairs or downstairs,” Xu Que’s gaze didn’t leave Jiang Fengyi’s mouth. “You live alone, you can’t open the door for strangers.”

“It’s one unit with three elevators, residents from other floors can’t reach…”

As she spoke, she lowered her head again, and Jiang Fengyi’s unfinished words were forced back into her throat.

It wasn’t until Jiang Fengyi patted her hard from lack of oxygen that Xu Que ended the kiss reluctantly.

After straightening up, she spoke with a smile: “See? The doorbell stopped. It shows that whoever it is isn’t here for anything important, otherwise…”

Before she could finish, Jiang Fengyi’s phone on the living room sofa rang urgently. The sound was so loud that the two of them, who hadn’t left the dining area, could hear it clearly.

“Otherwise, they would call me.”

Jiang Fengyi kindly finished the second half of the sentence for Xu Que.

She turned on the indoor air circulation and pushed Xu Que outward, instructing: “Go open the door.”

Jiang Fengyi herself returned to the bedroom to tidy herself up.

By the time she finished changing her clothes and inhibitor patch and walked out, the living room was exceptionally quiet and empty. Looking up, she saw Xu Que standing at the door with her back turned, using her body to block whoever was outside.

“Who is it? Why aren’t you letting them in?”

Jiang Fengyi walked over. She thought it was Wu Qi ringing the bell, bringing over documents she couldn’t handle.

However, as she got closer, she saw a row of people standing outside.

Her mother, Jiang Xuan, was standing outside with Zhao Ruxuan and Zhao Ruofei.

When Jiang Xuan saw her coming over, her tone was indifferent: “There you are.” She turned to glare at Xu Que, “Now can you let us in!”

Xu Que didn’t care about her changing attitude: “I said, you can only enter after Jiang Fengyi agrees. She hasn’t agreed yet.”

One person against three, she rolled her eyes at them one by one, not missing a single person.

Jiang’s mother was furious: “Where did you find such an insolent person!”

“Insolent?” Jiang Fengyi glanced at Xu Que. “I think she only listens to me, and that’s very good.”

Xu Que instantly looked like a puppy praised by its owner, proudly puffing out her chest. If she had a tail, it would surely be spinning like a propeller.

Jiang Fengyi stood behind Xu Que and swept her gaze over the three of them: “You all are here for…?”

“Regarding what happened yesterday, Ruofei explained it to me clearly. I’ve brought them here today to apologize to you.”

She nudged Zhao Ruofei with her elbow. The latter reacted immediately, stepping forward with a gift.

“I’m sorry. What happened yesterday was our fault. I hope you will accept our apology.”

After she finished speaking, she pulled Zhao Ruxuan to bow in apology.

Despite Zhao Ruxuan’s face being full of indignation, she still lowered her head and bowed according to her sister’s wishes.

Jiang Xuan began to speak on their behalf: “You know Ruxuan’s personality; she’s straightforward and has no malicious intent. Logically speaking, she could have drugged you silently without anyone knowing.”

“But she didn’t. She didn’t use those twisted, bad ideas. Moreover, she only did it for her sister, hoping the Jiang and Zhao families would continue to cooperate.”

“If you had agreed to Ruofei’s proposal early on, none of this would have happened.”

Xu Que was moved to laughter by the absurdity. She could actually say something so outrageous.

“So she’s not wrong, and she’s not wrong either. Then the one who’s wrong is your daughter, right? Blaming her for not being ‘tactful’ and not agreeing to the Zhao family’s demands sooner.”

Xu Que crossed her arms, coldly sizing up the three people outside the door.

“You really have a great relationship with the Zhao family’s children. If I didn’t know better, I’d think they were your biological daughters and the one inside was the outsider.”

After finished mocking them, she said no more, turned around, and slammed the door, leading Jiang Fengyi inside.

Behind her, Jiang Fengyi looked at Xu Que’s back. Seeing the grievances of so many years finally acknowledged by someone, a sense of touch arose in her heart.

Returning to the living room and sitting down, Xu Que spread her arms and pulled Jiang Fengyi into an embrace, the heartache in her eyes gradually revealing itself.

“For all these years… have you lived like this?”