After Becoming a Full-Time Employee, I Signed a Romance Contract with My Ice-Cold Boss - Chapter 3

Staying Over

“Mother.”

Jiang Fengyi greeted her coldly, standing behind Xu Que without another word.

As soon as Jiang Fengyi uttered the word “Mother,” Xu Que immediately stepped aside, turning her body to let the other woman into the room.

However, the visitor didn’t seem to appreciate the gesture.

“So this is the girlfriend you found?”

When Jiang Xuan mentioned Xu Que, she didn’t even bother to spare her a glance; her eyes were fixed tightly on Jiang Fengyi.

She looked at the face so similar to her own, unable to understand how the relationship between mother and daughter had become so estranged, or why her daughter couldn’t understand her painstaking efforts.

Jiang Fengyi told the lie with a perfectly composed face: “Yes, she is the girlfriend I’ve been dating for many years.”

Jiang Xuan: “Finding a partner from a family of equal social standing for a strategic marriage would provide you with a great deal of support.”

Jiang Fengyi: “But similarly, I would also be constrained by the other party’s family.”

“If you take the benefits, you have to share the risks; there’s no such thing as a free lunch. The Zhao family is only close to us because of interest. People who come for profit will one day distance themselves from you because of profit.

“Mother, you cannot guarantee that you will always be able to bring profit to the other party.”

“Aside from the Zhao family, there is also the Song family…”

“Did you come here today just to discuss this with me?”

Jiang Xuan had shown up unannounced because she heard from her brother that Jiang Fengyi had suddenly produced a long-term partner.

“You and her—how long have you been together?”

“Several years.”

“Why have I never heard you mention this before?”

“Have you ever cared about my life?”

Jiang Xuan stood outside the door, never making any move to enter. Only Xu Que stood between her and Jiang Fengyi, yet in that moment, it felt as though a gap of over a decade lay between them.

During Jiang Fengyi’s childhood, the two had once shared a close mother-daughter bond.

A well-behaved Jiang Fengyi would snuggle in her arms, acting spoiled and asking for bedtime stories. Usually, Jiang Xuan would set aside her work and carry her back to bed.

The same hand that signed documents would gently tuck the thin quilt printed with little brown bears around Jiang Fengyi, patting her daughter’s back rhythmically and tirelessly until her eyes slowly closed.

Only after the child was asleep would Jiang Xuan return to her work.

As Jiang Fengyi grew up, her mother’s work became increasingly busy. The storybooks once used for bedtime were forgotten in a corner, gathering a thick layer of dust.

The houses they moved into grew larger and larger, while childhood memories remained buried in the old house from years ago, fading continuously with the passage of time.

Now, hearing Jiang Fengyi’s counter-question, Jiang Xuan opened and closed her mouth, wanting to argue but finding no words.

Suddenly, the ringing of a cell phone broke the silence. Jiang Xuan felt lucky that the call had come at such a timely moment.

She answered practicedly.

“What is it?”

“Director Jiang,” the person on the other end was her assistant, “there is an online meeting in fifteen minutes. Should I postpone it…”

“Proceed as scheduled. I’m heading back now.”

After hanging up, Jiang Xuan didn’t look at Jiang Fengyi again. She took the elevator and left directly.

Xu Que closed the door, and the two returned to the dining table. Neither spoke. The dinner ended up being tasteless; Jiang Fengyi only took a few bites before putting down her chopsticks and returning to her room.

Once Jiang Fengyi left the table, Xu Que also put down her chopsticks and followed her to the bedroom door, hesitating whether to knock and offer some comfort.

No wonder Jiang Fengyi wanted to find a stranger like her for a fake marriage—it turned out she was dissatisfied with her mother’s tyranny.

Before the comforting words could be formed, the bedroom door in front of her opened again.

Jiang Fengyi thrust a pile of clothes into Xu Que’s arms. Her tone was normal, not sounding depressed at all.

“Wear my clothes for the next few days. They are all new and have been washed. Our builds are similar, so they should fit you.”

Although they were new clothes that had never been worn, they had just been taken from the walk-in closet, and every piece carried the scent of Jiang Fengyi.

Xu Que gave an absent-minded “Mm.”

“Are… are you okay?”

Jiang Fengyi was clearly stunned for a moment and asked tentatively, “Are you asking about what just happened?”

Xu Que nodded.

Jiang Fengyi spoke calmly: “I won’t be affected by her.”

“But you didn’t eat much for dinner.”

“I’ve always eaten very little in the evening.”

“Then I must have misunderstood.”

“I’m fine,” Jiang Fengyi changed the subject bluntly. “By the way, you’ll stay in the guest bedroom next to mine.”

“Okay.”

Xu Que walked away clutching the clothes, unable to understand Jiang Fengyi’s behavior of insisting she was fine when she was clearly sad.

Perhaps she didn’t want to show her fragile side to others. To Jiang Fengyi, she was just a stranger she had met a day ago.

The south wall of the living room was replaced by a single piece of panoramic glass. Standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, Jiang Fengyi could overlook the city’s thousands of lights, warm yellow glows lighting up one by one before her eyes.

In the center of the living room, a crystal chandelier sparkled with silver-white light. Under its glow, the cool-toned light felt like a cold winter spring, its chill seeping into the skin bit by bit.

It just shone coldly, devoid of any emotion.

“What a terrible lamp. I’ll change it tomorrow.”

Just as Jiang Fengyi was planning to find someone to replace the lamp, she saw Xu Que returning out of the corner of her eye.

“I made you some honey water. Have some.”

She watched Xu Que approach her step by step, holding a glass.

“It’s very sweet. Try it.”

Xu Que loved sweets, but children in the orphanage couldn’t have candy every day. The teachers there would mix a lot of honey water so every child could have a cup.

That was the only sweetness of her childhood.

Once the sweet honey water hit the stomach, even the saddest things would dissolve.

She hoped this would work for Jiang Fengyi too.

The Next Day

The crystal lamp in the living room escaped its fate.

Xu Que had boasted that home-cooked meals were no trouble for her, and today she decided to show off her skills in front of Jiang Fengyi.

She stood in front of the refrigerator and asked, “What would you like to eat?”

“Whatever you make. I’m not a picky eater.”

The fridge was stocked with all kinds of ingredients. Xu Que scanned them and quickly decided on a menu.

“Then I’ll make delicious and appetizing tomato scrambled eggs and stir-fried pork with peppers, plus a yam and pork rib soup.”

Jiang Fengyi didn’t have to go to the company today. She was wearing pajamas at home, and seeing Xu Que wearing the same brand of pajamas gave her the heart-stirring illusion that they really were a couple.

To stop herself from overthinking while idle, she stepped forward and asked, “Do you need help?”

There was no way Xu Que would let her paying employer do chores, so she quickly refused.

“No, no, just wait in the living room. These two dishes are very simple.”

Xu Que moved swiftly; her knife hit the board with precision, and in the time it took to speak, she had already sliced the green peppers. The pork rib soup was already simmering in the pot, sending out clouds of white steam.

Seeing Xu Que’s practiced manner, Jiang Fengyi knew she couldn’t help even if she stayed, so she retreated.

Outside the window, fierce winds mixed with raindrops battered the glass. The typhoon had made landfall, and not a single pedestrian could be seen outdoors.

The greenery in the community was blown askew by the wind. Trees that weren’t particularly thick were snapped in half, and many were uprooted entirely, lying crisscross on the ground.

In the face of extreme weather, humans were as tiny as ants—powerless, helpless, with nowhere to turn, only able to wait quietly for the disaster to pass.

The sizzling sound of hot oil replaced the howling wind in her ears, instantly pulling her back from her somber state.

As soon as the eggs hit the pan, even though Jiang Fengyi was sitting in the living room far from the kitchen, the aroma barged aggressively into her nose.

Soon, the spatula began to move rapidly. The sizzling in the kitchen grew louder, and the charred fragrance of the eggs became even more intense.

Jiang Fengyi, who hadn’t been particularly hungry, felt as if all the food in her stomach had been digested the moment she smelled the scent, her stomach clamoring to be fed.

“It smells so good!”

“I’m a bit hungry.”

Jiang Fengyi intended to find something in the house to tide her over, but after looking around, she found there were no snacks at all.

Xu Que called out from a distance: “You can wash your hands and get ready to eat!”

“So fast?”

By the time Jiang Fengyi finished washing her hands, Xu Que had already brought the dishes to the dining table.

“The soup needs to simmer a bit longer. Let’s eat first.”

The freshly cooked dishes were still steaming. Xu Que handed the bowls and chopsticks to Jiang Fengyi.

“Taste it and see how my cooking is.”

After speaking, she stared at the other woman nervously. She felt a bit of tension in her heart; although everyone who had eaten her food praised it, Jiang Fengyi was used to delicacies, and she didn’t know if she would like it.

Jiang Fengyi picked up a small piece of golden-brown egg and put it in her mouth, chewing slowly. It had both the tenderness of the egg and the sweet and sour flavor of the tomato.

She moved on to the other dish. The thinly sliced lean pork was coated in starch; with one bite, the savory aroma of the sauce immediately filled her mouth, carrying the slight spiciness of the green peppers. It was perfect with a mouthful of rice.

When eating something delicious, her pale pupils widened slightly. Only after swallowing the food did she speak: “If you don’t want to work in the future, you can apply to be a chef at my house.”

Hearing such a review from Jiang Fengyi, the weight in Xu Que’s heart finally lifted.

“I’m glad you like it.”

“You eat first,” Xu Que stood up. “I’ll go see if the soup is ready.”

By the time Xu Que brought the soup over, Jiang Fengyi had already taken several bites of the dishes. Her appetite was surprisingly good today.

“Sit down and eat together.”

The two had only met yesterday, so there wasn’t much to talk about. They fell silent at the table, eating quietly.

Xu Que took the initiative to break the silence: “If there’s anything else you like to eat, you can tell me. I’ll make it for you next time.”

Jiang Fengyi, who usually didn’t care much for food, actually began to think seriously.

“Nothing special right now. I’ll tell you when I have something in mind.”

“Okay.”

After another moment of silence, it was Jiang Fengyi who spoke first this time.

She asked for Xu Que’s opinion: “Regarding us being together, do you want to make it public or keep it a secret from the rest of the company?”

“Public? Aren’t we… supposed to be fake?”

Xu Que had never considered a public scenario, defaulting to the assumption that she only needed to play the role of the newlywed partner in front of Jiang Fengyi’s family.

“I understand what you mean. Then at the company, we will remain strangers.”

Although there were many Jiang family members in the company’s senior management, they rarely visited the office throughout the year; few of them actually did any real work.

Jiang Fengyi lowered her head in thought. Xu Que needed to change jobs; otherwise, if she stayed in the sales department, the two of them would hardly ever meet.

Got it!

“After working from home ends, go to the HR department to sign a new contract.”

Xu Que looked up, her eyes instantly lighting up: “Is it a permanent contract?”

“Yes. After becoming permanent, you’ll come up to the 22nd floor to be my assistant.”

“But… but I was in the sales department before. I’ve never done assistant work.”

“It’s fine. You can learn slowly. I have more than one assistant.”

Jiang Fengyi took a sip of the steaming pork rib soup, then put the spoon down because it was too hot, intending to let it cool a bit.

She analyzed the situation with Xu Que: “We are both in the same boat now. We need to become familiar with each other as quickly as possible. The role of assistant allows us to meet reasonably every day.”

“It’s not just my mother who wants me to marry. Other members of the Jiang family also hope I marry, get pregnant, and have children soon, so I can slowly surrender the power in my hands.”

“In their eyes, an Omega should stay at home and raise the next generation.”

“That’s not true!” Xu Que interrupted her for the first time. “What kind of life an Omega wants to live depends on the Omega’s own will.”

She looked into Jiang Fengyi’s eyes, sincere and resolute: “No one can define what a person should be like.”

The eyes of the woman opposite her, Jiang Fengyi, shimmered with starlight: “I really didn’t choose the wrong person.”

She took a deep breath and continued to share her guesses with Xu Que.

“My mother was called back by a work call yesterday, so she definitely won’t give up. I’m worried she might seek you out privately. Therefore, during this time, we should try to stay together as much as possible—eating together and living together—so she doesn’t find a chance to catch you alone.”

“If anyone in the company makes things difficult for you, tell me directly. I am your backing.”

Jiang Fengyi, wearing her casual pajamas, analyzed the pros and cons with a serious face. It softened her cold detachment from the office and enhanced her approachable friendliness.

It naturally made Xu Que feel a sense of closeness.

Jiang Fengyi herself appeared extremely easy to talk to.

“It’s fine even if you don’t know how to do assistant work; the title is just a cover.”

Jiang Fengyi emphasized: “You must remember, you are my partner.”

Even though she knew she was just an excuse for Jiang Fengyi to refuse the family’s arranged marriage, hearing those words still made her heart tremble.

Underneath that cold exterior was a soft and gentle soul.

And somehow, she was the only one who could see this contrasting side.

Xu Que quietly developed a desire for exclusivity, wanting to be the only one to see this side of Jiang Fengyi. Possessiveness had already sprouted before she even realized it.