After Becoming a Full-Time Employee, I Signed a Romance Contract with My Ice-Cold Boss - Chapter 32

Loving to Watch Her Eat

The Supermarket

Xu Que pushed the shopping cart, walking side-by-side with Jiang Fengyi through the fresh produce section. Anything that Jiang Fengyi liked to eat, Xu Que tossed into the cart without hesitation.

“Do you eat carrots?”

Jiang Fengyi shook her head. “I don’t like those.”

“Then we won’t buy them.” The cart in front of Xu Que was already filled with quite a few ingredients. She suggested, “Let’s go wander through the snack aisle and see what you’d like to eat.”

Jiang Fengyi felt a bit helpless; she was well past the age of loving snacks. However, seeing Xu Que’s high spirits, she didn’t voice a refusal, simply indulging her.

Behind them, a mother and daughter were also browsing the produce. The little girl, hearing Jiang Fengyi’s words, looked up at her mother and said, “Mom, I don’t like carrots either. Can I not eat them?”

“No, you can’t,” the mother refused coldly. “Children shouldn’t be picky eaters.”

“Then why can that big sister choose not to eat carrots?”

Walking ahead, Xu Que heard their conversation. She turned back and said to the little girl, “Because that sister is an adult. Once you grow up big and strong, you can also choose not to eat carrots.”

“Really?” The little girl turned to look at her mother.

“The sister is right,” the young mother gave Xu Que a grateful look. “When you grow up, you can choose not to eat whatever you don’t want to eat.”

“Yay! I want to grow up fast.”

The little girl seemed to take a liking to Xu Que and kept pestering her with talk. “Sister, why are you so good to the other sister?”

In her childish innocence, she asked, “Mom only lets me pick out snacks whenever I want if I’ve behaved well.”

“Is it because the other sister behaved well? So she’s being rewarded with whatever snacks she wants to eat?” At this point, the little girl visibly swallowed her saliva.

Xu Que bent down, smiling as she patted the little girl’s head.

“Because the other sister is an excellent adult. Excellent adults have the right to pick whatever snacks they want, and also…”

The little girl’s eyes sparkled with curiosity. “And also what?”

“And also, I love watching her eat.”

The love in the depths of Xu Que’s eyes was like sunlight spilling over a rippling lake, spreading outward circle by circle, quickly overflowing to the corners of her mouth. She curled her lips, smiling more brilliantly than a blooming sunflower.

“I love it so much that I can’t help but put all the delicious things in front of her for her to choose from.”

The little girl’s eyes lit up, and she quickly applied this logic to her mother. “Mom, didn’t you say I look cute when I eat? Can you be like this sister and put all the delicious snacks in front of me too?”

She pumped a fist heroically. “I won’t be picky; I want them all!”

“That is not the kind of ‘not being picky’ I was talking about,” the mother refused her even more decisively.

Seeing her daughter’s aggrieved expression over the lack of snacks, the mother began to paint a bright future: “When you grow up to be that sister’s age, you can also find someone who loves watching you eat to buy snacks for you.”

The mother took her daughter’s hand and continued forward, soon passing Jiang Fengyi and Xu Que.

“Then how long do I have to wait to be that sister’s age?”

“Hmm… eighteen years old, I suppose.”

“How long is eighteen years old?”

“It’s a very, very long time.”

“Then if I eat two carrots in one meal, can I grow up tomorrow?”

“Growing up doesn’t happen that fast.”

The conversation between mother and daughter drifted further away. The smile on Xu Que’s face still lingered at the corners of her eyes as she straightened up, looking up to see Jiang Fengyi standing frozen in place.

As soon as she met Xu Que’s gaze, Jiang Fengyi’s eyes darted away first, but she quickly looked back, feigning composure as she asked:

“Wh-why do you like watching me eat?” Her eyelashes fluttered rapidly. “You’ve never told me that before.”

Xu Que’s hand on the shopping cart tightened unconsciously. “Watching you eat feels healing to me.” She covered her heart. “It feels like this place becomes calm and peaceful.”

“My mood improves along with it.” Her gaze was lingering and tender as she looked at Jiang Fengyi, her smile hiding a sentiment she had never expressed before.

Hidden beneath her long hair, Jiang Fengyi’s ears secretly flushed a deep crimson. She hurriedly turned her head away, avoiding the other’s eyes.

“Weren’t we going to the snack aisle?”

She took the lead and walked forward, her footsteps slightly frantic.

Xu Que followed behind her with a smile, pushing the cart like a dutiful attendant.

Once Jiang Fengyi waited for her ears to stop burning, she slowed her pace. When Xu Que caught up, the two walked side-by-side once again.

“You always get along well with children.” It was true at the orphanage, and it was true here.

Xu Que thought about it carefully; it indeed seemed to be the case. She didn’t take it to heart. “Maybe I just have the kind of face that’s popular with kids?”

“It’s not because of your looks,” Jiang Fengyi said with certainty. “It’s because you radiate kindness toward them. That’s why children like being around you.”

Jiang Fengyi thought to herself that if she had met an adult like Xu Que when she was a child, she too would have been unable to resist drawing closer to her.

Even now, she loved her enough to be drawn to her side involuntarily.

The two soon arrived at the snack aisle.

Gazing at the dazzling array of snacks on the shelves, Jiang Fengyi really didn’t know where to start. She turned the question back to Xu Que. “Are there any snacks you like? I want to try them.”

Xu Que was like a mouse that had fallen into a grain bin, tossing snacks into the cart as she walked.

“This one is good!”

“This one is also delicious!”

“You definitely have to try this one!”

After one lap, the shopping cart was stuffed to the brim. The two returned home with a full load.

Back at Home

Xu Que pushed Jiang Fengyi—who was preparing to help—out of the kitchen. “The dishes I’m making are very simple. Just wait outside; have some soda crackers first to tide you over.”

Because she wanted Jiang Fengyi to eat as soon as possible, Xu Que prepared two quick dishes: stir-fried beef with green peppers and blanched lettuce. Both could be plated very quickly. Only the yam and pork rib soup, which required stewing, would take a bit longer.

When she finished a light dinner and prepared to call Jiang Fengyi to eat, she found the living room empty.

Xu Que searched the walk-in closet, the balcony, and the bathroom before finally heading toward the bedroom. Sure enough, she saw the familiar figure.

Jiang Fengyi sat before the vanity, exuding an air of aloofness that warned others not to approach. She stared at herself in the mirror, her lips pressed into a straight line.

Xu Que walked up behind her and asked hurriedly, “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”

Seeing Xu Que’s arrival, the indifference on Jiang Fengyi dissipated significantly, and her body unconsciously leaned toward Xu Que.

In the vanity mirror, their silhouettes overlapped.

“I don’t feel unwell.” Recalling what she had just seen, Jiang Fengyi’s brow furrowed into the shape of the character chuan again. “It’s just that some people are simply too loathsome.”

Xu Que thought for a moment. “The Zhao family?”

Jiang Fengyi nodded as expected, unable to help asking, “How did you know?”

“I guessed.” Xu Que expertly massaged Jiang Fengyi’s brow. “Every time something makes you frown, if it isn’t your mother, it’s the Zhao family.”

“What kind of trouble have they caused you this time?”

Seeing that Jiang Fengyi was about to frown again, Xu Que dropped the subject. “If you don’t want to talk about it, don’t. Dinner is ready; let’s go eat first.”

“Whenever you’re ready to vent, I’m always here.”

It wasn’t until Jiang Fengyi sat down at the dining table that Xu Que turned off the flame under the simmering soup and ladled out a bowl of fresh yam soup for her.

“Be careful, it’s hot.”

Jiang Fengyi stared at the milky-white broth and slowly spoke: “The old matriarch of the Zhao family has personally stepped in. She’s demanding to take my mother out of the nursing home.”

“She’s using her status as an elder to apply pressure and is colluding with my mother’s former business partners to demand a transfer for treatment.”

“If my mother really gets her wish and transfers to a nursing home under the Zhao family’s name, then that psychiatric report really becomes a scrap of waste paper. She would go back to her old life, doing whatever she pleases.”

“What happens if you don’t agree?”

“The Zhao family will contact the media to take this public, and the company’s stock price will be affected.”

“They’ve completely torn off the mask with you?”

“The Zhao family has always stood with the Jiang family led by Jiang Xuan, not the Jiang family under my leadership. Now that I’ve locked up their ally, naturally, they’re anxious to make a move.”

“So they’d rather burn bridges just to fish her out first.”

“Then what do you plan to do?” Xu Que knew Jiang Fengyi; she would never compromise on this.

Jiang Fengyi lowered her head and took a sip of the soup. The warm, soft yam filled the void in her stomach, and the heat spread from her abdomen to her extremities. The warmth soon permeated her entire body.

“The Zhao family can contact the media, but our Jiang family isn’t without friends in the press either.”

Jiang Fengyi was a woman of action. She immediately instructed Wu Qi: “Notify the mainstream media. I will hold a press conference next Monday.”

“The matter regarding my mother should naturally be explained by me, her biological daughter.”

She turned to Xu Que and said, “Contact the styling team. Have them prepare the attire needed for the conference. The requirement is low-key and black.”

Xu Que went to execute the task immediately, but was stopped by Jiang Fengyi just as she was leaving the table.

“There’s no rush for a moment or two. Go after you finish eating.”

Having said that, she took a bite of the stir-fried beef with green peppers. The beef, coated in starch, was tender and smooth, paired with the long strips of sweet green pepper. The two flavors intertwined in her mouth.

“This dish goes very well with rice.”

Jiang Fengyi ate half a bowl of rice more than usual. Consequently, as she sat on the sofa arranging work for her assistants, she felt a bit of a “carb crash,” her eyelids involuntarily drooping.

Xu Que used her own words to persuade her: “There’s no rush for a moment or two. The conference isn’t until next week. It won’t be too late to arrange these tasks tomorrow.”

She nudged her toward the bathroom. “Why not shower early tonight and get a good night’s sleep? You’ll only have the energy to arrange tomorrow’s affairs if you’re well-rested.”

Jiang Fengyi let out a yawn and took Xu Que’s advice, preparing to go grab her pajamas for a shower.

Just as Xu Que pushed her into the bathroom, Jiang Fengyi started to walk back out. Xu Que’s tone immediately dropped. “Are you planning on doing more unpaid overtime?”

Jiang Fengyi found it funny. “I’m the boss. Who could make me do unpaid overtime?”

“I’m going to get my pajamas. Didn’t you tell me to rest early?” She bypassed Xu Que, who was blocking the bathroom door. “The superior has decided to follow the subordinate’s orders and go shower obediently.”

Xu Que grabbed Jiang Fengyi, the words slipping out without a second thought: “You go in. I’ll help you get your pajamas and your under—”

Before she could finish the sentence, both of their faces turned as red as cooked shrimp.

She hurriedly pulled her hand back, letting out two awkward laughs. “I suddenly remembered that the dishes in the dishwasher haven’t been cleaned. I’ll go take them out and wash them.”

Xu Que walked away with stiff, uncoordinated limbs. Jiang Fengyi watched her back and let out a soft laugh.

The Next Day

The two shared a car to the company. Out of habit, Xu Que got into the back seat, with Jiang Fengyi sitting right beside her.

The air inside the car felt thin. Without even trying, Xu Que could smell the fragrance from the shampoo Jiang Fengyi had used last night.

Not only that, but Xu Que felt as if the space in the back seat had shrunk overnight. Her entire arm was pressed tightly against Jiang Fengyi’s body.

The summer clothing was thin, and she easily absorbed the body heat coming from the other woman.

Xu Que sat with a stiff body, silent, only swallowing hard several times.

Just as the car drove out of the residential complex, an inconspicuous grey van that had been lurking by the roadside began to follow.