After Becoming a Full-Time Employee, I Signed a Romance Contract with My Ice-Cold Boss - Chapter 4

Is the Relationship Truly Innocent?

“If there are no issues, we will arrange it this way.”

Xu Que watched Jiang Fengyi’s moving lips and nodded blankly.

Jiang Fengyi narrowed her eyes slightly. “Are you spacing out?”

Guiltily, Xu Que looked away, avoiding eye contact with Jiang Fengyi. Her ears, hidden beneath her hair, were quietly burning.

“Forget it. Eat your dinner first; we’ll discuss it further after you finish.”

The soup in Jiang Fengyi’s bowl had cooled down enough that it was no longer scalding. She took a sip; the temperature was just right.

Opposite her, Xu Que also used the action of bowing her head to drink soup to mask her own awkwardness.

At the same time, she cautioned herself in her heart: she and Jiang Fengyi were only in a contractual relationship. It would not exceed this boundary; she absolutely must not overthink it.

After dinner, Xu Que returned to the guest room to avoid remaining in the same space as Jiang Fengyi.

【Aren’t you home?】

Messages skipped across the screen one after another.

【I’ve pressed the doorbell several times and no one is there.】

【There’s a typhoon blowing outside. Where did you go instead of staying home?】

【When are you coming back?】

Right, she had almost forgotten about this matter.

Ye Sangsang was standing at Xu Que’s doorstep, holding a large and heavy shopping bag in one hand while her other hand typed rapidly on her phone screen.

【I was afraid you wouldn’t have enough food at home, so I specifically came to bring you something to eat.】

【How about it? Isn’t your bestie good to you?】

【Why aren’t you replying? Are you busy and not looking at your phone?】

Xu Que: 【……】

Xu Que: 【You type too fast.】

Xu Que: 【I won’t be home for the next few days. You don’t need to send me food.】

After receiving the reply, Ye Sangsang did not hesitate; she turned around and left, carrying the shopping bag.

Ye Sangsang: 【Then where are you staying these few days?】

Xu Que: 【……Staying at my boss’s house.】

Ye Sangsang: 【?】

She clearly remembered that not long ago, Xu Que had been anxious about her contract becoming permanent. It had only been a few days, and now she had moved into her boss’s home.

She typed as she walked down the stairs.

Ye Sangsang: 【You didn’t go and try to seduce your boss just to get a permanent position, did you?】

Ye Sangsang: 【Though that face of yours certainly has the capital for it. How about it? Did your boss agree?】

The image of Jiang Fengyi’s cold and pure face immediately surfaced in Xu Que’s mind, and her face flushed hot.

Xu Que: 【Don’t talk nonsense. My relationship with my boss is innocent. I’m staying here because of work.】

She paused when the message was sent. As fake partners who had signed a marriage agreement, was their relationship truly “innocent”?

Ye Sangsang: 【Right, “entrusting your body” to your boss because of work.】

Xu Que knew Ye Sangsang was joking with her, but since she couldn’t explain that staying at her boss’s house was due to a paper agreement, she simply changed the subject.

Xu Que: 【Stop reading those messy novels.】

There was no reply from Ye Sangsang’s end.

She had just finished climbing a flight of stairs while carrying the shopping bag and was pulling out her keys to open the door.

Ye Sangsang lived directly below Xu Que. When she was looking for an apartment, the agent had taken her around the area, but nothing had a better price-to-performance ratio than the old community Xu Que lived in.

She had asked Xu Que to ask around, and it happened that the owner of the unit below her was looking to rent. She was too lazy to keep looking and settled on it immediately.

Both of them grew up in an orphanage and had similar growth trajectories. Ye Sangsang had started working only one year later than Xu Que. Since she moved here, she often dropped by Xu Que’s place.

A few minutes later, Ye Sangsang was sitting in her own living room. A cup of instant noodles she had just opened sat on the coffee table; the noodles and other snacks had just finished a round trip to the floor above in the large shopping bag.

Their final destination was still Ye Sangsang’s stomach.

While waiting for the water to boil, Ye Sangsang picked up her phone to reply.

Ye Sangsang: 【What do you mean “messy novels”?】

Ye Sangsang: 【That is my spiritual sustenance!!!】

Xu Que’s phone received the message, but the phone’s owner didn’t look at the screen again.

“Knock, knock, knock—”

The bedroom door was knocked.

Xu Que immediately cast aside her phone and opened the door to greet the visitor.

“Are you looking for me?”

Jiang Fengyi stood at the door holding a stack of A4 papers. Originally, she had intended to simply give them to her at the bedroom door, but seeing Xu Que immediately step aside as if inviting her inside, she followed the lead and walked in.

“This is information regarding me and my family. Look over it frequently so you won’t be unable to answer if you are questioned.”

Jiang Fengyi handed one of the stacks to Xu Que. “I need you to accompany me back to my mother’s place for dinner next weekend. Just memorize these before then.”

When selecting a partner for the contract marriage, she had looked at Xu Que’s records. She had a strong learning ability and an extraordinary memory; she had been receiving scholarships since childhood. Memorizing these wouldn’t be difficult for her.

Xu Que took them. “Okay, I understand.”

“The rest of these are stories about how we met and fell in love. You need to remember these as well.”

Xu Que flipped through them casually.

“In love for three years?”

“A campus romance?”

“After graduation, the two agreed to join the same company, only to discover that the girlfriend of many years was actually the top boss.”

“This… isn’t this a bit too…”

The writer who penned the romance story had just jumped ship from a certain novel website known for melodramatic plots and hadn’t yet broken their old habits.

“You just need to remember the gist of this. When the time comes, I will say we were dating secretly and didn’t go public.”

“Don’t worry, this is a matter between the two of us. Others have no way to verify it, so there’s no need to worry too much about being exposed.”

“Okay.”

“Buzz, buzz, buzz—”

The phone Xu Que had tossed aside vibrated persistently.

“Um, your phone seems to be ringing constantly.”

Jiang Fengyi had wanted to remind her earlier, but Xu Que didn’t seem to be in a hurry, so she hadn’t said anything.

However, the person on the other end seemed to have an urgent matter, as the frequency of the vibrations never ceased.

Xu Que didn’t even need to unlock the phone to know who was looking for her so relentlessly; it was definitely that fellow Ye Sangsang.

Under Jiang Fengyi’s gaze, she reluctantly unlocked her phone.

Even now, Ye Sangsang’s messages were still popping up.

Ye Sangsang: 【Where are you?】

【Why aren’t you replying to me?】

【Ah, I know!!!】

Ye Sangsang, who frequently read novels, had somehow imagined a certain plot and changed her tone.

【Are you with your boss?】

【How is it? Are your feelings heating up now that you’re living under the same roof?】

【I’m dying of curiosity, why aren’t you replying?】

Jiang Fengyi wasn’t intentionally peeking at Xu Que’s screen, but the two were standing very close, and Xu Que hadn’t made any attempt to hide it.

One message after another broke into Jiang Fengyi’s vision unexpectedly.

The room fell silent for a moment, save for the phone’s silent vibration.

“Your… your friend is quite lively.”

Xu Que stood awkwardly in place, the corners of her mouth pulling up stiffly as she squeezed out a forced smile.

“Sorry, she misunderstood our relationship. Just act like you didn’t see—”

On the other end, Ye Sangsang, not getting a reply from Xu Que, pressed the button for a video call.

In her haste, Xu Que tried to hang up, but her finger accidentally touched “Accept.”

Ye Sangsang’s gossip-hungry face immediately leaned close to the screen.

“Spill it, are you and your boss…”

It wasn’t just Xu Que in the frame; there was also Jiang Fengyi, who hadn’t had time to leave. The background was a bedroom, and the two were wearing the same series of pajamas.

This further confirmed her suspicions.

Ye Sangsang’s apricot-shaped eyes grew even rounder.

“Holy cow!!!”

“You… you… Xu Que… you guys…”

The talkative Ye Sangsang suddenly became a stutterer, her mouth hanging open, not knowing what to say.

“What is it that you’re video calling me for?”

Her gaze was completely captivated by Jiang Fengyi; she was deaf to Xu Que’s question, staring at Jiang Fengyi without blinking, completely dazed.

Her voice was several times higher than usual: “H-hello, Xu Que’s boss.”

Jiang Fengyi replied politely: “Hello, Xu Que’s friend.”

Ye Sangsang’s smile overflowed as if it cost nothing, her round eyes narrowing into slits.

“Hello, hello, you can just call me Sangsang.”

“Hello, Sangsang. I am Jiang Fengyi.”

Seeing the two ignoring her to chat, Xu Que joined the conversation forcefully: “Ye Sangsang, I’m talking to you. You haven’t answered why you video called me.”

She then turned to introduce her to Jiang Fengyi: “This is Ye Sangsang. She’s a friend I grew up with in the orphanage. She lives downstairs from me now.”

Ye Sangsang finally answered Xu Que’s question, though the answer was completely off-topic.

“Xu Que, you are so lucky!”

Then she turned her gaze back to Jiang Fengyi.

“Yiyi, you are so beautiful! You look even better than the celebrities on TV!” Ye Sangsang’s tone was sincere. “Does your company screen for looks during hiring?”

With both her and Xu Que there, if everyone in the company had this level of appearance, Ye Sangsang couldn’t imagine how happy it would be to work there—turning one’s head would mean seeing a beauty.

It was the first time Jiang Fengyi had encountered someone asking her such a question, and she found it novel for a moment.

She thought seriously: “We don’t screen for looks, but there are indeed many good-looking people in the company.”

“Then can I apply to your company?”

“Of course, you’re welcome to submit a resume.”

Xu Que interrupted them bluntly: “Alright, if there’s nothing else, I’m hanging up.”

Ye Sangsang: “Don’t! I want to look at you two a bit more.”

Xu Que didn’t indulge her: “Be clear—are you looking at ‘us two’ or just Jiang Fengyi?”

“She is my boss, not yours.”

“Just because she isn’t my boss doesn’t mean I can’t look at her. You’re so overbearing. We just exchanged names; we are friends now.”

After saying that, Ye Sangsang asked in a small, uncertain voice: “Yiyi, are we friends now?”

Seeing the matching pajamas, Ye Sangsang assumed Jiang Fengyi and Xu Que were already living together as a couple, which led her to treat Jiang Fengyi entirely with the attitude one has toward a good friend’s partner.

Combined with Jiang Fengyi wearing home pajamas and looking approachable, Ye Sangsang’s nervousness diminished greatly.

“Show my boss some respect. Who gave you permission to call her Yiyi? Call her President Jiang!”

Ye Sangsang countered: “You’re not letting me call her Yiyi because you want to call her that yourself in private, right?”

“Don’t talk nonsense. There is nothing between us.”

Ye Sangsang clearly didn’t believe it, her gaze sweeping back and forth between the two. “If there’s nothing between you, why are you wearing couple pajamas?”

Jiang Fengyi watched the two bickering back and forth with great interest. The cold home felt more lived-in because of them.

She liked this kind of liveliness.

Seeing that Ye Sangsang was about to lose the argument, Jiang Fengyi decided to stand up for her newly made friend.

“Is there really nothing between us?”

As soon as Jiang Fengyi spoke, the two who were arguing incessantly stopped to look at her.

“But we only signed the marriage agreement yesterday.”

“Does it still count as an innocent relationship even then?”

After saying this, Jiang Fengyi turned her head and gave Xu Que a quick wink off-camera, a flash of mischievousness gleaming in her light-colored pupils.