After Becoming a Full-Time Employee, I Signed a Romance Contract with My Ice-Cold Boss - Chapter 42

Feeding Soup

Inside the office, the tightly closed door partitioned off the external clamor; the world within belonged only to Jiang Fengyi and Xu Que.

Step by step, Xu Que drew closer, her eyes brimming with a soft, soaking smile.

“President Jiang, I heard you were looking for me?”

When the title “President Jiang” left Xu Que’s lips, it somehow gained a touch of lingering sensuality that it never possessed when spoken by others.

Xu Que stopped a single pace away from Jiang Fengyi. She rested one hand on the edge of the mahogany desk and leaned down, her other hand reaching out to touch Jiang Fengyi’s collar.

“Your button is undone,” Xu Que murmured.

Yet, her fingers ventured beneath the fabric of the shirt, wandering over the delicate, snow-white skin. She had a penchant for those clearly defined collarbones, her fingertips tracing back and forth along them.

Jiang Fengyi grabbed Xu Que’s arm, her voice carrying a note of warning: “This is the office!”

“I closed the door.”

After saying this, Xu Que even glanced back as if checking to ensure the door was sealed tight. She looked quite pleased with herself. “I even double-locked it.”

Jiang Fengyi suspected Xu Que was doing this on purpose. “Why would you lock my office door?”

“If someone came in to report on work and found the door locked, wouldn’t that be a dead giveaway of something suspicious?”

“But…”

Xu Que answered earnestly, “The way we look right now—can we really let anyone see us?”

One was sitting in her chair, collar half-open, breath slightly hitched, the crimson flush of her earlobes spreading down past her collarbone…

The other was leaning in close, her mischievous fingertips plucking a long strand of hair that had fallen into the shirt. It was hard to tell if she was kindly helping to fish the hair out, or if the hair had only fallen there because of her meddling in the first place.

Regardless, it was not a sight fit for public consumption.

However, Jiang Fengyi couldn’t let the other woman have her way today. “It’s Monday. I have a lot of things waiting for me…”

“President Jiang, I am also waiting for you…”

Having said that, Xu Que looked directly at her.

Jiang Fengyi felt scorched by that burning gaze, nearly losing herself to the desire in Xu Que’s eyes.

No, she had to work!

She grabbed the hem of Xu Que’s clothes and pulled downward with force. Caught off guard while leaning over, Xu Que followed the momentum and moved even closer.

The distance between them instantly vanished until only a finger’s breadth remained.

Just as Xu Que wanted to retreat because they were too close, Jiang Fengyi tilted her head up.

Her cool lips pressed against Xu Que’s chin.

She gave a light, punishing nip, and a faint tooth mark immediately appeared on the other woman’s fair jawline.

Jiang Fengyi released Xu Que, her face flushed as she warned, “Before I finish my work, you are not allowed to harass me again!”

Xu Que understood the underlying meaning: she only had to wait until Jiang Fengyi was finished.

She helped Jiang Fengyi button her shirt to the very top, not withdrawing her hand until the pure white fabric hid those exquisite collarbones completely.

“Then I’ll wait for you to finish.”

“President Jiang…”

Those last two words rolled off her tongue with a lingering, soft breath, leaving behind infinite room for imagination.

Xu Que left quickly, as if she had only entered to see Jiang Fengyi for a moment, but the impact of her visit remained.

Jiang Fengyi tried her best to ignore her burning earlobes, using work to shift her focus.

Xu Que didn’t stay idle either. Over the past period, she had conducted many field visits and inspections of various factories, gaining a general understanding of the prosthetic products circulating in the market.

The ideas in her mind were gradually taking shape, giving her the urge to ground them in reality.

Since the selection of pediatric prosthetics was so limited, she would start a company focused specifically on them. This was something she could do for the children at the orphanage.

Xu Que was a woman of action. She began finalizing basic information, preparing relevant materials, and looking for office space to rent…

Once she got busy, she lost track of time. When she snapped out of it, she realized it was already past lunch hour. Xu Que looked toward Jiang Fengyi’s office.

Jiang Fengyi hadn’t come out yet.

Xu Que stood up and looked around. The few colleagues remaining in the office were packing up to leave.

She walked into Jiang Fengyi’s office again, quite openly this time.

“Just to be clear, I’m not here to disturb you. I’m just here to remind you to eat.”

Jiang Fengyi checked the clock; it was indeed lunchtime.

She spread her arms and took a comfortable stretch. “Let’s go. We’ll find a restaurant.”

Xu Que had other plans and mentioned it seemingly casually: “How about we just eat at the company cafeteria? He Shuyi keeps buzzing in my ear about how great the cafeteria auntie’s cooking is.”

“I want to try it.”

In reality, she wanted to display her unusual relationship with Jiang Fengyi in front of everyone.

Ever since the two of them had confessed their feelings, Xu Que couldn’t wait for the whole world to know that Jiang Fengyi was her woman. She was always looking for subtle opportunities to show their intimacy.

Jiang Fengyi had no specific requirements for lunch. Since Xu Que wanted to go to the cafeteria, she spoke up: “Then let’s eat at the cafeteria.”

When the two walked into the cafeteria, the peak lunch hour had already passed, so it wasn’t very crowded.

However, Jiang Fengyi’s appearance still caught the attention of many employees. They were curious why President Jiang was in the cafeteria today, and even more curious about who was by her side.

“What a coincidence, running into President Jiang at the cafeteria today.”

“Is that person next to her an employee of our company? I feel like I’ve never seen her before.”

“She’s been by President Jiang’s side for so long, and you haven’t seen her once?”

“Why does it feel like she and President Jiang are very close?”

“Aren’t they standing a bit too close? She’s almost leaning her face against President Jiang’s.”

Xu Que held her tray at the window, leaning in close to Jiang Fengyi’s ear to ask what dishes she wanted.

“Does a normal subordinate act like that toward their boss? That’s a bit over-intimate.”

“Maybe it’s just the angle. It looks like they’re just discussing what to eat. It’s normal to lean in to talk.”

“Has President Jiang always been this friendly to her assistants?”

There were many whispers in the surroundings, but not a single word reached the ears of the parties involved.

Xu Que found a seat and sat down. In front of her were broccoli, tomato and eggs, sweet and sour pork ribs, and a bowl of seaweed soup.

Jiang Fengyi sat across from her. Her tray held braised shrimp, white-cut chicken, and sautéed greens.

Jiang Fengyi didn’t make much noise while eating. It was mostly Xu Que talking, with Jiang Fengyi giving occasional short replies.

Xu Que tasted a piece of the sweet and sour pork ribs that He Shuyi had highly recommended. The sweet and sour sauce coated the tender, well-stewed meat, and the flavor was indeed spectacular.

“Try this!”

Whenever she ate something delicious, she couldn’t help but share it with the person she liked. She pushed the plate of ribs toward Jiang Fengyi.

Under Xu Que’s expectant gaze, Jiang Fengyi picked up a piece with her chopsticks and put it in her mouth.

The rich savory aroma mixed with the scent of caramelized sugar immediately filled her mouth. With a gentle bite, the meat fell away from the bone, rolling on her tongue while still hot, tender, and juicy.

“How is it? Is it good?”

Jiang Fengyi chewed quickly to cool it down. Only after it wasn’t so hot did she have time to answer.

“It’s very delicious!”

Seeing her enjoy it, Xu Que also picked up a piece. “I finally understand why He Shuyi is so obsessed with this dish. It really is good.”

Jiang Fengyi nodded in agreement.

A bit of the rib sauce accidentally smeared onto the corner of Jiang Fengyi’s lip. Seeing this, Xu Que gave a reminder: “Some sauce?”

“What sauce?”

Seeing that Jiang Fengyi hadn’t noticed, Xu Que naturally reached out with a napkin and wiped it away for her.

They were used to being close in their daily lives and didn’t realize there was anything inappropriate about the gesture.

But this behavior fell into the eyes of others in the cafeteria and immediately caused a stir.

On the surface, no one said a word, but in reality, everyone pulled out their phones and began discussing it frantically in private.

On the company’s anonymous forum:

[Noon, Cafeteria, did anyone see that?!]

[I didn’t just see it, I risked my life to take a photo.]

[Requesting photo!]

[Requesting photo!]

[Requesting photo!]

…

Other employees who didn’t know the truth clicked in, looking confused.

[What are you guys talking about? Why don’t I understand?]

[Even though I don’t get it either, I’ll follow along. Requesting photo. When can you post it?]

Soon, a “brave soul” on the second floor posted a blurry photo.

[Qing Dynasty quality.]

[Floor 2, get a new phone.]

Floor 2 retorted: [Do you know how far away I was when I snuck this photo? Be glad there’s a photo at all, don’t be so picky.]

[Huh? The person in the photo looks a bit like President Jiang.]

[That IS our President Jiang. The background is the company cafeteria.]

[Who is sitting opposite her? Their movements are so intimate. Is she wiping President Jiang’s mouth?]

[What’s the situation? I don’t get it. Can someone explain?]

[Is this President Jiang’s girlfriend? Did she specifically bring her to the company restaurant to try the food?]

[Someone in the know here—the person sitting across from President Jiang is a newly recruited assistant. She’s been highly favored by President Jiang since she joined.]

[Whether it’s ‘favor’ or ‘love,’ I can tell for myself.]

[Hiss~ this is too ambiguous. Is this an idol drama?]

In another corner of the cafeteria.

He Shuyi was eating while browsing the company forum and quickly saw the newly posted thread.

She clicked in and saw the photo posted by her colleague.

“Hiss!”

Across from her, Wu Qi, who was focused on her food, heard the noise and looked up.

“What? Did you bite your tongue?”

“No, look at this!”

He Shuyi handed her phone over.

She emphasized: “President Jiang and Xu Que are also here in the cafeteria for lunch.”

Wu Qi took a look and then withdrew her gaze, saying somewhat uncertainly, “Are they planning to go public?”

He Shuyi’s chopsticks wobbled. “Go… go public?”

“Are the two of them already together?”

Wu Qi tapped the photo. “Isn’t it obvious?”

“I thought…” He Shuyi adjusted her chopsticks. “I thought they were still in the ‘ambiguous’ phase.”

“That’s also possible.”

He Shuyi’s mind was no longer on her food. She looked around, trying to find President Jiang and Xu Que.

Wu Qi wasn’t as big of a gossip and reminded her instead.

“Are you not going to eat your ribs?”

“I still have to eat them.”

He Shuyi picked up her chopsticks, gnawing on a rib while scanning the crowd for the two figures.

Hard work paid off, and she actually found them.

“Look, look!”

He Shuyi nudged Wu Qi’s arm.

“President Jiang and the others are over there.”

Wu Qi looked in the direction of He Shuyi’s finger—

Xu Que scooped up a spoonful of soup from her own bowl, blew on it, and fed it into Jiang Fengyi’s mouth.