After Flirting with the God-Tier Beautiful Tycoon - Chapter 58

The sky was a dull expanse of grey. On the surface of a white lake sat a tiny boat it looked as if it were suspended on the water, yet also as if held by a rope hanging from an invisible sky.

There was no one on the boat, not even oars to row with.

Shen Xiaojiang stood on a low dike, the green grass at her feet trembling in the light breeze.

She looked up and around her as far as the eye could see, there was nothing but endless, lush green grass.

There were no houses, no trees. She couldn’t see where she had come from, nor did she know where she was going.

“Hey! Is anyone there?” she shouted loudly, cupping her hands around her mouth.

Though it wasn’t a valley, there was an echo.

Until the last echo faded away, there was still no answer.

She crossed her arms, feeling a bit tense and a little afraid.

Before she could try to remember where this place was, the sound of water caught her attention.

She turned her head toward the white lake.

With no one rowing, the boat that had been stationary began to drift into the distance no ripples, no splashes.

A woman in a black qipao was sitting at the stern.

Her back was to Shen Xiaojiang, her face hidden.

Who is that?

Shen Xiaojiang shouted at the top of her lungs, but the person didn’t turn back to look at her once.

At that moment, Shen Xiaojiang realized her throat felt as though it were being strangled by something no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t make a sound.

Panicked, she prepared to call for help, but the moment she turned around, she saw the colors of her surroundings shifting rapidly.

Grey fell from the sky, landing on the grass at the edge of her vision.

Then, like a boundless giant wave, the grey swallowed the colors in her sight inch by inch.

Without time to process what was happening, Shen Xiaojiang prepared to run.

However, no matter how much she accelerated, the scenery around her didn’t change at all.

She had become Sisyphus, forever trapped in place.

Just as the last blade of grass at her feet turned grey, Shen Xiaojiang saw the small boat in the center of the white lake rocking as it sailed further away.

Suddenly, she jolted awake.

Her chest heaved violently, her face drenched in sweat.

It was a dream.

Thank goodness.

Thank goodness.

She swallowed hard and reached up to touch her throat.

“Hey, hey, hey. Ah, ah, ah.”

She blankly repeated meaningless syllables, as if confirming that her voice was still there.

Then, she noticed that her surroundings were both familiar and strange.

She looked down and saw a grey toned, marbled blanket draped over her. it was soft and supple, lingering with a faint, woody, cold fragrance.

Recalling the dream, Shen Xiaojiang instinctively yanked the blanket off and threw it onto the floor.

It was as if the blanket were something terrifying.

She raised both hands and wiped her face hard to clear her head.

Last night, after she and Chen Yi slept together, she hadn’t returned to the dormitory.

She had slept in the Venus bar, in Chen Yi’s private lounge.

Shen Xiaojiang rose from the leather sofa, standing dazed and barefoot on the floor.

The room didn’t look large, but it had good lighting and a compact layout. While it offered a sense of security, it also carried a deep sense of oppression.

There was no bed here though called a lounge, it felt more like a study.

A sofa, a coffee table, a wall of bookshelves, and a massive floor-standing globe.

There were two large windows one by the sofa and one by the bookshelf.

On the coffee table sat a half-read copy of Commercial Law, with a copy of Tax Law pressed underneath it.

Shen Xiaojiang liked reading, but she didn’t like these kinds of books.

She walked to the wall of bookshelves: Tao Te Ching, The Art of War, The Entrepreneurial Personality, How to Become Bill Gates…

Scanning the titles, the vast majority were books of this nature.

Shen Xiaojiang stood frozen. These were books she wouldn’t read even if someone paid her.

Wait, are these all Chen Yi’s?

Incredible!

Among the stack of books, Shen Xiaojiang suddenly spotted a bucket of lollipops.

She looked closer, they were all strawberry flavored.

About a third of the bucket was gone.

Shen Xiaojiang felt a strange sensation in her heart. Since she was a child, she had loved lollipops, and she only liked strawberry.

She had seen a bucket in the hotel where Chen Yi lived before, and there was one here too.

Sun Jiabao had said that Chen Yi didn’t like sweets, so who exactly were these lollipops for?

Shen Xiaojiang had wanted to ask last time, but then she forgot.

She would definitely remember to ask today.

Thinking of this, flashes of Chen Yi’s flushed face and burning body crossed her mind.

So, where was Chen Yi now?

Just as the door opened, a bodyguard turned to look at her. “Miss Shen, do you need anything?”

The bodyguard was hulking, his ill-fitting shirt stretched tight. He had a scar on his face and looked fierce.

“No… nothing,” Shen Xiaojiang said with a forced laugh.

Suddenly, as if remembering something, the bodyguard forced an unnatural smile, revealing two rows of white teeth, and made a “heart” gesture with his fingers at Shen Xiaojiang.

“If you need anything, just let me know, okay~!”

“Hahaha, okay, okay.” Shen Xiaojiang nodded awkwardly.

The hair on her arms stood on end; the guy looked even more terrifying when he smiled.

The music in the dance floor on the first floor had long since stopped, and the young people had already left. The entire bar was eerily quiet.

Right then, the sound of rustling came from the second-floor staircase.

Shen Xiaojiang, who had just pulled her head back in, peeked out again.

Laughter.

There were men’s voices and women’s voices.

Some familiar, some strange.

“What wind brought President Li and President Shao here?”

“Indeed, and President Deng, President Lang you are all distinguished guests of our Nancheng!”

“What are you saying? I, old Shao, am a born and bred Nancheng local,” the man addressed as President Shao laughed. “Right, Chen Yi?”

“Yes, yes.”

“President Shao truly lives up to being the Old Man’s successor, returning to his hometown to contribute.”

A group of people wore fawning expressions, echoing President Shao in unison.

Chen Yi paused for two seconds. When the overhead light hit her face, her figure appeared right in Shen Xiaojiang’s line of sight.

She curled her lips into a smile, her slender frame tightly encased in a black qipao. She swayed as she walked, every step seemingly treading on Shen Xiaojiang’s heart.

“Doesn’t he just… ‘contribute’?” Chen Yi spoke this sentence very slowly, putting heavy emphasis on every word.

Even a casual glance from her eyes carried a sense of murderous intent.

A smile with a hidden blade, the blade unsheathed, sealing the throat upon contact.

Even from this distance, Shen Xiaojiang could feel the icy aura surrounding Chen Yi.

“They are…?” Shen Xiaojiang asked instinctively.

The “heart-making” bodyguard leaned over and whispered, “These are the guests Seventh Master is hosting today. The one in the white suit leading them is President Li, the current CEO of Li Group, who holds nearly three hundred plots of land. Behind him in the blue suit is President Lang, the founder of Lang Building Materials Group. And behind him, the man in the black suit walking beside Seventh Master is President Shao. They are all people of high status.”

There were several other entrepreneurs in the back that the bodyguard didn’t seem to recognize.

The crowd swarmed into the “No. 1” VIP room.

Dozens of bodyguards followed behind with serious expressions, while bar staff carefully carried mountains of cigarettes and alcohol with lowered heads.

Although Shen Xiaojiang didn’t know much about tobacco and liquor, she recognized Gold Leaf cigarettes and Moutai.

The moment the door closed, Shen Xiaojiang inexplicably felt it hard to breathe.

These were people from a social stratum that ordinary citizens like her could never touch.

They were at the top of the food chain, capable of crushing someone just by tossing a check.

She clutched her chest, feeling a heavy sense of being at the very bottom of the hierarchy, being trampled back and forth.

She finally understood what that touch of loneliness in Chen Yi’s eyes was, it was the difficulty of walking among the powerful.

Shen Xiaojiang retreated back into the room.

She closed the door in front of her.

This door seemed to separate two different worlds.

Shen Xiaojiang squatted down, hugging her knees.

Chen Yi’s world was something a student in an ivory tower like her couldn’t understand.

Power, money, sex.

Those were the three laws of the adult world.

Since there was a class with “Old Man Mao” this morning, Shen Xiaojiang tidied up briefly, took out her phone to send Chen Yi a message, and prepared to leave.

Stepping out again, she saw Chen Yi standing at the door of the “No. 1” room, holding her phone and communicating something to those around her.

She stood sideways, as upright as a tree.

Shen Xiaojiang was about to go over to say hello, but she saw Chen Yi turn and disappear into the room, her elegant silhouette swallowed by the closing door.

“I’m leaving.” Her voice was soft, as if speaking to herself, or to the Chen Yi in her heart.

As she spoke, she instinctively reached out her hand.

Once the words were out, she looked down at her hand, staring blankly for a few seconds. Her wrist trembled slightly in the air before she pulled it back.

“Miss Shen,” the scarred bodyguard stood behind her, “Seventh Master is very busy today and instructed me to take you back to school.”

Shen Xiaojiang gathered her thoughts, turned to meet the bodyguard’s face, and gave a distracted response.

After the car had been driving for about ten minutes, Shen Xiaojiang’s phone vibrated.

[Chen Yi: Back at school?]

Shen Xiaojiang stared at the message, reading it over several times before tapping out a reply.

[Shen Xiaojiang: Yes, I saw you were busy, so I didn’t want to disturb you.]

The lines were filled with a sense of bitterness.

A minute later, a reply came.

[Chen Yi: Mm, stay safe.]

So cold.

So cold, Shen Xiaojiang thought.

She knew Chen Yi was busy. She knew.

So, what exactly was she expecting?

It was almost laughable.

Another vibration.

[Chen Yi: I really miss Haishi. It was so nice there. I wonder if I’ll ever have the chance to go back?]

[Chen Yi: (Image of the Artist’s Sanctuary)]

[Chen Yi: (Image of the Artist’s Sanctuary)]

Shen Xiaojiang’s heart skipped a beat. She quickly replied with the words she had wanted to say to Chen Yi ever since they were in her hometown.

[Shen Xiaojiang: As long as you want to go, I can take you there anytime.]

Almost the next second, Chen Yi’s reply came back.

[Chen Yi: But, with our relationship, can we go that frequently?]

Just as Shen Xiaojiang finished reading it, she saw the message was retracted.

She didn’t even know why she retracted it.

A moment of silence passed.

Shen Xiaojiang gripped her phone tightly, staring at the chat box, overthinking the message Chen Yi had retracted earlier.

What was their relationship?

Yes, what exactly were they to each other?

More than friends, less than lovers?

Neither of them had ever said it plainly.

Regardless, they met when they wanted to meet, they rolled around in the sheets when they felt like rolling around in the sheets.

What kind of relationship was this?

How do you even define it?

Sun Jiabao was right: if you keep things bottled up inside, no one will ever know. So, Shen Xiaojiang decided to make it clear.

[Shen Xiaojiang: If you become my girlfriend, wouldn’t we be able to go there often?]

But the moment it sent, Shen Xiaojiang felt it was wrong. It was too impulsive, and the tone was off.

Chen Yi was so busy right now, this was absolutely not the time to talk about this.

This sentence should be said at a time with more of a sense of ceremony.

And so, she retracted her message as well.

The instant she retracted it, the chat status changed to “The other party is typing…”

Shen Xiaojiang: “…”

Her scalp tingled, and her palms grew damp.

So, did Chen Yi see it?

If she saw it, she ought to ask why it was retracted.

However, no further message came through for a long time.

So, maybe… she didn’t see it.

Half an hour later, the car stopped at the dormitory building.

It was still early no one had headed to the classroom yet.

Because of the messaging incident, Shen Xiaojiang felt completely on edge even a little despondent.

She pushed open the door; the others were all there.

The dorm was still the same dorm; her roommates were still the same roommates.

Everything here seemed as peaceful and serene as before, punctuated by the occasional noisy bickering.

Shen Xiaojiang set down her bag and rushed into the bathroom to quickly wash her face and brush her teeth.

Suddenly, she discovered a “strawberry mark” (hickey) on her neck.

It wasn’t light it was actually quite deep.

Shen Xiaojiang pulled her collar down further. On her neck, on her collarbone… there were actually several.

She let out a soft laugh.

For a brief moment, she forgot her worries.

Liu Wei: “Don’t worry, guys. I’ll go grab seats for us.”

Shen Xiaojiang walked out of the bathroom and was met with Sun Jiabao’s ignorant yet punchable expression.

Sun Jiabao raised an eyebrow and smirked, looking at her with a grin.

Shen Xiaojiang gave her a flat, lukewarm look.

“So, how was it?” Sun Jiabao asked.

“How was what?” After replying, Shen Xiaojiang sat heavily in her chair.

As she took out toner to apply to her face, she thought back to the scene of Chen Yi applying lipstick to her.

Fuck.

The messaging incident began to crawl back into her mind, occupying her entire brain.

Shen Xiaojiang had turned into a lovesick girl, absent minded in everything she did.

“Ginger, I heard from the dorm next door that ‘Old Man Mao’ is going to highlight the key points for the exam in class today.” Sun Jiabao spent a moment grooming herself in front of the mirror.

Shen Xiaojiang gave a casual “Mm.”