After the Bankrupt Heiress Married into a Rich Family - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: The Aftermath

“Did I lose my composure last night?”

Rong Zhao was wearing a pale gold deep-V velvet sleepwear set. The hem of the chemise inside barely covered her thighs, while the robe outside was slightly longer but still didn’t reach her knees. The robe was casually open, and she wore a pair of white slippers. Her legs were long and straight, milky-white and smooth.

It seemed Rong Zhao hadn’t had enough sleep; she looked a bit sluggish, her eyes not fully open. She carried a glass of water, the surface rippling slightly with her loose, unhurried steps.

Approaching the sofa, Rong Zhao leaned over to place the glass on the table. The V-neck dipped even deeper with her movement, and the soft curves within swayed slightly. Mingzhu quickly looked away.

“Mhm, you’re awake. Good morning.”

Rong Zhao sat beside Mingzhu, casually crossing her legs. She pulled her robe slightly closed and said with her eyes closed in a lazy manner, “No discomfort.”

Mingzhu, however, felt that Rong Zhao looked very tired and exhausted, as if she were putting up a front. But Mingzhu didn’t dare ask more: “It’s good that there’s no discomfort.”

Mingzhu pushed the plate of strawberries on the coffee table closer to Rong Zhao. “Rong-Rong, Auntie Tang just washed these and brought them over. They’re very sweet. Try one; it’ll soothe your throat.”

Rong Zhao gave a lazy “Mhm” and picked up a red strawberry. The fruit was perfectly ripe; she took a small bite of the tip, the juice staining her fingertips and lips red as she tasted it slowly.

“Is it sweet?” Mingzhu observed Rong Zhao’s expression.

Rong Zhao suddenly opened her eyes and glanced at Mingzhu. “Sweet.”

Mingzhu’s heart jolted at that look. She pretended to be relieved, nodded, and turned back to continue her makeup.

After finishing the strawberry, Rong Zhao looked up, happening to see Mingzhu in the vanity mirror. Mingzhu had an oval face and excellent skin; her base makeup was clear and exquisite. Her lashes were naturally long, and she had added two clusters of false lashes. Her eyeliner flickered outward slightly, making her “peach blossom” eyes look even more enchanting and vivid.

Rong Zhao suddenly leaned in close to Mingzhu’s shoulder and asked softly, “I seem to have blacked out. Mingzhu, did I lose my composure last night?”

Mingzhu felt Rong Zhao’s proximity, her body stiffening and tensing up. Then, hearing Rong Zhao say she had “blacked out,” Mingzhu didn’t notice the word “seemingly” preceding it. Her body relaxed instantly, and she reflexively told a lie: “No. Last night after you got drunk, you became sleepy. I was afraid I couldn’t hold you steady, so I went to get Auntie Guan’s help. She and Auntie Fan helped you upstairs. They coaxed you into brushing your teeth, tucked you in, and you fell right asleep.”

Rong Zhao slowly sat back. She looked down at her fingers, the tips stained with strawberry red. She wiped them with a soft tissue, but a trace of red wouldn’t come off no matter how she rubbed.

“I see. It’s good that I didn’t lose my composure. I was worried I might have been loud and kept you from sleeping well.”

“No, not at all. You slept very quietly, and I slept very well too.”

“Mhm.”

Mingzhu continued her makeup, too guilty to look back at Rong Zhao. Rong Zhao continued wiping her fingers, occasionally catching a glimpse of Mingzhu’s back from the corner of her eye.

This wasn’t the first time Mingzhu had avoided her.

Six years ago, before the college entrance examination, she happened to run into Mingzhu and chatted for a bit. She mentioned adding Mingzhu on WeChat, but Mingzhu made an excuse to wait until after the exams. On the night the exams ended, Mingzhu had followed her family’s tour group abroad.

Two months ago, at a Chinese New Year gathering on the fifth day, she, Mingzhu, He Chan, and Jiang Jiang were having hot pot. She mentioned adding Mingzhu’s WeChat again, and Mingzhu made the excuse that her phone was out of battery. She still hadn’t added her to this day.

Mingzhu disliked her; she knew that. From the first year of middle school, their classrooms were adjacent, and Mingzhu often acted as if she were invisible. When she couldn’t pretend not to see her, Mingzhu would quietly glare at her. After all these years, Mingzhu still glared at her secretly or intentionally avoided her.

Mingzhu had woken up so early this morning and was now saying absolutely nothing about last night. Clearly, she was repulsed by what happened and was terrified Rong Zhao would cling to her.

But why did Mingzhu reach out to her last night? If she were repulsed, shouldn’t she have been repulsed from the very first step?

Rong Zhao wiped her fingers, pondering. She forgot to blink for a long time.

Mingzhu was currently regretting why she hadn’t told the truth.

In truth, she had been very excited seeing the side of Rong Zhao that appeared after drinking, and that excitement had only grown. She knew she enjoyed the thrill and sense of achievement of having the upper hand, of seemingly “conquering” Rong Zhao.

Therefore, if Rong Zhao had needs, she could satisfy them with just a move of her hand. She wasn’t repulsed at all; in fact, she looked forward to conquering Rong Zhao often in the coming nights.

Mingzhu suddenly recalled her doubt from last night: Was last night the first time Rong Zhao got drunk? How did she resolve it before?

Rong Zhao suddenly said, “Sorry. Last night was the first time I drank too much. Please don’t mind.”

So it was the first time?

This made Mingzhu feel even more honored and willing. But she had already lied.

“I don’t mind; it’s also my fault,” Mingzhu said, turning around. “I didn’t know your tolerance was so low. I definitely won’t pour you wine again. If we go out for business dinners in the future, I’ll block the drinks for you.”

Mingzhu’s implication was that she didn’t want Rong Zhao to touch alcohol again.

Rong Zhao felt a bit of bitterness in her heart. She lowered her eyes and put down the tissue. “Mhm. Then I’ll trouble you in the future.”

Mingzhu grinned. “President Rong is too polite.”

“…”

Mingzhu looked back at herself in the mirror. She knew that letting the matter go like this was for the best, but there was a dangling, faint, yet unignorable sense of “unfinished business” in her heart that prevented her from feeling lighthearted.

Was it really going to end like this, all muddled and unclear? If it did, she would think about it from time to time—it would be a waste of energy and mental effort.

After much agonizing, Mingzhu finally couldn’t keep her mouth shut. If she could keep her mouth shut, she wouldn’t be Mingzhu. Since she was a child, whenever she wanted something, she would ask for it directly. She had been particularly excited emotionally last night, and she quite wanted to “deal” with Rong Zhao frequently.

Mingzhu cleared her throat and asked tentatively, acting as if it were a casual thought: “By the way, did you have a nightmare last night? You seemed a bit restless later in your sleep.”

As soon as she finished asking, her heart started thumping like a drum again.

Rong Zhao glanced at her. “A dream? Now that you mention it, I seem to remember having a dream.”

Mingzhu’s breathing hitched. She asked with interest, “What kind of dream? Do you remember?”

Rong Zhao remained calm. “I don’t remember clearly. Do you want me to remember?”

Mingzhu: “You seemed to say my name in your sleep.”

Rong Zhao was slightly stunned. Did I? She hadn’t noticed. Was Mingzhu suspecting something?

Rong Zhao: “Maybe I felt cold and wanted you to adjust the air conditioning for me.”

Mingzhu: “…”

Fine. But…

Mingzhu: “…Do you really not remember anything at all?”

Rong Zhao looked at the strawberries, surprised to hear that Mingzhu seemed to want her to remember.

Rong Zhao lifted her eyes. “Remember what?”

“…”

Confirmed. Mingzhu’s speechless expression meant she hoped Rong Zhao remembered what happened.

“I seem to recall a little,” Rong Zhao said suddenly.

Mingzhu’s body tensed. “What do you recall?”

She had it all planned out: if Rong Zhao got angry out of embarrassment, she would strike first and say Rong Zhao hugged her first. Then, depending on the severity of Rong Zhao’s reaction, she would choose to be righteous or play the victim. In any case, she wasn’t in the wrong, and she couldn’t let Rong Zhao kick her out.

Rong Zhao: “It seemed very cold and dizzy.”

Mingzhu unconsciously gripped her makeup brush tighter. “Was it… very uncomfortable?”

Rong Zhao: “It seemed… alright.”

Alright? It wasn’t “uncomfortable”?

Mingzhu: “…Then, do you want to have that kind of dream again?”

Rong Zhao asked back faintly, “What do you think?”

Mingzhu: “…”

Rong Zhao seems to remember!

She only just realized that Rong Zhao had said she “seemingly” blacked out! It made sense—many dignified people, not knowing the other party’s attitude, would choose to move on silently rather than make things ugly. Perhaps Rong Zhao didn’t expect that she, Bai Mingzhu, was not a “dignified” person and insisted on clearing the air.

Mingzhu thought about it, temporarily setting aside whether it was a dream or not, and spoke a bit more clearly: “Rong Zhao… I feel that since I’m living in your house, I should do whatever is required. But I don’t know if you’ll be angry if I do something that… offends you.”

“Of course, this has nothing to do with feelings,” Mingzhu added. “Also, if you’re angry, then I swear to be careful in the future and never give you a chance to let me offend you. After all, what happened before wasn’t just one person’s fault, right?”

“…”

Understood. Mingzhu’s meaning was that she was okay with contact that didn’t involve feelings. And if Rong Zhao wanted to settle the score, Mingzhu believed Rong Zhao was also at fault.

Rong Zhao remained silent. Mingzhu waited nervously.

Rong Zhao caught a glimpse of Mingzhu’s hand from her peripheral vision. Mingzhu immediately shivered.

Rong Zhao asked back slowly, “You mean… you weren’t angry that I was drunk last night?”

“Angry” wasn’t really the right word. Mingzhu definitely hadn’t been angry last night—otherwise, they wouldn’t have gone round after round. “Regretful” would have been more accurate.

Mingzhu immediately turned her whole body toward her. “Why would I be angry? I’m staying in your house for free; it’s only right that I take care of you, right?”

At this point, Mingzhu was already feeling a bit excited.

Rong Zhao uncrossed her legs in a leisurely manner and leaned forward slightly. She was surprised that Mingzhu wasn’t repulsed, but she understood—Mingzhu probably just wanted to return a favor. However, since Mingzhu was willing, there was no reason to refuse a benefit delivered to her door. She wasn’t that high-minded herself—take last night, for instance.

“In that case, neither am I—angry,” Rong Zhao leaned in and pushed the porcelain plate of strawberries closer to Mingzhu. “We’ve reached a consensus. It’s fine as long as it’s mutually acceptable, right?”

“Of course!”

Rong Zhao gave a pointed look at Mingzhu’s hand. “Are you tired? Can you hold a strawberry?”

“Not tired at all. I can.”

Mingzhu didn’t hide what she wanted to do at all. She quickly picked up a strawberry, turned around, and leaned her chin on Rong Zhao’s knees. She happened to be sitting on the floor while Rong Zhao sat on the sofa.

Leaning on Rong Zhao’s smooth, delicate knees, Mingzhu looked up and smiled, holding the strawberry to Rong Zhao’s lips. “It’s best if we both just openly take what we need.”

“Furthermore,” Rong Zhao took the strawberry and said nonchalantly, “there is one more thing.”

“What?”

“Keep your hands clean. No one else is allowed.”

“…And if there is?”

“I’ll cut them off.”

“…”