Captive Moon: Redeemed the Wrong Temptress (GL) - Chapter 6

“Don’t look at me like that. You’re late. Can’t I say anything?” Deng Hao narrowed his eyes, blocking her glare.

“Hey, Team Leader Yan! Jiang Yunong was late three times last month, right?” He waved to the team leader who had entered the room with them.

Jiang Yunong’s expression darkened. Of those three tardiness incidents last month, two were because she had to take Luo Yunjian to the hospital. The other was due to traffic. Was it really necessary to bring it up now?

“Have you never been late?” Jiang Yunong shot him a sideways glance, her fingers clenching the hem of her skirt.

“So fierce! I’ve never been late as often as you, making the whole team work overtime.” Deng Hao’s beady eyes narrowed into slits. His tone was dripping with sarcasm.

Jiang Yunong’s body trembled uncontrollably. How dare he bring up overtime? He knew better than anyone how the project registration had gone wrong, didn’t he?

Just as Jiang Yunong was about to speak, Yan Jiaxin, who was chairing the group meeting, cut her off.

“Alright, that’s enough. We’re already running late, and if we keep arguing, we’ll never get anything done today. Are we even going to work at all?”

Though she pretended to mediate, it was clear to everyone that she was taking sides against Jiang Yunong.

A vein bulged on Jiang Yunong’s forehead, and her eyes burned red with anger. But her colleagues, unaware of the full story, were all watching her. If she wanted to keep the job she’d worked so hard to get, she couldn’t afford to lose her temper here.

Jiang Yunong gritted her teeth, lowered her head, and forced back her tears. The autumn rain was truly bone-chilling. Jiang Yunong shivered, awkwardly pulling her coat tighter around herself.

When she looked up again, most of the gazes that had been fixed on her had vanished. A few lingering glances still burned into her like spotlights.

Enduring the sharp ache in her back, Jiang Yunong forced herself to maintain a distance of at least one person’s width from Deng Hao. Even gazes can rain down like needles, piercing deep into your bones.

“Meeting adjourned. Jiang Yunong, Deng Hao, you two stay behind,” Yan Jiaxin said, her voice sharp and her expression icy.

Jiang Yunong’s lashes trembled. With no possibility of refusal, she remained.

“Team Leader Yan, I really didn’t lose the backup file,” Jiang Yunong blurted out loudly before everyone had even left the room.

But Yan Jiaxin didn’t respond, only glared at her coldly, as if finally granting her subordinate permission to speak.

“I don’t care who did this. I don’t have time to investigate who damaged the USB drive.”

“You were the last ones to leave that day. Responsibility—do you understand what that means? Regardless of the circumstances, you’re both responsible for this.”

Her words were as cold as the rain last night, chilling Jiang Yunong to the bone. And painful. Like a blow to the head.

“Team Leader Yan, I still have project plans to follow up on. You know how important the Qing Shi Port land is to the higher-ups.” Deng Hao raised an eyebrow, clearly trying to shift the blame onto Jiang Yunong.

“Deng Hao, you were also involved. Are you trying to evade your share of this ‘responsibility’?” Jiang Yunong snapped back, pulling him back with a sharp retort.

He shrugged, his gaze toward Yan Jiaxin tinged with helplessness. “Then I’ll just have to slow down my work on the project plans. After all, you’re the one who wants me to fix the backup.”

“Didn’t you stay late last Friday? Work overtime? If you can’t handle this situation, tell the higher-ups you’re not up to the project.” Jiang Yunong countered sharply.

She couldn’t challenge Yan Jiaxin’s accusations directly, but she could confront Deng Hao. They were peers, both junior staff members at the P1 level.

“Hey, Team Leader Yan, look at her,” Deng Hao said, unable to win the argument with Jiang Yunong and now seeking external support.

“Besides, we’re both P1. Who knows what tricks you used to get on this project? And you’re not even working hard—you’re just trying to delay things. If you can’t handle it, you should quit now.”

Jiang Yunong countered sharply, determined not to give Yan Jiaxin a chance to interrupt.

“Well…” Deng Hao was cunning but lacked eloquence. He could only turn to Yan Jiaxin, hoping the team leader would side with him.

Yan Jiaxin narrowed her eyes in thought.

“The project is crucial. Deng Hao, you’ll assist Jiang Yunong with revising the documentation,” Yan Jiaxin declared, settling the matter decisively.

Jiang Yunong didn’t miss the smug, victorious look in Deng Hao’s eyes. Assist meant he could essentially do nothing. It meant she would handle the bulk of the work.

Jiang Yunong took a deep breath. “Team Leader Yan, what’s the deadline?”

“I need to see the complete and flawless backup documentation and PowerPoint presentation by the afternoon report the day after tomorrow.”

Yan Jiaxin gathered her things, clearly preparing to leave the conference room.

“It’s just re-submitting something we’ve already done. Don’t worry, Team Leader Yan, we’ll get it done properly,” Deng Hao eagerly volunteered.

Jiang Yunong stood rooted in the conference room, her gaze piercing into the backs of the departing figures.

“You are…?” A stranger’s voice at the door startled Jiang Yunong, who quickly grabbed her laptop and hurried back to her workstation.

Aside from the sudden addition of the backup documentation, Jiang Yunong still had her original responsibilities. As a P1 employee, she was essentially the lowest of the low. She worked tirelessly until seven that evening, without even time for a proper meal.

By this point, she should have been finished and ready to leave. Their overtime policy was relatively humane, offering overtime pay.

Jiang Yunong was simply worried about Bai Lan, whom she had suddenly left at home. They hadn’t even exchanged contact information.

What if Bai Lan can’t cook or take care of herself?

Jiang Yunong quickly packed up her things, deciding to take the leftovers home to cook.

“Leaving already? How much did you write? Aren’t you going to show me?”

Deng Hao blocked the doorway as she tried to leave. Jiang Yunong glared at him.

“You were the one who asked for my help,” Deng Hao said with a sleazy grin.

“Your nasolabial folds are already deep, and your eyes are so small. Now you look even more like a kappa—disgusting and embarrassing.”

Jiang Yunong shoved Deng Hao aside and hurried out of the office.

“So arrogant,” Deng Hao muttered, shaking his head as he watched her leave. Trying to fight me without any connections?

Jiang Yunong propped her phone on the dashboard mount and started the car.

Even on the road, people kept calling to ask her questions. She had to use the red lights as opportunities to reply with voice messages.

When she finally reached the parking lot and had a moment to herself, Jiang Yunong casually scrolled through her WeChat Moments and saw a new post from Luo Yunjian. How absurd, she thought.

Their breakup hadn’t been dramatic or ugly. There were no shouting matches, no accusations. She hadn’t demanded answers, hadn’t cried or screamed. She kept all the pain to herself.

She stared at the woman in the photo, radiant and full of life—the woman she should have known best, the woman she should have loved most. And behind her, a blurry figure, only a hand visible, intimately entwined with hers.

Jiang Yunong sniffled, her heart filled with an indescribable ache. She swallowed her tears, unable to taste their bitterness or sweetness. It was as if not only Luo Yunjian had become meaningless, but even Jiang Yunong herself had become insignificant.

Jiang Yunong felt weightless, her mind a chaotic jumble. Lifted by some unseen force, she was barely aware of her own existence.

She didn’t even remember how she’d climbed the stairs or unlocked her apartment door.

The apartment was silent, not even a light on. Jiang Yunong completely forgot about Bai Lan as she shuffled toward her room.

She saw Mango fluttering against the window and Tangyuan hopping restlessly in her cage. Both had lost their vitality. Every movement seemed agonizingly slow.

Then she tripped over something.

She stumbled and fell to the floor, and through the throbbing pain, she met a pair of tear-filled eyes. The eyes shimmered with a light that flickered like the moon behind passing clouds.

“You’re finally back?” Bai Lan’s voice was hoarse and weak, yet she still reached out to Jiang Yunong.

“You…” Jiang Yunong’s mind reeled.

In an instant, Bai Lan pulled her into a hug. This woman, so weakened by illness she could barely sit up, her body burning with fever, still found the strength to restrain the dazed Jiang Yunong in her embrace.

“I thought you didn’t want me anymore…” Bai Lan murmured, cupping Jiang Yunong’s face and pressing a kiss to her slightly parted lips.

Jiang Yunong blinked rapidly as Bai Lan leaned closer, eventually turning her head away to avoid the kiss.

Bai Lan’s lips landed on the corner of Jiang Yunong’s mouth.

Jiang Yunong tasted a strange sweetness.

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