The Woman I Was Flirting With Turned Out To Be A Chaebol Heiress - Chapter 9

Jiang Ji’s strength was great; when she held Li Nianyi, it gave a very secure feeling.

In the quiet hallway, only the moderate footsteps and someone’s slightly heavy breathing though they tried to suppress it remained.

“Nian Nian?”

“Hm?”

The voice in her arms was already a bit sluggish.

“Don’t sleep, we’re almost home.”

“But I’m so tired.”

Li Nianyi wrapped her arms around Jiang Ji’s neck, resting her fluffy head against her neck. Their breaths intertwined in the dark night, making it impossible to distinguish where one ended and the other began.

At one moment, Jiang Ji’s heart skipped a beat; her throat moved slightly, and the moist air touching her skin made her senses more sensitive.

“Aren’t you going to shower tonight?”

“No, no, not tonight. Anyway, I won’t be seeing anyone tomorrow…”

The woman’s voice gradually grew weaker. She was too tired; suddenly pulled from exhaustion back into a safe environment, she unconsciously relaxed all her tense nerves.

Jiang Ji sighed helplessly.

How could someone be so defenseless around others?

Bringing such a dangerous person home was one thing, but she trusted her enough to fall asleep in her arms.

Nian Nian, truly a worrying person.

Jiang Ji’s steps became lighter, trying to walk steadily with each step.

At this moment, she briefly forgot the shackles surrounding her.

Arriving at the apartment door, Jiang Ji fumbled to take out the key from Li Nianyi’s shorts pocket. Holding someone in one arm made it inconvenient; when taking the key, she inevitably brushed Li Nianyi’s waist.

Jiang Ji couldn’t help but wonder was she taking advantage of her?

The sky was beginning to lighten slightly. Finally, they managed to get home after some struggle.

Jiang Ji gently laid the sleeping woman on her bed and helped her take off her shoes and socks.

Such a soft bed, so soft she didn’t want to get up, wishing she could lie down holding this woman on the cramped single bed.

She kept the posture of leaning over her this gesture felt familiar.

Her eyes traced the woman’s features: dark eyebrows with sharp ends, thick curled eyelashes casting a fan-shaped shadow below the eyes, a delicate and high nose bridge giving her a bit of a mixed-race look…

Her gaze traveled downward and lingered long on the lips.

She involuntarily recalled their softness.

The woman’s upper lip was slightly thinner, adding a bit of coldness to her well defined features. But her eyes were the opposite slightly upturned at the corners, charming and emotional, making one unable to look directly into them.

Stop! Don’t look anymore!

Jiang Ji turned her eyes away and tried to roll off the bed, but a warm hand grabbed her arm.

Earlier, to avoid waking Li Nianyi, only a small warm yellow night light was left on in the room. At this moment, her eyes still showed traces of tiredness, but when looking at Jiang Ji, a lazy hint sparkled like shattered stars.

The light suddenly felt ambiguous.

“How did you wake up? Did I hold you too tightly and wake you up just now?”

Actually, Li Nianyi had already been partially awake at the door. The noise of opening the door was loud, and Jiang Ji had been fumbling at her waist to find the key for quite a while. She wasn’t dead; how could she not wake up?

Jiang Ji hurriedly averted her gaze, unwilling to meet her eyes. This time she was the one who had done something wrong and got caught, so she couldn’t defend herself.

“Too tight? What do you mean? Did you do something bad to me again?”

The word “again” was quite subtle.

“I didn’t, I just carried you to bed.”

Nothing happened, but her mind couldn’t stop wandering!

“You looked at me for so long, who knows what kind of messy things you were thinking.”

This time Jiang Ji had no words to retort because she really did think those things.

“You said you were tired, so get some rest.”

Changing the subject, Jiang Ji forcibly pulled out her arm, unwilling to let the woman act recklessly.

But this movement seemed to touch some nerve in Li Nianyi, who grabbed Jiang Ji’s shirt corner, just like when Jiang Ji had stopped her at the bar entrance.

“What about you? You promised to stay with me, are you going to leave?”

Maybe it was her illusion, but Jiang Ji heard a bit of disappointment and complaint in Li Nianyi’s voice.

“I’m not leaving.”

Jiang Ji covered her with a blanket. “Since I promised to stay over, I won’t go back on my word. I’ll sleep on the carpet next to your bed.”

Like coaxing a child, Jiang Ji spoke softly, brushing Li Nianyi’s messy hair behind her ear.

Li Nianyi wanted to say, but it was already the next day. The promise could be void now. Would she still want to stay with her?

Seeing the reassuring look in Jiang Ji’s eyes, she swallowed the words.

“Okay.”

Under Li Nianyi’s guidance, Jiang Ji took out several sets of bedding from the closet and laid them on the carpet. The soft winter quilt served as a mattress, topped with a light summer quilt.

Somehow, Li Nianyi suddenly recalled what Officer Mu Yuan had told her.

“Jiang Ji, what exactly happened that could drive Suzuki to death?”

Jiang Ji’s brows twitched the moment she heard this.

“Why do you suddenly think of this?”

“Not so sudden… I’m not very close to Suzuki, just acquaintances. But today, Officer Mu Yuan said that in her social circle, I’m one of the people she interacts with most.”

“So I felt a bit moved, realizing I play quite an important role in her life script.”

Suzuki’s death was like a grain of sand leaving the desert, seemingly causing no ripple. She was also a natural daughter. Why did no one care about her passing?

If it had been her who died that night, she might have been as ignored as Suzuki, with no one shedding tears.

Jiang Ji clenched the quilt tightly.

After a long time, she said again, “Forget it, why am I telling you this.”

A faint sigh floated in the air.

“Go to sleep, Nian Nian.” Jiang Ji turned off the night light, and the room plunged into darkness. “Good night.”

Li Nianyi’s consciousness flickered for a moment. It had been a long time since anyone had said that to her.

“Good night, Jiang Ji.”

Perhaps because someone was accompanying her tonight, or because she was too tired, Li Nianyi quickly fell asleep again without any nightmares—no black-clad men in the rainy night, nor any other dreams.

Jiang Ji’s company and embrace gave her peace, almost the illusion of being truly loved by this person.

Strange, after only a few days of knowing each other.

Half awake, half asleep, Li Nianyi suddenly realized she was curious about this person she’d only known for a few days. What a scary thought, but she was too tired to ponder further. Fatigue swept away the last of her consciousness.

A dreamless sleep.

When she woke up, Li Nianyi glanced at the bedside no one was there. The carpet was tidy, bedding put away in the closet.

Still not convinced, she checked the living room no sign of the person.

Seems like she really left.

A strange feeling crept into Li Nianyi’s heart, like the disappointment of being stood up on a date, but with a bit more sting.

She looked at her phone.

It was already afternoon.

The chat window with Jiang Ji still showed yesterday’s messages, no new ones.

Li Nianyi sat on the bed, dazed for a while, then despised herself. If she left, then so be it. She should just do whatever she needed to do. Did she really have to become so anxious over that little comfort?

Jiang Ji wasn’t anyone to her.

She had no right to be so needy over Jiang Ji’s leaving.

Too bad such peaceful sleep might be hard to come by again.

“Nian Nian! Help me open the door!”

Li Nianyi was stunned for a few seconds before snapping out of it and rushing to open the door.

“Jiang Ji, you…”

Jiang Ji stood at the door holding hands full of groceries. No wonder she couldn’t open the door herself—she knew where the door key hung.

Jiang Ji came in winded, unloading groceries while explaining:

“You were so tired yesterday, I didn’t wake you. I planned to cook first so that when you woke up, you could eat directly… Didn’t you say my cooking was good?”

She pointed to the fridge:

“But I found there wasn’t much to eat. Don’t you usually eat poorly? I just went out and bought some, I don’t even know if you’ll like it…”

While preparing the ingredients, she kept chattering.

Li Nianyi mechanically clutched her chest, as if some emptiness was slowly being filled by this woman. This feeling was strange, even uncomfortable, making her want to escape, and she grew increasingly awkward.

“I thought you were gone.”

“I promised to stay with you, so I have to see it through.”

Li Nianyi murmured, “See it through…?”

Jiang Ji was washing vegetables, shouting from the cramped kitchen: “Have you washed up? If not, hurry, I cook fast.”

That strange feeling was finally suppressed by Li Nianyi.

Her life was too chaotic to figure out what this person really meant to her.

Was this just a pastime born from loneliness, or…

Li Nianyi immediately cut off the thought.

“Okay~ Okay~ I’ll listen to you.”

The two sat face to face again at the dining table.

“I see you have a lot of alcohol in your fridge. Are those many glasses for drinking alone?”

Li Nianyi nodded.

“So you’re still a boozer.”

“Actually, mostly for collecting pretty and affordable glasses. I can’t resist when I see them. Drinking is just a side thing. I can’t match your bartending skills anyway, just messing around.”

They chatted casually. Compared to the ambiguous atmosphere before, this simple and harmonious interaction felt oddly like an old married couple.

Jiang Ji looked at the big spread she’d unintentionally cooked. Cooking seemed to have a new meaning.

From simply filling her stomach to wanting her praise.

“By the way, you helped me fill the fridge. I’m bad at cooking and don’t like it. What if no one takes care of those ingredients?”

“If you want, I can cook for you.”