Chapter 70: A Sudden Kiss

Though Yao Jia smiled, she still felt a bit unsatisfied, not quite understanding why.

She wasn’t ready to let Meng Xingzhe eat hotpot so easily.

As she sat down at the dining table after washing her hands, she said to Meng Xingzhe, “Let me emphasize once more, the hotpot isn’t for you. It’s for Xiao Tiantian and me. You can just watch!”

Meng Xingzhe glanced at her, a slight smile on his lips, and gestured for her to come over. “Come here.”

“Huh?”

Yao Jia felt like he was treating her like a little puppy.

What was even more infuriating was that she found herself accepting this role, walking over to him as if responding to a call.

“What do you want?” she asked irritably, sitting down at the table.

“Give me your hand,” he said, still teasing her like a puppy.

Yao Jia extended her hand, palm up. She was annoyed at herself for being so easily led, becoming a curious little Yao puppy.

Meng Xingzhe took something out of his pocket, his fist closed, palm down, hovering over her hand.

His fist barely touched her palm, creating a tickling sensation that was both there and not there.

He opened his fist.

Something fell into her palm.

When he moved his hand away, she saw that he had dropped a few pieces of Alpenliebe candies into her hand.

Yao Jia burst into laughter. It was as if the candies had already sweetened her through their wrappers, making her involuntarily happy.

“Now, does the hotpot include me?” Meng Xingzhe asked, his tone coaxing like he was soothing a sulky child.

Yao Jia put away the candies and huffed.

After a moment, her heart sank, and she asked, “These aren’t from the storage department’s young lady, are they? Did you take someone else’s gift to give to me again?”

Meng Xingzhe picked up his chopsticks and lightly tapped her head with the non-food end. “What are you thinking?”

He had paid several times the usual price for the candies—he had seen them in a taxi, seemingly meant for the driver’s daughter. In that moment, he remembered Yao Jia’s longing look at cotton candy. He couldn’t help but smile and asked the driver to sell him a few pieces.

The driver had initially offered to give them to him for free, but he didn’t feel right accepting them without paying.

“Just a few candies cost me ten bucks.”

Yao Jia thought, for him, that was indeed a hefty price.

So she happily put away the candies and allowed Meng Xingzhe to join them for hotpot.

Nearby, Tian Huasheng watched their interaction and, emboldened by alcohol, shouted at Meng Xingzhe, “Bro! You’re so biased! Why don’t I get any? I’m your sworn brother, aren’t I?”

Yao Jia quickly tossed him a candy to shut him up.

Afraid he would start shouting nonsense again, Yao Jia seized the opportunity to change the subject. “Speaking of which, Li Wangli approached me today.”

She recounted how Li Wangli praised her work ability, commended her sincerity, and planned to transfer her to the major client service department.

After she finished, she noticed Tian Huasheng had a strange expression.

“What’s wrong?”

Tian Huasheng rubbed his large hands and confessed, “To be honest, Manager Li didn’t just approach you. He also spoke to Sister Lidan, Hou Wenwen, and Tong Yumo, asking if they wanted to transfer to the major client service department. He gave them the same reasons—because he found them sincere!”

Yao Jia nearly spat out her drink.

She was both amused and exasperated. This Li Wangli was truly a sly old fox. The sincerity he showed during their conversation made her believe his words were unique to her.

On reflection, this must be how a leader operates, wrapping cunning in seemingly sincere rhetoric.

Yao Jia asked, “Did they all agree?”

Tian Huasheng said, “Yes, Sister Lidan and the others agreed to Manager Li’s offer to transfer to the major client service department. If Manager Li asked me, I’d go too. After all, it’s a career advancement. But it seems there aren’t any male customer service positions there.” He paused, then asked, “Jia, haven’t you decided whether to go?”

Yao Jia nodded.

“You’re actually hesitating?” Tian Huasheng was puzzled.

Meng Xingzhe also looked at Yao Jia.

By next week, it would be time for the third month’s performance review. Once the review was over, it would be time for him to leave.

He wanted to see how his unexpected third sister would develop after he left.

He hoped she would do better and better.

“Why don’t you want to go? It’s a good opportunity,” Meng Xingzhe said.

Yao Jia turned to look at him.

He seemed quite eager for her to transfer. But if she did, their workstations would be separated.

Wouldn’t he feel a bit reluctant about that?

Yao Jia thought, forget it, why think so much? Even if she didn’t transfer, she’d leave after the performance review.

Taking advantage of the alcohol, she decided to tell most of the truth: “Actually, I joined the Kunyu Customer Service Department because I made a bet with my family—they didn’t think I could do this job, or if I did, that I wouldn’t last three months. I didn’t want to lose, so I bet that if I could stick with this job for three months, my family would have to agree to one of my requests, allowing me to do what I really want.”

Tian Huasheng exclaimed, “Your family is quite dramatic.”

Meng Xingzhe raised an eyebrow silently.

He thought it was quite remarkable that part of her reason for joining the Customer Service Department was similar to his—a three-month bet.

He shook his head and smiled. How could their lives have so many similarities and coincidences?

He smiled and asked Yao Jia, “So after the performance review, have you decided what you want to do?”

Yao Jia looked at him, her eyes filled with confusion. She shook her head.

Her cheeks, flushed with alcohol, were a delicate pink, and her lips were a vibrant shade, almost inviting. Her large eyes seemed to glisten with moisture, and as her gaze shifted, it felt like ripples were spreading across his heart.

With a mix of innocence and allure, she turned to him, shook her head, and said, “I don’t know.”

She tilted her head, thinking.

Her gesture made his throat tighten.

So alluring without realizing it, she was practically seducing him.

He picked up a beer, tilted his head back, and downed the entire can in one go.

Still feeling restless, he opened another can and drank it. Then another, and drank that too.

The alcohol rushed to his head, creating a slight haze that separated him from the vividness of the world, making him feel much safer. Even if his heartbeat was exposed, it didn’t seem to matter.

He turned back to listen to her continue her rambling.

“…Actually, when I first joined the Customer Service Department, it was torture. I felt like dying every day, hating the job. I constantly wished for the day to come when I could leave and be free.

“…You know, my family raised me with a suppressive education, never affirming me. Initially, I really hated this job. I thought it was dirty, exhausting, and low-status, always facing disdain and complaints. But ironically, it was this job that brought me affirmation. Hearing a ‘thank you,’ a ‘you’re so kind,’ or a ‘you’re really thoughtful’ after helping someone solve a problem made me feel like I was a valuable person!

“So now, as I’m about to complete the bet with my family, I find myself reluctant to leave this job. Isn’t that strange?”

Meng Xingzhe looked at her and asked, “What was it you originally wanted to do?”

Yao Jia said, “Painting or design.”

Meng Xingzhe raised an eyebrow. “I’ve never seen you paint or design anything. Are you sure you really like those things?”

Yao Jia was taken aback.

“Do you really like design? If so, what kind of design? Do you have a clear goal for the future?” Meng Xingzhe asked again.

Yao Jia was taken aback once more. She thought hard about the question, then shook her head.

No. She realized she had never had a clear goal.

Due to her family’s oppressive educational style, always comparing her to her sister, she had become passive and aimless, using it as a way to resist her family’s authoritarian arrangements.

She thought perhaps she had chosen painting and design as interests to rebel against her family’s control.

—So maybe she didn’t truly love those things.

As Meng Xingzhe said, if you really love something, how could you just set it aside? During her time as a customer service rep, she hadn’t picked up a paintbrush even once.

If those weren’t what she truly wanted to do, then what did she really want?

Yao Jia suddenly realized that after the three-month betting period had ended, she had no idea what she truly wanted to do.

It seemed she had never seriously considered what her future would hold or what kind of person she would become.

Her days had been spent mostly in opposition to Yao Bingkun, living day by day without any real purpose.

She thought that once tonight’s drunkenness passed, she needed to seriously contemplate her life’s goals.

She turned to look at Meng Xingzhe. The alcohol seemed to act as a filter in her eyes, making him appear even more handsome than usual.

His skin was naturally fair, and though he had been drinking, his face wasn’t flushed, but the tips of his ears were tinged red. That hint of red made his complexion appear even more vivid and striking.

She asked him, “What about you? Do you have any goals?”

Meng Xingzhe looked at the little figure with rosy cheeks in front of him, listening to her earnest question.

His heart softened, and the words that came out were laced with a smile, as if he couldn’t help but want to make her happy. “Me? My goals are simple and straightforward. I want to start a company,” which he already had, “do good business, and sell great products,” which he was already doing. “I want to earn a lot of money, enough for me to spend and for my wife to spend.”

As he spoke the last part, his gaze on her deepened involuntarily.

Yao Jia smiled at him, “What kind of products do you want to sell?”

Meng Xingzhe, slightly tipsy from her smile, blurted out the truth, “Probably home appliances.”

After saying it, he felt a chill in his heart.

But seeing her smile even brighter, with a hint of encouragement, he felt at ease.

“You can do it, I’m rooting for you! You know so much about electrical principles and technical knowledge, and you’re well-versed in company management and operations.” She paused, forming a round ‘O’ with her mouth, “Oh! I get it! You’ve always had this ambition, which is why you know so much. You’ve been preparing all along!” She patted his shoulder boldly, “Boss, you can do it, I’m really rooting for you!”

He shook his head at her silly demeanor.

What would she think if she knew he had already achieved all this? Would she blame him for deceiving her?

The latter part of the evening, no one spoke of such grand life goals again. The three of them ate, drank, and played drinking games.

Meng Xingzhe wouldn’t allow Yao Jia to go easy on him, saying his male pride wouldn’t permit it.

So Yao Jia used her unbeatable drinking game skills to make Tian Huasheng drink too much first. Before passing out, Tian Huasheng stumbled back to his room, collapsing onto the bed and snoring loudly with the smell of alcohol.

Yao Jia tucked him in, turned off the lights, and closed the door.

She returned to the dining table, smiling as she asked Meng Xingzhe if he wanted to continue.

Meng Xingzhe couldn’t get enough of her charming smile, his heart aching from looking at her.

He gritted his teeth and said, continue.

Why not look a little longer if he could?

They continued the drinking games. Yao Jia kept winning, and Meng Xingzhe kept drinking. She won so much she felt a bit guilty and wanted to drink for him. But he lost with determination, not letting her drink or go easy on him, looking into her eyes as he drank cup after cup.

In the end, he couldn’t hold on any longer and slumped over the table, drunk.

Yao Jia thought she couldn’t let him sleep like that; he’d catch a cold.

With all her strength, she dragged and pulled him back to his room.

Unable to turn on the light, she used the moonlight from outside the window to move him onto the bed.

After finally arranging him in a comfortable sleeping position, she was so exhausted she felt like she might cough up blood.

After catching her breath, she reached to turn on the bedside lamp. She knew he liked to sleep with a sliver of light. As she tapped the lamp, she thought, this lamp is still mine, and he hasn’t thought to return it.

But the lamp wouldn’t turn on. She thought her lamp was broken, so she reached for his luxurious Italian model.

It wouldn’t turn on either.

She thought for a moment, got up, and went to the door to turn on the main light. Nothing happened. She opened the door and peeked into the living room, which was also pitch black.

She hadn’t turned off the lights when she brought Meng Xingzhe back to his room.

So, the power was out.

She leaned against the doorframe, sighed, and stepped back into the room, closing the door behind her. She was locked in his room.

What else could she do? The power was out, and without the light from the lamp, he’d wake up and be scared.

She couldn’t just leave him like that, could she?

She walked back and sat on the carpet by his bed. Something hard was in her pocket.

She remembered the candy he had given her.

She took out a piece, unwrapped it, and put it in her mouth.

The sweetness filled her mouth, making her heart flutter.

Outside, the moon was a full crescent, its light clear and bright, casting a bluish glow over the dark night.

She sucked on the candy, watching him lying by the bed.

In the blue moonlight, he looked like a handsome prince in slumber, waiting for his destined princess to wake him with a kiss.

She didn’t know what had come over her, but she found herself leaning closer, unable to take her eyes off him. Her heart pounded.

She thought she should look for his sleeping bag. Or she could go back to her room and get her blanket. But in the end, she just watched him, unmoving.

The more she looked, the faster her heart raced. The more she looked, the hotter her ears and cheeks became.

The more she looked, the faster the candy melted on her tongue, disappearing completely.

She wondered what was happening to her.

She was confused yet excited. Even though no one else was around, she felt like she was doing something secretly. She traced his features with her eyes.

He slept quietly, his breathing even and calm. His eyebrows were dark and thick, slightly furrowed as if he were dreaming of something troubling. His eyes were closed, his lashes long and dense. A man with lashes like these was truly captivating.

His nose, outlined by the moonlight, was strikingly handsome. His lips, perfectly sculpted like a painter’s masterpiece, were both cold and sensual, their color still vibrant even in the pale moonlight.

His jawline was sharp and smooth, leading down to the Adam’s apple that signified masculinity. Below that, his shirt collar was tightly buttoned.

She thought it was strange that even after drinking, he hadn’t loosened his collar to ruin his appearance. He really was a full-fledged show-off.

As she watched, his Adam’s apple moved uneasily. It seemed the tight collar was bothering him.

She instinctively wanted to relieve his discomfort, so she leaned closer, reaching for his collar to unbutton it.

Just as her hand touched the button, she froze.

He opened his eyes suddenly, without warning.

He lay there looking at her, while she knelt on the carpet, her hand on his collar button, meeting his gaze.

She smiled and said, the power’s out.

Then she smiled again, saying, Tian Tian drank too much and can’t take care of you, so I’m here.

She smiled awkwardly, saying, don’t get any ideas, I wasn’t going to do anything to you, I just thought your collar was too tight and you might not be able to breathe…

The next second, before she could finish, her world spun.

His scent filled her nose, and her lips were suddenly enveloped in warmth.

She was so startled she wanted to scream, but no sound came out, and something invaded her mouth instead.

That invasion was wild and passionate, exploring every inch of her mouth. It was soft yet domineering, sweeping away the lingering sweetness of the candy, leaving behind the sharp scent of alcohol.

She couldn’t think, her heart pounding as if it would burst from her chest. Her mind was a cacophony of noise.

They breathed heavily, their breaths intertwining, inseparable.

In an instant, he pulled her over, pressing her against him, holding her head as he kissed her deeply.

He kissed with a desperation, a reckless abandon.

— Translator’s Notes —

• Alpenliebe candies: Alpenliebe is a popular brand of creamy milk toffee candies, originally from India but widely enjoyed in China for their sweet, chewy texture.