Chapter 074　 I thought you two might kiss while you were talking

  *

  Su Xian briskly brought the suitcase inside and placed it next to the sofa.

  "Get me a beer."

  She grabbed a can and handed it to him.

  "Open it."

  Su Xian cracked the beer open and set it by his hand. She turned around to look for a trash can, but when she looked up, she saw Li Chengshi sitting on the stairs, clutching a pillow and staring blankly at them.

  "Baby, why are you down here?"

  "I thought you two might kiss while you were talking, so I came down to supervise." His speech was slurred, but his meaning was crystal clear.

  Su Xian no longer blamed him for not trusting her; 100% trust might just be a delusion. She couldn't achieve it herself, so she didn't demand it of others. However, she still had to state her position: "Baby, don't worry, I won't kiss him. Just wait for me there; I'll grab a fresh sheet and go up with you."

  "Okay, wifey."

  Zhao Nanfeng said dismissively, "So mushy."

  Su Xian tossed the pull-tab away, took a sheet from the storage room, and said, "We're heading up. Goodnight, Boss."

  *

  Li Chengshi clung tightly to Su Xian’s arm, as if afraid someone might snatch her away. Su Xian smoothed his hair and gave him a gentle kiss on the forehead.

  It was true—as long as she remained by Zhao Nanfeng’s side, she could never give Li Chengshi a full sense of security. However, she would not choose to leave Towa Design during this upward phase of her career just for that. This was a hurdle Li Chengshi had to overcome as her boyfriend.

  **

  Rain began to fall during the night. The pitter-patter of raindrops against the leaves was the perfect lullaby. Combined with exhaustion and a hangover, Li Chengshi didn't wake up until noon. Su Xian curled up on the sofa by the window, listening to the rain and reading a novel until her stomach started growling, prompting her to creep downstairs.

  Zhao Nanfeng was busy in the kitchen.

  Su Xian walked over and gave a quiet greeting. "Morning, Boss."

  "Morning." He sliced a sandwich diagonally and handed half to Su Xian.

  "Avocado, tomato, and smoked salmon." After checking the ingredients, she was satisfied. "Thanks."

  "Juice or milk?"

  "I want yogurt."

  Zhao Nanfeng opened the fridge, took out a tub of yogurt, scooped two bowls, and topped them with nuts and blueberries. He had Su Xian carry them to the bar counter, then sat diagonally across from her with his own half-sandwich. "You’re cleaning up later."

  "Fair."

  After a few bites, he suddenly stopped. "Does Honda like me?"

  "Why do you ask?" He tracks GPS, surely he doesn't eavesdrop too?

  "In the middle of the night, while I was sleeping, she came out and kissed me."

  Su Xian’s eyes lit up. "Tell me the details."

  "I was sleeping on the sofa with an eye mask on. I heard her come out in a daze—she was probably going to the bathroom. After a while, things went quiet, and I thought she’d gone back. That’s when she kissed me."

  Honda actually took action! Good job! Su Xian pretended to be unfazed and asked, "And then?"

  "There is no 'and then.' She just left."

  "Were you expecting a next step?"

  "What is wrong with you?"

  "What?"

  "How could I possibly have those thoughts about her? I see her as a younger sister. Her doing that so suddenly made me not even dare to breathe loudly. It felt like... incest."

  "That serious, huh?" Su Xian sighed for Honda. It sounded like there was absolutely no chance.

  "What are you sounding sentimental for?" Zhao Nanfeng frowned, asking suspiciously, "Did you instigate this?"

  Su Xian felt a bit guilty. "I didn't instigate her to kiss you, but I knew she liked you, so I advised her to... try a bit of seduction..."

  " You really are a piece of work!" Zhao Nanfeng dropped his spoon into the yogurt bowl, causing a large splash.

  Su Xian wiped the counter with a tissue, trying to placate him. "Don't be angry."

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  "It was already troubling enough that Kobayashi Ria introduced Yoshida to me. I told you that not because I expected comfort, but because I felt that having one person in this world I could safely vent to was a form of happiness in itself. And look what you did! You fanned the flames and added fuel to the fire. Just like them, you treated me like some free Host anyone can order!" He grew angrier as he spoke, his eyes turning red.

  Afraid he might flip the table, Su Xian silently picked up her yogurt bowl, reflecting on whether she really had gone too far.

  After a tense ten seconds, Zhao Nanfeng let out a heavy sigh and took the yogurt bowl from her hands. "Stop eating. Go make your own."

  Su Xian finally breathed a sigh of relief. She stood up to get more yogurt, but as she looked up, she saw Li Chengshi walking downstairs in his pajamas. With sleepy eyes, he asked, "Were you guys just fighting?"

  She hurried forward to explain. "No, we were just debating a point. Did we wake you?"

  Li Chengshi hugged her, drifted for a few more seconds with his eyes closed, then stretched. With a bright smile, he said, "Wifey, I'm awake! I'll wash my face and then cook. You go wake up Honda."

  *

  Su Xian called Honda’s name and knocked several times, but there was no response. She carefully pushed the door open to find Honda wrapped in a blanket, her upper body on the floor and her legs hanging off the bed, sleeping as if she had passed out. Su Xian gently tapped her awake and told her to wash up for breakfast.

  Honda was very embarrassed, saying she had drunk too much and slept incredibly deeply.

  A thought crossed Su Xian’s mind, and she asked if Honda had gone to the bathroom during the night. Honda said no, she had slept straight through until morning.

  *

  After closing the bedroom door, Su Xian immediately went to tell Zhao Nanfeng the "good news." "She doesn't remember, so you can act as if nothing happened. No need for any mental burden."

  "So I just got kissed for nothing?"

  Li Chengshi, having finished washing up, came down just in time. He looked at Su Xian in shock. "You kissed him?!"

  "It wasn't me!" She quickly described what had happened.

  Li Chengshi let out a sigh of relief, clutching his chest. "You gave me a fright. But you really handled this poorly. Yesterday, when you were giving Honda those reckless ideas, I was thinking—even with an ex-boyfriend, if you truly loved them once, you wouldn't want to see him with another woman, no matter how long it’s been since the breakup. The fact that you’re actively setting him up proves you probably never cared at all."

  The more Zhao Nanfeng listened, the grimmer his expression became. He stood up and stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

  Su Xian panicked. "Li Chengshi, why are you fanning the flames?!"

  "Do you feel sorry for him?"

  She immediately composed herself and shook her head. "No."

  "Exactly. No need to feel sorry for him. While you were in the wrong, the root cause of this is his messy private life. He can't blame others for treating him like a pastime."

  The last bit of guilt in Su Xian’s heart vanished instantly. "Wow, baby, you make so much sense."

  *

  At that moment, Honda finally emerged from the bedroom, clearly still hungover. She looked at Su Xian and Li Chengshi and asked in confusion, "おはよう。さっき出たのは誰ですか？(Good morning. Who just went out?)" It seemed she had heard the door slam.

  "社長だよ。(The Boss,)" Su Xian replied.

  "社長？社長が来たの？！(The Boss? The Boss is here?!)"

  "そうよ。(Yes.)"

  "いつ来たの？挨拶しなきゃ。(When did he get here? I have to go say hello.)" With that, Honda chased him out the door.

  *