When Jiang Wang returned from his three-day business trip, he had expected his little girl to be waiting eagerly for him at the airport. Instead, he was greeted by Secretary Zhao with her ever-formal smile.

Fang Qi walked behind him, pushing two black suitcases.

In the past, CEO Jiang frequently went on business trips, but he would typically finish his work, rest for a day, and catch a flight the next morning. Since hiding his precious treasure at home, CEO Jiang had reduced his trips considerably. When he absolutely couldn’t avoid them, he would rush to finish his work and return home, even taking red-eye flights to get back as soon as possible.

And each time he emerged from the airport, he would see his “Empress” sitting quietly, waiting for him.

But today was different.

Fang Qi cautiously glanced at Jiang Wang. He didn’t seem to have much of a reaction; there were no obvious signs of anger. He merely raised his hand to press his brow and sighed helplessly.

“You’ve returned, sir,” Secretary Zhao approached, all business as usual. She opened her notebook and methodically briefed Jiang Wang on matters from the past three days and the upcoming week.

Jiang Wang listened silently without speaking.

After they got into the car, Secretary Zhao finished reporting all the matters, then turned to ask, “CEO Jiang, are you heading home now?”

Jiang Wang had just turned on his phone. There was a message from Shi Niannian. The little girl had grown bolder after being spoiled for so long and had coolly replied: I’ll come home tomorrow.

After getting married, she even dared to stay out overnight. Her audacity had truly grown.

When there was no response, Secretary Zhao hesitated, “CEO Jiang?”

Jiang Wang pressed his phone a few times, sending an address to the navigation system. “Not going home. Go here.”

“Alright.” Secretary Zhao glanced at the address, which seemed familiar. After a moment, she recalled that the company’s chief engineer also lived in that area. They did have a project to discuss with him. “CEO Jiang, Engineer Zhang has already scheduled a meeting with you tomorrow afternoon to discuss the project. Do you still want to go now?”

Jiang Wang leaned back. “I’m not looking for him. I’m looking for Mrs. Jiang.”

Secretary Zhao was startled, immediately falling silent, exchanging a series of meaningful glances with Fang Qi, who sat on the other side.

Secretary Zhao: What’s happening? Where did the Empress go?

Fang Qi: How would I know! Is CEO Jiang angry?

Secretary Zhao: This is too exciting! What is this, a drama about catching a runaway wife?!

Fang Qi: …

After their silent exchange ended, Secretary Zhao turned around and drove the car away.

Jiang Wang closed his eyes and pressed his brow. He was genuinely tired from the busy past few days; his forehead felt sore and swollen. Now he had to go coax his little girl back home. He let out a silent sigh.

“What has Shi Niannian been doing these past few days?” The man’s voice was a bit hoarse, revealing his exhaustion.

Secretary Zhao was normally responsible for CEO Jiang’s daily life and company matters. After CEO Jiang and Fang Qi left on their trip, she was sent to check if the Empress needed any help and to report any issues to CEO Jiang.

“The Emp—” Secretary Zhao caught herself mid-word and pressed her lips together, quickly adopting a more composed tone. Mrs. Jiang just finished her graduation thesis. She’s been doing her hospital internship recently, nothing else.”

Jiang Wang: “When is her thesis defense?”

Secretary Zhao, grateful for her good memory, answered, “In half a month.”

Jiang Wang fell silent again, keeping his eyes closed with slightly furrowed brows. It wasn’t until the car reached their destination that he opened his eyes again. He left his suit jacket in the car and went upstairs wearing only his shirt.

“Do you think we should wait?” With the boss gone, Secretary Zhao immediately dropped her professional smile and excitedly tapped Fang Qi’s shoulder.

Fang Qi: “We should wait. CEO Jiang’s jacket is still in the car.”

Secretary Zhao blinked. “Our Empress has fled the palace and is about to be captured! Shouldn’t there be some punishment? Maybe they’ll have a go at it!?”

Fang Qi: “…”

Secretary Zhao continued chattering, “Given our Emperor’s stamina, he won’t be coming down anytime soon. If he encounters Shi Daji’s seduction, we might have to wait until tomorrow morning.”

“…”

Fang Qi glanced at her, wondering how Mrs. Jiang had first been crowned with the title of Empress Bao and now somehow become associated with Su Daji. At this rate, she would eventually cycle through all four legendary beauties.

“From the looks of it, I don’t think you’re fighting with Jiang Wang,” Jiang Ling directly hooked a finger in her collar to look, making a few tsking sounds. “You’ve been away for three days, and these marks haven’t even faded. So I guess we’re still acknowledging Jiang as the boss.”

Jiang Ling returned to China a month ago. Today at noon, she received a message from Shi Niannian saying she wanted to stay at her place for a night.

Shi Niannian pushed her hand away and backed up a bit.

“Hey,” Jiang Ling was dying of curiosity. “What did you two fight about? How did Jiang Wang manage to make you this angry?”

“We didn’t fight,” Shi Niannian picked up a cherry and stuffed it into Jiang Ling’s mouth. “I just missed you and came to see you, that’s all.”

Jiang Ling made a dismissive sound, her face full of disbelief. After a while, she suddenly remembered something, narrowed her eyes, and poked Shi Niannian’s arm with her index finger: “You little vixen, are you upset because Jiang Wang was away for three days and you’re unsatisfied?”

Shi Niannian: “…”

Jiang Ling had always been straightforward by nature. After hanging around Xu Zhilin, her speech had become even more unfiltered.

After she spoke, she collapsed on the table, unable to stop laughing.

Shi Niannian sighed, “Alright, stop laughing.”

Just as she finished speaking, the doorbell rang. Jiang Ling stood up with a cherry in her mouth, mumbling, “Strange, didn’t Xu Zhilin say he wasn’t coming over tonight?”

She opened the door without even looking, then froze when she saw Jiang Wang standing outside.

“Is Shi Niannian here?” Jiang Wang asked.

“Ah, yes, yes, she is.” Jiang Ling nodded and stepped aside to let him in, then called out, “Niannian!”

Shi Niannian hadn’t expected Jiang Wang to come looking for her, nor had she expected him to find her so easily without asking any questions. She stood up, stunned.

Jiang Ling tossed out a “You two talk” and disappeared into the bedroom, closing the door behind her.

Jiang Wang’s face showed obvious fatigue and drowsiness. It was already very late, and he had come straight here after getting off the plane. His eyes were rimmed with red.

Shi Niannian felt a pang of sympathy and almost relented, but after standing there for a good while, she steeled herself and said, “What are you doing here?”

Jiang Wang: “Looking for you.”

“I’m staying at Jiang Ling’s tonight and going home tomorrow,” Shi Niannian said.

Jiang Wang sighed, stepped forward, and bent down to embrace her. Shi Niannian pushed against his chest, but couldn’t move him. Instead, she was held even tighter.

His breath was hot against her neck.

His voice was husky and somehow pitifully endearing: “Stop being upset with me.”

Shi Niannian didn’t speak or move.

Jiang Wang nuzzled her neck and said softly, “My ear hurts.”

Shi Niannian was startled, her voice immediately softening: “Does it hurt a lot? Is it serious? Should we go to the hospital?”

“It hurts because I haven’t rested well,” Jiang Wang’s current voice combined with his words was the perfect tool for garnering sympathy. He lowered his voice further, “I want to sleep.”

Shi Niannian could no longer focus on being upset. She patted his back reassuringly, coaxing him: “Okay, okay, let’s go home and sleep.”

Secretary Zhao hadn’t expected them to come down so quickly. In her estimation, even if they didn’t get intimate, it would still take at least an hour to properly appease the Empress. After all, women weren’t easily placated, and CEO Jiang didn’t seem like someone who would be good at coaxing. It should have taken at least an hour.

Yet they came downstairs in less than ten minutes.

She narrowed her eyes, studying the couple as they emerged from the dark stairwell. The Empress was already lovingly holding the Emperor’s hand, speaking with him.

She turned to exchange a glance with Fang Qi, sincerely marveling: “CEO Jiang truly deserves his title.”

His skill at placating others was also at the master level.

Once in the car, Shi Niannian called Secretary Zhao “Sister” and nodded to Fang Qi. She was more familiar with Secretary Zhao, who was a few years older than her. Since Secretary Zhao was Jiang Wang’s secretary, not hers, calling her “Secretary Zhao” felt strange, so she called her “Sister” instead.

Secretary Zhao was delighted by this “Sister” address and was grateful that CEO Jiang hadn’t chosen some difficult-to-get-along-with, temperamental, rich young lady as Mrs. Jiang.

Everyone at the company liked Shi Niannian very much, and in private group chats, they often jokingly referred to her as “the Empress.”

During the drive home, Secretary Zhao occasionally glanced in the rearview mirror. The couple showed no signs of having just reconciled; they were more like passionate young lovers, inseparable from each other.

She took a deep breath, silently recited her substantial bonus in her mind, and calmly swallowed the dog food being served.

As soon as they got home, Shi Niannian ran to get the ear examination equipment—she had bought it some time ago to keep at home. However, since she had come back, Jiang Wang’s daily routine had become more regular than before, and his ears hadn’t given him any more problems.

She had barely started running when Jiang Wang caught her by the waist and carried her back. His palm brushed over her ear as he bent down to press his lips against hers.

He bit her lip punitively and said in a husky voice, “So now you’ve grown bold enough to stay out all night, huh?”

His words carried a warning tone. Jiang Wang had shed his sheep’s clothing as soon as they entered the house.

Shi Niannian looked up, noticing the red in his eyes that couldn’t be faked. “Wait a moment, let me check your ears first.”

“No need to check. It doesn’t hurt,” he said, then bent down again, sliding his hand under her clothes to caress her. His voice deepened, “It’s another place that hurts.”

Shi Niannian was already annoyed. She had only come back because she was worried about his ears, but as soon as they got home, he started behaving inappropriately again, which made her even more furious.

Jiang Wang simply gave the bristling girl a smack on her bottom, not caring about her anger. He kissed her and carried her to the sofa, making her straddle his lap, then raised his hand to spank her bottom twice.

In a husky voice: “Be good.”

The man was satisfied, but the consequence was that the little wildcat was thoroughly provoked.

Later, they moved from the living room sofa to the bed, then to the bathroom. Finally, after showering, they returned to bed exhausted. Shi Niannian turned her back to him, not wanting to speak.

Jiang Wang embraced her from behind, taking her fingers one by one. “You haven’t talked to me for three days. Still not over it?”

Shi Niannian pulled the blanket over her ears, answering him with actions rather than words.

Jiang Wang kissed her hair and said, “I was wrong. I shouldn’t have been harsh with you then.”

He said he was harsh, but he wasn’t really. It was just that Shi Niannian had been spending more time with a male classmate because of her graduation thesis. Sometimes she would even receive calls from this guy at home, talking about school matters. But Jiang Wang was still unhappy about it. He had argued with Shi Niannian a little, and then had to leave for his business trip the next day. That night, he had been a bit rough with her.

The anger had persisted until today.

“It’s not about being harsh.” Shi Niannian’s voice was muffled. “You’re always getting jealous for no reason and not trusting me.”

“I trust you, but I don’t trust your male classmates,” Jiang Wang hooked her pinky finger. “I don’t like how they always stare at you.”

Shi Niannian sighed, helplessly saying, “All my classmates know I’m married, and they know it’s to you. Who would dare to do anything to me?”

After all, even after graduation, Jiang Wang had remained a legendary figure at B University. With so many business magazines featuring articles about him, everyone recognized him such a prominent person.

Jiang Wang gently bit her earlobe. “They’re not even allowed to think about it.”

Shi Niannian turned around and reached out from under the blanket, poking his Adam’s apple. “Am I really that great? Why would so many people like me?”

Jiang Wang looked at her up close. “You have no idea how wonderful you are.”