Tang Yang felt like she was being cooked alive. She kept her head down but didn’t struggle.
The woman who had discussed the “Golden Retriever” with Tang Yang in the restroom earlier was standing nearby. She naturally noticed Jiang Shiyan’s workplace harassment. Though she didn’t dare speak up, she couldn’t help but feel sorry for Tang Yang.
But then she thought, it’s only harassment if the person is ugly. With CEO Jiang’s face, touching her hand like that… oh my, how can Tang Yang be so lucky!!
Others just thought they were shaking hands for a bit too long. Jiang Shiyan glanced at Yang Yang’s red ear tips and touched her even more brazenly.
Until a few minutes later.
Jiang Shiyan’s assistant came forward, coughing lightly to smooth things over: “This is Deputy Tang Yang from City A’s branch.”
Jiang Shiyan finally suppressed his smile and let go of Tang Yang: “Deputy Tang.”
Tang Yang responded with a barely audible “Mm”: “CEO Jiang.”
Jiang Shiyan moved on to the next person, and his assistant informed him: “This is Deputy Manager Ji Jie from City C’s branch.”
Jiang Shiyan: “Deputy Manager Ji.”
“This is…”
“…”
The assistant introduced each person, and Jiang Shiyan nodded to each one.
Seeing that Jiang Shiyan had no intention of shaking hands, the others also just nodded in acknowledgment.
Tang Yang took the opportunity to go out and cancel her flight ticket, then returned to the banquet hall.
Branch Manager Fan from City B praised her: “That’s more like it. Young people should prioritize their careers.” He then rambled on with a bunch of motivational talk.
Tang Yang nervously agreed to everything.
At 9 o’clock, the One Rest and Thompson banquet began.
Jiang Shiyan and Leo signed the agreement on stage. After signing, Jiang Shiyan went to the side of the stage to talk with Branch Manager Fan.
Below the stage, soft music began to play, and people mingled.
Tang Yang stood in a corner, chatting happily with a female executive from the Thompson Group.
Tang Yang wore a white embroidered shirt and a black pencil skirt that hugged her graceful figure. Her exposed calves and forearms were slender and fair. A tall wine glass rested obediently between her fingers. Tang Yang smiled gracefully, raising her glass for a toast. The crimson liquid in the glass swirled with her sparkling eyes.
Jiang Shiyan kept glancing at her, which Branch Manager Fan noticed.
Both were unmarried and since Branch Manager Fan appreciated Tang Yang, after discussing business matters, he said, “It was too rushed earlier. Would CEO Jiang mind if I introduce Deputy Tang to you again?”
Jiang Shiyan stood up with a smile: “Please, don’t trouble yourself.”
“Not at all,” Branch Manager Fan also stood up, leading Jiang Shiyan towards Tang Yang while unable to resist praising her, “Deputy Tang seems to be the same age as CEO Jiang, 29 this year. She has a Ph.D. in Economics and Management from Jiao Tong University and was specially recruited as a management trainee at Hui Shang Bank.”
Branch Manager Fan continued: “Many graduates from prestigious universities tend to be overconfident when they enter the workforce, but not Deputy Tang. She’s diligent, serious about her work, and has exceptional professional skills. The BKB model currently used throughout Hui Shang Bank was improved based on her initial framework, truly.”
As if afraid Jiang Shiyan wouldn’t believe him, Branch Manager Fan gave an example: “When I used to assign tasks to others, they would just do the work, and sometimes not even complete it. But when I assign something to Tang Yang, she considers why it’s being assigned and prepares related materials in advance, leaving no loose ends…”
Branch Manager Fan praised Tang Yang as if she were his daughter about to be married off.
Jiang Shiyan listened attentively, responding patiently as they made their way across the venue.
While Jiang Shiyan was looking at Tang Yang, she was also stealing glances at him through the reflection in her wine glass, watching him converse with Branch Manager Fan and nod to people around him, carrying an air of elegance.
A male waiter almost bumped into him, but he steadied the waiter, saying graciously, “Careful.”
Tang Yang watched Jiang Shiyan walking towards her and suddenly thought of something.
“I’m sorry, I have to leave for a moment,” she apologized to the Thompson executive, raising her glass.
The executive nodded.
Jiang Shiyan thought Tang Yang would walk towards him, and a smile began to form on his lips.
However, Tang Yang didn’t even glance at Jiang Shiyan. She placed her wine glass on a passing waiter’s tray and walked straight towards the exit. As she neared the door, she even held down her skirt and began to take small, quick steps.
The smile on Jiang Shiyan’s lips slowly froze.
Branch Manager Fan awkwardly said, “Deputy Tang mentioned earlier that she had some family matters…”
“It’s alright, next time.” Just then, someone came over to offer a toast, and Jiang Shiyan turned to engage with them.
Seeing Jiang Shiyan’s calm demeanor, Branch Manager Fan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
While Jiang Shiyan spoke fluent English, his thoughts drifted far away.
Did she go to the restroom? Is she feeling unwell?
Why hasn’t she come back after ten minutes? Could she be angry?
Why would she be angry? Because I couldn’t resist touching her hand in front of so many people earlier? Or because I didn’t send her a selfie this afternoon? But I saw that she replied to me when I was on the road. So why did she leave? Should I call her? Would that annoy her…
At 9:30 PM, the banquet was in full swing.
Some were dancing, others playing cards.
Jiang Shiyan leaned lazily against a sofa in the corner, his figure completely hidden in the shadows. He idly turned the phone in his hand, his eyes closed, concealing his emotions.
Suddenly, there was a very soft “Jiang Shiyan.”
A kitten was calling.
Jiang Shiyan’s eyes snapped open, searching for the source of the sound.
The slightly ajar hall door opened a crack, and Tang Yang poked her head in from outside. One hand on the door, the other beckoning to him: “Come out quietly.”
Not knowing what Yang Yang wanted to do, but clearly, she wasn’t angry or ignoring him.
Jiang Shiyan’s heart, which had been suspended all evening, settled back into place. Yang Yang told him to come “quietly,” so he looked left and right, and when no one was paying attention, he slipped out the door.
“Thump,” “thump,” the hall door swayed twice and closed.
Outside, Tang Yang pulled Jiang Shiyan to a nearby stairwell.
Tang Yang sat on the second step, her legs on the first step. Jiang Shiyan sat next to her on the second step, his long legs reaching the ground.
Just a wall away, the clamor of the banquet seemed to fade into the distance.
In the quiet created by the white noise, Tang Yang turned and picked up a black plastic bag from beside her, placing it on her lap.
She peeled away the outermost layer of the bag, revealing another black plastic bag inside. She peeled away another layer, exposing a food bag, and then another layer, revealing a disposable round food container about the size of a milk carton.
There was probably some padding underneath, as the food container stood upright on Tang Yang’s knees.
Tang Yang fished out a plastic spoon from the bag, then lifted the lid and carefully held it out to Jiang Shiyan: “Longan and lotus seed soup, from that place I told you was super delicious.”
Longans, lotus seeds, and red dates floated on the translucent lotus root starch soup, its rich aroma wafting around with the rising steam.
Jiang Shiyan took the soup but not the spoon: “You went to buy this just now?”
“Yeah,” Tang Yang gave him a ‘what else’ expression, then remembered something and said happily, “You don’t know, this stall owner is good at creating scarcity. Two hundred bowls in the morning, two hundred bowls in the evening, and once they’re sold out, he’s gone. When I rushed over just now, there were so many students queuing in front of me. I got the very last bowl. Talk about luck!”
Jiang Shiyan noticed Tang Yang’s slightly sweaty back, wondering how fast she must have driven and how long she must have queued.
“Why are you in a daze? Hurry up and eat. I specially found black plastic bags at the convenience store next door. They absorb heat and keep it warm,” Tang Yang stuck the spoon into the soup, “Quick, try it. Is it good?”
The warm mist diffused between them, blurring Tang Yang’s features.
Jiang Shiyan couldn’t quite describe the warm, swelling feeling in his heart. He closed his eyes, then opened them again, just in time to meet Tang Yang’s expectant gaze, her eyes clear and sparkling like a pure lake or a gemstone.
Jiang Shiyan took a spoonful, drank it, and looked into her eyes earnestly: “It’s delicious.”
“I told you it was super delicious,” seeing Jiang Shiyan scoop up another spoonful to feed her, Tang Yang pushed it away, “I’ve had a lot, you drink it, you drink it…” Unable to refuse further, Tang Yang guided his wrist and drank.
Jiang Shiyan took another spoonful and drank: “It’s delicious.”
Jiang Shiyan fed Tang Yang another spoonful, and Tang Yang’s eyes curved into crescents: “It’s delicious.”
The soup had warmth, and she had a smile.
They were sitting in a dim, cramped stairwell, and even the floor beneath them was cold. Yet Jiang Shiyan felt as if he were soaking in a hot spring, surrounded by a gentle warmth.
After another sip, Jiang Shiyan handed the soup to Tang Yang.
Tang Yang didn’t know what he intended to do, but she still reached out to take it.
Jiang Shiyan stood up and turned the camera towards the ceiling. Tang Yang quickly took a sip, bowing her head.
As Jiang Shiyan sat down, Tang Yang wiped her mouth uncertainly: “I…”
Jiang Shiyan cupped her face with his hands, his eyes full of tenderness yet unable to resist as he leaned in to kiss her.
The soup on Tang Yang’s lap was placed on the fourth step by a hand. That same hand pushed Tang Yang against the wall, cradled the back of her head, supporting the intertwining of lips and teeth, the sound of slow and intense entanglement…
Suddenly, from outside:
“The second half is about to begin, and President Jiang needs to speak, but I don’t see him. Have you seen him?”
“I’m not sure. I saw him sitting on the sofa earlier. Perhaps he went to the restroom?”
“That’s possible.”
“…”
The voices of Jiang Shiyan’s assistant and several others grew closer.
In the stairwell, the two stood with their bodies and lips pressed together, holding their breath.
Jiang Shiyan’s assistant approached: “Is there a stairwell here?”
Sister Yang left earlier. President Jiang might be inside calling her.
Just as the assistant was about to reach them, the slightly open door of the stairwell suddenly closed.
Outside the door, several people stopped and looked at it.
Inside, Jiang Shiyan held the doorknob with his hand and braced his foot against the door.
The assistant tried to pull the door, but it didn’t move. They gave it a gentle push, but it still didn’t budge.
Someone said, “It might be locked. The stairwell is usually locked at night.”
The assistant shook the doorknob.
Tang Yang’s eyes widened, and Jiang Shiyan gave her a reassuring look.
In that breath…
“Oh,” the assistant responded and left.
Jiang Shiyan didn’t mind going public, but he didn’t want a third person to see Tang Yang’s current state, pressed against the wall in the stairwell and kissed until now.
Outside, the footsteps grew fainter.
Tang Yang remembered: “Don’t you have an event? Shouldn’t you go give your speech…”
Jiang Shiyan lowered his head and kissed her again.
Ten minutes later, Leo received a message from Jiang Shiyan.
[I sincerely apologize, but I’m not feeling well. I’ll have to leave early. I’ll host next time.]
No wonder Jiang Shiyan’s complexion didn’t look good earlier!
Leo relayed the message. Director Fan sent a message wishing him to rest well. The assistant asked what was wrong and where he was. There were many polite concerns…
The constant buzzing was too noisy, so Jiang Shiyan simply turned off his phone.
At the back door of Saint Javier, Tang Yang was renting a bicycle: “Since you have nowhere to go now, why don’t you come back to the hotel with me?”
“Gladly,” Jiang Shiyan answered promptly.
Tang Yang looked up to see Jiang Shiyan’s face full of “Deputy Tang wants to seduce me, I’m so happy.” She raised her fist, pretending to hit him: “That’s not what I meant.”
Jiang Shiyan caught her fist and pulled her onto the back seat of the bicycle.
Tang Yang wrapped her arms around his waist, and Jiang Shiyan’s lips curved into a smile.
Earlier, when Tang Yang was buying soup, she saw a young man giving a young woman a ride and felt envious.
After sneaking away from the banquet, she suddenly suggested riding a bicycle back to the hotel. Jiang Shiyan agreed. She said they should take a detour through B University, and Jiang Shiyan agreed. She gave directions like “go straight” and “turn left ahead,” and Jiang Shiyan followed her verbal navigation.
He hunched his back, the muscles forming smooth, beautiful shapes.
Tang Yang sat in the back seat, passing by her familiar alma mater, never imagining that at almost thirty, she could still play the role of a campus romance heroine.
The bicycle entered a straight road.
Tang Yang asked, “Can I let go with one hand to take a photo on the bike?”
“No,” Jiang Shiyan considered her safety, “My skills aren’t good enough.”
Tang Yang knew he was teasing her and prepared to let go.
Jiang Shiyan immediately made the bike swerve left and right. Tang Yang quickly wrapped both arms tightly around his waist and started pinching him: “Jiang Shiyan!”
“Baby, I’m sorry.” Jiang Shiyan, ticklish at the waist, kept apologizing while holding onto the handlebars.
Tang Yang threatened him softly, and he chuckled.
The bicycle wobbled back and forth but managed to stay upright as they rode through the campus.
April marked the end of the spring recruitment season. Many students in the school were dressed in suits, but most looked tired and disgruntled. Those laughing happily on bicycles were the minority.
Two female graduate students walking by commented: “They must have both received offers.”
“Probably. It’s good to be young, twenty-one or twenty-two, without a care in the world.”
“…”
Fifteen minutes later, Jiang Shiyan and Tang Yang arrived at the hotel where Tang Yang was staying. Jiang Shiyan took the blushing young woman to buy protection.
After entering the elevator, Jiang Shiyan guided Tang Yang’s hand to the pocket containing the protection.
Tang Yang curled her fingers as if shocked.
Jiang Shiyan didn’t look at her but smiled as he pressed his fist against her palm, forcing her hand to touch the box again.
After several repetitions, Tang Yang glared at him with a face full of blush, glaring, glaring, glaring.
“Ding dong,” the elevator arrived.
Jiang Shiyan held that hand to his lips, naturally and flirtatiously kissing her fingertips.
“I’ll go take a shower first,” Tang Yang said with a face about to melt from redness after entering the room.
Jiang Shiyan replied, “Alright.”
Tang Yang scurried to the bathroom like a rabbit, hugging her towel and bathrobe. Jiang Shiyan smiled as he tidied up the room and also organized his luggage that his assistant had sent to Saint Javier earlier.
When Tang Yang came out of the shower, the room was as neat as new.
“Your turn,” she said to Jiang Shiyan.
“Okay.” Jiang Shiyan went in.
Tang Yang sat at the dressing table, reflecting. This was her room, why was she so nervous? What was she nervous about?
Just then, Jiang Shiyan called from the bathroom: “Yang Yang, I forgot to bring a towel. Can I use yours?”
Tang Yang: “Mm.”
Jiang Shiyan: “Yang Yang, I forgot to bring a bath towel. Can I use yours?”
Tang Yang: “Mm…”
Jiang Shiyan: “Yang Yang, your bath towel smells so nice.”
“…” Yang Yang didn’t want to talk to a certain rascal.
Jiang Shiyan came out, turned off the main light, leaving only the night light on, and lay down on the bed first.
Tang Yang finished her skincare routine and came over. She lifted her side of the blanket, her gaze falling on a thin aluminum package on the pillow. Remembering what happened in the elevator earlier, Tang Yang pretended to be angry: “Jiang Shiyan, you’re so purposeful!”
Tang Yang stood with one leg straight and one knee on the bed.
Jiang Shiyan, wrapped in the blanket, crawled to her front, reached out to untie her bathrobe, and put his hand around her slender waist.
“Since Deputy Tang has so sincerely invited Mr. Jiang to the hotel, Mr. Jiang will certainly exert all his lifelong energy…”
The silk nightgown flowed like water over the back of his hand. Jiang Shiyan kissed her abdomen through the nightgown, then her chest, and her neck. Passing by her soft throat, he lightly licked with the tip of his tongue. Tang Yang’s breath caught, and Jiang Shiyan, seemingly unaware, let his burning lips trail along her jawline to her ear and earlobe. Then, pressing his low, slow voice against her soft ear, he whispered in a voice almost too quiet to hear: “To please you.”
What does it mean to please? What is pleasing?
The warm breath, like eyes growing longer, crept into Tang Yang’s ear, followed by an electrifying, numbing sensation spreading through her limbs.
Tang Yang’s hand slowly caressed Jiang Shiyan’s back. Jiang Shiyan moved his lips in front of hers, exchanging breaths across an almost non-existent distance.
Tang Yang’s eyelashes fluttered as she tentatively kissed his lips. Jiang Shiyan pressed her body towards him, more heavily and deeply savoring her lips and tongue.
What followed was both natural and inevitable.
The nightgown lingered on her skin, then fell.
Then the man’s bathrobe.
The slightly damp, small pink fabric.
The last to fall was the dark blue, boxer-style…
Jiang Shiyan, afraid of hurting her, had sweat covering his forehead but still caressed her with the utmost gentleness, over and over, until a warm flow spread at his fingertips.
When he entered, Tang Yang had already melted into a pool of spring water.
The neighboring room seemed to be playing music, the soft melody indistinct.
Tang Yang felt a moment of pain, her furrowed brow submerged beneath his tender lips.
“Baby, relax, relax a bit.”
Jiang Shiyan’s hoarse voice came out broken and difficult. He was so tight he could barely stand it.
Tang Yang was equally uncomfortable, every clear sensation making it impossible for her to think. “I, I.”
Jiang Shiyan didn’t pressure her, slowly pushing in a bit, then slowly withdrawing. On the second thrust, he pushed a little deeper against the friction. Tang Yang, following her instincts and not knowing what she was doing, moved slightly. Jiang Shiyan’s lower back immediately tightened.
A moment of chaos ensued.
Jiang Shiyan, as if losing strength, lay on Tang Yang’s shoulder, panting.
Tang Yang’s chest rose and fell.
Next door, that song reached its climax, the melody passionate and vigorous.
Here, Tang Yang and Jiang Shiyan’s breathing slowly calmed down.
The air seemed to solidify with awkwardness.
In the quiet, Jiang Shiyan wiped his face with both hands, then picked up his bathrobe, put it on, and got up to open a can of beer from the cabinet.
Tang Yang, curled up in the blanket with only her eyes showing, secretly watched his dark face.
Tang Yang remembered Cheng Siran and others saying that Jiang Shiyan used to be all talk when hanging out with them, refusing to put it into practice, typically a tease, then a fish out of water. She then thought of how he had teased her earlier, looking flirtatious and saying “All kinds of positions, up to heaven and down to earth, guaranteed satisfaction.”
Tang Yang wanted to comfort Jiang Shiyan. She watched his throat bob as he gulped down the beer, saw his expressionless face, and when her gaze fell on his red ears behind his dark face, Tang Yang couldn’t help but let out a “pfft.”
“You’re laughing at me,” Jiang Shiyan stated.
“I’m not, I didn’t, I wasn’t laughing.” Tang Yang tried to hold it in, but every word seemed to be filled with laughter.
Jiang Shiyan turned his back to her: “I didn’t know it would be like this,” he frustratedly ran his hand through his hair, his tone even more unfriendly, “How was I supposed to know it would be like this.”
Tang Yang had seen many couples around her get hotel rooms in college, some even living together.
She didn’t quite believe it, but she had a sudden realization and asked quietly, “Was that just now… your first time?”
“Would I be like this if it wasn’t my first time?!!!” Jiang Shiyan angrily stood up.
Tang Yang accidentally bit into a candy, unable to control her smile.
Jiang Shiyan turned his head to see Tang Yang smiling, and he could hardly believe it: “The first time I held someone was you, the first time I held hands was with you, the first time I kissed was with you, the first time I made love was with you, how can you be so heartless! You laughed at me?! You were laughing at me just now?! You’re still laughing at me now?!”
That wasn’t Tang Yang’s intention, but she couldn’t hold back her laughter: “I, I, I—”
“You, you, you! How! Can! You! Laugh! At! Me!!” Jiang Shiyan was both angry and upset, about to explode, “Have you watched too many TV shows and novels? Do you think all men in the world can go seven times on their first night?! Why so cruel? Why is everyone laughing? Why is there no reason!”
Jiang Shiyan complained heartbrokenly: “Can’t this world be more understanding and friendly towards virgins!” He was almost crying out loud.