Chapter 50: Pt.2

As if the door was sensor operated, it suddenly opened at this time!

Upon seeing this, Xu Chuanchuan's first reaction was to—run!

However, as Xu Chuanchuan was about to enact her great escape, she saw Murong Shi standing behind the door with her arms wrapped around her chest. Currently, Murong Shi wore an unkind gaze as she stared at Xu Chuanchuan.

Xu Chuanchuan instantly dismissed her thoughts out of fear. Then, awkwardly rubbing her nose, she said, "I...came to make your coffee."

Murong Shi turned around and walked back into the office without a word.

Meanwhile, after looking around and making sure that nobody else was present, Xu Chuanchuan strode into the office and gently closed the door behind her.

The coffee stick and mug were already placed on the desk. Xu Chuanchuan guessed that had she refused to enter, Murong Shi would've made the coffee herself regardless.

Just as Xu Chuanchuan was about to reach for the items, she heard Murong Shi asking, "Are you hurt anywhere?"

Xu Chuanchuan guessed that Murong Shi must've seen the scene in the pantry just now through this question. Then, shaking her head, she said, "No."

The mug was clean, so there wasn't a need to wash it. After tearing open the coffee stick, Xu Chuanchuan poured the coffee powder into the cup.

At this time, Murong Shi suddenly leaned over and touched Xu Chuanchuan's scalding earlobe. Then, she softly said, "Xu Chuanchuan, it seems you're quite unrestrained today."

Ever since Murong Shi had licked that part of her body, Xu Chuanchuan found that her ear had become exceptionally sensitive. Hence, when Murong Shi's chilly finger touched her earlobe, she subconsciously wanted to scream. However, she eventually held it in.

After moving away slightly and putting some distance between the two of them, Xu Chuanchuan pulled a long face and said, "But I'm not?"

Murong Shi narrowed her eyes dangerously. Then, she coldly said, "You've hung up my call twice and disobeyed me twice. Isn't that considered acting unrestrainedly?"

Xu Chuanchuan's eyes flickered as she muttered, "I..."

"You're simply relying on the fact that I like you."

Unlike the previous confession, Murong Shi had mentioned the word "like" this time. Xu Chuanchuan's eyes widened in shock when she heard this word. Then, looking at Murong Shi in a daze, Xu Chuanchuan asked, "You like me?"

Murong Shi quickly realized her blunder. After falling into deep thought for a moment, she said, "Actually, I don't particularly like you."

"..."

"Don't go; I still haven't finished speaking," Murong Shi said, suppressing her laughter as she held onto Xu Chuanchuan's wrist. Then, after letting her gaze stay on the shorter woman's face for a moment, she unhurriedly said, "I dislike dragging my feet. It is also rare for me to hold affection toward someone. But, since I've found such a person now, I don't want to waste time."

Murong Shi appeared quite scary when she got serious, and Xu Chuanchuan couldn't help but find herself at a loss when Murong Shi's slender eyes gazed upon her. Then, Xu Chuanchuan turned her head away and said with difficulty, "What if we find each other to be a bad match after we try dating? Wouldn't that be a waste of time?"

"If I don't try it, there won't even be a chance to speak of," Murong Shi curtly replied.

Xu Chuanchuan didn't expect Murong Shi to answer so quickly and decisively, so she momentarily found herself at a loss for words.

Murong Shi was currently blocking her vision, so Xu Chuanchuan couldn't see the water dispenser. Then, deliberately changing the topic, she asked, "Have you boiled the water yet?"

Instead of humoring Xu Chuanchuan, Murong Shi took away the cup in the other party's hand. Then, after pondering for a short moment, Murong Shi forced Xu Chuanchuan to look up at her and said, "Fang Qin once warned me not to provoke straight women, so I nearly gave up on pursuing you some time ago."

"..." When Xu Chuanchuan heard this, she realized why Murong Shi had suddenly started giving her the cold shoulder some time ago, going as far as to put her in an embarrassing situation in front of the company's leaders.

"I also admit that I've been a little impulsive on the night I got drunk. Even so, I strongly believe in my judgment. As evidence, if you don't have any feelings for me, you wouldn't have stared at me throughout the entire dinner party that day."

"..." Xu Chuanchuan found it incredibly embarrassing to have her actions exposed. However, she also didn't want to let Murong Shi keep on leading the conversation, so she quickly thought of an excuse and said, "...The dress you wore that day looked beautiful."

Murong Shi smiled, her smile looking extraordinarily beautiful. Then, she said, "Thank you. You are also very cute yourself."

Xu Chuanchuan: "..." What is this nonsense? Why did we suddenly start praising each other?

Murong Shi took a step forward.

In response, Xu Chuanchuan took a step backward, only to have her waist bump into the desk behind her. Then, just as Xu Chuanchuan worried whether she had knocked over the mug, Murong Shi suddenly wrapped her arms around her waist.

Xu Chuanchuan's breathing froze.

Fortunately, Murong Shi quickly let go. Then, putting on a malicious smile, she gazed at Xu Chuanchuan's waist and said, "It's meaty. It feels quite good to the touch."

Xu Chuanchuan inwardly cursed at Murong Shi. Then, with reddened cheeks, she grabbed the mug and made her way to the water dispenser.

Shortly afterward, the strong aroma of coffee filled the room. While stirring the coffee with a spoon, Xu Chuanchuan made sure to stay on constant alert in case a certain someone decided to launch another surprise attack.

In the end, though, Xu Chuanchuan's efforts were pointless as Murong Shi did not mess around, probably because she was holding hot water.

At this realization, Xu Chuanchuan started hesitating. Wouldn't that mean Murong Shi would mess around again once she put the mug down?

Currently, Murong Shi leaned against her desk while reading some documents, her long and slender legs casually overlapping each other. She had also allowed her long hair to spread out and cover half of her face, giving her a soft and artistic look.

Xu Chuanchuan found the sight to be truly beautiful, and she couldn't help but have the urge to pull out her phone and take a photo.

After Xu Chuanchuan continued her silent observation for a moment, Murong Shi suddenly looked over and beckoned at her, saying, "Come here."

Xu Chuanchuan dragged her feet as she walked over. When she was putting down the coffee, Murong Shi's palm suddenly covered the back of her hand. However, after making physical contact, Murong Shi made no other movements.

Xu Chuanchuan wanted to speak but stopped.

A moment later, Murong Shi took the initiative and said, "Xu Chuanchuan, let's give it a try."

Despite having mentally prepared herself, Xu Chuanchuan was still frightened by Murong Shi's words. Then, curling her fingers slightly, she said, "I..."

"You don't need to hurry to deny me. If you still aren't sure, I can give you more time."

Xu Chuanchuan's mind was still blank. Unable to think properly, she ended up subconsciously nodding to Murong Shi's suggestion.

"Is one week enough?"

When Xu Chuanchuan realized what she had agreed to, she couldn't help but be frightened by herself.

Heavens! Why did I agree to it so hastily?!?!

"I-I-I…"

Murong Shi didn't give Xu Chuanchuan a chance to speak. Unable to hide the mirth in her eyes, she said, "Stop with the 'I's. Go back to work."

"..." Xu Chuanchuan ended up getting pushed to the door.

"Wait a minute."

Xu Chuanchuan stopped her footsteps.

Looking at Xu Chuanchuan with interest, Murong Shi said, "Tell me how it felt."

Puzzled, Xu Chuanchuan asked, "What do you mean?"

In response, Murong Shi put one of her hands on Xu Chuanchuan's shoulder while her other hand gently touched Xu Chuanchuan's lips. Then, she said in a deep voice, "When I kissed you that day."

Xu Chuanchuan's face instantly turned red. Then, pretending to be calm, she said, "...I didn't feel anything."

Frowning, Murong Shi said, "How can you not feel anything? You obviously liked it very much, so much so that your bones turned to mush. You even refused to leave my arms."

"That's because you didn't let me get up!" Xu Chuanchuan said, gritting her teeth. She found Murong Shi's nonchalant appearance to be truly annoying. Then, she said, "I meant what I said! I didn't feel anything!"

Murong Shi clicked her tongue at Xu Chuanchuan's reply. However, she didn't get angry at the other party. Instead, she looked toward the door and asked, "Did you lock the door on your way in?"

"No?"

"Go lock it."

"Oh, okay." Xu Chuanchuan pushed Murong Shi's hand away and resumed walking toward the door. Then, after taking a few steps, she turned around and asked, "Why lock it?"

In response, Murong Shi pointed at her lips and said, "I'll let you remember that feeling again."

Xu Chuanchuan's expression changed slightly. After leaving behind a "bye-bye," she fled the office without further delay.

...

After Xu Chuanchuan returned to her desk, she found that she was no longer sleepy. So, after sorting out her mood, she set out to do her remaining work.

While busying, she suddenly heard her phone ringing.

Thinking that she had received a spam message, Xu Chuanchuan did not pay any attention to it. However, when she eventually picked up her phone while she was taking a short break from work, she found that rather than a spam message, she had received a friend request on WeChat instead. To be precise, it was a friend request from Murong Shi.

Could this be considered the first step in our development?

Xu Chuanchuan briefly glanced at her surroundings. After making sure that everyone was busy, she gently moved her finger and tapped on the "Agree" button.

The next second, a message came from Murong Shi: "Let's have dinner together tonight."

Uh, isn't this a little too fast?

Xu Chuanchuan: "Is that a good idea?"

Murong Shi: "If you're still not used to it, I can call Little Yan along as well."

After pondering for a moment, Xu Chuanchuan replied with an "Okay."

Could this be considered our first date? But I never heard of anyone bringing a third wheel on a date.

Even so, having Little Yan around is better. At the very least, it'll be easy to explain ourselves if other colleagues happen to see us.

After the last dinner party, someone had ended up exposing the secret of Little Yan being Murong Shi's cousin. So, everyone in the company knew about this secret now. Because of this, Murong Shi and Little Yan also decided to drop the act altogether.

…

The venue of their date was a Chaoshan Beef Restaurant located near the company. Xu Chuanchuan couldn't help but feel embarrassed at the mention of this place. Initially, she had intended to bring Murong Shi to this restaurant the first time she had treated the other party to a meal. Yet, because of traffic, they had ended up eating malatang instead.

Little Yan was very excited when she arrived in front of the restaurant. Then, she said, "I love eating beef the most. What about you, Chuanchuan? Do you like beef?"

Chuckling, Xu Chuanchuan said, "I like it, too."

After the two gluttons exchanged high-fives, Little Yan said, "Cousin is treating today, so no need to be polite with her! Make sure to eat as much as you can!"

Evidently, Little Yan didn't know that she was the extra in the dinner today. Putting on a polite smile, Xu Chuanchuan said, "Okay."

"Can you handle spicy food?"

"I can."

"I'll order some later, then."

Murong Shi felt dissatisfied at being ignored. Then, she coldly said, "Little Yan, I find that your head looks awfully shiny today."[1]

However, misunderstanding her cousin's words, Little Yan hurriedly picked up a napkin and wiped her forehead. Then, she shyly said, "The hotpot is a little too hot, so my head got a little oily."

Feeling helpless, Murong Shi said, "I'm not bringing you along next time."

"Why?"

"It's fine. If she doesn't treat you, I'll treat you instead," Xu Chuanchuan said in consolation.

"Oh yeah! Chuanchuan, you're the best!" Little Yan hugged Xu Chuanchuan.

Murong Shi stared at the two people in front of her unhappily.

Noticing this, Xu Chuanchuan awkwardly lowered her head.

With Little Yan around, Murong Shi didn't have any opportunities to converse with Xu Chuanchuan at all. Noticing Murong Shi's depressed look, Xu Chuanchuan interrupted Little Yan's endless chatter and said, "Are you two really cousins?"

In an excited tone, Little Yan said, "That's right. Don't you believe me, Chuanchuan?"

In all honesty, Xu Chuanchuan didn't doubt the relationship between Murong Shi and Little Yan. However, she still couldn't help but be curious about the strange noises she heard during those two nights, so she thought to use this opportunity to clarify the situation.

Meanwhile, after hearing Xu Chuanchuan bringing up those noises, Little Yan took a bite of beef and a mouthful of soup before saying, "Oh, that time? Cousin was giving me a massage."

"A...massage?"

"Yeah. I keep lowering my head when playing with my phone, so my shoulders and neck were in bad shape. When I complained about it, Cousin offered to give me a massage. But she put so much strength into her hands that I thought I was going to die."

"So, that's the case." When Xu Chuanchuan came to a realization, she couldn't help but berate herself for overthinking things.

Halfway through the meal, Little Yan made a trip to the restroom. Meanwhile, seeing that her opportunity had finally arrived, Murong Shi moved closer to Xu Chuanchuan and spread out her arms, looking as if she was about to hug the shorter woman.

"What are you doing?" Xu Chuanchuan asked, shrinking back in fright.

A trace of sadness flashed across Murong Shi's eyes. Then, with a gloomy face, she said, "She can hug you, so why can't I?"

When Xu Chuanchuan heard this, she couldn't help but feel like she had wronged Murong Shi. Putting on an awkward smile, she grabbed a piece of brisket with her chopsticks and pushed it to Murong Shi's mouth. "This one is super delicious."

Although Murong Shi ended up eating the brisket, her complexion remained terrible. Then, she grumpily said, "I'm never taking her with us next time."

This was the first time Xu Chuanchuan had seen Murong Shi putting on such a grumpy expression. However, she also dared not laugh, so she picked the most tender piece of meat and put it into Murong Shi's bowl, evidently trying to please the other party.

Meanwhile, after eating two pieces of meat served by Xu Chuanchuan, Murong Shi's mood finally turned for the better. Then, pointing her chin at the vegetables on the table, she said, "I want to eat that."

However, Xu Chuanchuan was too engrossed with her own meal. Without even lifting her head, she said, "Grab it yourself."

"..."

TL Notes:

[1]head looks awfully shiny today: By saying this, Murong Shi is subtly hinting that Little Yan's head looks like a light bulb. In Chinese slang, the term light bulb (电灯泡 diàndēngpào) is synonymous with the term "third wheel."