Chapter 186 - It's my job

Jiang Cheng stretched out on his bed and patted around for his woman. He frowned when he realized that the bed was empty. When he noticed that the room was dimly lighted, he glanced around and saw the lights coming from underneath the door.

Glancing at the clock, he yawned, "What is she doing at 4 in the morning?"

He searched around the floor for his brief and put it on before walking out. When he saw her sitting at the dining table and wearing nothing but one of his oversized T-shirt while using his laptop, he smiled.

He loved this scene. They got closer since she was discharged from the hospital and it shocked him when Alyssa started to flirt with him. At first, he was hesitant to play along because he thought that she wanted money from him. However, he eventually got to know her better.

Before long, they ended up tangling with each other on the bed. Since then, she would stay over at his place for almost two to three times a week.

Even though the initial agreement was just to be friends with benefit and as she put it, "...to pass the time...", Jiang Cheng cannot help it but slowly fall for her. Whenever she smiled at him, he felt all warm inside.

Without further ado, he went to hug her from the back. When they first started with this agreement, she would shrug him off and scolded him for his display of affection but lately, she was more receptive towards his affection.

Placing a soft kiss on the back of her shoulder, he asked, "What are you doing here? Come back to the bed with me…"

Without looking at him, she smiled briefly. Reaching behind, she patted his backside for a second before answering him honestly, "Work…"

When he heard her reply, he froze. He knew the kind of 'work' she was in.

Jiang Cheng took a quick glance at the screen and saw that she was browsing through a sugar daddy website. Annoyed, he released her and took a step back. He did not mean to but he ended up asking her in a cold and judgment tone, "Are you still doing that?"

Even though she heard the coldness in his voice, Alyssa pretended not to notice it as she replied, "It's my job."

She got down from the chair and checked her phone before saying, "Leon asked me to attend his friend's children party."

Trying to control his anger, Jiang Cheng clenched his fist as he asked, "Is he one of them?"

Perhaps it was due to her experience, Alyssa quickly looked up at him. Taking a step back from him, she nodded, "We...We dated for about two years."

"Dated?" Jiang Cheng laughed. Oblivious to her fear, he walked towards her until she was backed against the wall. With his eyes closed, he asked, "Alyssa, what are we?"

"Friends?" replied Alyssa. She kept her eyes locked on his hands.

"Am I just a friend to you?"

She was afraid, but she did not want to live with fear or lies anymore. So, even though it was dumb, she told him the truth, "No...You are more than that...You are my friend with benefits."

He raised his hand and thinking that he was about to hit her, Alyssa flinched. Jiang Cheng merely wanted to scratch his head to relieve the imaginary itch but when he saw her, he immediately placed his hand down.

Realizing that he scared her, he apologized. With his hand softly caressing her cheek, he said softly, "I won't ever hit you…"

Shaking her head, Alyssa murmured, "That's what they all said at first…"

Without waiting for him to say anything else, she walked back into the room. Taking off the T-shirt, she slipped back under the cover.

Jiang Cheng was angry that he was the only one who thought they were a couple. He went to the bathroom to wash his face so that he could think better.

Staring at his own reflection, he cursed inwardly. His face looked scary. Head Manager Han was right. He had more to learn, especially when it was about his emotion.

When he got back to the bedroom, he stood by the door for a moment. He was afraid that she might run from him. It was only after he convinced himself that she was asleep that he walked in and removed the cover slightly to slide onto the bed.

He had forgotten to close the door when he entered the room and for the first time, he saw her naked body clearly. When he was about to slide in, he saw the faint marks on her back. Looking closely, he realized that they were old scars.

It was then that he realized why Alyssa always turned off the light whenever they fooled around and why she always blindfolded him during the day. He thought that it was a fetish of hers but he knew it now. She wanted to hide from him.

Since she was asleep, he removed the cover gently so that her back was fully exposed to him. He wanted to see everything.

Even though it was faint, he could see that her back was covered with various scars.

He touched the ones that were slightly raised from the skin and gently kissed each and every one of them.

Once he was done, he sighed and said softly,

"Alyssa...Who did this to you…"

Alyssa was awake but she did not say anything. When she felt him touching her scars, the tears started to gather.

Jiang Cheng was the first man who had ever protected her and he did not just end it there. Even though they just met, he made her felt as if they were...family. He made sure that she ate well and he would check on her even though she kept shooing him off.

No one had ever treated her with such gentleness before and she felt troubled by the emotion that was bubbling in her heart.

"I don't deserve you, Jiang Cheng..." thought Alyssa sadly.

Even though she had plenty of experience, love was something that had always eluded her. She had long convinced herself that she was not meant to be loved.

When she heard a weird noise, she turned around. She saw Jiang Cheng trying to hold back his tears as he covered his mouth to stop himself from making any noise. He looked hilarious, yet endearing at the moment.

With a pained expression, he smiled, "Did- Did I wake you up?"

She wiped away his tears with her thumbs and smiled, "Why are you crying, you idiot?"

He shook his head, "Nothing..."

Thankful that he wanted to protect her pride, she kissed him on the nose and in a hushed tone, she comforted him, "Those are old scars...They no longer hurt."

He grabbed her hands and kissed each of them before saying, "But it must have hurt badly then...Who did it to you, Alyssa?"

She looked away and said sadly, "He's dead...I don't want to talk about him anymore."

Hugging her tightly, Jiang Cheng promised her that he would never hurt her, "I will protect you, Alyssa. I won't let anyone hurt you anymore…"

When she heard him saying such manly things with a tear-stained face, she chuckled and pinched his cheeks, "You are such a crybaby. How are you going to protect me?"

Insulted, he denied her accusation, "I'm not a crybaby!"

She laughed softly and rested her head in the crook of his shoulder. He smelled faintly of sweat but she did not care. It was nice. It was her first time being protected by someone who did not want anything from her.