He is Lovestruck in the Revenge-Chapter 284 - 277 Sleep with me
Chapter 284: 277: Sleep with me!
Chapter 284: 277: Sleep with me!
After washing up, Wen Changling went upstairs alone. The computer room had been locked by her, but she used her key to unlock the door, turned on the light, and closed the door behind her.
The computer was still on, and there were three new telephone recordings in the auto-saved folder. Wen Changling put on her headphones and opened them one by one.
The first recording was at 9:14 a.m., from Xue Boyong to Jiang Chengxue.
“Chairman Zhou has already met with several directors in private.”
“He’s still too idle,” Jiang Chengxue sounded like she had just gotten up, her tone lazy, casual as if it were all insignificant. “Find something for him to do.”
The second recording was at 11:08 a.m.
“Grandpa.”
The only person Jiang Chengxue would call like that was the former chairman of Eastern Automobile, Jiang Lisong.
“I am not your grandpa. When you pushed Rucheng down the stairs, I should have strangled you then and there.”
It was that incident that caused Jiang Rucheng to become lame in his right foot.
Jiang Lisong’s breathing was heavy in the call, his voice trembling: “You clearly promised me that you would let Rucai go.”
“Grandpa, why don’t you believe me? It wasn’t me who pushed Jiang Rucheng down the stairs; it was Jiang Rucai. They are both lying, saying it was me. See, isn’t this karma? One of them has crippled yet another foot, and the other fell down the stairs to his death.”
“You, you—”
Jiang Lisong’s side went silent, followed by a flurry of hasty footsteps, and then the call ended.
The third telephone recording contained a voice that Wen Changling was very familiar with.
“Young Master Jiang.”
It was Dai Qiu.
“She was late today.”
Wen Changling was late today.
*****
Wen Changling had hardly slept last night. She should have been very tired, but as soon as she closed her eyes, nightmares gripped her like algae at the bottom of a lake, tightly ensnaring her limbs. She struggled in vain and then woke up startled. She closed her eyes again only for the nightmare to continue, repeating over and over.
Around five in the morning, she woke up again, put on her hearing aid, got out of bed, and dressed. She only brushed her teeth and did not wash her face. Her throat felt dry, so she poured herself a cup of hot water and held it in her hands to drink. She wore a black down jacket that reached her calves, a bit loose but thick and warm.
Night was long in winter, and the sky had not yet brightened. Lights were on in the yard where the elderly rise early; Granny Zhu was already up, washing sweet potatoes in the yard for breakfast.
“Granny Zhu, good morning,” Wen Changling said.
Granny Zhu was a little hard of hearing. She noticed Wen Changling only after she spoke: “How come you’re up so early?”
“Woke up in the middle and couldn’t fall back asleep.”
Her sleep quality had been poor recently.
“How come you’re getting as little sleep as this old woman,” Granny Zhu said as she peeled the sweet potatoes. “It’s not even dawn yet, go back and catch some more Z’s.”
Dawn was cold, it must have been below zero outside.
“I’m not going back to sleep, I need to go out for a bit.”
“Where are you off to so early?” Granny Zhu asked while peeling the sweet potatoes.
Wen Changling replied, “Going to buy some food.” She finished her hot water before heading out.
The lanterns on the street were still lit, sanitation workers were sweeping up fallen leaves that the winter wind had blown down the night before, and breakfast stalls had already opened. There were a few stalls out on the sparsely dotted street with just a handful of passersby, all rushing about.
Though the sky was still dark, signs of life had appeared, and smoke from cooking was rising as well.
The day before at South Building, before leaving, Xie Shang went upstairs to say goodbye to Su Nanzhi, while Wen Changling waited downstairs. She overheard Madam Zhai Wenjin asking the cook to pack some pastries for Xie Shang, mentioning his fondness for Seo Ji Eight Taste’s Cloud Slice Cake and Plum Custard. However, all the pastries had been eaten, and they couldn’t pack Cloud Slice Cake or Plum Custard for him.
Seo Ji Eight Taste was an old and famous brand in the capital, always doing brisk business—its signature desserts were limited to two hundred portions each day, and people would queue up for them before the crack of dawn.
Xie Shang returned from his morning run to find two boxes of Seo Ji’s desserts on the table in the tea room.
Qian Zhouzhou was organizing the auction items from the previous day.
“Who put the pastries on the table?”
Qian Zhouzhou said, “The landlady brought them over.”
The name “landlady” rolled off her tongue quite naturally. Qian Zhouzhou graduated from the top-notch Bochen University of Technology, so it was no coincidence that she was so outstanding.
Xie Shang collected the pastries and went next door.
Tongtong was already on winter break and was playing in the yard. The weather had cleared up in the past few days, and the sun was out. Huahua, ever so lazy, lay sprawled on a stone patch that caught the sun, barely moving except for its tail, forming a wide strip of flesh.
When Xie Shang arrived, Tongtong called out “Brother!” and Huahua meowed.
“Did you see Changling Sister?”
“Sister is sleeping.”
Xie Shang entered the room softly.
Wen Changling hadn’t taken off her hearing aid, and she poked her head out from under the blanket at the slight noise of the door lock. Her hair, frizzed by static, was a soft, tousled mess.
“Did I wake you?”
“I wasn’t asleep.”
Wen Changling didn’t have to work on the weekends and had been lying down for half an hour already but still felt no urge to sleep.
Xie Shang sat down by the bed, “Did you go out to buy these pastries early this morning?”
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Wen Changling tucked the blanket tightly around her neck, revealing only her head, “I just happened to pass by on my morning run.”
“Don’t lie to me, you never go for morning runs,” Xie Shang said with a light smile, the sunlight from the window falling on his face, “You went out specially to buy them for me.”
Xie Shang’s pupils, reminiscent of his mixed heritage from Xie Jingxian, shone brightly in the light, their amber color even more prominent—no colored contact lenses could compare.
Wen Changling was not fond of exercising.
“Xingxing,” the blanket beside her was too cold, so she moved over just a bit, “come up here and keep me company.”
“I just got back from running and haven’t taken a shower.”
She reached out her hand from under the blanket and tugged at the corner of Xie Shang’s clothes, “Come up and sleep with me.”
His arms were long enough to reach the curtains at the window on the south side while leaning on the bedhead; he pulled them halfway closed, took off his coat, and lay down. His body was warm, and Wen Changling instinctively snuggled closer.
“Did you get up very early?”
“Mhm.”
Xie Shang turned to his side to hug her, his hand habitually resting on the small of her back. Her frame was small, and his fingers were long; when he spread his hand, he could nearly encircle her entire waist. Every time he hugged her, he dared not exert too much force.
“Don’t rush out so early next time.”
“Don’t you like that pastry?”
He whispered in her ear, nothing was more important than her.
“You have poor resistance to cold, and it’s too chilly in the morning. If you catch a cold, you’ll have to take medication for a long time.” He wrapped his arms around her waist and tightened his grip slowly, feeling the bones beneath the thin layer of skin and flesh, “Changling, join me for a run next time to get some exercise. You’ve lost a lot of weight recently.”
“No, I won’t run.”
Wen Changling, much like Huahua, disliked moving. She was starting to feel sleepy, her eyelids growing heavy. She closed her eyes, grasping Xie Shang’s hand and placing it on her stomach, “Feel this, there’s flesh.”
Xie Shang held her hand, “What happened to your hand?”
There was a Band-Aid on her left index finger.
“I accidentally cut myself cutting fruit.”
Xie Shang peeled off the Band-Aid to look at it; the cut was long, and she hadn’t applied any medicine.
Xie Shang seemed to work better than sleeping pills; Wen Changling was dozy, murmuring in her half-sleep, “When I fall asleep, you can go have breakfast, but don’t wake me.”
“Okay.”
“Xingxing.” She was used to calling him before falling asleep.
“Hmm.”
Xie Shang took off Wen Changling’s hearing aid, and her world fell silent.
