Jiang Hua bought Lin Xiaowen an apartment in Junshan Residences.
It wasn’t big—just a one-bedroom, one-living-room unit with private facilities.
Of course, the property was registered under his own name.
As soon as the two got home, they had an intense round of “deep communication,” which ended with Jiang Hua falling asleep from exhaustion.
But Lin Xiaowen didn’t sleep. She first took a shower, changed into a sexy silk nightgown, and then put on some natural-looking makeup. The already youthful woman looked even more radiant.
After doing all that, she lay back down next to Jiang Hua, snuggled close to his chest, pulled out her phone, switched to the front camera, and—click.
The woman curled her lips in satisfaction.
…
“Mom, when is Dad coming back?” Jiang Cancan came out of her room, stood by the doorway, and asked Yang Jinqiu, who was sitting in the living room playing on her phone.
At the sound of the question, Yang Jinqiu instinctively looked up, her eyes somewhat dazed, like a puppet whose soul had just been yanked away.
Jiang Cancan frowned and walked over. “Mom? What’s wrong?”
Yang Jinqiu snapped back to reality, casually flipping her phone face-down on the sofa to make sure those disgraceful photos wouldn’t be seen by her daughter.
“Nothing…”
“Your eyes are red.”
“I just saw a news story. It was really touching.”
Jiang Cancan didn’t think much of it. “When’s Dad coming back?”
A vein on Yang Jinqiu’s forehead twitched. “He probably won’t be back tonight…”
“Huh? Not again? I haven’t seen him for almost a week now.”
Yang Jinqiu smiled gently. “Your dad’s busy…”
Busy fooling around with some vixen out there!
Jiang Cancan muttered something under her breath but didn’t say more. “Then I’m going to bed.”
“Mm, go ahead.”
Watching her daughter’s bedroom door close, Yang Jinqiu stood up, picked up her phone expressionlessly, and walked into the master bedroom.
A single bedside lamp glowed in the dark, its dim yellow light casting a long, twisted shadow of the woman sitting stiffly on the bed.
She unlocked her phone. The screen was still paused on that photo.
The young woman wore a flimsy nightgown, her collarbone pale and sunken. She was pressed against the man’s chest, and the camera just so happened to capture the man’s sleeping face.
It was Jiang Hua.
No one knows how long she stared before she began to scroll. Same two people, different positions—each photo more explicit than the last.
Yang Jinqiu looked like a fish thrown onto dry land, mouth wide open trying to breathe, eyes rolling back, her whole body convulsing.
“You little tramp—just wait and see!”
She couldn’t swallow this humiliation.
…
The day the second phase of the experiment ended, a soft drizzle began falling outside.
The temperature was dropping day by day, with a clear sense that winter was approaching.
When Xie Dingyuan announced the success of the second phase, Old Bai, sporting a bird’s nest hairstyle and two dark eye bags, jumped up in excitement.
“It’s finally done—I’m going home to wash my hair! Shower! Sleep like the dead!”
He dashed out as soon as he finished speaking—only to slam headfirst into the glass door.
Bang!
The sound had both the dull thud of flesh and the sharp ring of glass.
“Sh*t! Forgot there’s a door here…”
In the final two days, everyone basically lived in the lab to keep up with the timeline.
Jiang Fuyue was doing alright—her progress had always been ahead of schedule.
Old Bai, on the other hand, was miserable. Even with software assistance, he still had to work overtime.
As his direct underlings, Old Jin and Ding Yu were dragged into the grind too.
Luckily, the double effort paid off handsomely.
The experiment progressed smoothly, and the second phase ended perfectly.
The hardest part had been tackled. What remained in the third phase was mostly wrapping up and organizing.
Barring any surprises, they were looking at results publication and a paper submission.
Xie Dingyuan said, “6 p.m. today, Jiang Ji Private Kitchen, my treat. Everyone gets tomorrow off to rest and recover.”
Food, drinks, and a day off.
Everyone was over the moon, even Jiang Fuyue couldn’t help but smile a little.
“Hey, isn’t Jiang Ji that super popular place all over the internet lately?”
“Heard it’s impossible to get a reservation. At least a three-hour wait.”
“Seriously? That popular?”
“Supposedly, the reviews are flawless. Not a single complaint, even other restaurant owners are too intimidated to pick at it.”
“…”
Jiang Fuyue listened to the chatter, feeling a bit conflicted.
They probably didn’t know she was the owner’s daughter.
Not surprising. This bunch of science nerds barely have time to eat or sleep properly—who has the time to browse Weibo?
She headed to the locker room to change out of her lab coat. She planned to go home for a nap and head straight to the restaurant afterward.
When she came out, Xie Dingyuan was already waiting outside, all ready to go.
“Thanks for the help with the reservation.”
As Old Jin said, Jiang Ji was now a hot spot—getting a table was nearly impossible, let alone a private room that wasn’t open to the public.
Jiang Fuyue had pulled some strings.
She waved it off. “No big deal.”
“Let’s go.”
They walked out of the lab building together. By now, she was used to Xie Dingyuan giving her a ride home.
And she could sneak in a nap during the drive.
Usually, she’d wake up as soon as the car stopped. But today, for some reason—maybe she was just too tired, or maybe he parked extra gently—she didn’t stir at all, eyes shut tight, sleeping peacefully.
Naturally, Xie Dingyuan wouldn’t wake her.
Many times, he secretly hoped she wouldn’t wake up. Isn’t that how it goes in the movies?
The male lead drives while the female lead sleeps, and he steals glances, maybe even a kiss, or more…
Xie Dingyuan’s Adam’s apple bobbed nervously.
Even though he was slowly getting used to that strange heartbeat and fluttering in his chest, right now, he was still tense.
Somehow, almost unconsciously, he unbuckled his seatbelt, leaned forward, and moved closer…
Will 99 succeed in stealing a kiss? 😏
