Chapter 19: Accidentally Entering the Enemy’s Camp
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In the end, Jian Ningxuan still made dozens of cookies with An Bu.
“Here you go!” An Bu generously handed Jian Ningxuan a cat-shaped cookie.
Jian Ningxuan, who spent the whole evening playing and only got one cat-shaped cookie as a reward: “…”
An Bu sealed the cookies in a box and reminded him, “When I’m not around, don’t sneakily eat them. Save them for when we eat together.”
Jian Ningxuan: “…” Do we need a group to eat a cookie….
Seeing him holding the cat-shaped cookie without eating it, An Bu couldn’t help but urge, “Don’t you want to taste it? This is a specially blended matcha milk-flavored cat-shaped cookie I made for you.”
Specially made for him？Jian Ningxuan hesitated for a moment, then put the cookie in his mouth, crunching away.
An Bu widened her eyes, watching as a wave of yellow-green light spread from him like ripples, suddenly coloring the gray-white world. Though it lasted only one or two seconds, it already left her completely satisfied.
The sweet cookie indeed brought a good mood to Jian Ningxuan.
An Bu smiled happily, took light steps, and turned towards the bathroom.
Jian Ningxuan watched her graceful figure and a soft color appeared between his brows and eyes. If An Bu turned around now, she would surely be surprised to see a faint pink glow surrounding Jian Ningxuan again…
The next day, with no classes scheduled, An Bu went for morning exercise early in the morning. She returned around 7 a.m., and Jian Ningxuan was still not up. She prepared the breakfast ingredients, planning to cook when he woke up. Then, she started her daily study routine—half an hour of listening practice, half an hour of foreign language recitation. Simultaneously, she logged into various certification forums, browsed technical posts, participated in talent exchanges, collected information, and did cross-stitching, taking breaks to stretch every hour.
With her brain and body in full operation, multitasking, she had corresponding learning and exercise tasks every day.
However, after Jian Ningxuan moved in, An Bu had an additional task—to feed the cat master on time and make sure he glowed and radiated warmth.
Around 8 a.m., she heard the door opening next door. An Bu had just finished reciting a foreign language text, and her cross-stitching was completed for the day.
“Good morning~~” An Bu greeted Jian Ningxuan, who had just come out of the bathroom.
“Good morning,” Jian Ningxuan replied.
Then, he saw An Bu placing two cross-stitched cartoon cat pillows on the sofa. It wouldn’t have been an issue, but the two cats, one in red, black, and green, and the other in gray, purple, and blue, even though he had gradually adapted to An Bu’s aesthetics, he found it hard to accept such a quirky color combination.
His mouth twitched a few times, but in the end, he held back from commenting. Living in someone else’s home, he should at least respect their taste. (An Bu: This is a colorblind issue, definitely not her true taste…)
After breakfast, An Bu planned to return to her room to complete the remaining tasks but was stopped by Jian Ningxuan, “An Bu, are you free tonight?”
“What’s the matter?” An Bu looked at him.
“I’m attending a birthday party. Can you accompany me?” Jian Ningxuan received an invitation from his uncle a couple of days ago, insisting he attend and even used his own granddaughter as a threat. With no other choice, he agreed.
Jian Ningxuan was raised by his uncle, and his uncle wanted him to attend the party to interact with more women, to avoid a lonely and single life in the future.
Because of his unique constitution and cold personality, he had few relationships with women. Not only women, but anyone who stayed around him for more than ten minutes would feel dizzy, as if getting a fever.
Until he met An Bu.
“A birthday party? Your friend?” An Bu casually asked.
“No,” Jian Ningxuan replied, “It’s my uncle’s friend’s daughter, named Yang Qianqian.”
If they weren’t close, he probably just had to show his face. An Bu nodded, “Alright, do I need to prepare anything?”
“No need, the party will be held at her mansion, just dress neatly,” Jian Ningxuan said.
An Bu made an “OK” gesture to him.
At around 8 p.m., Jian Ningxuan, accompanied by An Bu in an evening gown, arrived at Yang’s mansion.
Most of the guests at the party were people of the same age from a certain circle, creating a relaxed atmosphere with not too many formalities.
Jian Ningxuan got out of the car, then turned around to open the car door for An Bu.
An Bu naturally reached for his arm, but he instinctively avoided it.
An Bu: “?”
Jian Ningxuan explained, “I have a high body temperature. It might be uncomfortable if you get too close.”
“If it’s uncomfortable, I wouldn’t have agreed to let you stay in my house,” An Bu said, hooking her arm through his.
Delicate fingertips rested on the dark fabric, translucent like white jade. A cool breath slowly seeped into his body from the wrist, instantly smoothing away the restlessness in him.
Seeing her calm expression, Jian Ningxuan felt a bit relieved.
The two walked into the mansion together, guided by the waiter, heading towards the garden.
In the spacious garden, lights twinkled, and the long table was filled with delicious food, drinks, and flowers. Numerous well-dressed young men and women gathered in small groups, chatting and laughing. Jian Ningxuan and An Bu’s arrival didn’t attract much attention. Although the two looked outstanding, not many people knew them.
Jian Ningxuan had been wandering abroad in his early years, and due to his profession and personality, he rarely participated in such banquets. However, just by mentioning his surname, he believed that most people present would cast a sidelong glance. The Jian family wielded significant influence in both the political and business sectors, possessing substantial financial resources, enough to rank among the top domestic elite families. However, Jian Ningxuan’s father was low-key compared to his uncle, not as ostentatious, and the relationship between father and son was not good, so Jian Ningxuan’s name was seldom heard.
At this moment, applause erupted from the crowd, as the birthday girl Yang Qianqian made her entrance.
Yang Qianqian was about twenty-four or twenty-five years old, with a shoulder-length wavy bob, wearing a pair of silver-edged pearl earrings on her ears. She was in a champagne-colored dress, petite and lovely, with a sweet and melodic voice.
An Bu, however, wasn’t focused on her but on the woman standing next to her. She was none other than the young lady Yuan Shishi, who took away Xin Yan’s former boyfriend. If it weren’t for Xin Yan’s involvement, she might have forgotten about this character long ago.
However, there wouldn’t be much interaction between them, so An Bu didn’t pay much attention to her.
“Are you hungry?” Jian Ningxuan’s warm voice entered An Bu’s ears.
An Bu’s ears twitched slightly, looking at Jian Ningxuan with a hint of surprise. Was it her imagination, or did she just feel a warmth?
“What’s wrong?” Jian Ningxuan felt puzzled by her gaze.
An Bu gestured for him to lower his head and beckoned him with her finger.
Jian Ningxuan inclined his body, leaning in closer to An Bu.
“Tell me quietly, is that Miss Yang beautiful?” An Bu asked with bright eyes.
Jian Ningxuan wore an indifferent expression, completely unprepared for her mysterious gesture, asking him such a trivial question.
He was about to straighten up, but An Bu grabbed his tie and turned her face sideways, offering her ear in front of him, urging, “This question is important; hurry and tell me.”
How could this question be important?
Jian Ningxuan said, “… She’s okay, not as beautiful as you.”
A warm breath swept over her cold skin like feathers.
It wasn’t an illusion!
His breath really made her feel warmth!
An Bu’s eyes shimmered, and her cold heart seemed to skip a beat.
The next moment, she looked at Jian Ningxuan with a gaze full of surprise and tenderness, as if she had discovered her child had turned into Ultraman.
Jian Ningxuan: “…” Praising her for being beautiful made her so happy? Maybe he could compliment her more often in the future… Suddenly, he felt like he had discovered An Bu’s cute side.
While the two were immersed in their imaginative thoughts, a commotion came from afar.
Both of them turned to look, only to see two men and three women walking into everyone’s view one after the other. The atmosphere in the garden was instantly ignited by their arrival.
“Oh my god, it’s Ji Siqi!”
“And also Hua Ao and Liu Waner.”
“Ji Siqi’s male companion looks familiar?”
“What are you talking about? You don’t even recognize Mr. Shen!”
“Mr. Shen is attending this kind of party too? Miss Qianqian really has a great face!”
“Wait, who is the last one?”
“Shoot! It’s the goddess Bei Mengla! Has her face wound healed?”
People excitedly discussed, and eager gazes focused on these late-arriving distinguished guests.
An Bu’s face remained unchanged, just glancing at Mr. Shen. They met yesterday at the training center; he was the brother of the newly recruited student Gule, whose driver had collided with her car. She planned to send the bill to him later.
At this moment, An Bu had already forgotten about the conflicts with Ji Siqi, Liu Waner, and others; for irrelevant people and matters, she never wasted her memory space. After all, she had too much to learn and remember every day.
But Bei Mengla, she remembered; she had been hyping up the bus rescue incident to portray herself as a heroic goddess, gaining a wave of popularity.
This party gathered An Bu’s indirect enemies, competitors, and impostors. External enemies were everywhere, and conflicts were entangled, but An Bu was completely unaware.
Jian Ningxuan coldly looked at the dazzling Bei Mengla, feeling a surge of anger. The girl by his side had saved someone and got injured, unknown to anyone, while that woman exploited it to gain fame and self-elevation, truly despicable.
An Bu, seemingly aware, turned her head to Jian Ningxuan and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Jian Ningxuan unconsciously held An Bu’s hand.
With the contact of their skin, a trace of warmth quickly entered An Bu’s wrist. At the same time, her vitality score soared at a rate of +5 per second.
10 points, 15 points, 20 points… It continued until it reached 80 points before stopping.
An Bu was stunned, looking at Jian Ningxuan’s hand holding hers without moving.
After a moment, she held Jian Ningxuan’s hand in return, speaking with a pilgrim-like tone, “Mr. Jian, from today onwards, I will worship you like I worship the Cat God.”
Jian Ningxuan: “…”
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