The First Night

When Tang Wan and Jiang Jinshang returned to their rooms, Old Master Tang had already taken his medicine and retreated for the night.

It was a cool autumn night and they strolled along the courtyard. As soon as they entered the courtyard, Jiang Jinshang saw an empty flower pot piled on the wall and couldn't help but chuckle. "It looks like you planted quite a few flowers then."

Tang Wan was a little confused and then she remembered her grandfather smiling and saying to Jiang Jinshang,

"... just those flower pots in the east courtyard. They were all flowers planted by Wanwan in the past. When the flowers died, she couldn't bear to throw the pots away and she left them there.

"After so many years, a lot of flowers and plants died in her hands.

"Even the cactus she planted did not survive."

***

Tang Wan wished she could cover her grandfather's mouth at that time and shut him up.

She was pretty decent in gardening, but sometimes when she was busy with work, she needed absolute peace. Without any foot traffic in the courtyard, she could not even take care of herself, let alone fiddling with the flowers and plants.

Some flowers were delicate, and when she was done with her work, it was too late to save them.

***

After Jiang Jinshang finished speaking, she smiled bitterly and went back to her room. As she was cooking, it was inevitable that she would smell a little of grease and smoke. She took a simple shower, turned on her computer, and prepared to reply to her work email.

However, she suddenly heard a knock on the door. "Ms. Tang, sorry to disturb."

Jiang Jinshang?

She hurriedly got up and opened the door. "What's the matter?"

"Is there another place to bathe? The shower seems to be broken."

"It's broken?" Tang Wan frowned.

Few had ever stayed in her quarters. When her friends came over, those who stayed over were those who were particularly close to her. If they were best friends, they might have slept in the same room too. The room next door wasn't occupied, and the bathroom had not been checked in a while.

The main reason was that although it was already autumn, the weather in Pingjiang was not too cold. There was no need to turn on the heater when taking a shower, so she did not pay much attention to it.

Thinking back to the hotel he had stayed in, the temperature in the room was unusually high. It seemed that he was rather afraid of the cold.

The Tang family was an old residence, so there were not many places in the house where one could take a hot shower. Her quarters were recently renovated, that's why she had the showers. 

"Why don't you... come to my room."

"Is it convenient to go in?"

"It's fine. You can go and get a change of clothes. I have towels here. I'll get someone to fix your bathroom tomorrow."

"I'm already troubling you by staying overnight. I'll get someone to fix it instead."

Tang Wan did not say anything. He went back to his room to get a change of clothes, and she quickly tidied up the room. It was fine to be presumptuous to live alone, but it would definitely be awkward for a stranger of the opposite sex to enter.

The Jiang family members were standing at the door of the room. They watched as their master packed his things and prepared to go next door. Just as they were about to follow him, he turned his head and glanced at them.

"I'm taking a shower. Are you guys taking a look?"

"No." How would they dare to do such a thing.

"Do you guys think it's appropriate to go into a girl's bedroom?"

Was it appropriate for him to go then?

"Take a look at the bathroom later. If there's anything wrong, fix it tomorrow."

***

A few minutes later, Jiang Jinshang had already entered Tang Wan's room. The lady's room was clean and tidy, and it was obviously well decorated.

It was rare to see any luxury items in her room. There was only a floor lamp at the head of the bed, and it was also slanted like a flower branch. It was exceptionally exquisite, and probably everything was carefully selected according to her preferences.

"The bathroom is over here." Tang Wan had already turned on the heater for him. She pushed the door open and entered the bathroom. It was already warm inside. "This is for the shower. There's also a towel. Feel free to use it..."

"Thank you."

When Tang Wan went out, she sat in front of the computer. She had just opened her work email when she suddenly heard the sound of water. She inexplicably thought of the scene where she saw Jiang Jin wearing clothes today.

His fit waist made her heartbeat quickened and she blushed.

She raised her hand and patted her face. Could she focus on her work?

However, the sound insulation in the bathroom was not good. The sound of water could be heard intermittently. A stranger with such an attractive appearance entered her room, it would be a lie to say that she did not feel anything at all.

She simply put on her headphones, turned on the music, and focused on her work instead.

In order to drown out the sound of water, she deliberately turned up the volume and chose a rather loud music. Therefore, when Jiang Jinshang came out of the bathroom, she did not notice anything at all.

***

He leaned against the bathroom door and looked at her with his head tilted. Her long hair hung behind her waist and was half-dry, sticking to her clothes.

Her pajamas was rather thin and since it was wet, it stuck to the back of her waist, showing her slender curves. She had just showered and did not put on any makeup. Her face was clean and her eyebrows were low and moist, clean and beautiful.

"Ms. Tang." It was already past ten o'clock in the evening. Jiang Jinshang did not plan to stay any longer. He greeted her and was about to leave. He only called out twice, but she did not respond.

Her attention was on the computer.

He raised his feet and walked over. Until he was behind her, she seemed to be unaware. Until the computer screen changed, the dark-colored screen not only showed Tang Wan's face, but she could also vaguely see the person behind her.

She hurriedly took off her earphones. Her actions were too hasty, and the earphone wires were somehow wrapped in her hair.

Tang Wan subconsciously wanted to pull it. A hand had already reached out and deftly rescued the earphones from her hair.

"Slow down." His voice was gentle and low. It was crisp and warm, and it made her heart beat faster.

On the other side of her ear, the explosive drumbeat kept beating and vibrating. It made her heart beat faster for some reason.

As he helped her with the earphones, Jiang Jinshang approached.

Tang Wan held her breath subconsciously.

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm done bathing..."

There were some things that sounded perfectly normal, but at this moment, they seemed particularly ambiguous.

***

Over in the room next door.

The bodyguards thought that since they were in a small courtyard and Tang Wan was there, they would be able to know in time if anything happened to Jiang Jin. After he left, the few of them had nothing to do, so they prepared to go and check on the situation in the bathroom.

They turned on all kinds of switches, such as wall lamps, ventilation, heating..

It seems that there is no problem.

The shower is not broken, and the water was rather hot too, what was there to fix?