Chapter 11 Can the Skirt Be Lifted Up?

Some things are indeed better left unsaid, as it's quite easy to cross someone's line if you can't grasp the proper measure, especially when dealing with someone as unpredictable as Qin Jijing.

Yet Jiang Ni managed her tone very well; it was neither an interrogation nor a probe but more like she was acting jealous and coy.

She had never been in a relationship and had no experience to speak of.

But previously, while overseas, she had asked a few male friends she'd grown up with why they chose to entangle themselves with several girls at the same time, not only expending energy to balance these relationships but also wasting time and money—didn't they find it bothersome?

And their answers were all the same:

"Watching several pets compete for attention and get jealous over you is simply delightful. Who would find that annoying? Isn't it interesting and adorable when they occasionally act up?"

In plain terms, for them, these were just ordinary ways to pass the time.

Jiang Ni sneered at this.

But they said no man would refuse this game.

Keeping her tone in check, Jiang Ni whispered, "In case they misunderstood our relationship..."

"You really are thoughtful. You even consider things on my behalf."

A sarcastic remark. Jiang Ni didn't dare to utter a sound and soon heard him say:

"You'll be disappointed to know that my place isn't a guest house; no woman has ever been received there before, including my mother."

"Then I..."

"You are the first."

In that instant, it felt like something was veering off its path.

Without giving her time to react, Qin Jijing pressed, "What do you think our relationship is?"

The atmosphere suddenly turned serious.

Jiang Ni sounded uncertain, "You've helped me so many times; I definitely see you as a friend from the bottom of my heart. But I also know there's a gap between us, and I'm not sure what you think, so I don't dare to presume a relationship."

Before she could finish, he interrupted:

"Is this the way you young people make friends these days?"

"Friends with benefits?"

Qin Jijing's words were as blunt as ever, his deep and husky voice, unlike the playful tone from before, full of pressure and tension, making one's chest tighten.

"..." Jiang Ni was at a loss for words.

Just a couple of days ago, he still knew to pretend to be a gentleman, but now it seems he lost his patience, his words so direct and sharp, tearing through the thin veil that had ambiguously separated them.

He adopted the stance of someone in authority, telling her forcefully, "I don't really like that answer. You have some time to phrase it better before I return."

Implicitly, by the time he got back to Beijing, she would need to provide an answer to today's question that satisfied him.

Feigning ignorance, Jiang Ni hastily turned the page: "Mr. Qin, it sounds really lively over there—are you at a bar?"

Qin Jijing was indeed at a bar. Chris, now middle-aged and without much to do, had suddenly taken an interest in opening a stretch of bars and invited Qin over to hang out.

"It's over." During the conversation, Qin Jijing had already bid Chris farewell and was walking out with his assistant.

The background noise from his end indeed began to quiet down.

Jiang Ni then asked him when he would be returning next week.

"It's uncertain."

His answer was vague, whether intentionally or not: "It could be any day next week."

"Ah." Jiang Ni felt disappointed.

Over the phone, someone called out to him, and Jiang Ni took the opportunity to end the call, saying she would wait for his return.

On the other side, Qin Jijing put his automatically dimmed phone back into his pocket and looked up to ask Xiaoyu, "Did you find out?"

Xiaoyu nodded and relayed, "Director Jiang's wife visited President Jiang today, but I don't know what they talked about. However, my investigation revealed that Director Jiang's wife has already started to sway and incite the higher-ups."

In Beijing, the Jiang Family is one of the few who dares to openly challenge the Qin Family. The ancestors of the Jiang Family were well-known merchants during the Republic of China era, and their descendants have continued in commerce, without any particularly noteworthy background to mention.

That being said, their ability to stand firm for many years in the cutthroat business world of Beijing also speaks volumes about the true strength of their family.

It is well-known within the industry that the Jiang's affairs have been somewhat unstable recently, thanks to the new wife of the group chairman, Jiang Songhai, who is anything but a peaceable person.

Xiaoyu continued, "It now appears that Director Jiang's wife can no longer sit still. It won't be long before she aims to 'rectify' her youngest son and replace President Jiang in the group's leadership."

"After all, water should not flow into an outsider's field. With President Jiang unable to protect himself and with much dissent among the Jiang's senior executives, they can only choose to accept the young master now."

"This situation is not easy to resolve at the moment."

"Not necessarily," Qin Jijing said with an enigmatic smile. "There are always exceptions to everything."

----

In the following three days, Jiang Ni did not call Qin Jijing again but sent him a couple of simple greetings over WeChat.

She occupied herself with nursing her injury and monitoring the Jiang's movements.

She didn't have much mind to pay attention to Qin Jijing, nor did she press him on when he would be returning to Beijing.

On the evening of the fourth day, it rained in Beijing.

Accompanied by the rolling thunder, Jiang Ni sat alone on the living room balcony, enjoying the rain.

To call it enjoying the rain, though, was really more a matter of her mind being vacant in contemplation.

So when the gate not far away opened, she didn't notice the approach of the familiar black car, silently cutting through the curtain of rain.

Not until someone carrying an umbrella, stepped slowly up the stairs to the outside of the balcony and through a floor-to-ceiling window, locked eyes with her.

Their gazes met in the air, unexpectedly crashing into each other.

Jiang Ni was initially startled, staring at the other person in silence for several seconds before her rigid figure began to move. She sat up hastily, almost subconsciously standing up.

She put weight on her leg, but her knee bent and she collapsed back down.

"Hiss..."

Her recovery over the past two days had been going well; besides when changing the dressing, she had hardly felt any pain.

But today, this sudden jolt had caused a piercing pain.

The shadow in front of her shifted, and before she could look up, a "click" sounded beside her ear.

The floor-to-ceiling window was pushed open from the outside, and Qin Jijing handed the umbrella to the butler behind him, bringing with him a damp chill and the humid scent of rain as he entered.

"Qin..."

Her lips parted slightly, a hint of ticklish dryness in her throat precluded her greeting when he bent down close to her, "Happy to see me?"

"Does your leg not hurt anymore?"

"It hurts, I just forgot just now," she said, averting her eyes, her misty gaze refusing to meet his.

To anyone unaware, they might think he was the one who had wronged her, given her aggrieved expression.

For ease of changing her dressing these past two days, Jiang Ni had been wearing skirts that covered her knees.

Qin Jijing's gaze swept over her wrinkled hem, and as he politely inquired, his fingers had already explored beneath the fabric: "How's the wound? Can I lift the skirt?"

Jiang Ni reached for the hem but caught nothing.

Looking down, she saw the man's slender fingers had already folded up the edge of her skirt, his cool fingertips touching her exposed skin, gently grazing along the edge of the bandage.