The next day was Saturday. Du Meiyun and Tong Yue came to Shen’s house in the afternoon to visit Bai Ying. 

The two of them walked hand in hand from the car, passing by the fountain pool towards the main building, when they caught sight of two bodyguards approaching. Dressed in imposing black suits and with solemn expressions, they successfully caught their attention.

Jiang Mocheng felt two gazes on him and imperceptibly frowned. He wasn’t accustomed to being looked at as if he were an object, and considering where he was, he could only endure it silently, then passed by them without a sideways glance.

The weather had been nice recently, but the wind outside the terrace still carried a slight bone-chilling coldness. Moreover, Bai Ying had her own little thoughts and only allowed Jiang Lan to set up afternoon tea and snacks in the small living room to entertain the guests.

Du Meiyun and Tong Yue started off with serious expressions, but as soon as Jiang Lan left the room and closed the door, they immediately broke character and darted to Bai Ying’s side, chattering excitedly, “Are all the handsome guys in the city at your house?!”

“No wonder all I see outside are oddballs, I was wondering!”

Bai Ying was puzzled, “What are you two talking about?”

“We just ran into two handsome guys on our way here!”

Tong Yue held her face, “One of them looked quite unfamiliar. Very cold and very cool.”

Du Meiyun corrected, “Not two handsome guys, one handsome guy and one very handsome guy. But seriously, could Mr. Shen’s strict hiring criteria be based on looks?”

Bai Ying immediately guessed who they were talking about and revealed a mysterious smile that only she understood. She also thought he was very nice, extremely nice.

“That’s not it.”

After chuckling to herself for a while, Bai Ying clarified for her friends, “Actually, many of them have just average features, you can say they are decent-looking, but mainly it’s the height and physique that really add points. Think about what kind of job they do and you’ll understand.”

Generally speaking, those who can be bodyguards must have good skills. People who train regularly have great physiques; such people can only be strong, not fat, otherwise, they would be panting after running a few steps. After all, is it them protecting the boss, or the boss protecting them?

Bai Ying had long figured out that a man with decent features, wrapped in a tall and sturdy young body under a suit, standing straight without slouching or hunching, and with sharp eyes, naturally stands out in a crowd of men on the street.

Tong Yue nodded in sudden realization, “Masterful!”

Bai Ying smiled, “So when you choose a boyfriend, you can’t just focus on the face, you have to look at the whole package. Features, well, after a while, they’re just that. A good physique really adds points. But in the end, it all comes down to personal aesthetics.”

“But today’s guy was indeed not bad.”

Du Meiyun paused, then teased her, “Of course, in your heart, Mr. Shen must be the best, right?”

Bai Ying could only use drinking tea to cover up, fortunately, this topic was quickly concluded. They could talk about anything in private, but after all, they were still in Shen’s house.

Du Meiyun and Tong Yue subconsciously restrained themselves a lot, as if they had entered some sacred place, and would not utter another word that was “unfit for the ears.”

“How strange, speaking of which, it’s the end of the month, and you actually have time?”

The three of them had a good relationship in college. Bai Ying and Du Meiyun were in the foreign languages department, while Tong Yue was in the economics and management department, studying accounting.

Their cohort was somewhat pitiable; the year they entered university was the same year society started encouraging college students to choose their own jobs—meaning, job assignments were no longer guaranteed for them.

When Tong Yue was job-hunting, she was lured by a young man with impressive eloquence to work as a finance officer in his small workshop. The workshop had few employees, and Tong Yue had to wear multiple hats, often standing up her friends, especially at the end and beginning of the month when she was nowhere to be seen.

Tong Yue was happily eating a small cake when she heard this, her face wrinkling like a bitter melon, sighing incessantly.

“What’s wrong?” Bai Ying asked with a frown, “What happened?”

“She’s fine!” Du Meiyun answered for her, “Congratulations to her, she’s about to escape from misery. I always said that Liao guy was unreliable, working for him without timely pay, and only she, naive as she is, hasn’t resigned yet, while everyone else has already left.”

Tong Yue defended her boss, “Although not on time, he definitely pays every month and hasn’t defaulted on our wages!”

Du Meiyun, “Oh, so you should be grateful and work like an ox and horse for him for life?”

Tong Yue couldn’t win the argument with her and could only glare in frustration.

Bai Ying tapped her spoon against the plate, assuming the role of the elder, “Stop arguing, let me judge fairly, but first let me know what happened!”

“Liao’s partner wanted to pull out, and they’ve been discussing it for a long time.” Tong Yue absentmindedly poked at the cream with her fork, “Last year’s profits were mediocre, and the books just broke even. They had differences in philosophy; Liao has goals and ideals, he doesn’t want to take repetitive photos, while the other person, having invested money, naturally wants to make a quick profit. Anyway, they’ve fallen out. With the profit statements from the past two years, it’s hard for Liao to find another partner quickly, and this month’s wages are almost unable to be paid. It looks like they might really have to close down, it’s so distressing.”

Bai Ying was surprised. Unlike the monotonous backgrounds in photo studios nowadays, Liao Junhong was inclined towards outdoor settings.

Shen Jin’s grandmother’s last photo shoot before she passed away was arranged through Tong Yue with Liao Junhong. She vaguely remembered him being very patient and adept at designing the most suitable style based on the customer’s age and experiences. In the end, the old lady was full of praise for the final photos.

“That’s the worry of being a boss.” Du Meiyun pushed Tong Yue, consoling, “You should worry about whether you can get this month’s salary smoothly, and oh, you should also start looking for a new job quickly.”

Tong Yue sighed, “Liao is really talented, just not very lucky.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Bai Ying blinked and smiled, “Maybe his luck is about to change.”

“What?” Bai Ying threw a flirtatious look at Tong Yue, “I hope your Mr. Liao can show enough sincerity to impress me.”

Just when she was worried about what to do next, without a single thought, her curiosity was piqued.

Tong Yue’s eyes sparkled.

Du Meiyun sighed,”Yueyue can’t escape the den of thieves again!”

–

For someone in love for the first time, especially in the early stages of passionate love, it’s as if half their soul has been hooked away by the other person, and there are always a few minutes every hour when they can’t help but think of her.

Jiang Mocheng was like this now. Before he bought Bai Ying a mobile phone, he just needed to wait for nightfall. After buying the phone, when he had free time, he would check for her calls or messages, which were naturally non-existent.

But he did need his phone for work. Although he was technically on vacation, he hadn’t reduced his workload at all. He occasionally had to make a call to his assistant or Lin Fei, remotely controlling the company.

Jiang Mocheng was contemplative. He was not very satisfied with the current situation where they could only meet late at night and had to stop after just an hour.

He took Lin Fei’s words to heart.

Indeed, he had lost all interest in taking away any damn documents from Shen’s house. The reason he hadn’t left immediately was, of course, due to his concerns. These concerns were gradually dispelled as their relationship improved.

So, that night, after they met in the study, Jiang Mo Cheng solemnly said to her, “It won’t be long before I leave here.”

Hearing him say this, a tinge of sadness swept through Bai Ying’s heart.

She raised her hand reluctantly and touched his face, liking what she saw no matter how she looked at it, not having hugged or kissed enough. However, all good things come to an end, and Shen Jin would soon return. It was time for this relationship to end, which was a relief.

Thinking they probably wouldn’t meet again in the future, she decided to enjoy his company while she could, so she tiptoed up and kissed him several times.

Jiang Mocheng took the initiative, and after a deep kiss that was almost too intense to break, he whispered, “It’s the end of the month.”

It was his first time in love, and he couldn’t even say “I like you,” let alone “come with me,” which he had repeated in his mind at least hundreds of times but couldn’t utter.

He hoped she would take the initiative to say it. After saying this, he looked at her intently.

Bai Ying leaned on his shoulder, speaking softly as usual, “I know, you’re going to Ning City, so you have to work hard there.”

As she spoke, she began to speak from the heart, “It’s a job completely different from now. To do well in a small business, besides sincerity, you also need to be eloquent. Anyway, do your best, with your intelligence and effort, you will surely do well, I believe in you.”

If she had free time or passed by Ning City in the future, maybe…

Never mind, she shook her head internally. She decided to make a clean break and not leave things unresolved and messy. By then, she would surely have someone close to her, and so would he, so it was best not to cause unnecessary trouble for each other.

Jiang Mocheng looked at her gravely, pushing her away, his hands on her shoulders, his deep eyes staring into hers, “What about you?”

Bai Ying was momentarily stunned: “Me what?”

He saw her puzzled, bewildered expression.

Jiang Mocheng initially thought he hadn’t made his hint clear enough and was about to remind her in a deep voice that “he wouldn’t come back once he left,” when a sudden inspiration struck him. He narrowed his eyes, unconsciously tightening his grip on her shoulders, not missing any subtle expression on her face, and asked, “Haven’t you thought about coming with me?”

As soon as he said this, it hit Bai Ying’s ears, and she looked at him in astonishment, thinking she had misheard.

Wait, what nonsense was he talking about…

Who’s going with whom? Her? With him??

Worried about being seen by others, they only turned on a small desk lamp in the study after arriving. His tall figure almost blocked the light, and at this moment, he seemed to be shrouded in shadow, his eyes dark and dangerously looking at her—

“So you never thought about it.”