Chapter 3: Living Together

“Mr. Shang, would you mind telling me the PIN for your bank card?”

A muffled voice came from the bathroom, “Six eights.”

Jiang Xingxing: …

A world-class billionaire, and you use ‘888888’ as your bank card PIN? Are you trying to say you’ve made too much money?

“But I should warn you, the police are closely monitoring all of my online transactions. To ensure our safety, you’d better not use my card.”

“Our…”

So now they’re in this together now?

Jiang Xingxing felt a headache coming on as she paced around the room, looking at his Armani jacket and then at the card in her hand.

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Mbl nwaaldv pkvwyvksd: ds nypb, nyd’v wpl vbl nyae, yde vbkp osaze-nzypp ckzzksdykal byp yaakhle yv bla bswpl okvb dsvbkdt.

“Ya. Fbydt,” pbl vakle vs jllr bla vsdl yp qakldezu yp rsppkczl, “ps aktbv dso… usw byhl ds xsdlu? Lsv y pkdtzl rlddu?”

“Zsw nswze pyu vbyv.”

Mbl cyvbassx essa srldle, yde Fbydt Kkl lxlatle, pwaaswdele cu pvlyx. Tl oyp pbkavzlpp, okvb bla zktbv talld cyvb vsolz oayrrle yaswde bkp oykpv.

Kkydt Dkdtmkdt’p lulp okeldle, bla tygl kxxlekyvlzu eayod vs vbl lktbv-rynj ycp sd bkp ycesxld yde vbl pxssvb, A-pbyrle zkdlp zlyekdt kdvs vbl vsolz.

Ebyv y tsezu rbupkiwl!

Fbydt Kkl oyp vsolzkdt sqq bkp eyxr pbsav byka. “R’zz cl kxrspkdt sd usw qsa y obkzl, Ykpp Kkydt.”

Rxrspkdt… Fs, kp bl rzyddkdt vs kxrspl bkxplzq sd bla?

“Actually, I’m also pretty tight on money.”

Jiang Xingxing carefully considered how to refuse him, but before she could say more, Shang Jie suddenly turned and walked closer to her. Jiang Xingxing backed up a few steps, ending up cornered against the wall.

Fresh out of the shower, his body radiated residual warmth and a strong, masculine scent that nearly suffocated her.

Her heart raced in panic.

“Mr. Shang…”

The man looked down at her, his intense gaze from those mesmerizing eyes left her no room to escape. Her legs went weak, and she almost fell into his arms.

“Anything you want, I’ll give it to you, understand?”

Understood, too well.

Jiang Xingxing quickly slipped out the door and sent a WeChat message to her good friend, Ming Jin: “Help! Emergency, please help me! [Starry Eyes]”

Within two minutes of sending the message, Ming Jin transferred 200 yuan to her: “This is all I have, use it sparingly.”

“Thank you, sweetie! Love you to bits [Kiss][Kiss].”

Jiang Xingxing headed to a 24-hour convenience store for a shopping spree.

By the time she got back home, it was already late at night. Shang Jie looked at the oversized, floral-patterned boxer shorts and the roughly made tank top she had bought, and his brows furrowed.

“Considering the quality of the items you bought might be questionable, but…” Shang Jie tugged at a loose thread on the T-shirt. “This thing, a hundred yuan each?”

Jiang Xingxing calmly replied, “Mr. Shang, you’re overestimating my spending power. The T-shirts were a two-for-29-yuan deal, and the shorts were 10 yuan each. They can be worn as underwear or outerwear—affordable and practical.”

Shang Jie: …

Aside from that, Jiang Xingxing placed a few packets of instant noodles in the cupboard and secured it with a big lock, slipping the key into the pocket of her pajamas.

Shang Jie: …

“Given our limited funds, Mr. Shang, you’ll have to make do for now. We’ll eat on time, but it would be best if you minimize activity to conserve energy. After all, every dragon has its shallow waters, every tiger its fallen state. I’ll wait for your comeback, and when you do, don’t forget about me.”

After hearing her words, Shang Jie’s thin lips pressed into a line, and a slight smile tugged at the corners of his beautiful almond-shaped eyes.

Jiang Xingxing had seen enough of his serious, indifferent look in newspapers and magazines, but this faint smile now stirred a warmth in her heart.

People who look good just look good doing anything.

She touched the scar on her forehead and suddenly felt a bit down. Because of this scar, she had been ridiculed since childhood. Despite performing hundreds of bit parts, she’d never played a leading role. Who would want a flawed lead?

Forget it, maybe this was her fate.

It’s fine, she liked acting. As long as she could keep doing what she loved, she should be content.

While she was lost in thought, Shang Jie had already gone to the bathroom and put on the T-shirt and shorts.

His body was incredible, with well-defined muscles on his arms and back that stretched the tank top snugly against his fair skin.

Even male underwear models didn’t have such a great physique!

“It’s getting late.” Jiang Xingxing spread a thin blanket on the sofa. “If you don’t mind, you can sleep on the sofa.”

Shang Jie poured himself a glass of warm water. “And if I do mind?”

What, did he want to take over her luxurious wire-frame bed?

“Mr. Shang, although you’ve said that once you get back on your feet, you’ll give me all kinds of benefits, none of that has materialized yet. I can’t really trust your words, so…”

So he should have some self-awareness and not force her to be the bad guy!

Shang Jie nonchalantly walked over to the bed, sat down, and said, “If you don’t mind, we could share the bed.”

Jiang Xingxing: …

Two minutes later, she stormed out of the kitchen, brandishing a kitchen knife and placing it right in the middle of the bed.

Shang Jie shrugged, quietly walked over to the sofa, straightened the sheets, and obediently lay down.

Jiang Xingxing went over to the wall and turned off the light, but left a small dim red night light on. “I’m afraid of the dark, Mr. Shang. Do you mind if I sleep with the night light on?”

Shang Jie lay on the sofa, his long legs dangling over the edge. “Funny, I don’t like light. If it’s on, I might stay awake all night.”

Jiang Xingxing thought for a moment and decided to turn off the night light. Having an awake man staring at your bed all night was a bit too creepy.

She lay down on the bed, and the wire frame creaked loudly, echoing in the still night.

Shang Jie’s ring finger began to twitch involuntarily. He yawned, feeling sleepy.

Her soft, weak voice drifted over, “Mr. Shang, before you sleep, I should let you know that the kitchen knife is right under my pillow.”

He drawled, “Got it, I’m not a beast.”

Two minutes later, she heard his breathing gradually steady.

“Mr. Shang, are you asleep?”

“Mm.” His voice had turned lazy, almost like a sound coming out with a breath.

“We’ve only met once. Why did you choose me?”

Shang Jie’s voice sounded distant, as if he was in a half-dream, half-awake state—

“Because of the…moon…on your face…I like it, it saved…”

His words faded away into the thick darkness of the night.

Jiang Xingxing turned over, curling up her body, and touched the soft crescent-shaped scar on her forehead.

The moon—he must be talking about this.

Many things were hazy in her memory. She had heard from the adults at the orphanage that she had been kidnapped before, and this scar was left by the culprit.

But Jiang Xingxing had no memory of it. The doctors said it was a protective psychological mechanism; after experiencing trauma, people often choose to forget.

In any case, many people didn’t like this scar, and neither did Jiang Xingxing. It felt like a blemish on her life, blocking her career and even her love life.

Some men she had been set up with bluntly told her, “I don’t want to marry a woman with a disfigured face.”

Jiang Xingxing never thought that in her lifetime, she’d hear a man say he liked her scar.

It didn’t matter whether this man was a world-class billionaire or a homeless beggar.

For some reason, her mood suddenly improved, and she slept dreamlessly through the night.

The next morning, Jiang Xingxing was jolted awake by her alarm clock. She had a morning shoot and needed to rush to the film set.

She scrambled out of bed in a flurry, quickly stripping off her pajamas, hastily putting on a bra, and grabbing a dress from the hanger before heading straight to the bathroom.

Wait a minute, something felt off.

Jiang Xingxing mechanically turned her head to see a disheveled man behind the sofa cushion, staring at her in shock.

Her eyes dropped to her own body, realizing she was only wearing a bra and underwear, with the dress still clutched in her hand.

!!!

She almost forgot! There was a man in the house!

Jiang Xingxing let out a scream, darted into the bathroom, and quickly dressed herself.

When she came out, Shang Jie beat her to the punch: “Miss Jiang, please have some self-respect.”

Jiang Xingxing: “Excuse me?”

Shang Jie: “Let this be the last time.”

Jiang Xingxing: ???

She hurriedly washed up, grabbed two cold buns from the fridge, and steamed them. When she came back out, Shang Jie was doing push-ups on the spot.

He really liked to exercise.

Jiang Xingxing gnawed on a bun, sneaking glances at him. His well-toned arm muscles rippled with his movements. Being held by such strong arms…must be every woman’s ultimate fantasy.

Wait, what was she fantasizing about first thing in the morning?

Jiang Xingxing chewed on her bun, turned around, and headed out the door. “Mr. Shang, just stay home today, okay? The whole internet is hunting down a sexual deviant, so don’t go wandering around. Breakfast is on the table—make sure you eat it. Also, I need you to help clean up the place.”

“Wait.” Shang Jie finished his last push-up, got up, and walked over to her. His body radiated heat from the exercise. Though he was sweating, he didn’t have any unpleasant smell. If anything, it was the scent of male hormones.

Very wild.

Jiang Xingxing looked up at him. “Is there anything else, Mr. Shang?”

Shang Jie leaned down, his fingertip brushing the corner of her lips. With a gentle swipe, a smudge of mauve lipstick was left on his thumb. “The day ahead will be long. Let me carry a bit of your scent with me.”

Jiang Xingxing stepped outside, the post-rain breeze gently brushing against her. She took a deep breath, inhaling the earthy scent of soil and grass.

Her heart suddenly felt a bit unsettled.

She pressed her lips together, feeling the faint trace of his rough fingertip still lingering there.

Heaven help her, she actually liked the feeling a little.

Was it because she’d been single for too long?

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