Chapter 5: Want to Date Me

“Will you give yourself to me?”

The man’s beautiful eyes slightly lifted, looking at her with a mix of tenderness and playfulness.

Jiang Xingxing was pinned down on the sofa by him, the overwhelming presence of male hormones making it hard for her to breathe, let alone think.

He reached out and undid the first button of her shirt. Her chest, tightly bound by the white shirt, looked like a caged rabbit, struggling to break free. With one button undone, a bit of relief was granted.

The alluring view of her chest, partly hidden, partly exposed, created an enticing scene.

“Mr. Shang, please… please have some decency,” she stammered.

A bit of ash from his cigarette fell onto the damp concrete floor, dissolving instantly.

Seeing how nervous she was, Shang Jie thought to himself, “She really is an innocent girl.”

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Shang Jie had been hungry for a while, and without hesitation, he grabbed the meal and started eating heartily. Watching him eat so enjoyably, Jiang Xingxing suddenly felt a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. It was like… taking care of a big dog, one that ate a lot and grew strong.

Shang Jie glanced back at her. She sat next to him, legs crossed, smiling sweetly at him.

“Aren’t you hungry?”

“I am.” Jiang Xingxing picked up her chopsticks and began eating in small bites while watching him.

“Miss Jiang, if you keep looking at me like that,” Shang Jie said, putting down his chopsticks, “I might reasonably suspect that you’ve really fallen for me.”

Jiang Xingxing quickly looked away. “No, I was just watching you enjoy your meal.”

She had always eaten alone before, but now, with a man in the house, there was a quiet warmth, a sense of companionship. No wonder she couldn’t wait to get home after work.

Seeing that he had eaten all the meat from his meal, Jiang Xingxing offered her own meat to him.

Shang Jie noticed her hesitant chopsticks reaching toward him, raised an eyebrow, and accepted the meat without a second thought.

Relieved that he didn’t mind, Jiang Xingxing then dumped the rest of her rice into his bowl. “You should eat more.”

What a considerate woman.

Shang Jie, nearing his thirties, had encountered many women—flattering, innocent, clever ones… They all approached him with ulterior motives, always keeping a veil between them and him, making the interaction dull.

But there was something different about the woman in front of him. She had a way of making him feel at ease. Even if she had her own reasons for getting close, he didn’t mind it at all.

Shang Jie asked, “Do you care about me?”

Feigning nonchalance, she replied, “You exercise so much every day. I just don’t want you to starve. Otherwise, who will I ask for help in the future?”

Since he was living in her house, she felt responsible for him.

“Whatever you want, I’ll give it to you,” Shang Jie said with a smile, finishing his meal in just a few bites before heading back inside.

With his reassurance, Jiang Xingxing felt at ease. She slowly finished her meal, noticing a half-empty beer bottle by her feet. She picked it up and took a sip.

This guy had raided her stash, drinking everything she had hidden in her cabinet. Once he was gone, she would definitely demand compensation from him.

After tidying up, Jiang Xingxing returned inside. With the sofa and table moved outside, the house felt much emptier, and she wasn’t quite used to it.

As soon as she entered, she saw the half-naked man lying on her bed, casually flipping through her fashion magazine.

The page he was looking at featured a model in sexy lingerie, but his calm, indifferent gaze simply assessed the model’s figure. He even slightly shook his head before turning to the next page.

Jiang Xingxing couldn’t help but think of the news she had read about dual personalities and sex addiction.

She couldn’t tell who was telling the truth and who was lying anymore.

If what Shang Jie said was true, she couldn’t let him get caught. The idea of a man like him being locked away in a mental institution for the rest of his life seemed like such a waste.

But if he was lying, then he could be very dangerous.

She recalled what she had read on Baidu Encyclopedia: [Sex addiction involves intense, periodic, and uncontrollable sexual urges. If these needs aren’t met, it can cause great suffering…]

While lost in these thoughts, she didn’t notice Shang Jie’s left hand unconsciously twitching again.

He closed the magazine and shut his eyes, as if calming himself down. This made Jiang Xingxing feel even more anxious and panicked. The man in front of her seemed so different from the cold and detached Shang Jie portrayed in the media.

Shang Jie suddenly sat up and reached into his bag for something. Instinctively, Jiang Xingxing grabbed the fruit knife nearby.

Shang Jie: “???”

She glanced at the fruit knife, then at the pack of cigarettes in his hand. Awkwardly, she smiled and gently reminded him, “Mr. Shang, please smoke outside.”

He tossed the cigarette pack onto the bedside table and said, “Are you suspicious of me?”

“No, not at all,” Jiang Xingxing replied quickly. “I was just going to cut an apple for you.”

“Can you find anything edible in this house, besides instant noodles, let alone fruit?”

Jiang Xingxing: …

Realizing there was no point in pretending, she decided to be honest.

“Okay… I am a little suspicious of you. Right now, you seem so different from the Shang Jie everyone knows.” She put down the fruit knife and continued, “The doctor said you have dissociative identity disorder, and your second personality is… well, quite lustful. I really don’t know who to believe. You’re living in my house now, so I have to be cautious.”

Shang Jie lazily stood up, walked over to her, and gently lifted her chin with his fingers, forcing her to look up at him.

“Do you have a boyfriend?”

“N-no, I don’t.”

“Then what are you afraid of?”

“It’s not like that!” Jiang Xingxing turned her head away, avoiding his handsome face. “I’m not that open. I can’t have a… you know… a sexual relationship with you without being in a romantic one.”

As Jiang Xingxing said the last three words, her whole face turned completely red.

How embarrassing! Apart from acting, she had never had such interactions with men in her daily life, let alone said something so shameful!

Shang Jie’s thin lips curved up into a smile, his charming eyes slightly tilting as he teased, “So, you want to date me first.”

“Huh?!”

Jiang Xingxing was shocked. How did his mind jump to that conclusion? She definitely didn’t say that.

But honestly, having a boyfriend as handsome and wealthy as Shang Jie was something she’d never even dared to dream of before—it was hard to refuse.

Stay calm. She had principles!

“Mr. Shang, you misunderstood. I just want you to keep your promise in the future.”

Shang Jie shrugged nonchalantly and said, “Then it’s simple. You want something from me, so why worry about my true identity? All you need to know is that I can give you everything you want.”

That… made sense.

Why worry about all those complicated things like second personalities or brothers fighting over the family fortune? She didn’t need to know who was lying. She just had to know that by helping him now, she could secure a bright future. That made things much simpler.

“Well, Mr. Shang, since we’ll be living together for a while, we should set some ground rules.” Jiang Xingxing looked at him seriously. “You can’t… do those kinds of things to me.”

Shang Jie smiled mischievously and asked, “What kinds of things?”

“You know…” Jiang Xingxing blushed again, her voice barely audible. “Those things between a man and a woman.”

Seeing her embarrassed expression, Shang Jie felt an unexpected fondness and tenderness for her.

“This is your house. We’ll follow your rules. Is that okay?”

Jiang Xingxing nodded eagerly. “Thank you for understanding, Mr. Shang!”

“You want to date first and then take things further? I’m fine with that.”

“Huh?”

Something didn’t seem right. She never said she wanted to date first, and what did he mean by “taking things further”? There was no “further” to take!

Seeing the playful smile spread across Shang Jie’s face, Jiang Xingxing gave up. No matter how much they went back and forth, she couldn’t explain herself clearly to him, so she just let it go.

She was broke and struggling to make ends meet. She wasn’t in a position to be picky. She wasn’t some virtuous maiden, and if one day she really couldn’t survive, she might as well grab onto this golden opportunity.

That evening was Jiang Xingxing’s audition practice time. Shang Jie sat cross-legged on the bed, watching her perform a scene where she seduced a eunuch. He found it so amusing that he laughed several times, clutching his stomach.

“What kind of trashy roles are you taking?”

Jiang Xingxing slumped onto the bed. “It’s called ‘The Secret Affairs of the Eunuch in the Imperial Palace’.”

Shang Jie laughed so hard he couldn’t straighten up, shaking his head. “With your acting skills, you’re doing roles in these third-rate films?”

He wasn’t wrong. Jiang Xingxing knew it wasn’t a good film. It was a low-budget movie sold to third-tier websites.

But what could she do? Getting any acting opportunity was a blessing. In legitimate productions, even extras were carefully selected, and with the scar on her face, she was always eliminated in the first round.

“Hey, I was just joking. Why are your eyes red?”

Shang Jie quickly pulled her to his side, feeling sorry for her as he saw her teary eyes. He used his thumb to gently wipe away her tears.

“What can I do?”

Jiang Xingxing’s emotions suddenly collapsed. The stress she had been bottling up—work pressure, people’s ridicule—came crashing down like a wave, overwhelming her. Her frail body started to tremble. “Looking like this, I’ll never be a leading actress. All I can do is take these kinds of trashy roles.”

She actually started crying, genuinely heartbroken.

Shang Jie: …

He had never comforted a woman before. Usually, they threw themselves at him, eager to please.

But now, hearing her sob, he felt a tight knot in his chest, as if there was a lump stuck in his throat that wouldn’t go up or down.

“Alright.” He gently brushed her sparse bangs aside. “Who says you’re ugly? You’re obviously… sexy.”

Yes, sexy…

From the first moment he saw her, he had been obsessed, unable to control the urge to find her again.

Jiang Xingxing looked up at him with her tear-filled eyes. “You…”

She sniffled. “Are you trying to comfort me? You’re such a kind person, Mr. Shang.”

She knew her sadness was her own, and it wasn’t fair to burden others with it.

“I’m not good at comforting people,” Shang Jie said, gently stroking her face and wiping away her tears. “I speak my mind. I like your moonlit eyes. From the moment I saw you, I had only one thought—I wanted to sleep with you.”

Jiang Xingxing: …

Shouldn’t she be touched by his kind words? Why did she suddenly feel like punching him?

“So don’t give up on yourself. Keep acting.”

Jiang Xingxing pushed his hand away. “Thank you, Mr. Shang. I’m done crying.”

Shang Jie nodded in satisfaction. Finally, he had managed to comfort her. It had taken a lot of effort, and he had ended up spilling the truth about his feelings in the process.

But what could he do? He liked her too much to see her cry.

After Jiang Xingxing washed her face, she came out and said to Shang Jie, “Mr. Shang, I’m going to continue practicing. Please don’t laugh at me anymore.”

Shang Jie sat up straight. “Acting alone seems boring. Why don’t you use me as a scene partner? The effect might be better.”

Jiang Xingxing thought about it. He was right. Acting alone wasn’t giving her the right feeling. Maybe using him as the eunuch in the scene would improve her performance.

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