You're dumping me, huh? Fine, then I'll just pick up the school beauty and make her my wif

"Ah Che? What are you doing on the balcony?"

Su Qinghe's soft, sweet voice came from behind.

Jiang Che turned around and saw through the glass door that she was holding a cushion, tilting her head and looking at him, her long hair draped over her shoulders, her eyes full of curiosity.

He put aside all his thoughts, opened the glass door and walked back to the living room, bending down to place a kiss on her forehead.

"Nothing much, just went out for some fresh air."

"Liar, you were clearly on the phone." Su Qinghe wrinkled her nose.

"No, I just took a phone call. A colleague from the foundation asked me about my schedule for tomorrow."

Jiang Che sat down beside her nonchalantly, reaching out to pull her and the cushion into his arms. "Have you chosen a song?"

Su Qinghe tilted her head and thought for a moment, then temporarily suppressed the urge to ask further questions.

If A-Che doesn't want to talk about something, you can't get it out of him no matter how much you press him.

And she believed him.

"I haven't decided yet. I'm torn between Chopin's Ballade and Rachmaninoff's Etude-Tableaux."

"Then practice both songs, and choose the one you feel is better after you finish practicing."

"You make it sound so easy. These are two completely different pieces, and both are quite difficult."

"The difficulty level is simply nonexistent for a talented and hardworking student like Teacher Su."

Su Qinghe was amused by his matter-of-fact tone and grabbed a cushion to throw at him.

Jiang Che didn't dodge, letting her hit him twice, then reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her into his arms.

"Have you had enough?"

"No!"

Su Qinghe struggled to hit him again, but Jiang Che lowered his head and kissed her. She immediately quieted down, and her cheeks flushed red at a visible speed.

"You're cheating."

"Is this what you call cheating?" Jiang Che raised an eyebrow, his hand already reaching under her pajamas. "Then I'll show you what real cheating is."

Su Qinghe shivered from the coldness of his fingers and tried to shrink away, but he held her even tighter.

"Your hands are so cold!"

"Then help me warm it up."

"Who covers themselves up like that?!"

Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Che had already picked her up and carried her to the bed in the bedroom.

Su Qinghe instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck, and when she met his smiling eyes, her heart suddenly raced.

"I have class tomorrow."

"Screw it, I don't have class tomorrow."

"..."

Su Qinghe buried her face in his chest and mumbled something in a low voice.

Jiang Che didn't hear her clearly, so he lowered his head and brought it close to her mouth: "What did you say?"

"I said—" Su Qinghe raised her head, her beautiful eyes looking at him shyly, and hummed softly, "Be gentle."

Jiang Che paused, and his gaze darkened as he looked down at her.

He carried her into the bedroom and closed the door with his foot.

Su Qinghe closed her eyes nervously the moment she was placed on the bed.

Jiang Che looked at her slightly trembling eyelashes and her fingers gripping the sheets tightly, leaned down and whispered something in her ear, which made her turn red in the ears and punch him.

As night deepened outside the window, the bedroom light remained on for a long time before finally being turned off.

……

The next morning at 9:30, Su Qinghe was curled up in bed wrapped in a quilt, not wanting to move a single finger.

Jiang Che had finished washing up and picked out a dark gray casual suit jacket from the dressing room. He walked to the bed while fastening his cufflinks.

"What would you like to eat for lunch? I'll have someone prepare it in advance."

Su Qinghe rolled over, turning her back to him, and accused him in a hoarse voice, "All you ever do is eat, eat, eat! Didn't you eat enough last night?"

"What did I eat?"

You know what you're doing.

"Oh, then I did eat it." Jiang Che leaned over and propped himself up on her pillow, his tone serious. "But Ms. Su, can you recall for yourself whether I asked for it myself?"

Su Qinghe pulled the blanket over her head and let out a muffled scream.

After playfully bickering for a while, the young couple got up together and went to the bathroom to wash up.

Jiang Che had a rare day off from class, so he spent the entire morning and afternoon at home with his girlfriend.

I would accompany her to study, practice piano, and watch dramas.

Time quickly came to five o'clock in the afternoon.

Jiang Che told Su Qinghe to stay home obediently, as he had a social engagement to attend that evening.

Su Qinghe hugged his waist reluctantly, rubbing her little head against his chest for a long time.

I kept asking him if he really didn't need a female companion.

Jiang Che patted her head and said that she would be bored if she went with all those grown men.

The girl had no choice but to part ways with her boyfriend in a sullen mood.

After leaving the villa, Liu Anping drove Jiang Che to his destination.

The car stopped in the parking lot, and Liu Anping glanced at Jiang Che through the rearview mirror: "Young Master, are you sure you don't need me to wait at the entrance?"

"No need." Jiang Che unbuckled his seatbelt, opened the car door, and said, "Go back to the villa. You need to keep a close eye on Qinghe."

Uncle Liu's expression hardened slightly, and he nodded.

After getting out of the car, Jiang Che straightened his suit and raised his hand to tuck a stray lock of hair that had been blown about by the wind back to his forehead.

He then walked into the restaurant.

Jiang Che pushed open the door and went in, but instead of going directly to the reserved private room, he sat down on a chair by the window in the lobby.

The waiter approached and asked, and Jiang Che ordered a pot of Longjing tea.

While slowly sipping his drink, he glanced at the entrance to the restaurant lobby.

The reason he wasn't in a hurry to go to the private room was that he didn't intend for Lin Zhengyang to see him as soon as he entered.

Haste makes waste.

Moreover, he needed to give this veteran who had worked his way up in Jiang Sheng Group for twenty years enough time to cultivate fear and regret.

There is still a tiny glimmer of hope.

His goal was to make Lin Zhengyang completely abandon any illusions the moment he saw him, and honestly spill everything he knew.

6:45.

A middle-aged man wearing a gray jacket appeared at the restaurant entrance.

Even from a distance of more than ten meters, Jiang Che could feel the exhaustion and anxiety emanating from this man.

This person was none other than Lin Zhengyang.

After lingering at the door for a while, Lin Zhengyang seemed to have finally made up his mind and pushed open the door to enter the restaurant.

He went to the front desk and gave them the private room number Jiang Che had reserved. A waiter then led him upstairs.

Jiang Che remained unhurried and continued drinking his Longjing tea.

Tea should be savored slowly; haste makes the flavor fade.

Although the tea had cooled down a bit, Jiang Che didn't care about these details.

It wasn't until exactly seven o'clock that Jiang Che finally put down his teacup, stood up, straightened his cuffs, and slowly walked up the stairs to the second floor.

Upon arriving at the private room, he quickly gathered his thoughts and then pushed open the door.

At this moment, Lin Zhengyang was sitting in a corner against the wall, his tea untouched, his hands tightly clasped together, his knuckles turning bluish-white from the force.

He exuded tension and unease.

Just as he anxiously looked up at the clock on the wall for the nth time, a sound finally came from the doorway.

"I'm sorry, Manager Lin, I've kept you waiting."