Before going to bed, Emma had dried her hair in the bathroom and only then emerged. Jason was leaning against the headboard, reading material on his tablet.
The glow from the tablet mingled with the soft light from the bedside lamp, casting a cool white radiance on him as he looked down. His cheeks were bathed in the light, making his skin appear even paler.
He must have heard Emma come out because he looked up at the sound.
Emma was wearing a white silk nightgown with thin straps, the style of which exposed her neck, collarbone, and the upper part of her chest.
Although only the bedside lamp was on, casting a soft, dim light in the room, she stood by the bed, her skin still noticeably fair.
Jason's eyes slightly lowered, his gaze unconsciously falling on her calves. The length of her nightgown was just right, barely covering her knees and revealing her calves.
Emma's slender frame was not just a figure of speech; many girls spend their lives worrying about how to reduce the flesh on their calves.
But her calves were well-proportioned, with smooth, flowing lines.
Jason placed the tablet on the bedside table and sat up. Emma smiled, reached around his neck, and sat down in his embrace.
He touched Emma's long hair; it had just been washed, and a faint fragrance emanated from her.
But Emma took the initiative to lower her head and kiss him, her action initially surprising Jason before he wrapped his arms around her.
His kiss was swift and dominant, starting from the moment he captured her lips, it was like setting fire to everything around. Especially when his palm gently lifted the hem of her nightgown.
The silk nightgown was incredibly smooth, but smoother than the fabric was her delicate skin.
His hand reached her back within seconds, feeling the smoothness without any barrier.
She wasn't wearing a bra.
This realization hit him almost instantly.
Their breaths were almost entwined until Jason gently held her cheeks, his deep voice exuding an indescribable sexiness: "Xingxing."
Emma's bright black eyes stared at him; at such a close distance, her long eyelashes seemed to touch his cheeks.
Jason's voice was very low as he said, "Give me a little star."
Emma was taken aback; this was the first time he had brought up this topic.
She remained quiet but pressed her lips to his again, showing her consent with her actions.
She was willing.
*
The next morning, Emma got up to wash and brush her teeth, already feeling groggy because she had slept too late the night before. He had repeatedly teased her, and even though Emma's voice had gone hoarse, she hadn't been spared.
So she brushed her teeth in a daze until she felt something was off about herself in the mirror.
It was when she saw the clear purple marks on her neck that Emma gasped.
Just then, Jason walked into the bathroom.
Seeing Emma standing there in a daze, he asked in a voice rough from morning, "What's wrong?"
"You..." Emma turned to look at him.
He always knew his own strength; he had never left such a clear mark on her neck before. She stared at Jason, not knowing what to say for a moment.
However, seeing her staring at him with a sense of grievance, Jason smiled and leaned down.
"Good morning, wife."
The annoyance in Emma's heart dissipated at the sound of him calling her "wife."
As they had breakfast, Emma thought for a moment and said, "This week, I plan to bring my things from there."
Jason was taken aback.
Jason then realized what Emma meant and said softly, "Xingxing, if you feel uncomfortable, you don't have to..."
"Who said I feel uncomfortable? Who would feel uncomfortable living here?" Emma winked at him and sighed, "I've gotten so used to it that I don't even want to leave."
Seeing her make such a playful remark, which was rare for her, Jason let out a light chuckle.
"I'll have Old Xu help you move your things over this weekend," he said.
Emma nodded, as she indeed didn't have time recently. After arriving at the newspaper office in the morning and finishing the morning meeting, Emma and Lin Qinglang headed out for an interview. They were part of the economics team, and there happened to be a tech startup competition recently, for which the organizers had sent them an invitation.
The scale of the startup competition wasn't very large, and Wen Tang was too lazy to take it on, so Old Zhang handed the task over to Emma.
"Shall we drive there?" Lin Qinglang asked Emma with a smile.
Emma looked at him, "Do you have a car?"
Lin Qinglang looked at her in disbelief and cautiously said, "Don't you have one?"
Emma did have a car, the one Jason had given her was still parked in their garage, but it was definitely not suitable for driving to work. However, Jason didn't intend for her to drive it to work either, as he later had Tang Mian prepare an Audi A6 for her.
Jason's reasoning was that the Audi was low-key and unobtrusive, suitable for work use.
When Emma heard this, she was indeed touched, but in the end, she refused.
Their editor-in-chief only drove an Audi A4 to work, and she felt it would be best not to stand out too much at the newspaper office.
Since Lin Qinglang had a car and they needed to bring interview equipment, taking the subway or a taxi would be inconvenient. So Emma nodded and followed him to the underground parking lot.
When Emma saw his car, she took a deep breath and turned to him, asking, "You mean you're driving this car for the interview?"
Lin Qinglang was taken aback and asked in surprise, "Is there a rule against driving a sports car for an interview at the newspaper?"
Lin Qinglang's car was a bright red sports car with an aggressive design, essentially screaming from every angle: I'm expensive.
Then Lin Qinglang took out his car keys, opened the door, and the doors slowly lifted like unfolding wings.
Emma: "..."
Before they could get in the car, they heard the sound of high heels clicking nearby, followed by a gentle, coquettish female voice greeting them: "Qinglang, are you going out for an interview?"
They both turned their heads to see Wen Tang walking towards them in her delicate high heels, carrying an LV bag.
When Wen Tang looked at Lin Qinglang, her expression softened, and even her smile exuded warmth: "This is your first interview, isn't it?"
Although Lin Qinglang didn't speak, he nodded.
Wen Tang smiled and said, "It's natural to be nervous during your first interview, but I don't think you will be."
Emma listened quietly on the side, as Wen Tang had no intention of greeting her at all.
Ever since the incident with Wu Mengni, Wen Tang had essentially broken off all pretenses with Emma, especially after Emma had messed up an interview a few days ago, not only was she not punished, but she was publicly praised.
Now, seeing Emma, Wen Tang felt like gnashing her teeth.
After the two got in the car, Lin Qinglang drove out of the garage, touched the back of his neck, and said in a low voice, "When that Ms. Wen spoke to me just now, I felt a chill down my spine."
"With her soft voice and sweet fragrance, you're still cold?" Emma, who was looking down at the materials, chuckled upon hearing this.
Lin Qinglang immediately raised his eyebrows, and his voice changed as he said, "I think her tone is too strange, it makes me feel..."
Lin Qinglang didn't finish, as Wen Tang was a girl, and he didn't feel it was appropriate to speak ill of her behind her back.
However, he curiously asked, "Why didn't she greet you when she saw you?"
"Considering she didn't tear me apart, it's thanks to your presence," Emma said indifferently.
Lin Qinglang immediately laughed, and as they stopped at a red light, he turned to Emma: "She'd tear you apart? Teacher, don't tell me you're afraid of her."
Women's matters were not Lin Qinglang's place to interfere.
But speaking of who would win between the two, he really felt that ten Wens put together couldn't compare to Emma. Really, he hadn't seen a girl more stubborn than Emma in years.
Her tenacity and the fighting spirit of 'if I can't beat you, I'll wear you down' had truly left Lin Qinglang in awe.
Upon arriving at the startup competition venue, they were surprised to find that it was only the preliminary round, and there were already over thirty thousand registered companies. Not only was Lin Qinglang stunned, but Emma was as well.
This was indeed beyond their expectations.
Originally, they had planned to select a few promising companies for early interviews, but now it seems quite troublesome. However, the organizers were very cooperative with the interviews. Emma and Lin Qinglang worked together, one conducting interviews and the other filming, and they managed to complete their tasks quite well by the morning. After grabbing a quick lunch of boxed meals, they got back to their work. Since their newspaper office has a public account and Weibo, the reports needed to be published online immediately. So, Emma sat in the lobby, polished the manuscript, and sent it to Old Zhang.
"Shall we head back to the office now?" Lin Qinglang asked.
Emma was about to nod after closing her laptop when her phone suddenly rang. She answered the call and was silent for a long time before finally saying, "Okay, I'm on my way." After hanging up, she turned to Lin Qinglang and said, "I can't go back to the office now; you go ahead."
"Let me drive you where you need to go," Lin Qinglang offered, noticing the seriousness in her expression.
Emma shook her head, "No need."
Lin Qinglang insisted, "I'll drive you; I don't have anything else to do this afternoon."
Suddenly, Emma seemed to remember something and asked, "I've always meant to ask you, why did you go to that Dadi Kang health product company?"
Lin Qinglang didn't expect her to ask about this, but he had nothing to hide and directly said, "It's because someone from that health product company managed to deceive my grandmother, and she spent hundreds of thousands there."
The Lin family had money, so it wasn't about the money; Lin Qinglang was just upset that they had taken advantage of an elderly person. He planned to check out the company and unexpectedly ran into Emma arguing with someone there, so he naturally stepped in to help.
Emma said, "Then you should come with me."
When they arrived at the location, Lin Qinglang was quite surprised. It was one of those old Shanghai alleys, different from the shiny high-rises not far away; it seemed like time had stood still there in the last century.
Lin Qinglang couldn't help but ask, "Why are we here?"
"Let's go up first," Emma said, glancing upstairs.
When they reached the upper floor, Emma knocked on the security door according to the apartment number given, and soon the door creaked open to reveal a middle-aged woman in her fifties.
"Are you Reporter Emma?" The woman seemed somewhat surprised by Emma's youthfulness.
Emma directly took out her press card and showed it to the woman through the door: "Hello, Ms. Meng, I'm Emma from the Shanghai Daily, this is my press card."
The woman glanced at the camera Lin Qinglang was holding and then smiled as she opened the door.
As soon as the door opened, Ms. Meng started to complain, "Oh, you tell me, aren't these health product companies harmful? Ever since my mom believed in this health product company, she won't go to the hospital when she's sick; she insists on calling the company's salespeople to bring her medicine."
"It's just a joke."
Lin Qinglang was stunned; he didn't expect there to be elders even more extreme than his grandmother.
Emma asked, "May we see Grandma Meng?"
Ms. Meng nodded, "Yes, but please don't say anything bad about this health product company. We, the children, are at our wit's end; we don't know how they've brainwashed my mom."
Then they went to Grandma Meng's room together. As soon as they entered, Emma saw the massage device from Dadi Kang worth over twenty thousand yuan, which was particularly conspicuous in the somewhat cramped room.
What was even more astonishing were the neatly arranged bottles and jars on the table, with smaller bottles next to the larger ones, not only on the table but also on the floor.
"These are the medicines, you two reporters take a look, my mom's monthly salary of five thousand is basically all spent on these. Not to mention other things, just this massage device costs twenty thousand, and she was so angry when we didn't let her buy it that she almost had a heart attack," Ms. Meng said helplessly.
Fortunately, the elderly grandmother, being hard of hearing, did not hear Ms. Meng's complaints to Emma.
So Emma chatted with the old lady for a bit, and when they talked about Dadi Kang's products, the old lady's face showed a happy and satisfied smile: "This medicine is good; I don't get dizzy after taking it, I used to get dizzy a lot."
After chatting for a while, Emma left the old lady's room.
In the living room, Ms. Meng wanted to pour out all her grievances, and she didn't mind when Emma asked if she could record the conversation.
"I'm willing to accept your interview today because I want you to report on this and stop these health product companies from harming people anymore."
"Moreover, they not only harm people but also act unscrupulously. When my mom was hospitalized and we suspected it was because of these health products, guess what they said when we called them? They actually told me to go find the person who sold it to us. Can you believe their shamelessness?"
After talking with Ms. Meng, Emma took many photos of the chat records in the Dadi Kang WeChat group that she was part of before leaving.
When they got downstairs, Lin Qinglang couldn't help but ask, "Are you planning to do an in-depth interview?"
Emma looked back at the corridor and said indifferently, "Shouldn't I?"
"Do you know how many interest relationships are involved behind these health product companies?" Lin Qinglang's family was in business, so he could see more clearly the networks behind these companies.
Some are really untouchable.
Emma gazed at him intently: "I don't care about any interests; I just want to tell the public, who should know the truth, what I've seen and heard in its entirety."
Lin Qinglang looked into her eyes, which shone brightly and compellingly. He was reminded of the first time he had submitted to Emma's will.
He recalled when she first came to his home as a tutor. Lin Qinglang was a troublemaker, and no renowned teacher could teach him. He was unruly and unteachable. Emma was initially quiet, just giving him lessons without saying much. Until the monthly mock exam results came out, and Emma looked at his math test paper with only 46 points. She clutched the edges of the paper tightly with both hands, pursed her lips, and her face was as cold as anything.
Lin Qinglang didn't care at first, but looking at her extremely stubborn face, he suddenly felt restless and agitated. He simply stood up and was about to leave.
Emma immediately blocked the door, her expression still unyielding and as cold as before, "What are you doing?"
"I didn't do well, I'm in a bad mood, going out for a drink," Lin Qinglang said with a rascal's tone.
He was naturally disobedient, and his true nature was completely exposed at this moment.
Emma took a deep breath, seemingly trying to suppress her anger, and whispered, "My tutoring time today is two hours, and it's not over yet. You can't leave."
"Well, I don't care, I don't want to continue," Lin Qinglang reached for her, preparing to make her move aside.
But Emma suddenly looked up, her dark eyes staring at him intently. The fierce and desperate determination in her eyes sent a chill down Lin Qinglang's spine.
Emma stared at him directly: "Alright, you're in a bad mood and want to drink, right? I'll join you."
In the end, Emma really pulled him along, took a bottle of wine from his home's liquor cabinet, twisted the cap, and drank directly. Lin Qinglang was so stunned that he forgot to grab the bottle.
Until Emma put down the bottle and looked at him, saying, "I'm also in a bad mood because your low score could get me fired at any time."
Her tone was very calm, not an indignant accusation but a calm statement.
Lin Qinglang's face sank, and he didn't know what to say.
Until Emma, holding the bottle, looked at him and said, "I need this job because I need the money. If I finish this bottle of wine, will you listen to the lecture properly?"
Before Lin Qinglang could say anything, she raised the bottle and started drinking again, the strong smell of alcohol filling the air around them.
The desperate courage in that girl's eyes back then still made his heart tremble to this day.
Such fearless bravery appeared again in her eyes today.
Perhaps this is what a true journalist is like.
Emma didn't leave the office until after seven in the evening. Earlier, Jason had sent her a message telling her that he would be needed at the company tonight.
So Emma thought for a moment and called Tang Mian.
Tang Mian: "Madam?"
Emma asked, "Are you still at the company?"
"President Jason is still working overtime. Do you need to speak with President Jason?" Tang Mian asked respectfully.
Emma chuckled lightly, "No, but could you come down to pick me up later?"
Actually, it's not far from Emma's company to Hengyia Tower; it's just six subway stops. And since it had already missed the rush hour, she quickly arrived downstairs at Hengyia Tower.
Tang Mian had come down early to wait for her.
Seeing him, Emma asked in a low voice, "Won't we be seen by others when we go upstairs?"
"Don't worry, I can use the VIP elevator with my card," Tang Mian reassured her with a smile. In Hengyia Tower, there was a dedicated VIP elevator that executives and above could use.
It was not surprising that Tang Mian, as Jason's secretary, had a card.
So Emma followed him upstairs. However, in the elevator, she looked at the takeout in Tang Mian's hand and asked in a low voice, "Hasn't he eaten yet?"
"President Jason has been very busy these two days because we will be flying to New Zealand soon for a project discussion," Tang Mian whispered.
What he said was considered company confidential, but since the other party was Emma, he revealed a bit more.
Emma was a bit surprised and asked softly, "Going to New Zealand?"
When they arrived at the floor where Jason's office was located, almost everyone in the outer secretary's office had left, making it especially quiet.
Tang Mian knocked on the door and said, "President Jason, dinner is here."
"Bring it in," came the reply from inside, sounding deep, perhaps due to the distance or the solid wood door's sound insulation.
As Tang Mian was about to push the door open, Emma patted his shoulder, indicating that she would take the dinner in.
So Tang Mian didn't say anything more, handed her the food, and went back.
Emma carefully pushed the door open. At this moment, the man sitting behind the desk didn't look up at all; he was still looking down at what was in his hands.
The office was truly expansive, with a decor dominated by white and accented with black. It exuded a strong, modern vibe with a touch of sophistication. Everywhere you looked, there was a sense of refined elegance.
Emma took a moment to survey the room before Jason spoke again without looking up, still absorbed in his work. "Put it down for now, I'll eat later."
She tiptoed over, and even as she crossed behind his desk, he didn't notice. It wasn't until Emma reached out and gently placed her hand on his shoulder that he reacted. But the next second, Jason's hand captured hers, and when he looked up and saw Emma's face, he was taken aback.
After a moment of surprise, a smile appeared in his eyes. "How come you're here?" he asked.
"A humble maiden has journeyed from the mountains, may I ask if the young master would allow her a kiss?" Emma's eyes sparkled with mischief, and her voice was soft and shy, as if she were a mischievous sprite that had suddenly appeared in his office.
Jason looked at her, his grip on her wrist loosening slightly, laughter in his voice as he called her, "Naughty."
But as soon as he finished speaking, he stood up and leaned in to kiss Emma. Even if she was indeed a sprite, he was more than willing.
When the kiss ended, Jason gently released her. Outside the window was the dazzling night view of Shanghai, with the lights on the high-rise buildings changing intermittently, illuminating the dark night sky. Below, the red taillights of countless cars connected, forming a long red dragon.
Emma looked up at him slightly, her eyes glistening with a soft sheen, bright and compelling.
At that moment, just looking at her was enough to make Jason's heart sway.
They gazed at each other for a long time before Emma finally spoke. "Are you hungry?" she asked.
As soon as she finished her sentence, her stomach, as if it had been holding back for a long time, gave an unmistakable signal, letting out a very noticeable growl.
Emma looked down at her stomach, and immediately, her fair cheeks flushed with embarrassment, as attractive as rouge.
Jason rarely saw her so flustered and couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Fortunately, Emma wasn't one to be pretentious. She looked at him directly and said frankly, "I'm just hungry, very hungry."
"Shall we eat then?" Jason murmured.
He led Emma to the seating area. Jason's office was indeed large enough, probably over a hundred square meters. In such a place where space was at a premium, it was extravagant to the point of being enviable.
Although there was a sofa nearby, with the coffee table a bit away, Emma simply spread out some tissues on the carpet and sat down.
Unexpectedly, seeing her sit like this, Jason undid the buttons of his suit jacket with one hand.
Emma had just taken out the utensils from the bag, preparing to hand them to him, when she looked up and saw him undoing the buttons with one hand. It wasn't an attempt to be cool, but a simple action that he performed fluidly.
Jason straightened his suit jacket a bit and threw it onto the sofa beside him.
He actually sat down on the carpet with Emma.
"What's the matter?" Jason asked, noticing her staring at him, and took the chopsticks from her hand.
Emma lowered her eyes, concealing the admiration in them. She had always thought of herself as someone who could resist the allure of good looks. Whether it was the craze for Korean heartthrobs in high school or the wave of domestic young and handsome stars in college, she never fell into infatuation.
At most, she would tell her roommates to be quiet and watch dramas or variety shows with them.
She used to think she was immune to handsome guys.
After all, she was stunning enough herself. Seeing her own reflection in the mirror so often, would she be amazed by others?
But then she met Jason, and from the first glance, she was amazed. Now even a simple action like him unbuttoning his clothes seemed so attractive to her.
Was she going crazy...?
Emma shook her head, clearing her mind of all the random thoughts.