A Beijing socialite stole my boyfriend; she went crazy after I got married.

...He still asked!

Jiang Chu had indeed forgotten to eat lunch.

Moreover, she had been hoping that her boyfriend wouldn't ask about this today.

"I," Jiang Chu lowered her eyes, "was at the coffee shop downstairs from the library..."

Xie Jing looked at her leisurely. "You know I can let you see my payment records, right? After all, you don't like carrying cash."

"I was just passing by," Jiang Chu rolled her eyes, "I passed by a coffee shop, smelled those smells, and felt no appetite, so I left."

Xie Jing: "..."

Before he could speak, Jiang Chu preemptively asked, "And you? What did you have for lunch?"

Xie Jing glanced at her and replied unhurriedly, "My office has a private kitchen and a resident chef. The menu changes weekly and is reviewed by a nutritionist before being handed over to the kitchen for execution."

He picked up his sparkling water and took a sip. "Today's meal is salmon, Parma ham and melon salad, roasted asparagus, and sautéed mushrooms. Dessert is lemon tart. All of these are recorded in the kitchen."

Jiang Chu: "...And I didn't eat anything."

There was a few seconds of silence at the table.

Jiang Chu couldn't help but raise her eyelids to steal a glance at him, only to meet his deep, dark eyes.

"Jiang Chu".

The man called her by her full name.

Jiang Chu's shoulders involuntarily shrugged. "I really forgot. By the time I remembered, I wasn't hungry anymore, so I didn't have much of an appetite."

Xie Jing seemed to have a headache. "I'm indeed an amateur when it comes to dancing, but... I exercise regularly, and I know that if I don't eat properly, I'll have problems."

Jiang Chu pursed her lips. "I know."

She had actually seen people suffer from low blood sugar and dizziness due to eating too little, eventually collapsing on stage.

Even during important exams and competitions.

Jiang Chu: "...But I won't starve myself like that. I have real experience with this, and I'll discuss it with the nutritionist tomorrow!"

Xie Jing nodded, "Your body will be different when you're a teenager and when you're twenty. If I knew you had such an irregular diet—"

Jiang Chu was initially a little nervous, but seeing his expression, she felt a strange urge to tease him.

"What, are you going to punish me?"

As she spoke, she kicked the man's knee.

Xie Jing: "?"

Xie Jing: "...I will have someone specially deliver meals to you, and they will be dressed in suits and address you as Madam."

Jiang Chu: "???"

Jiang Chu almost fainted.

Xie Jing looked at her without changing his expression.

Jiang Chu bit her lower lip and glared at him for several seconds. "I told you I would eat it."

Xie Jing glanced at the table. "Eat a few more pieces of meat. There's still quite a while before you start filming."

After dinner, Jiang Chu sat cross-legged on the wool carpet with a book in her arms and began to read and take notes seriously.

The living room was quiet, with a simulated flame lit in the fireplace and the radiators making a soft clicking sound.

Xie Jing sat on a single sofa not far away, a tablet on his lap, the cold light of the screen reflecting on his deep profile.

He was looking through a briefing that would be used for tomorrow's morning meeting.

After a while, the man turned his head and glanced at the little girl on the carpet.

She was sitting cross-legged, bent over, her forehead almost touching the pages of the book, holding a highlighter in one hand, and muttering something to herself.

The night outside the window was deep. The towering silhouettes of buildings in the distance stood quietly against the dark blue sky, and the lights on the edge of the city looked like scattered pieces of gold.

The villa was quiet, with only the occasional rustling of pages turning.

Around 11 o'clock, Jiang Chu finally closed the book.

She turned her head.

The content on Xie Jing's screen changed; it became a conceptual GG video.

The scene begins in complete darkness, followed by a ray of pale blue light falling vertically from the center of the screen, like a ray of sunlight filtering through a crack in the deep sea.

The light slowly diffused, outlining the silhouette of a geometric building suspended in mid-air.

The man's profile appeared deep in the shimmering light, his long eyelashes casting a faint shadow beneath his eyes.

Jiang Chu stared at him for several seconds.

"What's wrong?"

He turned his head slightly to the side.

"I was thinking," Jiang Chu said, resting her chin on her hand and still looking at him, "when you were in college, were you the type who would get a lot of people peeking at you if you were sitting in the library?"

Xie Jing paused for a moment as he turned the page.

He glanced at her calmly, paused the video, and said, "I don't actually go to the library very often."

Jiang Chu raised an eyebrow. "I know why I don't go often. I use that time to go dancing—you can't possibly prefer exercising, can you?"

"That's one aspect," Xie Jing shook his head. "I went there a few times during my freshman year, but I found it to be too inefficient. The library's collection might not be complete for the literature and references I wanted to look up, and I had to wait several days to make an appointment to retrieve them. Rather than wasting time queuing and waiting, I might as well just have someone buy the books I need."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "Even out-of-print or limited edition professional works can usually be found through auction houses or private book collections. If the original cannot be found, a digital scan will be sent to my tablet."

Jiang Chu realized, "...So it's mainly because you're very rich."

"Pretty much," Xie Jing admitted frankly. "The atmosphere of the library doesn't really enhance my life. A quiet environment, plenty of natural light, and ergonomic chairs—I can have all of these in my own apartment, and no one is constantly turning pages or coughing across from me."

Jiang Chu laughed, "Besides, the chairs there might not be comfortable."

"Yes," he turned to look at her, a faint smile playing on his lips, "As for the rest, if I were really sitting in the library, I'd be more concerned about whether anyone would ambush me, not spy on me."

Jiang Chu: "..."

Considering he has actually experienced quite a few things like this, it's completely understandable.

Jiang Chu felt a little sorry for him again.

Xie Jing met her gaze, suppressed the smile in his eyes, deliberately revealed a hint of melancholy, and lowered his voice.

"Although our school is actually quite safe, after having a similar experience, I have to be careful of any unusually close figures behind me when walking on campus."

He spoke with a serious expression, his tone even carrying a perfectly measured hint of melancholy.

Jiang Chu's expression visibly softened.

Then--

She caught a glimpse of the slight, lingering curve at the corner of the man's mouth.

Jiang Chu: "?"

I wonder if I've been set up.

Jiang Chu: "...Are you pretending to be pitiful? You're just pretending!"

Xie Jing looked blankly at him. "No."

"You did." Jiang Chu narrowed her eyes. "Your lips twitched just now."

"That's a natural muscle contraction."

"You're clearly smiling, you're just not very good at hiding it!"

"Really?" Xie Jing looked at her innocently. "If I did smile, it was only because seeing you... made me happy."

Jiang Chu angrily grabbed the cushion beside her and threw it at him.

Xie Jing reacted quickly, catching the pillow steadily and placing it beside her. "Thank you, I was just about to need a pillow."

Seeing that he was so unyielding, Jiang Chu got so angry that she stood up from the sofa, walked around the coffee table, and pounced on him.

"Give it back to me!"

Xie Jing was prepared. The moment she lunged at him, he leaned back, wrapped one arm around her waist, and used the other to support the back of her head, pulling the girl into his arms.

Caught off guard, Jiang Chu fell onto him, her hands braced against his chest. Just as she was about to raise her head in protest, he leaned down and kissed her.

"Counterattack successful."

He spoke in a low voice, his tone clearly tinged with pleasure.

"You're talking nonsense!"

Jiang Chu struggled to get up, but he tightened his arms around her and held her tightly, preventing her from moving.

"You started it."

Xie Jing, feeling perfectly justified, lowered his head and pecked her nose again.

Jiang Chu turned her head away, the tips of her ears already red: "You're so childish!"

He didn't answer, but just smiled and pulled her up a little, placing a gentle and lingering kiss on her lips, silencing all her protests.