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

The restaurant was so quiet that only the low hum of the central air conditioning could be heard.

"your."

Xie Jing finally spoke.

"Yes...that's right."

Jiang Chu stood up stiffly and walked over.

As they got closer, she could smell more clearly the faint oak scent on the man, mixed with a very subtle aftershave scent characteristic of mature men.

Xie Jing remained seated, the earring still clutched between his fingers.

Jiang Chu thought for a moment, then leaned closer, tilting her head to expose her left ear completely within the man's reach.

She reached out and brushed aside the stray black hairs by her ear, revealing a section of her fair, jade-like, and beautifully shaped neck.

And there's that tiny, delicate earlobe, its color tinged with a pale pink from its owner's changing emotions.

Jiang Chu slightly raised her eyes to look at him, her cheeks flushed, looking shy and nervous.

"...Would you like me to put it on?"

She said softly.

The man in front of her looked at her silently.

The girl waited quietly, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, with a hint of unconscious dependence and tacit agreement.

—No wonder.

He kept holding the earring in his hand, so she naturally assumed he meant something by it.

Or even if she didn't misunderstand, she would seize this opportunity and pretend to misunderstand.

Xie Jing's fingers, which were gripping the earring, tightened almost imperceptibly for a moment.

He just spaced out.

He himself couldn't explain why, looking at such a cheap little piece of jewelry, and thinking that it belonged to her, he couldn't help but take it and play with it.

Xie Jing didn't speak, his gaze sliding from the girl's flushed profile to her slightly trembling eyelashes.

Finally, his gaze fell upon her exposed, fair and delicate neck skin and her alluring pink earlobe, which seemed to be issuing a silent invitation.

The temperature in the air seemed to be quietly rising.

The man's dark eyes churned with unfathomable emotions. His fingers, gripping the earring, tightened slightly until they turned white, the rose gold hook almost digging into his fingertips.

Jiang Chu remained in a bent-over position.

—The original owner was a dance student just like her, and this body's physical strength was not bad.

I almost fell before, entirely due to the cold water and the slippery ground.

If it were someone else who went in and out of the pool twice, they might be catching a cold and sneezing non-stop by now.

But isn't she being a little too obvious?

Or is the progress too fast?

"……Can."

A deep, resonant voice rang in my ears.

Xie Jing raised his other hand and reached towards Jiang Chu's turned face.

The rough, warm fingertips, calloused from calluses, gently but irresistibly supported her chin.

He turned her face slightly towards him.

The two locked eyes.

His movements were not rough, even quite careful, yet they revealed an extremely strong desire for control.

Jiang Chu's breath hitched as she looked into his unfathomable eyes, which were now brimming with a dangerous heat.

Xie Jing didn't loosen his grip on her chin. "...Don't move."

The man leaned closer.

A powerful aura instantly enveloped her.

Jiang Chu could clearly see his thick eyelashes, straight nose, and thin, slightly pursed lips with cold, hard lines.

The opponent's movements were slow and steady.

The cool rose gold ear hooks gently pressed against the girl's hot, soft earlobes.

A slight stinging sensation came, accompanied by the occasional, unavoidable touch of warm skin on his fingertips.

Instantly separate.

Even in such a brief contact, it felt as if a tiny electric current was coursing through her spine.

Jiang Chu became increasingly nervous.

Xie Jing kept his head down, focused on the subtle movements of his hands, his breath brushing against the girl's stray hairs by her ears and even the skin on her neck.

The warmth brought waves of tingling sensation.

Jiang Chu's body stiffened slightly, and she dared not move. Only her eyelashes trembled violently, and her cheeks and neck were so red that they seemed to be bleeding.

She could clearly hear her own heart pounding like a drum.

The hook went through the ear piercing.

The whole process took only a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity.

Xie Jing's hand did not leave immediately.

His slightly rough fingertips, almost imperceptibly, slid along the contour of the earlobe very slowly, as if checking if it was properly worn.

It's as if I'm lingering over that delicate and soft touch.

Jiang Chu couldn't help but take a soft breath.

Xie Jing made no further moves.

He completely withdrew his hand, leaned back in his chair, and sat up with his legs crossed.

A silent yet intense tension still lingered between them.

Xie Jing raised his eyes and looked at the girl who was still tilting her head, her cheeks flushed and her eyes hazy. His Adam's apple bobbed almost imperceptibly.

His voice was also much lower and hoarse than before, "All done."

Jiang Chu seemed to suddenly come to her senses.

She suddenly sat up straight, took a small step back, and unconsciously touched her earlobe where she had just been touched, where the strange sensation of the cool metal and the warm fingertips still lingered.

"Th-thank you..."

Her voice was barely audible.

Xie Jing stared at her snow-white face flushed with rosy cheeks, his eyes dark and deep. "This doesn't suit you. It's too tacky."

Jiang Chu smiled and said, "I'm not a god, so I can't bring any worldly things with me."

"Everything in this mundane world is mundane," Xie Jing said noncommittally, "but even though they are all mundane, there are still distinctions of quality."

Jiang Chu: "..."

All this talk boils down to complaining about cheap goods.

She can understand!

Xie Jing looked at the somewhat sullen girl in front of him and couldn't help but smile, though he didn't show it too obviously on his face.

"Go to sleep," he said casually. "Young lady, don't stay up late."

Jiang Chu's lips twitched slightly. "I'm a college student, so naturally I'm a master at staying up all night to cultivate immortality—"

Xie Jing glanced at her.

Jiang Chu's words came to an abrupt end.

"Well," she muttered softly, "logically speaking, no one should stay up late, so you should go to bed early too!"

As Jiang Chu spoke, she took a few steps back, intending to turn and leave, but couldn't help but glance at him a few more times.

Xie Jing noticed this naturally. "What?"

Jiang Chu tilted her head. "I... I haven't been helped like this in a long time, and I'm a little reluctant to leave. I know that once I go upstairs, I'll never see you again."

Her first sentence was actually the truth.

Whether before or after time travel.

"Hmm?" Xie Jing raised an eyebrow slightly, as if he had heard something amusing. "Who said that?"

Jiang Chu pursed her lips. "Isn't that right?"

Xie Jing did not answer her question directly.

He simply watched her quietly, as if she were a small animal that had wandered into his territory and was still confused about where it was going.

After a long pause, the man spoke slowly and deliberately, "Go and rest. We'll talk about tomorrow's problems tomorrow."

tomorrow?

Jiang Chu blinked. "Well... goodnight, Mr. Xie."

Xie Jing nodded. "Good night."

Jiang Chu turned around and walked towards the stairs leading to the second floor.

The footsteps faded softly on the carpeted stairs.

Silence returned to the side hall.

Xie Jing did not immediately look at the documents.

He remained in the same position, his gaze fixed on the spot where Jiang Chu had just stood, then seemed to penetrate that spot and look into the void, before beckoning.

Assistant Wang, who was some distance away, took a few steps closer.

"tomorrow--"

Xie Jing suddenly spoke up, "Contact a few jewelry stores we regularly work with and have them send over some catalogs. Also, send over a few batches of loose stones to choose from."

His long, slender fingers tapped lightly on the table. "Tell them that I only want the highest quality clarity and fire of the main stone, and the cut and setting must be impeccable."

His tone was flat, with the usual critical eye of someone in a position of authority when examining assets, "As for the style..."

Xie Jing remained silent for a few seconds.

"Let them figure it out themselves. If they're unsure, they should choose the simplest approach and avoid any complicated or messy designs."

He paused, the vivid image of the young girl sticking out her tongue from the spiciness flashing through his mind. "It should be suitable for girls in their twenties to wear casually."