Pingzi now had absolutely no reaction to being called “Pangpang.”
It had accepted its fate, truly.
So it wobbled to its feet, didn’t bother rubbing against the two people still by the door, and instead leaped onto the climbing frame, leaving the sofa free.
There was no more considerate little cat in the world than it, Pingzi thought, closing its eyes again.
Unexpectedly, when Qiu Yang heard Shen Ningruo say that, she turned around and pointed at Pingzi: “She’s over there, go pet her.”
Shen Ningruo’s heart skipped a beat. She felt like something was off. After three days apart from Qiu Yang, had their chemistry disappeared?
Her saying she missed Pangpang was obviously just an excuse, but seeing Qiu Yang’s serious expression, she had to suppress the strange feeling and actually cooperated, changing into slippers and walking towards Pingzi.
Pingzi heard the movement and felt annoyed. It buried its face downwards, not wanting to see anyone.
Couldn’t they just leave it alone? Being a tool cat wasn’t easy, okay?
Qiu Yang watched Shen Ningruo’s back, her eyes curving into a smile. She had deliberately sounded so serious just now, and Shen Ningruo had actually taken it seriously.
This wasn’t really like Shen Ningruo’s usual style, but she found it uniquely interesting.
A slightly cool hand soon rested on Pingzi’s head. It gave up struggling and let Shen Ningruo pet it, even cooperating by meowing a couple of times.
A smile appeared at the corner of Shen Ningruo’s mouth. She cleared her throat and turned her head to look at Qiu Yang: “Did you put her photo in the frame you bought the other day?”
“Yes.” Qiu Yang tilted her chin towards the coffee table. Shen Ningruo followed her gaze and indeed saw Pingzi’s big round face.
Before Pingzi, Shen Ningruo had basically never interacted with other cats. The psychological trauma from her childhood had always lingered, making her slightly afraid of cats. However, Pingzi was so unbelievably well-behaved that her initial fear had completely vanished.
It turned out not every cat bit.
But perhaps Pingzi was so good-tempered because Qiu Yang had raised her. Shen Ningruo felt a bit of that ‘loving the house because of the person’ sentiment, and her eyes were full of affection as she looked at Pingzi.
Qiu Yang watched Shen Ningruo pet the cat for a while, feeling a little confused.
Okay, was Shen Ningruo really just here to pet the cat?
She sat on the sofa, watching Shen Ningruo’s profile. This thought became increasingly clear. Finally, she simply picked up the DSLR camera that was conveniently placed nearby and snapped a photo of the scene.
Shen Ningruo turned her head, and Qiu Yang captured her expression too.
Qiu Yang didn’t put the camera down. She used the lens as her eyes again and opened her mouth towards Shen Ningruo: “You can print these few photos.”
She paused as she spoke: “Since you like petting her so much.”
She detected a hint of sourness in her own words, because she had intended it.
She couldn’t quite describe her feelings for Shen Ningruo right now, but Qiu Yang knew that after three days apart, she had missed Shen Ningruo.
Only then did Shen Ningruo gently pat Pingzi’s head again, withdraw her hand, and walk towards Qiu Yang.
“Let me see the photos?” She raised an eyebrow and sat down beside Qiu Yang in three steps.
They were very close. The moment Shen Ningruo sat down, Qiu Yang’s breathing unconsciously became much lighter.
“Okay,” she replied softly, holding the camera with both hands and showing Shen Ningruo the photos she had taken.
But Shen Ningruo didn’t intend to take the camera. Instead, she leaned her head closer, her expression very serious, and kept asking Qiu Yang to switch to the next photo.
She had only taken a few photos, so they finished looking through them quickly.
“Photographer Qiu is really good, I don’t have that skill,” Shen Ningruo said after seeing the last photo, starting to praise Qiu Yang using the tactic of self-deprecation.
Qiu Yang glanced sideways at her. Close up, she could see Shen Ningruo’s long eyelashes and a nose bridge you could slide down.
After three days apart, Qiu Yang felt like Shen Ningruo looked even better than before, but there was actually no difference at all, was there?
Oh, no.
There was a difference.
That was, she saw a not-so-easily noticeable pimple next to Shen Ningruo’s nostril.
It would actually be a bit more obvious during the day, but it was night now, and the indoor incandescent light would slightly soften the appearance of the pimple. If you weren’t very close, it wouldn’t be easy to spot.
Qiu Yang suddenly smiled: “Director Shen.”
“Are you feeling feverish?”
Qiu Yang didn’t respond to the compliment, but instead brought up the topic of feeling feverish, which left Shen Ningruo speechless for a moment.
She and Qiu Yang were now sitting close together. She tilted her head slightly and saw the face she had missed for three days.
Shen Ningruo looked at Qiu Yang’s eyes, nose, and mouth from top to bottom before answering Qiu Yang’s question: “Yes.”
Shen Ningruo pursed her lips: “I am feeling feverish.”
Qiu Yang put down the camera and returned to the previous topic: “My photography skills are decent, so Director Shen, do you want the photos? I can…”
Before she could say “send them to you,” Shen Ningruo chose the method she had used before, blocking Qiu Yang’s remaining words.
Pingzi unintentionally looked up, then buried its head down again.
It wanted to run away from home.
Qiu Yang was caught a little off guard by Shen Ningruo’s closeness, even though she could clearly feel the atmosphere between them gradually heating up.
She thought it might take a little longer to start, because they both seemed to be restraining themselves.
Shen Ningruo was indeed restraining herself. When she leaned in to look at the photos on the camera, after hearing Qiu Yang’s voice by her ear, she wanted to turn her head and kiss the lips she had thought about day and night for the past two days.
But she forcefully held back, telling herself she needed to wait a little longer because they still had things to say.
Unfortunately, she ultimately overestimated her resistance to Qiu Yang. She saw Qiu Yang’s rosy lips part and close, occasionally catching a glimpse of the sweet tip of her tongue inside, and the scene from that night in the car when they parted popped into her mind again.
She was already feeling feverish, did she still want to continue like this?
Of course not.
Therefore, she chose to kiss her.
Breaths mingled, lips and tongues met.
Shen Ningruo’s mind went blank. It was as if all the disappointment and sadness of the past three days had been chased away by Qiu Yang. She just wanted to savor the delicious taste properly.
The light was bright. Shen Ningruo knew Qiu Yang closed her eyes because she was sensitive to light, so she raised her hand and covered Qiu Yang’s eyes.
It was as if she wanted to pour all the longing of the past three days into this kiss, which was both passionate and intense, almost overwhelming Qiu Yang.
Qiu Yang’s waist was held by Shen Ningruo, and her eyes were covered by Shen Ningruo. She didn’t feel uncomfortable at all; her attention was entirely focused on the kiss.
She heard their hurried breaths, she felt the exchange of their tongues, she smelled the lemon scent on Shen Ningruo…
A deep kiss took some time. After they separated, Qiu Yang took a moment to adjust to the light. For a fleeting second, she couldn’t tell what her feelings for Shen Ningruo truly were.
Undoubtedly, Shen Ningruo was very good to her. She would encourage her, worry about her, and could even be described as “caring.”
What about her feelings for Shen Ningruo? She felt a bit lost.
It wasn’t that she hadn’t heard friends talk about friends with benefits becoming lovers before. Back then, Qiu Yang had frowned upon hearing it, because she firmly believed that love that started with “sex” would definitely not last.
Others developed feelings over time, but this was developing feelings over “doing it.”
Unless they maintained enough sexual attraction for each other, this relationship wouldn’t last long.
As expected, the couple her friend talked about broke up not long after, because someone else who was more exciting attracted the man, so he broke up with the woman.
Qiu Yang was certain that she was currently craving Shen Ningruo’s body. As for the rest…
She didn’t know.
Seeing her a little distracted, Shen Ningruo lowered her head again and bit her lip. With this action, a softened voice spilled from between her lips: “What are you thinking about? Xiao Yang.”
Qiu Yang collected her thoughts. Her lower lip was being bitten by Shen Ningruo, but it didn’t hurt at all.
Their lips were moist and warm. She slowly extended her tongue and slipped it back into Shen Ningruo’s mouth, starting the second kiss.
As soon as the three-day short holiday ended, some people’s routines were disrupted again, and they had no energy for work on Tuesday.
After the morning meeting, Qiu Yang saw several colleagues in the office yawning one after another. Only she was unusually energetic, almost exaggeratedly so.
WeChat was open on her computer. Shen Ningruo had sent a message. Qiu Yang clicked it open and saw a picture.
The picture showed a cup of water, with steam rising from it.
Shen Ningruo’s illness had already recovered, but she was still reporting her water-drinking progress to Qiu Yang, just like before.
Like a kindergarten friend required by the teacher to complete homework at home.
Qiu Yang’s lips curved slightly. Just as she typed “Very good girl” back, Qu Yan knocked on her desk. Her smile instantly froze, and she heard Qu Yan say: “Yangyang, come to my office.”
Qiu Yang stood up and followed Qu Yan into the office. The content of the morning meeting was already very clear, so Qiu Yang didn’t know why Qu Yan wanted to call her in.
“There’s a new task,” Qu Yan pushed a document in front of her. “Take a look.”
Qiu Yang had already sat down in the chair opposite Qu Yan. She focused her eyes and saw “Youfei Company Strategic Cooperation Proposal” written on it.
She flipped through it, and inside was detailed information about Youfei Company.
“Youfei Company is in Beijing.”
“Yangyang, you’ll lead the team to negotiate the cooperation.”
Qiu Yang was a little stunned: “Qu Jie, this…”
“It’s not a major project,” Qu Yan lowered her voice slightly. “The leadership intends to assess your abilities. Do your best.”
It wasn’t that Qiu Yang had never been on a business trip, but she had never led a team before. But since Qu Yan said so, and she was eager to focus on her career, she didn’t hesitate much and nodded: “Okay.”
“I’ll work hard.”
“Alright.”
“I’ll create a group chat and add the people who are going. That way you can report your progress later.”
The timing of this business trip was already confirmed. It was tomorrow morning, lasting for three days, meaning they would return on Friday.
The personnel were also confirmed, a total of four people, including Peng Kaimiao, whom Qiu Yang was somewhat familiar with. He was overjoyed when he found out he was going on the trip.
Qiu Yang actually didn’t like business trips because of the long and tiring journey. She found them exhausting. She was even less looking forward to this trip; not only would she have to interact with more people, but she would also be separated from Shen Ningruo.
Qiu Yang pursed her lips, debating whether she should tell Shen Ningruo this news.
If she went to Beijing, someone would have to take care of Pingzi. Qiu Yang already felt a bit embarrassed constantly bothering Miao Yi. It was as if Miao Yi was just a backup cat-feeding tool person for her, but in reality, that wasn’t the case at all; Miao Yi was a very important friend to her.
What about Shen Ningruo…
Qiu Yang felt that wouldn’t work. Shen Ningruo was very busy, and it was quite a distance from Qiyao Company to her place. Qiu Yang felt it would be difficult to ask Shen Ningruo to look after Pingzi.
After thinking for a long time, Qiu Yang set her sights on Yue Chu. By this time, she was already home, and Pingzi was lying on her lap.
She sent a message to Yue Chu, telling her about the matter.
Yue Chu said it was no problem and that she hadn’t been to Qiu Yang’s place to pet the cat yet anyway. Pingzi’s temporary home was quickly decided, and Qiu Yang finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She looked down at Pingzi: “You, you’ll stay with Auntie Yue Chu, whom you’ve never met, for two days. Mommy will be back soon.”
“Meow.”
Just as Pingzi’s meow stopped, there was a knock at the door. Qiu Yang moved Pingzi aside again and went to open the door.
She thought the person was Shen Ningruo, but standing at the door was the person she had welcomed the least over the past month.
Tao Sixian smiled radiantly: “Yangyang, I knew you’d open the door for me.”
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