Chapter 758 509: Let's Go Inside

Jiangg Yao wasn't fully aware of what she was doing, lost in her own emotions. The lulls in conversation as Chen Yuan talked to Ningning gave her more time to think. She had actually been silent all day, a fact only Jiangg Ruxue seemed to have noticed.

But Jiangg Ruxue knew the reason, and she wasn't about to say anything.

She silently told herself, 'It's all for the sisters' happiness. This brief separation is for the sake of their future.'

"Enough about me. Don't we have to report to the Jiang Corporation's Central Management Office tomorrow? We'll go in the morning. If it gets busy, we'll just eat there and come back in the afternoon. Yaoyao will be leaving for her trip then..."

"A trip?" Chen Yuan paused, taken aback.

He'd been so preoccupied with other things that when he'd overheard something about it at lunch, the thought had vanished as quickly as it came.

Now it was all coming back to him.

"Right, where did you say you were going?" he asked, turning to Yaoyao.

The sudden question startled Jiangg Yao. "Ah?" She snapped out of her thoughts and replied, "The preliminary plan is to tour a few countries in Europe."

"Why the sudden trip?"

"I'm going with an older relative."

"How long will you be gone?"

"About twenty-some days."

Jiangg Yao glanced at Chen Yuan, a hint of expectation in her eyes. Of course, she hoped he would tell her not to go, giving her the perfect excuse to stay. She didn't want to be apart from him for even a single day, not when they were so blissfully inseparable.

A single day apart felt like an eternity.

"That long!?" Chen Yuan exclaimed in shock. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I only just talked to my cousin yesterday. I'm still thinking about it. It's mainly because it's been a long time since I've traveled with my elders, and since my sister is busy studying for her exams, the responsibility fell to me."

"Do you want to go?"

As if reading her emotions, Chen Yuan asked the one question she longed to hear.

"I..."

"Don't force yourself. The whole point of a vacation is to have fun. If you're not happy about it, you'll just be miserable for over twenty days. It's unfamiliar territory out there. Don't get cocky just because you've been to Tokyo. You're still young."

Chen Yuan was only nineteen, so much younger than Jiangg Yao.

Yet he spoke with the tone of a world-weary old man.

Strangely, not only was Jiangg Yao not offended, her heart filled with a sweet warmth. This was the sentence she had been waiting to hear all day.

A girl's heart is a strange thing indeed.

She wanted him to say certain things, but she wouldn't tell him what they were. She wanted him to figure it out and say them on his own.

Jiangg Yao didn't want to go, but after hearing Chen Yuan's words of concern, whether she went or not suddenly didn't seem so important anymore.

'The man I love really does care about me. He doesn't want me to leave...'

That was enough.

"I'm not forcing myself." For the first time in the hours since she'd heard about the trip, a genuine smile spread across Jiangg Yao's face. She said softly, "I'm just worried you'll miss me too much."

"Of course I will." Chen Yuan's brow furrowed slightly as he leaned in and whispered in her ear, "What am I going to do without you?"

"You'll do what you always do."

"I mean, what am I supposed to do when I miss you?"

"Nothing you can do about that. You'll just have to try harder." She lowered her voice even further and poked Chen Yuan. "Use this time to win over my sister. Don't let me come back after twenty-some days to find you've made zero progress."

Chen Yuan's eyebrows shot up.

'Yaoyao is such a thoughtful wife,' he mused. 'Even while planning a trip, she's still looking out for me.' But she had no idea he had already successfully conquered Ningning and had truly begun his blissful life with a beauty in each arm.

The memory of yesterday's passionate, heart-stirring encounter flashed through his mind.

A flush instantly rose to Chen Yuan's head.

For any man, the harder a prize is to win, the more satisfying the conquest. And Jiangg Ning was a pearl on a high cliff, a treasure to be won. Her dazzling light and reserved charm brought Chen Yuan a supreme sense of gratification.

A single bashful look from her.

A soft whimper.

Was enough to make Chen Yuan feel his sanity eroding away.

'Although I shouldn't be hiding this, I've been struggling with how to break the news to Jiangg Yao. Since she's telling me to 'work harder' while she's away, this is perfect. I'll have something to report to her when she gets back.'

'Killing two birds with one stone.'

Having decided on his plan, Chen Yuan feigned indignation.

"Just you wait. I'll devour Ningning completely. You just make sure you don't get jealous."

"Darling, you'll have to be capable enough to make me jealous first."

The two continued to whisper back and forth for a long time.

Nearby, Jiangg Ning was at a loss for words.

"Could you two stop whispering about everything?"

"It's... nothing."

Just then, Jiangg Ruxue came out carrying the freshly cooked dishes.

"Thank you, Auntie." Chen Yuan picked up his chopsticks and turned to Jiangg Ning. "We should both dress more formally tomorrow. The inspection team will be there, along with some people from Kyoto. It'll be a good chance for everyone to meet."

"Okay, I got it."

"Take your time eating, Chen. I'm going upstairs to rest," Jiangg Ruxue said with a kind smile.

"Thank you for everything, Auntie."

As they watched her turn and head upstairs, Jiangg Yao, her bright eyes twinkling, nudged Chen Yuan with her shoulder.

"My mom really treats you like an emperor."

"That's an elder's affection for you."

"Pfft! She's going upstairs to call her best friend. Take your time eating."

With a pout, Jiangg Yao left as well.

After she was gone, Chen Yuan's hand instinctively found its way to Ningning's thigh, his fingers gently brushing against her porcelain-smooth skin.

'It's not that I'm some kind of foot fetishist,' he thought. 'I just find the contour of feet captivating, a kind of dynamic beauty. In other words, I also really like Ningning's legs... and her face is pretty great too...'

'Alright, fine. Jiangg Ning is basically my ideal type. I like everything about her.'

"Do you have more studying to do tonight?"

"I didn't take a break all afternoon, so I'm a bit overloaded. I wasn't planning on studying tonight," Jiangg Ning said. She glanced at Chen Yuan's eyes, catching the fervent heat in their depths, and turned her face to the side. "I only started reading because you weren't here. I was just idling away the time."

She was being modest.

In reality, Ningning had simply wanted to make sure she had time for just the two of them when Chen Yuan came home. She would have been disappointed if he'd backed off because he thought she needed to study, so she had rushed to finish all her schoolwork that afternoon.

'How can a person be so cute it makes your heart melt?'

'How could anyone not love her?'

"Shall we go upstairs, then?"

"You must be starving. Finish your food first."

"It's fine, I'm full. I've got plenty of energy."

"What do you mean, 'plenty of energy'..." Jiangg Ning frowned at his suggestive remark and whispered, "I'm worried about your health."

"Come on, let's talk in the room."

Chen Yuan could hardly wait. He'd already been planning how he would be intimate with Jiangg Ning tonight. Yesterday had been so unforgettable that he'd been worried Ningning wouldn't be able to handle another round so soon.

But now it seemed she was fine.

'Looks like I was being too overprotective of my woman.'

"I was thinking I should finish my degree sooner. That way, I can help you more. As long as this is hanging over my head, I'll feel like I'm holding back your career."

"Just focus on your studies and don't worry about anything else. That's the biggest help you can be to me."

The two chatted as they ascended the spiral staircase.

Gazing at Jiangg Ning's rounded shoulders and the pale nape of her neck, a familiar itch of desire stirred within him. He suddenly wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close.

"Behave."

"Am I not behaving myself now?"

"You're such a little rascal..."

Jiangg Ning felt a sense of resignation as Chen Yuan pushed her by the shoulders toward the room. 'Why is he in such a hurry?' she wondered. 'It's barely past eight...'

But even as she felt exasperated...

...an indescribable feeling welled up inside her—a mix of anticipation and apprehension.

Jiangg Ning hadn't yet fully processed the new reality of their relationship. She only knew that submitting to Chen Yuan made him happy, and the sensations it gave her were strange and wonderful... but she didn't yet know how to use those feelings to find her own pleasure.