Chapter 7

The warm October sunshine in the Imperial Capital was almost intoxicating.

Ye Zhiqing reclined on the sofa with her eyes half-closed, answering Edith’s questions every now and then.

Edith’s questions made it abundantly clear that she had previously known nothing about Rongbaozhai’s operations. Yet every question she asked was incisive, striking directly at the heart of the matter.

Just a few exchanges were enough to prove that she was no ordinary person.

Her fingertips habitually tracing circles in the air, Ye Zhiqing privately wondered where Ruan Yu had found such a formidable business partner.

From a purely commercial perspective, it was still too early to determine whether Edith’s involvement would prove to be a blessing or a cause for concern.

Ye Zhiqing suspected that Ruan Yu intended to use Edith’s involvement as an opportunity to expand into the West Asian market. However, traditional artworks still dominated the domestic auction industry.

Rongbaozhai’s plans for the Ancient Wonders auction series could ​read the original at bailiantales.com​only be described as extraordinarily bold, even audacious.

Gurgle~~~

A strange sound suddenly interrupted Ye Zhiqing’s thoughts.

The next moment, both women’s gazes fell upon Ye Zhiqing’s stomach in perfect unison.

After everything that had happened, the two of them had actually forgotten to eat.

Feeling mortified and embarrassed, Ye Zhiqing deliberately cleared her throat several times to conceal her awkwardness. Her eyes wandered, making her attempt at appearing unconcerned all the more obvious.

“Vice President Yi must be hungry. I’ll ask Su Ya to bring us something to eat.”

“Mm.”

Edith responded indifferently and continued reading the documents unauthorized copyin her hands, as though she hadn’t noticed anything. However, the moment she lowered her head, her expression softened, concealing a faint smile.

Lunch was prepared according to Ye Zhiqing’s usual preferences: plain vegetable congee accompanied by two small side dishes, one meat and one vegetable.

Edith watched as Ye Zhiqing ate only the congee, occasionally picking up a little stir-fried okra. She hadn’t touched the diced beef with celery beside it even once.

Edith’s brows drew together almost imperceptibly.

“Vice President Ye, is this what you normally eat for lunch?”

Her tone was deliberately distant.

“Mm. Don’t you like these dishes, Vice President Yi? I’ll ask Su Ya to bring something else.”

Ye Zhiqing had always preferred light, simple food. Seeing Edith’s displeased expression, she naturally assumed that the woman didn’t like what had been served.

Remembering that Edith had previously mentioned wanting dumplings and hutong roast duck, Ye Zhiqing added, “Hutong roast duck tastes most authentic when you eat it at the restaurant itself. I know a place that makes it very well. If you’d like to try it, I can take you there another time as an apology. How does that sound?”

Ye Zhiqing’s polite, accommodating manner was no different from how she treated anyone else.

Edith’s eyes, partially concealed in shadow, suddenly darkened.

Anxiety and panic quietly took root within her, gradually wearing away at her resolve.

More than three thousand years had passed, yet Ye Zhiqing’s appearance had not faded from her memory in the slightest. On the contrary, it had only become more vivid.

But Ye Zhiqing had forgotten her.

Edith’s hand clenched tightly into a fist at her side, her fingernails digging into her palm. Her expression turned gloomy.

The atmosphere abruptly grew cold.

Several breaths passed.

Then, as though something had occurred to her, Edith instantly regained her usual inscrutable composure.

She rose from her seat and walked silently over to Ye Zhiqing. Taking the chopsticks, she began somewhat awkwardly picking the diced beef from the small plate, placing the pieces one by one into Ye Zhiqing’s vegetable congee.

Before long, a thin layer of diced beef covered the surface of Ye Zhiqing’s bowl.

Edith’s actions rarely followed conventional logic. Ye Zhiqing stared in bewilderment for quite some time before finally reacting.

“Edith?”

Her voice carried a mixture of confusion and astonishment.

“You’re too thin. You need to eat more meat.”

Edith answered with complete seriousness.

Ye Zhiqing smiled faintly. Her lips parted slightly, but she hesitated, unsure of what to say.

Mysterious, powerful, beautiful—these were the most immediate and genuine impressions Edith had left upon her.

And there was also that irresistible tenderness.

Almost against her better judgment, Ye Zhiqing met Edith’s gaze.

“Edith, are you like this with everyone?”

“No. You’re the only one who’s different.”

The words emerged softly from her red lips, each syllable carrying the solemn weight of an ancient oath.

The sharp intensity she had kept hidden suddenly surfaced, dazzling and brilliant.

Every word struck heavily against Ye Zhiqing’s heart.

The question “Why?” had already reached her lips, but she silently swallowed it.

Her heart, beneath the left side of her sternum, seemed to be entangled in countless invisible threads that were slowly tightening around it.

Ye Zhiqing involuntarily slowed her breathing.

Instinctive longing and the urge to escape intertwined, surging wildly through her veins with her rushing blood, desperately struggling to break through some unseen restraint.

She tilted her head back slightly and exhaled deeply. Her slender, fair neck was made even more beautiful by the bright interplay of light and shadow.

The restraint and reserve she had maintained for so many years were crumbling in the face of Edith’s unexpected intrusion into her life.

Apparently, they were nowhere near as unshakable as she had imagined.

Ye Zhiqing closed her eyes, then opened them again. Her dark eyes were bright and clear. A faint, spasmodic ache ran through her curled fingers as she forced every turbulent emotion back down.

Her tone was stiff.

“Edith, we’ve only known each other for three days.”

“Heh~”

A soft chuckle escaped Edith’s throat.

Her eyes were as deep and distant as the boundless universe. She took Ye Zhiqing’s slender, pale hand in hers and slowly caressed it, inch by inch, with extraordinary care and tenderness, as though holding something infinitely precious.

Then Edith slowly bent forward.

Her red lips brushed against Ye Zhiqing’s cheek, and her warm, moist breath spilled over the side of her ear, unbearably intimate.

“I’ll wait for you.”

The air seemed to solidify.

Ye Zhiqing’s body stiffened, and she remained motionless.

The calm expression she had painstakingly maintained began to crack the moment she felt the cool, soft touch against her cheek, yet she still struggled desperately to preserve her outward composure.

Then there was the scorching breath brushing past her ear.

One cool, one hot.

Together, they effortlessly stirred the unease buried deep within Ye Zhiqing’s heart, along with an expectation she couldn’t bring herself to admit.

In the end, reason gained the slightest advantage.

Ye Zhiqing finally regained her clarity of mind. Her fingers unconsciously tightened around her sleeve, and she leaned backward, putting some distance between herself and Edith.

Her voice was unmistakably distant.

“Vice President Yi, welcome to Rongbaozhai as our new partner.”

It was a tactful rejection.

Although Ye Zhiqing had never experienced romantic love in her twenty-odd years of life, Edith’s undisguised behavior over the past few days, together with the almost frightening intensity of her possessiveness, made her intentions obvious.

Ye Zhiqing had no desire to investigate the deeper reasons behind them.

As far as she was concerned, keeping her distance was the simplest and most effective solution.

Edith’s fingers moved down from the smooth back of ​read the original at bailiantales.com​Ye Zhiqing’s hand, caressing it with alternating gentle and firmer strokes. Gradually, they traveled lower until they closed around Ye Zhiqing’s slender, pale wrist.

Slowly, Edith tightened her grip…

She gently but insistently drew Ye Zhiqing back toward her.

Looking into the beautiful, shimmering eyes of the woman before her, Edith felt her previously steady breathing suddenly turn restless.

Her voice was low and slightly husky, concealing a desire that seemed desperate to break free.

“Zhiqing, your body doesn’t want to reject me.”

The kiss descended without warning.

Before Ye Zhiqing could struggle, Edith’s cool fingers glided along the warmth of her neck toward the back of her ear. Then her hand firmly supported the back of Ye Zhiqing’s head, leaving her nowhere to retreat.

Their lips touched.

An uncontrollable tremor passed between them before their mouths pressed firmly together.

Edith gently held her captive, nibbling and biting with varying pressure, skillfully tracing the contours of her soft, full lips.

A sweet, delicate fragrance escaped amid their uneven breaths as Edith tested her response, advancing tentatively, little by little.

Ye Zhiqing’s gaze gradually lost focus, growing hazy and dazed.

A deep, feverish crimson rapidly spread across her cheeks.

A glistening trace of moisture seeped from the corner of her mouth, and the wet sounds of their kisses echoed through the quiet room.

Who knew how long it continued?

Only when Ye Zhiqing’s face was thoroughly flushed and she could scarcely breathe did [bailiantales.com]Edith finally release her lips.

Collapsing against one side of the sofa, Ye Zhiqing gasped violently for breath.

A thin mist clouded the corners of her reddened eyes. One button of her blouse had come undone, and her dark hair was disheveled.

She looked somewhat bedraggled, yet all the more alluring.

Edith’s gaze grew deeper and darker, turbulent emotions surging within it.

There was an instinctive longing, but also an equally instinctive restraint.

Overwhelmed by embarrassment and furious indignation, Ye Zhiqing pressed her lips tightly together.

“Vice President Yi, please show some restraint.”