After Transmigrating into a Redemption Novel as the Evil Stepmother - Chapter 17

Ming Jiayue fell into a deep sleep, her breathing light and rhythmic.

Ji Shuangci leaned over, using her other hand to touch Ming Jiayue’s forehead; the fever had broken.

The wind rustled the documents on the desk, the sudden sound startling Ji Shuangci. She snapped back to her senses, hurriedly withdrawing her gaze from Ming Jiayue’s lips like a thief caught in the act.

As if waking from a dream, a wave of embarrassment flooded her cheeks. Ji Shuangci stood up and walked two laps around the lounge, a transparent attempt to cover her tracks.

The sounds she made were tiny, faint enough to be ignored.

After pausing for two breaths, she stepped into the inner bathroom.

The person in the mirror looked slightly disheveled. Ji Shuangci gave herself a self-deprecating smile, leaning down to splash her face with cold water several times.

The cold jolted her awake. She didn’t head out immediately, instead turning to observe Ming Jiayue’s lounge with keen interest. She felt a delayed, secret joy at having entered Ming Jiayue’s private space.

The lounge followed the same decor as the outer office—extreme minimalism. Aside from essential living and office supplies, there wasn’t a single redundant decoration or item.

A single mouthwash cup, a single bottle of mouthwash… even the chairs were solitary.

This was a space where only Ming Jiayue’s traces existed. Ji Shuangci took out her phone to snap a photo of the shampoo and body wash brands on the shelf, then selfishly adjusted the position of the body wash bottle just a fraction.

Ji Shuangci wanted to do more, but for now, this was all she could do.

At some point, the daylight faded completely, and a bright moon rose quietly. Moonlight filtered through the glass, faintly outlining the silhouette on the bed.

When Ming Jiayue woke up, her throat was so parched she couldn’t speak. She didn’t move at first, waiting until she was fully conscious before trying to prop herself up with her hands.

That was when Ji Shuangci appeared. Emerging from some dark corner, she supported Ming Jiayue’s lower back with one hand while holding a cup of water to her lips with the other.

Honey water—the temperature was perfect.

They didn’t turn on the lights. Separated by a thin veil of moonlight, they locked eyes.

Ji Shuangci was so attentive that she withdrew the cup before Ming Jiayue could even frown, turning to flip the light switch.

Brightness suddenly flooded her vision. Ji Shuangci stood three paces away from the foot of the bed, her expression calm and composed, her posture dignified yet respectful.

In an environment that should have bred ambiguity, Ji Shuangci behaved with exceptional propriety.

“President Ming, you’ve slept for five hours. I’ve prepared some porridge; would you like some?”

Thorough, considerate, and handled with a perfect sense of boundaries—it was difficult to feel any ill will toward her.

Ming Jiayue lowered her eyelids slightly, her dark pupils watching Ji Shuangci with a quiet, slow gaze. She was half-reclined while Ji Shuangci stood, yet she still exuded a sense of high-level scrutiny.

Ji Shuangci had the illusion she was taking an exam, and Ming Jiayue was her only examiner tonight.

After half a minute, Ming Jiayue looked away. She got out of bed, removed her jacket, and walked past Ji Shuangci toward the outer office.

The lights weren’t on outside. Ji Shuangci’s gaze followed her silhouette.

Underneath, Ming Jiayue wore a stand-collar white shirt made of thin poplin. As she moved, the outline of her shoulder blades was faintly visible, like a butterfly about to take flight.

Ji Shuangci’s hand clenched rhythmically in the empty air as she watched her walk from the light into the darkness—her shoulders looked thin, carrying an indescribable sense of loneliness.

So, all those pills in the nightstand… what were they for?

Hiding the inquiry in her eyes, Ji Shuangci followed. Ming Jiayue had already sat on the sofa. On the coffee table before her was vegetable porridge, flanked by fruit: finger limes, cherries, grapes…

Ji Shuangci had prepared a little of every fruit she had ever seen in Zhou An’an’s social media photos. Not much of each, but together they made a full platter.

Ming Jiayue first reached for the water nearby—it, too, was at the perfect drinking temperature.

Ming Jiayue hated her private space being disturbed, but as she looked around, aside from the porridge and fruit on the table, the traces left by Ji Shuangci were near zero.

This level of detail surpassed that of a private butler.

The development of events had exceeded Ming Jiayue’s expectations. She picked up the porridge and took a sip; it suited her palate perfectly.

Ming Jiayue ignored her, but Ji Shuangci wasn’t embarrassed. She naturally sat on the opposite sofa, quietly watching Ming Jiayue finish most of the porridge.

Ming Jiayue tried a bit of every fruit. Aside from eating two extra cherries, she showed no clear preference.

Ji Shuangci remembered back in high school when she went to tutor Zhou An’an; she would occasionally stay for dinner. Ming Jiayue’s tastes were extremely light—she only ate vegetable porridge without side dishes, sugar, or salt.

Ming Jiayue didn’t eat much. Ji Shuangci slowly rubbed her fingertips, her mind flashing back to Ming Jiayue’s slender waist, as if savoring a memory.

She should eat more so her body can recover.

With a warm bowl of porridge in her stomach, Ming Jiayue’s features relaxed. She realized late that Ji Shuangci likely hadn’t eaten anything yet.

She had watched over her for five hours.

Recognizing this fact, Ming Jiayue rang the bell. The General Manager’s secretary, Wang Ting, had been waiting in the executive office suite. Upon hearing the bell, he let out a long sigh of relief. Finally.

Executive Secretary Li Ling was on a business trip, and the other assistants were away. Ji Shuangci didn’t have their WeChat, only Wang Ting’s phone number, so everything she needed to prepare this afternoon had been arranged through him.

No one expected Ji Shuangci to stay in Ming Jiayue’s office for so long.

The duration left infinite room for imagination. Especially with the repeated requests for water and food, the company group chat Wang Ting was in was at 99+ messages, scrolling non-stop.

“Broad daylight—what are those two doing in there for so long?” “Signing a name takes ten minutes tops. How many ten-minute blocks has it been?” “Calling for water again. It’s over. Even a frigid female CEO like President Ming has fallen for the beauty.” “Could they have been doing it all afternoon? As expected of President Ming, a workaholic with MAX stamina.” “Hahahaha, aren’t you guys afraid of getting fired? You dare say that!”

Wang Ting knocked and entered. He saw the two of them sitting on the sofas, separated by a deliberate distance, looking slightly weary. Lowering his head, Wang Ting walked over respectfully.

“President Ming, you called?”

“Go to Tianshui Pavilion and get a few dishes to go. As fast as possible. Longjing prawns, Wensi tofu, consommé Chinese cabbage…”

Tianshui Pavilion was one of the top Chinese restaurants in H City, famous for state banquet cuisine. It was close to the headquarters and where Ming Jiayue usually went for business dinners. She ordered a few dishes she thought tasted decent.

After a moment of reflection, Ming Jiayue looked at Ji Shuangci.

“Is there anything else you’d like to eat?”

Not only was she not being kicked out, she was being kept for dinner.

The surprise in Ji Shuangci’s eyes was impossible to suppress. Her eyes curved into crescents, shimmering with starlight.

“Sister, you decide. Anything is fine with me.”

Her tone was soft, with a deliberately drawn-out ending that felt like a tingle in the ears.

Ming Jiayue froze for a second.

Ji Shuangci met her gaze openly, the corners of her lips turning up again and again.

Ming Jiayue never ate in her office; the 38th floor had a large pantry specifically for use as her dining room. But today, she broke one rule after another. Wang Ting was becoming numb to it.

President Ming is simply spoiling this girl without any bottom line!

Can’t they just go out to eat? Could it be they exercised too much and have no energy left?

Staring silently at the floor, Wang Ting felt he had discovered something incredible and didn’t dare make a single sound.

By the time he left the office, Wang Ting’s face was completely flushed. He immediately pulled out his phone, typed a long paragraph, then quickly deleted it.

Thilling! But safety first! I can’t share this just yet!

Silence returned to the room. Outside the floor-to-ceiling window, skyscrapers stood tall, and the flow of traffic looked like ribbons of light.

Ming Jiayue walked to the window, framed by the quiet night. Looking at the thousands of lights below, she sighed softly and spoke first.

“Ji Shuangci, most of the time, I don’t know what it is you want.”

Ji Shuangci’s eyes were like dark ink, bottomless. She possessed a steadiness and calm far beyond her age.

Even Ming Jiayue couldn’t see through her at a glance.

In front of Ming Jiayue, she was usually excessively sensible and excessively easy to coax. Even a perfunctory smile from Ming Jiayue was enough to make her happy for a long time.

This gave Ming Jiayue a headache—it even made her feel a hint of guilt.

Acutely sensing the subtle shift in Ming Jiayue’s attitude, Ji Shuangci blinked slowly.

Does this mean she’s opening the door to her heart?

On the surface, Ji Shuangci was restrained, but in reality, every nerve in her body was high-strung when she was with Ming Jiayue. She was terrified of making a single wrong move that would widen the already vast distance between them.

After hesitating for several minutes, Ji Shuangci wiped the sweat from her palms, deliberately averted her gaze, and spoke tentatively.

“President Ming is being too formal. You are my benefactor; anything I do for you is of my own free will.”

Ming Jiayue raised an eyebrow. Perhaps because she hadn’t taken her sedative medication today, she had no interest in playing cat-and-mouse. She turned around directly, staring into Ji Shuangci’s eyes with a cold, oppressive tone.

“Oh? If that’s the case, let me tell Miss Ji one last time tonight. My helping you was a purely investment-based act. I don’t need any subjective repayment from you, because to me, it is a complete bother.”

Ming Jiayue’s words were merciless, like a blast of freezing flame that burned a massive hole in Ji Shuangci’s heart.

Ji Shuangci’s face went white instantly. Her fingers clenched unconsciously, wrinkling the fabric on her knees.

Her thoughts scattered, but she forced herself to remain calm—at least appearing composed on the surface. She even managed a smile under Ming Jiayue’s meaningful gaze.

“Sister.”

A low call of submission.

Ming Jiayue acted as if she hadn’t heard, giving no reaction.

Ji Shuangci didn’t give up. She stood, gathered her courage, and walked to stand before Ming Jiayue. The light shone from behind them, causing their shadows to overlap. A few stray tears welled in her eyes—it looked like a humble plea, but even more like an obscure desire.

Ji Shuangci stood very close, their breaths mingling. She looked at the two tiny reflections of herself in Ming Jiayue’s pupils and said, word by word:

“Sister, I lied.”

“If I can… I want to…”

“I want to stay by your side.”