Marking My Arch-Rival [Rebirth] - Chapter 14

Jiang Boyan’s heartbeat skipped for a moment.

The revised acquisition contract her subordinates had worked overtime to prepare was still sitting in her work email. The purchase price of 120 million yuan was written out in full in both numerals and words, stamped with bright red company seals, waiting only to be delivered to Huanji on Monday to finalize the deal.

As for the parts of the transaction that hadn’t been written into the contract…

…it was almost as if they were waiting for her to reach out and claim them herself.

Jiang Boyan’s fingers lightly came to rest on Ji Shihuan’s shoulder.

Just then, Ji Shihuan’s phone rang.

Lately she’d been receiving far too many work calls. Without checking the caller ID, she habitually answered and held the phone to her ear.

A woman’s fragile sobbing came from the other end.

“Ah Huan… sob… Ah Huan, please help me…”

Ji Shihuan frowned, straightened up, and stepped back two paces.

“What happened?”

Shu Ni finally managed to suppress her sobs.

“Something went wrong in Country D. Nata Corporation deliberately concealed the fact that they were bankrupt and drowning in debt. They can’t pay the remaining balance!”

Ji Shihuan softened her voice and comforted her for a while before saying,

“Don’t panic. Book a flight and come back first.”

Shu Ni stopped crying for a moment.

“Just… come back like that?”

Ji Shihuan replied,

“Haven’t you always complained that the accommodations there were terrible and the food wasn’t hygienic? If this weren’t the only project that could earn you quick achievements, I wouldn’t have wanted to send you to Country D in the first place.”

“But if I come back like this…”

Shu Ni carefully tested her reaction, not daring to sound too eager.

“…then I won’t be able to help you anymore.”

“Not necessarily.”

Ji Shihuan answered calmly.

“No one could have predicted that the buyer would go bankrupt. The project’s failure isn’t your fault.”

“When you come back, we can think of another way to secure the vice president position.”

Shu Ni sniffled before finally relaxing.

“Okay.”

After hanging up, Ji Shihuan began humming a cheerful tune.

But when she turned around, she realized Jiang Boyan, who had been beside her moments ago, had already disappeared.

Suppressing the faint discomfort in her heart, Ji Shihuan picked up another glass of champagne and once again immersed herself in the glittering world of wealth and influence.

She hadn’t attended the banquet merely to show her face.

The smart technology industry was still in its infancy, and the market held tremendous potential.

If she wanted to revive Huanji, she had to seize every opportunity.

By the end of the evening, Ji Shihuan had not only collected several important business cards but had also exchanged a few words with a number of influential figures, leaving at least some impression on them.

The downside was that she’d drunk quite a bit.

After leaving the hotel, she decided to find somewhere quiet to sober up in the evening breeze.

Unexpectedly, someone had beaten her to it.

As she rounded a pillar, she discovered someone already standing there.

She had intended to leave, but a glimpse of the figure out of the corner of her eye felt strangely familiar.

Looking closer, she realized it was Jiang Boyan—the very woman who had slipped away from her earlier.

“Heh.”

Ji Shihuan laughed softly.

The smile was more genuine than any she’d worn throughout the entire banquet.

She didn’t walk over immediately, stopping about three meters away instead.

“President Jiang.”

“Would you say this means we’re destined to keep running into each other?”

Jiang Boyan lowered her eyes to the ground.

“A cursed fate, perhaps?”

Ji Shihuan followed her gaze.

The marble pavement reflected their silhouettes.

The lights stretched their shadows into long parallel lines that never touched.

Ji Shihuan took one tentative step closer.

Her shadow slid half a meter toward Jiang Boyan’s.

Jiang Boyan looked up at her.

Finding the childish game amusing, Ji Shihuan continued walking forward, her elongated shadow inching closer with every step.

“If you insist it’s a cursed fate…”

“Shouldn’t I at least live up to it?”

Stopping directly before Jiang Boyan, she bent down slightly.

“Otherwise…”

“…wouldn’t I be disappointing President Jiang’s expectations?”

Now that they were so close, the sweet scent of freesia on Jiang Boyan drifted through the lingering alcohol and expensive perfumes, reaching Ji Shihuan’s nose.

She remembered the lie she’d told in the office and silently cursed her overly sensitive sense of smell.

Jiang Boyan looked up.

“You…”

She had barely uttered a single word before Ji Shihuan pressed an index finger gently against her lips.

“Shh.”

Hurried footsteps echoed from the hotel entrance.

From where Ji Shihuan stood, she could clearly see two bodyguards dressed in black searching for someone.

She immediately recognized one of them as the man who had been looking for Jiang Boyan the night she had unexpectedly gone into heat.

“Do you often find yourself in trouble?”

Ji Shihuan whispered near Jiang Boyan’s ear.

Her warm breath brushed Jiang Boyan’s ear, making her tremble slightly.

Because of tonight’s social engagements, Jiang Boyan had drunk some alcohol as well, though nowhere near enough to become intoxicated.

“I’m so jealous of you, President Jiang.”

Ji Shihuan returned to her playful tone.

“Every time you’re in danger, someone appears to help you.”

“…”

Jiang Boyan was speechless.

Ji Shihuan lowered her head and grasped her wrist.

“Come with me.”

Leading her around the hotel’s main entrance, Ji Shihuan brought Jiang Boyan to her own car.

She opened the rear door, gently ushered Jiang Boyan inside, then gave the driver an address.

Seeing his boss bring a woman along, the driver wisely said nothing.

After locking the doors, he thoughtfully raised the privacy partition, leaving the two women alone in the quiet rear compartment.

“What are you doing?”

Only then did Jiang Boyan seem to fully process what had happened.

“I’m taking you home.”

Ji Shihuan turned toward her.

To make sure Jiang Boyan was still thinking clearly, she leaned over until she was directly in front of her, studying her eyes intently.

“Drunk?”

Jiang Boyan gritted her teeth and pushed her away.

She pressed herself tightly against the car door and turned to look out the window, refusing any further interaction.

“What’s wrong?”

Ji Shihuan asked.

“Giving me the silent treatment again?”

Her gaze lingered on the gland at the side of Jiang Boyan’s neck.

Only after several long moments did she realize she was behaving like a shameless flirt.

She hurriedly looked away and sat properly in her seat.

Even in a top-of-the-line luxury car, the rear compartment wasn’t especially spacious.

The dim, enclosed cabin quietly nurtured an atmosphere that was equal parts strange and intimate.

More than ten minutes passed before Ji Shihuan finally gathered the courage to look at Jiang Boyan again.

Only then did she realize, to her surprise, that Jiang Boyan had actually fallen asleep, her head resting against the window.

Ji Shihuan clicked her tongue quietly.

“I honestly can’t tell whether you hate me… or trust me that much.”

Afraid the bumps in the road would jolt her awake, Ji Shihuan carefully leaned closer and gently guided Jiang Boyan’s head onto her own shoulder.

During the movement, Jiang Boyan’s breathing faltered for two beats, making Ji Shihuan’s heart leap into her throat.

But once her head settled against Ji Shihuan’s shoulder, Jiang Boyan relaxed again.

Unconscious, her body instinctively sought out the ocean-like scent that made her feel safe.

In the end, the tip of her nose came to rest only a hair’s breadth from Ji Shihuan’s gland.

Her steady, gentle breaths brushed over Ji Shihuan’s sensitive skin.

It took Ji Shihuan a very long time to barely adapt.

She didn’t dare move at all.

For a moment, she even wondered whether Jiang Boyan was teasing her on purpose.

But when she shifted her gaze, all she saw were Jiang Boyan’s long curled lashes and the faint shadows beneath her eyes.

The night was beautiful.

Outside the window, neon lights painted the city in brilliant colors.

Ji Shihuan quietly watched Jiang Boyan’s sleeping face for a long time.

Then, suddenly…

A mischievous thought crossed her mind once again.