All one could say was that the idea was foolproof.
He was a little too dizzy, though. He ran so fast he nearly slammed his head into the wall, knocking a box off the display cabinet with a SMACK. He then pushed himself up and staggered toward the master bedroom.
He entered the room, pulled open the bathroom door, and went inside.
To his surprise, the light was on. A soft glow bathed everything within—an exquisite, small bathtub; neatly arranged bottles and jars; various toiletries on a shelf, all clean and tidy. And, of course, a girl sitting on the toilet...
Jiangg Yao was dumbfounded.
She stared with her wide, shimmering eyes at Chen Yuan, whose face and neck were flushed red.
For a moment, both of their brains simply shut down.
"You... you???"
"I..."
...
Jiangg Yao’s voice drifted in from the living room. You could hear her frustration in the rapid-fire pace of her words.
"Did you have to let him drink so much? You know he can’t hold his liquor! Look at the state he’s in. He scared me half to death just now—I thought some random drunk had barged into the bathroom to assassinate me. Do you have any freaking idea how scared I was? What kind of secretary are you? That’s what I’d like to know!"
「A moment ago.」
Chen Yuan had burst in on Jiangg Yao in the bathroom, scaring them both.
After Jiangg Yao had told him to get lost, she came running out a moment later. However, Chen Yuan had already face-planted onto the bedroom bed and was playing dead. Jiangg Yao’s attempts to wake the "corpse" were unsuccessful.
So she went outside to find Jiangg Ning.
Inside the walk-in closet, the door was closed.
The two sisters were inside. Jiangg Ning was changing—or more accurately, taking off her pants.
From Yaoyao’s perspective, she caught a fleeting glimpse of her sister’s porcelain-smooth legs. Her flawlessly toned body was visible for just a moment before being hidden away under a loose set of pajamas. Jiangg Ning tucked a strand of hair out from under her collar and looked at her younger sister.
"What you’re saying makes no sense. It’s precisely because I’m his secretary that I can’t overstep my bounds. Besides, at a dinner party like that, my opinion means nothing given my position. What was I supposed to do when I saw he couldn’t drink anymore? Flip the table?"
"Then what about... what about him barging into the bathroom?"
"He probably had to throw up."
"Forget it. I’ll get him a glass of water."
"I bought some sobriety pills and liver-support tablets; they’re in the bottom drawer of my desk in the study. You might as well take those to him. Let him sober up a bit before he goes to sleep. He can’t sleep in our bed again."
"And what’s wrong with letting him sleep here?" Jiangg Yao shot her sister a sidelong glance. "You’re the one who bought the medicine, too. Aww, so concerned about him. What a thoughtful ex-girlfriend you are~"
"Excuse me, but you’ve got the wrong idea, Jiangg Yao. I bought the sobriety pills and liver-support tablets for myself. Now that I’ve entered the professional world, there are bound to be times when I drink too much."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Let me be honest, you can drop the act in front of me, Ning. I may as well be able to read you like a book. How should I put this... this bittersweet flavor of wanting to give up but being unable to let go... it’s enough to make one’s head spin, you know? Hehehehe~" Jiangg Yao covered her mouth, giggling.
But anyone could tell she wasn’t giggling with delight; her laughter was laced with sharp sarcasm.
"My affairs are none of your business," Jiangg Ning said, her gaze turning cold.
"This is so irritating! I’m so sick of it!" Jiangg Yao’s smile vanished, replaced by a deep frown. "I don’t want to see either of you! Thankfully, I’m leaving this dump soon. Then you two can create whatever drama you want! In any case, you’ll always be by his side. Broken up or not, it doesn’t matter. So go on, stay with him!"
"Relax. I won’t take advantage of the situation, even when you’re in Edo Prefecture. I’m already disappointed in him. I won’t go back on my word. You know what I’m like."
"That’s *why* I’m so annoyed—because I *do* know you, Jiangg Ning!" Jiangg Yao retorted. "If your actions ever matched your words, the two of you would never have ended up like this!"
"..." Jiangg Ning froze, suddenly at a loss for words.
"Whatever. I don’t care anymore. It doesn’t matter if he and I break up over this. He only needs you, not me, right? Otherwise, he wouldn’t be scheming to keep you by his side. In that case, I’m finally free."
With that, Jiangg Yao turned and stormed out. A few seconds later, she reappeared, fuming. "My flight is the day after tomorrow! Keep it a secret for me. Don’t let Mom find out, and don’t let Chen Yuan find out."
"Mm."
Jiangg Ning lowered her head.
She was lost in thought.
...
Feigning sleep, Chen Yuan could vaguely hear arguing outside. A cold sweat broke out on his brow. ’It’s probably just hot in here,’ he thought, pushing the blanket down to expose his cheek. He kept his eyes shut and focused on listening.
’What are they arguing about? Why are they fighting again?’
’Something about not telling me...’
The bedroom door wasn’t closed, so even though he couldn’t make out everything clearly, he still managed to catch a few sensitive words.
Chen Yuan’s heart sank. He was suddenly overcome with a terrible premonition.
But before he could dwell on it, he heard the TAP, TAP of approaching footsteps. He quickly pulled the blanket back up, regulated his breathing, and continued to play dead.
Jiangg Yao was already in a foul mood, and the sight of Chen Yuan sleeping so soundly only made her angrier. She STOMP, STOMP, STOMPED over to the edge of the bed. She stared down at his sleeping form, her beautiful eyes narrowed in scrutiny.
After a moment, she placed the cup on the bedside table.
"He didn’t even change his clothes or take off his shoes... The reek of alcohol is disgusting..."
Jiangg Yao hesitated for a moment, then sighed and finally bent down to take off Chen Yuan’s shoes.
Her movements were gentle. She took off his shoes first, holding them gingerly by the tips of her fingers as she carried them out to the entryway. When she returned to take off his socks, however, she was only halfway done when she suddenly felt like a complete sucker.
’Her sister was the one who brought him home. Why should *I* be the one waiting on him hand and foot?’
So, Jiangg Yao took the stinky sock she’d just removed and put it right back on his foot.
Lying on the bed and playing dead, Chen Yuan was stunned. He had no idea what she was up to.
"Sis? Where are you? Don’t just leave me to do everything! Help me get his clothes off."
"I was about to take a shower," Jiangg Ning’s reply came from the living room.
"Shower later. I can’t move him by myself."
"Then wake him up and have him do it himself. He really thinks he’s some young master, doesn’t he?"
Jiangg Ning walked over, bath towel still in hand, and grumbled.
Her gaze immediately locked onto Chen Yuan’s half-removed sock, and she felt a surge of indignation as well.
"Hey! Wake up! Stop pretending to be asleep."
’As Ningning shoved him,’ Chen Yuan sneered inwardly, ’so both sisters find me annoying now? That’s never happened before. I’m not waking up today for anything. Let’s see what the two of them do.’
’A shameless man is truly invincible.’
Even as Jiangg Ning’s shoves grew stronger and more exaggerated, making the bed frame CREAK and SQUEAK, Chen Yuan refused to get up. Instead, he just rolled over, swatted her hand away, smacked his lips, and pretended to sleep on.
He burrowed deeper into the blankets, his senses filled with the sweet, enticing fragrance of their bed. Bolstered by the alcohol, he suddenly found himself enjoying this quite a bit.
’I’ll stay rooted to this bed until the day I die. Today, tomorrow, forever. Or maybe the two sisters can just go sleep in my room.’
’It’s Jiangg Ning’s fault for deleting my facial recognition access, after all.’
"Fine," Jiangg Ning sighed. "Let’s get his clothes off and give him the medicine. The sooner we’re done with this, the better. I’m getting tired, too."
’Medicine? It’s not poison, is it?’ Chen Yuan wondered nervously.
With a tacit understanding, Jiangg Yao and Jiangg Ning knelt on either side of him. Each grabbed one of his hands and, at the same moment, heaved.
But on the first try, they couldn’t even budge him.
"He’s heavier than a dead pig..." Jiangg Yao panted.
"Again. One, two, three!"
With their combined strength, the sisters finally managed to pull him into a sitting position. Jiangg Yao, quick as a flash, propped a pillow behind his back while she started unbuttoning his suit jacket.
In moments, Chen Yuan’s upper body was stripped bare. He kept his eyes closed, feeling a sudden chill.
’Still, having two sisters undress me together... This feels a little... strange.’
’Strangely enjoyable, in fact.’
Jiangg Yao wiped a thin layer of sweat from her forehead and exchanged a look with her sister.
Next up were his pants.