Ji Feng answered him briefly: "Xue Rui has been keeping an eye on the group headquarters for me lately."
Xu Miyu, sitting alone at the small bar organizing the meeting notes, looked up when she heard them talking about her. She tucked the stray hairs at her temples behind her ears before lowering her head again to continue sorting through the documents.
That glance, that gesture of tucking her hair, that slight lowering of her head—it all carried a certain delicate charm.
Hu Yang watched Xu Miyu and suddenly became interested.
He leaned forward toward Ji Feng, lowering his voice as he said: "Brother, I have to say, your new assistant is quite charming!" After a pause, he changed his tone, "It's just a pity she's not younger—otherwise I'd go after her!"
Ji Feng frowned at his words and said irritably: "Shut up. Don't even think about it. Have some shame—you're only one year younger than her. How dare you call her old?"
Hu Yang immediately retorted: "Brother, you just lack experience in relationships between men and women. Let me tell you, when it comes to women, even one year older—no, half a year older—no no, even just one month older—is already a big difference. Because women age faster than us! You should always go for younger ones. Otherwise, in a few years when we're still in our prime, the woman will already have aged, and gradually we'll lose interest."
Ji Feng couldn't help but curse at his words: "What a load of bullshit."
Hu Yang wasn't bothered and continued with a smile: "Brother, why are you so irritable today? Well, come to think of it, if she's one year older than me, then your new assistant is actually about half a year older than you too. You actually hired such an old woman as your assistant." He shook his head as he spoke, earnestly telling Ji Feng, "Brother, really, listen to me. If you're going to find a woman, you should definitely find one a few years younger. That way you can maintain your interest in her longer in the future."
Unaware of the true relationship between Ji Feng and Xu Miyu, Hu Yang kept talking without restraint.
Ji Feng glanced quickly at Xu Miyu and faintly noticed her expression tightening. He knew she had heard everything Hu Yang said.
He immediately felt angry at Hu Yang's nonsense. Turning back to Hu Yang, he warned him irritably: "Hu Yang, listen to me. You know how much I hate this kind of messy talk about relationships. If you keep spouting this nonsense in the future, we don't need to see each other anymore." After a pause, he changed his tone to defend Xu Miyu, "And who gave you the courage to think my assistant would age faster than you? Five years from now, she'll still look the same as now. Meanwhile, you spend your days doing nothing worthwhile—smoking, drinking, gossiping. In five years, not only will you have a beer belly, but the skin on your face will be sagging too, plus you'll be balding. Who knows which one of you will look like the old relic then."
Hu Yang was completely stunned by this string of words. He was so shocked he couldn't speak for a long time.
"Brother, what's wrong with you today? You're being so protective! I just casually mentioned that your assistant is a bit old, and you launch into personal attacks against me? Fine, she's your person, you protect her. I won't say anything more, okay!"
Hu Yang even made an exaggerated gesture of zipping his mouth shut.
Ji Feng let out a cold laugh, not wanting to engage with him further.
Xu Miyu sat at the small bar, eyes fixed on her computer, her mood quietly turning somber.
Even though Ji Feng had used his sharp tongue to shut the other man up, the悲哀的是，那人说的话其实没有说错。Perhaps the most embarrassing thing in life is that the words you least want to hear are often the truth.
Xu Miyu felt a tightness in her chest and wanted to step out to wash her face and get some fresh air. She stood up and announced she was going to the restroom.
As she closed the door behind her, she glanced at the two men by the window—both elite gentlemen from the upper echelons—and suddenly felt like an outsider, someone who didn't quite fit in, neither adding nor subtracting anything significant.
She closed the door quietly and made her way to the restroom.
Washing her face, she took a deep breath.
She pulled out a paper towel to dab her damp temples dry.
Then, staring at her reflection in the mirror, she silently cheered herself on—
Don't let others' words affect your emotions too much. Otherwise, her future would surely be difficult, because the objective vast gap between her and Ji Feng meant that their relationship would inevitably be filled with others' comments and gossip.
Taking another deep breath, Xu Miyu pushed open the restroom door and stepped out.
But the moment she emerged, she was taken by surprise.
Ji Feng was actually standing right outside the restroom. Without a doubt, he was waiting for her.
Xu Miyu quickly looked up and asked him, "What's wrong? Why did you come all the way here to wait for me? Is there something urgent you need me to do?"
Before her words fully faded, he leaned down and lightly pecked her lips in a swift kiss.
Xu Miyu immediately covered her mouth and glanced around, relieved to confirm no one had seen them from either side.
But her heart was pounding like a drum.
In that brief moment, he had actually managed to stir her.
"Why did you kiss me so suddenly?" she whispered, her face flushed.
Ji Feng cleared his throat lightly, but his response seemed somewhat off-topic: "I don't like younger women."
Xu Miyu froze for a moment at his words, then broke into a smile, her cheeks turning even redder, like two streaks of radiant sunset after rain, charming and bright.
On the way back from the club, Xu Miyu sat with Ji Feng in the back of the car.
Ji Feng was a bit tired, resting his head against the seatback with his eyes closed.
Quietly, Xu Miyu took her compact out of her bag, opened it stealthily, and carefully examined the corners of her eyes in the small round mirror on the lid.
She looked left and right, smiling gently then broadly, trying to determine just how pronounced the fine lines around her eyes had become.
Suddenly, the compact was snatched from her hand, followed by a "snap" as it was shut, sealing the mirror away.
Ji Feng closed the compact and tossed it aside.
Xu Miyu exclaimed in protest, reaching out to retrieve it.
On the way, her hand was caught by Ji Feng's.
Her heart skipped a beat, and her hand grew still in his grasp.
Ji Feng held her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
Xu Miyu looked up at him.
He spoke to her: "Don't listen to Hu Yang's nonsense; his brain isn't fully developed." He sounded a bit annoyed, but Xu Miyu knew it wasn't directed at her—it was aimed at Hu Yang.
She gave him a determined smile and shook her head, assuring him, "Okay, I won't listen to his nonsense."
But after a pause, she couldn't help asking a silly question: "Tell me, since I'm half a year older than you, is that really a big gap? And will I look much older than I am now in five years?"
Ji Feng answered very seriously: "It's hard to say. Aging depends on genes, environment, mood, and experiences."Xu Miyu suddenly became serious. She didn't want to hear him reason earnestly; she just wanted to hear some comforting words from a man to a woman. So she continued pressing him: "Forget about those influencing factors and just talk about the outcome. What if five years from now, I've aged?"
Ji Feng looked at her, a hint of confusion between his brows, as if he didn't understand why she was being so insistent.
"If you age, then you age. Accept it—it's a normal law of nature. Can anyone really fight against the laws of nature?"
Xu Miyu still hadn't heard what she wanted to hear. Her heart felt suspended mid-air, unsettled and uncomfortable. This feeling, she thought, might be what they call a lack of security.
She tugged at Ji Feng's hand and asked again, "What if five years from now I've aged, but you haven't? Will you still like me then?"
Ji Feng chuckled. "Then I'd like to ask: if the situation were reversed, would you still like me five years from now?"
"Of course," Xu Miyu said resolutely.
Ji Feng shook his head with a smile. "Who can say for sure what will happen in five years? I don't even know what tomorrow will bring. So claiming with certainty that you'll still like me in five years, or that I'll still like you, is actually a false premise. But that's not important. What matters is that at this moment, I'm certain I like you, and you like me."
After saying this, he pulled Xu Miyu into his arms and kissed her.
Gradually, Xu Miyu lost herself in his tender kisses, letting go of her insistence.
Suddenly remembering the driver was in front, she quickly pushed Ji Feng away.
Blushing, she stole a glance in the rearview mirror. The driver wasn't looking at them; he was focused on driving, maintaining a detached professionalism.
Xu Miyu breathed a sigh of relief. Ji Feng picked up her powder compact from the seat and handed it back to her.
As she took it, he said to her, "Miyu, I hope you won't worry about things so far in the future, and then worry about the worries you've imagined."
Xu Miyu took the compact and clenched it tightly, sealing away the small mirror that reflected the traces of time. Then she nodded and said to Ji Feng with a smile, "Okay, I won't imagine future troubles anymore."
Ji Feng looked pleased. He held her hand and leaned back against the headrest, closing his eyes to rest.
Xu Miyu turned to look at his profile. The perfectly sculpted lines of his face made her feel dazed once again—how could she be so lucky to have such an excellent, wealthy, and handsome man as her boyfriend?
With this thought, a faint sense of melancholy gradually rose in her heart.
Although she had just promised him not to imagine future troubles, she couldn't help but continue her internal insistence: If only he could have comforted her earlier. If only he could have coaxed her and said, "Even if you age in five years, I'll still like you."Even if it were just to comfort her, it would have given her some sense of security.
Thinking this, Xu Miyu sighed silently.
But she quickly comforted herself. Who was he, after all? He was Ji Feng—a cold, aloof man who had never been in love before.
This was just who he was: he didn't make empty promises, didn't sweet-talk, and never said anything beyond objective facts.
Even if he was a bit clueless about romance and didn't understand what she wanted, it was still better than being with a smooth-talking man.
Comforting herself this way, Xu Miyu gradually made peace with the part of herself that had been so insistent.When the car was still two blocks away from the Sway Hotel, Xu Miyu said to the driver in front: "Excuse me, could you please pull over for me after this intersection?"
She wanted to get off there and walk back to the dormitory.
But Ji Feng opened his eyes and overruled her suggestion, saying to the driver: "Keep going, don't stop."
Then he looked back at Xu Miyu, his gaze deep and turbulent with desire and impulse.
"Come back to my place," he said, staring deeply into Xu Miyu's eyes, his voice slightly hoarse.
They encountered a red light at the intersection, and the car stopped waiting for the signal to turn green.
Hearing Ji Feng's words, Xu Miyu's cheeks instantly burned.
"If I go to your place, entering at night and leaving the next morning, people will speculate."
Ji Feng thought for a moment and said: "Then we won't go back to Sway. Let's go to the hotel above 'Night Encounter'."
Though he spoke perfectly normal words, he didn't conceal the underlying message that he wanted her tonight no matter what.
Xu Miyu's neck flushed red with heat.
"But recently Xue Rui has been going to 'Night Encounter' every day to pester Li Qiaoqi. They might go upstairs to get a room too. Wouldn't it be awkward if we accidentally ran into them?"
Ji Feng considered it - encountering subordinates at another hotel face to face... that would indeed be awkward.
This option wouldn't work, that option wouldn't work either. Just then the light turned green, and the driver asked for confirmation while driving through the intersection: "President Ji, Assistant Xu, should I pull over ahead or not?"
Growing somewhat frustrated, Ji Feng said: "Stop here."
The driver immediately turned on the signal and merged toward the roadside.
Finding an available parking area, the driver smoothly pulled over and stopped.
When Xu Miyu prepared to get out, Ji Feng grabbed her wrist, pulling her entire body back with the motion.
Xu Miyu looked at Ji Feng in surprise, thinking he had changed his mind and still wanted to return to the hotel or get a room above "Night Encounter".
"President Ji..." her voice carried a plea.
She didn't know why, but she felt particularly tired today. She wanted some quiet time alone, not to get a room with him.
Ji Feng looked into her eyes, seeming to understand her thoughts. He decided to let her go.
"I'll give you a day off tomorrow," Ji Feng spoke with some annoyance and displeasure. "I'll accompany you to find a place you like to rent, and the company will reimburse the rent. Move out of the dormitory as soon as possible."
Xu Miyu immediately shook her head: "Don't accompany me to find a place. You have a full schedule tomorrow. I'll look for a place myself. I can handle it, don't worry."
Seeing her determined expression and confirming her resolve not to have him accompany her, Ji Feng reluctantly agreed. Then he released her hand, finally letting her go.
After returning to the dormitory, Xu Miyu slept soundly. When she woke up, her mood was no longer gloomy and depressed. Following Ji Feng's suggestion, she took the day off to look for an apartment.
After spending the whole day viewing places with an agent, she finally found a reasonably satisfactory one by evening.
It was a furnished one-bedroom apartment, not too large but clean and tidy. The room had a large floor-to-ceiling window where sunlight poured in freely, illuminating the entire space brightly - just looking at it made one feel comfortable.
Xu Miyu signed the contract and paid the rent on the spot.
She used her own money, never considering having Ji Feng reimburse it. That would make her feel like she was being kept, turning her relationship with Ji Feng into a feeding-like subordinate relationship rather than an equal partnership between lovers.That evening she meticulously cleaned the apartment, knowing Ji Feng had high standards of cleanliness. She scrubbed every corner inside and out until it was spotless. The next day after work, she went out to purchase additional items—new bedsheets, a new comforter, new drinking glasses, and so on.
Over these two days, Ji Feng repeatedly offered to come see the apartment and suggested hiring a housekeeper to help with the cleaning, worried she might overexert herself. But she refused every time.
This little space where she might live for a long time to come—she wanted to personally clean and arrange every corner herself. She also worried that if the esteemed CEO Ji came over before everything was perfectly organized, he might feel uncomfortable, so she firmly forbade him from visiting early.
By the third day, everything was finally in order. She moved her belongings from the dormitory, officially completing her relocation.
That very night, Ji Feng could no longer restrain himself and rushed over to see her.
Pacing around the room, he complained incessantly: "How is it so small? Is there even enough space to turn around in this bathroom? This bedroom—it’s cramped for one person overnight. If two people stay, would one have to go stand in the corner as punishment?"
Xu Miyu hadn’t realized Ji Feng was so skilled at nitpicking. She couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
She nimbly moved around the room, demonstrating its spaciousness: "Where is it small? Look, look again—no matter where I stand, there’s plenty of space around me!"
Ji Feng pointed at her, almost gritting his teeth: "I agreed to let you rent a place yourself because I was worried if I rented one for you directly, you’d find it too expensive or luxurious and feel uncomfortable living there. But the place you chose is just too small!"
"If I’d known earlier, I really shouldn’t have let you handle it. I should’ve had Xue Rui find a place directly!" he grumbled indignantly.
Xu Miyu retorted, "How is it that small? The unit next door is the same size and houses a family of five—a couple, two children, and an elderly relative here to help with the kids. Our place only needs to accommodate two people at most. When you and I are in the bedroom, we still have a whole living room free! Where is it small?"
Seeing her so adamantly defending the apartment, Ji Feng suddenly couldn’t stay angry any longer and laughed.
He sat on the bed, patted the space beside him, and said to her, "Come here."
OpenNovel