Chapter 8
Jiang Shangwan attributed these slightly improper thoughts that popped up to the fact that she hadn’t been in a relationship for too long and hadn’t experienced physical contact in a long time.
In recent years, even the idea of having fun rarely crossed her mind. When she was younger, there were young actors and models who came to entertain her, and she more or less entertained some playful thoughts. But as she grew older, fewer and fewer things could spark her interest.
Jiang Shangwan took out her phone and scrolled down to the chat window with the pure black avatar. The message still stopped at the last time she revealed her identity, to which the other party replied after a long pause—
So it turns out Miss Jiang, your name is so beautiful.
At that time, she didn’t respond to that message. Only later did she feel it was a bit strange, as if he already knew who she was all along.
Jiang Shangwan rubbed her somewhat sore temple. She felt a bit ridiculous—this kid had just started his freshman year of college, barely past 18 years old, and these secret thoughts she had were truly dirty.
And he was a student she had personally sponsored.
After a moment of hesitation, Jiang Shangwan nervously opened a VPN app, then hesitated again before opening a website starting with “P,” and searched for “male college student.”
Soon, pale bodies like snowflakes floated across the screen. The entire page was full of uncensored images. Although all the bodies were strong and good-looking, Jiang Shangwan felt somewhat nauseated. A strong sense of discomfort hit her brain’s cortex, wiping away even the faint stirrings in her heart.
Frowning, she closed the website. Her moral sense regained full control of her reason. She clicked back to the chat window and changed the note to: Student Shi Yu.
Soon, she felt it was still not quite right. With a flick of her finger, she changed it again to: Shi Yu, the sponsored student from Haidi High School.
The next day, Jiang Shangwan tidied her appearance and restored her best condition. She caught the earliest flight and started another round of business trips. These small incidents couldn’t stop the mechanical routine of her life.
In the blink of an eye, it was already the second semester of Jiang University’s freshman year. Jiang University’s first-year coursework wasn’t heavy, on the contrary, it was quite easy for Shi Yu.
After graduating from high school, he left his hometown and rented a small place in the city, trying one-on-one tutoring. Thanks to his shining reputation as a top ten provincial scorer on the college entrance exam, he quickly earned his first bucket of gold—tens of thousands of yuan.
After enrolling at Jiang University, he quit tutoring and organized a group of students from Jiang University to set up a small tutoring agency. He didn’t even have to teach—just taking commissions earned him a fairly stable income, leaving plenty of free time.
So Shi Yu interned at Jiang Group for a long time, but the times he actually ran into Jiang Shangwan were very few. Jiang Shangwan was literally a “flying person”—she traveled on business and stayed at hotels far more often than she stayed at home. The same was true for her time spent at the company.
The few times they met were all in the first-floor café. Jiang Shangwan seemed to like buying iced Americanos to refresh herself when resting or tired. The first time he saw her, in fact, he had been wandering on the first floor for a long time until he saw that man, dressed up like a model, approaching her.
The man’s clothes were very refined—his shirt and dress pants were made of carefully selected silky material, clearly expensive at first glance. His figure was not gaunt but toned with muscles from years of working out. His manner of speaking gave the impression that he was very familiar with her. He carried an aura of effortless elite sophistication. The two of them standing together seemed like they belonged to a different dimension, as if they were the only ones truly inhabiting the same world.
Shi Yu disliked it very much, even feeling a bit jealous of how well their appearances matched.
He chose to interrupt that man’s subtle advances.
The next few times they met by chance, it was only a simple nod of greeting. Jiang Shangwan was indifferent toward him but occasionally asked about his studies out of a sense of caring for a junior.
Shi Yu noticed she had the habit of leaving work late. She would wait until everyone else had left before slowly leaving herself. She was often the last to leave the company, but generally never stayed past 8 o’clock.
So when the president’s office was still brightly lit at 8:30 p.m. that night, Shi Yu realized something seemed off.
—
Jiang Shangwan felt dizzy and heavy-headed. A strong discomfort settled in her abdomen. A deep resistance hidden in her nerves churned in her stomach, making her whole body weak and sore. She could only feel sharp, stabbing pain, like needles pricking her.
She pressed her hand against her stomach and opened the desk drawer, only to find it empty. Her heart sank. Not long ago, the quality inspection department had come and cleared out everything during a thorough cleaning.
Including the stomach medicine and painkillers she had kept in the drawer for years.
Jiang Shangwan’s stomach was not good. Frequent business trips disrupted her diet, and her eating habits were poor—she liked spicy food, cold food, and raw food. So when her stomach acted up, the reaction was intense.
That night she had eaten extremely spicy Hunan cuisine, and coupled with a recent lack of rest, this stomach pain struck fiercely. She had also forgotten to bring any spare medicine in her bag.
When feeling well, she always took it lightly, only in pain did she realize the importance of being prepared.
Cold sweat slid down Jiang Shangwan’s forehead. Her bangs were already soaked with sweat, trembling as they stuck to her face. Looking a bit miserable, she gritted her teeth and reached for her phone to call her assistant to bring her medicine.
Her pale fingers struggled to scroll through the contact list. For the first time, she realized how far the “Z” section was—no matter how much she scrolled, it seemed endless.
The intense pain was making her vision darken. Just as she thought she might faint, there came three polite, tentative knocks on the door.
It was like a drowning person hearing the sound of a life-saving straw.
“Who is it…” Jiang Shangwan barely had the strength to speak. Her voice was a faint, desperate whimper, like a wounded fawn crying softly.
“Hello, Miss Jiang, this is Shi Yu. I saw your light was still on and wondered if something was wrong. Is there anything I can help you with?”
Shi Yu’s clear and pleasant voice came through the door. His tone was low but especially trustworthy.
He stood politely outside the door, only moving closer to the crack.
Jiang Shangwan forced herself to raise her voice and grit her teeth, saying, “Come in quickly…”
When Shi Yu pushed the door open, this was the scene he saw: Jiang Shangwan slumped in her chair, clutching her abdomen tightly with her hands. Her high heels were carelessly kicked off, revealing her two pale feet curled up tightly.
Her complexion was frighteningly pale. Even her thin lips, painted with lip tint, had almost lost all color. Her forehead was covered in cold sweat, revealing the intense pain her body had just endured.
His pupils immediately constricted sharply.
Taking a big step forward, he quickly took off his jacket and wrapped it around her body. Then, cautiously, he half-supported her through the clothes, holding up her almost collapsing body. Frowning, he asked, “What’s going on? Is it menstrual pain or something else?”
“Stomach… hurts,” Jiang Shangwan leaned against his chest and spoke with difficulty. Through the thin fabric of his shirt, she could feel his heart beating strongly and his warm breath as he exhaled.
“I’ll take you to the hospital.”
Shi Yu quickly called for an ambulance, then went to the water dispenser to get a cup of warm water and fed it to her like feeding a baby.
Jiang Shangwan took deep breaths to ease the pain, passively following his movements like a compliant cat. He wrapped her in his arms, supporting her body with one hand while using the other to scoop water. She slightly opened her mouth and took small sips from the spoon, which seemed to relieve some of the discomfort.
“There’s no ginger tea, so we’ll use warm water to ease it for now. Are you feeling a bit better? It’ll still take some time for the ambulance to arrive.”
Without waiting for her reply, after the warm water was gone, Shi Yu put down the silver spoon and quietly asked, “Do you trust me?”
At this moment, Jiang Shangwan did feel much better. The intense spasms and cramps in her stomach were easing. Although still painful, her mind was no longer clouded by the pain and gradually cleared. She also became aware of how close they were to each other.
Their eyes met. Jiang Shangwan looked into his deep dark eyes and pupils. Like being gently coaxed, she instinctively nodded.
Shi Yu’s large hand then reached—unhindered in her sight—under the thick jacket covering her body, extending downward.
Until it precisely found the spot on her stomach, the big hand gently massaged and pressed with just the right amount of pressure, circling again and again.
Jiang Shangwan was a little stunned. Her ears trembled slightly, flushing with an unusual blush. Just inches away were his lowered, comforting eyes, and her private abdomen pressed tightly against the man’s large yet warm palm.
Jiang Shangwan suddenly gave up all resistance, turning her face fully into his chest. With her sight lost, all her other senses became sharper and clearer. The sensation surged like tides coming from all directions. She felt like a drowning person, desperately swimming upward, chasing the thin air.
Cold sweat dampened Shi Yu’s shirt. With the steady rhythm of his massage, her pain gradually lessened. The hardest moments finally passed, and the warm water she drank earlier played a crucial role in easing the pain.
When the ambulance arrived with its beeping siren, Jiang Shangwan pushed herself away from Shi Yu using her arms. Her hair was more than half soaked with sweat, her dress was wrinkled and disheveled, and her shoes were tossed aside messily — a stark contrast to her usual meticulous and refined self, she looked utterly disheveled.
Seemingly sensing her intention, Shi Yu suddenly pulled out a mask from somewhere and handed it to her, then draped his jacket over her shoulders.
“Thank you.” After putting on the mask, she finally felt a rare moment of relief.
The ambulance took Jiang Shangwan to the nearest provincial people’s hospital. Shi Yu accompanied her into the vehicle. Since they separated, the two had been in long silence.
At the hospital, she was first given an IV and an anti-inflammatory injection. The doctor prescribed two pills to protect the stomach lining and said they would observe her condition further, then asked:
“Do you usually eat regular meals?”
“No, irregular.”
“Do you stay up late or have poor rest?”
“Stay up late, poor rest.”
“Do you like eating cold or spicy food?”
“Yes.”
“What did you eat today?”
“Spicy Hunan cuisine for dinner.”
The doctor gave an exasperated look toward the ceiling, then scribbled swiftly on the prescription pad with a pen: “Young lady, with these habits, it’s no wonder your stomach hurts so much.”
Jiang Shangwan remained silent, unsure whether to feel pleased being called a “young lady” at over thirty or embarrassed by the doctor’s blunt sarcastic tone.