Chapter 18: Rubbing the Belly

Xu An’an had no other choice; under no circumstances could she let Jiang Li see her in this state. She had to quietly follow behind him like a little tail.

Two shadows stretched across the ground, sometimes overlapping, sometimes separating.

Suddenly playful, Xu An’an began to step on Jiang Li’s shadow with each footfall. In her mind, a scene flashed by: a little girl with two braids chasing after a young man in a white shirt.

She called out sweetly, “Big brother, I stepped on you!”

“Big brother, why are you so handsome?”

“When I grow up, I want to be your wife, so you can’t marry anyone else! If you do, I’ll ignore you for the rest of my life!”

Xu An’an couldn’t help but chuckle softly. She couldn’t remember which idol drama this was from—probably a childhood flashback of the male and female leads.

But why was she thinking about this now?

“We’re here.”

Jiang Li entered the front door code right in front of her.

Xu An’an raised her brows. He really wasn’t on guard at all—such a generous spirit.

Once inside, Jiang Li pointed out the location of the bathroom. “Wear my bathrobe for now. Tomorrow, I’ll have someone bring you some clothes.”

“Thank you.” Xu An’an hurried eagerly into the bathroom.

But as soon as she undressed, she was dumbfounded—her period had arrived at just this moment!

Click.

Jiang Li had been heading back to his study, but didn’t expect the bathroom door to open so quickly. He turned around, his lips curving in a faint, seductive smile that carried a dangerous charm.

“What is it, want to shower together?”

“No!” Xu An’an hid behind the door, her delicate face flushing. “Could you help me go downstairs to buy some sanitary pads?”

Jiang Li said nothing, simply heading toward the door.

Xu An’an had also wanted to ask him to buy some disposable underwear, but she held back, afraid she was already asking too much.

She’d just wash the ones she had and dry them with the hairdryer.

When the underwear was about half dry, she heard a knock on the door. Wrapping herself in a towel, she hurried over and found Jiang Li holding a large bag.

“So many?”

“Take them.”

Noticing the suspicious blush on Jiang Li’s handsome face, Xu An’an couldn’t help but wonder if he’d been stared at while buying the pads.

It really was a bit much to send a grown man to buy women’s products.

She thanked him again. “Second Master Jiang, you’re a good person.”

Jiang Li’s lips twitched as he turned and walked away.

Xu An’an opened the bag.

Inside were sanitary pads from over a dozen different brands—and several boxes of disposable underwear.

In the study, Jiang Li called his assistant.

“How are things progressing?”

“Everything’s arranged. News will break first thing tomorrow morning.” The assistant paused. “You asked me to investigate Dr. Wang. I found that last weekend he met Mrs. Xu at a café, but I haven’t figured out what they discussed.”

“We also checked Dr. Wang’s accounts. There are no suspicious transactions—everything appears normal.”

Jiang Li stood before the floor-to-ceiling window.

His eyes were deep and dark, his features almost excessively refined and handsome. Stray locks of hair cast shadows across his brow, accentuating the depth of his gaze.

After finishing his instructions, Jiang Li hung up.

He returned to the master bedroom to shower.

But something made him turn back out. He found Xu An’an curled up on the sofa, looking pale, and hurried over.

“What’s wrong?”

Xu An’an, half-asleep, opened her eyes. If not for the pain in her abdomen, she would have been fast asleep already. Rubbing her stomach, she sighed, “It hurts.”

“You’ll probably never understand this in your life.”

Jiang Li didn’t argue. He went into the kitchen and prepared ginger tea with brown sugar. “Drink this.”

That was exactly what Xu An’an needed most—a warm mug of sweet ginger tea. She struggled to sit up, the oversized bathrobe slipping to reveal her smooth, fair shoulder.

Catching a glimpse of this, Jiang Li reached out and pulled her closer.

He let her lean against him and fed her the ginger tea.

Wrapped in warmth, Xu An’an felt much better. She nestled languidly in his arms, breathing in the faint scent of pine that clung to him.

How comfortable.

Jiang Li’s gaze grew even deeper.

Just as she was drifting off, the pain in her abdomen woke her again. At some point, she’d ended up in bed with Jiang Li in the master bedroom.

“Does it hurt a lot?”

The man’s voice was husky.

A large hand slipped inside her bathrobe.

Thinking Jiang Li was about to do something, Xu An’an quickly protested, “Are you out of your mind? I’m on my period! Unless you want to run a red light.”

“Is your head filled with nothing but lewd thoughts?” Jiang Li clicked his tongue.

Who was the one with all the dirty thoughts, really?

Xu An’an was about to retort when she realized his hand had simply settled on her stomach, gently massaging it.

The pain eased almost immediately.

She felt a surge of warmth in her heart, though she was also a bit jealous.

“Didn’t expect you to be so experienced, Second Master Jiang. I suppose you’ve massaged plenty of girlfriends’ or lovers’ stomachs before?”

“Take a guess.”

“Do you think I will?”

“I guess if you don’t sleep now, you won’t be getting up tomorrow.” Jiang Li yawned, but his hand never slowed.

Xu An’an hurried to close her eyes.

She had to get to the hospital before Shen Ying; otherwise, Shen Ying would have another excuse to make trouble for her.

The next morning, Xu An’an woke to find Jiang Li’s hand still unconsciously massaging her stomach while he slept—a purely instinctive gesture.

She suddenly felt conflicted.

He was supposedly a notorious playboy, yet he could be so thoughtful and gentle. Perhaps that was what people meant when they said he treated every woman with sincerity—but only to a certain extent.

Not wanting to wake him, Xu An’an carefully tried to slip away.

Yet the moment she moved, Jiang Li pulled her back possessively, murmuring, “Don’t go.”

She leaned over. “Jiang Li? Second Master Jiang?”

Was he really so deeply asleep, yet still holding her so tightly?

She just couldn’t believe it.

“Enough pretending, I really have to get up now.”

She waited for a while, but got no response. Xu An’an couldn’t tell if he was truly asleep or just toying with her.

With no other choice, she tried waking him.

Then she heard him mumble, “Kiss me.”

Xu An’an, full of questions, closed her eyes and leaned in, only to be held back by the forehead—firmly kept at a distance.

Opening her eyes, she found herself staring into Jiang Li’s sleepy gaze.

“Little wolf, what were you trying to do just now?”

“You’re the one who asked for a kiss!” Xu An’an was exasperated. She broke free from his embrace and sat on the edge of the bed, her face full of disdain. “You act like I’m harassing you!”

Remembering his dream, Jiang Li coughed lightly into his fist.

In his dream, Xu An’an had been a completely different person—tender and gentle…

He turned, nearly bumping right into Xu An’an!