Chapter 187: Chapter 187: Do You Just Want Me Directly?

Jing Jihan always has a calming presence, a peculiar sense of safety.

It’s as if even if the sky were to fall, with just a glance from him, everything would be resolved smoothly, and all matters would just pass by unheeded.

... If only Shi Su’s heartbeat wasn’t so fast right now, everything would be fine.

Her irregular heartbeat is definitely because even from this deadly angle, he’s still so excessively handsome, it’s truly too much!

After staring at each other for about twenty seconds, Shi Su suddenly snapped back to reality, using Jing Jihan’s legs for support to quickly sit up. Sitting upright and properly next to him, as if nothing had happened just now.

Shi Su noticed the car drove straight into the underground parking lot of Kaixing Mansion. Before getting out of the car, she said, "Since you’ve already brought me here, if you two don’t mind, why not come to my place for a meal? Although it’s just a home-cooked meal, Mrs. Qin’s cooking is a hundred times better than mine, definitely worth a try."

Lu Zhao, at the driver’s seat, immediately replied, "I need to go back to the company for overtime, so I can’t go."

Shi Su immediately turned her eyes to Lu Zhao, but her voice was directed at Jing Jihan, "What time is it now, what kind of boss would exploit employee labor like this? You can have dinner and then go back to work overtime!"

Lu Zhao: "Thank you, Miss Shi Su, but there’s really no need to be so courteous."

"It’s not that I’m being courteous, if it weren’t for the lawyer you hired to defend and bail me at the police station, I might have spent the night there with that person. I really owe you a lot today." Shi Su was sincerely grateful.

"The lawyer was hired by Mr. Jing, I was just the middleman." Lu Zhao chuckled lightly, "I really do need to get back to the office, I left in a hurry this afternoon and still have a lot of unfinished work."

Shi Su was sensible, not making it hard for him: "Then I won’t delay your work, how about treating you to a meal some other day?"

Inviting someone for a meal should just mean a meal, but why add the word ’alone’...

Lu Zhao: ... Miss Shi Su, I hold no grudge against you, why must you torment me so?

Lu Zhao, filled with a desire to survive, quickly said, "Let’s forget the meal, Miss Shi Su, how about you plead with Mr. Jing to grant me a double weekend off this week instead?"

Upon hearing this, Shi Su raised an eyebrow, turning her eyes to the man who, despite his silence, had a strong presence.

After a brief silence, Jing Jihan glanced in Lu Zhao’s direction, Lu Zhao met his boss’s clear gaze in the rearview mirror and coughed, "I was just speaking off the cuff."

Jing Jihan simply replied with two words, "Approved."

Feeling relieved as the crisis Shi Su almost caused with a metaphorical knife to his neck finally lifted, Lu Zhao instantly felt at ease but still offered polite words, "Thank you, Mr. Jing, thank you, Miss Shi Su."

Jing Jihan maintained his stoic nature, coldly responding with a mere, "Mm."

Shi Su, smiling sweetly, continued, "Alright then, Mr. Lu has things to attend to today, so Mr. Jing, you should also..."

Just head home yourself.

Jing Jihan: "Miss Shi Su’s invitation is so warm, I’ll reluctantly take a taste."

Shi Su: "..."

She turned her gaze to the man seated with her in the back seat of the car, facing him in the dark, unlit cabin.

One second, two seconds, three seconds.

Jing Jihan maintained a correct posture, his eyes impassively, yet right at the moment Shi Su intended to fully express that they should head home separately, he said with a subtle hint of amusement, "Not welcome?"

"Welcome, welcome, very welcome, Mr. Jing’s presence, how could it be unwelcome!"

With Jing Jihan being an old pro at getting free meals, she dared not be unwelcoming!

Shi Su laughed heartily as she got out of the car, waving warmly yet politely to Lu Zhao in the driver’s seat, still muttering about arranging a meeting for another day. As Jing Jihan also got out of the car, Lu Zhao made a quick getaway.

Waiting for the elevator in the underground parking, Shi Su pressed the elevator button and then stepped back to stand beside Jing Jihan, watching the descending numbers in front while asking:

"Lu Zhao drove away, is your place very close to Kaixing Mansion? It’s so late, how will you get back later?"

Jing Jihan: "Very close."

Shi Su understood and didn’t ask further.

She had noticed the other residential areas around Kaixing Mansion just now; the other apartments in the vicinity also seemed quite nice. Assuming he owns several properties around here, he could easily stay wherever he wanted.

"Would you rent Kaixing Mansion to me, then? I’ve been living here for a while, Mianmian’s kindergarten is also temporarily stabilized around here, so there won’t be any changes. I’d like to avoid moving frequently, as it’s hard for children to adapt."

Shi Su started rambling in an effort to secure her right to stay—

"If you’re still considering the hundredfold repayment matter, and don’t intend to charge me rent, let’s compromise: I won’t pay rent for this year. But if I stay here for free indefinitely, it doesn’t sit well with me, I can’t feel at ease. Now it’s October, let me pay rent from January next year, directly renting for a year, would that work?"

Jing Jihan replied calmly, "Whether you pay or not, I won’t collect it, feel at ease living here."

Hearing this, Shi Su turned to face him, "Even though the matter is already past for me, I really must bring it up this time. You don’t need to let me demand anything just because I once saved you. Are you planning to let us mother and daughter exploit you without limits? Though it’s easy for you, what about your principles, Mr. Jing?"

Jing Jihan replied openly, "Wanting to be good to you, does it require principles?"

Shi Su was taken aback by his abrupt response, her ears heating up, her mind flustered, voice stuck in her throat before finally coming out, "I’m, uh... At least I can understand a bit, but if it continues, wouldn’t Shi Mianmian be spoiled by you? Children in the early stages of understanding life and materials need a good environment. For instance, self-reliance, not casually taking advantage of others, and..."

She was clearly expressing her belief in defining boundaries, that there shouldn’t be any ambiguous connection between them.

Jing Jihan: "Your life is yours, no money, no cards, no apartment, do you just want me personally?"

"....."

Shi Su was utterly speechless, unable to find the right words to retort when the elevator doors opened.

Jing Jihan didn’t waste words, directly avoiding her bandaged wrist, grasped her arm, and led her into the elevator—

Shi Su, upon entering the elevator, was silent for quite some time.

Her mind was buzzing with his previous words: Your life is yours... do you just want me personally?

It’s not like that!

I don’t mean that!

Yet the words kept echoing in her mind.

Even when the elevator stopped at the thirty-first floor, she hadn’t managed to brush the phrase from her mind.

Luckily, Jing Jihan knew when to stop, not continuing to assault her currently overwhelmed brain, but instead like carrying a chick, gently leading the still dazed Shi Su out of the elevator.