"I didn't do anything."
Her voice was muffled.
"I just felt sorry for you. Boss, you went to the East Sea alone to fight a Level 98, came back covered in blood, and still pretended you were fine in front of me. If I didn't do something, I was afraid I'd burst."
Qing Linyun looked at her, tempted to laugh.
They were both thousand-year-old foxes, so why play at the tales of Liaozhai? Did he not know what she was thinking?
This is her feeling sorry for me? he thought. She's clearly trying to kill me.
"Come here."
"Huh?"
"I said, come here."
Ye Lingling hesitated, but shuffled over. Just as she crouched in front of him, Qing Linyun reached out and caught her chin.
Panic flashed across her eyes.
"Boss."
"You're twenty-five this year," Qing Linyun said evenly, "not five. What kind of skill is biting people?"
"Then will you teach me, boss?"
The moment the words left her mouth, Ye Lingling blushed. She lowered her head, too afraid to look at him, and twisted her skirt in both hands, her voice growing fainter. "That's not what I meant."
"That's exactly what you meant."
"I just missed you." Having said that, Ye Lingling decided to smash the cracked pot and raised her head. "While you were gone this past month and more, I could handle everything at the company. The cola distribution network was set up, and the Soul Spirit research was going smoothly too. But after all that was done, I'd go home and sit alone at night, and it always felt like something was missing."
"What was missing?"
"Someone for me to call boss."
Qing Linyun couldn't hold it in and laughed out loud.
"All right," he said. "I'll keep you company tonight, then."
Ye Lingling's eyes lit up, but she quickly suppressed it and put on a serious face. "You'd better keep your word, boss."
"Mm."
"But your injuries haven't healed yet, so you can't move around recklessly."
Qing Linyun opened his mouth, but said nothing.
"I know you want to say you're fine."
Ye Lingling stood and walked around behind him, resting both hands on his shoulders and her chin on top of his head. "Anyway, you're under my care tonight."
As she spoke, her fingers slid down the back of his neck, her fingertips cool as they traced a path to the edge of the bandage. She pressed it lightly. "Does it still hurt here?"
"No."
"Liar."
Qing Linyun said nothing.
"Boss." She lowered her voice, her lips almost touching his ear. "Is this hole in your shoulder because of me?"
Qing Linyun was taken aback. "What does it have to do with you?"
"Because I didn't go with you."
"If I'd been there," Ye Lingling said, "I could at least have taken a blade for you."
"You're a Support System cultivator. What blade would you take?"
"The Light Goddess Butterfly can fight too, you know."
"Besides," Ye Lingling protested, "even if I couldn't block it, I could still carry you and run."
Her words left Qing Linyun too amused to be annoyed. He raised a hand and flicked her forehead.
Cheesy sweet talk could be pretty effective sometimes.
"Ow!"
"Serves you right."
Ye Lingling covered her forehead, but her eyes had grown a little red.
She lowered her head, her voice muffled:
"Anyway, don't go out alone anymore. If you're going, you have to take me with you."
"We'll see."
"Boss!"
"All right, all right, I'll take you."
Only then was Ye Lingling satisfied. She crouched back down to adjust his bandages. As she worked, she suddenly spoke.
"Boss, does your promise to get me a right leg bone still stand?"
"Yes."
"Then get me one when you have time."
"Mm."
She said nothing more, but her hands slowed.
Qing Linyun looked down at her and saw that the tips of her ears were still red. Her eyelashes were lowered, blinking slowly.
He suddenly reached out and pulled her up.
Caught off guard, Ye Lingling fell into his arms, the impact sending a stab of pain through his shoulder. Qing Linyun hissed, and she hurriedly pushed herself up in alarm.
"Did I hurt you?"
"I'm fine."
"Don't scare me like that." As she spoke, she reached for his bandage.
"Ye Lingling."
"Mm?"
"Have you put on weight?"
"Qing Linyun!"
She swung a fist at him, but he caught her wrist. Qing Linyun looked down at her, a faint smile curving his lips. "All right, enough fooling around. Was the medicine for injuries made from your formula?"
"Mm, it's in mass production. We just need one final round of testing." With her wrist in his grip, Ye Lingling blushed again, and even her voice softened. "If you need it, I'll arrange it tomorrow."
"No need. Keep it for yourself."
"For me?"
"You're a Titled Douluo now, but what if something happens?"
Qing Linyun released her wrist. "Having an extra supply gives me peace of mind."
Ye Lingling stood there, stunned for quite a while, her nose prickling.
She said nothing. She walked over, picked up the cup of coffee on the coffee table, and handed it to him. "Then have a drink first, boss."
"Mm."
One sat and the other stood, while outside the window, Shrek City was ablaze with lights.
Ye Lingling packed up the medicine box and gathered the supplies, then turned to leave.
"Get some rest early, boss. I'm going back to the office to go over tomorrow's orders."
"Ye Lingling."
"Mm?"
"Come here."
Ye Lingling walked over, and before she had even steadied herself, he caught her wrist.
The world spun the next second. By the time she came to her senses, she had been pressed down on the desk.
Her back lay against the cold desktop, her black hair spread across it.
She stared wide-eyed at the young man leaning over her, her breathing suddenly unsteady.
"Boss," she said, her voice trembling, "didn't you say you wouldn't move around recklessly?"
"I didn't move." Qing Linyun looked down at her, close enough to count her eyelashes. "I just think I need to pay you back for that bite."
"Then how are you going to pay me back?"
Qing Linyun said nothing. He lowered his head and bit the skin above her collarbone, neither too hard nor too lightly.
Ye Lingling went rigid, her ears burning red all the way down to the base of her neck.
She bit her lip hard, keeping herself from making a sound.
"Now we're even." Qing Linyun released her and straightened up, his expression as normal as ever. "Go on, get back to work."
Ye Lingling lay on the desk, her chest heaving. It took her quite a while to find her voice. "You're being a pervert."
"You bit me first."
"I did that because I felt sorry for you."
"And I'm returning the favor."
Ye Lingling was too angry to speak, but there was nothing she could do about him. She pushed herself up on the desk, her hair disheveled and her face like a ripe apple.
She straightened her collar, shot him a glare, and turned to leave, only to stop at the door.
"Boss."
"Mm?"
"Will you bite me again tomorrow?"
Qing Linyun couldn't help laughing. "That depends on your performance."
"Hmph."
The door closed.
Her footsteps receded, then drew near again.
After a while, the door opened a crack. Ye Lingling poked half her head in, her face still red, and tossed out a sentence before pulling back:
"I still missed you."
The office fell quiet. Qing Linyun looked down at the bandage over his shoulder blade, then out at the night over Shrek. A smile involuntarily curved his lips.
This seemed pretty good too.