Jiang Jingyu gave the woman five hundred yuan, and she offered them the best room in her home.
She changed the bedsheets and duvet covers in front of them.
After the woman left, Jiang Jingyu asked Lu Jiaying to take off her wet clothes and go to the bathroom to wash up quickly. Lu Jiaying refused.
Although the ice between her and Jiang Jingyu had broken, and they understood each other's feelings, she still couldn't be completely open with him.
"But you can't keep wearing wet clothes. Don't worry, I won't look. You go in first, and I'll find the landlady to get you a clean set of clothes."
Lu Jiaying finally entered the bathroom.
Jiang Jingyu gave the landlady another two hundred yuan and borrowed a clean dress from her. He also borrowed a large bath towel to wrap the child in. They took turns showering.
They were exhausted.
After washing up and coming out, Jiang Jingyu saw Lu Jiaying sitting by the bed fiddling with her wet phone. He advised her to lie down on the bed for a while.
Lu Jiaying regretfully used tissues to absorb water from her phone.
"I forgot about my phone and computer when I jumped. Both our phones are broken. What if the company has something urgent?"
Outside, lightning flashed and thunder roared, with rain pouring down. They finally found a place to shelter, so why worry about company matters?
Jiang Jingyu pulled her down to lie down and held her in his arms.
"Don't worry, the sky won't fall. Even if it does, my uncle will hold it up. Just consider this a day off for yourself, nothing will go wrong."
"You've been out in the rain for so long, be careful not to catch a cold. I'll warm you up."
It felt comfortable for the two of them to snuggle together. Not only did their body temperature quickly return to normal, but it even exceeded the usual.
Lu Jiaying was pure-hearted. As she lay there, she was so tired that she was about to fall asleep.
Jiang Jingyu looked at her fair and tender face, her beautiful eyelashes like a dense fan, and his breathing grew heavier.
He was holding her too tightly. Lu Jiaying felt uncomfortable lying down for a long time and wanted to turn over and loosen up.
Moreover, she felt something poking her uncomfortably.
She opened her hazy eyes and mumbled to him, but was startled by Jiang Jingyu's clear, wolf-like gaze.
"Didn't you say we were going to sleep? Why are your eyes so wide open? Why are you staring at me?"
Jiang Jingyu's throat tightened. "Lu Jiaying, if I said I don't just want to sleep, would you agree?"
"What do you mean?"
"Exactly what you're thinking."
"But I'm not thinking anything. The only thing I'm thinking is that I'm very sleepy and I want to sleep."
Jiang Jingyu was speechless.
She was so grown up, and had even reached the position of department director at such a large company as Gray Electric. How could she be so naive about certain things?
Jiang Jingyu could only prompt her, "If you sleep now, what will you sleep at night? Let's chat."
Lu Jiaying's sleepiness vanished, scared away by him. She pushed him.
"Okay. But you have to loosen your grip a bit. You're holding me so tightly, I'm tired."
She moved back a little, no longer feeling the poking. "What shall we talk about? You tell me."
The two looked at each other. Jiang Jingyu said, "Actually, I've always been curious about one thing. You're so beautiful, and you're this old. Have you really never been in love?"
Lu Jiaying's face fell, and she kicked him in the foot.
"What do you mean? Are you saying I'm old, or are you doubting me?"
"No, no, how could I possibly dislike you? I only have affection for you. I'm just curious. Surely many people have pursued you, how did you resist temptation?"
For Lu Jiaying, this was not temptation at all.
Melody had sponsored her during college. She owed a debt of gratitude and only wanted to graduate and repay it quickly. She had no time for romance.
Jiang Jingyu was very satisfied with her answer.
"Heaven failed you during your student days, so now it has sent me to compensate you. Everyone must experience romance at least once in their life. You have to properly fall in love with me from now on."
Indeed, it felt somewhat like that.
Looking at the young and handsome him, Lu Jiaying felt he was better than any suitor she had encountered in her student days.
It was good that she hadn't given herself away carelessly back then.
"Then I'll ask you a question too."
"Ask whatever you want."
"What if President Zhan and the others find out and can't accept it..."
"Impossible. My parents aren't like that. Neither are my aunt and uncle."
Jiang Jingyu was confident.
"My aunt is also a few years older than my uncle. And when she was young, she didn't think much of him at all. It was my uncle who relentlessly pursued her. They've experienced much more than we have, so they'll understand."
"What about President Hu? He always seems very serious. I'm a bit afraid of him."
"My uncle is indeed quite serious. But I heard that his story with my aunt is also quite romantic, and it was hard-won... In short, you don't need to worry. None of my family members are old-fashioned conservatives, so no one will object."
However, Lu Jiaying couldn't help but overthink.
"I'm saying, what if, what if someone objects?"
Jiang Jingyu flicked her nose.
"Even if my parents don't agree, I'm not afraid. Although I'm not very old, I've already saved enough basic startup capital."
"I've always had a dream of starting my own network technology company. I haven't pursued it out of consideration for my parents' feelings."
"If they really push me too far, we'll go out and start our own. With your and my talents, why worry about not making a living?"
Lu Jiaying let out a giggle, amused by him.
Although Jiang Jingyu was not as old as many men, his attitude when facing problems made her feel secure.
She liked him more and more.
She couldn't help but move closer to him again and hugged his neck tightly.
"I never imagined I'd have anything with you in this life. Jiang Jingyu, you're too cute, you know that?"
Jiang Jingyu lowered his head and nuzzled her nose. Because she wrapped her arms around his neck, he was instantly aroused again.
"Who calls a man cute, especially me? It sounds like you're complimenting me, but I don't like hearing it."
"Then what do you like to hear?"
He whispered something in Lu Jiaying's ear, and her ears immediately turned red.
"Shameless. Where did you learn all this?"
"It's not the first time anyway. Shall we not be so coy? Let me teach you too."
Newly in love couples always have endless passion. The two chatted and laughed, slept and woke, without eating or drinking, and stayed in bed like that until the next morning.
The rain finally stopped, their clothes were dry, and with the help of the woman, they managed to get a motorcycle and finally returned to the pier.
Since Li Guohua would be back soon anyway, there was no point in going to the island now. They decided to wait for him at the hotel for a day.
It was like a small vacation for the two of them. Work wasn't busy, they had no worries, and they had just confirmed their relationship.
Chatting, laughing, playfully bickering, they lingered at the hotel for another day.
The next evening, before going to bed, Lu Jiaying said that the vacation was over.
"Starting tomorrow, I need to work seriously. Don't keep dragging me out to play."