Chapter 45: Su Qingge Joins the Fray, Jiang Chen Faces a 1v3
(The content has been heavily revised. Everyone understands what happened, and I really couldn't post it.)
A scent mixing the mellowness of fine red wine, a faint fruity aroma, and the unique warm breath of the two women rushed toward them.
The lights in the cab were dimmed to an ambiguous warm orange, creating a sharp contrast with the cold, snowy color reflecting in from outside the window.
In the cramped space, although the atmosphere was crowded, it exuded an indescribable sense of peace and warmth.
On the wide berth behind the driver's seat, originally a comfort for long-haul drivers during tedious journeys, it was now packed with soft pillows and blankets, becoming a gentle haven to escape the wind and snow.
Hearing the door open, the three people turned their heads simultaneously.
Six pairs of eyes fell upon Su Qingge.
"CEO Su."
Jiang Chen swayed half a glass of red wine in his hand, leaning against the innermost side. His gaze was deep and playful. He patted the small remaining space beside him. "It's cold in the back. Why don't you come in and warm up? It's a bit tight, but it has the advantage of being lively."
Su Qingge looked at him.
There was not a trace of embarrassment in those eyes, only a composure and tolerance that suggested he was in control of everything.
He was telling her: There was no high and mighty CEO Su here, only women who needed his protection.
"I came to..."
Su Qingge opened her mouth, her voice slightly dry. Make an excuse? In front of this man's eyes, which seemed capable of piercing the human heart, any excuse would appear pale and powerless.
Chen Man leaned lazily against Jiang Chen's shoulder, holding a deck of playing cards, smiling like a sly fox: "CEO Su, don't hold out. Sister Wan said the same thing when she came in just now, saying she was coming in to get water. And what happened? She's been here for an hour, and we've already played three rounds of cards."
Lin Wan's face flushed bright red. She buried her head lower in embarrassment, busy peeling an orange for Jiang Chen. Her voice was as faint as a mosquito's whine: "Manman, say less..."
This scene deeply stimulated Su Qingge.
The sense of loneliness from being excluded was more biting than the blizzard outside. Yet, the scene before her possessed a strange harmony, as if they were people from the same world.
She took a deep breath, as if letting go of a thousand-pound burden.
She raised her hand, removed the gold-rimmed glasses symbolizing reason and restraint from the bridge of her nose, and casually placed them on the center console beside her.
Without the obstruction of the lenses, those eyes, usually filled with scrutiny and sharpness, now held only the fatigue and longing of shimmering water.
"Since the investor requires it..."
Su Qingge kicked off her high heels, unbuttoned the topmost tight button of her shirt collar, and stepped into that narrow yet scorching space. "Then I have no reason to refuse."
The car door slowly closed behind her.
Completely isolating the coldness and loneliness of the rear compartment.
The berth wasn't large; squeezing four people in made it exceptionally crowded.
"Now, everyone is here."
Jiang Chen casually pulled a blanket over her legs, his tone as natural as greeting a family member returning home. "CEO Su, do you know how to play cards? There are penalties for losing."
Su Qingge paused slightly, her body gradually relaxing. She leaned back against the soft cushion, a rare, slight smile curving her lipsāone without any commercial calculation.
"In this area, I might not lose to you."
"Is that so? Then I shall wait and see."
Jiang Chen smiled.
Beside them, Chen Man made a little space for her. Although her words were sharp, her actions were honest: "CEO Su, your skin is really smooth. You must take good care of it. Come over a bit, don't fall off. This vehicle is stable, but it's still a car."
"No need for you to worry."
Su Qingge shot her an annoyed look but didn't push away Chen Man's leaning shoulder.
"Everyone is tired, stop fooling around."
Lin Wan gently broke the peeled orange in half and offered it to Su Qingge. "Qingge, have something to eat. It's... really warm in here."
It was indeed warm.
The blizzard outside was still raging, the strong winds whipping snowflakes against the windows with a 'pitter-patter' sound, like the roar of another world.
But inside this black knight, equipped with top-tier soundproofing and heating systems, it was like a summer afternoon. No forced compliments, no deceit, just a simple card game and occasional bursts of laughter.
Su Qingge felt the tension that had gripped her nerves all the way slowly dissolving.
In this sealed safe house, status, position, debt, and the futureāthose mountains pressing down on her until she couldn't breatheānone of it mattered anymore.
What mattered was the present temperature.
It was their intertwined breaths.
It was the ultimate tranquility of several people huddling together for warmth after being in a desperate blizzard.
After an unknown amount of time, the card game ended, and everyone felt drowsy.
"Jiang Chen..."
Su Qingge subconsciously wrapped her arm around his, gently resting her head in the hollow of his neck. This was her most relaxed moment tonight, having let down all her defenses.
It was a posture of complete trust.
"Stop calling me CEO Su anymore."
"Call me... Qingge."
Jiang Chen turned his head, looking at the woman beside him who had finally shed her armor. He didn't make any excessive moves, just gently smoothed the stray hair near her ear.
"Okay, Qingge."
Without many words, the four of them were crammed into that small space.
The red ambient light flowed.
The vehicle body still swayed slightly to the rhythm of the wind and snow, like the only Noah's Ark in the storm.
The night was as dark as ink.
Only the reflective road markers occasionally flashing by the sides of the national highway proved that the car was still moving.
In the berth space behind the cab, the air was warm and quiet. That unique smell, mixed with the lingering scent of several shampoos and perfumes, had fermented into a comforting aroma that induced drowsiness.
The car windows had long been covered with a thick layer of condensation.
Su Qingge felt like a fish that had finally swum back to the ocean, breathing deeply the atmosphere belonging to this small group.
It was too crowded.
But it was also too fulfilling.
This sense of security didn't come from the numbers in a bank account, but from the protection this man was giving her at this very moment.
"Tired?"
Jiang Chen's hand gently patted her back intermittently, as if lulling her to sleep.
"I don't want to move."
Su Qingge's voice was very hoarse; it was the relaxation that came from dropping all defenses. "Jiang Chen, your car... is really steady."
This remark drew a light chuckle from the side.
Chen Man played with one of Jiang Chen's hands, as if handling a strange toy, gazing vaguely at the ceiling: "CEO Su, it's not just the car that's steady. It's the heart that's steady."
"You talk too much."
Su Qingge replied with her eyes closed, but there was no anger in her tone.
"Everyone is tired."
Chen Man pressed her face against Jiang Chen's arm, her voice growing lower. "But I don't want to sleep. This feeling... is too good. It's like even if the outside world is destroyed, it has nothing to do with us."
Lin Wan was curled up in the innermost corner. She had the poorest stamina among the three. By now, she was too exhausted to even keep her eyes open, but one hand stubbornly clutched Jiang Chen's lapel, as if it were her lifeline.
After an unknown amount of time.
"The snow seems to have stopped."
Jiang Chen straightened up slightly, stretched out a long arm, and wiped the mist from the car window.
The outside world was silent.
The blizzard had stopped at some point.
Thick layers of snow covered the entire world, reflecting a blinding white light under the illumination of the headlights, pure and untainted.
The entire heaven and earth seemed to be left with only this solitary car, and the four people inside who depended on each other for survival.
"How much longer until we arrive?"
Lin Wan asked vaguely, her voice soft and sweet.
"If there's no traffic, we can reach the town by dawn."
Jiang Chen glanced at the navigation. "About four more hours."
"Then... can you drive a little slower?"
Su Qingge suddenly spoke, her voice very light.
Jiang Chen looked down at her: "What are you thinking about?"
Su Qingge snuggled deeper into his embrace and closed her eyes: "Nothing. I just feel... it would be nice if dawn came a little later."
"Then... can we not leave yet?"