Chapter 5: CEO Su's Secret
As night deepened, the emergency light inside the compartment finally exhausted its last bit of power, flickering twice before extinguishing completely.
Now, the entire soft sleeper compartment was plunged into utter darkness where one could not see their hand in front of their face.
Only the faint glow of the railway signal lights occasionally sweeping past the window could barely outline the raised contours of the bunk opposite them.
With the sense of sight deprived, the other senses were infinitely magnified.
Jiang Chen could even hear the frequency of Su Qingge's every breath—steady, yet carrying a faint panting caused by the pressure of her posture.
She was almost half-lying in Jiang Chen's embrace; to avoid the cold carriage wall, she had to press her entire center of gravity onto this big boy.
"Is it very uncomfortable?"
In the darkness, Su Qingge felt the stiffness of the body behind her. She slightly adjusted her position, but this movement didn't alleviate the awkwardness; instead, it caused the two of them to press even closer.
The material of her professional pencil skirt was somewhat slippery, tending to slide down at the slightest inattention, which forced her to occasionally reach out and grip Jiang Chen's arm to steady herself.
"It's fine, Sister Su, just don't move around too much." Jiang Chen's voice was a bit hoarse as he tried hard to control the fluctuation in his tone.
He was a virile twenty-two-year-old, not a sage who could resist temptation.
Su Qingge, with her back to him, allowed a very faint curve to lift the corner of her mouth.
She was no naive young girl; naturally, she knew what this young man behind her was enduring.
This contrast—being intensely desired by the opposite sex yet being treated with utmost respect—gave her a long-lost pleasure of having her charm as a woman recognized—not because of her position or money.
"Um... let's chat."
Lin Wan, on the opposite bunk, suddenly spoke up, her voice trembling slightly.
In such darkness and dead silence, a person's thoughts were most likely to wander. She was obviously a bit scared.
"Sure thing." Chen Man responded quickly. Not only was she restless in the dark, but she also rested her injured foot on Lin Wan's body. "What should we talk about? How about whether our little brother Jiang has a girlfriend?"
Jiang Chen gave a wry smile: "Sister Man, isn't that topic jumping a bit too fast?"
"Not fast, not fast. It's a long night, after all." Chen Man chuckled, "CEO Su, you're the closest. You examine him for us—does this boy carry that'sour smell of romance'?"
Su Qingge moved her head slightly in the darkness, her hair brushing against Jiang Chen's chin: "No. There's only a..." She paused, seemingly discerning, "There's only a nice scent of soap. Very clean."
This evaluation, coming from the discerning Su Qingge, was more gratifying than any compliment.
"Really no girlfriend?" Chen Man pressed on relentlessly. "He's so handsome, he must have been very popular at school, right?"
"We broke up." Jiang Chen answered truthfully. "Graduation season is breakup season. Reality is cruel. No money, no house—no matter how good the feelings were, they couldn't withstand reality."
What he said was frank, yet it carried a hint of the helplessness unique to his age.
The compartment fell quiet for a moment. All three women had navigated the rough waters of society and naturally understood the bitterness behind that casually spoken sentence for so many young people.
"It's good that you broke up," Su Qingge suddenly interjected lightly. "A girl who leaves you over material things isn't worth regretting. You now..."
She swallowed the words that were about to leave her lips; she didn't want to spoil the pure atmosphere of the moment.
"You are quite good now," Lin Wan gently added. "You know how to take care of people and you're responsible. Little Jiang, whoever marries you in the future will be fortunate."
"I'll take that as a good omen." Jiang Chen felt the atmosphere becoming a bit heavy and deliberately joked, "But the primary goal right now is still earning money, otherwise how can I treat the sisters to a meal?"
"Pfft." Chen Man burst out laughing. "Brother, are you treating us to a meal? You're feeding us like pigs. That seafood feast... I... I haven't eaten that satisfyingly outside before, even at nightclubs."
Mentioning nightclubs, Chen Man seemed to realize she had misspoke and quickly stopped herself.
But everyone tacitly agreed not to press for details.
They were passing acquaintances; everyone had a past they didn't wish to discuss.
Time slipped by bit by bit. Although the chill was still biting, through the combined efforts of the four of them, the temperature inside the compartment was barely maintained at an endurable level.
Sleepiness began to set in.
Su Qingge's body slowly softened. Her originally straight back was no longer tense; instead, she leaned completely relaxed against Jiang Chen's chest.
Her breathing became long and even; she was clearly about to fall asleep.
But her feet were still ice-cold.
Jiang Chen felt that even in her sleep, she would occasionally curl her toes unconsciously because her feet were cold.
After hesitating for a moment.
Jiang Chen slowly extended a hand, groping downwards in the dark.
His movement was very light, afraid of waking the person in his arms. His hand passed under the hem of her heavy military overcoat and touched Su Qingge's stocking-clad feet.
So cold.
It was like touching two pieces of jade.
Jiang Chen didn't overthink it; he took hold of those ice-cold feet with both hands.
The warmth from his palms continuously transferred over.
Su Qingge's body suddenly trembled.
Jiang Chen froze, thinking she had woken up, and was about to let go and explain.
But he felt that the person in his arms wasn't struggling. Instead, she let out an extremely soft, almost kitten-like sound of stretching, and then, those feet actively snuggled deeper into his broad, warm palms.
Jiang Chen's heart pounded twice.
He could sense that Su Qingge wasn't completely asleep. A touch at this moment, even if well-intentioned, carried an extremely intense ambiguity.
But he didn't let go, and Su Qingge didn't pull back.
On this train trapped by the blizzard, in this dark, narrow corner, the two reached an unspoken secret contract belonging only to that moment.
From the opposite bunk came Chen Man's even breathing, and occasionally, one or two murmurs from Lin Wan in her sleep.
"Little Jiang..."
Su Qingge suddenly spoke, her voice so low that only the two of them could hear.
"I'm here."
"If you can keep me this warm tomorrow..." Su Qingge's voice carried a sleepy languor, having let down all her defenses, "I'll tell you a secret."
"What secret?"
"A secret about... women."
Jiang Chen smiled.
"Alright," Jiang Chen replied softly, gently massaging the soles of her cold feet to help her circulation. "Then I'll wait."
Su Qingge said no more; this time, she was truly asleep.
Jiang Chen leaned against the wall, listening to the sound of the wind and snow outside. In his arms was the aloof female CEO that countless men dreamed of, and in his hands, he held a softness that could stir the soul.
All of this felt real to the point of being unreal.
Just then, in Jiang Chen's mind, that familiar mechanical voice chimed again, though this time it was very soft, as if unwilling to disturb this rare tranquility.
"Ding! Host behavior detected as highly gentlemanly, successfully protecting the'Special Target' under extreme conditions!"
"Hidden reward triggered..."
Jiang Chen didn't have time to see what the reward was, because the person in his arms suddenly turned over, and that exquisitely beautiful face buried itself into his neck without warning, warm breath spraying onto his collarbone.
This night was destined to be difficult to get through.