Chapter 253

Chapter 253: Lulling to Sleep That evening, Jiang Shixu came to Chu Tang's villa to have dinner with her. A Wen had gotten used to this by now. She did her best to make herself scarce, disappearing in a flash right after dinner. After showering, the two of them lay in bed. Tonight, Jiang Shixu was unusually free of desire. Chu Tang teased him: "Being so restrained today?" Jiang Shixu smiled. "I have an important meeting early tomorrow morning. Can't indulge tonight." Chu Tang let out a soft laugh. "Finishing early and going to sleep early works too." "Finishing early? You underestimate your husband." Jiang Shixu pulled Chu Tang into his arms. "Once we start, we won't be done until the middle of the night." "Sleep now. Good night." Chu Tang curled up under the blanket. Jiang Shixu propped his head up and watched her for a moment, then said, "I'm not that sleepy yet. Can't fall asleep." A pair of doe-like eyes peeked out from under the blanket. "Huh? Then what do we do?" Jiang Shixu's brows curved with a smile. "How about you lull me to sleep?" "Me?" Chu Tang looked astonished. "Lull you to sleep?" "That's right. You lull me." Jiang Shixu curled his lips. "I've always been the one lulling you to sleep. You've never once lulled me." Chu Tang let out a scoff from her nose. "How old are you? Still need someone to lull you to sleep?" Jiang Shixu drawled in a lazy tone, "Can't sleep. Either you lull me to sleep, or..." His eyes held a smile, those dark, ink-black pupils gazing at Chu Tang with playful intent. "...we'll have to get some exercise. Toss and turn until we're exhausted in the middle of the night and then sleep. Worst case, I get a little less sleep tomorrow. That's not out of the question either." Chu Tang was left speechless. "..." Then lulling it is. Lulling him to sleep was certainly much simpler than accompanying him in other activities. Besides, she had court at nine tomorrow morning—she couldn't afford to be up with him until the middle of the night. Chu Tang conceded. "How do you want me to lull you?" Jiang Shixu's voice carried a leisurely, languid quality: "Tell me a story." Chu Tang muttered under her breath, "A grown man like you, still listening to stories." But she obediently pulled out her phone and searched for bedtime stories. Jiang Shixu lay down properly and closed his eyes. His low, magnetic voice sounded by Chu Tang's ear: "Your voice is beautiful. The story itself doesn't matter—I mainly want to fall asleep listening to your voice." "Fine." Chu Tang read from her phone. "A crab went out for a stroll and accidentally bumped into a loach. The loach said angrily, 'Are you blind?!' The crab said, 'No, I'm a crab.'" After reading it, Chu Tang couldn't help but burst out laughing. "Hahaha..." Jiang Shixu's eyes opened again. The man cast her a sidelong glance. "How did you manage to make yourself laugh?" "Why aren't you laughing? Wasn't it funny? Then let me find another one." Chu Tang scrolled through her phone again. "Cats go meow meow meow, dogs go woof woof woof, ducks go quack quack quack. What does a chicken go?" "Cluck cluck cluck?" Jiang Shixu played along. "Wrong." Chu Tang couldn't hold back her laughter again. "A chicken goes to those who are prepared! Hahahaha..." A hint of helplessness flickered in Jiang Shixu's eyes. "I asked you to tell a bedtime story, not tell jokes." "I think these jokes are pretty fun, though! Why aren't you laughing? Your humor threshold is way too high." Chu Tang's eyes curved as she grinned. "Alright, still not funny? Here's the next one." "One day, a little ant met another little ant. The first little ant asked the other, 'How do you return to the ant hill?' The other little ant paused, then said, 'With a smile, or in silence.'" Jiang Shixu let out a muffled laugh. Seeing that he'd finally laughed, Chu Tang laughed along with him, even singing a snippet. "How do you recall me, with a smile or in silence? All these years, has anyone kept you from loneliness?" "Later, I finally learned how to love. But sadly, you had already gone far, vanished into the crowd." "Later, I finally understood through tears that some people, once missed, are gone forever..." The night light was on in the room. Chu Tang's face had soft contours under the warm amber glow. She faced Jiang Shixu, her almond-shaped eyes curved, her clear pupils brimming with light. Last time she'd gotten drunk at the bar, she'd snatched someone's microphone and sung on stage—it was an absolute caterwaul, not a single note in tune. But this little snippet she hummed tonight wasn't off-key at all. It was actually quite beautiful. Jiang Shixu listened to Chu Tang's singing and slowly drifted off to sleep. The man's breathing became even and gentle. Chu Tang finished singing and realized Jiang Shixu was already asleep. The air conditioning was a bit too cold, so Chu Tang adjusted it to a comfortable sleeping temperature and gently tucked the blanket around him. Under the warm orange light, she quietly watched him for a moment, then pressed a soft kiss on his cheek. "Good night, Jiang Shixu." Early the next morning, sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains. Jiang Shixu hadn't set an alarm for fear of waking Chu Tang. When he had something important, he usually woke up naturally early. Just as Jiang Shixu opened his eyes and prepared to get out of bed quietly, the person beside him let out a groggy murmur. Then Chu Tang opened her eyes, still heavy with sleep. "Awake?" Jiang Shixu's voice was slightly hoarse, his warm breath falling on Chu Tang's ear. Chu Tang hummed in response, rubbing her eyes. Her voice was soft and gentle from just waking up as she asked, "What time is it?" Jiang Shixu glanced at his phone. "Seven-thirty. Sleep a bit more?" Chu Tang closed her eyes again. "It's still early. I'll sleep a little longer. Call me at eight." "Okay." Jiang Shixu quietly washed up, changed, and left the house. 7:58 AM. Jiangshi Group conference room. The company's senior executives were already seated in neat rows, ready for the meeting to start promptly at eight o'clock. On regular days, work started at nine in the morning, and meetings were held around nine-thirty. But today was a special occasion. Today's meeting was a video conference with a very important overseas partner, with an eight-hour time difference between the two sides. It was eight in the morning here, while it was four in the afternoon on the partner's side. The partner's company closed promptly at five in the afternoon, so a one-hour video conference starting at four worked perfectly. The video link was already established, and the partner's CEO, Daniel, smiled and greeted Jiang Shixu. Jiang Shixu and Daniel were business partners, but more than that, they were old friends. Their interactions had always been casual and informal. Jiang Shixu nodded in response. "Daniel, please bear with me for a moment. I need to call my girlfriend to wake her up." Daniel laughed heartily. "Oh, OK, I'll wait." Eight o'clock sharp. Jiang Shixu called Chu Tang right on time. The entire conference room of executives sat up straight, listening to their CEO make a call to wake up his girlfriend. On the video screen, Daniel poured himself a glass of water and waited at his leisure. Chu Tang picked up the phone and said "Hello," completely unaware of the situation on Jiang Shixu's end. "Tangtang, it's eight o'clock. Time to get up." Jiang Shixu's voice was impossibly gentle.