Additional Update

Fortunately, Jiang Chen showed no sign of being bothered at all. The motion of his fingers rolling the prayer beads paused slightly. "Go on, quickly. I'll get some medicine from the front desk. Take it when you come out." For a fleeting moment, Ye Mian thought she glimpsed a trace of panic on his face.

But her stomach hurt so much she couldn't be sure whether she saw it right or not.

As she stood up, a wave of dizziness washed over her, her vision darkening for two seconds. She steadied herself with effort, not wanting him to notice, and walked carefully toward the bathroom.

Jiang Chen's gaze landed briefly on her lower back, then shifted away. After she disappeared into the bathroom, he dialed the hotel front desk.

A polite female voice answered, "Hello, this is the front desk. How may I assist you?"

"Could you please send up a pack of painkillers and some sanitary pads?" The man paused, then quietly added, "Night use."

The front desk staff was clearly accustomed to all sorts of requests and replied with a quick, cheerful laugh, "Of course, we'll have a staff member bring them up right away. Please listen for a knock. If you need anything else, don't hesitate to call again."

Jiang Chen hung up, a self-deprecating grin on his lips. He couldn't help but laugh at himself—he'd gained experience in these matters. The clumsy searches he made two years ago had taught him more than any book, and now those lessons were paying off.

—

Ye Mian stayed in the bathroom for a while, staring at the marble-tiled walls, mortified enough to want to dig a hole and hide. What a humiliating scene.

But her stomach hurt so much that her thoughts were constantly interrupted.

Suddenly, she realized something was wrong. It wasn't diarrhea, but a dull, dragging pain in her abdomen.

She felt the urge to use the toilet but couldn’t, and the pain continued.

There was only one possible cause.

She stiffly lowered her head, then quickly looked up again.

Silently staring at the stark white ceiling, she said nothing, contemplating how she might leave the bathroom with some semblance of dignity.

She almost wanted to ask heaven itself: Would it really hurt to let her keep a little pride?

—

A while later, there was a knock at the bathroom door.

A cool, quiet voice called, "Ye Mian."

Ye Mian paused, embarrassed, and replied, "What is it?"

There was a brief silence outside. "Get ready, I'm coming in."

"…"

Coming in? What for?

Were you desperate too?

Ye Mian held her breath, hastily placing some tissue paper beneath her, straightening her dress, hiding the soiled corner behind her, flushing the toilet, and, face flushed, said, "Alright, you can come in."

The door swung open.

Ye Mian saw Jiang Chen set a package of purple sanitary pads on the sink. His eyes never strayed toward her, and he only said in a low voice, "There are painkillers outside. Use the bathrobe if you need it. Take the medicine after you’ve cleaned up."

With that, he closed the door behind him.

The bathroom fell silent once more.

Ye Mian was left in utter confusion.

How did he know?

Where did the pads come from?

She picked up the sanitary pads, her heart stirring with ripples of emotion—and wicked thoughts.

She couldn’t take it anymore.

With a man like Jiang Chen, even a forced melon would taste sweet.

She wanted to rush outside, declare fiercely that she would become a rich woman, that she’d have plenty of money—just to spend it all on him.

—

And then forcefully kiss the big boss.

And tell him she’d take responsibility.

And then…

If she couldn’t succeed, who could? If she couldn’t be wealthy, who would be?

But did she really dare?

Obviously not.

Her shame and her bold thoughts wrestled with each other, and for a moment she couldn’t tell which was winning.

But tonight, the wind was high, the moon dark, bridges broken, roads blocked.

With her period here, nothing more was likely to happen.

A perfect night to tease the cold-hearted big boss.

A straight pitch was coming!!

It’s really coming!! Please, my dear readers, vote, comment, and support the book. If the rankings fall too much, it’ll be doomed, sob sob sob.

Special thanks to Good to Little Cat, Tulipes, Book Friend 20230720294, Bala Magic Fairy.Ca, Meeting @ Fleeting Years, Eggplant_bA, Liao Girl, Yao Yao (whose traditional characters I can’t type), M, Who Invited, !! (red exclamation mark), Past Books, Lost Little Bear (X), ESHUN, Lovesickness, Cherry o((*^▽^*), for all the monthly tickets, thank you so much, deep bow and tossing flowers.

Thanks also to Past Books, RK-1123, Fairy Mo Li, and three dear readers for their tips—thank you so very much, bow and flowers!

(End of this chapter)