novelraw Chapter 061 The Desk in the Living Room
Chapter 061 The Desk in the Living Room
After that day's standoff.
Jiang Ci has changed.
Or rather, something that had been suppressed within him, something called "ambition," was completely awakened by Zhou Xu's words.
He was no longer content with simply being a technical genius or a college student who started a business step by step.
He started to get impatient.
Become greedy.
He wanted money, he wanted power, he wanted to stand at a high enough place that no one could take Wen Ning away from him.
……
Monday morning.
When Wen Ning woke up, the bed next to her was already cold.
She put on her coat and walked out of the bedroom.
Standing by the railing on the second floor, looking down.
Then, I froze.
In the once spacious, cozy living room, covered with a beige carpet, there was now something out of place.
A huge black desk.
It stands across the floor-to-ceiling window.
The position directly opposite the sofa.
Three monitors were mounted on the table, arranged in a ring around it.
The screen was filled with dense code, candlestick charts, and various complex project schedules.
The computer case emitted a low hum as the cooling fan spun at full speed.
Jiang Ci sat in the middle of that pile of screens.
He was wearing blue light blocking glasses and loungewear, not formal attire.
Holding the mouse in one hand, the other hand rapidly typed on the keyboard.
"Da da da da".
Although the mechanical keyboard has been replaced with silent switches, the sound is still clear on a quiet morning.
I heard a noise upstairs.
Jiang Ci's fingers paused for a moment.
He took off his glasses, turned his chair around, and looked up at Wen Ning on the second floor.
"woke up?"
His voice was a little hoarse, clearly indicating that he hadn't slept all night.
"Breakfast is in the pot, just heat it up and it's ready to eat."
Wen Ning walked down the soft, spongy stairs.
She pointed to the office area, which was filled with a sense of technology and oppression.
"So... you've moved the company back?"
"almost."
Jiang Ci put his glasses back on.
He pulled over a document, looking at it as he spoke:
"Zhang Annian is keeping an eye on things at the company, so I don't need to worry about the daily operations."
"Core code and business decisions are the same no matter where they are made."
Actually, they are different.
At the company, he is General Manager Jiang, with assistants, a team, and the highest efficiency.
Having only one computer at home is inconvenient.
But he didn't want to go to the company.
Or rather, he was afraid to leave the apartment.
Zhou Xu's words, "Take her back," sounded like a curse.
He feared that the moment he stepped out the door, the Zhou family would come and take her away.
Or perhaps she came to her senses and realized that the place was too small and dilapidated, so she packed her bags and left.
The only way is to keep her under your watchful eye.
You can see her as soon as you look up.
Only then can he work with peace of mind.
"But……"
Wen Ning walked to the table and looked at the dark circles under his eyes.
"You'll get very tired doing that."
"Besides, the atmosphere here isn't right..."
"I'm not tired."
Jiang Ci interrupted her.
He reached out, took Wen Ning's hand, and kissed the back of her hand.
The movements were reluctant, yet tinged with a barely perceptible tremor.
"As long as I look at you, I'm not tired."
……
The following days.
This apartment has been transformed into a peculiar "dual-core" space.
Half of it is Wen Ning's lazy daily life.
She draws, reads, eats snacks, and watches variety shows on the sofa.
The years are quiet.
The other half is Jiang Ci's crazy battlefield.
At his desk, he was engaged in one business game after another.
One conference call after another (he was wearing headphones and speaking in a very low voice).
My fingers almost never left the keyboard.
The data stream on the screen refreshed like a waterfall.
This kind of "cohabitation" life has a strange warmth and a suffocating tension.
Wen Ning sat on the sofa.
Holding a paintbrush in his hand, he couldn't bring himself to paint.
Because she could feel that gaze.
Every few minutes.
Or it could mean completing a critical step.
Jiang Ci will then stop.
Turn your head.
My gaze passed over the screen, over the dust in the air, and landed precisely on her.
He is confirming.
Confirm whether she is there or not.
Find out what she's doing.
To find out if she is unhappy or shows any signs of wanting to leave.
Wen Ning went to the kitchen to get some water.
His gaze would then follow the doorway to the kitchen.
Only when she sat back down on the sofa with her water glass would his tense back relax a little, allowing him to return to his work.
If Wen Ning takes a little longer to go to the restroom.
He would put down his work, walk to the bathroom door, and knock on it.
"Ningning? Is she alright?"
This feeling of being constantly "watched".
It is sweet.
It makes it hard to breathe.
He was like a child who was anxious and insecure, guarding his only piece of candy.
They were afraid that the candy would be confiscated by the adults in the blink of an eye.
Or perhaps it was blown away by the wind.
Wen Ning watched his retreating figure.
That once upright and sturdy figure now exudes an indescribable sense of thinness.
He eats very little.
Wen Ning often had to force him to eat before he would hurriedly shovel a couple of bites and then return to his computer.
They drank coffee quite heavily, though.
Later, Wen Ning forced him to drink warm water instead, and he obediently drank it.
But he is still visibly losing weight.
The jawline became sharper, and the cheekbones became slightly more prominent.
The loungewear that used to fit him well now looked somewhat loose on him.
He was burning the candle at both ends.
It is burning itself.
For that so-called "stability".
To prove that he could give her the best life.
In order not to let her be looked down upon by the Zhou family.
Wen Ning put down his paintbrush.
My eyes are sore.
She walked to the desk.
Jiang Ci was having a video conference with an overseas investor, speaking fluent English.
Upon seeing Wen Ning approach, he immediately made a "pause" gesture towards the screen.
Take off your headphones.
"What's wrong?"
He looked up at her, his gaze instantly shifting from cold and stern to tender.
"Bored? Want to watch a movie?"
Wen Ning shook his head.
She walked around the table and behind him.
She reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck.
Her face was pressed against his slightly uncomfortable shoulder.
"Jiang Ci."
She said softly.
"Why don't you take a break?"
Even just ten minutes of sleep.
Jiang Ci placed his hand on the back of her hand.
He glanced at the countdown timer flashing on the screen.
That's the time for the next round of roadshows.
"I'm not sleepy."
He lied.
In fact, his head was throbbing so badly it felt like it was about to split open.
"good."
He patted her hand.
"Let's play a little longer. We'll have dinner after I finalize this contract."
Wen Ning held him tightly, refusing to let go.
She could feel his pulse pounding violently in the side of his neck.
too fast.
That's a signal that the body is overworking itself.
"Are you...?"
Wen Ning's voice was choked with emotion.
"Do you think that as long as I have money, I won't leave?"
Jiang Ci's body stiffened abruptly.
He did not answer.
There was no denial.
He simply turned his chair around, pulled her in front of him, and hugged her.
He buried his head in her abdomen.
Like a drowning person clinging to the last piece of driftwood.
a long time.
His muffled voice came through.
"It's not just about money."
"I want to stand at the highest point."
"So high that no one dares to point fingers at you, and no one dares to say I'm not good enough."
"So high... you have every reason to stay by my side."
Wen Ning's fingers ran through his hair.
My heart is breaking.
fool.
You're already at the highest point.
In my heart.
but.
Looking at the "health value" on the system panel, which was flashing red due to overwork.
There's also the "luck value" that keeps decreasing because of forcibly defying fate.
Wen Ning knew.
This can't go on any longer.
This "cocoon".
Although it was warm.
But this is a pathological symbiosis.
She was draining his life force.