Water and Fire~Chapter 95: The Allure of Abs

 

Chapter 95: The Allure of Abs

Chu Qianmiao lamented as she typed, sending a message to Qin Qianyu, "I've noticed that the boss always chooses when I'm not around to have hot pot with you guys. It's almost as if he's trying to exclude me."

She heard Qin Qianyu typing rapidly, and from his speed, she could tell he seemed a bit agitated. Hearing he'd been typing for ages, Chu Qianmiao almost suspected he was going to write her an essay and send it to her.

Finally, the typing stopped. A long paragraph popped up in her chat box.

Qin Qianyu: "Come on, don't be so ungrateful! Let's start from the beginning. The boss said you only knew about gambling in theory, but you hadn't experienced how to solve it in practice. We, on the other hand, had encountered it on previous projects. So this time, he chose to take you to solve the gambling problem to broaden your horizons and accumulate practical experience." That's why you were stranded in Beijing and missed our meal. "You think the boss is ostracizing you? He's really focusing on training you, silly brother."

Chu Qianmiao once again witnessed the terrifying power of the Flame Protector. Even after Boss Ren had left him blind with alcohol, he still wouldn't let anyone criticize Boss Ren or refuse to acknowledge his kindness.

She quickly texted, "Yes, yes, yes, yes, I was blind and didn't know what was right. I was wrong."

Qin Qianyu typed again, "Besides, I now feel that having hot pot with the boss isn't something to be envied. It's even a little scary. It's almost deadly. Brother, you're actually so lucky. You can skip this hot pot meal because you're going back to Beijing to sort things out. You have to know that this saved you from becoming a human vomiting machine. You have to learn to be grateful for the little blessings life has given you, okay?"

Chu Qianmiao sent another string of yeses, ... Qin Qianyu sent a tearful emoji. "Don't mention hotpot anymore. I just want to live a good life right now."

After lunch, before work, Chu Qianmiao went downstairs, took a stroll, and then walked down the hallway, preparing to return to the due diligence office.

When she was ten meters away from the office door, someone called out from behind.

She stopped and turned, responding, "Mr. Ren, what can I do for you?"

Ren Yan, hands in his trouser pockets, walked steadily toward her and stopped.

He looked down at her and said, "The training for executives and shareholders is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. Don't do anything else for now. Start by working on a presentation document." After a pause, he added, "Show it to me when you're done."

Chu Qianmiao quickly calculated the time and said, "Boss, if I start now, I might not be finished until after get off work tonight. I'll email it to you then."

Ren Yan flatly rejected her idea. "Don't email it. Show it to me directly. Otherwise, how can I tell you what needs to be changed? Tonight. Bring your computer to my room when you're done."

He spoke so businesslike that she hesitated to even mention it. Was it appropriate to ask a female subordinate to come to his room so late at night? It seemed as if even mentioning it would imply she had dirty thoughts.

In the evening, Ren Yan went to the hotel gym for a workout. After drinking all night, his muscles were sluggish, and he needed to exercise to perk them up.

After his workout, he returned to his room. He sent a message to Chu Qianmiao asking, "How long will it take?"

Her reply came immediately, "Boss, it'll be about half an hour."

He thought for a moment and replied, "No need to call when you're done. Just bring your computer to my room. If I'm not here when you come up, just go in and wait. I'll leave the door open for you. If I'm not here, I might have gone to dinner and will be back as soon as possible."

In fact, he had already eaten dinner.

After sending the message, a reply popped up in the chat box: "Received."

He put down his phone, went to the bathroom, and slowly undressed.

Half an hour, no rush.

He was stripping quickly, and just as he was about to turn on the faucet, he remembered something. He wrapped a towel around himself and came out, walked to the door, opened it slightly, pushed through the doorblock, and released the doorknob.

The door was ajar, blocked by the doorblock.

Then he pressed "Do Not Disturb" to prevent the waiter from opening or closing the door for him.

After finishing the door, he returned to the bathroom and closed it.

Then, looking at himself in the mirror, he applied shaving cream and meticulously shaved. This was a routine he'd done every morning, but tonight, he'd deliberately moved it to the evening.

After shaving, he looked at himself in the mirror. His features were fine, his skin firm, his eyes bright, his jaw smooth, and he looked energetic. His physique was also good, strong but not overly muscular, lean yet muscular. He shook his arms, and his full chest muscles trembled. He took a breath, and the definition of his abdominal muscles was clearly visible.

He was quite satisfied with his reflection in the mirror. He looked in good shape, not much different from a young man in his twenties.

He confidently walked to the shower, turned on the faucet, and let himself be washed by the water.

After drenching himself, he turned the water down to a level where the person at the door wouldn't hear, and continued to rinse.

He continued to rinse until he heard a noise at the door. He timed it perfectly, completely turning off the faucet, wrapped the towel around his waist, and before leaving, he checked himself in the mirror to make sure it was securely tied.

After finishing her T-shirt, Chu Qianmiao immediately carried her laptop upstairs to find Ren Yan.

Approaching Ren Yan's door, she found it ajar. She knocked and called, "Mr. Ren."

No one answered.

She knocked again, called again, "Mr. Ren."

her voice was much louder than before, but still no one answered.

She remembered the message Ren Yan had sent her, saying that if he wasn't home, he might have gone out to eat and would leave the door open for her.

She thought to herself, what a generous investment banker! He'd left the door open just as he'd promised. She wondered if he was just kindhearted or if he was just so wealthy that he didn't care if someone else took anything.

Tentatively, she pushed the door open and walked in. The room was lighted, dim and foggy. The door closed behind her.

The bathroom door was closed, a solid wood door, obscuring any view of what was going on inside, nor any sound. She paid no attention and simply walked past it and into the room.

His room, like him, was tidy and almost impersonal, making her afraid to sit anywhere.

She was unsure where to sit, clutching her notebook in the middle of the room, when the bathroom door suddenly opened.

A click.

She responded to the sound and instinctively turned to look.

Ren Yan emerged, shirtless, a scarf wrapped around his waist. As he emerged, wiping his hair with a towel, he caught sight of Chu Qianmiao.

He looked surprised, his eyebrows raised, and asked, "Half an hour so soon?"

Chu Qianmiao didn't even hear what he asked.

She was completely shocked by the scene before her.

Under the dim light, Ren Yan looked like a sculpture, a perfect blend of strength and beauty. Water droplets still dripped from his hair. Looking down, he saw wet beads on his full, muscular pectoral muscles. Looking down further, he saw his well-defined eight-pack abs. It was outrageous. He could even look down further. The towel was so damn sloppy, it was revealing his mermaid line.

Chu Qianmiao cursed inwardly. Who could stand this? Sure enough, muscle and water droplets are the most devastating combination to shake a soldier's morale.

For a moment, she thought she heard the sound of something flowing through her body.

The next second, she felt something wet rolling across her philtrum.

Realizing what it was, she jerked her head back and pinched her nose.

At that moment, she felt a mixture of emotions.

I've had two nosebleeds in my life, and it was all because of the same man.

She raised her head, pinching her nose, and ran towards the door.

As she passed him, he stopped her and said, expressionlessly and calmly, "Go to the bathroom first."

Chu Qianmiao ducked her head as he stopped her, and got a close-up look at his abdominal muscles.

They were arranged in a voluptuous and intense pattern, dilating her blood vessels like a demon.

At that moment, she hated him for not even realizing he was naked. He stopped her, letting her see his abs so closely, and yet he had the nerve to act so serious and righteous.

Can he even be a decent person? Is he a demon?

The other nasal tube was fine, but now it's bursting with blood.

She pushed him away, mumbling through her nosebleed, "Boss, please get dressed first, okay? I'll stop the bleeding and come back to see you."

She said her last words as she ran out.

Ren Yan stood at the door, watching Chu Qianmiao flee. His serious expression faltered, and he slowly raised the corner of his mouth. Ever since he heard she was treating Tan Shen to hot pot yesterday, he'd been feeling a nagging worry. He was afraid she'd been seduced by the meal, and he was terrified of what other tricks Tan Shen might pull.

This feeling was new to him. He'd always been aloof and indifferent, so he'd rarely felt a lingering concern. But her hot pot yesterday had made him, usually so confident and sure, suspicious and uneasy. This was a completely new feeling for him.

So, he wondered if she'd been seduced by Tan Shen again, or if his attraction to her was still there.

The answer was a secret delight. His abs still had a lasting effect on her. That was truly wonderful.

But she had another nosebleed. That was a bit heartbreaking.

Chu Qianmiao ran back to her room and rinsed her nose with cold water. After the bleeding stopped, she felt more and more annoyed.

After all these years, how could she still be so incompetent? Why would she start bleeding from the nose again at the mere sight of a half-naked man?

She was even more annoyed with Ren Yan. Just when was he taking a shower so early? Was he planning to go to bed right after the news? Was that just the way old people do?

Damn old man!

She pulled out a tissue and wiped the water off her face with resentment, gnashing her teeth as she thought, "I'll never go to his room again. The moment I walk in, I'll have to imagine him naked, even if he's dressed."

After cleaning herself up and coming out of the bathroom, she heard her phone ring.

It was Ren Yan asking, "Is your nose okay?"

She replied, "No."

She wanted to send another message, telling the boss, "We shouldn't talk in your room anymore."

Ren Yan sent her this cryptic message first: "I asked you to come to my room tonight. It was a moment of inconsiderateness on my part. Let's meet at the cafe on the first floor."

Chu Qianmiao replied, "Okay," and headed out again, laptop in hand.

As she rode the elevator downstairs, she mentally encouraged herself to forget the half-naked body; it was an illusion; forget that half-naked body, it was an illusion.

But when the elevator doors opened and she stepped out, she saw Ren Yan, neatly dressed, standing at the entrance of the café, waiting for her.

She nearly cried.

What should she do? Even though he was dressed, she still felt like she saw a half-naked man standing there.

The author has something to say to Chu Qianmiao: "Men, even if they have some pecs and abs, I can't even look at them. Honestly, I'm a woman who loves to have erotic dreams. Don't tempt me with a man's body. I can't resist."

Ren Yan: "Who are you calling an old man? I'm only 32, in the prime of my life, strong enough to keep you up all night for eight days."