HBWMA -Chapter 320 Fishing for Turtles

If reason could make the choice, then it wouldn’t be called being moved by feelings.

So, he lost to the first heart flutter of his eighteen-year-old self.

At eye level, Shen Guiling propped himself on the coffee table with one arm, tilting his head slightly as he studied Jiang Huashan’s sleeping face.

She really does look cute when she’s asleep.

He smiled faintly and reached out to brush away the stray strands of hair that had fallen onto the tip of her nose.

It tickled her. Jiang Huashan rubbed her face, turned over, and slipped off the coffee table.

Shen Guiling hadn’t even reacted before she had already fallen onto the carpet. Whether she was too tired or the carpet was too comfortable, she didn’t even notice after falling—she even stretched her legs a little to adjust into a better sleeping position.

The space between the coffee table and the sofa wasn’t wide to begin with, and there were already two people squeezed into it. When she kicked out her leg, she accidentally hit Shen Guiling’s knee.

“……”

She was used to being domineering. Feeling like she hadn’t kicked him far enough, she added more force. Her round, cute toes pressed into the black silk fabric, deforming it slightly, while a large stretch of her pale ankle was exposed.

Shen Guiling straightened his back. His fingertips brushed over the soft carpet as he gently caught her ankle, leaning over her until his body almost fully enveloped her.

His gaze was darker than the night outside.

“Jiang Huashan?”

The person beneath him was still fast asleep.

His eyes landed on her lips.

How much strawberry juice did she drink for the color to be this bright?

Something flickered through his mind, and his breathing became lighter.

He released her ankle and instead gently cupped her face.

He wanted to kiss her.

That thought grew like wild grass in spring—suddenly catching fire and spreading uncontrollably.

Their breathing tangled in the small space, and his mind grew hazy with temptation. Shen Guiling lowered his head, and just as their lips were about to meet—

He abruptly came to his senses.

Almost as if fleeing, he pushed himself up from the carpet.

He touched his own lips.

Trying to suppress it like boiling water only ends up burning yourself.

“……”

He turned back to look at the sleeping culprit, soundly asleep without a care in the world.

For the first time in his life, he understood what it meant to meet someone you couldn’t scold, couldn’t hit, couldn’t get angry at—and couldn’t do anything about.

He resigned himself, leaned on the sofa to distance himself, and sat for a while before taking out his phone from his pocket.

“Assistant Mo, I’m sorry to disturb you so late……”

Twenty minutes later.

Assistant Mo arrived at the door fully dressed.

“Master A-Ling, what happened?”

Shen Guiling stepped aside, calm and elegant like a young gentleman.

“Nothing serious. Just trouble you to carry Shanshan back to her room.”

“?”

Mo Ran clearly froze for a moment.

Honestly speaking, Shen Guiling was truly an excellent employer. He never vented unnecessary emotions on subordinates, and he maintained clear boundaries between work and personal time. Even though Mo Ran was his private assistant and technically on call, Shen Guiling never exploited him for personal matters. That’s why Mo Ran was momentarily unable to process what she had just heard.

“Thank you for your trouble, Assistant Mo. I’ll count this as overtime and pay you extra,” Shen Guiling said politely, his expression unchanged.

“Oh no, that’s not what I meant. Please don’t misunderstand, Master A-Ling.”

Only then did Mo Ran realize she had overreacted and quickly took off her jacket to carry her on her back.

Jiang Huashan looked slim, but she wasn’t light where it mattered. Mo Ran wasn’t prepared and nearly stumbled backward with her.

Fortunately, Shen Guiling reacted quickly and supported Jiang Huashan’s backside in time, stabilizing them both.

“Sorry, young master. You can let go now.”

Mo Ran adjusted her breathing and shifted her higher on her back.

Shen Guiling stared at his own hand, suddenly realizing something. He quickly pulled it back, pretending nothing had happened, and turned to tidy up the documents instead.

“Assistant Mo, help her take off her coat and cover her properly.”

“Alright.”

Mo Ran carried Jiang Huashan into the bedroom and placed her on the bed. Just as she was about to unzip her coat, Jiang Huashan rolled over, hugging a pillow and turning to the other side.

“Miss Jiang, maybe take your clothes off before sleeping?” Mo Ran thought Jiang Huashan was waking up and asked softly.

Jiang Huashan waved her hand and buried her face in the pillow. “So annoying. Are you even going to let me sleep or not?”

Thinking of Shen Guiling’s instructions, Mo Ran intended to try again. But the person on the bed was like a slippery eel—twisting and turning so much that she couldn’t get a hand in at all. After a round of struggle, Mo Ran even broke out in sweat instead.

With no other choice, she let her be, picked up the pillow from the floor and placed it back properly, then left the bedroom.

Once the door closed firmly, silence returned to the room.

On the bed, the “sleeping” person suddenly opened her eyes. She unzipped her coat, shifted slightly, then stretched her long leg—kicking off the little pig coat like a snake shedding its skin.

Jiang Huashan sat cross-legged on the bed with her arms folded. The pink spaghetti straps slipped off her shoulders, and the thin gauzy dress clung tightly to her full, enticing curves. Because of her kneeling posture, the hem of the dress barely reached her thighs, lifting up to the root of her leg. The flowing curve of her hips and the sharply arched waist formed an S-shape that was almost indecent to imagine.

In truth, she had already woken up when the system reported the “heartbeat value.”

When Shen Guiling had been staring at her, a hundred thoughts had flashed through her mind. In the end, only two choices remained: ignore him—or seduce him.

She couldn’t decide, so she pretended to fall down, hoping to kick him away.

But that bastard actually grabbed her foot.

His palm was so hot it nearly burned her.

What exactly was Shen Guiling trying to do?

Just as she was about to jump up and resist, Shen Guiling suddenly cupped her face and called her name.

That single call instantly awakened all the “wisdom” in her brain.

She couldn’t wake up.

Shen Guiling thought she didn’t know anything, so he was carefully maintaining that thin layer of unspoken understanding. That meant he still had reservations. If he found out she already saw through everything and was deliberately playing with him, he would definitely kill her.

In her past life, she had tried everything, but even then Shen Lanxi never looked at her once. That proved one thing: men didn’t like women who threw themselves at them.

She couldn’t repeat the same mistake.

What you can’t get is always the best. That 1% must not be given away—it had to be “fished.”

After this sudden enlightenment, she simply closed her eyes and played dead.

As expected, Shen Guiling couldn’t bring himself to do anything. He didn’t even dare carry her back to the room properly.

Genius!

Last life she failed because she lacked experience and used the wrong method. This time, with the correct strategy, it would definitely work!

Jiang Huashan felt full of confidence and happily crawled into bed hugging her pillow.

—

Mo Ran glanced back at the bedroom door before returning to the living room.

“Sir, Miss Jiang refused to take off her clothes,” she reported.

Shen Guiling remained calm. “Let her be. It’s already late, and it was hard on you to make this trip. Take a half-day off tomorrow as compensation. Mo assistant should also get some rest.”

Mo Ran originally wanted to decline, but then a sudden thought struck her. She smiled and accepted, “Thank you, Young Master A-Ling. If there’s nothing else, I’ll head back now?”

Shen Guiling nodded. “Be careful on the way.”

Mo Ran took her coat from the entrance and left. As soon as she entered the elevator, she hesitated and pressed the open button again.

Should she tell Young Master A-Ling that Miss Jiang was actually pretending to sleep?

After a moment of thought, she withdrew her hand and let the elevator doors close slowly.

The young master probably already knew. After all, she had just said Miss Jiang “refused to take it off,” and he didn’t correct her.

Inside the apartment, the temperature was still 31.5°C.

Shen Guiling tugged at his collar, his gaze fixed deeply on the bedroom door, fingers absentmindedly turning his phone over and over.

“…”