The Engineer Falls for His Sweet-Scented Maid - Chapter 32: Where Did That Bite Mark Come From?

“Come in.”

His voice was dry and hoarse.

Nianhe pushed the door open.

The curtains were half drawn, admitting the morning sun.

Huai sat propped against the headboard, his fingers pressed between his brows.

He had changed into a white shirt but left it entirely unbuttoned, exposing his solid chest and the defined lines of his abdomen. The hangover had left him pale, his face drawn with irritable exhaustion.

Nianhe dared not look for long. She carried the tray to the bedside table and set down the bowl. “Engineer Shen, Auntie Liu asked me to bring you this hangover soup,” she said softly.

Huai stopped massaging his brow and looked up at her.

His memories of the previous night came in fragments, like shards of broken glass.

He remembered Tiejun Li, the restaurant, and pushing open his bedroom door.

Everything after that was a jumble.

He vaguely remembered holding someone and kissing her for a long time. She had smelled strongly of sweet milk. Her body had been bonelessly soft, her palms a little cool.

He studied Nianhe where she stood before him.

Today she wore a long-sleeved blue blouse patterned with tiny flowers, its collar buttoned tight. Her head was bowed, her hands clasped in front of her, her shoulders rigid. She looked like a startled rabbit.

“Leave it there.” His voice rasped badly.

As if granted a reprieve, Nianhe turned for the door, moving so quickly that she nearly tripped over her own feet.

“Wait.”

She froze. Cold sweat broke out along her back.

Watching her, Huai’s gaze settled on her reddening ears. He spoke slowly. “Who brought me to my room last night?”

Nianhe turned and wiped her palms on her trousers. She forced out the lie. “Mayor Shen and Auntie Liu. I heard them when I got up to use the bathroom. I didn’t dare come out and look.”

Huai watched her and rubbed his temples. His head hurt as though someone were hammering an awl into it.

“If there’s nothing else, I’ll go down. There’s work in the kitchen.” Her voice was tiny. She tried to escape again.

Huai lifted the bowl and took a sip.

The sharp ginger went down his throat, settling his stomach a little and clearing his head.

He set the bowl down. “What happened to your hand?”

Nianhe started and instinctively hid her right hand behind her back.

Just below the web between her thumb and forefinger was a faint red ring. His teeth had left it there when she covered his mouth the night before.

“N-nothing. I caught it while chopping vegetables this morning.”

Without a word, Huai rose and reached her in two long strides.

His height and broad frame bore down on her. The lingering smell of liquor mingled with his familiar soapberry scent.

Frightened, she backed away until her shoulders hit the door.

He gave her no chance to evade him. He caught her right wrist and drew it up in front of him.

“You knocked it against something?” He lowered his head.

“Against the chopping board! While I was shredding ginger!” she protested, her face red.

They were much too close.

Having eaten her fill that morning, Nianhe was painfully full again. Her breasts rose and fell with her quick breaths, the fabric over them almost brushing his open shirt.

Sweetness seeped through the gaps in her collar and filled Huai’s nose.

Exactly the scent from last night’s dream.

His eyes darkened as he watched her panic.

“Get out.” He turned away and stopped looking at her.

Nianhe stumbled out of the room and pulled the door firmly shut.

Huai stood where he was, rubbing his fingertips together. They seemed to retain the silky feel of the skin he had touched in his dream.

He went to the washroom and turned on the tap. He splashed cold water over his face, but it did nothing to subdue the inexplicable irritation burning inside him.

Something was seriously wrong with his thoughts.

He remembered the night Nianhe first arrived.

By the courtyard sink, her floral short-sleeved blouse had been soaked through. Those full curves. That cloying milk scent.

That very night, he had had a filthy dream about her. He had been so wild in it, too.

Last night he had dreamed again. Alcohol had made it hazy and disjointed, but somewhere deep down, he felt certain the woman was Nianhe.

The warm softness, the lingering sweetness, those broken little whimpers—it had all felt maddeningly real.

Had his mind gone filthy again? Why did he keep dreaming about Nianhe?

Huai tugged irritably at his collar.

He took a cold shower, letting the icy water run over his body in an effort to extinguish that bewildering heat.

By the time he dressed and went downstairs, his family was already at breakfast.

Huizhen looked up from the table. “Huai, just how much did you drink last night? You went to bed without even taking your shoes off. If your father hadn’t helped, I couldn’t have moved you.”

Huai pulled out a chair and sat, trying to sound casual. “Last night… how did I get to my room?”

Huizhen sipped her congee. “You went up yourself. I heard footsteps on the stairs. By the time I came out, you were already inside, and the door wasn’t quite closed. I went in and found you flat on the bed, reeking of liquor.”

Huai’s mind was a tangle. His head ached.

He had gone to his room by himself?

Then what about everything he had felt in the dream? Had it really been nothing but a drunken hallucination? Another dream?

He tried to recall what had happened, but his temples throbbed with the hangover.

Across the table, Liping Wang’s eyes shifted. She still did not trust him. She intended to find out whether he had really been busy or had gone looking for Nianhe.

She assumed a solicitous air. “Huai, I heard you went to the light textile mill’s matchmaking dance last night too. Did one of the women there catch your eye?”

His chopsticks paused. He did not answer.

Liping continued regardless. “Those women may have an iron rice bowl, but their family circumstances still leave something to be desired. A family of our standing needs a suitable match. Deputy Mayor Li’s niece next door, for instance. She’s pretty, and her family has connections.”

“Sister-in-law.” Huai set down his chopsticks. His tone was cold. “You needn’t concern yourself with my affairs.”

Liping choked back her reply. Her face soured, but she did not dare say more.

In the kitchen, Nianhe listened, gripping the cleaning cloth tight.

A suitable match.

The words weighed on her like a mountain, leaving her unable to breathe.

She looked down at her washed-out floral blouse, bitterness rising inside her.

Liping was right. How could a man like Huai ever fancy a domestic helper from the countryside?

Last night, he had merely been drunk and mistaken her for someone else.

She absolutely must not entertain any more foolish hopes.

After breakfast, Huai took his briefcase and left for the mill.

He had to oversee the commissioning of a new batch of machines that day. He had no time to linger at home.

Nianhe waited until the family had left before venturing out to clear the table.

She carried the dishes to the kitchen and had just turned on the tap when she heard a noise from the courtyard.

She peered out. Qiang Zhao stood outside the courtyard gate, craning his neck, one arm in a sling.

Her heart tightened.

Why was that scoundrel back?

Qiang’s eyes lit up when he saw her. He called in a low voice through the iron bars. “Nianhe Su, come out a moment. I have something to tell you.”

Of course she would not go out.

She retreated two wary steps. “What do you want?”

“Don’t be scared. What could I do to you with my arm like this?” He shook his plaster-bound arm in its sling. “I’ve brought you something.”

“I don’t want anything from you.” She turned to leave.

“Hey, hey! Don’t go!” he said urgently. “It’s about Huai Shen! Don’t you want to hear?”

Nianhe stopped.

About Huai?

After a moment’s hesitation, she went to the iron gate and looked at him through it. “What is it?”

Qiang gave a nasty chuckle, showing yellow teeth. “I saw you that afternoon. Huai stood up for you and sent Auntie Zhang and the others packing. The two of you under that tree, all cozy together—what were you whispering about?”

Nianhe went pale. “Don’t talk nonsense! Engineer Shen was only passing by. He helped me out, that’s all. We didn’t say anything!”

“Oh, spare me!” Qiang spat. “That cold-faced bastard hardly bothers with anyone. Why would he meddle in a maid’s business? You think I’m blind?”

He leaned closer and lowered his voice. “Nianhe Su, have you hooked up with Huai? Has he slept with you?”

“Shut your mouth!” She trembled with anger, her eyes reddening at once.

She could endure a great deal, but she could not bear such filthy insults aimed at her and Huai.

“Don’t act so high and mighty!” Her anger roused his own. “You think Huai actually wants you? He’s just playing with you! When he’s bored, he’ll kick you aside. You won’t even have anywhere to go and cry!”

Nianhe clenched her teeth and held back her tears. “Leave! Or I’ll call someone!”

“Go on! Call them!” Qiang blustered. “Call the whole Shen family out. Let everyone hear how a country maid seduced her employers’ son!”

His shamelessness left her speechless with rage.

She ran into the kitchen, grabbed a cleaver, and rushed back into the courtyard. Pointing it at him through the gate, she shouted, “Are you leaving or not? Stay there and I’ll hack you to death!”

Qiang jumped.

He had never expected this meek-looking country girl to reach for a knife when cornered.

He backed away two steps, cursing with a bravado he no longer felt. “Fine, you win! Just you wait, Nianhe Su! I’ll get you sooner or later!”

With that, he turned and scurried off.