65: Chapter 65 Massage, Memories, and Casual Chat

Inside the office, besides the low hum of the air conditioner, only the faint sound of fabric rubbing remained.

Huang Mao stood behind that ergonomic chair, which looked expensive, and placed his hands on Jiang Mengshu's shoulders.

Where he touched, even through the high-quality white shirt, he could clearly feel the muscles under his palms were as tense as a brick.

"Say, Vice President Jiang."

Huang Mao squeezed tentatively; it felt rock hard.

"Did you lend your shoulders to a Terminator with a steel skeleton? How did they get this stiff?"

"Stop talking nonsense, President, just get to work."

Jiang Mengshu didn't even turn her head, just adjusted her sitting posture slightly, straightening her back a bit more.

Her short hair, originally combed meticulously, loosened slightly at the nape of her neck due to this movement, revealing a patch of skin so fair it was dazzling.

Huang Mao sighed helplessly and resignedly began to work.

He pressed his thumbs onto her shoulder well points, hooked his other four fingers around her shoulders, and began kneading with moderate force.

He wasn't lying earlier; regarding this, he was really just pressing randomly, at most having summarized a little experience.

But this tactile sensation actually gave him a strange illusion.

As if time were flowing backward.

The sensation under his fingertips gradually overlapped with the long-haired girl in his memories who always liked to follow behind him.

At that time, Jiang Mengshu was still a typical "literary girl."

Her long hair reached her waist, and she spoke in soft, gentle whispers.

As the deputy class monitor, she always silently helped him, the hands-off class monitor, handle all sorts of messes.

Who could have imagined that not long after,

that quiet girl transformed into the resolute and decisive Vice President she was now.

Her iconic long hair had also been cut, replaced by a neat short hairstyle.

But honestly,

he remembered that back in high school, he felt her face shape and build were indeed better suited for this kind of cool style.

Looking at it now, it really is quite striking.

Walking a lap around campus, she could probably charm a whole crowd of adolescent girls.

"Mmm..."

Just as Huang Mao was lost in thought, the person under his hands suddenly let out a very faint nasal sound.

Even in an office with only two people, this sound seemed almost imperceptible.

But to Huang Mao's ears, it sounded like some kind of signal.

Jiang Mengshu closed her eyes slightly, and her tense shoulders visibly relaxed.

The lines of her mouth, which had originally been pursed, also softened, carrying a satisfied smile.

"President's skill really hasn't regressed at all."

She murmured softly, as if talking to herself, and yet also as if speaking to the person behind her.

"It's clearly without any method, and the pressure is sometimes heavy, sometimes light."

"But I don't know why, it just feels especially right for me."

"Perhaps it's because... my body has already remembered it?"

Huang Mao's mouth twitched, then he increased the pressure on his hands.

"Spare me that. I'm just pressing randomly."

"Only someone with a bit of a masochistic constitution like you would find it comfortable."

Jiang Mengshu didn't refute him; instead, she seemed to enjoy it even more, tilting her head back.

"How nostalgic..."

She looked at the ceiling, her gaze somewhat distant, as if seeing something else through the pale light.

"Back then, although we were busy, it was truly fulfilling."

"Sometimes I think, if only it could have stayed like that forever."

"Sometimes I even wonder, if I could go back to the past..."

"Stop right there."

Huang Mao mercilessly interrupted her sentimentality, though his hand movements didn't stop.

"It's fine to be nostalgic, but going back is out of the question."

"I certainly don't want to experience those days of waking up at five and sleeping at ten, with endless test papers and exams, a second time."

"Making me repeat high school would be less painful than just killing me."

Jiang Mengshu was amused by his scene-ruining words.

That momentary sadness disappeared without a trace, like smoke blown away by the wind.

"That's true, the President hates trouble the most."

She sat up straight again, her tone returning to that slightly lazy, casual style.

"But honestly, life now isn't actually much better."

"Especially after getting saddled with such a Student Union."

Mentioning this, Jiang Mengshu's tone clearly carried a hint of disdain.

"Although I've been trying my best this semester to improve the processes and patch up those idiotic rules and regulations."

"But as long as the core problem isn't solved, this is just the work of a paperhanger."

"And that Zhao Yu."

"All day long, other than giving those empty, pretentious speeches at various meetings, he just takes people around to 'inspect,' but in reality, he doesn't do a damn thing. All the work is dumped on me."

"As the Vice President, I'm now doing the work of the actual President and worrying about the entire student body."

Speaking of this, she turned her head and gave Huang Mao a lingering look.

"Sometimes I really feel like I'm just a pure tool."

Huang Mao listened and chuckled; this kind of ranting session was practically his comfort zone.

"The capable do more work, after all. Who told you, Vice President Jiang, to be so capable?"

"Besides, that guy is just a figurehead; everyone knows it."

"In reality, this Student Union belongs to Jiang, not Zhao; isn't that also a recognized fact?"

The two exchanged words, as if they had returned to some afternoon in high school.

There weren't many people in the classroom, and the cicadas outside the window were very noisy.

They were just like this, organizing that pile of messy documents and forms while complaining about the dean and the principal, who seemed to have nothing to do all day.

That sense of tacit understanding, where there was no need to deliberately find topics and even silence wouldn't feel awkward.

Made this office, which originally seemed somewhat cold and serious, inexplicably have a touch of warmth.

Until Huang Mao felt his wrists getting a bit sore and prepared to stop.

Jiang Mengshu suddenly turned around.

The sound of the chair turning was exceptionally clear in the quiet air.

She tilted her head up, her eyes, which always carried a hint of sharpness, now filled with earnestness.

"President."

"Are you really... not planning on coming back?"

This question came somewhat suddenly, but it also seemed to be within reason.

Jiang Mengshu stared into his eyes, her tone carrying a near-stubborn persistence.

"Someone like Zhao Yu only relies on his family's stinking money and underhanded tactics."

"Next election, as long as you are willing to step up."

"Plus my operations on this side, he definitely won't stand a chance."

"And with the lesson from last time, we won't let that kind of disgusting thing happen again."

Huang Mao's hand, which was kneading her shoulders, paused slightly.

The air seemed to freeze for a few seconds.

He looked at Jiang Mengshu's eyes, which were full of anticipation, and sighed in his heart.

"Forget it."

Huang Mao withdrew his hand, leaned against the edge of the desk, hands in his pockets, his tone as calm as if he were discussing what to have for dinner.

"I'm really too lazy to bother anymore."

"It's pretty good as it is now; I'm free from all worries."

"Those messy, troublesome things aren't suitable for a slacker like me."

He watched the light in Jiang Mengshu's eyes dim little by little, and couldn't help but reach out and ruffle her short hair.

It felt unexpectedly soft.

"When the time comes, you can just take the position yourself."

"I believe you will be very suitable for that position, more suitable than anyone else."

"President Jiang, doesn't that sound pretty natural too?"

Jiang Mengshu let him mess up her hairstyle without dodging or speaking.

It was just that the emotions in her eyes became somewhat complex and difficult to understand.

Silence.

A subtle silence, carrying a bit of regret and unwillingness, spread between the two.

Huang Mao feared this kind of atmosphere the most.

He coughed, forcibly breaking this heaviness.

"Alright, massage service ends here."

He clapped his hands, as if to pat away non-existent dust, and also as if to pat away those heavy topics.

"Speak, Vice President Jiang."

"What is your second request?"

Jiang Mengshu seemed to have just snapped out of some emotion.

She took a deep breath, adjusted her sitting posture, and transformed back into that dashing and capable Vice President.

It was just that her gaze became sharper than before, even carrying a certain probing light.

"The second request is very simple."

She turned her chair to face Huang Mao directly, crossed her arms, and struck a posture of interrogation.

"Tell me the truth—"

"President, what exactly is your relationship with that student, Leng Qingxuan?"

"Don't try to fool me with that 'just ordinary classmates' line."

Jiang Mengshu narrowed her eyes slightly, like a fox staring at its prey.

"I want to hear the truth."

"Don't worry, you know my mouth; it's absolutely tight."

Huang Mao looked at her "if you don't tell the truth, I won't work" expression and rubbed his temples with a headache.

Telling her... it really shouldn't be anything.

Anyway, even if he didn't say it, if she wanted to investigate, she could find something out herself.

"Alright."

Huang Mao sighed and spread his hands.

"Actually, it's nothing complicated."

"It's just that she has some situation at home and doesn't want to live on campus or go home."

"It just so happens I have a spare room, so she's temporarily staying at my place."

"That's all."

"..."

This time, it was Jiang Mengshu's turn to be silent.

After a full five or six seconds, she blinked, as if she had just digested this information.

"Staying... at your place?"

Her voice sounded somewhat distant, like a radio with a bad signal.

At the same time, her hands on her knees gripped the fabric of her pants tightly.

If one looked closely, one would find her body trembling slightly.

"This really is... surprising."

Then, she leaned forward slightly, her eyes locked firmly onto Huang Mao's face.

"Then... since you are living together."

"Is there... no 'special relationship' between you two?"

"Or rather, have you done anything... that crossed the line?"

This question was asked too bluntly.

In Huang Mao's mind, the scene from last night flashed almost instantly.

That dimly lit room.

That black T-shirt carrying body heat.

And those clumsy yet unusually persistent hands.

And that kind of...

His expression stiffened for a moment.

His eyes also drifted unnaturally for a moment.

"That's definitely not the case."

Huang Mao quickly adjusted his state and put on the appearance of a gentleman.

"That young lady is actually a living idiot when it comes to daily life."

"Rather than a landlord, I'm more like her nanny."

"Every day I have to serve her meals and teach her how to use the washing machine."

"I'm annoyed to death, how could I have the mood to do any of that messy stuff."

He said this rant with sincerity, and it was indeed the absolute truth.

But Jiang Mengshu knew him too well.

Or rather, she had been observing him all along.

That momentary hesitation just now.

That fleeting panic.

Even if it was only a fraction of a second, she had captured it precisely.

At that moment.

Jiang Mengshu felt her heart being squeezed hard by a hand.

A current of electricity shot from her tailbone straight to the top of her head.

The uncontrollable trembling of her body was almost impossible to hide.

He lied.

Or rather, he was hiding something.

Something... definitely happened between them!

This realization caused Jiang Mengshu's brain to experience a dizzying sensation of near-suffocation.

But she quickly suppressed this abnormality.

She didn't expose him; instead, she seemed to heave a sigh of relief and revealed a perfect smile.

"So that's how it is."

"Looking at it this way, in the end, it really was just a 'misunderstanding'."

"I knew it; how could the President be taken down so quickly."

She smiled, but a light that was hard to understand flickered in her eyes.

"Since it's a misunderstanding, that makes things easier."

Huang Mao looked at her appearance, which had instantly returned to normal, and always felt something was strange.

But this girl was always unfathomable, so he didn't think much of it.

"Alright, I've told the truth."

"What about the third request?"

"Hurry up and finish it so I can go back and catch up on sleep."

Jiang Mengshu, upon hearing this, didn't answer immediately.

She leaned back in her chair, her fingers gently twirling the tips of her short hair, her eyes playful.

"As for the third one..."

She dragged out the tail of her sentence, a cunning arc forming at the corner of her mouth.

"I'll reserve it for now."

"Huh?"

Huang Mao was stunned for a moment, almost thinking he had misheard.

"This thing can be paid in installments?"

"Why not?"

Jiang Mengshu spread her hands with righteous confidence.

"Actually, I haven't decided what I want you to do yet."

"But since we agreed on three, and you, President, agreed to it."

"Then this third one will just be owed for now."

"When the day comes that I've decided, or when I have a need."

"I will naturally tell the President."

She blinked, looking exactly like a little fox that had stolen a chicken.

"Don't worry, it will definitely be within your 'scope of ability'."

Huang Mao looked at her expression as if she had him figured out, and rolled his eyes helplessly.

Great, this counts as signing a deed of indenture.

Although it's a blank one.

"Fine, fine, fine, whatever you say."

He sighed and stood up, preparing to leave.

"Then in return, the matter I asked of you, can you do it now?"

"If it drags on any longer, I'm afraid the popularity of that post will have room to increase even further."

Jiang Mengshu nodded, her fingers already resting on the mouse.

The light from the screen shone on her face, making her look capable and confident.

"Don't worry, President."

"This kind of small matter, I can handle it very quickly."

"Maybe it won't even take until the afternoon."

"By lunchtime, that post will have completely disappeared."

"The clarification post that replaces it will also follow immediately."

She looked up and waved at Huang Mao.

"You can just go back and catch up on your sleep in peace."

"Leave the rest to me."