The most beautiful space

83 Sue's New Assistant

Xie Chengjing's question made Su Tong realize that she really didn't know much about Luo City. She had come to Luo City to work, not to sightsee and enjoy life. She basically stayed on set with the film crew or went to the Silt Studio, occasionally eating at a few specialty restaurants. She was also fully aware that her appearance could easily cause trouble. Back in China, the security was better, and with Xie Chengjing protecting her, Su Tong rarely went out in public. How much more so in a foreign country where she knew no one? Su Tong was very careful about her safety and didn't want to cause any more trouble abroad for Xie Chengjing to handle. She rarely went to popular tourist attractions or famous streets with crowds of people.

She answered honestly, "I'd like to, but I have absolutely no idea what places in Los Angeles are worth visiting. The only famous tourist destination I've ever been to is Hollywood, and that was for work. At most, I can only take you for a stroll on Sunset Boulevard. Besides, you might not be interested in places that most people like, like Disneyland. Are you interested?"

He changed the subject and continued, "Second Young Master, are you doing this on purpose? I don't believe you don't know what I do in Luo City. Although I'm not as busy as you, I'm definitely not idle. I still have a lot to do every day. You know I don't know about these things, yet you still deliberately ask me."

Xie Chengjing looked cold, but his palms were warm, whereas Su Tong's hands were usually a little cool. The two walked hand in hand toward the hotel entrance. Although Xie Chengjing had carried Su Tong when they went hiking before, they both felt that holding hands like this was warmer and more intimate. There was a tacit understanding between them that no one else could intrude upon. Although Su Tong was a little embarrassed, she didn't think there was anything wrong with walking hand in hand with someone she was close to, and she held Xie Chengjing's warm hand openly.

Wang Lu's relationship with Xie Chengjing was half superior and half friend, and he usually prioritized their superior-subordinate relationship over friendship. However, he was less reserved with Su Tong, and his playful and joking nature was no longer concealed. When Su Tong looked at him, he winked and teased her, mouthing "So sweet, so sweet," before deliberately keeping a distance from the two of them and walking behind them.

However, Su Tong simply smiled in response, no longer immediately distancing herself from Wang Lu's teasing about her and Xie Chengjing as she used to. Some opportunities should be seized, and some people should not be missed. Xie Chengjing was the person Su Tong felt she should give each other a chance. If she didn't muster the courage to take a step now, as she got older, the complexity and hardship of life would only become more and more cruel. Su Tong felt that she might never fall in love with anyone again in her life.

Su Tong wore a clean and neat sweatshirt and trousers, her long hair neatly tied back with a hair tie, but this did not diminish her exquisite beauty. Xie Chengjing was never one to chase after designer brands or luxury goods; his ordinary casual wear removed the aura of his high position, revealing his cool and aloof demeanor. The two, one cool and the other gentle, stood together without any sense of incongruity; they were a rare and striking pair. This neighborhood, along with the hotel where Su Tong stayed, was an area in Los Angeles where the number of white and Asian people was almost equal. Passersby were attracted to the two, openly giving them their attention.

When Xie Chengjing heard that Su Tong had seen through his "deliberate question," he replied, "It's impossible for you to take me around Luo City, because I should know Luo City much better than you do. There are several nice resorts around Luo City. I don't have many opportunities to go abroad, but I stayed in Luo City for a full six months to recover from my injury. During that time, I went from being so busy that I only slept three or four hours a day to suddenly having all my free time, which was really boring. So I went to see some interesting places in the surrounding states of Country A. If you want to go sightseeing, I can take you."

After saying that, he added, "Even Disneyland would be fine."

Su Tong's attention was drawn to the "recovery" part. She had heard rumors that he had suffered a serious injury to his left arm during a special mission, which was the one for which he was awarded a first-class merit. However, she had never heard Xie Chengjing mention it himself. So she asked him, "Is it the gunshot wound to your left arm? You spent half a year recovering in Luo City. How serious was it? Now it's not really noticeable that your left hand is injured."

Xie Chengjing said, "It's alright. It's just that I was numb for a while after the injury and couldn't control my left arm. The treatment and rehabilitation took a long time. Now, because my arm strength is better than average, I have no problem with daily life and light physical labor. However, it's easy to see in military training that my left arm strength, grip strength, and dexterity are much worse than my right arm. But what I'm doing now doesn't require extremely strong physical strength, so it's not a big problem."

As they spoke, the two had already reached the hotel elevator. Xie Chengjing raised his left hand with ease, and pressed the up button with his slender index finger. It looked like a perfectly healthy arm, and no one who didn't know would have guessed that this hand had been seriously injured.

He spoke casually, yet in great detail, without sounding perfunctory. Su Tong felt that indeed, one reaps what one sows. Xie Chengjing's achievements today were the result of his blood and sweat. How many sons of prominent families in the capital had ever faced life and death like Xie Chengjing and suffered such serious injuries?

Speaking of injuries, Su Tong recalled something from her childhood and said, "I can't even imagine how painful a serious injury like yours would be. I've never suffered any serious injuries growing up. Thinking about it, my parents were really quite easy to raise me."

This was a bit too much self-praise, and Su Tong knew she had worried her parents quite a bit. She couldn't help but chuckle as she spoke, only stopping when Xie Chengjing's focused gaze swept over her. She continued, "It was when I was in third or fourth grade. One time, my uncle was riding his bicycle with me on the back, and I accidentally got my heel caught in the wind. I got a big gash there. But the pain was only momentary, not what I remember most. What hurt was that my uncle took me straight to the nearest small clinic for stitches. They didn't even give me anesthesia. My uncle and the clinic owner held my hands and feet down so I couldn't struggle. No matter how much I screamed in pain, it was no use. The owner's wife just stitched four stitches into my heel. It hurt so much! After that, my uncle bought me two boxes of milk before I forgave him."

Xie Chengjing recalled the last time Su Tong dislocated her arm in the city, and he really couldn't imagine the way Su Tong cried and wailed as a child.

As soon as Su Tong finished speaking, the elevator doors opened with a "ding." Su Tong turned around and exclaimed in surprise, her eyes practically popping out of their sockets.

Inside, a white couple was locked in a passionate kiss, their bodies locked in a tangle of kisses. The petite, short-haired woman was practically lifted up by the man, her arms wrapped around his neck as she excitedly nibbled at his lips. The neckline of her low-cut dress was nearly bursting open with the intensity of their kiss! The man, with one hand supporting her hips and the other pressing against the back of her head, returned the kiss just as passionately, as if he wanted to devour her whole. It was incredibly intense!

The key point is that the man's hand supporting the woman's buttocks was groping and kneading, while the woman was also twisting and rubbing against the man's waist and thighs in a seductive manner. The two were making blush-inducing sounds during their passionate French kiss, completely ignoring the opening of the elevator door and Su Tong standing at the door. In fact, the kiss was becoming more and more intense.

Su Tong's face flushed bright red instantly, her inner monologue practically screaming: "I know you people from country A are quite outgoing, and I know your feelings for each other are burning hot and you desperately need to express them, but can't you at least do it in a private place? Don't you realize how awkward this is for us bystanders who don't have as much passion as you?!"

Su Tong instinctively tried to let go of Xie Chengjing's hand, but Xie Chengjing's grip was not tight but very firm, and she couldn't break free at all.

Xie Chengjing didn't react much, but his eyes clearly turned cold. He kicked the elevator wall twice, and only then did the couple, who were completely engrossed in their conversation, notice Xie Chengjing's increasingly tense demeanor outside the elevator doors. Su Tong lowered her head, unable to bear looking directly at him, so the two couldn't see her face. The woman, however, was unusually bold; she threw a few flirtatious glances at Xie Chengjing, whose looks, physique, and demeanor were all impeccable, before being led away by the man with a giggle.

Thanks to that couple, Su Tong went upstairs to her suite and sat in front of the computer researching tourist information in Luo City, looking for good food, fun activities, and beautiful scenery. It took her quite a while to find her "normal way of getting along with the Second Young Master."

The next day was supposed to be spent attending a show with Sylter and Adonis. Although Su Tong had been training for a while and had made some progress, she still lacked practical experience. Sylter intended to arrange for Su Tong to try out on the runway. Coincidentally, there was a small new product launch event, so Su Tong could gain some experience. Since Xie Chengjing had come to see her, Su Tong planned to call Sylter and plead her way to get back as early as possible, and then ask for a day off from tomorrow's training session.

Just as she picked up her phone, Xie Chengjing, who had ignored her while Su Tong was searching for tourist information in Luo City, stopped her. His "sweet talk" skill kicked in again, and he said to her, "You don't need to take leave. I came to see you, not to play. It's enough to be with you."

Su Tong was agitated: "But if I don't ask for leave, I'll basically be busy from morning till night tomorrow, and I guess you'll think the things I'm busy with are pretty boring."

Hsieh Cheng-ching said, "It's okay, my work is actually quite boring every day."

*******

The next day, as soon as Su Tong arrived at the Hilter Studio, 11-year-old Tony, who was out earning pocket money during his vacation and was now in charge of cleaning the studio, greeted her. The cheerful brown-haired boy smiled, revealing a set of white teeth: "Sue, good morning." Then he saw Xie Chengjing, dressed in a denim suit, wearing a baseball cap, and with his head down, enter behind Su Tong and asked, "Sue, did you get a new assistant?"

Su Tong herself wasn't used to Xie Chengjing's attire. She originally thought that Xie Chengjing would just visit her on set like he did when he was in China, and watch from the sidelines. However, Xie Chengjing said that would be too high-profile and wouldn't allow him to fully experience Su Tong's life in Country A for a day and a half. So he said he would be Su Tong's assistant for a day and a half in Country A.

Su Tong thought to herself: Do you look like an assistant? Let alone whether others believe it or not, I myself don't believe I can afford an assistant like you. It would be more believable if I were your assistant.

However, Xie Chengjing had clearly planned this all along and completely saw through Su Tong's grumbling. Another subordinate surnamed Gao, whom he had brought from Country A, had already bought the entire outfit from head to toe: glasses, wig, denim suit, baseball cap, and canvas shoes. So, the next day, Su Tong took his newly appointed temporary assistant, "Xiao Xie," whose role was that of a "recent college graduate," into action. Xie Chengjing wore a medium-length wig with slightly longer bangs, paired with large, non-prescription black-rimmed glasses, and skillfully controlled his gaze. Dressed so youthfully, he really did look like a young man in his early twenties.

The first person the studio met, Tony, was still quite short and looked like a child. Tony immediately and sincerely complimented him with a touch of envy, "You have a great physique, don't you think?"

Su Tong glanced at Xie Chengjing, smiled faintly, and replied, "It's alright, it's alright. Tony, your figure will only get better in the future." (166 Reading Network)