CHAPTER 391: CHAPTER 365

"Travel is fine, but we should choose safe countries to go to, like the United Kingdom or France. I’ve been there before; they’re quite nice."

"By the way, speaking of travel, darling, you wouldn’t believe how many notices have come in during your half-month vacation."

"You should mentally prepare yourself; I estimate you might be too exhausted to even eat for the next month."

Jiang Ruan blinked, her dark eyes filled with surprise, "Is it that terrifying?"

Sister Qin nodded, "Yes."

She got up to fetch a pile of contracts and a chart, "This is your schedule for the next month and a half."

"Take a look first, it’s good to be prepared."

Jiang Ruan took it and saw that starting tomorrow, she has three endorsements a day, some days even six, running around six places, and she’s supposed to keep up that pace for over a month.

Jiang Ruan felt lost in the chaos, "Give me a knife, just kill me."

She felt like crying and couldn’t help but ask, "Why are there so many ad endorsements?"

Sister Qin smiled kindly, "Isn’t it because you’re too popular?"

"Darling, keep it up. Think of it as money. Although you’re not short on money now, don’t you want to see the numbers on your bank card keep increasing?"

Jiang Ruan: "I do."

Taking a deep breath, she composed herself. Looking at the endorsements, her eyes were firm, "It’s okay, I’m invincible like a cockroach. It’s just shooting ads."

"No big deal."

Sister Qin laughed heartily, "That’s the Jiang Ruan I know."

So the next month and more went by.

Jiang Ruan was busy from early morning to late night every day, and there were nights when she finished shooting ads past one a.m., leaving her so tired she fell asleep in the company rest area.

The villa was brightly lit in the deep night.

Bao Ye hung up the phone, his dark eyes flashing with emotion, glanced at the servant beside him, "Go rest."

"Yes."

The living room instantly quieted down.

Bao Ye got up, grabbed his coat, and headed out.

A few minutes later, a black Rolls-Royce left the garage and drove south.

In the rest room, Jiang Ruan slept soundly on the bed, exhaustion etched under her eyes; she didn’t even have time to remove her makeup.

Tomorrow morning, she had an ad shoot scheduled for eight o’clock.

It took an hour to get to the castle, so going back and forth was unnecessary.

Plus, Jiang Ruan was truly too tired; even speaking felt exhausting, her mind a fog.

Dreamily, she seemed to hear the door open.

Jiang Ruan opened her eyes to see a shadow, dark against the light from the door, moving toward the bed step by step.

Startled, she was reminded of the lingering post-traumatic stress from her last kidnapping and scrambled up, backing away, her voice trembling, "Who are you?"

"What are you doing?"

Perhaps not expecting her to wake up, the silhouette paused, followed by the familiar sound of a man’s voice reaching her ears.

"It’s me."

"Don’t be scared."

With that, "click," the bedroom light came on.

Bao Ye’s face was instantly illuminated.

Still dressed in a suit, clearly just finished a busy workday.

Upon hearing his voice and seeing him, Jiang Ruan’s forehead sweat quickly evaporated. She took a breath, wiped her sweat, her throat a bit hoarse, "Bao Ye, why are you here so late?"

Hearing her voice, Bao Ye frowned and looked at the empty glass on the table, asking her, "Is this your glass?"

Jiang Ruan replied, "Yes."

She got off the bed, slipping into her slippers.

The rest room wasn’t big but was well-equipped, with everything available.

The water cooler gurgled, Bao Ye poured half a cup of cold water, added some hot water until it became warm, then stopped.

Holding it, he handed it to her.

"Have some water; your throat is hoarse."

Jiang Ruan thanked him, taking the cup with small hands and gulping it down.

Bao Ye glanced around the room, finding it much smaller than the bathroom at home. This was where she slept.

It’s unsafe.

He asked her, "Why is your phone off?"

Jiang Ruan sighed, turned to find her phone, pressed but it wouldn’t turn on, admitting helplessly, "Battery ran out and it shut down."

"Today was too exhausting. After finishing, I was dead tired and didn’t even check my phone."

"Tomorrow I have to get up early for shooting, coming back and forth was too tiring, so I didn’t go home—forgot to let you know and worried you, I’m sorry."

Jiang Ruan apologized.

Bao Ye knew she had been very tired recently, rushing through ads and notices every day. He saw her sleeping with makeup still on, dark circles under her eyes, clearly suffering from severe sleep deprivation.

His expression turned unpleasant and he straightforwardly said, "No more shooting, postpone those notices for tomorrow, let them find someone else. I’ll pay you whatever it takes."

"Huh?"

Looking at his angry face, Jiang Ruan blinked, holding the cup a bit dazed.

Then she realized he was truly angry, and couldn’t help but giggle.

After drinking some water, her throat felt much better.

She put down the cup and leaned toward the man, smiling softly, "You’re so cute, Bao Ye."

"But I can’t do that, this is my job. Choosing this career means I have to be responsible, I have to bear the work pressure it brings,"

She wrapped her arms around his neck, "Just like you manage the Bao Family, isn’t it tiring every day? Working late nights until dawn often, there isn’t a job anywhere that isn’t tiring."

"To enjoy the spotlight it brings, one must bear the pressure it brings,"

Getting lectured by her, Bao Ye laughed angrily, pinching her nose with his fingertips, "Only you could talk sense. Getting gutsy, daring to lecture me now?"

Jiang Ruan whimpered, "Ouch."

Her small face looked pitiful.

She said, "How could I dare lecture you? Who are you anyway, you’re Mr. Bao. I’m just speaking truths, okay."

Bao Ye released her nose, "I shouldn’t have worried about you,"

"Only to end up lectured by you."

His tone sounded fierce, yet his gaze upon her was filled with tenderness.

Jiang Ruan wasn’t afraid at all, leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, coaxing, "Alright, I won’t lecture you,"

"Don’t be mad!"

Bao Ye’s face softened

Jiang Ruan asked him curiously, "How did you know I was here?"

Bao Ye’s lips parted, "Secret."

Jiang Ruan narrowed her eyes, "Could it be you bribed someone around me, planted a spy?"

Bao Ye curved his lips, "Guess."

Jiang Ruan widened her eyes, "Don’t tell me I guessed it right."

"Yes, you know who it is." Bao Ye said blandly.

Jiang Ruan pursued, "Who."

Bao Ye: "Your agent."

Jiang Ruan: "..."

It was Sister Qin.

"I couldn’t reach you by phone, so I had to contact your agent. As your agent, if she doesn’t even know your schedule, then she ought to be replaced."

Bao Ye said coldly,

"She told me you were here."

Jiang Ruan: "Then you came to find me?"