Volume One, Chapter 15: Sister, Hide It Well...

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With the man’s features so close before her eyes, Yao Yao’s palm, gripping the bedsheet, had begun to sweat faintly. At that very moment, the living-room door sounded with a series of knocks.

Her body trembled, every muscle drawn taut. Yet He Yanchen seemed not to have heard a thing. His deep eyes remained fixed on her, and beneath the dim light, a trace of tenderness gradually spread through them.

A feeling she had never experienced before shot through her heart. Her pulse pounding like a drum, she pressed her hand against his abdominal muscles and gave him a small push. “Someone—someone’s knocking.”

Looking down at the woman beneath him, her voice trembling and her face pale, He Yanchen seemed to let a hint of amusement pass across his firm lips. His clean, heated breath brushed against the rim of her ear, making her earlobe tingle as her body trembled involuntarily.

“Hide. Don’t come out.”

Her red lips parted slightly. Even after the man’s imposing figure had vanished completely from her sight, the breath she exhaled still carried an intense heat. Her fair face was as white as a sheet of paper, her palms slick with layer upon layer of cold sweat. When she slowly climbed out of bed, she was still somewhat at a loss.

Who would come looking for He Yanchen in the middle of the night, braving a blizzard?

Yao Yao was deeply puzzled, and her curiosity had risen to its peak. She silently walked to the bedroom door and had only just pressed herself against the heavy solid-wood panel when she heard a familiar male voice from outside in the living room.

“President He, this is your home?”

Although the apartment was in a prime location, it did not match the mansion Xie Huaijin had imagined He Yanchen would live in. With He Yanchen’s status, he should have been living in a spacious, luxurious villa like his own, not a single-story open-plan apartment.

“Sit wherever you like.”

He Yanchen did not answer directly. He had no desire to waste a single word on such a pointless question. The arrogant outline of his chin was clearly visible beneath the bright lights.

The moment Xie Huaijin sat down on the sofa, he faintly felt a trace of lingering warmth. Before he had time to think about it, He Yanchen asked, “Would you like a drink?”

The whisky in He Yanchen’s hand was unfamiliar to him, but judging by its packaging and He Yanchen’s wealth, Xie Huaijin knew it could not be ordinary. He had built his fortune from nothing and was reluctant to spend money on many things. As for alcohol, buying anything too expensive to drink was simply an extravagant and impractical indulgence to him.

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Being able to sample an expensive liquor at He Yanchen’s home was therefore quite exciting for him. Without hesitation, he nodded. “All right.”

While He Yanchen poured the drink, Xie Huaijin’s gaze wandered around the room. Suddenly, he noticed the crystal wineglass on the coffee table. A trace of lipstick remained on its rim. It had clearly been used by a woman. His earlier impression had been correct—someone had been sitting on this sofa, and that someone was a woman.

He Yanchen came over with the glass. As Xie Huaijin accepted it, he raised a brow and asked, “President He, have I come at a bad time? If I’ve disturbed Sister-in-law’s rest, perhaps I should apologize to her in person?”

According to the rumors, He Yanchen was single and a full twelve years younger than him. But social standing was social standing; even though he was older, Xie Huaijin still had to address him as “brother.” And even a woman He Yanchen casually toyed with had to be called Sister-in-law.

By then, Yao Yao, hiding behind the bedroom door, had already realized that the visitor was Xie Huaijin.

She drew in a sharp breath and covered her violently pounding heart. She did not know why Xie Huaijin had come here, but she did know that his appearance was no coincidence—He Yanchen had summoned him. The phone call He Yanchen had received just moments ago had been to arrange Xie Huaijin’s arrival.

Yao Yao stood rigidly against the door as heavy footsteps sounded outside.

What was happening?

Was Xie Huaijin coming into the bedroom?

The heating was on and the temperature was perfectly comfortable, yet her hands and feet felt icy cold. Terror filled her heart.

The footsteps stopped outside the door. Then He Yanchen’s low, unhurried voice drifted over.

“My sister doesn’t like being disturbed.”

Because of those words, Xie Huaijin did not dare take another step forward. Even after reaching the bedroom door, he could only turn around and walk back. His eyes paused for a moment before softening.

“I’m sorry, President He. You didn’t say anything just now, so I assumed you agreed. Since it’s inconvenient, I won’t go in and disturb Sister-in-law. I’ll get straight to the point. The reason I came to see you so late at night is mainly that I wanted to discuss Gu Yanzhe with you.”

Gu Yanzhe? Her employer…

Hiding behind the door, Yao Yao heard every word. Since Xie Huaijin knew Gu Yanzhe’s full name, he must already have investigated where she worked. Fortunately, He Yanchen was clever. The studio was registered under Gu Yanzhe’s name and had nothing to do with him, so no one could trace it back to him.

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He Yanchen understood the situation perfectly, but his expression remained calm. “Go on.”

Xie Huaijin answered directly. “You’ve met my wife before. We’ve been quarrelling lately, so she went out and found a job. As it happens, she joined the studio opened by your friend, Gu Yanzhe. She’s been working there for several days now and comes home very late every day. Today was even stranger—she still hasn’t come home. I don’t know Gu Yanzhe as a person, but I know my wife. She’s very devoted to her family. For her to be staying out so recklessly lately, I imagine work must be keeping her there.”

“You want me to call Gu Yanzhe and tell him to stop bothering your wife?”

A grave expression appeared between Xie Huaijin’s brows. “He shouldn’t be bothering her in the first place! He’s abusing his position for personal ends. Many family conflicts eventually lead to divorce because of bosses with ulterior motives like him!”

Gu Yanzhe was younger than him. Not only that, he was the only son of the Gu Group’s chairman. No one knew why he had come out to start a studio, but Xie Huaijin guessed it was probably a rich heir’s attempt at entrepreneurship. He had also investigated Gu Yanzhe’s romantic history. The man changed women as easily as he changed clothes, dating girls as young as eighteen and women as old as thirty. Yao Yao fit his usual prey perfectly.

Because Yao Yao had been staying out all day, his mother was left without anyone to care for her in the evenings. Today, Yao Yao had gone even further, sending him a message saying she would not be coming home and then refusing to reply. He did not want to offend Gu Yanzhe, so he had come to He Yanchen, hoping He Yanchen would speak on his behalf.

Watching him become so agitated, He Yanchen unexpectedly smiled. It was a faint, almost inaudible smile.

“Have you ever considered that perhaps she doesn’t want to be the one clinging to you?”

“I’m her lawful husband. If she isn’t supposed to cling to me, then is she supposed to cling to Gu Yanzhe?!”

Xie Huaijin tugged at the corner of his mouth, his brows furrowing until his entire face seemed creased with displeasure. From that moment on, he genuinely felt he had come to the wrong place. So He Yanchen was a polished scoundrel after all, no different from Gu Yanzhe—birds of a feather.

He Yanchen’s tone remained neither warm nor cold, yet it carried an unmistakable decisiveness.

“What I mean is, she can decide for herself who she wants to be with.”