Chapter 5: The Fifth Day After Transmigration – A Hero Saves the Beauty?

The winter sunlight always felt especially warm indoors. He Chen sat at his desk, staring blankly at the resignation letter on the table.

“He Chen.” A voice with a smile came from the doorway. “I passed Master Alkewen’s test.”

A cheerful figure walked into the office, her face glowing with a bright smile. “Now I’m officially a student of the international design master Alkewen!”

She smiled as she threw herself into his arms, her bright eyes fixed on him.

Lin Wan and Yun Shuning only shared a few similar facial features, but their temperaments were entirely different. Lin Wan was always full of energy, as if nothing could ever bring her down.

Her voice also sounded sweet, with a natural tone of coquettishness no matter what she said—completely different from Yun Shuning’s cold and sorrowful voice.

He Chen frowned, pushing aside these messy thoughts.

“Our Designer Lin really is amazing.” He smiled and hugged her. “Let’s go celebrate.”

“I really didn’t expect that the backup plan would win first place.” Lin Wan buried herself in his arms, and the corner of her eye caught sight of the resignation letter on the desk.

“Secretary Yun is resigning?”

“Yeah.” He Chen nodded.

“What a pity.” Lin Wan noticed something was off about him but pretended not to know anything. She smiled and asked, “By the way, did they catch the person who ruined my dress design?”

“Not yet.” He Chen’s arm stiffened for a moment, then he casually changed the subject. “What do you want to eat tonight? I’ll have someone book a table.”

He didn’t know how to explain Yun Shuning’s situation to her, so he might as well hide it.

“Then I’ll have to think carefully.” Lin Wan lowered her head, hiding the darkness in her eyes.

That incident caused such a big scene—how could she not know who did it? Why was He Chen lying to her?

Aside from the possibility that he had feelings for that woman, she couldn’t think of another reason.

Did Yun Shuning think that just resigning would be enough?

She would soon be busy studying with her teacher and wouldn’t have time or energy to focus on the people around him, so…

“Have you decided?”

“Yeah, let’s go have Japanese food.”

…

Ding.
The next morning, Lin Wan was awakened by the notification sound on her phone. Frowning, she picked it up. Who was contacting her this early?

[Calendar Reminder: December 7 – Yu Cheng’s birthday.]

Today was Yu Cheng’s birthday.

She raised her eyebrows and smiled as she dialed the familiar number.

“Yu Cheng.” Her voice was clear and pleasant but carried a trace of fatigue. “Happy birthday.”

“Who upset you?” Yu Cheng sat in a pitch-dark room, the only light coming from the faint glow of his phone.

He picked up the call and spoke with certainty.

“No one.” Lin Wan sat on her bed and laughed in response.

“Who was it?”

“Really, no one.” She waved her hand casually, then awkwardly put it down, realizing the person on the other end couldn’t see her. “How’s your health lately? Are you eating regularly?”

“Yes.” Yu Cheng answered with a calm face. Lying came as naturally to him as eating or drinking water. “I’m doing much better now.”

“I don’t believe you.” Lin Wan clearly knew his character and spoke directly. “Let’s video chat.”

“I just got out of the shower—are you sure?” He swirled the wine glass in his hand. His robe was redder and thicker than the wine inside, almost like blood.

He lifted the corners of his lips into a half-smile.

“Forget it.” Lin Wan murmured, her face slightly flushed. “Take good care of yourself. I’m hanging up.”

“You haven’t told me who upset you.” Yu Cheng spoke slowly, his voice carrying a strange rhythm, as if trying to coax her into confessing everything.

“Actually…” Lin Wan opened her mouth, but finally responded helplessly, “Forget it, it’s nothing.”

“If I look into it myself, I can’t promise what might happen.” His tone sounded like a joke, but she knew he meant it.

When they met, Yu Cheng was just an unacknowledged illegitimate child of the Yu family. But in the past few years, the legitimate heirs of the Yu family had all either died or been injured—he was the only one left standing.

She didn’t know what had happened, but one thing was obvious: Yu Cheng was definitely not as harmless as he appeared in front of her.

That was exactly why she had made this call.

She sighed and briefly explained what had happened.

As for Yun Shuning’s actions, she glossed over them. But anyone who knew her understood how much she cherished her designs.

“Yun Shuning.” Yu Cheng slowly repeated the name and chuckled. “You won’t let me touch He Chen—then this one, surely I can deal with her?”

He couldn’t touch He Chen, because of the He family’s power. But others weren’t so lucky.

“Yu Cheng.” Lin Wan sighed and spoke seriously into the phone. “You promised me you wouldn’t hurt anyone. Are you going back on your word?”

“Of course not.” Yu Cheng chuckled, lowering his voice. “I always keep my promises.”

“Secretary Yun did all this just because she likes He Chen. She’s probably not a bad person.”

He Chen again. Why did so many people like him?

Yu Cheng’s eyes turned icy cold, and he sneered. “Then let her like someone else.”

He refused to believe he was worse than that man.

Anyway, he was feeling quite bored lately.

After hanging up, Lin Wan looked at the dark screen. The smile on her face slowly faded away: Now, she could finally focus on her studies with her teacher in peace.

…

Likes solitude, likes the color black, hates taking photos;
Doesn’t eat eggplant, cilantro, or animal liver; is extremely particular about the freshness of ingredients;
Likes gardening and enjoys calligraphy.

Yun Shuning looked at the list of He Yan’s preferences she had compiled, and a soft smile appeared in her eyes.

She had already memorized all of this backwards and forwards. The love story between her and him was also continuously being perfected.

A self-conscious girl happened to meet the head of the He family during college. He was mysterious, handsome, talented, and capable—he fit every part of her ideal boyfriend fantasy.

She didn’t know why they ended up together. All she could do was cautiously maintain this love that felt like a dream.

She was obedient, always trying her best to keep up with his pace; yet she was also persistent—insisting on refusing all his help, not wanting this pure and beautiful relationship to be tainted by worldly things.

Up until this point, it was still just a love story about a girl who had humbled herself to the extreme. She only hoped to make the relationship last longer and never dared to dream that they could truly stay together forever.

She knew he didn’t like taking photos, so she never once took a picture.

She hid their relationship with great care, never letting anyone find out, only daring to reminisce in private.

Originally, this was the love story she had written for the original character. But after her response to He Chen’s question yesterday, clearly, there should be an additional part.

How could a one-sided love be considered love?

She was too insecure, so she never dared look him in the eyes, and in doing so, she ignored the care he hid beneath his cold exterior.

He knew she liked cilantro, so he never told her how much he disliked it. He would silently endure the taste and considerately eat with her.

He sensed the insecurity behind her smile, so he would take her to the small snack streets she felt comfortable in. Even if he couldn’t eat the food, he would force himself to.

He would quietly solve all her troubles without her knowing.

Originally, he had planned to slowly, little by little, enter her heart and tell her how outstanding she was.

But because of an accident, he disappeared.

She gave everything she had trying to find him.

Yun Shuning looked at the words she had casually written in her notebook and helplessly wiped away the tears at the corner of her eyes. It was just a lie, and yet she had gotten so caught up in the role.

If only… it had all been real.

She stood up and lit the messy writing on fire with a lighter.

The scorching flames burned away all traces of the lie, leaving behind only faint grey-black ashes.

…

“How do you make someone fall in love with you?” Yu Cheng lounged lazily on the office sofa, eyes filled with amusement.

Secretary Ming clenched his fists. He just knew that even if President Yu came to the company, he absolutely wouldn’t do any serious work!

He took a deep breath and put on a professional face. “President Yu, Zhiming Technology submitted a collaboration proposal two days ago. If you have time today…”

“You take care of it.” Yu Cheng picked up the wine glass from the table and replied casually.

Secretary Ming forced a stiff smile. “Understood.”

He had come to Yu Corporation full of enthusiasm for the secretary position, never expecting to face the greatest challenge of his career.

How could someone care so little about their own company? If Yu Cheng came in two days out of the week, it was already a blessing. Whose company was this, anyway?

“You still haven’t answered my question,” Yu Cheng said, completely unaware—or uncaring—of Secretary Ming’s thoughts.

Secretary Ming looked at the thin, delicate figure slumped on the sofa and sighed. “You still haven’t given up on Miss Lin?”

“I don’t even know how to write the word ‘give up.’” Yu Cheng turned his head, revealing a face that was both refined and alluring. A bright red mole sat on his collarbone—like a mark that spelled trouble. “But this time, it’s not about her.”

Secretary Ming had a thousand questions on the tip of his tongue, but in the end, he straightened his posture and, from a secretary’s perspective, offered professional advice to his boss:

“Gifts, fireworks, dinners, heroic rescues, help in times of need…”

He rattled off at least ten romantic strategies in one breath.

“Heroic rescue,” Yu Cheng looked at him and smiled wickedly. “Interesting.”

“But if you want the rescued person to feel truly grateful, the usual kind of rescue won’t be enough.” He leaned casually on the sofa, eyes glinting with mischief. “Tell me, how many ribs would be appropriate to break?”