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Chapter 17: Are You Still Angry?

“Then make sure you get some rest, don’t push yourself too hard,” Wen Moyi said.

“Got it.” Yan Man smiled, then suddenly remembered something. “You ran into your ex-boyfriend, right? Did he notice you were pregnant?”

“Of course. I’m four months along already. But I didn’t tell him the baby was his.”

Wen Moyi looked a little troubled. “Luckily Brother Zhou Jin was beside me at the time. I said the child was his, but the two of them nearly got into a fight.”

“Brother Zhou Jin is back in the country?” Yan Man was surprised.

Zhou Jin, along with Tang Qingshuo and the others, grew up with Yan Man — they were all childhood friends.

“He came back the day before yesterday.”

“By the way, Brother Qingshuo’s four-year anniversary is in a month. Will you come back then?”

Wen Moyi’s voice suddenly lowered. No one wanted to bring up that topic — it was a sore spot for all of them.

“Of course I will,” Yan Man answered without the slightest hesitation.

“Okay, we’ll wait for you,” Wen Moyi said. After chatting a bit more, they hung up the phone.

Yan Man looked out the car window. Even at 10 PM in Beijing, there were still plenty of cars on the road. The city lights reflected off the dense rows of high-rises, all aglow.

Snowflakes drifted down in front of her, sticking to the window and slowly melting into water droplets, trickling down with no pattern.

Yan Man couldn’t help but remember something Tang Qingshuo once said to her —
He had wanted to take her to see snow in the north.

Because where they were from, snow was rare. Even when it snowed, it was just a thin layer.

They had promised that after returning from studying abroad, they would go see it together.

But that promise would never come true again.

Her eyes turned red, reflecting the falling snow outside. A single tear slipped down her cheek.

Tang Qingshuo’s face appeared in her mind, but it was slowly becoming blurry.

Taking his place was Tan Qishen — his face, his body, his every expression —
Yan Man remembered it all clearly.

She reached up and wiped away the tear at the corner of her eye, her voice hoarse as she gave the driver an instruction:
“Don’t go to Xicheng. Go to Park Hyatt.”

She kind of missed him.

Shen Jie, sitting in the passenger seat, turned around and gave Yan Man a helpless look.

It was always her sister Man who cared so much for President Tan. Why couldn’t she be a bit more headstrong this time?

Shen Jie wanted to say something to Yan Man, but in the end, the words wouldn’t come out.

Forget it — no use saying more.

She was an outsider in their relationship. All she could hope was that Sister Man would figure it out on her own.

The driver followed Yan Man’s orders and turned the car toward Chaoyang District.

—

Park Hyatt Residence.

Private Suite on the 66th Floor.

Yan Man deftly unlocked the door with her fingerprint. A soft beep sounded as it opened.

The spacious, luxurious interior featured carved golden-threaded nanmu wood ornaments right at the entrance, displaying various antiques like porcelain and cloisonné — all genuine artifacts from centuries ago, each worth a fortune.

Yan Man stepped inside. The room was empty.

Could it be that Tan Qishen didn’t come home tonight?

Just as she was about to message him, she heard the bathroom door open.

She turned her head — and saw a sight straight out of a fantasy.

The man had only a towel wrapped around his waist, revealing sharply defined eight-pack abs, broad shoulders, a firm lower abdomen — a perfect inverted triangle figure. A wolf-head tattoo on his arm was fully visible.

Tan Qishen was drying his hair with one hand, holding a cigarette with the other. His whole aura looked a bit gloomy.

His wet bangs were dripping, tension lurking beneath every exposed inch of skin. He looked up and spotted Yan Man.

His dark eyes narrowed slightly — he was clearly surprised she was here.

He just stared at her expressionlessly, then slowly raised the cigarette to his lips and took a drag, exhaling smoke lazily.

Yan Man’s gaze swept from his feet to his head, and once again, she broke the silence.

“Are you still angry?”

She stepped forward and grabbed his forearm. Even with her height of 1.72 meters, she looked petite next to him.

She gently rested her head against his chest.

So soft.
So cool to the touch.

Tan Qishen’s body stiffened slightly as her warm skin pressed against him. His expression didn’t soften; he said nothing.

Even though Yan Man didn’t know why he was angry — she hadn’t been mad when she saw him surrounded by women — she still tried to coax him like she usually did.

“We haven’t seen each other for four days. I don’t want to argue the moment we meet. Let’s make up, okay?”

Tan Qishen still didn’t say a word, just shifted the hand holding the cigarette away from her slightly.

Seeing his silence, Yan Man looked up and carefully asked, “Can you tell me why you’re mad?”

She wanted to address the issue properly. At least she needed to know the reason.

Hearing her question, Tan Qishen almost had a heart attack.

He was holding back his emotions, but the moment he thought about what Yan Man had said — that they’d break up when their agreement ended, and she wouldn’t cling to him — his anger flared again.

And worst of all — she wasn’t even jealous!

That was the real reason he was mad.

Tan Qishen suddenly pulled her hands off him, his voice cold and sarcastic.

“So you do remember to come back.”

He had originally planned to go straight to the old house tonight, but at the last minute, he changed his mind and returned to Park Hyatt instead.

Just in case.

Just in case Yan Man came back.

But when he walked into the suite and saw it empty, he laughed at himself — he was being delusional. She didn’t come back.

He couldn’t say exactly how he felt — just that his heart had sunk completely.

And then, unexpectedly, after he finished showering, she suddenly appeared before him.

What did that mean?

Yan Man looked into his eyes and quickly said, “You’re here — of course I had to come back.”

Tan Qishen let out a cold chuckle. It wasn’t clear if he was being sarcastic.

His gaze was dark and unreadable. He didn’t even look at her as he walked straight to the bedroom.

If this were before, the two of them would already be tangled up by now.

Yan Man followed behind him, keeping a half-meter distance.

She thought, This guy’s harder to coax than usual today.

Tan Qishen put out the cigarette in an ashtray. He knew she followed him in, but he said nothing.

It was unclear whether his silence was permission or rejection.

Neither of them spoke.

Yan Man was wondering how to coax him.

Tan Qishen was waiting for her to coax him.

But after five minutes, she still hadn’t said a word.

Suddenly, a wave of anger surged in Tan Qishen’s chest. He hadn’t drunk at all tonight, but he felt hot and restless.

“Yan Man,” he snapped, “what if I slept with another woman — would you still not care?”

“Of course I’d care. You’re my boyfriend,” Yan Man answered immediately.

Of course she couldn’t accept Tan Qishen sleeping with someone else. At least not while they were in a relationship — he had to be hers alone.

“Then today—” Tan Qishen wanted to ask, Didn’t you feel even a little bit jealous today?

But he couldn’t bring himself to say it.

After all, he was the one who brought those women around, he created that illusion.

And yet, Yan Man didn’t show a hint of jealousy — not even a tiny reaction.

In the end, he was the only one angry.

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