Chapter 29

Seeing the helpless look in Zang Ling’s eyes, Yan Wenshu suddenly realized what he had just said. But words, once spoken, were like spilled water, impossible to take back.

Lowering his gaze, he said, “How could I let my girlfriend help me pay off my debt? Besides, that debt shouldn’t have to be repaid.”

“Why not?”

Zang Ling stared at him for a long time. “I just realized… I don’t know you as well as I thought I did. You’ve never told me about your past.”

“That’s not important.”

“Yan Wenshu!”

Zang Ling suddenly called his name sternly, “Are you really one of those people they talk about, someone who stops cherishing things once they have them?”

“I’m not,” Yan Wenshu answered briefly.

“See?” Zang Ling accused, “You won’t even talk to me properly now. What did I do to upset you?”

“Really, nothing,” Yan Wenshu said softly. “Nothing happened at all.”

With a serious little face, Zang Ling dragged him into a small alley nearby. Yan Wenshu let her pull him along, his eyes never leaving her.

The system advised in his mind, [Host, when you talk to her later, try to soften your attitude a bit. Don’t be so cold. You two are still a couple right now.]

[You think I’m being cold?]

[Yeah… it’s like you’re sulking during a lovers’ quarrel…]

As soon as the system finished speaking, it fell silent, carefully observing Yan Wenshu’s reaction.

Yan Wenshu’s eyes were dark and unreadable, his face expressionless.

The system breathed a sigh of relief, but just as it thought everything was fine, it suddenly realized it had been muted.

The system went crazy. It hadn’t even said anything wrong! What a petty host!

Zang Ling pushed Yan Wenshu against the wall with one hand, her gaze slightly cold as she looked up at him. “There’s no one around now. Tell me the truth. Why have you suddenly been ignoring me lately?”

Yan Wenshu turned his head slightly, his eyelashes lowered. “I haven’t been ignoring you.”

“Then why have you stopped coming to see me? Even your replies on WeChat have gotten slower, and when you do reply, it’s only a few words.”

Yan Wenshu: “I’m sorry.”

His straightforward apology left Zang Ling momentarily at a loss for words.

“Aren’t you going to explain?”

“…I was really tired after work and just wanted to rest, so I didn’t check my messages in time.”

Zang Ling replied easily, “Alright, I’m relieved now.”

Yan Wenshu looked up at her. Zang Ling’s eyes curved with a smile, “Trust is the foundation of everything. I believe in you.”

“If you’re tired from work, then rest well. When you’re on break, we can go out together, relax, and unwind.”

But instead of feeling better, he grew even more irritable, pressing his thin lips tightly together.

Zang Ling noticed and couldn’t help but ask, “What’s wrong? Did something upset you? Tell me, maybe I can help.”

“Nothing.”

No matter what she asked, he wouldn’t give an answer. Zang Ling suddenly felt a wave of helplessness.

“Yan Wenshu… do you really like me?”

“Why do you feel so distant from me now?”

Yan Wenshu stared at her slightly reddened eyes and froze for a moment. He hurriedly avoided her gaze. To keep her from leaving, there was only one answer he could give.

“I like you.”

“Look me in the eyes and say that again.”

He paused, lifted his eyes to meet hers, and said, “…I like you. I just want you to like me more.”

“Sorry.”

As he spoke, Yan Wenshu handed her a tissue. “Here, wipe your tears.”

Zang Ling stared at him for a while, and gradually her furrowed brows relaxed. Since he still liked her, combined with his reaction, she could understand now.

— Playing hard to get.

She knew this trick all too well.

Her lips curved slightly as she took the tissue and casually wiped her eyes. She tiptoed, trying to pinch his cheek, but the man didn’t seem to understand her intention and didn’t cooperate.

So Zang Ling realized that even on tiptoes, she couldn’t reach Yan Wenshu’s chin.

It’s alright. This little obstacle wouldn’t stop her.

Zang Ling smiled teasingly, “Handsome, you’re such a little troublemaker.”

Yan Wenshu was weighed down by his thoughts, but he didn’t show it. He forced a smile and asked, “Then what does Chairman Zang want me to do?”

Zang Ling drew a “U” in the air with her finger and mysteriously said, “Smile more, it’s good for your health.”

“I want to see you smile.”

Yan Wenshu was slightly startled, then instinctively smiled.

“Shushu, good boy!” Zang Ling couldn’t help but hug him, pressing her cheek against his chest.

“Daily repeat: Do I like Yan Wenshu? I like him even more now!”

Yan Wenshu gently stroked her hair, his heart remaining calm, the result of his hard-earned self-control.

“By the way, you just said I don’t have to pay back the money. What’s that about?”

Yan Wenshu replied, “Before my parents passed away, they temporarily left a sum of money with my uncle. After they died, I needed that money for their burial, so I went to my uncle to ask for it back. But I didn’t expect that my aunt had already taken possession of it and insisted I write an IOU before she’d give it to me.”

“That money was originally handed over in cash, with nothing to prove it belonged to my parents. I was still a student back then, powerless, so I had no choice but to write the IOU first.”

Yan Wenshu still sounded a little sarcastic when he brought up this past event. “When I later earned enough from part-time jobs and tried to give the money to my uncle, he told me he had secretly torn up the IOU without telling my aunt. He didn’t say anything back then… because he was afraid I’d go to him for help if I didn’t have enough money for school.”

Zang Ling was in disbelief. “So your uncle didn’t tell you the IOU was gone because he wanted you to earn your own tuition money? That way, he wouldn’t have to pay a cent?!”

“Mm.”

“How old were you then?”

“Thirteen.”

Zang Ling pressed her lips together. “Still a minor. That’s basically exploitation! Your uncle and aunt are terrible people.”

“You must’ve suffered a lot during that time.” She hugged his waist tightly, her heart aching. “Living alone, thinking you were burdened with a huge debt… life must’ve been so hard for you.”

Yan Wenshu’s tone was calm and indifferent. “It’s okay. It’s all in the past.”

“Yan Wenshu, I’m sorry.”

She suddenly said.

He froze for a second, then smiled. “Why are you apologizing to me? You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I just wish I’d met you sooner,” Zang Ling said wistfully. “But if nineteen-year-old me met thirteen-year-old you, I probably would’ve just treated you like a little brother, no matter how good-looking you were.”

“It’s just that I let myself go a bit in my first year of university. I accidentally gained weight and it took me a whole year to slim down again. If you’d seen me back then, you probably wouldn’t have thought I was good-looking.”

Yan Wenshu didn’t know she had this part of her history. He looked a little surprised, then smiled down at her. “That wouldn’t be strange. I was very skinny back then, not good-looking at all. My classmates even gave me a nickname — Skeleton Spirit. You can imagine how ridiculous I must’ve looked.”

Zang Ling looked up, frowning. “How could your classmates just give people nicknames like that? Did anyone bully you at school?”

“My grades were pretty good. With the teachers around, they didn’t really do much to me, they just ignored me.”

“Isn’t that isolation?”

“It was fine. Back then, I was busy with studying and paying off debt. I didn’t care much about those things.”

Zang Ling was silent for a moment, then solemnly said, “Yan Wenshu, you still have me.”

“From now on, I’ll care for you even more, love you, and try to make sure you’re happy every single day.”

“Doesn’t this sound kind of like wedding vows?” She smiled playfully. “Mm… when the time comes, I’ll definitely think hard about my vows.”

Marriage?

To Yan Wenshu, that felt very far away. He didn’t even dare think about it.

His heart suddenly felt heavy — after all, he was a liar.

“Let’s go. The problem’s solved, and since we’re both out today, let’s walk around a bit before heading back.”

“I’ll pay you back the money as soon as I can.”

This time, Zang Ling didn’t refuse. She stretched out her words playfully, “I know, I know — you can pay me back whenever.”

She cheerfully linked her arm through Yan Wenshu’s as they walked out of the alley, only to be met by a group of bodyguards approaching with aggressive momentum.

Zang Ling’s smile faded. Looking at the man leading them, she forced a smile without warmth and said…

“Excuse me, you’re blocking the way.”

“Miss Zang, Mr. Zang wants to see you.”

Zang Ling frowned. “You’ve been watching us this whole time?”

The bodyguard replied respectfully, “We’ve only been ensuring your safety, with no ill intentions.”

“Miss, please don’t make things difficult for us. Mr. Zang insisted that you must go with us. Please.”

Yan Wenshu glanced sideways at her. What would she choose to do?

Leave him behind, or… stay with him?

“I haven’t even gone to settle the score with him, and now he’s throwing himself right at me?” Zang Ling let out a cold laugh. “Then he can’t blame me for being impolite.”

Without hesitation, she pulled out her phone and made a call.

Two minutes later, the bodyguards who tried to forcibly take Zang Ling away were arrested by the police, who had arrived just in time.

Expressionless, Zang Ling watched them being taken away in handcuffs. “Hmph. This is a society governed by law, and you still think you can use force? Did you even think about whether the police would agree?”

“Zang Chenggong still thinks he’s some emperor at home, doing whatever he pleases. Looks like if I don’t teach him a lesson, he really won’t know who I am.”

She lifted her chin, smiling brightly at Yan Wenshu again. “Now, no one will bother us.”

Yan Wenshu nodded.

The two of them went to the mall to play claw machines. Zang Ling didn’t manage to grab a single one, so in the end, Yan Wenshu helped her catch five, causing the kids nearby to stare in envy.

Zang Ling proudly showed off, hugging all the plushies tightly like they were priceless treasures.

After playing around for a while, night quickly fell, and it was time for them to part ways.

Hugging her plushies, Zang Ling reluctantly said, “I kind of don’t want to go home… Yan Wenshu, can I go to your place?”

The hint couldn’t have been more obvious.

But Yan Wenshu acted as if he hadn’t heard it at all. “I’ll take you home. My place is too messy, not really suitable for a girl to stay over.”

Zang Ling immediately protested, “That’s not true! Last time I went to your place it was really clean!”

“So you really don’t want me to stay over that badly?”

Seeing her sulky expression, Yan Wenshu said, “It’s not that… I’m just not ready yet…”

“Ah, that’s not what I meant!” Zang Ling stiffened, stumbling over her words, “Th-Then I’ll head home first!”

“Call me when you get back.”

Zang Ling nodded sweetly. “Okay, and let’s stay on a voice call. I want to keep listening to your voice.”

Yan Wenshu agreed. As he watched her figure disappear into the distance, listening to her cheerful chatter through the earphones, he didn’t find it annoying at all, in fact, he kind of enjoyed it.

But the next second, the mission floated across his mind, and his brain slowly returned to its usual calmness. Recalling his behavior throughout the day, he felt a deep sense of disgust toward himself, unable to completely immerse himself in the relationship anymore.

Irritated, he casually found an excuse to hang up the call, but doing so only made him feel worse.

He had decided to give Zang Ling the cold shoulder for a while, so why… was he going back on it again?

Yan Wenshu’s gaze turned cold. He couldn’t allow himself to waver anymore.

A week had passed, and except for last week, Zang Ling hadn’t noticed any sign of indifference from Yan Wenshu. They continued to interact as usual.

People in the company chat group had already noticed the change and started betting on when the two would break up.

More people bet on them breaking up in a month. Even though Zang Ling saw this, she didn’t pay much attention to it. After all, Yan Wenshu liked her so much, how could he possibly break up with her?

Zang Ling confidently thought to herself, she was going to meet the project manager from the Yuan FamilyCorporation in the afternoon.

Tianhai and Yuan Corporation hadn’t fallen out yet, and Zang Ling planned to stop working with them after this project was completed.

However, as soon as the project manager appeared, Zang Ling’s expression changed. She coldly said, “Yuan Haolang, what are you doing here? This isn’t a place for you to play house.”

“Who’s playing house? This was ordered by my dad.” Yuan Haolang arrogantly crossed his legs and leisurely sat in front of her. “I’m the project manager for this. For the next twenty days, we’ll be working in the same room. Zang Ling, I hope you don’t intentionally sabotage things because of our personal matters, and affect the relationship between Tianhai and the Yuan Family Corporation.”