Chapter 12

Chapter 12

He Wei still hadn’t realized this serious problem.

In her tense state, her adrenaline surged, her breathing clearly audible.

Her whole heart was about to jump out of her chest. Turning her head, she saw that the investor still refused to give up and ran over directly, raising his hand to knock on the window on He Wei’s side.

Makes sense—when a cooked duck is about to fly away, no man can tolerate it.

The man used a lot of force, saying something while knocking, but the luxury car’s soundproofing was good, and the people inside couldn’t hear clearly.

What He Wei feared most was this kind of drunk man.

No matter how much of a gentleman they seemed when sober, once drunk they were all animals that thought with their lower bodies, their true nature exposed.

He Wei was still shaken, a breath stuck in her throat, unable to come out. Her grip on the man’s arm tightened further. “Cheng…”

As she spoke, she turned her head. Her eyelashes lifted, and when she saw the man’s eyes, that breath became even harder to release.

He Wei’s face instantly flushed, and she didn’t know whether it was from embarrassment or from holding that breath.

She should have thought of it earlier.

Cheng Yan had been forced to drink a lot today and was already thoroughly drunk. How could he possibly drive?

He Wei almost felt like crying at her own stupidity.

The man in the driver’s seat happened to lower his eyes slightly, his gaze falling on the ten slender fingers clutching his sleeve. He raised his brow faintly.

He Wei immediately withdrew her hand and apologized softly, “Sorry… President Yan.”

She didn’t dare stutter, afraid this man would look at her more because of it.

In the back seat, Cheng Yan narrowed his eyes, glanced at He Wei, then at Yan Huai, and decided it was better to keep pretending to be drunk.

Thinking that, he really closed his eyes again, feigning sleep with the help of alcohol.

Outside, the furious investor was still making noise. Seeing that the window on He Wei’s side never lowered, he simply walked around the front of the car and ran to the driver’s side, knocking on the window with a few “bang bang” sounds.

He Wei’s breathing tightened.

Yan Huai didn’t let him knock for long. After three knocks, he lowered the window.

The man’s amplified voice mixed with the wind instantly entered the car—

“I’ve been knocking for half a day, didn’t you hear—”

Before he finished, the investor abruptly stopped. His hand was still raised, frozen in that position for several seconds before he lowered it and rubbed his hands together. “President Yan, wh-what a coincidence…”

Yan Huai wasn’t the legitimate eldest young master of the Yan family, but his methods in business made this man not dare to disregard him.

The less legitimate, the more capable.

The investor’s tone changed one hundred and eighty degrees. “President Yan, my girlfriend seemed to have gotten into your car by mistake just now.”

As he spoke, he bent down and indeed glimpsed He Wei sitting in the passenger seat.

The lights in the car weren’t on. Only the streetlights filtered through the window, blurring the woman’s pretty face a bit.

Even from afar, without making eye contact, He Wei could feel his greasy gaze.

She frowned. “President Li, you must be drunk and mistaken, right?”

The investor’s surname was Li, named Li Du.

A homophone of Li Du—wasting that name.

Yan Huai tilted his head to look at him. “Mistaken identity?”

Li Du stood outside. Cars came and went on the road, horns sounding from time to time. He was still rubbing his hands, weighing in his mind what relationship the two had.

After a moment, he narrowed his eyes and smiled. “Oh, really mistaken.”

Yan Huai’s face remained cold.

Li Du had indeed sobered up quite a bit. He stepped back half a step and made a “goodbye” gesture. “Then I won’t disturb you two…”

Perhaps to give himself a way out, or maybe to prove he really had mistaken the person, Li Du muttered while returning the way he came, “Can’t drink this much in the future…”

He was afraid Yan Huai might call him again, so when he circled past the front of the car, he stayed far away.

Yan Huai watched the person outside stagger past the front. He narrowed his eyes slightly, then shifted gears, drove forward, and braked.

When braking, the tires screeched against the ground. The window on his side hadn’t been closed yet, so the other two people in the car were startled.

Cheng Yan had it worst. Completely unprepared, he almost lunged forward from his seat. Opening his eyes, he asked, “What happened?”

He Wei gripped the handle and swallowed lightly.

Yan Huai had probably wanted to hit Li Du just now, but judging from the noise, he hadn’t hit him before stopping again.

Exactly the same as when he wanted to drive into her in the previous life.

He Wei turned her face slightly and glanced at Yan Huai’s expression.

His lip line was slightly pressed, his jawline smooth and sharp. He Wei closed her eyes; her scalp tingled, and a layer of sweat appeared on her forehead.

But she didn’t dare wipe it.

Li Du, who had almost been hit in front of the car, came back to his senses and, not caring about his image, scrambled to the roadside.

The corner of Yan Huai’s mouth curved. This time he started the car normally, then stopped again when passing beside Li Du.

The next second, the window on He Wei’s side lowered. The man leaned slightly and said to the still-shaken man outside, “Don’t mistake again next time.”

Li Du nodded hurriedly.

Only then did Yan Huai raise all the windows and drive the car onto the main road.

Cheng Yan couldn’t sleep anymore. He rubbed his temple, knowing he wouldn’t get anything by asking Yan Huai, so he directly asked He Wei, “Weiwei, what happened?”

He Wei’s breathing was still unsteady. “He insisted on sending me home just now.”

Her fingers gripping the handle used a lot of force; her knuckles turned white and were almost trembling. Yan Huai glanced at her. “Scared?”

“…Mm.”

“By him or by me?”

“……”

He was quite self-aware.

He Wei lowered her eyes. She couldn’t lie, so she answered honestly, “Both.”

Yan Huai then stopped speaking.

Cheng Yan moved from one side to behind He Wei. “Weiwei, he didn’t do anything to you, right?”

He Wei shook her head.

Cheng Yan: “Aren’t you Yan Chen’s girlfriend? If you mentioned him, no one should dare touch you.”

He Wei explained, “I don’t want others to know I’m his girlfriend.”

It wasn’t an equal relationship to begin with. If it got out, in outsiders’ eyes, it wouldn’t be much different from being kept.

But if she didn’t rely on Yan Chen, then even if she gained fame later and it was dug up, it probably wouldn’t count as any black history.

He Wei was thinking long-term.

Cheng Yan understood. “Afraid the media will write nonsense?”

He Wei nodded.

Cheng Yan chatted with her a bit more.

It was late at night. This sleepless city was even livelier than during the day.

Only after relaxing now did He Wei belatedly feel that the sole of her left foot and her ankle both hurt a little.

When she had taken off her high heels earlier, she hadn’t noticed that her stockings seemed to have been pulled off as well. Although the city ground was smooth, there were inevitably small pebbles, and stepping barefoot on them made it easy to get scraped.

Especially for delicate-skinned He Wei.

She guessed the sole of her foot was probably broken, and her ankle seemed to have twisted. Now her entire left calf hurt badly.

He Wei gritted her teeth, then turned her head. “President Yan…”

The man responded calmly, “Mm.”

The car had already driven into He Wei’s residential complex.

He Wei raised her hand and pointed to a lit storefront ahead. “Stop there.”

Yan Huai followed where she pointed.

On the transparent glass door were the red words “Clinic,” the inside brightly lit, with faint figures moving about.

Yan Huai drove over, stopped, then turned to look at He Wei. “What’s wrong?”

“My foot’s sprained.”

He Wei put her high heels back on, opened the door, got out, and dragged her steps toward the clinic.

She didn’t dare put weight on her left foot, so her movement was extremely slow.

Yan Huai’s gaze shifted. After a while, he unfastened his seatbelt. “I’ll go take a look.”

He was speaking to Cheng Yan.

Cheng Yan said “Eh,” “Does this mean you’re letting her go?”

Yan Huai curled his lips, not answering.

He had let her go once.

There wasn’t a second time.

He Wei’s foot had indeed suffered.

Her right foot was still relatively intact, but there were several small wounds on the sole of her left foot, and her ankle was swollen high.

The clinic auntie held a cotton swab to clean her wounds. “How did you get this?”

The cotton swab was dipped in disinfecting alcohol; when it touched, it hurt like being pricked by needles. He Wei couldn’t bear it, clutching the bedsheet beneath her, her foot unconsciously shrinking back.

The auntie held it firmly. “Don’t move around.”

With that grip, He Wei’s tears were squeezed out.

“So late at night, did you go on a date in high heels?”

“There was a dinner.”

He Wei actually wasn’t used to wearing high heels, but with her kind of status, she had to get used to it.

Especially for an occasion like today—if she had gone in flat shoes, nine out of ten times those greasy investors would think she was being perfunctory.

Treating it as early practice, He Wei simply wore high heels.

The auntie also knew she was somewhat connected to the entertainment industry, sighed, and brought ointment. “Don’t wear high heels these next few days. It’s best to wear soft-soled flats, and don’t walk long distances.”

He Wei nodded.

The auntie squeezed out the ointment and was about to apply it when there was a sound of the door opening behind them.

She thought it was someone coming for treatment or to buy medicine, and without turning back said, “Wait a moment, I’ll be right there.”

He Wei didn’t notice at first. Only when steady footsteps approached did she raise her eyes.

She met a familiar and overly refined face.

He Wei nodded to him, then shifted her gaze away.

Yan Huai closed the door, walked over, and casually pulled a chair to sit down.

The auntie glanced at him, her eyes obviously lighting up. “Boyfriend?”

He Wei hurriedly explained, “No.”

She was eager to clarify the relationship in front of Yan Huai. “He’s my boyfriend’s older brother.”

Yan Huai’s expression cooled.

“So that’s how it is…”

The auntie had no gossip left to pursue, lowering her head to continue applying medicine for He Wei.

Yan Huai’s gaze fell over.

He Wei’s skin was fair and delicate; her feet were the same. Perhaps because of the pain, her toes curled slightly, pink within the white, like petals of peach blossoms.

Yan Huai’s eyes darkened.

The medicine was quickly applied. The auntie stood up. “You two wait here a bit. I’ll get some medicine for you and write down a few things you should pay attention to these next few days.”

He Wei smiled. “Thank you, auntie.”

The auntie turned and opened the door to go out.

The room returned to complete silence. He Wei’s eyes moved around, and after half a minute, she softly said her thanks, “Thank you today, President Yan.”

Yan Huai was sitting right by her bedside.

The distance between the two was neither far nor close. She could smell the faint scent of cigarettes on him. He Wei felt she couldn’t act guilty, so she raised her eyes and looked at him, pretending to be calm.

The man lowered his eyelashes for a few seconds. When he lifted them to look at her again, the corner of his mouth curved into a faint, half-smiling arc. He asked, “How will you thank me?”