Chapter 18

Chapter 18

He Wei: “……”

He actually understood it?

According to the usual tropes of romance novels, male characters normally wouldn’t understand what “that” refers to.

He Wei was stunned for a few seconds. After the shock passed, she belatedly started feeling nervous.

She was currently improperly dressed, practically wearing nothing underneath the bath towel.

And the towel wrapped around her chest looked like it could fall off at any moment.

A dark, windy night. A man and a woman alone together.

He Wei shook her head and didn’t dare think further. Her fingers were still tightly gripping the towel as her gaze stuck to the man while he pushed open the storage room door and went inside.

The light turned on inside, and less than two minutes later, he came out holding something deep blue in color.

He Wei took a closer look for one second, then quickly took it from him and softly thanked him.

At this moment, she wanted nothing more than to disappear immediately in front of Yan Huai. As soon as she said “thank you,” she turned and fled.

Good—he didn’t call her back.

He Wei let out a breath of relief and didn’t dare pause for even a second as she rushed upstairs in one go.

When she returned to her room and closed the door, her heartbeat still hadn’t calmed down.

The deep night was extremely quiet; all she could hear was her own heartbeat.

He Wei took a few deep breaths, went to the bathroom to deal with things, and by the time she came out again, it was already past 12:30.

Cheng Nuo had sent her more than a dozen messages. She hadn’t had time to check them when she went downstairs earlier, and now she finally read them one by one and replied to each.

Just as she finished replying here, she received a message from Yan Chen: 【Wei Wei, is everything taken care of?】

【Yes, thanks.】

【Even after breaking up, you don’t have to be so polite with me, right?】

He Wei didn’t reply.

After a whole day of exhaustion, her head felt a little dizzy, but the moment she lay down on the bed, she wasn’t sleepy at all.

Now that she knew her period had arrived, she didn’t even dare roll around too much in bed.

She stared at the ceiling for a few seconds, just as she was about to turn off the light and sleep, her door was knocked on.

He Wei jolted and immediately sat up from bed.

She knew who it was.

At this hour, the only person who would knock on her door was Yan Huai.

He Wei sat on the bed for a few seconds, hesitating whether she should get up and open it.

The person outside didn’t seem in a hurry either, as if he was certain she wasn’t asleep, knocking slowly and steadily.

Although the sound wasn’t loud, over time it might wake others in the villa. He Wei let out a breath and got out of bed to open the door.

To show she wasn’t deliberately delaying, she even rubbed her eyes when she opened it.

A man’s voice sounded by her ear: “Asleep?”

He Wei nodded. “I was just about to sleep.”

“Take the medicine first.”

He Wei then looked up at him.

The similarities between Yan Huai and Yan Chen were limited only to facial structure. As for their features, there was basically not a single resemblance.

Yan Chen had the standard look of thick brows and large eyes, while Yan Huai was different. His facial features were smooth and well-defined, neither too sharp nor too soft. His eye shape in particular was strikingly beautiful; when slightly narrowed, the shimmering depths of his eyes became fully visible, making him look very gentle.

But He Wei knew very well—that was not the case at all.

This man had nothing to do with gentleness.

Her thoughts drifted for a few seconds before she reacted and asked, “What medicine?”

Yan Huai answered without hesitation, “Cold medicine.”

He Wei’s head was dizzy and hot, and her throat felt like it was burning. She really did need to take some medicine.

She didn’t refuse further. After thanking him, she took the cup of water and the medicine.

Yan Huai didn’t speak. The two of them stood at the doorway, and the entire villa returned to silence.

He Wei lightly rubbed the rim of the cup with her fingertips and asked softly, “Then I’ll go in now.”

As soon as she finished speaking, before she even had time to reach for the doorknob and close the door, the man outside spoke: “Yan Chen went to the club.”

“…Oh.”

He Wei had already guessed.

Men are inherently lustful; this flaw was especially obvious in Yan Chen.

Less than an hour after breaking up, he had already lost restraint.

“You know what it means to go to a place like that at this time?”

He Wei nodded slightly.

“Don’t you mind?”

He Wei said nothing.

“Did you have an argument?”

Only then did He Wei shake her head. “No.”

There really hadn’t been.

Yan Huai lowered his brows slightly and leaned forward. The distance between them suddenly closed, and He Wei was instantly drawn into his eyes.

Deep, with something dark and turbulent swirling beneath.

The cup in He Wei’s hand almost slipped; she instinctively stepped back half a pace.

Yan Huai stared into her eyes. “He Wei, what’s so good about him?”

He Wei pressed her lips together and didn’t answer.

She should be asking the author that question—how would she know what was good about that scumbag?

Yan Huai straightened his body again, took out his phone. “I’ll call him back.”

“Don’t call him—”

Yan Huai lowered his gaze and looked down at her.

The height difference between men and women really wasn’t small at all. Just standing in front of her, he completely overwhelmed He Wei’s presence. She frowned slightly. “It’s already so late.”

Yan Huai had already opened his contacts, about to make the call. He Wei didn’t have time to think and reached out to block his phone screen, but halfway through she reacted and quickly pulled her hand back. Her eyelashes lowered. “We’ve already broken up.”

Yan Huai narrowed his eyes slightly. His tone didn’t change much. “When?”

“Just… earlier.”

After she made him a bowl of noodles?

So what exactly did this woman mean—stop loving just like that, break up just like that?

“Who initiated it?”

He Wei raised her hand and pointed at herself, then continued, “Thank you, President Yan, for your care and help during this time. From now on, I’m no longer Yan Chen’s girlfriend, so there’s no need for you to keep taking care of me because of him.”

She originally wanted to bow to show sincerity, but the moment she lowered her head and saw the precariously loose bath towel, she immediately abandoned the idea.

Yan Huai caught the flash of panic that crossed her face. The corner of his lips tugged slightly as he let out a faint, mocking laugh. “Who said I was taking care of you because of him?”

The distance He Wei had just tried so hard to create between them instantly collapsed back to zero.

She tightened her grip on the edge of the bath towel, her brows faintly furrowing.

“He Wei.”

He Wei lowered her head and said nothing.

“Look at me.”

He Wei clenched her teeth slightly, then lifted her head.

“You liked him that much—why break up?”

He Wei’s legs felt a little weak. “We’re not compatible.”

Just now downstairs, everything had been quiet—no signs of any argument.

The breakup seemed relatively calm.

On the surface, He Wei looked composed, but when she had just looked up, there was obvious moisture in her eyes, as if she might cry at any moment.

Yan Huai felt a blockage in his chest. He swallowed, his Adam’s apple moving. For a moment, he couldn’t tell whether she was upset because of the breakup or because he had frightened her just now.

He only felt a fire with nowhere to release it.

Especially with the faint, sweet scent of her after a shower drifting toward him—intoxicating and provocative.

Yan Huai suddenly leaned forward again, closing the distance between them. “Why are you so afraid of me?”

He Wei: “……”

Was there anyone who wasn’t afraid of him?

Although she thought this, she didn’t dare say it out loud. She only shook her head. “I’m not.”

Today she hadn’t rested much. He Wei’s eyes felt dry and sore, especially after the moisture in her eyes had blurred her vision, making it a little uncomfortable.

She sniffed. “President Yan, I want to go back to my room and rest.”

“Answer one question, and I’ll let you go in.”

He Wei neither agreed nor refused.

The choice wasn’t hers at all. All she had to do was wait quietly for Yan Huai to speak. A few seconds later, she heard an extremely direct and explicit question:

“Have you and Yan Chen ever slept together?”

His tone was calm, forcibly making that sentence sound like an ordinary question.

Even though He Wei had been reborn so many times, when it came to sex, she was still basically blank.

Her ears heated up, the corner of her eye twitching. After a few seconds of silence, she said, “Yes.”

He Wei thought to herself that it would be best if this man had a preference for virgins—so he wouldn’t be interested in women who had already been with someone else.

Maybe in her previous life, Yan Huai didn’t even know whether she was a first-time girl, and because he couldn’t resist her seduction, he acted on impulse and slept with her.

As long as she didn’t seduce him this time, that situation probably wouldn’t happen again.

He Wei was already almost planning out the next ten years of her wonderful life.

When she looked up, she saw the man’s eyes turn cold as expected.

He Wei suddenly felt extremely excited.

She felt her hard times were finally coming to an end—she had dealt with two men in one day—and barely managed to keep the corners of her mouth from rising.

Yan Huai didn’t know what she was thinking. He only knew he was very displeased right now. The fire somewhere inside him burned even hotter, yet he actually laughed faintly. “He Wei, don’t lie to me.”

He Wei didn’t even blink. “I’m not lying.”

She had been getting better and better at lying lately—no blushing, no heartbeat change, acting completely natural.

After speaking, she reached for the doorknob. “Then President Yan, I’ll go in first.”

This time, Yan Huai didn’t stop her.

Only after the door closed in front of him did the corner of his lips lift slightly, finishing the rest of his unfinished words:

“Otherwise, you’ll suffer for it.”

He Wei nearly overslept the next day.

It was Aunt Yun who knocked on her door upstairs that woke her up. When she opened her eyes, it was nearly seven in the morning.

She instantly jolted awake, got up and rushed into the bathroom to wash up, then put on her clothes after they had been dried. Ten minutes later, she opened the door with a bare face.

Aunt Yun had just been about to knock again when she saw her come out and smiled. “Miss He, our sir came back this morning.”

He Wei didn’t react at first. Just as she was about to ask which “sir,” a man’s booming voice came from downstairs:

“Ah Huai, you’re not leaving this time, right?”

“……”

This was probably Yan Huai’s father, who had never appeared in her previous encounters. He Wei subconsciously ran her fingers through her hair, and from far away she heard the voice again:

“Where’s Ah Chen? Has he gone out to play again?”

Aunt Yun nudged her gently. “Miss He still has to go to work, right? Breakfast is already ready. Please go downstairs first and have something to eat, and also greet the sir while you’re at it.”

He Wei: “……”

She had already broken up with Yan Chen—what greeting was there to make?

Was she supposed to stand face-to-face with him and say: “Hi, I’m your son’s ex-girlfriend”?

He Wei thought about it and felt embarrassed, but she couldn’t resist Aunt Yun’s urging. On top of that, she really had to arrive on set before 8:30 this morning and didn’t have time to delay. After tidying herself up, she carefully and quietly went downstairs.

Her steps were light, so she wasn’t noticed until she reached downstairs.

Yan Huai looked up at her, his brows slightly raised, and took a sip from his teacup.

Yan’s father noticed him keep looking behind him, so he also turned to look. Clearly, he hadn’t expected a young and beautiful girl to suddenly appear in the Yan household full of male heirs. He froze for a moment before remembering to ask Yan Huai, “This young girl is… your friend?”

The reason he didn’t add “female” before “friend” was because he knew Yan Huai’s personality—let alone a girlfriend, there were barely any women around him at all.

Yan’s father carefully looked He Wei over from head to toe. Just as he was about to speak again, He Wei gave him a slight bow and said, “Hello, Mr. Yan. I am Yan Chen’s… friend.”

Aunt Yun thought she was just being shy and smiled as she helped explain, “How is Miss He just the young master’s friend? She’s clearly his girlfriend!”

She knew nothing about what happened last night.

Yan Huai said nothing, his eyes slightly lowered as he set down his cup.

Yan’s father instantly understood. Along with that understanding came surprise. “That brat actually brought his girlfriend home?”

A rare occurrence indeed.

Yan’s father immediately stood up excitedly. “Little girl, you and Yan Chen are together—”

“We’ve already broken up.”

“……”

Yan’s father froze. His excitement hadn’t fully faded, and he looked a bit lost.

Only when Yan Huai let out a faint, mocking laugh did he react. Sighing, he said, “Did Yan Chen do something wrong to you?”

He knew his own son best.

Yan Chen and Yan Huai were two extremes—one had never been a worry, the other never caused concern.

Yan Chen was notorious for his playboy reputation, impossible to rein in. Yan’s father assumed he must have cheated on her while they were together. Guilt and frustration surged up, and he tried his best to make it up to this pitiful girl. He hurriedly said, “It’s our first meeting, and I don’t really have anything to give you…”

He walked over to the shelf displaying his treasured antiques and casually took down a porcelain plate. “Yan Chen… sigh. Little girl, take this as a meeting gift. Don’t blame Yan Chen; he’s young and still unsettled. In the future, find a good man.”

He Wei naturally understood what he meant.

This was essentially breakup compensation—just given by Yan’s father as a way of cleaning up after his son.

He Wei glanced at the blue-and-white porcelain plate. Its pattern was clear and beautiful, and it looked familiar—like the one she had broken during a cheating confrontation in her previous life.

Karma comes full circle. If she didn’t need it, she wouldn’t take it.

He Wei curved her lips slightly and, without pretending to refuse, said “no,” she simply thanked him and accepted it.

Yan’s father let out a big sigh of relief. “Haven’t eaten yet, right? Should I have someone send you back after breakfast?”

“No need, Mr. Yan. I have to rush to the set now, so I won’t be eating.”

Yan’s father nodded and didn’t keep her any longer, calling for the driver to take her back.

He quite liked this girl, it was just a pity she wasn’t fated to be with their family.

After He Wei left, he turned to his eldest son and asked, “When are you going to bring your girlfriend home for me to see?”

Yan Huai fastened his cufflinks, then glanced up lazily, the corner of his lips lifting into a faint smile.

“Already brought her back.”