Chapter 29

Chapter 29

She Wei didn’t know if it was just her illusion, but she felt like she heard a hint of grievance and fatigue in Yan Huai’s tone.

Yan Huai’s hand rested lightly on her waist. The warmth from his fingertips wasn’t low; through a layer of fabric, it felt like it was burning against her skin.

It was clearly the same posture as when Su Mu had held her last time, but it felt completely different.

A world apart.

With Su Mu, once He Wei got into character, she treated the intimacy entirely as work. But Yan Huai was different—he only needed to get closer by an inch, and her heartbeat would immediately become irregular.

As if something she had always been trying to ignore was about to break through the surface.

He Wei froze for a few seconds. When she finally came back to her senses, she still didn’t immediately push him away.

Her hand, which had been gripping Yan Huai’s sleeve, loosened, then tightened again. She swallowed, moistening her dry throat, and spoke with some difficulty for the first time: “…Thank you, President Yan.”

He Wei didn’t even know if that was what Yan Huai wanted to hear.

From the moment Yan Huai walked in, those words had already reached her lips. But she had been stunned for a few seconds, and then thinking of the girl who had come with Yan Huai a few days ago, she never managed to say them.

And since Yan Huai himself didn’t speak after entering, she became even more unsure of how to open her mouth.

The longer the silence dragged on, the harder it became to endure.

In the end, those words still never came out.

But just as she was about to leave, this man was dissatisfied again.

A man’s heart is like the depths of the ocean—especially a man like Yan Huai. He was completely unreadable to her.

She could only say what she had originally intended.

After a few seconds of silence, she heard Yan Huai give a faint “Mm.”

He Wei loosened her grip on his sleeve and gently pushed him. “President Yan, I need to go out now.”

Yan Huai didn’t respond, and the hand around her waist didn’t move even slightly.

He Wei could even feel the place on her waist where he was touching start to heat up, spreading from that single point to her limbs and bones.

She couldn’t help but shiver slightly.

“Cold?”

Yan Huai tightened his hold on her a little more.

Her heartbeat still wouldn’t calm down. Afraid that their closeness would make her heartbeat completely exposed to him, He Wei quickly pressed her hand against his chest. “Can you… let me go first?”

They were so close that she didn’t even dare to speak loudly.

Her voice wasn’t deliberately softened, but it was light and thin. Yan Huai’s gaze deepened. “What if I can’t?”

He Wei was speechless: “……”

She didn’t dislike being held by Yan Huai. She just didn’t like this kind of behavior that ignored her will.

It always made He Wei feel like the two of them were never equal.

Yan Huai stood high above, and the initiative was always in his hands.

He Wei didn’t like the feeling of being led around like a puppet on strings.

She Wei had only just frowned when, before she could even speak, she felt the hand on her waist move away slightly.

Yan Huai pulled back a little from in front of her, sitting down in his seat in a half-leaning, half-upright posture, his eyelashes lowered as he looked at her.

Only then did He Wei carefully and thoroughly take him in.

She and Yan Huai had only not seen each other for a few days, yet He Wei felt as if it had already been a very long time.

So long that the emotional fluctuations in her heart had become enormous, as if some unfamiliar feeling was slowly brewing.

Rarely, He Wei did not avoid his gaze.

Her eyes moved away from Yan Huai’s deep, defined brows and eyes, passed over his straight nose bridge, and then further down—she noticed faint, short, dark stubble had indeed appeared on his chin.

It looked like he hadn’t properly taken care of himself for a few days.

He Wei had a stereotyped impression of men with beards, always feeling they were too unkempt, at least in appearance.

But Yan Huai was an exception.

His jawline was clean and sharp, the curve resolute. The stubble wasn’t long—just enough to carry a kind of lazy sensuality.

He Wei lifted her eyelashes slightly, then looked into his eyes again.

His gaze was deep, the corners of his eyes faintly red.

She suddenly remembered what Yan Cheng had said—that Yan Huai hadn’t been sleeping well for several days, most likely because he had been busy dealing with her mess.

But he clearly had no obligation to do so.

And… wouldn’t that girl mind?

He Wei looked away, nodded slightly toward him, her tone also turning a bit colder. “Then I’ll head out first. Please get some rest.”

After saying that, she stood up. Just as she lifted her foot to leave, she set it back down again and said without turning around, “President Yan, you don’t need to help me with such big matters anymore… I feel bad about it, and also…”

He Wei paused.

Yan Huai was still sitting in the chair. He looked up at her. The woman stood with her back to him—though not tall, her figure was beautiful. Her waist was very slim, and above it, her shoulder blades were slightly raised, delicate and well-shaped. He curled his lips slightly and repeated word by word, “And also?”

“And also… your girlfriend would probably mind.”

“……”

Yan Huai narrowed his eyes slightly.

Unfortunately, He Wei was still facing away from him and couldn’t see the change in his expression at all. She suppressed the turbulent frustration in her chest, and after speaking, let out a deep breath. “I’m done. I’ll head out now.”

Just as she was about to step out, she was stopped again from behind—

“Wait.”

He Wei paused. She heard the faint sound of a chair scraping against the floor as the man stood up, and then his voice followed immediately after: “I’m not finished yet.”

Footsteps approached from behind.

After a few steps, he stopped right behind her.

He Wei could see the reflection of both of them on the floor if she lowered her head—blurred and indistinct, impossible to tell one from the other.

She lowered her gaze and didn’t move, quietly waiting for him to continue.

Yan Huai was standing less than ten centimeters behind her. At that moment, He Wei had her head slightly lowered; her neck was slender and pale, with soft stray hairs tucked behind her ear.

He looked down slightly, his Adam’s apple moving, and asked, “Which girlfriend?”

…Which one?

What, was he some scumbag who played the field with a bunch of women, with many girlfriends?

He Wei stared at the white tiles on the floor. The light above reflected off them, bright enough to dazzle her eyes. She just fixed her gaze on that spot without hiding anything and answered him directly, “The one who came with you last time.”

Only then did Yan Huai remember.

He suddenly recalled that during the last shoot, He Wei hadn’t even looked at him properly, and this time she hadn’t said a single word to him either.

So that was the reason.

A faint, unspoken smile spread in the depths of Yan Huai’s eyes. The corners of his eyes curved slightly, and even the lines of his face seemed to soften.

He Wei waited a few seconds but still didn’t hear him speak. She thought he had nothing to say in response. Her brows tightened, and something seemed stuck in her throat, dry and itchy.

She was unhappy.

Very unhappy.

He Wei felt this might be karmic retribution. In modern internet slang from a few years ago: today you ignore me; tomorrow you won’t be worthy of me.

The exact meaning might not be perfectly aligned, but it was close enough.

He Wei didn’t wait any longer. She didn’t even speak again—she lifted her foot and continued toward the door.

Then, just as her left foot landed and her right foot had yet to move, she was suddenly pulled into an embrace around her waist.

Normally, Yan Huai was more than a head taller than He Wei, but today she was wearing high heels, so his chin just happened to brush against the tip of her ear.

Her ear was brushed and instantly heated up.

This time, she reacted quickly, lowering her head to pry off the left hand that was around her lower abdomen. Her movements were completely unstructured, and her nails—kept slightly long, neatly rounded—accidentally scratched a few marks across the back of his hand.

He Wei heard the man behind her give a slight intake of breath.

“Be good, don’t move.”

She thought she had hurt him, so her breathing stalled for a moment and her movements slowed considerably.

“Jealous?”

“……”

He Wei felt that denying it at this point would be something even she couldn’t believe.

So she wisely chose not to answer.

Yan Huai lowered his gaze at her. If he leaned a few centimeters closer, he could kiss her ear.

His voice dropped even lower, almost a whisper, “Song Ying is my younger sister.”

He Wei: “……”

Last time he even told the president of Felice that she was his sister.

Tch.

Yan Huai noticed the tight line of her lips; the profile of her face was stiff, as if she was gritting her teeth.

“Biological sister.”

Yan Huai’s breathing was a little hot. When he spoke, his breath brushed directly against the root of He Wei’s ear.

He stared at her ear, already stained a flushed red, and added, “Unlike you.”

He Wei didn’t speak.

According to the original storyline, Song Ying had never appeared at all.

So He Wei was now trying to evaluate the truth of Yan Huai’s words.

Logically speaking, Yan Huai had no need to lie to her. Besides, a few days ago, that girl named Song Ying had indeed come with him, but aside from a few exchanged words and a couple of photos, there hadn’t been even the slightest intimate behavior.

So why had He Wei thought too much back then?

Why had she assumed Song Ying was Yan Huai’s girlfriend, and why had she felt uncomfortable about it—

The answer was already obvious.

He Wei let out a breath, suddenly not knowing how to respond.

The man behind her asked in a low voice, “If you’re unhappy, I’ll pay attention next time.”

…Pay attention how?

It’s not like he could avoid speaking to his own biological sister altogether.

Thinking about it this way, He Wei even felt she was being unreasonable. She pressed her lips together. “…No need.”

Yan Huai said nothing more.

He was never a talkative person to begin with, and perhaps because he hadn’t rested well these past few days, he seemed even quieter today.

All He Wei could hear was his steady, even breathing beside her ear. After hesitating for two seconds—just two seconds—she suddenly asked him, “Yan Huai… do you like me?”

The question itself seemed unnecessary.

After all, even someone like Yan Cheng, an outsider, could see it clearly.

But He Wei had to ask.

Yan Huai lifted his eyes slightly. The hand that held her lower abdomen tightened a little, pulling her closer into his arms again. “What do you think?”

A few seconds passed before she finally noticed what was pressed against a certain part of her lower body.

He Wei’s mind went blank for a moment, then it was as if all the blood in her body rushed to her head. Her face heated up. “You, you, you…”

She was genuinely frightened and couldn’t even speak properly.

He Wei took a deep breath, finally forcing out the second half of her sentence: “You can’t treat me like this.”

“Like what?”

“You can’t force me.”

Yan Huai let out a low chuckle.

He wasn’t a patient person, but recently his patience had only increased.

Especially in front of He Wei—he had already been trying his best to restrain himself.

It was just that some things simply couldn’t be controlled.

For example, desire.

If he really wanted to force He Wei, did she think she could still be standing here fully clothed right now?

Yan Huai curled his lips slightly and answered in a low voice, “Alright.”

He Wei also slightly curved her lips.

She was being held completely in his arms. After a long time, it inevitably felt a little warm, but unexpectedly, she didn’t feel like pushing him away.

Forget it.

He Wei thought to herself that, considering how obedient he was today, she would let him hold her a little longer.

She quietly timed it, counting from one to ten, then from ten back to one.

After completing a full round of counting, He Wei suddenly thought of something and, holding her breath, asked, “To what extent do you like me?”

The man dragged out the end of his tone with a soft “Mm,” then lowered his head slightly and said, “Submitting to you… is that enough?”