Chapter 24 "Is it dislike, or not..."

When the alarm rang at six o'clock in the morning, Chen Jianjin woke up from his hangover, feeling dizzy and lightheaded. He rolled his dry, sore throat and pinched his brow.

His coat slipped off, and he looked around at his surroundings, the memories of last night gradually becoming clear in his mind.

He slept on the sofa in the bar's private room overnight.

While catching his breath, Chen Jianjin pinched the bridge of his nose again, reached for his still-ringing phone, and turned off the alarm.

A message from Qi Yan appeared in my contact list: "I'm going to the company today; you can take the day off."

The time is 3:30 a.m.

Chen Jianjin finished reading expressionlessly and sat up.

Song Wan didn't have classes today, but she still got up early.

She had previously submitted a rural-themed essay to People's Literature Publishing House with the fearless spirit of a newborn calf, thinking there would be no follow-up. Unexpectedly, she received a reply this month, not a rejection, but a message to revise the manuscript.

Song Wan wanted to go to the library to find inspiration.

The spring breeze in April is warm, and it's the season of rejuvenation once again. Green buds are sprouting on the trees outside the window, and birds are chirping on the branches.

Song Wan changed into a comfortable sweatshirt and trousers, grabbed her bag, and left the dormitory.

As the night passed, she didn't know if Lian Huaiyang had deleted her. While she was engrossed in browsing her contact list, she accidentally bumped her head on someone.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry." Song Wan immediately covered her forehead and apologized.

However, the next second, her wrist was grabbed.

She looked up in surprise; it was Chen Jianjin.

He looked worried and asked, "Did you hurt yourself?"

What are you doing here?

Song Wan's face instantly turned sour. She tried to pull her hand away, but Chen Jianjin wouldn't let her have her way. With a gentle pull, he drew her into his arms.

"Come with me somewhere."

Once again, Song Wan was forcibly dragged into the car by him.

"Chen Jianjin!"

Song Wan was furious, but what she received in return was a steaming hot breakfast.

Chen Jianjin placed the food box on her lap, fastened his seatbelt without a word, and started the car engine.

It was rush hour in Beijing, and the roads were congested for a while.

Song Wan wasn't very good at finding her way around, and it wasn't until the familiar architectural style came into view that she realized Chen Jianjin had brought her to his downtown apartment again.

But by then, he had already driven into the underground parking garage.

Song Wan recalled what Lian Huaiyang had said last night, and the extent of Chen Jianjin's obsession with a certain thing, and her legs went weak.

Chen Jianjin had already gotten out of the car, while Song Wan gripped the seatbelt tightly with both hands, watching his every move as if facing a formidable enemy.

The boy walked around the front of the car to the passenger side, opened the door, bent down and unbuckled the girl's seatbelt.

"I don't want to! Chen Jianjin!"

Song Wan refused to get out of the car, kicking her legs and waving her hands to resist his approach.

Amid the chaos, only the boy's soft hissing could be heard.

Song Wan looked on cautiously and saw Chen Jianjin tilt his head slightly, his clenched teeth revealing the blue veins on his neck. At this moment, the red marks from his fingernails scratching his neck were particularly noticeable.

Song Wan paused for a moment, her almond-shaped eyes filled with fear, and she silently gripped the seatbelt in her hand.

With a hangover and severe sleep deprivation, my head was throbbing as if a needle was constantly pricking my nerves, but... Song Wan was unusually uncooperative today.

Chen Jianjin's patience ran out. He came out empty-handed, grabbed the girl's face, and bit down.

Song Wan struggled, grabbing his ears and pulling his hair. The more she resisted, the deeper and harder his kisses became.

In the end, the girl, who couldn't breathe properly, was kissed until she was almost suffocating, and her body went limp.

This time, Chen Jianjin easily lifted the person out of the car by the waist.

The boy had a sharp, defined jawline, thin lips pursed into a straight line, and phoenix eyes that naturally exuded a cold, aloof, and superior air. Now, he deliberately lowered his eyebrows, his gaze was icy, and his expression impatient, making him seem even more unapproachable.

Chen Jianjin today is very different from usual, and this difference frightens Song Wan.

The elevator opened with a "ding," like background music suddenly playing during the climax of a horror movie, hinting at something bad about to happen.

The apartment's keypad lock was opened, revealing a familiar decorating style and furniture arrangement.

“Chen, Chen Jianjin…” The fear that spread from the depths of her heart to her limbs made Song Wan’s voice tremble and tears well up in her eyes. Powerless and helpless, she looked at him pleadingly, “Please let me go. I will pretend that nothing happened.”

Chen Jianjin glanced down at her face, then carried her upstairs without pausing for a moment.

Step by step, his shoes trod the steps, and with them, they trod her heart.

When the tall doorway came into view, Song Wan suddenly kicked and struggled, shouting, "Let me go, Chen Jianjin! You dare... I'm going to sue you, I'm going to sue you!"

The natural physical difference between men and women made her resistance seem like a kitten scratching an itch to Chen Jianjin. His hand on the girl's waist tightened slightly, and no matter how much Song Wan struggled, she could not escape the fate of being suppressed.

She slammed her back into the soft sofa. Almost the instant she was released, Song Wan grabbed a cushion and threw it at Chen Jianjin. She got up and ran away, but before her bare feet could even touch the carpet, Chen Jianjin pushed her back down.

"Chen Jianjin!"

Chen Jianjin remained silent, loosened his tie, suppressed his physical and mental discomfort, took a deep breath, and wrapped his hand around the girl's wrists.

He pressed Song Wan's shoulders down, turned her around, and pinned her to the sofa, binding her hands.

"Chen Jianjin! You bastard!" She was forced to bury half her face in the soft sofa fabric, crying miserably with hatred, "I'm going to sue you! I'm going to sue you..."

Chen Jianjin ignored him and found the remote control for the projector.

As the curtain fell and before the image was displayed, Chen Jianjin released Song Wan from her restraints.

The first thing the girl did after gaining her freedom was to get away from him.

She curled up in the corner like a frightened kitten.

This is the home theater on the top floor of his apartment building. Chen Jianjin introduced it to her the first time she came, but Song Wan had never been to this room before.

Recalling the days and nights he had forcibly confined her to the apartment, Song Wan became even more frightened. She hugged her knees and curled up into a ball, tears streaming down her face like a broken string of pearls.

"Why are you crying?"

Chen Jianjin disliked her crying, and his questioning tone was slightly harsh.

At the same time, sounds that made people blush came from the audiovisual room.

With tears welling in her eyes, Song Wan looked up at the huge screen with horrified eyes.

The man and woman were lying on the bed, embracing each other. Their bodies, writhing and twisting like water snakes, were disgusting.

Song Wan felt nauseous, but unfortunately, she hadn't eaten the breakfast Chen Jianjin had handed her in the car. So, after her stomach churned for a while, she just bent over and dry heaved.

"What happened?" Chen Jianjin asked, his brows furrowed deeply, as he gently patted her back. "What did you eat last night? Did you get an upset stomach again?"

"Chen Jianjin." Song Wan weakly pushed his arm away. "Looking at this kind of thing, aren't you disgusted?"

Only then did Chen Jianjin realize what Song Wan had misunderstood. He laughed in exasperation, both at her rich and colorful imagination and at himself for not knowing what had led her to such a misunderstanding.

He pinched her cheek and turned her towards the screen showing the video, saying helplessly, "Honey, it's a sex education documentary for teaching purposes."

Qi Yan told him that he cried afterwards because he felt too much psychologically disappointed.

Chen Jianjin thought about it for a long time, and the only reasonable explanation was that the lack of sex education during adolescence made Song Wan ashamed to face her most authentic desires.

God knows how many old classmates he hadn't contacted in ages, and how he managed to find out the contact information of his physiology teacher from back in school, all in his search for this.

Song Wan was also stunned, because she didn't know when the scene returned to normal and the voice in her ear changed to a pure British accent.

She felt a little embarrassed and ashamed, but fortunately, after Chen Jianjin finished speaking, he got up and left the audiovisual room.

Song Wan also wanted to leave, but she didn't have the fingerprints for this apartment building, so she couldn't even get out of the door.

Not long after, Chen Jianjin returned pushing a snack shelf.

He placed the insulated food container on the small table in front of Song Wan, saying, "Eat breakfast first."

While feeling strange being watched while eating, Song Wan also felt much more comfortable in her stomach.

After Song Wan put down her chopsticks, Chen Jianjin moved over and picked up the chopsticks she had just used.

"Chen Jianjin!" Song Wan hurriedly reminded him, "That's..."

"You used it." Chen Jianjin interrupted her, not caring at all, and focused on cleaning up her leftovers. "I've even eaten your saliva."

How could this person...!

Song Wan was speechless. She racked her brains but couldn't find a suitable word to quantify the shamelessness of the person in front of her.

Song Wan no longer wanted to talk to Chen Jianjin and hid in a corner with her knees drawn up.

The documentary continued, and even though Song Wan didn't want to watch it, the physiological knowledge still squeezed into her mind without her noticing.

Her face flushed silently.

The cushion beside her sank, and Song Wan turned her head to look. Chen Jianjin had already tidied up the things on the small table and lay down next to her.

He seemed very tired and was resting with the back of his hand covering his eyes.

Before long, the boy's breathing became even and calm.

Chen Jianjin fell asleep.

This realization made Song Wan feel much more at ease.

The documentary is short, and it seems to be a deliberately selected segment. Because it's set to loop, the progress bar jumps back to the beginning every now and then.

Song Wan was forced to learn a lot about male and female physiology.

She didn't want to watch this anymore and wanted to leave.

After hesitating for a moment, Song Wan mustered up her courage and poked the boy's arm, whispering, "Chen Jianjin?"

As the third note faded, Chen Jianjin opened his eyes in a daze. Because he was just waking up, his double eyelids were more pronounced than usual, and his expression was somewhat blank.

"Finished reading?" he asked in a hoarse voice.

"It's happened several times already."

Song Wan felt a little wronged. "I want to go back."

"Hmm." Chen Jianjin swallowed lightly, responded with a muffled sound, and sat up to turn off the projector.

His head was still a little heavy, and he turned to look at the girl in the corner.

She remained in the same position, hugging her knees, gazing at him expectantly.

With just one glance, Chen Jianjin felt his throat tighten.

He pulled Song Wan into his arms again.

"what you do?!"

The girl, like a frightened bird, struggled to brace her wrists against his chest.

Chen Jianjin easily overcame the obstacle between them and pulled the person into his arms.

He buried his face in the crook of her neck, nuzzled her, and said with a feeling of comfort, "Sleep with me for a while, and I'll take you back to school when I wake up."

Song Wan didn't want to, but she couldn't push away the boy who was clinging to her like an octopus.

Chen Jianjin quickly fell asleep again, leaving Song Wan alone to sulk.

Perhaps because she was too angry to argue with him and couldn't find an outlet for her anger, Song Wan's mood quickly calmed down.

Actually, she didn't sleep well last night either. She had a nightmare in the middle of the night, dreaming that everyone around her had abandoned her. She was in a daze for more than an hour after waking up.

Right now, whether it was Chen Jianjin's breathing that was too hypnotic or his scent that was too calming, Song Wan's eyelids began to droop without her realizing it.

Chen Jianjin felt like he had slept a long and comfortable sleep. When he woke up, he felt refreshed and looked down to find that Song Wan was also asleep in his arms.

She's like a little hedgehog; she only puts away her sharp quills when she's sleeping peacefully.

The home theater was dimly lit, with a quiet and peaceful atmosphere.

Chen Jianjin loved these moments and greedily thought how wonderful it would be if he could see her with the sunlight every morning when he woke up.

Filled with an indescribable physical attraction, Chen Jianjin felt as sweet as if he had eaten honey. Unable to contain himself, he raised his finger and touched the girl's delicate cheek.

He really, really loved her.

Song Wan was woken up by a kiss. Before she could even process what was happening, she opened her eyes, her gaze slightly unfocused.

Chen Jianjin kissed the back of her hand and then touched her face.

After a short pause, Song Wan realized their inappropriate posture and immediately stepped back to create some distance.

This time, Chen Jianjin didn't forcibly pull the person back.

Because it's time to get up.

He sat up as well, ran a hand through his hair, and asked, "Are you hungry? I'll go cook."

Song Wan lowered her head and remained silent.

This was the second time; it was the second time she had fallen asleep in Chen Jianjin's arms without any suspicion.

Her heart was pounding wildly, and so was she.

She didn't know why this was happening; she only knew it was wrong and shouldn't be.

"What's wrong? Are you still half asleep?"

Chen Jianjin pinched the back of the girl's neck with his finger, his words tinged with a smile.

Without a second thought, Song Wan brushed his hand away and deliberately spoke harshly, "Chen Jianjin, I don't like you, I hate you."

No matter how many times I hear this sentence, it still makes my heart ache every time I hear it again.

His expression froze for a moment, Chen Jianjin's breathing became heavy, and he gave a bitter smile and a low "hmm", his phoenix eyes full of frustration, "I know you don't like me, but Song Wan, you don't need to take every opportunity to emphasize again, and... I love you."

When Chen Jianjin left the audiovisual room, he even considerately left the door open for her.

Song Wan, however, couldn't recover.

His last, unintentional, flirtatious remark sent a shiver down her spine.

She doesn't like Chen Jianjin, how could she possibly like Chen Jianjin?!

He's so wicked, he bullies people by taking advantage of his power.

When the food was served, Song Wan composed herself and went downstairs.

During the meal, Chen Jianjin brought up the teaching videos, asking, "Did you remember what you watched today?"

Song Wan choked, her expression instantly turning unnatural. She poked at the rice in her bowl and retorted angrily, "Chen Jianjin, is this how you bully high school girls?"

"...?" Chen Jianjin: "What do you mean?"

Song Wan knew he was looking at her, but she didn't dare to look at him, her face almost buried in the bowl. "Stop pretending, I know everything. You deceived a minor high school girl in your freshman year of college."

As she spoke, Song Wan raised her chin, and said with a hint of unwavering resolve, "You'd better not bother me anymore, otherwise... I'll report you, I'll sue you."

The boy didn't speak, but stared straight at her, his phoenix eyes hiding a strange emotion that was hard to fathom.

Her eyelashes fluttered a few times, and Song Wan silently tightened her grip on the chopsticks in her hand.

Suddenly, Chen Jianjin burst out laughing.

It wasn't the usual cold, indifferent smile, but a genuine, heartfelt laugh, like the kind of laugh that comes from hearing a funny joke.

Song Wan frowned, displeased: "What are you laughing at?"

Chen Jianjin clenched his fist and coughed lightly twice to suppress the smile on his lips.

But laughter, like love, is something that cannot be hidden; even if you cover your mouth, it will still show in your eyes.

So, Chen Jianjin asked with his bright eyes, "Did I deceive Wanwan, both physically and emotionally?"

“I wasn’t talking about myself, I was talking about a high school girl.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Song Wan's eyes widened as if she had just realized something.

"Oh right, I forgot to ask you last time. Your boyfriend said you two met a long time ago. I've never heard you mention that there was such an impressive person in your high school?"

"He told me that you two met when you were in your first year of high school."

The words Song Qinru had asked earlier echoed in his ears, followed by Chen Jianjin's question—

"If I said that I've walked this path of loving you for a very, very long time, Song Wan, would that give you some confidence?"

As if she had accidentally opened Pandora's box, Song Wan couldn't believe her eyes, and the chopsticks in her hand fell onto the table.

Impossible! They've never seen her before; she could never be the underage high school girl that others are talking about.

"I'm finished eating, I'm leaving now..."

Song Wan backed down, but Chen Jianjin wouldn't allow her to back down.

As the girl got up to leave, Chen Jianjin grabbed her wrist and bluntly told her, "Wanwan, you're not wrong. It's always been you, and it's always only you."

Song Wan shook her head, refusing to believe it. "You're lying, you're deceiving me, Chen Jianjin. You have a fiancée. You're just doing that kind of thing. You just... simply want to destroy me."

She was so emotional that her eyes reddened again, and tears began to glisten.

"Chen Jianjin, you're a complete scoundrel! A bastard! I don't like you, I hate you, I despise you!"

Time and again, as he felt a deep sadness, Chen Jianjin also loathed her for saying these things that showed she didn't love him.

Song Wan tried to find evidence that Chen Jianjin was a scumbag, to convince herself not to fall for him and not to fall into the trap of sweet talk.

She wanted to escape, but Chen Jianjin wouldn't allow her to.

He gritted his teeth and gently pulled her from behind, pulling her into his arms as he took out his phone and held it right in front of her.

The lock screen is a photo she posted on her WeChat Moments, but if you swipe to unlock the screen, the wallpaper is a picture of her from high school.

Song Wan was stunned.

Chen Jianjin had given her his phone number before, and even told her the password.

In just one night, if she had unlocked the device even once and glanced at it, she would have noticed something amiss.

No, not even once.

Under Song Wan's watchful gaze, Chen Jianjin found Feng Jing's contact information and dialed the number.

Soon, a woman's slightly threatening voice came from the other end: "What is it?"

Chen Jianjin put the phone on speakerphone, and Song Wan could hear their conversation very clearly.

Chen Jianjin cut to the chase and asked, "Do I have a fiancée?"

"What fiancée? Where did you get a fiancée? Chen Jianjin, let me tell you... *beep*"

Before Feng Jing could finish speaking, Chen Jianjin hung up the phone. Song Wan saw that he then dialed a number saved as Chen Zhanyue.

The person who answered the phone was a female assistant. Her voice was gentle as she said, "Excuse me, Jianjin, Mr. Chen is in a meeting. Is there anything you need me to pass on?"

"Give him the phone."

Chen Jianjin said in a way that left no room for refusal.

Soon, a deep, mature middle-aged man's voice came from the other end of the line: "What is it?"

"I have a fiancée?"

The person on the other end was clearly taken aback. "What fiancée? Shouldn't you be asking your mother that?"

Hanging up the phone and tossing it aside, Chen Jianjin stepped back and released Song Wan from his arms. He said leisurely, "Where are you all? Tell me how many false rumors you've heard about me. We'll debunk them one by one today."

His gaze was intense, fixed on her intently for a single moment.

Knowing she was in the wrong, Song Wan dared not meet his gaze.

Sometimes, Chen Jianjin also felt powerless. She was like a snail carrying a heavy protective shell. If you tried to touch her antennae even slightly, she would retreat to a safe zone.

Just like now, Song Wan began to avoid his gaze and remained silent.

Chen Jianjin's breathing became slightly heavy. He lowered his eyelashes to look at the girl in front of him and asked helplessly, "Song Wan, do you not like me, or do you not want to like me?"