Chapter 51 Exploitation and Sincerity: Yan Quan, You Are the Only Reason...

Late at night, 11:54 PM, inside the Love House.

The rain outside the window wove a fine silver net under the streetlights. Yan Quan pressed his forehead against the cool glass and stared straight at the hazy white mist outside.

Yan Quan was waiting for someone.

We are waiting for Yan Ceyan.

This guy was nowhere to be seen early this morning, and hasn't shown up all day today.

After finishing the online meeting with the company's management and shareholders in the afternoon, Yan Quan sat on the living room sofa waiting for Yan Ceyan.

And then... I've been waiting until now.

I've been waiting for almost 10 hours.

Yan Quan rarely showed such patience. This was also the first time in his life that he had waited for someone so persistently.

Holding Yan Ceyan's coat gently in her hands, Yan Quan curled up against the back of the sofa. Trying to keep her drooping eyelids from falling asleep, Yan Quan kept yawning.

"...They should be back soon."

As the saying goes, the clock on the wall struck twelve, and suddenly the electronic beeping of the lock sounded from the entryway.

"Finally back."

Yan Quan, slipping on her slippers, stood up from the sofa with a hint of excitement: "Yan Ceyan, is that you?"

When Yan Ceyan pushed open the door, half of his suit jacket was soaked, and his eyes were tinged with a bluish-black tinge. When he looked up and saw Yan Quan standing in the warm light, he seemed to freeze in place.

"..." Yan Ceyan raised an eyebrow in surprise, looking straight at Yan Quan, "You've been waiting for me all this time?"

"Yes," Yan Quan answered frankly. "I've been waiting for you."

"..." Yan Ceyan's brow twitched, and he pursed his lips slightly. "Why... wait for me?"

"Here's your coat back." Yan Quan handed the coat to Yan Ceyan. "I've washed it."

"Hand-washed."

Yan Quan didn't know why he had inexplicably added that sentence. Perhaps... it would seem more sincere?

Yan Ceyan took the coat and weighed it in his hand, the citrus scent of laundry detergent filling his nostrils. It was similar to Yan Quan's pheromone scent.

Yan Ceyan coughed a few times, his tone a little unnatural, "Thank you."

Upon hearing this word of thanks, Yan Quan's heart skipped a beat for some reason.

The thermostat indicator light then rang with a "ding," and the dark interior of the kitchen was suddenly illuminated by a warm orange light.

"Have you had dinner? Are you hungry now?" Yan Quan asked, her voice rising unconsciously at the end. Her eyes were fixed on Yan Ceyan, her pupils sparkling.

Yan Ceyan was stunned by the stare for more than ten seconds before he finally spoke, "I haven't had dinner, I'm hungry."

"That's perfect, wait a moment. I've prepared it for you." Yan Quan's voice was slightly excited as she turned and ran to the kitchen to fiddle with the rice cooker.

Then Yan Ceyan took off his wet suit jacket and obediently sat on the sofa to wait for Yan Quan.

A few minutes later, Yan Quan came running over, carrying a ceramic bowl.

Yan Ceyan didn't even need to look to know what was in the bowl. There was a 99.9% chance it was vegetable and lean meat porridge.

Because Yan Quan doesn't know how to cook at all.

When Yan Quan was a boarding student in high school, she was too lazy to go to the cafeteria, and food delivery was not allowed on campus. Yan Quan basically ate instant noodles every day. Later, Yan Ceyan was worried about her health, so he applied to live on campus as well, and moved into a double dormitory suite with Yan Quan. After they started living together, Yan Ceyan cooked all three meals a day.

In fact, the only "dish" Yan Quan knew how to make—vegetable and lean meat porridge that was nutritionally complete, balanced, required no cooking, and could be cooked in a rice cooker—was taught to her by Yan Ceyan. The purpose was so that Yan Quan wouldn't have to eat instant noodles when Yan Ceyan was out.

After a brief moment of reminiscing, Yan Quan excitedly stepped forward and proudly presented the bowl. Yan Ceyan glanced down at the bottom of the bowl—see, it was indeed vegetable and lean meat porridge.

"...Pfft," Yan Ceyan stared at the long-soaked, deep green vegetables and the somewhat lumpy porridge for a few moments, and couldn't help but chuckle a few times. "How did it turn out like this?"

"I guarantee that it was in perfect condition when it was first made." Yan Quan looked a little embarrassed. "It's just that the waiting time was too long... and now it's a little bit... a little bit bad."

"...Have you been waiting for me for a long time?" Yan Ceyan keenly grasped the key words.

"More than ten hours." Yan Quan crossed her knuckles to indicate the number "ten," not even realizing that her tone sounded a bit like she was being coquettish: "I waited for you for almost ten hours after I made the porridge at three in the afternoon."

"I was so sleepy that my eyelids were drooping, I almost fell asleep..."

As Yan Quan recounted the many "difficulties" he faced during the waiting process, Yan Ceyan's eyes grew increasingly dark and profound.

The atmosphere belatedly rose into a thick, tranquil stillness.

"Why..." Yan Ceyan's Adam's apple bobbed as he stared intently at Yan Quan: "Yan Quan, I don't believe you waited for me for so long just to return the clothes."

Outside the window, the rain gradually subsided, leaving only the occasional dripping sound. Inside the room, only the ticking of the clock and our even breathing filled the air…

Yan Quan rested his fingers on the ceramic bowl for a long time before slowly speaking: "Yan Ceyan, are you asking a question you already know the answer to?"

"You're so busy until so late today, are you dealing with the Yan family's recent air-raid shelter construction project?"

"yes."

Yan Ceyan took the bowl from Yan Quan's hand. The warmth of the porcelain transferred to his palm, carrying a faint aroma of rice. "You want me to invest in saving the Yan family?"

“Yes.” Yan Quan looked up and met Yan Ceyan’s gaze.

"..." Yan Ceyan's hand remained on the spoon, a slight, bitter smile curving his lips.

"Yan Quan, it's been so many years."

"Not only have your cooking skills not changed, but your problem-solving methods are also the same as before."

They treated me in the same way.

To deceive and exploit.

"If you want me to help you..." Yan Ceyan's brows, which had just relaxed, furrowed again, and his expression gradually turned cold:

"Yan Quan, you at least have to give me a reason for investing."

"Now that the Yan family has fallen, it can only benefit the Yan family."

“I know.” Yan Quan lowered her eyes. “Before I returned to the country and before I even appeared on this show, I never imagined the Yan family would help me…”

Because I know very well that everything fell apart seven years ago. I deceived you, used you, and repeatedly trampled your sincerity into the ground...

I'll never see you again, I'll disappear from your life forever. "Yan Ceyan, I was already planning to give up on you..."

Yan Quan suddenly choked up when he said the word "give up".

At the same moment, Yan Ceyan's tightly furrowed brows twitched slightly.

"..." Yan Quan paused for a long time, then continued somewhat slowly, "But Yan Ceyan, I ran into you again."

Even though I tried my best to avoid you, I still ran into you. It seems like fate.

"Everything at the beginning was perfectly natural."

You hate me, clamor for revenge, and use all means to "retaliate" against me, hoping to make me pay a heavy price.

I'd rather you "hate" me, and tell me everything and accept it all.

Because, from the moment I decided to flee to Federation A, I accepted the price of "complete rupture and mutual resentment until death".

"But Yan Ceyan..."

“You were the first to cross the line of ‘hatred’.”

Those harsh words that slipped out, when put into practice, were softer than tofu. In the little details of their relationship, "enemy Yan Ceyan" and "boyfriend Yan Ceyan" became increasingly inseparable.

In fact... they were originally one person.

It's always been the same person.

"Yan Ceyan, it's you who makes me feel more and more absurdly that... things might still turn around."

As Yan Quan slowly spoke these words, her long, delicate eyelashes fluttered and trembled slightly.

"Don't you think this is like you're the one who's tacitly agreeing that I can come to you?"

"..." Yan Ceyan stared intently at Yan Quan for a long time before finally letting out a very soft breath.

"Yan Quan, what kind of absurd logic is this?"

“Yes.” Yan Quan raised his eyes, staring blankly at Yan Ceyan, his clear pupils shining brightly. “He invested in the Yan family business.”

"Isn't my answer a reason?"

The floor lamp beside the sofa cast a warm orange glow. Raindrops pattered against the window, and Yan Ceyan was momentarily lost in thought…

Eighteen-year-old Yan Quan half-stood up from her bed in the dormitory. Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she looked up and kissed eighteen-year-old Yan Ceyan. His disordered breathing lingered in her ear, like a soul-capturing drug.

"Hmm... Yan Ceyan, do you know about that government-led project recently...?"

The most inescapable trap in the world is one where you know it will lead to utter ruin, yet you still willingly and unwittingly fall into it.

Yan Ceyan was pressing against the back of Yan Quan's neck, his knuckles sinking deep into Yan Quan's long, citrus-scented hair.

As their intertwined breaths, like vines, wrapped around each other tighter and tighter, eighteen-year-old Yan Ceyan lowered his head almost resignedly: "I know."

Rewind to seven years later, under Yan Quan's direct gaze, Yan Ceyan let out a light, mocking laugh.

He laughed at himself, realizing that after all these years, he hadn't improved at all. He still stumbled twice in the same place, willingly and unwittingly being "used."

It's already autumn, but the rain just won't stop. It had just stopped for a bit, but now it's starting to drizzle again.

Raindrops pattered against the windowpane like drumbeats, or perhaps... the ever-approaching heartbeat.

"Yes." Yan Ceyan heard the faint friction echoing in his eardrums, and he heard his own clear answer:

"Yan Quan, you are the only reason I saved the Yan family."

Just after Yan Ceyan finished speaking, Yan Quan's clear and beautiful eyes slowly became moist, like a layer of mist being peeled away.

Actually, Yan Quan wasn't stunned with joy at securing investment... On the contrary, at that moment, she felt a pang of heartache as if her heart were being clenched.

The same heartache I felt on that rainy night seven years ago.

Leaning forward, Yan Quan slowly pulled a letter from her coat. It was pink; it was the letter she had to write to her favorite guest every night on the show.

Yesterday's recording was abruptly halted due to Fu Duannian's actions, and the letter-delivering segment was also interrupted as a result.

But after dragging his weary steps back to the hut, Yan Quan forced his sleepy eyelids open and insisted on finishing the letter.

"Do you believe me, puppy?"

Yan Quan handed the letter to Yan Ceyan and watched as Yan Ceyan opened it.

"This time is different from seven years ago."

Yan Zhenzhen valued it highly and said this.

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Author's note: Can you all sense the impending reconciliation...?