Chapter 42 Chapter 42 Unseemly
Pan Xianchen left work on time on Friday. This was a rare occurrence, and his assistant, Xiaobai, was astonished. As he packed up his things, he said, "Mr. Pan, I've noticed a big change in you lately. You used to take overtime for granted, but now..."
"How is it now?" Pan Xianchen and Xiaobai were waiting for the elevator together.
Xiaobai often works overtime with Pan Xianchen. Today, Friday, is his girlfriend's birthday, and he can actually get to the restaurant on time to celebrate. He's so happy that he gets a little carried away: "Now, I feel like you're more like a human being! The kind with emotions..."
Pan Xianchen glanced at Xiaobai dangerously, and the smile on his face froze. But Pan Xianchen didn't blame him. After parting with him in the elevator, he actually explained, for the first time, "I have something personal to attend to. I have to leave early."
After saying goodbye to Pan Xianchen, Xiaobai rushed to meet his girlfriend, and couldn't help but wonder: Why does Mr. Pan always have private matters lately?
Pan Xianchen sat in the dimly lit car, his silent face hidden. Not far away, the elevator doors opened, and Wen Yu stepped out. She didn't notice anything, simply walking to her car, starting it, and driving away. A few seconds later, Pan Xianchen followed suit.
Driving down the road, Pan Xianchen felt like a perverted voyeur and stalker. It was better when he was working; when he was busy, he couldn't think of anything else. But once work stopped and his mind was empty, he began to think of Wen Yu. He opened his office door and looked out; he always passed Wen Yu's office when he went to the tea area; he went to the staff cafeteria every day to eat the disgusting pig food just so he could see her while he ate...
Pan Xianchen had used forceful tactics in the coastal town to coerce her, and then, in her own home, he had willingly humiliated her to seduce her. He employed various tactics, both soft and hard, but Wen Yu was as unbreakable as a piece of steel, as impenetrable as a tightly-held scallop. But Pan Xianchen was never one to back down. Even with an electric drill and a raging fire, he would crack open this stubborn scallop and penetrate her.
He knew Wen Yu would sometimes return to the villa on Saturdays and Sundays, so he followed the car all the way. Sure enough, Wen Yu drove into the gate of her villa complex, and Pan Xianchen also drove into the gate of his villa complex.
Dinner was already served at home. He didn't usually go home for dinner, and today he came back without informing his family. Both Pan Qing and Yang Yi were quite surprised.
Yan Qianqian was eating at his house again, even sitting in his usual seat, chatting happily with his parents. Yang Yi laughed so hard that her eyes were gone. She didn't know what Yan Qianqian, a mentally retarded child, said to make his mother so amused.
Who is the child of this family?
Pan Xianchen walked over unhappily and chased Yan Qianqian away like a fly: "You don't have parents? Go back to your own home and eat."
Yan Qianqian couldn't laugh anymore when she saw him: "Why are you so stingy!"
Yang Yi couldn't smile at Pan Xianchen's face, which was as dark as the bottom of a pot. "Yan Zhiwen is working overtime, and Qianqian's mother is not at home. There is no one at her house. You and your father are not at home, so it was Qianqian who was talking to me today." After explaining to Pan Xianchen, she looked at Yan Qianqian with a smile and said, "Qianqian can come to our house for dinner anytime. Auntie treats you as her own daughter."
Very good. Yan Qianqian is the child of this family.
Pan Xianchen interrupted their mother-daughter love unhappily and said to Yan Qianqian, "This is my seat, sit over there."
During dinner, the three of them chatted animatedly, while Pan Xianchen silently ate and drank. Pan Qing and Yang Yi could tell Pan Xianchen was worried, but their son had rarely spoken to his parents since middle school, always solving problems independently and not worrying them.
After dinner, Pan Xianchen went out with his phone. Yang Yi winked at Yan Qianqian, and the spy Yan Qianqian chased after him and called out to Pan Xianchen outside the door: "Hey——"
Pan Xianchen frowned and turned back: "Hey? Are you polite?"
Yan Qianqian curled her lips and emphasized each word: "Pan, Xian, Chen, brother, brother! Where are you going?"
Pan Xianchen said, "Is it your business?"
Yan Qianqian boldly guessed: "Do you want to go find Sister Wen Yu?"
Pan Xianchen paused for a second, ignored her, and walked away on his own.
Yan Qianqian stamped her feet in anger, mentally cursing Pan Xianchen for stealing her girlfriend. Then she immediately pulled out her phone and called Wen Yu, warning her of the danger posed by the dog.
Wen Yu, wearing her coat, went out to wait for Pan Xianchen. It was a summer night filled with mosquitoes, so Wen Yu stood by the green belt and stamped her feet. Soon, Pan Xianchen was in front of her like a gust of wind, and she caught a faint scent of alcohol.
"You've been drinking again." Wen Yu said, straightening his coat.
"I'm awake now." Pan Xianchen stood before her. Wen Yu was standing on the third or fourth step, a little higher than him, and he had to tilt his head slightly upwards to look at her.
"You say this every time after drinking." Wen Yu didn't believe it.
“This time it’s real.”
Pan Xianchen hadn't drunk much, but a little alcohol was enough for this rich, sticky night. With every sip, he felt a little warmer inside. By the end, his heart felt like it was being roasted on a barbecue grill.
He wanted to see Wen Yu so much that he rushed here without stopping.
He saw Wen Yu wearing the same camisole he had seen her wear before, with a coat draped over it, casual home-style pants, and a pair of beige slippers on her feet. She would occasionally tap her feet lightly on the ground, as if to shoo away mosquitoes.
Such a lifelike scene made Pan Xianchen feel as if he could accommodate the woman in front of him into his own world at any time.
Under the influence of alcohol, he couldn't help but ask: "Wen Yu, I just want to ask you one question: Do you love me?"
At that moment, everything between them was utterly silent. There was no evening breeze, no noisy insects chirping. Time seemed to stand still. Pan Xianchen waited anxiously for Wen Yu.
Wen Yu moved her lips, looked at Pan Xianchen's burning gaze with reluctance, and said, "We've broken up."
Pan Xianchen took a moment to react before realizing that Wen Yu hadn't answered "I love you" or "I don't love you." She had evaded his question, seemingly avoiding something.
"Don't want to answer?" Pan Xianchen was a little disappointed. After a moment, he nodded and said, "Okay, then I'll change the question - do you love him?"
Wen Yu frowned. Love or not? Why did he always ask her these questions? She was so tired, so annoyed, and wanted to hide away.
She stamped her feet again. Her ankles were itchy. She had been bitten by mosquitoes. Even the mosquitoes were so annoying tonight. She looked away impatiently, her eyes unconsciously falling on the green belt next to her. She said in a bad tone, "Mr. Pan, this is my personal matter. Does it have anything to do with you?"
Pan Xianchen was speechless for a moment. Did it matter? He kept thinking about her, becoming less focused at work and more confused in his life. He began drinking more frequently, his mind wandering from time to time. Every aspect of his life was influenced by her, like a tiny thorn stuck in his flesh, painful and itchy, but unable to be pulled out. Now she actually asked if it was related to him?
Pan Xianchen was so angry that he laughed. She was so selfish and didn't care about his life or death at all, right?
"You must answer my question! Otherwise I won't leave." Pan Xianchen pointed to the ground with a dark face and acted like a spoiled child.
Wen Yu became increasingly upset and wanted to leave quickly, so she chose a simpler answer: "No."
Pan Xianchen pressed on, "Who? He or me?"
Wen Yu pursed her lips tightly and squeezed out a word: "Him."
Pan Xianchen was silent for a moment. He didn't seem surprised by her words. He felt happy for a moment, then a surge of anger. He stepped heavily on the stairs and asked, "Then why did you marry him?"
Wen Yu: “…”
She didn't answer again. Pan Xianchen felt even angrier. He stared at her face and said coldly, "Then do you know that he doesn't love you either?"
"……Know."
Pan Xianchen laughed out loud. He had only been guessing and testing things, and he had never expected to get such an answer.
What was she doing? Playing house with a man she didn't love?
Pan Xianchen continued to walk up until he was on the same step as Wen Yu. He no longer needed to look up at her, and it was her turn to look up.
"Then don't marry him." He looked down at her.
Pan Xianchen was terrifying when he was angry. The prelude to a stormy situation reminded Wen Yu of the oppressive and suffocating feeling of a raging thunderbolt. The scene outside the banquet hall that night flashed back to her mind, and the uneasiness and fear that she felt beyond her control at that time also burst forth from every corner of her body.
Wen Yu gritted his teeth and said, "Why should I listen to you?"
Pan Xianchen gritted his teeth and said, "Are you sick? You married him if you didn't love him?" He hated Wen Yu's refusal to cooperate and felt she was being unreasonable. He also blurted out, "Have you ever slept with him? What's it like to sleep with a man you don't love?"
Wen Yu glared at him, feeling very resentful: "Did you come here to act drunk and crazy on purpose?"
"Answer me!" Pan Xianchen's voice grew louder and louder. "I want to know if you've slept with him!"
Wen Yu subconsciously glanced upstairs at the villa. Her mother's window was dark; she had fallen asleep. Wen Yu whispered, "Keep your voice down!"
"Are you afraid of who might hear you?" Pan Xianchen followed her gaze and looked upstairs. "Am I so shameful?"
The sudden ring of the phone broke the tension between them. Yan Qianqian waited for a long time, but Pan Xianchen didn't come back. She was really worried, so she contacted Wen Yu again and asked, "Sister Wen Yu, how are you now? Do you need my help?"
Wen Yu stared at Pan Xianchen warily and said into her phone, "I'm on speaker."
Yan Qianqian understood, and she also said to the phone: "Brother Pan Xianchen? You haven't come home yet? If you don't come home soon, your mother and I will come out to look for you!"
Pan Xianchen's eyes were red, whether from anger or sadness. He looked at Wen Yu in silence. Wen Yu turned off the speaker, covered the phone receiver with one hand, and advised Pan Xianchen: "Have some dignity."
Pan Xianchen closed his eyes. The hot night wind suddenly picked up, making his eyes sore. He squinted, as if trying to see the woman in front of him more clearly. After a long moment, he moved his lips, and his voice seemed even softer than the wind.
"It's all because of you that I've become so disgraceful."
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