Chapter 38 "He Xi, it's raining, come to my side..."
His words instantly dispelled Cheng Hexi's sleepiness.
She propped herself up halfway to touch him.
You Yue's strong arm touched the man's cheek.
You Yue didn't let her have her way and held down the person's hand that was causing trouble.
"do what?"
His voice was low, as if carrying a warning: "Don't touch me."
After three days apart and a six-hour flight, I landed and went straight home. I opened the door to the master bedroom and saw the person I had been longing for lying in the spot where I slept every night.
Does she know what he's thinking?
And yet, she still tries to seduce him.
Cheng Hexi stopped touching him and, true to her word, looked at him again, asking, "Are you tired?"
You Yue said, "It's alright," because "the flight is short."
The journey from Singapore back to Beijing wasn't short.
She urged Youyue to wash up and go to bed so she could rest early.
You Yue remained in the same position, leaning over and supporting himself on her pillow.
A six-hour flight was nothing new to him, so he didn't mind. Instead, he asked with concern, "You have insomnia?"
It is an affirmative sentence.
Cheng Hexi hummed in agreement, her tone calm yet earnest: "If I hadn't had insomnia, I would have missed your return."
"So what?" You Yue smiled, still looking at her. "Wouldn't it be nice to open your eyes the next day and find yourself sleeping in my arms?"
"..."
Does she really fall asleep in his arms every morning?
Cheng Hexi couldn't help but doubt herself.
Even after moving into the master bedroom, You Yue's biological clock still slept earlier than hers; when she woke up, he had usually already gone to the gym.
But sometimes she wakes up early and knows that she is not very well-behaved.
The cushion she brought is still on their bed, but it has long since lost its purpose.
Cheng Hexi turned over, went back to her side, closed her eyes, didn't continue the previous topic, and urged You Yue to go wash up.
You Yue stopped teasing her and didn't ask if she missed him while sleeping next to him. He got up and went to get a change of clothes by the dim light.
The bathroom was well soundproofed, and the sound of the shower water was not clear. Cheng Hexi turned her head back and saw that You Yue had just taken off his watch and casually placed it on the bedside table. The blue dial of the watch shone in the dim light.
He's back.
This realization brought her peace of mind.
-
You Yue quickly took a shower, dried her hair, and came out. She didn't have time to pay attention to the Vacheron Constantin watch lying on the bedside table. She lifted the covers and got into bed.
Cheng Hexi had just lain on this side, which wasn't very smooth, and there was still one of her long hairs on it.
She was still awake. When she noticed You Yue getting into bed, she turned over and her gaze fell on him.
The man had just taken a shower, with stray hairs falling across his forehead. His bathrobe wasn't worn very properly, revealing the outline of his pectoral muscles.
Cheng Hexi was completely slumped in the bed. Although her eyes were still clear, she looked softer than usual.
You Yue propped her head up, guessing that the person next to her couldn't sleep, and started chatting with her: "I forgot to ask you, what kind of flowers does Mom like?"
“...She didn’t actually have any favorite flowers,” Cheng Hexi recalled for a moment and smiled, “She could never grow flowers well, and she always told me that the only one she could grow well was me.”
You Yue smiled in response.
He had never met Cheng Yuqing, but he could sense how much she loved her daughter.
“Every time I visit, I bring a bouquet of white double lilies and lisianthus. She likes pretty things.”
You Yue nodded and started playing with her hair again, asking, "Shall I pick you up before dinner?"
Seeing that she agreed, he added, "Aunt Yao won't be back until the day after tomorrow. What would you like to eat tomorrow night?"
Cheng Hexi paused, then reminded him, "Aren't you going to President Chu's banquet tomorrow night?"
"Um?"
You Yue had absolutely no recollection of this matter.
Cheng Hexi understood that it was impossible to overlook You Yue when receiving an invitation to such a banquet, so he had no choice but to decline.
Judging from his reaction, he probably didn't take it seriously at all and can't even remember it now.
You Yue asked, "Are you going?"
It's normal that You Yue doesn't remember her. With so many invitations every day, she just listens and forgets, rarely responding.
His attitude has always been like this: if he has to attend every invitation, where does he find so much time and leisure?
Cheng Hexi hummed in agreement, her tone casual: "I have a collaboration with President Chu. When I first returned to Beijing, she was a benefactor to me."
You Yue decided to ask Lynn about the dinner party tomorrow.
Cheng Hexi could guess the whole story. Seeing his reaction, she raised an eyebrow slightly: "What? President You refused, but now you want to go?"
You Yue replied confidently, "It's not a change of mind. I didn't reply before, but I will tomorrow."
"..."
He smiled slightly and turned off the bedside lamp.
In the darkness, Cheng Hexi realized the person beside her was getting closer. The two were almost breathing at the same time.
Afterwards, You Yue kissed her forehead and whispered, "Sleep, don't overthink it."
Cheng Hexi closed her eyes.
-
The next morning, Lynn was called into the office as soon as she came out of the break room.
When You Yue brought up the dinner with President Chu, she quickly realized that an invitation had been sent, but he hadn't expressed any intention to attend and hadn't replied at the time.
You Yue grunted in agreement and instructed, "Reply now."
Lynn paused for only a second before replying, "Okay."
But I couldn’t help but wonder why my boss, who doesn’t care about anyone’s feelings, would suddenly change his mind and go to Chu Ning’s banquet.
Is there going to be a collaboration?
The man, dressed in a pure black three-piece suit with a neatly tied tie, was personally ordering flowers on his phone, unaware of what his assistant at the table was thinking.
He had already cleared his afternoon, and before Lynn left, he said, "Tell Qi Xuan that I'm leaving at three o'clock this afternoon. We can talk about anything else tomorrow. No need for a driver."
Lynn nodded to indicate that she understood and left the office.
-
Cheng Hexi arrived at the cemetery just after 2 p.m., which was the hottest time of day.
She carried a bouquet of beautiful white flowers, wore a long black dress, and climbed the steps.
The steps in the cemetery were numerous and long, and she walked steadily in high heels.
Thanks to the recent abundant rainfall, the trees on both sides are lush and green.
When I first arrived, the sun was still high in the sky, and the tombstones were scorching hot. But by evening, the weather had suddenly changed.
The sun was obscured, thick clouds rolled in, and the air was so stuffy it felt like an impenetrable net; the rain was slow to fall.
Cheng Hexi brushed aside the flower petals, wondering how to introduce You Yue to Cheng Yuqing.
Their interests are tightly intertwined, they benefit each other, and they are perfectly compatible; they cannot and will not divorce.
If she isn't even slightly tempted, then this is the ideal marriage she's ever envisioned.
But she just couldn't deny that she had feelings for You Yue.
It wasn't exactly love, but its significance was different from others.
She knew that You Yue felt the same way about her.
After all, You Yue was such an arrogant person that he no longer acted in a businesslike manner or maintained a polite distance.
But could this become love?
Cheng Hexi didn't know if this feeling was a wildfire or a spark ignited by a match. She was also afraid that one wrong step would lead to complete failure.
If falling in love is inevitable, then she doesn't want fleeting ambiguity; she wants enduring true love.
-
A gentle male voice called her name from behind.
Cheng Hexi brushed her hand across the petals, recognizing who had come. She slowly rose, turning her head with a blank expression: "Why are you here?"
Yan Zhen paused, then said, "I've come to see Aunt Cheng."
After the sun disappeared, the sky instantly darkened, and before long, the lingering scent of sunlight on my clothes vanished completely, leaving a gray-white filter around me.
She crossed her arms and stared coldly at the man in front of her, watching him take a few steps forward and place a very ugly bouquet of flowers in front of her mother's tombstone.
This flower is not worthy of Cheng Yuqing at all.
Cheng Hexi turned her gaze away from the bouquet of flowers and spoke in a very calm tone: "Yan Zhen, you don't need to pretend like this."
Yan Zhen slowly straightened up, turned around and sighed: "We haven't seen each other for a long time, He Xi, do you have to talk like that?"
Cheng Hexi didn't want to say too much at her mother's grave, but she was also disgusted by his appearance.
"If I were you, I wouldn't even have the face to come here." She curled her lips into a smirk. "I didn't bring any bodyguards today, otherwise you wouldn't even be able to see me. And what's with the tone you're using?"
“I haven’t been back to China for a long time, so I came to visit Aunt Cheng… Aunt Cheng has been very kind to me.”
Yan Zhen lost his mother at a young age, and his stepmother's two children were the apple of her eye, so he was not favored. Cheng Yuqing and Yan Zhen's mother were good friends and took good care of him.
Before he said that, Cheng Hexi didn't bother to say anything. After all, he lived abroad, and if he hadn't returned to China, the two of them might never have met again for the rest of their lives. But as soon as he said that, Cheng Hexi's anger flared up instantly.
"So how did you repay this kindness?"
"Was it when my mother was sick that I brought He Zhouyan to her under the guise of visiting her, so that she would know that her cheating husband had an illegitimate child? Or was it to make her worry about me, afraid that I would be bullied in the He family without her protection, and that she wouldn't dare let go of my hand until the very end?"
She was furious, but her expression remained calm, and her tone was icy.
"Is this how we get feedback?"
The long-awaited rain finally fell.
The heat on Cheng Hexi's body had long since dissipated, and she was unaware of the light rain hitting her bare forearms.
"We've known each other for so many years, doesn't this friendship count?" Yan Zhen asked Cheng Hexi, her voice less calm. "What happened before was a misunderstanding, I can explain it all."
Cheng Hexi's attitude was clear: "I have no idea that we had any relationship. You don't need to act like a victim."
“I never thought I would meet you today, nor did I intend to bother you.” Yan Zhen’s tone turned somber: “You never listen to my explanations, but back in high school, I really did like you. I didn’t lie to you, nor did I take advantage of your sincerity.”
"Don't be so ambiguous," Cheng Hexi's tone turned icy. "My honest opinion is that I really considered you a friend back then, but I have many friends, and I wasn't saddened by your betrayal."
Yan Zhen looked at her, his expression complex: "Has anyone told you that you've changed?"
The Cheng Hexi he remembered was not like this.
She was very popular, generous, and always smiling. Her original life goal was to travel the world. If she hadn't succeeded He Chongguang, she wouldn't have such a sharp gaze and be so wary.
“You’re still as arrogant as ever.” Cheng Hexi had calmed down and looked him straight in the eye. “I’m really glad that you weren’t so charming that I fell for you back then.”
In her senior year of high school, after Yan Zhen did those things, he suddenly confessed his feelings for her. Cheng Hexi had never experienced anything so absurd and disgusting, and she still remembers it vividly to this day.
A gust of wind stirred up the rain and ruffled her long hair.
She didn't want to look at Yan Zhen anymore, so she turned her gaze away, and suddenly a familiar figure appeared in her eyes.
He was dressed in a black suit, tall and imposing, holding flowers in his arms and an umbrella as he climbed the steps.
Cheng Hexi's eyes lit up.
Yan Zhen turned around and followed her gaze to see You Yue.
-
Through the sound of rain and the distance, You Yue couldn't hear what they were saying.
He walked up the last step, only glancing briefly at Yan Zhen before his gaze settled on Cheng Hexi and remained fixed on her.
It was as if they didn't take him seriously, or as if they didn't care about anything.
The black umbrella covered his entire body, making the bouquet of flowers in his arms appear even whiter.
Cheng Hexi looked at the bouquet of flowers, knowing that You Yue had listened to her carefully last night.
The rain suddenly intensified, pattering loudly on the stone pavement.
You Yue stood quietly two or three meters away from them, no longer moving forward.
He spoke, his voice low but seemingly possessing an alluring magic: "He Xi, it's raining, come to my side."
Cheng Hexi snapped out of her daze and ran towards him in a few steps.
The umbrella that You Yue was holding shielded her from the rain, and she was also enveloped by the man's strong arms.
She shed her disguise and returned to her haven.
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Author's note: I slept for more than seven hours yesterday and I'm all rested!
Thank you, dear readers, for following my updates! Thank you for your understanding; you are my greatest motivation! [rose emoji]
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