Chapter 108
Jin Chuwan was somewhat distracted during her meal.
It wasn't because of Jiang Chen's proposal of marriage before love, but because she suddenly received a text message from Cheng Ya.
The content is very brief.
"Waaaaah, Wanwan, you'll have to take care of me from now on."
Then he posted a photo of himself leaving the Cheng family villa with his luggage, and a selfie while sitting at the boarding gate.
Jin Chuwan looked down at her phone and sent a string of question marks, but Cheng Ya didn't reply.
She suddenly felt a little uneasy, and the two people in front of her seemed to have some rift between them because of the little incident just now, and they had nothing to say to each other.
After putting down her phone, Kim Cho-wan sighed unconsciously.
Jiang Chen, who was in the middle of preparing soup, raised his eyelids slightly and asked, "What's wrong?"
Jin Chuwan shook her head. She was somewhat confused, as if she felt she should do something, but she didn't know if it was the right thing to do or if she should do it at all.
Before long, all the dishes were served.
After the door to the private room closed again, Jin Chuwan glanced at her phone once more.
The chat interface was as lively as ever; many colleagues were really interested in her private life, and the small group was already making plans for dinner tonight.
Jin Chuwan thought for a moment and replied "OK".
Looking back, it seems that her life started to fall apart after Cheng Xiucheng's car accident.
However, her distraction aroused the dissatisfaction of those around her.
"We agreed to have dinner together, but you seemed to be looking at your phone the whole time."
Lee Sung-eun's voice reminded Kim Cho-wan, who looked up in surprise and then explained with a smile.
"It's a colleague. They said they wanted to get together with me tonight."
Li Xing'en raised an eyebrow and casually asked, "From an agency?"
Jin Chuwan was taken aback. She had never mentioned her situation before, so why did Yin Zhihua and Li Xingen both seem to know everything about it?
She glanced at Jiang Chen; he seemed very calm, so he probably knew as well.
Jin Chuwan suddenly stopped laughing. She put down her chopsticks, her expression turning unfriendly: "So, have you been investigating me all along? I feel like I have no secrets from you at all?"
Li Xing'en's smile deepened upon hearing this. "How could that be? I only found out you were here by chance when I saw a report about a case. But that's all I know. Don't overthink it..."
As he spoke, he placed the cleaned fish meat into Jin Chuwan's bowl. His smile was as gentle and tolerant as ever, which made Jin Chuwan feel like a suspicious, inconsiderate, and incompetent husband.
Jin Chuwan was silent for a while. She glanced at Jiang Chen, who was peeling shrimp, and moved her bowl a little further away.
"You eat your own food, I don't need you to take care of me."
Jiang Chen chuckled and nodded. He tossed the shrimp into his bowl, then raised an eyebrow at Jin Chuwan, who still looked wary.
He picked up a tissue and wiped his fingers.
"Would you like something to drink?"
Li Xing'en glanced at Jiang Chen dismissively, "If you want to drink, you can drink it yourself..."
Jin Chuwan nodded upon hearing this.
"OK".
She was feeling a bit down right now because of Cheng Ya's situation.
A short while later, the waiter brought in the wine.
For most of the rest of the time, Jin Chuwan and Jiang Chen drank and chatted about the past few years.
Li Xing'en glanced at the two of them, took a small sip, and then frowned.
He didn't know what was so good about it.
But Jin Chuwan saw his action and smiled, "It was just one bite, why is your face all red?"
Jiang Chen laughed along, "That's how our boss Li is. At his dinner parties, everyone else is so reserved that they don't dare to speak."
Kim Cho-wan found it very novel and looked at Lee Sung-eun.
"Is that so?"
Li Xingen was a little annoyed. He straightened his expression before retorting, "Don't listen to his nonsense." Then he stopped Jin Chuwan, who was about to pour more wine, and said, "You too, drink less. No one will take care of you when you're out here alone..."
Kim Cho-wan nodded, resting her chin on her hand, but pried Lee Sung-eun's fingers off.
"I mean, I'm already this old, so stop interfering with me. It's just a little red wine, I'm not drunk yet."
Li Xingen still frowned, and looking at her actions, he couldn't help but ask, "You're not drunk yet?"
After he finished speaking, he glanced at Jiang Chen again.
The two drunkards looked almost identical, propping their chins up and talking incoherently. Every time he tried to persuade them to drink more, they ignored him.
In the end, Li Xing'en could only drink tea alone in silence.
"To be honest, how much exactly did you cause the Cheng family to lose this time?"
Jin Chuwan asked this not to offer any advice, but simply out of curiosity. Since Cheng Ya had already packed her bags and left, it meant that everything had been settled.
"It's nothing much, I just took the opportunity to acquire five percent of the shares after the stock price fluctuation last night."
Jiang Chen smiled, appearing quite candid now, answering whatever Jin Chuwan asked.
He even proactively revealed things that Kim Cho-wan hadn't asked him about.
"Moreover, I have already shown leniency. After all, I didn't make a fuss about Cheng Xiucheng's car accident. As for Cheng Ya, she will only be ostracized by the board of directors for a while. With her abilities, she will be back soon."
As he spoke, he poured Jin Chuwan another glass.
"So don't worry. No matter what, it's a business matter between us. Don't get involved, or it will make things difficult."
Kim Chuwan nodded.
The man before me was mature and reserved. He had changed a lot. Having shed his youthful arrogance, he seemed more worldly and more adept at handling things.
But she still shook her head and said softly.
"It's not as simple as you say. In any case, I was able to study abroad thanks to Chengjia's help, and I've received a lot of kindness from others since then. How can I just stop asking? It's just that I'm a nobody, and I can't ask much even if I wanted to. At most, I can only do my best."
Jiang Chen listened in silence for a while, then lowered his head and smiled, his dark eyes appearing even more profound.
"So you really did leave the country to escape from me?"
His voice was calm, but after he asked, Li Xing'en looked over. He stared at Jin Chuwan, looking as if he wanted to know the answer, but also didn't want to hear it.
"Yes...and no."
Jin Chuwan rested her chin on her hand, thinking that she might have really drunk a bit too much today.
But he was definitely not drunk yet.
At least her mind was still clear.
"Have you ever played Turtle Soup? It's when your guess is neither right nor wrong, the referee will say 'neither right nor wrong'."
Kim Cho-wan smiled.
Many years have passed, and they are now adults. They are no longer easily shy or troubled by their feelings.
Therefore, I became more at ease.
"Actually, it's mostly because of myself. Don't you think I was a bit...bitter and resentful when I was little?"
Jin Chuwan said, scratching her head as usual, "I just dwell too much on the past. On the other hand, I think love is an illusion. I always think that I'm not worthy of liking, or that your feelings are just a passing interest. I feel that love back then was a cheese trap. After all, even now, the gap between us is huge..."
Jiang Chen listened quietly. The sunlight outside had somehow slanted in, leaving a neat patch of light in the room.
The sunflowers used for decoration stand tall and proud in the vase.
This is a restaurant near the coast, and there are many tourists nearby who can hear the screams and noises coming from the amusement park rides in the distance.
Lee Sung-eun's fist, which he had unconsciously clenched, finally relaxed slowly. He lowered his head, then raised it again. In his vision, Kim Cho-wan looked like an oil painting bathed in sunlight.
Gentle yet easygoing, free-spirited and open-minded.
She smiled, her soft hair falling down, her light-colored eyes looking elsewhere, occasionally glancing over with a hint of unease.
"You're always like this, overthinking things..."
Jiang Chen put down his wine glass and looked at her, his face seemingly carrying a hint of resentment.
"You just needed to trust me, and I wouldn't have let you face those things. If we had been together sooner, maybe our kids would be running around by now..."
Upon hearing this, Li Xing'en's smile turned somewhat ugly, and he mercilessly mocked the man beside him.
"Don't be ridiculous. Back then, you couldn't do anything. You were just an obedient and sensible young master. It's only now that you have a say in the Jiang family."
As he spoke, his gaze darkened, and he turned his head away. If they had been together back then, only he could have brought her happiness.
He stared stubbornly at Jin Chuwan.
"You're not allowed to run away anymore."
He really didn't want to wait another six years.
Jin Chuwan laughed as she listened, feeling somewhat helpless, but she still propped herself up on the table and sat up.
She was starting to feel dizzy and knew she couldn't drink anymore.
"Don't talk like I've let anyone down. You two were so popular back in school, and now you're successful business elites. Six years have passed, and countless outstanding girls have passed by you. Don't act like you can't live without me..."
After finishing her sentence, Jin Chuwan rummaged through her backpack and prepared to go out to pay the bill.
At this moment, Jiang Chen suddenly stood up.
"Is there something else behind your words, Jin Chuwan?"
As he spoke, he tossed his coat aside, a sneer appearing on his cool, handsome face. Then, he suddenly reached up and began unbuttoning his collar.
"Are you the only one I'm thinking of? If you don't believe me, come and see for yourself..."
Li Xing'en, who was standing to the side, laughed as well.
He originally wanted to stop Jiang Chen from going crazy, but when he thought of what Jin Chuwan had just said, he simply crossed his arms and remained indifferent.
Jin Chuwan stared blankly at everything before her, her eyes filled with astonishment and bewilderment. She watched as the man's fingers slid along his collar, unbuttoning one button after another.
As the exquisitely sculpted chest was revealed, Jin Chuwan pressed her forehead.
She raised her hand to block her view.
"I, I...you..."
Perhaps due to the alcohol, her speech was somewhat confused, but at the same time she felt helpless.
"Don't do this..."
Her voice was weak.
But Jiang Chen's laughter was unusually clear.
"Didn't you say I have a lot of women around me? Why are you unwilling to get a physical exam?"
"You know what I was thinking when you left. I thought you hated me and that if I showed you any kindness, you would be scared away and hide. Do you know that I found you a long time ago, but I didn't dare to show my face to you? And you, if it weren't for Cheng Ya, you wouldn't have taken the initiative to see me."
"So that's why you suspected me..."
Every word the man spoke was filled with resentment. His clothes were somewhat disheveled, and his dark eyes looked moist and bloodshot.
Li Xingen suddenly realized the benefits of drinking.
Who would blame a man who's drunk and acting crazy?
He smiled, and his fingers slid down to his collar.
At this moment, he seemed like a bystander who enjoyed watching the drama unfold, looking at Jin Chuwan, who was clearly flustered from being forced into a corner. His elegant and beautiful face held mockery, ambiguity, and provocation.
"Auntie, don't worry, we're not busy today, we can test them one by one..."
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