“Lan Die, how are you getting back?” He Nanzhi ran over.
Lan Die glanced gratefully at the girl who had rushed over—her short hair was neat, carrying a bright and bold flair.
In the vast Lanting Garden, everyone wore polite and courteous smiles, but they were merely superficial pleasantries.
In contrast, He Nanzhi, the rebellious and willful young lady in everyone’s eyes, was not bound by worldly conventions and had become the first person to run over and show concern for her.
Lan Die smiled sincerely at He Nanzhi. “I’m going to the nearby subway station. It’s not far from my school. Thank you, Nannan!”
“Mom, have the driver take Lan Die!” He Nanzhi called out to Su Wan.
Lan Die understood the rules of such deep, grand households and quickly spoke up. “No need to trouble anyone! Goodbye!”
She almost immediately extricated herself from this magnificent place.
The only connection between her and this garden-style mansion was the tutoring agreement she had signed with Su Wan.
No matter how much prosperity surrounded her, it was nothing more than a fleeting landscape, irrelevant to her own life.
Walking along the road, Lan Die felt free from the constraints of Lanting Garden. She breathed in the fresh air freely, and her mood relaxed, becoming more casual.
She hadn’t expected to encounter He Canglan here!
She was certain he was the He Canglan mentioned by Kang Jian—the Director He of the National Security Agency!
Her lips curled slightly. Someone like him shouldn’t exist in the same world as her.
After the upheaval in her family, she had been firmly trapped by reality and was no longer the naive girl who loved to dream.
So, for a moment, she decided she wouldn’t even bother retrieving her professional textbook. She would borrow Cong Yue’s textbook and rely on her memory as much as possible to write her paper.
She didn’t want to have any further connection with He Canglan!
But things in this world never go as one wishes.
Before she could even reach the subway station, Lan Die’s path was blocked by that familiar Maybach.
Lan Die frowned and instinctively tried to walk in the opposite direction.
The rear door opened swiftly. Before she could get away, a strong arm wrapped around her, and she lost her balance, tumbling directly into the car.
Right into that person’s embrace.
Lan Die quickly broke free from the arms that carried the scent of pine.
The car was already moving at a steady pace, and the partition inside had been lowered at just the right moment.
Lan Die tidied her hair, which had been mussed up when she was suddenly pulled into the car, and leaned against the edge of the window on her side.
She pursed her lips lightly, her long, thick eyelashes fluttering a few times, as if she had made up her mind. Slowly, she raised her head…
He Canglan had been watching her the entire time.
When Lan Die looked up, their eyes met.
His eyes were deep, an unfathomable darkness that others could not decipher.
His face, when silent, was always expressionless.
That calm, unruffled demeanor exuded an oppressive aura, unsettling Lan Die, who had thought she was mentally prepared.
“Mr. He, please don’t do this again in the future, okay?”
Lan Die’s beautiful peach-blossom eyes looked at him. Suppressing her inner tension, she met his phoenix-like gaze.
He Canglan didn’t respond to her words. After watching her for a moment, his thin lips parted slightly. “Can you decline the tutoring job?”
Lan Die said firmly, “No!”
“One million in monthly allowance isn’t enough? That card has no limit!” The man’s tone was so devoid of warmth that Lan Die felt humiliated.
“What do you mean? Please take me to Jing University. The card is in my dorm—I’ll return it to you!”
Lan Die’s voice was exceptionally gentle and pleasant, yet it carried a noticeable tremor of anger.
Her thick eyelashes fluttered lightly, her peach-blossom eyes already misted over.
On the verge of tears, she didn’t want him to see, stubbornly turning her head to look out the window, calming herself down.
He Canglan realized he had said the wrong thing, but he didn’t think to explain, nor could he explain.
Accustomed to being dominant, he simply didn’t want Lan Die to live too hard!
He couldn’t express his feelings to her—the timing wasn’t right, and there were too many things to consider.
Most importantly, he still couldn’t determine what kind of feelings he harbored for the woman before him!
Whether she was worth risking the insurmountable gap between their social classes!
His clarity seemed utterly heartless, but given his status and power, an imprudent affection would truly harm her!
Seeing Lan Die leaning against the car window, her face turned away from him, her narrow shoulders trembling slightly—was she crying?
He Canglan couldn’t suppress the waves of heartache that surged within him.
“Lan Die?” he called her name softly.
The young woman by the window shifted slightly. Out of politeness, she still responded gently, “Hmm?”
The man’s lips curved slightly. “Crying?”
“No!” She bit her lower lip, her voice carrying a pleasant, bell-like chime.
“I didn’t mean anything else.” A simple sentence, but for He Canglan, it was his way of explaining himself.
“Let’s not contact each other anymore. We each have our own lives!” Lan Die gently wiped the tears from her face.
The man chuckled softly. “Have we ever been in contact? Then tell me, what contact information of mine do you have?”
So annoying! Lan Die felt like she was constantly being manipulated by him.
She truly had none of his contact information—not even his name, which she had deduced herself after playing detective.
“That’s for the best. Even if you gave it to me, I wouldn’t want it!” Lan Die didn’t realize her words were already tinged with emotion.
He Canglan nodded and changed the subject.
He recognized Lan Die’s stubbornness about being a study companion and no longer pressed her to decline.
On the bright side, she would come regularly to Lanting Garden, and he could see her regularly—as long as he didn’t return to his other residences.
“Come closer.” He Canglan called to her.
“What for?” Lan Die’s mood had softened considerably, her gentle voice carrying a faint sweetness.
The moment she turned her head, the man wrapped his arms around her from behind, pulling her into his embrace.
“He Canglan, what are you doing?!” Lan Die struggled desperately.
“Stop moving—you’ll hurt yourself.” He commanded her in a low voice.
His straight, long legs, clad in suit pants, tightened around her squirming body.
He made no other move, simply holding her in his lap as he carefully removed the sparkling earring from her fair earlobe and replaced it with a new pair of earrings.
The Sapphires Richelieu earrings reappeared.
After Lan Die returned, her best friend Cong Yue looked up the price and found that they had once sold for $8.35 million at a Sotheby’s auction in a certain year.
Once they were in place, he released her from his embrace and examined her carefully, a faint smile appearing on his lips. “They suit you. Very nice.”
“I don’t want them!” Lan Die tried to reach for them with her hands.
He Canglan lit a cigarette, his expression darkening. “Don’t be willful in front of me!”
“What do you mean by this?” Lan Die felt both angry and speechless.
She tried to use her hands to remove the two earrings, but after trying for a long time, she still couldn’t get them off.
“The earrings have chosen their owner!” He Canglan narrowed his phoenix eyes slightly, gazing at the beauty before him.
Lan Die was so angry she almost laughed, muttering quietly, “What a lunatic!”
…