“I’ve already brought her here. I hope Miss Huo can do me a favor and help arrange a place for her.”
As soon as Shen Yan finished speaking, even with all of Huo Yunzhi’s restraint, she nearly exploded, though she kept a calm expression and replied with a cold tone, “You brought a woman here and expect me to help settle her? Shen Yan, are you serious?”
Shen Yan acted as if he hadn’t noticed her reaction. He lifted his tea cup, took two sips, then slowly said, “After all, our engagement hasn’t been publicly annulled. If I get too close to her, it’ll affect both our families’ reputations. But if you handle it, it won’t stir up much gossip.”
So you do know that our engagement hasn’t been officially called off?
“You…” Huo Yunzhi took a deep breath, forcing down her anger. Her voice remained cold. “What if I refuse?”
Shen Yan blinked innocently and asked, “Why?”
Why!?
Huo Yunzhi screamed inwardly—how dare he even ask?
How could a man be this shameless?
She was trembling with rage, nearly grabbing the teapot to splash its scalding contents right onto Shen Yan’s face. Only the last shred of sanity stopped her hand, though mentally she’d already torn him limb from limb.
But Shen Yan’s next words abruptly extinguished her fury.
“She’s a pitiful girl. Her father’s a drug addict, her mother’s a gambling addict who owes a mountain of loan shark debt. She was sold to the Platinum Club to pay it off. I pitied her, so I got her out.”
Shen Yan sighed. “But I was afraid you’d misunderstand, so I brought her here and let you handle it directly.”
Wen Rou’s eyes widened in shock as she looked at Shen Yan.
She didn’t understand—how could Shen Yan know so much about her?
Shen Yan picked up on her thoughts and silently answered in his heart, “Because I activated omniscient God-view.”
“Is what you said true?” Huo Yunzhi’s expression softened a little. She looked at Shen Yan, half-convinced. “You did all this out of sympathy? Not because…”
Shen Yan glanced at her lightly. “If I really had feelings for her, would I need to tell you?”
“If I really wanted something from her, would I ask you to take care of her?”
Huo Yunzhi was left speechless.
Could it be… she really misunderstood Shen Yan?
Huo Shenghan had been watching silently from the side.
After some thought, he set down his tea cup and spoke at the right moment, “If what she’s been through is true, then helping someone in need is a good deed. Very well, Yunzhi, just help Shen Yan with this favor.” This chapter was copied from novelping dot com without permission.
What he was really thinking was that they shouldn’t sour ties with the Shen Family. After all, they’d taken advantage of the Shen Family many times in the past. Keeping Wen Rou close might give them leverage to continue engaging with Shen Yan.
As for whether Shen Yan had feelings for Wen Rou—anyone could see the answer. What kind of man would spend 1 million yuan on a woman without feelings?
He claimed it was pity, but often, a man’s love starts with compassion.
Huo Shenghan was an old fox—he knew the game well.
Huo Yunzhi pursed her lips and eventually nodded.
Shen Yan turned back to Wen Rou. “Wen Rou, I’ll leave you to Miss Huo, then. I’ll take my leave.”
A trace of sadness flashed in Wen Rou’s eyes, but she still nodded obediently. In a soft voice, she said, “Mr. Shen, thank you! I… I’ll do my best to repay you…”
Shen Yan smiled, “Alright.”
“Xiao Zhi, go see Shen Yan out,” Huo Shenghan said.
In the past, Huo Yunzhi would’ve flatly refused. But having just misunderstood Shen Yan, she couldn’t bring herself to say no this time and agreed.
Inside the elevator, after pressing the floor button, Huo Yunzhi turned to Shen Yan, her face suddenly cold again.
“Shen Yan, what exactly is your goal here, hmm?”
Shen Yan stood there, not even looking at her, and calmly asked, “What are you referring to?”
Huo Yunzhi said coldly, “You went through all this trouble to save some woman you had zero connection with. You expect me to believe this was just a moment of sympathy or interest?”
Shen Yan was silent for a moment, then said with deep conviction, “Actually, ever since I was little, I’ve always dreamed of becoming a savior.”
But in his heart, he added, “To save the Shen Family, save myself, and save every female supporting character from falling into protagonist Lin Yu’s clutches.”
Huo Yunzhi’s brow twitched, “Do you think I’m three years old?”
“You don’t believe me?”
Suddenly, Shen Yan turned toward her. His tall, imposing figure completely enveloped her.
He placed one hand on the elevator wall, effectively trapping her in his arms—a textbook kabedon.
Shen Yan leaned in, his handsome face nearing hers, his gaze deep and meaningful.
“What’s wrong? Do you care that much?”
Huo Yunzhi’s shoulder bag slipped to the floor. She turned her face away and kept her tone cold, “Who said I care? I was just casually asking.”
“Since we’ve already called off the engagement, I don’t need to explain my private matters to you, do I?”
Shen Yan curled his lips, half-smiling as he looked at her. “Also, why do you have so many questions? Let me remind you—not to get too curious about a man. That’s usually how interest begins.”
The elevator doors opened. Shen Yan withdrew his hand. “I’m leaving.”
Without looking back, he stepped out of the elevator.
Huo Yunzhi stared at his departing figure, momentarily dazed.
For a second, it felt like Shen Yan had become an entirely different person.
Or maybe… she had never truly seen who he was.
[Ping! Luck point +500.]
The system prompt sounded.
Shen Yan was in a great mood as he drove back to the Shen Family villa.
The system spoke up, “Congratulations, host. You just got another 500 luck points from Huo Yunzhi.”
“I didn’t expect just a few words to earn that much,” Shen Yan chuckled. “Wen Rou only gave me 300.”
“She’s the first female lead. Under the same conditions, she gives more luck points than the others,” the system explained, then praised, “Didn’t think your ridiculous theory would actually work. Keep going—I’ve got high hopes for you.”
Shen Yan didn’t bother responding.
Just as he was about to turn the car, the system suddenly gave a loud warning. “Host, look! That person is Lin Yu!”
Shen Yan instinctively slammed on the brakes, and the black Mercedes behind nearly rear-ended him.
Through the car window, Shen Yan immediately looked toward the spot the system pointed to.