Vоlumе 1 Сhарter 25: Not Рubliс
Shu Мiао found it hard to ехplain.
It wаsn’t that she lооkеd dоwn оn his quаlificаtiоns, but rаthеr that evеry aspeсt оf his qualifiсаtiоns wаs tоo реrfеct—the gар betwеen them was mоre thаn just a vast distanсe.
Вut given thе сurrent situatiоn, Meng Yuchuаn wаs unlikеlу to let hеr gо. То have hеr, he hаd even rеsorted tо tricking her intо getting drunk and then fоrсing himsеlf on hеr.
Нe definitelу wouldn’t givе uр easilу.
If she refusеd, what if Меng Yuсhuan rеally bеcamе аngrу and had her transferred?
If that haррened, she would bе fаr from home, аnd whо knew when she would be transferred back—maybe not until retirement.
Shu Miao had always been someone who knew when to bend and when to stand firm, never taking unnecessary losses.
After weighing her options, she decided to agree to Meng Yuchuan’s demands for now. After all, he wouldn’t stay here forever.
Once he was transferred later, he couldn’t possibly take her with him.
When he was no longer around, with mountains and rivers separating them, she wouldn’t be under his control anymore.
Besides, maybe Meng Yuchuan’s interest in her wouldn’t last long—just a fleeting infatuation. Perhaps he would break things off with her even before he was transferred.
Thinking this way, she decided to placate Meng Yuchuan first and deal with the immediate crisis.
But she also had to set some conditions—she couldn’t just go along with everything he said.
Shu Miao rolled her eyes, straightened her posture, and spoke seriously.
“You said you’re not married and are currently single—is that true?”
“True,” Meng Yuchuan answered without hesitation.
Shu Miao lowered her eyelashes, pursed her lips, and then spoke up. “In that case, I agree.”
A hint of joy instantly appeared on Meng Yuchuan’s handsome face, the corners of his eyes and brows lifting with delight.
“That’s a good girl, Miaomiao.”
Hearing him call her by her nickname, Shu Miao instantly felt goosebumps. She quickly continued with what she had to say.
“Don’t get too happy yet—I have conditions.”
Meng Yuchuan’s smile faded slightly as he looked at her, speaking with interest. “Oh? Let’s hear them.”
Shu Miao cleared her throat. “Our relationship must not be made public. In front of others, we are just an ordinary leader and a staff member.”
Meng Yuchuan felt a surge of anger rush to his head. What kind of relationship was this if they had to hide it?
Having to keep his relationship with Shu Miao a secret—was he really that unworthy? That embarrassing?
Anyone else would have been eager to announce it to the world, yet she was hiding it like a thief. How ungrateful.
Seeing Meng Yuchuan’s expression darken, Shu Miao decided to go all out.
She shrugged indifferently. “If you don’t agree, fine. Just transfer me tomorrow.”
Meng Yuchuan felt a headache coming on at her bold, all-or-nothing attitude. This little girl really had a sharp tongue.
Did she really think he would actually transfer her? He was just trying to scare her, but she took it seriously.
Fine, he would let her agree first and deal with her later.
Thinking this way, his mood improved considerably.
He readily agreed to her unreasonable demand.
“Fine, I agree. I won’t actively make our relationship public.”
Shu Miao was taken aback, not expecting him to agree so readily.
“Alright, then it’s settled.”
Meng Yuchuan smiled slightly. The girl was still naive.
He had only said he wouldn’t actively make it public. If others figured it out on their own, that wasn’t his problem.
By the time Shu Miao left Meng Yuchuan’s home, it was already afternoon.
Enduring the discomfort in her body, she walked into the elevator without even glancing at Meng Yuchuan sitting in the car behind her.Meng Yuchuan noticed Shu Miao’s slightly awkward walking posture and a suggestive smile curled at the corner of his mouth.
At this moment, he felt refreshed and satisfied, but poor Shu Miao had suffered greatly, unable to even stand straight.
As soon as Shu Miao entered her home, she headed straight for the bathroom to take a shower. Seeing the varying shades of marks on her body, she cursed Meng Yuchuan fiercely.
“That bastard, acting like a stallion—doesn’t he ever get tired?”
After showering, she lay on the bed, lost in thought.
Thinking about having to maintain a “boyfriend-girlfriend” relationship with Meng Yuchuan from now on, she felt inexplicably irritable.
For a moment, she was also annoyed with herself. How could she have so easily believed Meng Yuchuan’s words, foolishly drinking the entire bottle of wine and giving him the perfect opportunity? She hadn’t even considered her own limits.
Now she was completely in a passive position, forced to follow Meng Yuchuan’s lead.
But then she thought again: even if she hadn’t drunk that bottle of wine yesterday, given Meng Yuchuan’s personality—since he had never given up on her—he would likely have resorted to other methods anyway.
After all, he could directly transfer Hu Weijie from the county to the provincial level—what couldn’t he do? He definitely had backup plans.
Her job was now in his hands. An arm couldn’t twist a thigh, and trying to smash an egg against a rock was futile. A wise person knew when to yield.
She had worked so hard to pass the civil service exam—she absolutely couldn’t let Meng Yuchuan destroy it with a single casual remark.
Besides, he wouldn’t stay here forever. Once he was transferred, she would be free again.
In this day and age, she had a more open-minded view of relationships between men and women.
Moreover, Meng Yuchuan wasn’t bad-looking—both his face and figure were top-notch. Being in a relationship with him wasn’t too much of a loss for her.
And although she had been hazy with consciousness and initially felt pain, what Meng Yuchuan brought her later wasn’t just pain—there was also a hint of pleasure.
Of course, her bottom line was that she absolutely could not become the other woman.
As for everything else, she just needed to guard her heart and not let others sway her.
Lost in thought, her phone rang.
Pei Ran sent a video call.
“Miaomiao, where have you been? You didn’t reply to my messages last night.”
Only then did Shu Miao check her phone and see that Pei Ran had sent her messages both last night and today.
At that time, she had been trapped in Meng Yuchuan’s den of wolves—how could she have had time to look at her phone?
“I didn’t see them,” she replied, feeling a bit guilty.
Pei Ran eyed her suspiciously. “Since when do you not check your phone?”
Seeing Shu Miao avoiding her gaze, Pei Ran grew anxious. “Are you hiding something from me? What happened?”
Shu Miao had never been good at acting, and she didn’t plan to hide anything from Pei Ran.
But this matter couldn’t be explained clearly in just a few words over the phone. She sighed softly. “Are you free tonight?”
Pei Ran understood immediately. “I’m free. I’ll come find you right now.”
With that, she ended the video call.
When Pei Ran arrived, she was panting heavily, with fine beads of sweat on her forehead—she had clearly rushed over in a hurry.
Shu Miao was taken aback. “Why did you run so fast?”
Pei Ran walked straight into the room, placing the takeout boxes she was carrying on the dining table.
She took off her coat and tossed it aside, sitting down on the sofa to catch her breath while fanning herself with both hands near her ears.
“Ugh, I ran all the way here—I’m so hot.”
Shu Miao closed the door and walked over to sit down, asking with concern, “Why did you run so fast? Was a tiger chasing you?”Pei Ran snorted at those words, her tone plaintive: “Aren’t I just worried about you? Seeing you hemming and hawing with that wronged look, I was afraid something had happened to you.”
“I rushed out right after hanging up the phone, and on the way I worried you hadn’t eaten, so I had the taxi drop me off across from the neighborhood and ran to buy you food.”
“And here you are making sarcastic remarks, hmph, truly heartless and ungrateful.”
Pei Ran finished in one breath, pretending to be angry as she turned away.
Shu Miao felt a warmth in her heart. No matter when, as long as she needed her, Pei Ran would always rush over to be with her first.
It was like this back in school, and now that they were working, it was still the same.
Suddenly, her eyes reddened, and her nose tingled with emotion.
She got up and sat beside Pei Ran, reaching out to hug her, starting to act coquettishly: “Ranran, I know you’re the best to me.”
Pei Ran wasn’t really angry with her; she had just been teasing her on purpose. Seeing her like this now, she had already softened.
Turning back, she tapped Shu Miao’s forehead with her finger: “Alright, alright, I was just joking with you.”
Seeing she wasn’t angry, Shu Miao grinned, her expression completely shifting.
Pei Ran laughed too.
Their friendship had always been mutual—whenever the other needed them, a single word was enough to bring them to each other’s side.
…