Shen Nanci pulled the door open and walked out directly.
Li Hengyan recalled CiCi’s earlier glare, touched his nose, and slowly let the smile fade from his lips.
Oh.
CiCi was angry.
He was the one who caused it.
…
Shen Nanci returned to her workstation—no, to what used to be Lin Hui’s spot.
This location was closer to the CEO’s office.
If the door was open, as long as Li Hengyan looked up, he could see what she was doing—whether she was working diligently or slacking off.
The previously mountainous workload was gone, and suddenly having free time made Shen Nanci feel somewhat uncomfortable.
But idling away time at work wasn’t Shen Nanci’s style. She turned on her computer and searched for information.
She reviewed and reorganized the details of Li Group’s past partners and key clients, committing them to memory once more.
The morning hours passed quickly.
As lunchtime approached, her phone on the desk buzzed with vibrations.
The screen displayed the caller—
Shen An.
Shen Nanci glanced at it and ignored it.
She didn’t hang up either, letting the phone ring silently.
Soon, the call ended automatically, and then the phone rang again.
Shen Nanci got up to water the flowers.
When she returned, the phone screen was still lit, but it wasn’t the same caller as before.
This time, it was Shen Yixia calling.
Shen Nanci still didn’t answer. As she returned to her seat, she noticed the phone was still lit and admired the caller’s persistence.
Without hesitation, she swiped the red button.
Hang up.
Not long after, the phone lit up again, this time with several messages.
Shen Nanci opened them—they were from her second sister—
Shen Yitian.
Shen Yitian was only two years older than Shen Nanci, lacking the airs and arrogance of their eldest sister, Shen Yixia.
But Shen Yitian’s personality was still somewhat spoiled and aloof.
Shen Yitian didn’t use voice messages.
She typed.
“Third Sister, today is Eldest Sister’s birthday. You remember, right?”
“Eldest Sister’s fiancé will be here to celebrate her birthday personally. Oh, and Fu Yunlin, the youngest son of the Fu family, is also coming. Weren’t you high school classmates? Fu Yunlin pursued you back then—wasn’t he your first love?”
“I’ve heard that Fu Yunlin just returned to the country and isn’t leaving again. Most importantly, he’s still single.”
“You must come.”
…
Shen Nanci read through each message one by one.
She had no intention of replying, but she didn’t delete them either.
When she inadvertently looked up and suddenly saw a figure in front of her, she was startled. Noticing Li Hengyan’s eyes glancing at her phone, Shen Nanci frowned.
She turned off her phone screen.
“Peeking at my phone, Mr. Li? That’s an invasion of my privacy, you know?”
Li Hengyan hadn’t seen anything—the text was too small.
Leaning his hands on the desk, his dark eyes fixed on Shen Nanci’s porcelain-like face, the more he looked, the more beautiful he found her.
Endlessly captivating.
He couldn’t get enough.
Li Hengyan asked in a low voice, “Who were you messaging? You look so upset.”
Shen Nanci replied expressionlessly, “Family.”
Li Hengyan sneered, “Family? Your Shen family is wealthy and influential, but from what I see, your slick and cunning father and your two biological sisters don’t seem to like you much. Why bother with family who treats you so poorly?”
Shen Nanci met the man’s dark gaze.
Her tone was calm, “I’m not bothering with them. Maybe before the night before last, I still considered myself a daughter of the Shen family, the third young lady of the Shens.”
“But after that night, I am Shen Nanci.”
“The Shen family has nothing to do with me.”
The girl’s eyes were cool, and her words were spoken with composure.
Yet they made Li Hengyan’s heart ache.
Coming around, Li Hengyan didn’t do anything inappropriate. He simply raised his hand and gently ruffled Shen Nanci’s hair.
The man’s voice was low and soft, “If you don’t like being unhappy, then don’t be the third daughter of the Shen family anymore. You are my person.”
In the future,
she would also be the Mrs. Li he would marry and bring home.
If he weren’t afraid of being too abrupt and scaring CiCi, Li Hengyan would have likely proposed to the woman he loved with a ring yesterday, wanting to tie her down sooner.
…
Shen Nanci was terrified someone might overhear.
She wanted to cover Li Hengyan’s mouth—how could he just casually spout such flirtatious words anywhere!
Seeing Li Hengyan pick up his suit jacket, Shen Nanci knew he was about to go out for a meal and urged, “You should go now. Be careful not to get your hand wet.”
Li Hengyan tapped the desk, “Secretary Shen, I don’t recall assigning you any work. Are you working overtime?”
Shen Nanci was speechless, “Even during meal times, you have to manage me?”
Li Hengyan wasn’t asking for her opinion, “Come have a meal with me.”
Shen Nanci’s first thought was: Would he use his injured hand as an excuse again to make her feed him personally?
If that were the case…
She would submit her resignation letter before leaving work tonight.
Would it still be in time?
Li Hengyan had no idea that his Secretary Shen was constantly entertaining thoughts of resigning…
of throwing in the towel and quitting.
On the day of Shen Yixia’s birthday,
everyone who was supposed to attend had arrived to celebrate. Even those who didn’t like Shen Yixia came to maintain superficial relationships.
Only Shen Nanci was absent.
Shen Nanci’s phone was turned off.
Shen An sent someone to look for her at her single apartment, but she wasn’t there either.
The property management said Miss Shen hadn’t returned home at all.
Furious, Shen An made a decision on the spot: he confiscated the apartment Shen Nanci lived in and froze her assets.
Shen Nanci’s belongings were packed up that very night.
They would wait two days.
If Shen Nanci remained stubborn and disobedient, the property management could dispose of the third daughter’s clothes without even reporting to Shen An!
Three days later,
at the Shen residence.
Shen Yixia asked Shen An, “Dad, is forcing Shen Nanci like this really useful? Aren’t you afraid she might actually catch Li Hengyan’s eye and make the situation difficult to handle?”
Shen An snorted coldly, puffing on his cigar, “Do you think I, as her father, don’t know how much Shen Nanci is worth? She has a bad temper, cold and stubborn. Without the family’s favor, she holds little value.”
“A woman like that—Li Hengyan wouldn’t take a liking to her.”
“Even if she were Li Hengyan’s woman, she’d just be a bed partner who couldn’t be brought into proper circles. Do you think Li Hengyan would stand up for her?”
Shen Yixia didn’t say anything more.
Thinking of her second sister Shen Yitian’s thoughts, Shen Yixia said, “Dad, that night, the young master of the Fu family, Fu Yunlin, was also there. I noticed TianTian’s eyes barely left Fu Yunlin.”
Shen An paused.
He remembered something, “Didn’t Fu Yunlin pursue Shen Nanci before?”
Fu Yunlin’s older brother, Fu Shiqing, was Shen Yixia’s fiancé. If the Shen family could arrange another marriage for a daughter…
Shen An narrowed his eyes and sighed.
He had already sent Shen Nanci to Li Hengyan’s bed.
That man who wielded immense power in the capital—Shen An was eager to please him and didn’t dare provoke or offend him.
Shen Yixia looked at her newly done nails, answering indifferently, “Maybe, but it’s all just rumors. Who knows if it’s true or not.”
Two more days passed, at a private club.
Fu Yunlin called Shen Nanci, but the call didn’t go through.
The phone was switched off.
After a moment’s thought, Fu Yunlin left a message for Shen Nanci.
“Nanci, this is Fu Yunlin. Call me back when you have time.”
At the same time.
In another private club, at the bar counter.
Shen Nanci was wearing a black long dress, her hair cascading down her back. She sat on a high stool with her long legs crossed.
Her skin was so fair it seemed to glow.
The girl rested her chin in her palm, gazing at the singer on stage with a captivated expression.
She was completely absorbed in the music.
Suddenly, a pair of hands covered her eyes…