Shen Nanci couldn’t understand how overnight news could develop like this. It would be strange if Li Hengyan didn’t know about it.
That dog man, Li Hengyan!
What exactly did he want? What tricks was he playing, and what was he up to?
Shen Nanci got up, dressed, and freshened up.
When she went downstairs, she ran into the butler in the dining room.
Li Hengyan had never brought any woman home before, not even Miss Su Qingnuan, whom he had previously showered with praise and resources in the entertainment industry.
She had never set foot in Li Hengyan’s private domain.
But Shen Nanci was different.
She was the first woman Li Hengyan had brought home.
After these past few days, judging by Li Hengyan’s attitude toward Shen Nanci, the butler had already figured things out and regarded Shen Nanci as the future mistress of the Li family.
The butler greeted her respectfully.
“Miss Shen.”
Shen Nanci nodded politely in response.
Not seeing Li Hengyan around, she noticed a soft, adorable little kitten at her feet. She bent down, picked it up, and cradled it in her arms.
“Where’s Li Hengyan?”
She had something to ask him.
The butler smiled and replied, “Mr. Li is in the backyard garden.”
The backyard garden?
What was this man doing in the backyard garden so early in the morning? Could he be doing morning exercises like Tai Chi?
In her mind, Shen Nanci pictured Li Hengyan wearing loose white casual clothes, legs apart, hands moving slowly as he practiced Tai Chi—punching, kicking…
Shen Nanci shuddered.
It was too incongruous.
However, ever since Li Hengyan had changed his usual demeanor and his persona had collapsed, Shen Nanci could no longer imagine what his fixed persona might be.
He seemed…
to be constantly straying further from his original persona, becoming more and more outrageous, with no bottom line in sight.
Shen Nanci cuddled the kitten for a while and was about to go look for Li Hengyan when he returned.
He wore a black shirt and black trousers.
Over the past few days, Shen Nanci had noticed something: Li Hengyan seemed to be wearing black shirts more often, rarely opting for white ones anymore.
Didn’t he used to prefer white shirts?
Shen Nanci didn’t dwell on it.
Her attention was drawn to the bouquet of flowers in the man’s arms.
Bright red roses.
They still had leaves attached, and judging by the dewdrops and freshness on the petals, it was clear they weren’t bought. They must have been picked by Li Hengyan, one by one, from the backyard garden.
“Did you go out early in the morning to chop roses?”
Li Hengyan: Chop??
His CiCi’s choice of words was just too amusing.
He walked over and handed the flowers to Shen Nanci.
“For my precious CiCi.”
Shen Nanci had already experienced shock and delight more than once, but seeing the handsome man personally present her with roses still left her pleasantly surprised and a little flustered.
She accepted them. “Thank you.”
But—
Shen Nanci felt helpless inside, though she spoke firmly. “Li Hengyan, can you speak normally?”
Stop flirting so casually!
So improper!
Li Hengyan looked at the beauty and the fresh flowers, both radiant and captivating. He responded affectionately, “Alright, my CiCi is shy. Then, for Secretary Shen.”
Shen Nanci couldn’t handle this man speaking such heart-fluttering words in such a sincere and serious tone.
She turned around, holding the roses.
She asked a servant to fetch two vases and carefully arranged the fresh roses in them to keep them alive.
After breakfast.
Li Hengyan put on his suit, ready to head to the office. He held a tie in his hand and naturally walked over to Shen Nanci, clearly expecting her to help him with it.
Shen Nanci didn’t refuse.
Taking the tie, she reached out her arm, first pulling up the man’s shirt collar, then slightly rising on her tiptoes.
She slipped the tie around Li Hengyan’s neck.
The man was tall, so he cooperated with Shen Nanci by lowering his head.
As Shen Nanci tightened the tie and fastened it around Li Hengyan’s neck and collar, she inadvertently looked up and saw the man gazing at her with dark, focused eyes.
Shen Nanci’s cheeks grew slightly warm.
The feeling was as if she were a thoughtful and dutiful wife tidying her husband’s attire before he went out.
Hmm.
She pushed aside her thoughts and quickened her movements.
After smoothing the collar, Shen Nanci said, “It’s done.”
As soon as the words left her lips, the man’s arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her into his embrace. Li Hengyan’s kiss landed on Shen Nanci’s forehead, then trailed downward, lightly pecking her lips.
After the brief touch, they parted.
He released Shen Nanci.
Li Hengyan took the initiative to explain the events of the previous night. “Last night, while you were asleep, news about me spread rapidly online, overwhelming everything. It was about me and Cheng Yuqiao. CiCi, I don’t want to explain too much about why I blacklisted Su Qingnuan, but at this critical moment, I needed a scapegoat to divert the attention elsewhere.”
“You don’t need to believe it or worry about it. I did this only to protect you.”
“There’s absolutely nothing between me and Cheng Yuqiao.”
To put it plainly, he was giving her a chance to become famous.
And Cheng Yuqiao would bear the brunt of the criticism and attacks meant for Shen Nanci.
Su Qingnuan had 25 million fans.
They weren’t to be underestimated either.
After hearing this, Shen Nanci was surprised but not entirely shocked. While eating breakfast earlier, she had thought it over carefully and had already pieced most of it together.
She had been worried that once her relationship with Li Hengyan could no longer be hidden and was exposed, regardless of how Su Qingnuan reacted, her fans alone might pelt her with eggs!
So, in essence,
it was just a rumor.
The female lead of the rumor was actually her, Shen Nanci.
But Li Hengyan had found Cheng Yuqiao, who resembled her in figure, to act as her stand-in.
Knowing that Li Hengyan had done this to protect her,
Shen Nanci still felt guilty.
“Isn’t this a bit too cold-hearted? For Cheng Yuqiao, she must feel very wronged.”
Li Hengyan replied indifferently, “It’s a mutual exchange of needs. She won’t feel wronged. I’m giving her the fame, benefits, and resources she wants, and she’s paying a price for it. That’s perfectly normal.”
“CiCi, if you want to know whether she feels wronged, you should ask Cheng Yuqiao if she minds being linked to me in a rumor.”
“Darling, as long as you don’t misunderstand, that’s all that matters.”
“As for Cheng Yuqiao, she should consider herself lucky. She’s fortunate to have her name associated with mine, Li Hengyan.”
Shen Nanci: “…”
Listen to that—the tone of Li Hengyan, the big shot of the capital, looking down on ordinary people with such arrogance. She felt like hitting him.
CiCi fell silent, her gaze fixed on the man’s neck.
She really wanted to tug on Li Hengyan’s tie.
Just strangle him and be done with it…