“Oh, oh?!”
Qin Nuan was dumbfounded, looking at Shen Shiyan in bewilderment with her jaw practically dropping from shock.
For a moment, she thought she had misheard, but Shen Shiyan’s expression looked nothing like he was joking.
He continued gazing at her earnestly and repeated, “I said, would you consider marrying me?”
Realizing he was serious, Qin Nuan found it utterly absurd: “Why?!”
What on earth was going on?
It was just a one-night accident; she hadn’t asked him to take responsibility, so why was the bigshot asking her to take responsibility instead??
And get married?
She was going to marry Shen Shiyan?!
You’ve got to be kidding me!
“It’s like this, Miss Qin.” Knowing the proposal was far too sudden, Shen Shiyan leaned back against his office chair and began to explain to her.
“Regarding what happened the night before yesterday, you’ve explained it, and I’ve also had someone run a preliminary investigation. I believe it was truly an accident.”
“As for your apology and asking for my forgiveness, there’s no need for that. Romance and passion are matters between two consenting people. I drank quite a bit that night as well, and—”
Saying this, he paused and looked at her: “That night seemed to be Miss Qin’s first time.”
After that night, some traces had been left behind on the sheets.
Hearing this, Qin Nuan’s face instantly burned, and she nervously pinched the hem of her skirt.
He knew.
Shen Shiyan had no intention of making things awkward for Qin Nuan, so he quickly moved past that part.
“Therefore, that night wasn’t entirely Miss Qin’s fault. Since both sides share responsibility, there’s naturally no question of holding anyone accountable.”
Hearing this, the massive boulder in Qin Nuan’s chest finally hit the ground, and her favorable impression of Shen Shiyan deepened quite a bit.
He really was a very reasonable and tactful man.
However—
Qin Nuan bit her lip as she looked at him, feeling even more puzzled: “But if that’s the case, why did you suddenly propose marriage?”
She wasn’t naive enough to think that just because she slept with Shen Shiyan for one night, he had suddenly fallen in love with her and was determined to marry her.
Sure enough, she heard Shen Shiyan say: “This is what I’m going to get to next.”
“What happened that night was indeed an accident, but afterward, someone used the situation to set a trap for me.”
Qin Nuan was startled and looked at Shen Shiyan: “What kind of trap?”
“It’s my second uncle.” Saying this, Qin Nuan keenly noticed that Shen Shiyan’s tone cooled slightly, carrying an imperceptible chill.
“Miss Qin may not know this, but although our grandfather intends for me to be the next heir of the Shen family, quite a few people within the family are unconvinced.”
“This time, when I returned to China to take over the Empire Group—the most important asset of the Shen family—many people have been watching me from the shadows, hoping to catch my flaws so they could make Grandfather change his mind.”
“Yesterday morning, less than two hours after you left my room, word reached my second uncle’s ears.”
“Right now, my second uncle is making a huge fuss over this, accusing me of having a chaotic personal life, being unsettled despite my age, and lacking the stability needed to take over the group. He is actively lobbying my grandfather to replace me as CEO.”
“On the other hand, my grandfather really has always hoped that I would marry early.”
Shen Shiyan’s speaking pace wasn’t fast; whenever he reached a crucial point, he would pause to make sure Qin Nuan could keep up before continuing.
Qin Nuan listened in a daze, never imagining that someone like Shen Shiyan would have so many helpless troubles behind the scenes, with even his personal life constantly under surveillance by others.
She had originally assumed that a person like Shen Shiyan lived a life entirely free of worries.
Thinking about it this way, the distance between them suddenly felt a bit closer than she had originally imagined.
Shen Shiyan continued: “So right now, I need a wife to get through this crisis.”
“But why me?” Qin Nuan couldn’t help asking.
If Shen Shiyan wanted to get married, he certainly wouldn’t lack for women. With so many socialites in the capital lining up for a chance to marry him, there was no way it should fall to a minor employee like her.
Yet she heard Shen Shiyan calmly say: “Because you are the most suitable.”
“You were the person caught on camera leaving my room that morning. If I turned around and married someone else, the accusation of having a chaotic personal life would be set in stone, and my second uncle could still use that to attack me in front of my grandfather.”
“लेकिन if it’s you, what happened that night becomes nothing more than a normal romance between a couple—completely legitimate and justified.”
“Therefore, only you are the best candidate to be my wife.”
So that was it.
Qin Nuan understood everything now, but a wave of guilt followed closely behind in her heart.
To think that her walking into the wrong room that night had caused Shen Shiyan such massive trouble.
Although he said both sides shared responsibility, she knew in her heart that she was ultimately the one who had implicated him.
She was soft-hearted by nature, and hearing all this made her feel even more guilty.
Shen Shiyan gave her a little time to digest the information before continuing: “So, I hope Miss Qin can seriously consider this matter. Of course, if you aren’t willing, I won’t force you, nor will I engage in any malicious retaliation—Miss Qin can rest assured.”
“However, if you agree, our marriage can be set for a period of one year. After one year, you can choose to divorce, and I will pay you a generous compensation.”
Marrying Shen Shiyan…
Hearing this, Qin Nuan fell into a daze, still feeling like none of this felt real.
That was Shen Shiyan—the man standing at the very pinnacle of the capital’s pyramid.
To be fair, Shen Shiyan was indeed exceptionally capable and possessed the utmost gentlemanly manners.
Occupying such a high position, yet treating someone like her with such politeness and respect, was enough to make Qin Nuan develop favorable feelings toward him.
Not to mention, he also had that face.
But this was marriage.
Qin Nuan furrowed her brows; she couldn’t just agree casually.
Sensing her hesitation, Shen Shiyan showed his understanding and told her: “I know this request is sudden, so Miss Qin doesn’t have to give me an answer right now. I’ll give you a week. If you agree, give me a call whenever you’re ready.”
With that, he handed over a private business card featuring his name and a string of digits.
This was Shen Shiyan’s personal phone number!
Countless people in the capital would break their heads trying to get ahold of it in vain!
Qin Nuan hurriedly accepted it with both hands, promising to give it serious consideration.
When she left the 42nd floor, Li Yue still escorted her out to the elevator lobby.
Stepping into the elevator, Qin Nuan stared blankly at the business card in her hand.
The card had a minimalist design, featuring only a gold-foil embossed name and a string of numbers, yet it felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.
It seemed that starting from this very moment, her life was about to undergo unpredictable changes.
After Qin Nuan left, Shen Shiyan stood by the floor-to-ceiling window for a moment, his slender fingers resting casually against the window frame as he tapped his knuckles rhythmically against the glass.
A moment later, he fished his phone out of his pocket, lit up the screen, and swiped a few times.
An image appeared on the phone screen: it was none other than the panicked Qin Nuan from that morning, wearing a dress and fleeing the hotel corridor with traces of the night still visible on her skin.
His thumb lightly stroked the image on the screen, and Shen Shiyan slowly curved his lips into a smile, softly murmuring two words:
“Rabbit.”
And a naive, pure, yet slightly stubborn little white rabbit at that.
In truth, as early as that morning—when he had instructed Li Yue to investigate the person who broke into his room—all of Qin Nuan’s background information had been delivered to his inbox within two hours.
Her family background, her experiences, including the scumbag ex-boyfriend who had betrayed her—he knew all of it clearly.
Yet just now, he had still wanted to hear her say it herself.
Following today’s conversation, he was already nearly ninety percent certain that the little white rabbit would ultimately agree to this arrangement.
As for his second uncle… he really had exaggerated the severity of the situation just a bit.
His second uncle’s wariness of him wasn’t a matter of a single day, and this marriage candidate didn’t strictly have to be her.
It was just that…
Remembering how she had looked that night—her eyes brimming with tears, trembling with grievances, and knowing only how to plead helplessly…
Clearly a rabbit, yet she insisted on jumping straight into the wolf’s den…
Shen Shiyan twirled the watch on his wrist once more, his gaze growing even deeper.
For the next several days, Qin Nuan’s life seemed to slowly return to normal.
True to his word, Shen Shiyan didn’t make things difficult for her, and her job was firmly secured, which brought her a lot of peace of mind.
Yet for the rest of the week, she barely caught a glimpse of Shen Shiyan again.
According to her colleagues, he seemed very busy and had gone on another business trip.
The only time she saw him was downstairs at the company. Qin Nuan was preparing to go out for lunch with a coworker when Shen Shiyan walked in from outside, followed by several senior executives, listening to a work report as he walked.
The two of them brushed past each other.
Ever since that day, whenever Qin Nuan heard the three words “Shen Shiyan” at the company, she would instinctively feel a guilty conscience.
Thinking he wouldn’t notice her, she was startled when he suddenly turned his head before stepping into the elevator. His gaze lingered on her for a second, and he actually nodded at her.
Qin Nuan’s heart skipped a beat, her face flushed, and she hurriedly lowered her head, nervously glancing around to see if anyone had noticed.
Recovering her senses, she unnaturally smoothed back the long hair behind her ear.
What was wrong with her? They were clearly two people who shouldn’t have intersected, yet she was acting like they were hiding some unspeakable secret in private.
Another day passed.
With the one-week deadline looming, Shen Shiyan still hadn’t reached out to her or urged her in any way, clearly intending to carry out his promise of “giving her a week to consider” right to the very end.
Appreciating his thoughtfulness, Qin Nuan gradually felt her heart relax.
He didn’t seem in a rush; perhaps that day had just been a casual remark, or maybe he had already found another solution.
Thinking this, the sense of guilt in Qin Nuan’s heart lightened quite a bit, and she planned to send Shen Shiyan a message on the final day to politely decline the marriage proposal.
Who would have thought that on the very last day, Qin Nuan suddenly received a notification: all employees of Business Department One were to report to the 42nd floor for a meeting.
As a core department of the group, individual interviews with employees whenever a new company leader took office were standard practice, something everyone was long accustomed to.
After receiving the notice, Jiang Yiwu told everyone to tidy up and accompany him to the 42nd floor.
Qin Nuan and her colleagues went up to the 42nd floor together.
However, upon walking into the CEO’s office, she saw that besides Shen Shiyan, an elderly man was also sitting on the sofa.
The old man had white hair and leaned on a walking stick, yet he was full of vigor and had a kindly expression.
That was Elder Shen, Shen Wanshan.
Sitting beside Elder Shen was a middle-aged man in his fifties. He shared a few facial similarities with the elder, but his eyes revealed a shrewd and sharp glint.
Although Qin Nuan hadn’t dared to take the marriage proposal seriously when Shen Shiyan first brought it up, she had still secretly looked up a lot of information about Shen Shiyan and the Shen family in private.
Therefore, at just a single glance, she recognized that this man was Shen Shiyan’s second uncle, Shen Junhong.
Remembering what Shen Shiyan had previously said about his second uncle plotting against him in secret, Qin Nuan couldn’t help taking a few extra glances at him.
Meanwhile, as soon as Jiang Yiwu saw that both Elder Shen and Shen Junhong were present, he hurriedly stepped forward with a fawning nod and bow: “Chairman, President Hong, you’re here today too.”
Although Shen Wanshan was the chairman, he rarely came to the company in recent years. He waved his hand dismissively, unconcerned: “Just passing by and had Junhong accompany me up for a sit-down. You guys go ahead with what you’re doing, don’t mind me.”
“Yes, yes,” Jiang Yiwu acknowledged repeatedly before turning around to begin reporting on work to Shen Shiyan.
With three bigshots suddenly present in the office, even Jiang Yiwu became visibly nervous, beads of sweat breaking out on his forehead.
Once his report concluded, it was time for the subordinate employees to step up one by one for self-introductions.
Everyone was nervous, and Qin Nuan was no exception.
As the newest employee hired in the department, she naturally ended up at the very end of the line.
After nervously finishing her introduction, she thought they were done for the day.
Unexpectedly, at that moment, Shen Junhong’s gaze swept casually across the faces of the business department employees, only to stop dead on Qin Nuan.
He looked her up and down as if confirming something, and suddenly let out a light laugh.
Qin Nuan’s heart tightened violently.
The next instant, a thought flashed across her mind, and her face turned deathly pale.
It’s over!
The photos!
Shen Shiyan had said that Shen Junhong had the photos of her leaving his room that morning!
He must have recognized her!
If he brought this up now in front of so many people…
At that thought, Qin Nuan’s palms grew icy cold, and all the blood drained from her face.
She watched as Shen Junhong looked toward Shen Shiyan, a trace of triumph and calculation flashing in the depths of his eyes as he deliberately drew out his tone and spoke:
“Oh, isn’t this…”
Qin Nuan’s mind went completely blank, her lips trembling slightly. She wanted to say something, but not a single word would come out.