“Isn’t that Secretary Yin?” Wen An’an asked, half in doubt. “Is Brother Tingnan here too?”
Yin Ren replied calmly, “Hello, Miss Wen. I brought my distant cousin here to ask Professor Guan for a prescription.”
“Distant cousin?” Wen An’an began scrutinizing the young girl again.
Her striking appearance made it impossible to ignore her, even standing there silently.
Wen An’an maintained an unusually high level of attention toward anyone or anything related to Xie Tingnan.
Even if the girl was just a cousin in Yin Ren’s words, Yin Ren was Xie Tingnan’s most trusted special assistant.
“She’s quite pretty. What does she do?” Wen An’an’s polite tone was laced with the aloofness of a young lady from a prominent family.
“I’m in college,” Yu Wanwan replied flatly.
“In the capital?”
“An’an, the young lady is running a high fever. It’s impolite to question her like this,” Professor Guan Shan, who was seated, suddenly spoke up.
Wen An’an fell silent.
She held a certain wariness toward her stern and serious uncle.
Just then, the assistant finished preparing the prescribed medicine.
Guan Shan carefully explained the usage: “Decoct the Chinese medicine and drink it. It’s bitter, so if you can’t stand it, have Yin Ren prepare some candy for you. After drinking it, rest in bed and sweat it out. Usually, after two doses, you’ll recover about seventy to eighty percent.”
Yu Wanwan hadn’t expected the seemingly stern Professor Guan to be so attentive.
Her rosy lips curved into a smile, and her large eyes brimmed with sincerity. “Thank you, Professor Guan.”
Guan Shan was momentarily taken aback by that smile.
His eyes, marked by the passage of time, were hidden behind thick lenses, revealing no emotion.
Over twenty years had passed…
As Yu Wanwan left, he discreetly collected a strand of hair she had dropped.
Wen An’an kept glancing casually out the window.
She wondered if Yin Ren had driven Xie Tingnan’s car to bring his cousin for treatment.
Wasn’t this a classic case of using “company resources” for personal matters?
Guan Shan approached her. “An’an, you’ve been at Xiehe Hospital for a while now. Are you adjusting well? Tell your uncle about it.”
Wen An’an had no choice but to shift her attention back.
Madam Wen smiled and stepped forward. “Elder brother, we actually came today to report to you. An’an is new there, so please put in a good word for her regarding the connections.”
Guan Shan’s expression remained cold. “Competence is the greatest asset. Come over here.”
Wen An’an obediently followed, her view now blocked, unable to see outside the window.
That day, Xie Tingnan unexpectedly received a message from Guan Shan.
Besides the usual reminders about the medical case, the message included an extra line:
The young lady has slight bruises on her legs. I’m certain my esteemed nephew Tingnan didn’t cause them. If needed, I have a self-prepared blood-activating ointment here. Yin Ren can come to collect it.
The bruises were actually from Yu Wanwan repeatedly jumping from a high platform into the lake during filming.
A cold smirk tugged at Xie Tingnan’s lips. He thought to himself how the usually solemn Professor Guan had unexpectedly taken an interest in other people’s private affairs.
He must have misunderstood. Would Xie Tingnan ever lay a hand on a woman?
Back in the car, the young girl greeted him briefly before sitting upright and proper.
Her head felt heavy and dizzy from the fever, but she stubbornly endured without a word, quietly occupying a corner of the back seat.
Without the impulsive urge to offer herself, the calmer Yu Wanwan felt a distance between her and Xie Tingnan.
The man received a phone call from Xing Rufei and Feng Jinyao, inviting him to go horseback riding at the equestrian club that afternoon.
Xie Tingnan lifted his eyelids slightly. “No time today.”
Feng Jinyao on the other end wasn’t having it. “Old Xie, you were busy the last few days we tried to make plans. Now that your big project’s a success and you’ve made it onto Central One News, are you putting on airs and deliberately snubbing us brothers?”
“Go to hell.” The man curved his lips, glancing at Yu Wanwan, who was pressed tightly against the window. “Accompanying your little sister-in-law.”
“Damn, you really dare to say that…”
“What? The little sweetheart who makes movies? Call silly sister-in-law out to go horseback riding with us…”
“Get lost. Watch your mouth, or I’ll deal with you.”
Xie Tingnan instinctively covered the receiver with his hand and glanced over at Yu Wanwan.
Those brothers only knew that Xie Tingnan was keeping a girl.
In their understanding, she should be the kind you could discard anytime, the kind you could pay off with money.
After all, they’d been brothers for years, and none of them had ever heard of Xie Tingnan caring about any woman.
It was unclear whether the young girl had heard; her face showed no expression.
Her captivating large eyes gazed calmly out the window, watching the landscape trees flashing by on both sides of the road.
It was almost September; there seemed to be sporadic yellow leaves already. The start of the school term was getting closer and closer.
A sense of oppression gradually filled her body, the scent of Southern Fragrance permeating the surroundings.
After finishing the call, the man proactively moved over, pulled Yu Wanwan into his arms, and leaned close to her ear. “What are you looking at?”
The young girl smiled faintly. “Nothing, just the passing scenery.”
She paused, as if remembering something. “You don’t have to accompany me. Go attend to your own business.”
She had heard after all!
Xie Tingnan couldn’t read her expression for a moment—was she deliberately sulking, or did she truly not care about him at all?
He still couldn’t go against his true feelings and said softly, “Haven’t seen you for days. Is meeting for just this little while enough?”
A faint mist rose again in Yu Wanwan’s eyes.
She gently tugged at her lips. “You have no obligation. Just don’t put yourself in a difficult position.”
What a clever girl she was!
Ever since Professor Guan’s office, when Yin Ren introduced her as a distant cousin, she seemed to have understood something.
That woman’s polite gaze when looking at her held unconcealed jealousy and disdain.
But Yu Wanwan knew Xie Tingnan was single, with no so-called family engagement.
If Xie Tingnan were engaged, even if her adoptive parents beat her to death, she would never have agreed to be “sold” to him to pay off the debt.
Xie Tingnan looked at her obedient yet stubborn little expression and laughed.
“Little girl, are you hinting at me? With this attitude of yours, isn’t this pushing people away with a cold face? You deliberately don’t want me to become the one with obligations, right?”
Yu Wanwan tickled from his kisses, laughing as she dodged. “You and your endless reasoning. I can’t win an argument with you.”
The man narrowed his eyes, looking at her shy little expression. “Where’s that teasing energy from earlier?”
“Burned out.” Her voice after the illness was especially soft and delicate.
The man, unbearably tempted, said, “Share hardships together. Pass your virus to me.”
“Hmm? Hmm…”
Xie Tingnan wrapped his long arm around Yu Wanwan and, as she lifted her little face, gently captured her rosy lips.
It was still as gentle as that night, as if coaxing her, sinking together into oblivion.
Yu Wanwan gradually went limp in his arms, relying entirely on the support of his arm to steady herself.
The car drove on, and the two kissed the whole way.
This was the kind of emotional exchange between lovers.
Yet the two kissed self-forgetfully, neither willing to be the first to stop.
(Being with Yu Wanwan was Xie Tingnan’s first kiss. He had always avoided kissing before, especially on the lips.)
It wasn’t until the car came to a stop at Yi Garden that the two reluctantly parted from each other.
The car door opened, and Xie Tingnan held Yu Wanwan in his arms, unwilling to let her walk. He carried her all the way to the master bedroom on the second floor…