“It’s getting late. If you go home too late, your brother will worry.” Xie Guanlan stood up, draping his suit jacket over his arm. “Let’s go.”
Yin Shuyang raised her head, her misty eyes fixed on him, teardrops clinging to her long lashes. He wouldn’t even answer her question.
Xie Guanlan was exactly as her brother had described—aloof, indifferent, and emotionally detached.
But she still liked him.
She stood there, fragile and pitiful, weeping softly and delicately, her shoulders trembling. The radiant joy she had shown upon arrival had vanished completely, replaced by sorrow and heartache.
Xie Guanlan had rejected many women before, but for the first time, he felt a twinge of heartache.
“Can I have a hug?” Yin Shuyang’s faint voice was soft and damp. “Just one hug, and I’ll go home quietly…”
She took a step toward Xie Guanlan.
Xie Guanlan gently pulled her into his embrace. Today, the scent of her perfume was like a tender rose blooming in May, and her body was soft and delicate. Because she was crying, she trembled incessantly.
She wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, burying her face deep into his chest. His white shirt grew damp with her tears, the warmth seeming to seep through the fabric, touching his skin and flowing into his heart.
He sensed danger and reminded her hoarsely, “Yangyang, that’s enough.”
“Just a little longer…”
Yin Shuyang tightened her grip. This was the man she loved, and being in his arms felt even better than she had imagined—those chest muscles, those abs…
She hadn’t even gotten to taste them yet!
“Yangyang.”
Xie Guanlan grasped her wrists and pushed her away, his resolve firm.
Yin Shuyang was crying too hard to notice the slight hoarseness in Xie Guanlan’s voice when he called her name, nor did she sense his racing heartbeat or the rising warmth of his skin as they parted.
Yin Shuyang left in tears. The dutiful bodyguard and driver were waiting outside. Seeing the second young lady weeping like a rain-drenched pear blossom, he instinctively wanted to do something.
But Yin Shuyang got into the car and tearfully demanded to go home.
The bodyguard clenched his fist, throwing a punch at the air in front of Xie Guanlan before angrily getting into the car.
Under the dim yellow streetlights, Xie Guanlan’s tall figure stood bathed in the soft glow. The front of his white shirt was soaked. He reached up and touched it—her tears.
Yin Shuyang returned home crying and went straight upstairs without a word.
“What’s wrong with your sister?”
“Who on earth has she fallen for? She left happily and came back crying. What kind of friend is that? Bullying a girl!” Yin’s mother directed a barrage of questions at Yin Shujun.
Yin Shujun went straight upstairs to comfort her.
As soon as he entered the room, he saw Yin Shuyang lying on the bed, clutching Xie Guanlan’s handkerchief and sobbing softly.
“Got rejected?”
Yin Shujun crossed his arms. “I told you, Xie Guanlan doesn’t like you.”
Yin Shuyang sat up. She was already feeling miserable, and now her brother was adding salt to the wound. “Get out! I don’t want to see you!”
“Young lady, tomorrow I’ll take you out and buy you pretty dresses. There are plenty of men in the world. I’ll introduce you to someone else.” Yin Shujun sat on the edge of her bed. “How about it?”
“No!”
“Then what do you want to do?”
Yin Shuyang gave her brother a resentful, scrutinizing look. The more she thought about it, the more suspicious he seemed.
She and Xie Guanlan barely knew each other, yet Xie Guanlan had even taken her out to dinner just to reject her.
“Did you say something bad about me in front of Xie Guanlan?”
“No!” Yin Shujun denied without changing his expression. “My sister is gentle, beautiful, smart, and adorable—she has no flaws at all. What bad things could I possibly say?”
“Are you really sure you didn’t?”
“No. In my eyes, my sister is perfect.”
“Then why did he reject me outright…” Yin Shuyang cried even more sorrowfully.
She had originally thought it was Yin Shujun, that little villain, causing trouble behind the scenes, but it turned out she really had been rejected.
Yin Shujun slowly moved closer. “Look at him, he looks like he has no interest in that kind of thing—maybe he’s just not capable. My sister can’t be left to live like a widow.”
Yin Shuyang stared at him through tear-filled eyes for a few moments. “How do you know that?”
“I’m just talking nonsense, I’m spouting rubbish. Oh, little ancestor, stop crying. Your eyes are all swollen—people might think I bullied you.” Yin Shujun sighed helplessly. “Go to sleep early. I’ll cheer you up tomorrow.”
A man like her brother would definitely have a hard time finding a girlfriend in the future!
After leaving his sister’s room, Yin Shujun sent a message to Xie Guanlan: Thanks, bro.
Xie Guanlan had just stepped out of the shower. He glanced at the message with cold indifference and didn’t reply.
Just as the rumors said, he was indifferent to such matters. For 25 years, since adolescence, he had rarely felt any desire in that area. Yet, while showering just now, he had thought of hugging Yin Shuyang, of her tear-streaked face, and instantly felt a reaction.
Yin Shuyang stayed in bed at home for three days.
Yin Shujun couldn’t stand it any longer and called Shi Man over.
“Yang Bao, sweetie~”
Yin Shuyang woke up with bloodshot eyes to a face magnified in front of her. “Why are you here…”
“Your brother asked me to come. He said you were lying in bed heartbroken and told me to take you out for some fun. Get up…” Shi Man pulled her out of bed. “Go take a shower, put on some makeup. Tonight, I’ll take you out to meet other men. With a new flame, you can forget the old love!”
“If Xie Guanlan doesn’t like you, it’s not like there aren’t other men out there! As long as you switch men fast enough, there’s no sadness—only love.”
“Get moving, get moving, get moving.”
Shi Man dragged her out of bed. “Your brother said he’s covering all expenses tonight.”
She absolutely had to take advantage of Yin Shujun.
Yin Shuyang was practically forced out the door. Even after sitting in the bar booth, she still felt dazed.
There were plenty of men, plenty of handsome ones too, but none of them were her type.
The guys who came to flirt were around her age, soft and sweet, looking like they needed a man more than she did.
Help!
She really wanted to escape.
“I still like someone like Xie Guanlan,” Yin Shuyang said, tracing the rim of her glass with her finger. “No one else sparks my interest.”
“But you don’t spark Xie Guanlan’s interest.”
“That’s because I haven’t tried to seduce him!! I have such a great figure~” Yin Shuyang slumped back like a deflated balloon. “And I haven’t had a chance to show it off in front of Xie Guanlan yet.”
She murmured softly, “I think being rejected is normal. If Xie Guanlan were so easy to chase, would he still be the aloof male god of our city?”
“So?”
“So I still want to try pursuing him. But I’m afraid of causing him trouble. What if he really doesn’t like me? Wouldn’t I become that clingy, shameless woman?” Yin Shuyang touched her face, her beautiful amber eyes darting around. “Manman, what should I do~”
Shi Man spoke slowly, “You’re too straightforward. A woman must know how to play hard to get, to retreat in order to advance. You have to tease him, lure him, never let him think you’re desperately in love with him, that you can’t live without him. Without some tricks up your sleeve, even if you manage to win over a man like Xie Guanlan, you could still lose him. We need to plan carefully, take it slow…”