Su Qingyue’s school break came to an end far too quickly.
On the day she left, she clung tightly to her older sister and cried her heart out. Before departing, she even pulled Chen Yan aside to lecture him at length.
“Chen Yan, now that I’m going back to school, you absolutely have to take good care of my sister,” she said while wiping her tears. “If she bullies you, tell me immediately. I’ll scold her for you.”
Chen Yan nodded politely.
“And also,” she whispered mysteriously, lowering her voice, “I left that little notebook in your room. It’s full of all my deductions and investigations. Read it when you have time, it might inspire you.”
Chen Yan: “…”
After that, Su Qingyue finally left.
The enormous villa quickly returned to its usual quiet atmosphere.
Standing at the entrance, Su Qingyuan watched the pink sports car disappear beyond the bamboo-lined road before silently turning around and heading back inside.
Chen Yan noticed a faint redness around her eyes.
“If you miss her, you can always visit her,” he said gently.
Su Qingyuan did not reply. She simply turned and walked upstairs.
Life soon returned to normal.
Every morning, Chen Yan woke her up, prepared breakfast, and handled the household chores. Every evening, he waited for her return and cooked dinner for her.
Sometimes she exchanged a few words with him, but most of the time, silence still filled the space between them.
Chen Yan originally thought this peaceful routine would continue forever.
Until one particular evening.
It was Friday. Earlier that day, Su Qingyuan had called to inform him that she would be attending a company banquet and would not be coming home for dinner.
After eating alone, Chen Yan sat on the living room sofa and watched television.
At a little past nine o’clock, the doorbell rang.
He got up and opened the door.
A young man stood outside.
He looked around twenty-five or twenty-six years old, dressed in a perfectly tailored luxury suit. His hair was styled meticulously, not a single strand out of place. In his hands was a massive bouquet of bright red roses. When he saw Chen Yan, he paused briefly in surprise.
“Who are you?”
“I’m President Su’s personal assistant.”
“Assistant?” The man slowly sized Chen Yan up from head to toe. His gaze lingered briefly on Chen Yan’s simple T-shirt before curling into a mocking smile. “Oh, so you’re the live-in lifestyle assistant?”
Chen Yan remained silent.
The man glanced past him into the villa. “Where’s Qingyuan?”
“She isn’t home.”
“Not home?” The man frowned slightly. “Where did she go?”
“I don’t know.”
The man stared at him for several seconds before chuckling softly. He shoved the bouquet directly into Chen Yan’s arms.
“Then give these to her when she gets back. Tell her Zhao Yuchen came by.”
Chen Yan lowered his eyes to the flowers.
Zhao Yuchen.
He knew the name immediately. The young heir of the Zhao Group, and one of Su Qingyuan’s most persistent admirers.
“And another thing,” Zhao Yuchen continued, “tell her I’m hosting dinner for her tomorrow night. She must attend.”
Chen Yan looked at him calmly. “I’m only an assistant. I can pass along your message, but I don’t have the authority to decide for her.”
Zhao Yuchen narrowed his eyes.
“What are you trying to say?”
“I only mean that whether she attends or not is her own decision.”
A trace of coldness appeared on Zhao Yuchen’s face.
“You sure have a lot to say for a mere assistant.”
He stepped closer, deliberately invading Chen Yan’s personal space.
“Do you know who I am?”
“I do.”
“You know who I am, yet you still dare speak to me like this?”
Chen Yan calmly met his gaze without speaking.
Zhao Yuchen sneered.
“I heard Qingyuan recently hired a male assistant and even let him live here. I thought he’d be someone impressive. Turns out it’s just you?”
His eyes swept over Chen Yan’s clothes once more, filled with disdain.
“Dressed like a nobody, living off someone else’s generosity… how much do you even make a month? Five thousand? Ten thousand?” He laughed mockingly. “Do you know? One meal of mine costs more than your yearly salary.”
Chen Yan’s expression did not change in the slightest.
“I know Mr. Zhao is very wealthy.”
“Good that you understand.” Zhao Yuchen casually adjusted his suit sleeves. “Then you should also understand your place. Some people are simply beyond your reach.”
After saying that, he turned to leave.
But after taking a few steps, he paused and glanced back.
“Don’t forget to give her the flowers. And tomorrow night’s dinner, she must come.”
The sports car roared to life and vanished into the darkness.
Chen Yan looked down at the bouquet in his hands.
The roses were dazzlingly red.
He suddenly remembered what Su Qingyue once told him. Apparently, a wealthy heir had once shown up at Su Qingyuan’s company carrying an enormous bouquet of roses. In front of the entire office staff, she had thrown them straight into the trash and coldly said:
“I hate roses. Next time, bring lilies.”
Chen Yan placed the flowers on the entrance table and quietly closed the door.
At eleven that night, Su Qingyuan finally came home.
She wore a black evening gown, elegant and refined. Her hair was pinned up neatly, exposing the graceful curve of her neck. Even her makeup could not fully conceal the exhaustion in her eyes.
The moment she entered, she immediately noticed the bouquet of roses.
“Who brought those?”
“Zhao Yuchen.”
Her brows furrowed instantly.
Without hesitation, she grabbed the flowers and tossed them straight into the trash bin beside the entrance.
Watching her actions, Chen Yan could not help the faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
Su Qingyuan turned just in time to catch it.
“What are you smiling about?”
“Nothing.”
She stared at him for two seconds.
“Did he say something to you?”
“He did.”
“What did he say?”
Chen Yan thought for a moment before answering truthfully.
“He said you must attend his dinner tomorrow night.”
“That’s all?”
Chen Yan paused briefly.
“He also said,” he continued evenly, “that there are some people far beyond the reach of someone like me.”
Su Qingyuan looked slightly surprised before her brows tightened further.
“He actually said that to you?”
“Yes.”
She lowered her eyes toward the roses lying in the trash bin and fell silent.
After a long moment, she looked back at Chen Yan.
“How did you respond?”
“I didn’t.”
“Why didn’t you shut him down?”
Chen Yan looked at her calmly.
“What he said wasn’t wrong. I’m only an assistant earning twenty thousand yuan a month. One of his meals probably does cost more than my yearly salary. There truly are people beyond the reach of someone at my level.”
Su Qingyuan stared at him quietly.
For some reason, she suddenly noticed something strange.
Although his words sounded self-deprecating, there was no trace of inferiority in his tone at all.
It was as though he were merely stating an objective fact.
“Are you angry?” she asked.
“No.”
“Then why say it like that?”
Chen Yan thought about it briefly.
“Because everything he said happens to be true.”
Su Qingyuan did not continue the topic. She simply turned and went upstairs.
Chen Yan cleaned up the house before returning to his own room to rest.
The next evening, Su Qingyuan did not attend Zhao Yuchen’s dinner.
He called more than ten times in a row, but she ignored every single one.
Eventually, a WeChat message popped up on her phone.
[Qingyuan, why aren’t you here? I’ve been waiting for over two hours.]
Su Qingyuan glanced at the screen coldly before tossing the phone aside.
Chen Yan was cooking dinner in the kitchen when he heard the nonstop ringing. He leaned out slightly to look at her.
She sat curled up on the sofa with her knees hugged to her chest, staring blankly at the television.
A popular variety show was playing, but it was obvious her thoughts were elsewhere.
“Dinner’s ready,” Chen Yan called out.
She stood and walked over to the dining table.
The two ate quietly.
Halfway through the meal, the doorbell rang aggressively.
Chen Yan got up to answer it.
Standing outside once again was Zhao Yuchen.
This time, his expression was dark and unpleasant. The moment he saw Chen Yan, he pushed past him forcefully and stormed inside.
“Qingyuan!”
Su Qingyuan looked up at him coldly.
“What are you doing here?”
“What am I doing here?” Zhao Yuchen pointed angrily toward Chen Yan. “I called you dozens of times and you ignored me. I sent messages and you didn’t reply. I had no choice but to come personally! Qingyuan, what exactly do you mean by this?”
“There’s no special meaning. I simply didn’t want to go.”
“Didn’t want to go?” Zhao Yuchen laughed sarcastically. “Do you know how many important people were waiting to meet you tonight? Do you know how much effort I spent arranging for that investor to appear? And you leave me hanging there for hours with nothing but ‘I didn’t want to go’?”
Su Qingyuan calmly set down her chopsticks.
“Zhao Yuchen, I never asked you to arrange any investor. You chose to organize that dinner yourself. It has nothing to do with me.”
His face turned red with anger.
“Nothing to do with you? Su Qingyuan, do your words always have to be this heartless? I’ve chased after you for two whole years. Have you ever once treated me kindly? Who do you think you are?”
Su Qingyuan stood up.
“I am the CEO of the Su Group. You are the heir of the Zhao Group. Other than business cooperation, there is no other relationship between us.”
Zhao Yuchen froze.
Then suddenly, he let out a mocking laugh.
“Fine. Very good, President Su.”
He pointed at Chen Yan.
“Then what exactly is this trash supposed to be?”
Su Qingyuan remained silent.
Zhao Yuchen strode over to Chen Yan and looked him up and down with contempt.
“A poor nobody living in your house, acting like your personal servant, and you actually smile at him? You let him eat with you?” He glared furiously at Su Qingyuan. “Su Qingyuan, are you blind? I, Zhao Yuchen, have wealth, status, and background, yet you won’t even spare me a glance, but you favor this kind of garbage?”
“That’s enough.”
Su Qingyuan’s voice instantly turned ice-cold.
Zhao Yuchen stopped abruptly.
She walked over and stood beside Chen Yan.
“He’s my man,” she said coldly. “He’s not someone you’re qualified to judge.”
Zhao Yuchen’s face went pale.
“Your man?” He looked between the two of them before bursting into disbelieving laughter. “Su Qingyuan, have you lost your mind? You’re willing to offend me over a piece of trash like him?”
Throughout the entire argument, Chen Yan had not spoken once.
He simply looked at Su Qingyuan standing beside him, and heard her say those words in that icy voice.
“He’s my man.”
He knew she was only protecting her employee out of pride and dignity.
But even so, something inside his chest shifted slightly.
“Mr. Zhao,” Chen Yan suddenly said calmly.
Zhao Yuchen glared at him viciously.
“Yesterday, you said one of your meals costs more than my yearly salary.”
Zhao Yuchen sneered. “So what? You want to compare wealth with me?”
Chen Yan shook his head slightly.
“No. I only want to tell you something.”
“What?”
Chen Yan stepped forward.
He was half a head taller than Zhao Yuchen, forcing the other man to slightly raise his chin just to maintain eye contact.
“Do you know why you’ve pursued her for two years without ever receiving a genuine glance from her?”
Zhao Yuchen froze.
Chen Yan continued calmly.
“It’s not because her standards are too high. It’s because you’re too self-absorbed.”
Zhao Yuchen’s face reddened instantly.
“You…!”
“When you send flowers, you choose roses, the flowers she hates most. When you arrange dinners, you organize networking banquets, the very thing she dislikes most. You’ve pursued her for two years, yet you still don’t understand even her basic preferences, and you call that devotion?”
Zhao Yuchen opened his mouth but could not say a word.
Chen Yan stepped back slightly.
“I’m only an assistant, but at least I know she doesn’t eat cilantro, she dislikes milk, she’s afraid of the dark, and when she can’t sleep, she likes listening to rain. What about you? What do you actually know about her?”
Zhao Yuchen’s face alternated between red and pale.
He wanted to argue, but no words came out.
At the side, Su Qingyuan stared at Chen Yan in shock.
There was surprise in her eyes, confusion, and an emotion she herself could not explain.
Chen Yan turned calmly toward the kitchen.
“The dishes are cold. I’ll heat them up again.”
Then he walked away.
The living room fell silent.
Zhao Yuchen tried to say something else, but Su Qingyuan had already returned to the table and resumed eating as though he no longer existed.
He stood there awkwardly like a complete fool.
In the end, unable to endure the humiliation any longer, he stormed out and slammed the door violently behind him.
A moment later, Chen Yan returned with the reheated dishes and placed them carefully on the table.
Su Qingyuan looked up at him.
“How did you know I don’t eat cilantro?”
Chen Yan sat down across from her.
“The last time you ordered takeout, you specifically noted it in the remarks section.”
She froze.
That had happened more than two weeks ago. She had been working overtime at the company and ordered delivery instead of coming home to eat. When the food arrived, she had still been in an online meeting, so Chen Yan accepted it for her.
He actually remembered something that small?
“And,” Chen Yan continued, “the milk in your refrigerator expired over a month ago. If you liked milk, you would have finished it long ago.”
Su Qingyuan continued staring at him.
“Then how did you know I’m afraid of the dark?”
“Manager Wang gave me a list of household precautions on my first day here. It was written there.”
“And the rain?”
Chen Yan paused briefly.
“That night during the thunderstorm, when you came downstairs to find me, you kept listening to the rain outside.”
Su Qingyuan lowered her head silently.
After a very long pause, she softly called his name.
“Chen Yan.”
“Yes?”
“Thank you.”
Chen Yan looked at her quietly.
Her head remained lowered, but the tips of her ears had turned pink.
A genuine smile finally appeared on his face.
“There’s no need to thank me. It’s simply part of my job.”
She glanced at him briefly.
And within that single glance was a warmth that had never existed before.