Chapter 17
Shen Yan looked at him in surprise, not expecting that he would suddenly bring it up. Then, he laughed, “No kidding—if I weren’t already married, and if cheating weren’t off the table, I’d almost be tempted by President Su’s offer.”
Who wouldn’t be tempted? Thinking about that run-down place he lives in, and then picturing Su Yunzhe’s unbeatable sea-view apartment with panoramic windows, along with Su Yunzhe’s flawless, handsome face… If he were a woman, he might actually be persuaded.
But for now, that’s just a thought. Besides, it’s likely that Su Yunzhe was only joking.
“You’re practically ready to walk out on your home life. If you’re not filing for divorce, are you just waiting for New Year’s?”
Sure enough, Su Yunzhe didn’t push the topic further, though his comment still caught Shen Yan off guard.
Shen Yan remembered the first time they met. He’d cooked up a sob story about his past, hoping it would prompt Su Yunzhe to ask. But Su had only cut him off impatiently with a “Not interested.” Now, he was suddenly bringing it up on his own accord.
Actually, Shen Yan did have a lot of frustration he wanted to vent.
He leaned against the car window and sighed in resignation. “Just thinking about it gives me a headache. Originally, we both couldn’t stand each other, so divorce would have let us part ways cleanly. Wouldn’t it have been nice to never see each other again? But that psycho… he clearly wants to be with his lover, yet he still refuses to divorce me and even locks me up at home. I had no choice but to sneak out.”
“So, your plan is to live apart for two years and then file for divorce?” Su Yunzhe asked.
Shen Yan nodded. “Exactly. What else can I do?”
“Actually…” Su Yunzhe paused, looked at him seriously, and said, “Cheating isn’t illegal.”
What?
Seeing his serious expression, Shen Yan thought he was going to offer some advice, only to realize the guy was still hung up on the idea of having him as a kept man.
He couldn’t help but feel exasperated and responded dryly, “But it goes against my principles!”
Just then, they hit a red light, and Su Yunzhe’s car came to a slow stop. He turned to look at him. “So… if I help you get a divorce, does that mean you’ll agree to the contract?”
Su Yunzhe’s tone was casual, almost teasing, but his intense gaze lingered unwaveringly in Shen Yan’s eyes, as serious as could be.
What the heck? Did this guy take the wrong meds today? Why keep bringing this up?
Shen Yan opened his mouth to say, “Stop joking,” but his heart started pounding as he met those serious eyes. Feeling inexplicably tense, he averted his gaze to the road ahead. “Green light.”
Su Yunzhe’s gaze lingered on his face with an inscrutable look before he started the car again in silence.
Shen Yan didn’t look at him and kept his gaze out the window. But he couldn’t shake the feeling that the atmosphere in the car had turned a bit awkward.
Just then, his phone rang, and he quickly answered.
“Hello, who’s this?”
“Is this Miss Shen? I saw you listed the limited-edition CNG bag online. Is it authentic?”
A young woman’s voice came from the other end of the line.
Shen Yan remembered that he’d put up the bag Duan Yang had given him for sale online yesterday. “Yes, absolutely. You can have it authenticated at a boutique.”
“Alright, I need it tonight. Where are you? I’ll come pick it up,” the young woman said.
He hadn’t expected her to be in such a rush, but he certainly didn’t mind selling something he didn’t need, so he arranged to meet her at the entrance of Clearwater Bay Apartments.
After hanging up, he sneaked a glance at Su Yunzhe, whose expression was as cool and unreadable as ever.
Shen Yan couldn’t tell if he was angry or not.
In truth, Shen Yan never thought that Su Yunzhe was seriously trying to keep him. Even though Su had brought it up the first time they met, since then, except for that one awkward incident when Shen Yan had dressed too provocatively at Su’s place, Su had never actually acted on any interest.
So, in Shen Yan’s mind, Su’s talk of keeping him was all just a joke.
But the way Su had just looked at him seemed so serious, he couldn’t tell if he was kidding or not.
If he wasn’t joking and Shen Yan had dismissed it, would it make his would-be sugar daddy mad?
“Get out of the car.”
Shen Yan was busy debating if he should say something to test the waters, but Su Yunzhe had already stepped out of the car.
He quickly followed, only to realize they were in an underground parking lot. From the signs around, it seemed to be a fresh produce supermarket.
Su Yunzhe seemed pretty familiar with this place and headed straight up to the supermarket via the elevator.
Shen Yan followed along, pushing the cart for him, watching as Su Yunzhe, sleeves rolled up on his white shirt, roamed the aisles, picking out seafood with surprising ease. The hair that had been combed meticulously for work earlier in the day was now casually falling in a few strands over his forehead, giving him an unexpectedly sexy look.
Unable to help himself, Shen Yan glanced a couple of times in surprise that Su Yunzhe was here, buying groceries himself. Though he knew Su Yunzhe could cook and grill quite well, it was surprising to see him doing something so down-to-earth.
The whole scene seemed completely at odds with the powerful, ruthless CEO image Shen Yan had in mind—or the ruthless villain he’d imagined him to be. Yet this version of Su Yunzhe looked undeniably handsome for some reason.
It wasn’t just Shen Yan who thought so. Other shoppers weren’t oblivious either; many people turned to look, and some young women even took out their phones to snap pictures of him.
Su Yunzhe, apparently used to this, nonchalantly picked out a few more items before adding two packs of sweet shrimp sashimi to the cart and heading to checkout.
Shen Yan glanced at the sweet shrimp, then back at Su Yunzhe, unable to suppress a grin.
He’d been worried his benefactor might be mad at him—but if he were really angry, would he be buying his favorite food? Though Shen Yan wasn’t picky about food, he had favorites, and sweet shrimp was one of them. He’d polished off the last pack of sweet shrimp sashimi at Su Yunzhe’s house not too long ago. Plus, from what he could tell, Su Yunzhe didn’t even care for raw foods. So grabbing those two packs was clearly for him.
Feeling cheerful, Shen Yan stepped up with a smile, saying, “Thanks, President Su.”
Su Yunzhe, carrying the bags, gave him a faint smile. “It’s coming out of your paycheck.”
“Sure thing!” Shen Yan agreed happily, fully aware it was just lip service.
They left the supermarket and were back at Su Yunzhe’s place in ten minutes. Shen Yan had arranged to meet someone at the complex entrance, so he went upstairs, grabbed his bag, and let Su Yunzhe know he’d be heading out.
He’d considered explaining his plans to Su Yunzhe but decided not to after noticing he didn’t seem particularly interested—it wasn’t anything major anyway.
Ten minutes later, he arrived at the entrance just as a call came in from the person he was meeting. He picked up, about to speak, but the caller hung up, and someone tapped his shoulder.
Turning, he saw a stylishly dressed girl, about sixteen or seventeen, standing behind him with a rather aloof expression.
“The bag?” she asked curtly, skipping any pleasantries and getting straight to business.
Shen Yan, equally direct, handed it over.
The girl gave the bag a quick once-over and nodded. “Yep, it’s authentic. This is a limited edition, with fewer than ten in the whole country, and you can’t get it in stores anymore. You’re offering it at a good price.”
As she spoke, she transferred him the money. “I’ll add another 20,000—70,000 total. No other issues, so I’ll be on my way.”
Shen Yan was taken aback by the extra money, so stunned he didn’t get a chance to respond before the girl was already waving goodbye and walking away.
“Ying Ying?”
Just then, a flashy sports car pulled up beside her, the window rolling down to reveal a familiar face.
Qin Mofeng?
As Shen Yan was marveling at the coincidence, the girl named Ying Ying dashed off, throwing a playful face back at Qin Mofeng. “What a coincidence, Brother Feng! Bye-bye!”
Qin Mofeng parked and hopped out to chase her, but she quickly slipped into the crowd, disappearing with impressive agility.
“Ugh! A rabbit, that kid—why’s she so quick?” he muttered in annoyance.
Shen Yan walked over with a smile. “Who’s the girl? She’s pretty funny!”
Only then did Qin Mofeng notice him, shaking his head in resignation. “She’s a student. Her senior year started days ago, but she skips classes all the time. Me, unlucky enough to be her class advisor—thanks to that troublemaker, Lin Sicheng’s on my case daily. I just got the curriculum sorted out, and he’s already given me an ultimatum to bring her to class tomorrow.”
Qin Mofeng looked like he’d lost all hope, unsure if it was frustration with his boss or the girl.
“So, you’re here to look for her?” Shen Yan asked.
“Not exactly…” Qin Mofeng’s eyes sparked with intrigue as he eyed Shen Yan. “So… why are you here?”
Uh…
Before Shen Yan could respond, Qin Mofeng raised his eyebrows with a smirk. “You’re living together now? Man, has Old Su finally come around? Took him long enough!”
“Brother Feng, it’s not what you think,” Shen Yan quickly interrupted, explaining, “My pipes burst, so I can’t stay at my place. President Su was kind enough to let me crash at his.”
Not wanting to leave any room for misinterpretation, Shen Yan quickly changed the topic. “So, you’re here for President Su?”
Qin Mofeng gave him a meaningful smile, clearly unconvinced by the excuse.
For some reason, Shen Yan felt a pang of guilt under his gaze and was about to clarify when Qin Mofeng spoke up first. “Of course, I’m here for him. Ying Ying’s totally out of control, and nobody can handle her. I had no choice but to ask him for help.”
“Huh?” Shen Yan was confused. “What do you mean?”
Qin Mofeng gestured for him to get in the car and explained, “You didn’t know? Ying Ying’s Su’s younger sister.”
“What??” Shen Yan was caught completely off guard.
This… was too much of a coincidence!
He’d only sold an item once in a blue moon, and it had to be to his benefactor’s sister?
And…
“That girl’s President Su’s sister, and she’s here but didn’t think of visiting her brother?” Shen Yan asked.
“She probably doesn’t know he lives here,” Qin Mofeng replied, pausing before adding with a laugh, “Their family’s dynamics are pretty complicated. You can ask Old Su if you want the full story. I’m not getting into it. Anyway, we’re having a barbecue tonight. I brought over lots of ingredients a while ago but haven’t had a chance to use them yet. Lin Sicheng actually let us out early for once, so I can relax without overtime—let’s have a drink and some skewers to unwind.”
Shen Yan laughed and agreed, “Sounds great.”
It occurred to him that Su Yunzhe’s trip to the supermarket earlier must’ve been to restock the food they’d polished off last night.
