Chapter 37
Su Yunzhe’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly as he realized his strategy had backfired.
He had thought it would be easy to get a drunk person to talk, but he had forgotten that a tipsy “kitten” could be dangerously tempting. He had probably lost control himself.
He rubbed his forehead in frustration, forcing himself to keep calm.
“Why don’t you…?”
“Su Yunzhe~ Please stop asking, okay~”
Damn!
In the next moment, Su Yunzhe felt his composure falter again.
Shen Yan was holding his hand, swaying it back and forth. His voice was sweet and soft, with a lingering tone that almost made Su Yunzhe’s knees go weak.
What was he thinking, trying to be “Liu Xiahui” now?
Forget that!
With a sense of reckless abandon, Su Yunzhe yanked Shen Yan towards him, wrapping his arms around his waist and flipping him onto the sofa. Leaning over, he stared into his eyes, his voice low and husky, “What’s in it for me?”
Shen Yan felt like the world spun, and when he met Su Yunzhe’s gaze so close, he was taken aback. The heat of Su Yunzhe’s breath brushed against his skin, making him feel an inexplicable ticklish sensation.
His mind was slow, and he couldn’t register the danger. As long as Su Yunzhe didn’t ask him about his previous secrets, anything else seemed easy to deal with. Blinking, he asked, “What do you want?”
He looked so innocent, like someone who’d been sold but still counting the money for the person who’d tricked him.
Su Yunzhe smiled, satisfied, and gently traced his finger over Shen Yan’s lips.
A small shock passed through Shen Yan’s lips as Su Yunzhe’s fingertip withdrew, replaced by his own lips.
Shen Yan’s eyes widened, his whole body frozen. His thoughts became blank, and all his senses were focused on the feel of their lips touching.
He felt Su Yunzhe’s tongue pressing against his teeth, seemingly wanting to enter.
Then, his mouth opened on its own, and his arms instinctively wrapped around Su Yunzhe’s neck.
How long had it been?
Shen Yan had no sense of time. Only when Su Yunzhe’s movements became rougher, and his body’s physical reactions became obvious, did his mind begin to clear. The fog in his brain lifted, and he suddenly realized what had happened.
In that instant, disgust and shame overwhelmed him, wrapping him tightly.
Shen Yan, you disgusting idiot!
You knew exactly what Su Yunzhe wanted, knew you were deceiving him, and had promised yourself a thousand times to stay away from him—did you do it?
What the hell are you doing now?
He suddenly shoved Su Yunzhe away, catching him off guard. He jumped off the couch and demanded, “Can I be left alone?”
He turned his back to Su Yunzhe, his head lowered, his long hair hiding his face. His voice, softened by the alcohol and the lingering sensation of the kiss, was still firm and serious, with an unyielding tone.
Su Yunzhe’s gaze softened as he saw the pain and frustration in Shen Yan. His concern deepened. “I’m sorry, I…”
“It’s not your fault, it’s my problem. I’m going to my room now.” Shen Yan spoke quickly and hurried away.
Su Yunzhe watched as he entered the bedroom and closed the door. Only then did he let out a deep sigh, sinking back onto the sofa and staring blankly at the ceiling.
For a long time, he sighed again.
It was his fault!
They hadn’t even established a relationship, and yet he had let himself go.
The last time Shen Yan was drunk, he had already crossed the line. Now, he had done it again.
It was easy for him to be stirred by Shen Yan, but that didn’t justify his behavior before they had clarified their relationship.
The night dragged on, and neither of them slept well. Shen Yan spent the night reflecting, while Su Yunzhe worried that Shen Yan might pull away from him after this. After all, Shen Yan was always emphasizing his principle of not having an affair while still married.
The next morning, Su Yunzhe found Shen Yan in the living room.
Shen Yan was sitting motionless on the sofa, staring ahead, as if he had been in that position for a long time. This wasn’t like Shen Yan at all.
In Su Yunzhe’s memory, Shen Yan rarely got up before 10 AM, yet now it was barely 7.
Su Yunzhe sighed and walked over.
“Let’s talk.”
This time, it was Shen Yan who spoke. He looked up at Su Yunzhe and smiled.
Su Yunzhe’s gaze deepened as he sat beside him. “It’s rare to see you up this early.”
Shen Yan nodded. “Yeah, I couldn’t sleep, so I just got up. Su Yunzhe, do you think I could quit my job?”
Su Yunzhe didn’t respond immediately. He just looked at Shen Yan, waiting for more.
Shen Yan continued, “I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me. I honestly had no other choice but to ask you for this job. Now that I’ve inherited some money, I feel it’s time to stop being so shameless. I think I should quit.”
Shen Yan had made up his mind—if he was going to cut ties with Su Yunzhe, it had to start from the root.
Su Yunzhe’s expression remained calm and indifferent. “No need to thank me. I wasn’t doing it to help you. Didn’t I tell you? I helped you because you fit my aesthetic. You and I, it’s just mutual benefit.”
Shen Yan: “…”
To be honest, he didn’t expect Su Yunzhe to react this way.
After all, no matter why Su Yunzhe had helped him in the first place, his feelings and attitude towards him were bound to be different by now.
Shen Yan had voluntarily offered to resign, so Su Yunzhe must have felt uncomfortable, right?
But looking at him now, Shen Yan didn’t sense anything of the sort.
For a moment, he wasn’t sure how to respond.
Su Yunzhe nodded, his expression unchanged, and continued, “Okay, I agree. The contract is void starting today.”
Huh?
He agreed so easily?
It seemed like not only was he not upset, but he was actually kind of… happy?
Shen Yan suddenly began to doubt himself. Could it be that he was too narcissistic? Maybe Su Yunzhe didn’t have those feelings for him after all, and it was just his own overthinking?
Then, his mind flashed to the kiss from last night.
He immediately dismissed his doubts.
He didn’t know why Su Yunzhe agreed so quickly, but it certainly wasn’t because he didn’t care about him.
But no matter what, it was good that Su Yunzhe had agreed.
“…”
He opened his mouth to thank him, but Su Yunzhe spoke first.
“I also think that contract wasn’t suitable,” Su Yunzhe said. “When I first saw you, your face was pleasing to me. But now…”
He paused, his dark eyes falling on Shen Yan’s face with a meaningful smile.
Shen Yan felt a chill run down his back. Before he could react, Su Yunzhe dropped the bombshell.
“I find your whole body pleasing. Marry me.”
Shen Yan’s eyes widened in shock, his mind spinning into chaos.
What the hell?!
Why was Su Yunzhe playing by his own rules?
He had spent the entire night reflecting and had finally made up his mind to slowly, step by step, distance himself from Su Yunzhe before the “window” was broken.
But now, Su Yunzhe didn’t even bother with the usual courtship process and went straight to proposing marriage?
“What, are you surprised?” Su Yunzhe grinned at him, looking as if he was thinking, You should’ve seen this coming.
Shen Yan was a bit annoyed. “What’s so surprising about that? Stop joking around.”
“You know I’m not joking.” Su Yunzhe’s smile faded as he leaned forward, his expression serious and earnest. He looked directly into Shen Yan’s eyes. “I’m not good at saying cheesy things, not experienced in this. But I’m serious. In 28 years, this is the first time I’ve been this serious. Think about it?”
If Shen Yan’s mind had been a mess before, now it was a complete disaster.
In the face of Su Yunzhe’s unconventional confession, he couldn’t respond at all.
He just stared at him, his own heartbeat pounding in his ears.
His brain… once again, shut down.
Su Yunzhe didn’t rush him. In fact, he looked just as nervous as Shen Yan, since it was his first time confessing, and he wasn’t sure of Shen Yan’s feelings.
So, he waited patiently.
Five minutes later, Shen Yan finally reacted, the shock and panic fading from his eyes, replaced by a teasing smile. “So, Su Yunzhe, are you confessing to me?”
“It’s a proposal!”
Su Yunzhe was a bit surprised by his reaction, but he still corrected him seriously.
“Heh!” Shen Yan rolled his eyes. “You didn’t even confess to me or try to court me, and now you want to get married? There’s no such thing as a free lunch!”
Su Yunzhe narrowed his eyes, a smile tugging at his lips. “That’s a good point. So, what do you think I should do to confess? How should I court you?”
Shen Yan shrugged. “That’s your problem. Haven’t you ever serenaded someone outside a girls’ dorm before? You don’t even have that much experience?”
Su Yunzhe teased back, “Oh, you remember that so clearly? Are you jealous?”
“Su Yunzhe…” Shen Yan looked at him with a sly grin. “You’re the one who’s trying to pursue me now. If anyone should be jealous, it should be you, right?”
Before Su Yunzhe could respond, Shen Yan stood up. “Alright, I’m done talking. I didn’t sleep well last night, so I’m going to take a nap.”
Su Yunzhe watched Shen Yan’s figure disappear behind the door, and the smile on his face slowly faded.
Shen Yan’s reaction had been completely unexpected.
The Shen Yan who had resigned clearly wanted to distance himself from him. After all, they both knew that the contract between them was just for show.
So, how could his attitude suddenly become ambiguous after Su Yunzhe mentioned marriage?
Though he didn’t explicitly agree, his attitude clearly suggested—maybe it’s worth a try.
So, was Shen Yan truly considering the possibility of giving it a shot, or was there something else going on…?
Meanwhile, Shen Yan was lying on the bed, completely drained.
Why was it so difficult to distance himself from Su Yunzhe?
The moment he tried to run away, he bumped into him at Heyang; the moment he mentioned dissolving the contract, Su Yunzhe proposed!
And with such a serious, heartfelt look in his eyes, saying—In 28 years, this is the first time I’ve been so sure!
Ahhhhhhh!
Shen Yan felt like he was losing his mind. His rationality, his conscience—everything seemed to be abandoning him.
But he couldn’t just give in.
Anyone who deceives another’s feelings is scum. Deceiving someone into marriage is even worse!
Shen Yan, you need to be rational.
So, his rational choice was to drag things on.
He’d play the part of a scumbag—neither initiating nor rejecting.
He despised himself for this, but what else could he do?
After thinking it through, he concluded that it was highly unlikely that Su Yunzhe had come to Heyang for a meeting and just happened to run into him.
No way!
If his memory served him right, the first thing Su Yunzhe had said when he grabbed his wrist was—Still trying to run away?!
So Su Yunzhe had clearly come to find him. He had already sensed that Shen Yan was planning to leave.
In this situation, if he were to outright refuse Su Yunzhe, it would only make him more cautious, right?
So, he had to drag things out with an ambiguous attitude and look for an opportunity to run away later.
Su Yunzhe, I’m sorry, but I swear I’m not doing this on purpose!
He kept trying to convince himself not to feel too guilty, but Su Yunzhe’s earnest gaze wouldn’t leave his mind.
So, forget about sleeping—it became just another empty thought.
He tossed and turned in bed for the whole morning, finally deciding to give up on the bed and go out to find something to eat.
The hotel offered room service, and it seemed that Su Yunzhe was genuinely thinking about courting Shen Yan, so he had ordered a candlelit… lunch.
In the middle of the day, there were candles on the table, making the whole scene look rather ridiculous.
Shen Yan stuffed a bite of steak into his mouth while sneakily glancing at the man across from him, thinking to himself: Did this guy ever really chase girls in college? With this kind of tacky romantic gesture, he probably didn’t get very far.
Of course, Mr. Su’s tactics didn’t end there.
After their lunch, the doorbell rang.
Su Yunzhe, also without anything to do, picked up his phone and walked towards the balcony, pretending to be busy with work.
Shen Yan had no choice but to get up and open the door, where a delivery man was waiting with a large bouquet of fiery red roses.
Shen Yan couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time.
He never imagined Su Yunzhe would take his words seriously. Candlelit dinners and roses?
He had to admit, Su Yunzhe’s approach to chasing people was a bit… lacking.
