Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
At this moment, she felt like she was finally released and freed.
She no longer had to go through painstaking effort to hide the truth from Yan Ge or worry about how he would perceive her. She no longer had to be afraid of spilling the beans accidentally.
Because the truth was about to be revealed.
“That’s right, he’s not my cousin,” Fang Erlan said while feeling a huge sense of relief.
“Is he your boyfriend, then? Is he… the reason you were unwilling to be my girlfriend? You could’ve just told me the truth back then. Is there really a need to hide? Don’t tell me you’re planning to keep me on the hook as your backup plan in case your relationship with him doesn’t work out?”
“No, I’m not in a relationship with him, and neither do I treat you as my backup plan. I really… do fancy you.”
“What’s your relationship with him, then? Tell me, how are you related to him? If there’s nothing between you two, why would he be living with you? Why would he become your bodyguard when he’s affluent enough?” Yan Ge questioned, boiling with fury. One of the main reasons he had broken up with Yu Caiwei back then was that she had too many close friends of the opposite gender. He didn’t like that she was hanging out too intimately with them. Yet, this Fang Erlan…
“I don’t know what’s between us but we’re definitely not lovers. I don’t fancy him at all. He was the one who moved into my house all of a sudden and refused to leave. I’m telling the truth. I asked him why he was behaving that way but he refused to tell me the reason. However, I really haven’t met him before and I didn’t know him at all.”
“Why don’t you call the police?”
Pursing her lips, Fang Erlan said, “Call the police? If calling the police really worked, I would have done that long ago. He’s different from us. The police can’t do anything to him at all.”
“How is he any different from us? Isn’t he human too? Or does he have a family member from the Autumn Palace?”
“What do you think? Even Sis Xiaoning can’t deal with him. I was both overjoyed and worried at the same time when you asked me to be your girlfriend. I actually didn’t need the extra time to think, like what I had told you. I was just waiting for him to come back so that I could negotiate with him and make him leave my life. However, I failed and hence I had to reject you, because… I didn’t want to implicate you and let you get hurt. However, I couldn’t tell you these directly back then. I was afraid that you wouldn’t believe me and instead despise me. But since you’ve already found out, there’s no need for me to hide it from you any further.”
Yan Ge stared at her, trying to deduce if she was telling the truth.
“Do you really fancy me?”
“Yes, I really do.”
“Let’s ignore the rest. What matters is we’re fond of each other, isn’t it?” He stood up and grabbed her wrist to pull her out of the house.
Fang Erlan thought that he was going to bring her to her apartment and immediately tried to struggle to break free. “What are you trying to do?”
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to look for him. I’m taking you somewhere.”
Fang Erlan expressed assent. Her stomach twisted into a knot, for she was afraid that she would bump into Xiao Chenyang at the door. She was afraid that he would really confine her to Mount Wanyan. That would really be…
Fortunately, they did not bump into him. When they exited the apartment, Xiao Chenyang was watching a movie with the volume turned up loudly.
Once she got inside Yan Ge’s car, she said, “I told him that I would be back in a while.”
He reached a hand out to help her put on her safety belt before saying, “I just want to verify if you truly fancy me.”
Fang Erlan had no idea what he meant. Is there a need to verify that? I’ve already told him so explicitly.
The next thing she knew, he had already driven out of the estate.
To her surprise, he did not drive to a nearby place and instead sped toward the expressway.
“Senior Yan Ge, where are we going?”
“The beach.”
Fang Erlan asked in astonishment, “The beach?”
“Yes.”
She dared not say anything else, for fear that she would provoke him further. However, if she was away for too long, Xiao Chenyang would…
She dared not let her imagination run wild.
Will he kick Yan Ge’s door open…
He doesn’t use mobile phones and doesn’t have my number either.
A terrifying silence filled the air in the car. A million thoughts flooded Fang Erlan’s mind, and she started to think that she was losing control of what was happening.
However, she really did not wish to give Yan Ge up. Why can’t I be together with the person I like?
What right does Xiao Chenyang have to strip me of my freedom to love?
She pondered over the problem throughout the journey. They finally arrived at the beach half an hour later.
She alighted from the car after Yan Ge parked it inside the parking lot. The strong wind messed up her long hair.
She finally felt some relief, and her worries were alleviated. She turned to look at him and said, “This place is so relaxing.”
“Come here.”
Fang Erlan followed him to an apartment building near the beach, which was facing the ocean.
They boarded the elevator, which ascended to the fifth floor.
The apartment was spacious, and there were no other partitioned rooms apart from the washroom and the kitchen.
There was a pool near the bed.
“This is my private apartment. We’ll stay here tonight.”
“W… what? Aren’t we going back to Qingyuan Estate tonight?” Fang Erlan asked in bewilderment.
“No, we’re not. You live in the same space with him every day, why can’t you do the same with me? Didn’t you say that you really do fancy me?”
Fang Erlan could no longer say the words that she had wanted to.
She felt as if there was something stuck in her throat.
She walked toward the balcony while remaining silent.
Grabbing the railing tightly, she stared into the distance, at the stars in the pitch-dark sky.
Fang Erlan froze the moment he hugged her from behind.
She felt like her heart was about to stop beating.
It felt just like a hallucination.
“Yan Ge…”
“Yes…”
“You…”
“Do you know the biggest reason behind my decision to break up with Yu Caiwei? The opposition of our parents was one of the reasons, but the main one was that she has too many friends of the opposite gender. I felt too insecure, especially since she hung out with them rather frequently. We often argued over that issue, and we decided to give up in the end.”
Fang Erlan held his gaze and said, “Why didn’t you give up on me straight away…?”
“Because the greatest difference between you and her is that she’s proactive while you’re passive.”
“Do you know what the consequences would be if I don’t go home tonight?”
“I don’t want to know. He can’t possibly kill you, can he? I’ll be with you.”
“He won’t kill me, but he’ll take me to a place where I can never leave and come back again. He’ll take me somewhere no one else can find.” Her heart wrenched in fear at the thought of Mount Wanyan. She struggled out of his embrace and said, “Yan Ge, you don’t have to make me stay here tonight in order to prove that I fancy you. If I said that I fancy you, that means I do. I don’t want any irreversible harm to be brought upon you because of me. You might think that he’s just a powerful figure of authority, but that’s because you haven’t seen just how formidable he is. I can’t afford to provoke him, so let’s go back.”
“You can go back by yourself if you want to. I’m not leaving,” said an obstinate Yan Ge.
It took them more than two hours on the expressway to get here. If she were to walk back home, it would definitely take ages.
