Chapter 25

He had great strength but didn’t know how to control it. His flick made her forehead ache, reminding her of childhood memories. She obediently stepped back, but as soon as she turned around, she began rubbing her head, muttering to herself that although this man was well-mannered, he had no gentlemanly manners. He was very skilled in food and could tell if a new grilled beef steak came from Germany or Australia with just one bite, but unless in the most formal settings, he only used a fork for Western meals, while the knife was just for decoration. In terms of social etiquette, he was perfect, but when it came to scolding subordinates, even towering Norwegian men, he could make them cry. Sometimes, he’d even say things like, “Don’t talk to me about your damn ideals,” which showed a lack of taste. When faced with cute things, he had no appreciation. Last time, he mixed up her Hello Kitty handkerchief with a grey thick rag and used it to clean the car windows... No matter how you looked at it, his rough personality didn’t match his elegant appearance. She rubbed her head, suddenly feeling encouraged, and gave him a small smile. “If Xiao Ying thinks it’s good, it must be really great. I should thank you properly.”

“I’m curious, what’s the difference between ‘thank you’ and ‘thank you properly’?”

She blinked. “A thank you means I’ll treat you to afternoon tea. ‘Thank you properly’ means I’ll take you to dinner. Mr. He probably wouldn’t downgrade from VIP to regular VIP, right?”

“Generally, doesn’t a senior VIP already have the privileges of a regular VIP?” He Yingze skillfully hung another bait on the hook, his lips curling into a smile. “Your customer service system needs some adjustments.”

“Alright, alright, poor service is my fault. How about I treat you to food for a whole day? From morning until night.”

He cast the bait into the center of the sea, his smile widening. “I’ll think about it.”

She initially thought he said that out of arrogance, but after that, he never brought up the matter again. The conversation at first made her think he would go eat with her, but as time went on, her mood became more and more dejected. She really didn’t understand He Yingze. He had helped her so much and shown her special care in many details, but when she only wanted to treat him to a meal, he completely ignored it. Could it be that he was too busy and forgot?

On Sunday, she went strawberry picking with Su Jiannian, Xiao Lajiao, and a few friends. While they were picking strawberries, she quietly sat on a stone and sketched the necklace. Just as she got into the flow, a large clean strawberry appeared in her line of sight. Initially interrupted, she felt a bit impatient, but when she saw those beautiful hands, she immediately came back to her senses and looked up at the person standing beside her. Su Jiannian was holding a basket of strawberries, standing with the light behind him, smiling, almost like the boy from a fairy tale. He offered some strawberries towards her mouth. She shyly ate one. He sat beside her and looked at her drawing. “Is this the design you’re preparing for the competition?”

She erased the extra lines with an eraser. “Suddenly had an inspiration.”

“Oh? Where did the inspiration come from?”

She couldn’t answer immediately.

“Luo Wei.” His voice suddenly became very close to her ear. By the time she realized he was leaning in, he had already kissed her on the cheek. The paintbrush in her hand fell to the ground. She pressed her hand against her cheek, turning her head, flustered, unsure how to react. The sunlight bathed the dark green trees, turning the bright red strawberries crimson, the fruity fragrance lingering in the air, and the cuckoo bird tirelessly singing. Amidst this vibrant greenery and blossoms, his dark, glossy eyes were the most beautiful scenery. Several of his fingers slid between hers, gently holding her hand. His approach was slow and non-aggressive, making her unsure how to avoid it. She could only stiffly allow him to hold her hand and awkwardly look elsewhere. But soon, his hand loosened.

“You still have feelings for someone.” He stood up, his hair slightly curled, covering one of his eyes, then smiled faintly, “It’s okay, don’t think too much about it, I’m patient.”

She felt like banging her head against her knees—was she really so useless? Without even saying a word of refusal, he had assumed she still had feelings for someone else? Thankfully, Su Jianian didn’t seem upset. That evening, he accompanied her to an old classmate’s wedding. Seeing a chubby little girl from primary school turn into a beautiful, slender bride moved her deeply. She liked attending weddings because witnessing the happiness of people around her gave her confidence in her own future happiness.

At the wedding, her favorite part was always the bouquet toss. It probably stemmed from an event that happened when she was little. That year, a young couple in their neighborhood got married, and many of their good neighbors, including her parents and Uncle Lin, were invited. They took her and Xiao Ying to the wedding. During the ceremony, she asked her mother why the bride was tossing the bouquet. Her mother said that whoever caught it would be the next bride. After hearing this, she jumped out of her mother’s arms with wide eyes, ran to the bride’s feet, and stood with the other unmarried women, waiting to catch the bouquet. All the guests were amused by the four-year-old girl. Xiao Ying, however, embarrassed, ran over to pull her away, but she refused to get down, holding hands with him, saying, “Xiao Ying, I want to be a bride, I’m not going down. You help me catch the bouquet, and when I get it, I’ll give you one, okay?”

She still remembered that event, though she couldn’t recall Xiao Ying’s reaction. Looking back now, considering his personality, he must have been disdainful. Since then, she never missed the bouquet toss at any wedding.

That day, when the host called for all unmarried women to come forward, she rushed up, smiling with all her little schemes, looking like an eager primary school student. The luckiest part was that, among many unmarried women, the bouquet fell right into her hands. She was so thrilled that she had Su Jianian record a video for her and took many photos with the bride, posting them all to her WeChat Moments, with the silly caption: “Wish me luck!” She even received a bunch of comments like “Pre-congratulations on your future wedding!” Of course, none of them were from He Yingze. He didn’t post on Moments, didn’t like posts, and his presence on WeChat was minimal if he wasn’t speaking.

During this period, she had kept He Yingze as her top priority. Whenever he contacted her, she would drop whatever she was doing and rush to him, even if it meant skipping a date with Su Jianian. Each time she did this, she would convince herself it was because of work. But deep down, she knew it wasn’t the reason.

She just wanted to see He Yingze.

If she couldn’t see him, she would even zone out while looking at “Xiao Ying” on her phone, repeatedly scrolling through their fleeting chat history. Eventually, she decided she couldn’t let herself continue like this, so she edited a message and sent it to him: “Xiao Ying, when are you free? I’ll treat you to a meal.”

The result was another round of emotional torment, from nervousness to disappointment. He didn’t reply.

Five days later, He Yingze called her. She didn’t have the courage to talk to him, so she let it ring until it was hung up, then sent him a message: “I’m busy, you can message me.” This message, following the previous one that tried to sound cheerful, made the earlier one seem like a silly clown.

He ignored the message and called again. She hung up again. This time, he didn’t insist. She let out a long sigh of relief, but then she received another message from an unfamiliar number: “Miss Luo, Mr. He requests that you report to Zhenji Wangcheng, 45th floor, at 4 p.m. today.”

She didn’t reply, closed her eyes, and deleted the message, boldly standing him up. She arrived at her appointment with Su Jianian on time, enjoying a rare and relaxing evening. Su Jianian drove her home, watching her go upstairs. Seeing his smile, she knew her choice that evening had been the right one, although she might soon face a big problem...

After getting home, she lay on her bed for ten minutes. Just as she was about to fall asleep, the phone landline suddenly rang. At this hour, the only people who would call were either her parents or Su Jianian. She opened her eyes tiredly and answered the phone, joking, “Hello, guess who I am?”

“Are you dating Su Jianian?”

Hearing that voice, she was so startled that she instantly lost all sleepiness and jumped out of bed like a spring. She held the receiver with both hands, wondering how he could have found out about her whereabouts, forcing down her anxiety, “Oh, it’s Mr. He. What’s the matter?”

“Answer me.”

She paused, irritated by his commanding tone, but still calmly replied, “He likes me, and I’m still thinking about it.”

“From now on, you are not to go out alone with him.”

“Why not?” Her anger was nearly at its boiling point.

“Luo Wei, remember your position. If you follow me, you must do as I say.”

These words completely enraged her. Thinking about his previous ambiguous behavior and later indifferent attitude, she was both angry and scared, raising her voice: “Even if I’m Edward’s subordinate, you have no right to interfere with my private life... Who do you think you are? Fire me? I won’t be scared of you!”

She slammed the receiver down on the landline. At first, two feelings overwhelmed her: one was “That felt great,” and the other was “I’m doomed.” But soon, only sadness remained, as if her body had been drained of energy. Because, he didn’t call again.

Psychologists say that 80% of wrong decisions are made impulsively. That night, she had a faint premonition that something was wrong, but she quickly fell into a nightmare without thinking much. The next day, the ominous feeling lingered. To stop herself from overthinking, she immediately agreed when Su Jianiang asked her to go out with him that evening. From the moment she woke up, she ignored all calls from unfamiliar numbers. When Edward called and said that He Yingze specifically wanted her to accompany him to an event, she made up an excuse about women’s health and canceled. This was the first time she had gone against He Yingze’s wishes, and it felt like the thrill of sneaking out without the master knowing, ignoring the warnings of fellow disciples.

As night approached, Su Jianiang came to pick her up, taking her to a private party hosted by the piano brand he represented and their partners. He would perform live that night, so he was dressed in a black single-breasted evening gown, with a pure white classical shirt underneath. To match him, she wore a black cocktail dress designed by Mélanie Green, and they arrived together at the party venue. As soon as they entered the hall, a few girls walked toward them. They were all dressed elegantly, exuding an artistic air. Before Su Jianiang could greet them, the leading girl with a gentle smile said to her, “Senior, is this your new girlfriend? I don’t think I’ve seen her before.”

Su Jianiang glanced at her and replied politely, “Not yet.”

“Not yet?” The girls all started teasing, and the leading one winked and said, “Seems like this girl is really liked by our idol. My name is Xi Yan, what’s yours?”

She shook hands with Xi Yan and introduced herself, “I’m Luo Wei.”

“How did you two meet?”

“We grew up together.”

“Childhood sweethearts, how romantic. Come, tell me your story...” Xi Yan hooked her arm, waving at Su Jianiang, “I like Luo Wei! Do you mind if I borrow her for a bit?”

Luo Wei gave him a reassuring smile and walked upstairs with Xi Yan. It turned out that these girls were all Su Jianiang’s juniors from the Austrian Conservatory of Music. Xi Yan was the daughter of the piano company he represented, and they had a deep camaraderie. Artistic girls were different—graceful and elegant, their conversation intellectual, a stark contrast to the irrational, wild fan club Su Jianiang had when he was studying. They chatted happily and quickly reached the party hall, where there was a bustling crowd, glasses of champagne and wine passed around, and waiters moving back and forth. The pastry chefs, wearing white chef hats, stood behind large marble counters, serving drinks and food to guests.

However, as soon as she stepped into the hall and saw familiar faces among the crowd, her mind started racing—why was Edward here? Could this be the event he mentioned earlier?

Then she remembered. Edward and Su Jianiang knew each other because Edward was decorating the piano that Su Jianiang represented. So if Edward was here... Her gaze quickly darted, easily catching sight of a tall man’s profile, with Chang Feng and Lu Xiren by his side.

Damn it, the ominous feeling from earlier was real. That was He Yingze.

Author’s Note:

Little Pepper: “Many readers who have received the book said they particularly liked Young Master Xie, saying they also want a brother like him.”

Xie Xinqi: “Haha, if all the brothers in the world were like mine, I wouldn’t even need to let anyone win. Just look at my brother—his mannerisms are so graceful, his smile so charming, and the way he holds a wine glass is like a prince. This man who exudes fragrance also hides his sister away from danger, making him a human-shaped shield, right? Brother power max, okay?”

Luo Wei: “This isn’t brother power, it’s boyfriend power... = =“

Little Pepper: “Of course, many readers also really like our first male lead, Xiao Ying. His patience and suffering make people feel sorry for him.”

Luo Wei: “Patience? Look at this chapter’s self-destructive pace, just wait for his popularity to drop, He!”

He Yingze: “Heh.”