Chapter
123.1: Unlocking the Secret 1
Chu Qianmiao debated whether to directly confirm with Ren
Yan what he had just said. Did he even remember? If he did, why did he say he
didn't? If he didn't, why did he say something like, "You always have a
way with naughty kids?"
Thoughts and questions swirled on the tip of her tongue,
ready to burst out.
She opened her mouth and called out, "Senior."
Ren Yan responded.
Before the next question swirling on her tongue could
escape, a cell phone rang abruptly.
In the confined space, the sound came so suddenly that it
deflected the words that had been rolling on Chu Qianmiao's tongue.
It was Ren Yan's phone.
He answered. After just two words, his face darkened. A
voice came from the receiver, and Chu Qianmiao vaguely caught a glimpse of it.
A female voice informed Ren Yan that his grandmother had
fainted from a seizure. She had called 120 and was on her way to the hospital.
After hanging up, Ren Yan parked the car on the side of the
road. Turning to look at Chu Qianmiao, his eyes, besides concern for his
grandmother, were filled with apology.
"Qianmiao, the nanny said my grandmother is sick and I
need to go to the hospital." After a pause, he said, "I can't take
you home. Can you take a taxi back?"
Chu Qianmiao knew his true apology wasn't that he couldn't
take her home and that she had to take a taxi; it was that he couldn't take her
to the hospital with him to see how seriously his grandmother was taking her.
Chu Qianmiao smiled faintly. "It's okay, senior."
She unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car.
Ren Yan didn't drive away immediately. He stared at her
through the lowered window, his eyes filled with words he couldn't say. The
apology, the conflict, the struggle in his eyes made Chu Qianmiao suddenly feel
a little reluctant to watch.
"Go quickly! Go see how your grandma is doing,"
she said, waving at Ren Yan.
Ren Yan gave her another long look and drove off.
Chu Qianmiao turned around and hailed a taxi home.
When she got home, Gu Miaoyu was there, chopping up meat for
Miaomiao. The fat Miaomiao was frantically circling at her feet, its meows
dripping with greed.
Under normal circumstances, seeing Miaomiao's utterly
gluttonous expression, Chu Qianmiao would have rushed over to tease him.
But today, as soon as she entered the house and glanced at
Miaomiao, she went straight to the sofa and collapsed into it.
Gu Miaoyu suspected something was wrong with Chu Qianmiao.
She quickly cut the meat and served it to Miaomiao, who dove
headfirst into the dish, devouring it with such gusto that she ignored all
else.
Gu Miaoyu washed her hands, walked over to the sofa, sat
down next to Chu Qianmiao, and asked, "Shuishui, what's wrong?"
Observing Chu Qianmiao's lifeless expression, she didn't
think anything had gone wrong with reporting Qiao Zhixin.
It must be something had gone wrong with Ren Yan.
She immediately glared, "Ren Yan bullied you."
Hearing Ren Yan's name, Chu Qianmiao stiffened.
After a moment's thought, she said, "It wasn't
bullying, it was just..."
How could she describe the feeling she'd had these past few
days?
She was so insensitive that she'd only just noticed the
problem between them. Perhaps she'd been so obsessed with independence these
past two years that she'd overlooked the fact that she hadn't been to his real
home, hadn't met his grandmother.
Perhaps she subconsciously felt that dating was a matter
between the two of them. Since they weren't in a rush to get married, why
should she care about his house or his family?
But when he knew everything about her—her house, her family,
her every life—while she knew nothing about him, this information asymmetry
began to make her feel uncomfortable.
It turns out that being in a relationship isn't completely
independent. Emotions bind people together, and when there's an imbalance in
balance, it becomes deeply concerning.
She had been his girlfriend for over a year, and they had
thoroughly and thoroughly practiced every intimate activity a couple, even a
married couple, could engage in.
He knew everything about her: her work, her family, her
friends, and everything in between. But she knew nothing about his family or
his past. How did he become the person he is today, apathetic, aloof, and
ascetic? What happened in his past that engendered such a deep-seated
negativity towards marriage and human nature? Did he hurt someone, or did
someone else hurt him?
Yes, everyone has the right to keep their secrets. But that
assumes you keep them to yourself and live your life well. Keeping a secret to
yourself is fine if it doesn't hurt others. But if someone harbors secrets and
approaches another person, who is completely open with them, then those secrets
become unfair to the other person.
If they were close, truly intimate, he should have shared
these secrets with her, rather than keeping them to himself, which would only
drive a wedge between them.
But he never mentioned anything about his family. He never
even asked her to see his real home.
When they were together in private, when he felt the need to
possess her, they would stay in his empty apartment.
She had once vaguely felt that there was something wrong
with her spending every night with Ren Yan in the apartment. But she couldn't
quite pinpoint what it was. She only felt that their interactions were a little
too s*xual.
But now, looking back, she finally understood what was
wrong. He wouldn't take her home, wouldn't see his family, and would only stay
with her in the apartment, making love all day and night. She didn't deny that
he was kind to her, but that couldn't stop her from making a nasty analogy: he
had turned the apartment into a place for s*x, and she was the object of his
desires, like a hidden lover or a tool for his s*xual gratification.
She knew she shouldn't think that way. But there was always
another, terrifying voice in her head telling her that it was right.
She leaned back on the sofa, legs bent, her hands wrapped
around her legs, her chin resting on her knees. She muttered these things,
these negative emotions scattered through her disconnected thoughts, to Gu
Miaoyu. She spoke whatever came to her mind.
Gu Miaoyu listened, raising her hand to soothe her from the
top of her head to her back.
"His little secrets have enveloped the real him. These
past few days, I sometimes don't know what he's thinking. Sometimes I feel like
he's obsessed with me and that he loves me. But sometimes I feel like he's full
of secrets, like they're keeping me at bay. When you think about it, we didn't
talk that much during the time we were together. We were either kissing or
having s*x. Little Daogu, do you think this is normal?"
"Really? Now that I think about it, whenever we met, it
was either kissing or having s*x only in the apartment. No going home, no
seeing his family, no daily necessities."
Although she knew Ren Yan was good to her, and because of
this, she had been able to focus most of her attention on work and ignore these
issues. But once she faced them head-on, they seemed to be more about
satisfying physical needs than connecting with the heart. Isn't that a cause
for concern? Chu Qianmiao turned to Gu Miaoyu and asked, "Gu, am I
overthinking this?"
Gu Miaoyu replied, "What girl doesn't think too much
about love? You've been overthinking it."
She patted Chu Qianmiao's back and said, "But what you
said about Ren Yan not bringing you to meet his family is a bit hard to
believe. Shuishui, let me tell you, without your family's blessing, you won't
be happy together." For example, between her and Shao Yuan, there was Shao
Yuan's mother, Dong Lan. If they had forced themselves to be together despite
Dong Lan, the result would likely have been even more unhappiness than if they
were separated now.
After a pause, Gu Miaoyu sighed, "But you're really
quite careless. It's been over a year, and you've only just discovered this.
Are you completely indifferent to meeting your boyfriend's parents?" At
this point, she casually remarked, "Then when you were dating Tan Shen,
you certainly didn't meet his parents either."
Chu Qianmiao tilted her head, resting her face on her knees,
and looked at Gu Miaoyu. "You're wrong this time. I actually did meet Tan
Shen's family."
Gu Miaoyu rolled her eyes and said, "Ah!" "I
want to hear it."
Chu Qianmiao reminisced and said, "Well, not only did
we meet, we even had dinner together. Tan Shen said an elder was inviting him
to dinner, and he wanted me to go. I initially said no, but he started making a
scene, and I couldn't stand it, so I went along. During the meal, his elder
seemed quite fond of me, holding my hand the whole time while we talked. Then,
she kindly pleaded with me to help take care of Tan Shen, saying it wasn't easy
for him to grow up happily, and that I should be more tolerant of his
occasional temper tantrums. Although she was kind, I couldn't help but complain
internally. I wondered if she was looking for a mother or a girlfriend for Tan
Shen."
Gu Miaoyu sighed a little after hearing this.
"As for you and Tan Shen, his family really likes you,
but you and Tan Shen aren't a good match. As for you and Ren Yan, you and Ren
Yan like each other, but his family doesn't seem to like you." She sighed.
"Oh, you said we could have a smooth relationship, but why is it so hard?
There's always family members trying to get in the way."
She patted Chu Qianmiao's head. "So, what are you going
to do now?"
Chu Qianmiao rested her head on her knees, blinking.
After a while, she said, "Ren Yan's grandmother is sick
and in the hospital. I want to wait until she's better before we have a good
talk. I hope we can be honest with each other then."
The next day, Ren Yan didn't go to work; he had asked for
leave from the company. Chu Qianmiao then realized that his grandmother's
illness was still not well.
Before leaving get off work that day, Chu Qianmiao
unexpectedly received a call from Tan Shen.
In a voice that was subdued, excited, and a bit mellow, he
told her, "Qian Miao, I'm back."
Chu Qian Miao was stunned, unable to grasp his meaning.
Tan Shen then said, "Qian Miao, could you come down and
sit for a while? Ten minutes is enough. I'm in the cafe on the first floor of
your building."
Chu Qian Miao wanted to say she was busy with work, but Tan
Shen had already hung up.
She thought, forget it. Since that's the case, let's just
talk in person.
She went downstairs and reached the cafe on the first floor.
Tan Shen sat in a booth near the door. Watching her
approach, his eyes fixed on her, filled with surprise and amazement.
In his eyes, the woman walking towards him was no longer the
young woman with a youthful air from two years ago. Now, she was a beautiful
and imposing woman. The charm of a mature woman blossomed in her, and her
youthful charm had not completely disappeared. Beyond that, she possessed a
decisive and confident leadership. Her figure was swathed in a white,
high-waisted, one-step dress, adorning her graceful form. Her long, wavy hair
and fiery red lips exuded a breathtaking sensuality and allure.
Tan Shen stared intently at Chu Qianmiao as she approached
him, speechless. He felt as if she possessed a more subtle charm, invisible to
the naked eye. He couldn't find the words to describe it.
Chu Qianmiao sat down across from him, addressed him by name
with a graceful air.
"When did you get back?" she asked, smiling.
Tan Shen regained his composure, staring at her with blazing
eyes. He replied, "I rushed back to your place overnight and arrived in
Beijing this morning."
He suddenly leaned forward, his fiery gaze blazing across
Chu Qianmiao's face. He said, "Qianmiao, I'm not leaving now that I'm
back. I've expanded overseas markets, and the company has promoted me to Vice
President." After a pause, he added, "I'm even more powerful than Ren
Yan now."
Chu Qianmiao didn't know how to address the slight
awkwardness in her response, so she waved for a waiter, ordered a latte for
herself, and asked Tan Shen what he wanted.
Tan Shen said, "Just like you."
After ordering drinks, Chu Qianmiao asked Tan Shen,
"Shen, you asked me to come down. Is there something?"
Tan Shen's brows furrowed. "Do I have to have something
to ask to see you? We haven't seen each other in so long. I finally got back
from abroad. Can't you just say hello?"
Chu Qianmiao apologized and immediately congratulated him,
"Congratulations on your return and your promotion."
She didn't dare say more. It seemed like it would be
troublesome no matter how much she said. Excessive talk would make him think
too much. But since someone had just returned, it was unnatural to say nothing.
Tan Shen smiled brightly again after hearing these two
congratulations, and he didn't bother with her previous behavior.
He smiled at her, his eyes burning with fascination. His
voice husky, he said, "Qian Miao, you're so beautiful! You've become a
completely different person. I really miss you, I'm going crazy."
That gaze was so intense that it reminded Chu Qian Miao of
his secretary abroad. Behind that scorching, obsessed look, she wondered how
he'd treated that girl. Was it the same way he'd treated He Luoyu back then? (He
Luoyu, see chapter 78, 80)
She suppressed her discomfort and said to Tan Shen,
"I'm sorry, Shen, please don't do this."
Tan Shen's gaze, the burning, obsessed look within it,
remained undimmed. He looked at Chu Qian Miao and asked, "Why can't I do
this? What's wrong with me? I don't think you can do this either."
Chu Qian Miao sighed. Since that was the case, she'd just
come clean.
"I heard you had a very close secretary when you were
abroad. Now that you're back, I wonder how you've arranged for her." She
spoke calmly, hoping Tan Shen wouldn't interpret the situation in a different
way.
But she didn't get what she wanted. Tan Shen ultimately gave
off the kind of understanding he desired. "Are you jealous?" Tan Shen
asked, even seeming a little amused. He smiled and said, "You're jealous,
aren't you?"
Chu Qianmiao felt increasingly powerless in the face of the
man before her. She didn't know when it started, but she realized he had his
own unique understanding of the world and the words of others.
For a moment, she thought he had become like this later, but
then she recalled something Ren Yan had casually said: perhaps the Tan Shen you
knew before wasn't the real Tan Shen, and perhaps the real him was just like
this.
She gradually began to think that perhaps Ren Yan was right,
and that she herself might not understand Tan Shen.
She suddenly found herself a little amused. She had only
been in two relationships in her life.
Yet, she surprisingly didn't know much about either of her
romantic partners.
She gathered herself, straightened her expression, and said
to Tan Shen, "I'm not jealous. I asked about that girl simply to tell you
that if you were to use her as a metaphor for your previous arguments with me,
it would have been very unfair to her. Now you've run back to another woman,
praising her beauty and saying you missed her. What about the girl you flirted
with? Will you leave her alone abroad, forever heartbroken?" After a
pause, she said, "Like He Luoyu, who's still so upset even now. Don't you think
you're committing a sin?"
Tan Shen's face darkened. "In my heart, your happiness
is most important, even more important than my own."
At that moment, Chu Qianmiao wanted to throw coffee in Tan
Shen's face.
"Tan Shen, the way you're thinking now, I really want
to slap you."
She looked away, taking a breath, calming her emotions.
Otherwise, she was afraid she'd stand up and throw the coffee or slap him.
After calming down for a moment, she turned back and patiently told Tan Shen,
"Tan Shen, every girl's sincerity is equally precious. No one's happiness
is greater than another's. Wait until you figure this out before you learn how
to truly fall in love."
With this, she stood up and left.
Tan Shen watched her back until she entered the elevator.
His hands, resting on the table, clenched into fists.
Suddenly, someone across from him blocked his view.
He looked closely. It was Li Tang.
She looked at him, surprise in her eyes. She smiled and
asked, "When did you get back?"
"This morning," he said.
Li Tang raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you free
tonight? I'll treat you to dinner."
Tan Shen looked at her and replied, "Not tonight. I
have something going on at home."
Chu Qianmiao didn't speak to Ren Yan on the phone that
night. They only texted. Ren Yan told her that his grandmother's condition was
a bit unstable.
Furthermore, Grandma's illness was caused by him, so his
main focus lately is probably on caring for her.
Chu Qianmiao fully understood. After all, everything should
wait until the old lady's condition improves.
For some reason, her eyelids kept twitching that night.
Before going to bed, she received a call from Wang Jun. Wang Jun asked,
"Qianmiao, have you submitted all the materials for the report?"
Chu Qianmiao replied that she had, having submitted them a
few days ago.
Wang Jun said, "Qiao Zhixin, through his connections,
should know that you reported him, and he's been trying to get out of this. I'm
worried he might cause trouble for you, so I'm giving you a heads up. But don't
worry too much. I asked the friend who helped me with the matter, and he said
Qiao Zhixin's efforts were limited to this point, and he's not far from going
in for tea."
Chu Qianmiao thanked Wang Jun and his friend.
Even after hanging up the phone, her eyelids continued to
twitch. That night, her eyelids fluttered from wakefulness to dreams, making
her sleep utterly miserable. The next day, she pulled herself together and went
to work. Just as she sat down in the office, preparing to discuss the
application materials for a meeting, her phone rang.
It was an unfamiliar number.
Chu Qianmiao pondered, then pressed the record button as she
answered the call.
The caller was both surprising and unsurprising.
It was Qiao Zhixin.
He called her a bitch the moment he spoke.
"Bitch, you're f*cking me!"
Chu Qianmiao remained calm. "If you haven't done
anything wrong, no one can f*ck you. This is what you deserve, scumbag."
Qiao Zhixin's calmness ignited even more rage. "Bitch,
I'm telling you, you want to f*ck me? You can't f*ck me! I'm telling you!"
Chu Qianmiao deliberately asked, "Do you mean,
someone's got your back?"
She coaxed him into continuing.
"I'm telling you straight up today. I have connections
up there. Otherwise, I wouldn't have figured out you were the one trying to
harass me so quickly."
Chu Qianmiao asked, "So, what was your purpose in
calling me today?"
Qiao Zhixin said, "Just go and withdraw the materials
now and say it's nothing, it's all a misunderstanding."
Chu Qianmiao chuckled, "Qiao Zhixin, are you out of
your mind, or are you desperate and desperate? Otherwise, why would you make
such a stupid request of me?"
Qiao Zhixin's voice was sinister and harsh, "Believe it
or not, if you keep harassing me, I'll destroy you."
Chu Qianmiao said, "I believe it, of course I do."
She gave a specific date: the day Qiao Zhixin had s*xually assaulted her.
"That night, you almost destroyed me, didn't you?"
She suppressed her nausea and recounted the events of that
night, then said, "Look, you almost raped me last time. How could I not
believe you? Of course I do. You're a scumbag capable of anything."
She spoke deliberately. Then she added some words to
irritate Qiao Zhixin, disrupting his emotions and rationality.
When Qiao Zhixin spoke again, he cursed angrily, "You
bitch! I let you get away last time, and you're still not doing your job. If
you keep messing with me, I'll f*ck you to death this time." As if that
wasn't enough, he added viciously, "After I'm done, find ten or eight more
men to rape you to death."
The obscenities were so intense that Chu Qianmiao felt a
headache.
Enough, that's enough. The air would become filthy if she
listened any more.
She said to Qiao Zhixin, "Thank you, Qiao Zhixin.
Originally, I no longer have any evidence that you attempted to s*xually
assault me that day, but I'm grateful that you just admitted it yourself. By
the way, I recorded this call, and I'll add it to my report later, along with a
charge of intimidation and s*xual harassment."
She ended the call amid Qiao Zhixin's rant.
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