Water and Fire~Chapter 136: You Say Don't Hold It Back

 

Chapter 136: You Say Don't Hold It Back

Chu Qianmiao answered Ren Yan's question fiercely, then glared at him fiercely.

Ren Yan looked at her, a hidden smile of comfort in the corners of his eyes and eyebrows, as if being confronted and scolded by her was a real pleasure.

Before Chu Qianmiao could rise to say goodbye, he bent down again, his upper body suddenly leaning closer to her.

"Teacher Chu," he called softly.

As Chu Qianmiao strained to stand, the soles of her feet felt numb.

His voice was low and deep, like pulling a silk thread, with a hint of gentle hoarseness. Those three ordinary words, yet they were so arousing.

If voices could be made into aphrodisiacs, Chu Qianmiao would recommend Ren Yan to work at a pharmaceutical company.

Before her ears started to burn, she jumped to her feet.

"Teacher Chu promised you."

She stood up, walked around him, and left the large desk first.

He straightened up from the edge of the desk and turned to look at her from behind. Her figure was swaying, her waist was graceful, her legs were long, her wavy hair swayed slightly behind her. Every step she took was a charming gesture. And the tips of her ears were gradually turning red.

The rising blush hit his chest, sending gentle ripples through his heart.

***

Chu Qianmiao chose her favorite Japanese restaurant. After entering a private room and taking a seat, she ordered a variety of dishes, sorting from high to low in price, like a friend.

Ren Yan let her order, remaining silent. When the waiter asked what he wanted, he said, "She's ordering everything twice as much."

The waiter left with a smile on her face.

Chu Qianmiao glared at Ren Yan and asked, "Why didn't you stop me? And you ordered the same dish I did for helping the evil?"

Ren Yan raised his lip at her, "One meal wouldn't break me." His tone and voice were calm, but his eyes were filled with the expression, "If you want to go to heaven, I'll go with you."

Chu Qianmiao suddenly felt a little bit of the fun of being naughty.

The dishes were all served, and as she ate her expensive delicacies, she asked Ren Yan, "Tell me, what do you want to ask me?"

Her question made Ren Yan's expression change. He even put down his chopsticks and straightened his back, displaying a very standard, textbook-like posture.

His serious expression reminded Chu Qianmiao of herself in first grade, listening attentively to her teacher's lectures, filled with solemnity.

Ren Yan looked at Chu Qianmiao without blinking, his tone filled with a sincere and humble inquiry.

"These past few days, I've been thinking about how I should pursue you."

Chu Qianmiao: "..."

So, he hasn't taken any action because he doesn't know how to pursue me??

"Lei Zhenzi said the method he used was giving gifts. But apparently," Ren Yan's brows flickered with a hint of annoyance, "that doesn't work for you. So," he looked at her, cautiously and seriously asking, "Can you give me some advice on how I should pursue you?"

Chu Qianmiao: "..."

She was once again convinced that she had met the most invincible, super-straight man in the universe.

He was actually asking the person he wanted to pursue: "How should I pursue you?"

Chu Qianmiao also put down her chopsticks and raised her hand to her forehead. She downed a small pot of sake in one gulp. According to her usual drinking capacity, this amount of alcohol wasn't a big deal. But she drank too quickly, and with an empty stomach, the alcohol suddenly took its toll.

A slight dizziness gripped her.

In the gentle swirl of dizziness, she propped her head up and thought for a moment, a doubt welling up in her heart. She looked up at Ren Yan: "Tell me first, on our first anniversary, you prepared a necklace, red wine, and a candlelight dinner. Was that your idea?"

His actions that day were so sophisticated. He warmed her heart to the point of numbness, and he devoured her body.

Ren Yan paused for a moment, then answered honestly: "Lei Zhenzi came up with it."

Chu Qianmiao sighed inwardly. She downed the second pot of sake in one gulp.

Case solved. Ren Yan was still the same Ren Yan who didn't know how to truly fall in love. His personality was so consistent throughout, and he hadn't given her the surprise of a genetic mutation.

After the second pot of wine, the dizziness intensified, and Chu Qianmiao's cheeks began to heat up. The rising temperature gradually heated her emotions.

She actually joined Ren Yan, proudly saying to him, "Wait, I'll think about how you're going to pursue me."

After thinking for a moment, she said, "Send flowers, eat delicious food, go to the movies, go to the park... Well, that's pretty much all I can think of right now."

Ren Yan carefully repeated these ideas and wrote them down.

Chu Qianmiao looked at him, a little dazed, thinking that perhaps now was the time to address the fundamental issues between them.

Following her heart, she called out, "Ren Yan, Teacher Chu wants to have a serious discussion with you." Chu Qianmiao looked at Ren Yan, her cheeks rosy from the alcohol. "First, do you know that you don't really know how to love someone?"

Ren Yan raised an eyebrow at the words. He felt a fresh thrill at the titles of "Ren Yan" and "Teacher Chu."

Chu Qianmiao, still slightly drunk, spoke to Ren Yan. Words that would have sounded sour when spoken sober now sounded just right when spoken with alcohol.

"Because of your family background and Tan Shen, you've endured and restrained yourself for years. You were forced not to love before, and gradually you became too lazy to love, and then you simply didn't know how to love anymore. You don't know how to communicate effectively, you keep everything bottled up inside, and just keep doing things!"

"Doing things is important, but talking is even more important, do you understand?" Chu Qianmiao looked at Ren Yan, her voice unconsciously rising.

"Sometimes we think we're doing things for each other's good, so we keep things to ourselves and don't communicate. Ultimately, it turns into mutual concealment, and even into deception that shouldn't exist! I tell you, I hate deception the most. Liars will never grow tall in their next life. Lies will dwarf them all!" She said, her face flushed, tapping the table.

Her tone was coquettish, her face flushed, and her eyes, watery from drinking, looked at everything with affection.

Ren Yan's heart pounded under her gaze.

He stared at her, watching her grow increasingly agitated, listening to her voice rise and fall as she spoke to him.

"So, when two people are together, they need to communicate. They can't hold it in, and they can't just do things silently!"

"Don't hold anything in, understand?" she said, insisting on seeing him nod and hearing him say he understood before continuing.

"We should argue when we need to, you know that too! Instead of keeping things to ourselves, why not just talk it out and have a fight? Arguing fosters a relationship, understand? A relationship without arguments is like instant noodles with only a sauce packet but no seasoning—it's tasteless!"

"And more!" Chu Qianmiao knocked on the table, catching Ren Yan's attention. Her eyes grew fierce. "Love can't be compromised by family ties or guilt. Love means you have to rush in, fight for it, and defend it. Do you understand?! Those who push their loved ones aside and give them up to others are fools!"

She took a breath, looked at him, her tone becoming more serious. She addressed him by name, speaking like a kind, concerned old lady. "Ren Yan, you can't let your grandmother's affections hold you captive any longer. You're not guilty, you're innocent. You don't owe Tan Shen anything, so why are you burdened with so much?"

Ren Yan's eyes burned at her, listening intently to her seemingly unrealistic words. But as they flooded his heart, they brought a surge of warmth.

Others demanded he do well. Only she wished him well.

He looked at her, his eyes and voice concealing a warmth and emotion. "I've taken note of everything you said. From now on, I will pursue you wholeheartedly and communicate with you."

His warmth persisted even as he walked her home, dropped her off at the car, and walked her to the entrance of her apartment building, where he couldn't help but pull the tipsy woman aside and kiss her passionately.

Even the summer nights were bright, with vibrant flowers blooming along the roadside. The evening breeze filled the night with fragrance.

Chu Qianmiao didn't know how she had been tricked into being caught in a surprise kiss by Ren Yan. He kissed her like a dream, all her senses focused on the tip of his tongue, roaming wildly in her mouth. She forgot to breathe in, then inhaled, forgetting to breathe out again. The world spun, the world spun, and the world spun again. It wasn't until she heard footsteps at the apartment door that she suddenly regained her composure and pushed him away.

The next moment, someone pushed open the apartment door and emerged. They turned and glanced at them, their eyes filled with judgment for the promiscuous couple who indulged in l*st regardless of the occasion.

After the man walked away, Chu Qianmiao's cheeks burned as she lashed out at Ren Yan: "Hey! What's wrong with you? Have you ever seen anyone chase a girl and kiss her straight away? Shouldn't they start gradually, holding hands and hugging waists?!"

Ren Yan looked at her, his voice slightly hoarse: "You told me not to put up with anything."

"???!" Chu Qianmiao's fury intensified, almost stamping her foot. "I wasn't talking about putting up with that! Don't put up with someone bullying you, don't put up with it. Don't put up with something you have on your mind!"

"Then I'll give you flowers tomorrow," Ren Yan said, changing the subject.

"Hey, you didn't need to tell me in advance, did you? No surprise!"

"You said you wanted to talk."

"Ahhh, go away! You're just trying to piss me off! Go away!"

Chu Qianmiao, with her rosy cheeks, pushed Ren Yan away, snorted at him harshly, then turned, opened the apartment door, and went upstairs.

Ren Yan stood outside the apartment door, listening to the footsteps inside fade to the elevator. He touched his lips with his hand and smiled.

The moon hung high in the sky, a blaze of stars. The night breeze carried the fragrance of flowers, and the air throughout the city became refreshing.

So, this city's summer nights are so beautiful. So, the human emotions are so sweet and moving.

So, being open and honest in love, without fear or concealment, is so blissful.

***

After overcoming Kan Qingzhou's resistance, Chu Qianmiao successfully registered the Hanhai Home Textiles acquisition of Zhaohuan Education project with Litong Securities.

Good things happened one after another, as if by telepathy. In addition to the successful project registration, Liu Lifeng finally passed his insurance agent exam.

After checking his results, Liu Lifeng ran into Chu Qianmiao's office to claim credit: "Hey, did I not embarrass you, my big brother, too much?"

Chu Qianmiao praised him: "After four years of studying, you finally passed. You're a true Olympic athlete!"

Liu Lifeng turned away, ignoring her. But he immediately turned his face away and said awkwardly to Chu Qianmiao, "Well, when you go to Hanhai, remember to tell Mr. Ren that I passed the exam!"

Chu Qianmiao smiled and agreed. She couldn't help but sigh once again at how much men admired Ren Yan.

Soon after, another project she had previously undertaken began. She had been worried that with Qin Qianyu moving to Project Department 2, the project would be short-staffed and lack a site manager once it launched.

But now that Liu Lifeng had passed the exam and was guaranteed a guarantee, Chu Qianmiao could confidently hand over the site management of the other project to him.

From then on, Chu Qianmiao focused her main attention on the Hanhai Home Textiles acquisition.

During this time, she heard from colleagues that the acquisition process at Henong Shares and Yingji Capital had not been halted by Kan Qingzhou's resignation. They had found other brokerage firms and were continuing the acquisition process.

This time, however, they were not only acquiring Xingfei Education but also Yisi Education.

Henong has swallowed up two of the top three educational institutions in the industry.

Chu Qianmiao wondered if Tan Shen, the man behind this acquisition, was using this to tell Ren Yan: Look, you take one, I'll take two, and this time I win.