Water and Fire~Chapter 143: We Didn't Do It

 

Chapter 143: We Didn't Do It

Chu Qianmiao took two sets of deep breaths.

She patiently explained to her grandmother once again that she was no longer Tan Shen's girlfriend, but now Ren Yan's. Her grandmother repeated the "Oh, that won't work" pattern.

Then, when Chu Qianmiao tried to convince her further, she reset the process like a computer, resetting it to zero.

If it weren't for the clear cloudiness in her grandmother's eyes and the unmistakable confusion in her expression, Chu Qianmiao would have seriously suspected she was doing it on purpose.

The third time they repeated the same old story, Chu Qianmiao thought, since this conversational style kept causing her grandmother to lose focus, perhaps she should try a different approach.

She looked at her grandmother's wrinkled face and the grim expression as she spoke, feeling that beneath her age she actually saw an old child whose memory was fading and whose heart was growing uncertain.

She thought perhaps she should treat her grandmother like a child.

Chu Qianmiao smiled and said to her grandmother, "Grandma, let's talk about something else. What do you like to do?"

She replied, "Listening to storytelling."

Chu Qianmiao's heart was immediately tickled. Her father had no other hobby but to carry a small semiconductor wherever he went, listening to storytelling. Chu Qianmiao had been following him around since she was a child, riding on several carts of storytelling.

She glanced at Ren Yan with amusement, then turned back to discuss storytelling with her grandmother. Grandma said her favorite stories were about heroes in troubled times. Chu Qianmiao clapped her hands. "It was about Zhang Zuolin; she had just heard one before."

She studied her grandmother, her wrinkles revealing her youth. Judging by her preferences, she must have been a dashing woman in her youth.

That made things much easier.

Chu Qianmiao guided her grandmother through a storytelling session. The elderly woman was usually accompanied by her nanny, whose limited education meant she couldn't talk much with her grandmother. Her grandson was a stone cold; a few words could kill a conversation, leaving it hopelessly undone. While Tan Sen was a talkative person, he'd probably been so busy fighting his cousin for the past year or two that he hadn't had much time to spend with the elderly woman.

Now that she had found someone to chat with, her grandmother immediately forgot about questioning her identity and enthusiastically told Chu Qianmiao about the heroes of troubled times. Chu Qianmiao listened and flattered her.

"Grandma, your storytelling was brilliant. Your expression of anger was so well-placed. It's even better than Shan Tianfang's original version."

"Grandma, I have to praise you. Others listen to storytelling for the excitement, but you listen to it for the knowledge. You not only listen, but you also offer your own analysis, and your analysis is truly unique. Grandma, you're amazing."

"Grandma, wait a minute. I'll go get a pen and paper. I need to write down what you just said. You just said a golden line, don't you know?"

She actually stood up and went to find paper and paper, writing diligently, not even perfunctorily.

Ren Yan watched Chu Qianmiao from the side, his lips curling upwards the more he watched.

It was a feeling he hadn't felt in a long time.

Ever since she became CEO Chu, she'd gradually risen to the top of the investment banking pyramid. The number of people she could curry favor with was dwindling, and he hadn't appreciated her flattery skills in a long time. Now she had the opportunity to use this skill again, and not only had her power not declined, it had become even more refined.

He wondered what good fortune had struck him, to have such a precious gift.

Whenever her grandmother got stuck in her story, Chu Qianmiao would subtly help her follow up. This allowed her to continue her story with great enthusiasm. Chu Qianmiao would occasionally exchange ideas with her, and their views always converged, much to her delight.

The lecture unknowingly reached almost noon, and her grandmother took Chu Qianmiao's hand and said, "Child, stay here for lunch. I'll have the nanny make you whatever you want."

Ren Yan turned to look at Chu Qianmiao, his eyes filled with surprise.

The old lady had never offered to invite anyone to her home for dinner.

Chu Qianmiao smiled and agreed. Grandma called the nanny in. She wanted to ask Chu Qianmiao what she liked, but didn't know how to address her, so she asked the old lady, "This one."

The old lady simply replied, "This is my storytelling friend."

Ren Yan glanced at Chu Qianmiao again.

Chu Qianmiao winked at him and confidently told the nanny the name of a home-cooked dish. Then, she quickly whispered, "You were looking at me like that. Did you have something to say?"

Grandma was telling the nanny to cook the rice softer, otherwise she wouldn't be able to chew it.

Ren Yan whispered back, "I think you're going to become a spirit."

She wasn't about to become a spirit. Over the course of the morning, she had seamlessly eroded Grandma's impression of her, which she repeatedly relegated to "Xiao Shen's girlfriend," with the image of a storytelling friend.

He nodded his chin at Grandma, who was talking to the babysitter, and asked Chu Qianmiao, “How did you manage to have lunch with grandma?”

Chu Qianmiao raised an eyebrow at Ren Yan and whispered, "You were watching, weren't you? Old people, the older they get, the more they act like children. You said I have a way with children."

Old children, like children, appreciate praise, a sense of presence, and the attention and companionship of others. Chu Qianmiao happened to excel in all of these.

Over the course of lunch, Chu Qianmiao had Grandma in high spirits. Ren Yan stared wide-eyed throughout the meal, gazing at how a girl could so easily soothe an elderly woman with a single word.

Grandma should have taken a nap after lunch, but it was rare for someone to chat with her so happily. She even broke her nap habit and took Chu Qianmiao's hand, asking her to sit down and chat with her some more.

Chu Qianmiao felt it was about time.

She said to Grandma, "Grandma, please get on the bed and lean back. You've been talking all morning, so rest your voice. Now I'll tell you a story. Please listen to how I go. When I'm done, you can just lie down and take a nap, okay?"

Grandma listened to her coaxing and got on the bed, leaning back against the headboard, ready to listen.

Ren Yan moved two round wooden stools to the bed, and he and Chu Qianmiao sat on one each.

Chu Qianmiao said to Grandma, "Grandma, I'm going to start."

Grandma looked eager to hear.

Chu Qianmiao began, "Grandma, let me tell you my own story. When I was in college, I had a crush on a senior. I was a freshman and my senior was a third-year graduate student. Why did I like him? At first, it was superficial: he was handsome, handsome and aloof. Little girls like cocky guys. Then I saw his abs, wow, they were absolutely stunning, and I liked him even more. Oh, and the time I saw his abs was because he was helping me fight. A group of gangsters were trying to get my senior, and I challenged them. I'm a good talker, and I gave them a lot of flak."

After that, the gang members actually held a grudge against me. They even came to school again, secretly hoping to stop me and teach me a lesson. Unfortunately, they ran into that senior student while looking for me. He broke a wooden stick in front of them and told them not to bother me again. They were immediately intimidated and turned away. That day, by sheer coincidence, I witnessed the senior student's covert intervention on my behalf.

That was when I truly fell in love with him.

Chu Qianmiao paused. Grandma was listening with rapt interest. Chu Qianmiao turned to look at Ren Yan and smiled.

There was surprise in Ren Yan's eyes.

Chu Qianmiao smiled at him, thinking, he must not know that she, too, had some sweet little secrets.

She turned back and continued, "Grandma, I think you and I are definitely the same type of people—outspoken and forthright. We can't hide anything; we have to speak it out."

Otherwise, you wouldn't have told Ren Yan so bluntly over and over again, "Don't compete with your brother for his girlfriend."

Grandma nodded, indicating her complete agreement.

Chu Qianmiao said, "So, I mustered up the courage and wrote a love letter to Senior."

Chu Qianmiao felt Ren Yan stir beside her. That movement unconsciously shifted the surprise and astonishment in his eyes to his body.

Chu Qianmiao asked Grandma, "Grandma, what do you think happened?"

Grandma, looking forward to a happy ending, replied, "You liked your senior, and he was secretly protecting you. So, after seeing your love letter, you two must have gotten together."

Chu Qianmiao smiled and shook her head. "You're wrong."

Grandma sighed. Chu Qianmiao smiled and continued, "I told my senior in my love letter that I liked him. I knew he was planning to go abroad, and I wanted to get his response before he left. Unfortunately, the reply I received was a single-line rejection: 'Please don't play such pranks again.'"

Grandma sighed again, a little heartbroken that her little book friend had been so cruelly rejected.

Chu Qianmiao could feel Ren Yan's gaze piercing her profile. She knew he was filled with doubts. She didn't turn to look at him. She would continue speaking, clearing his mind.

She looked at her grandmother and said, "Years later, through various clues and facts, I realized that Senior hadn't seen the love letter. Grandma, can you guess why?"

Grandma said, "You put it in the wrong place."

Chu Qianmiao smiled and shook her head. "No, I specifically found his study room, the lecture hall where we first met. While he was out to the bathroom, I slipped over to his desk and tucked the envelope between his books. I wrote him a reply on the back of the envelope and put it in the desk drawer. Then I disappeared."

"And why didn't Senior receive the letter? Because there was another boy in the lecture hall at the time, sitting in the corner, unnoticed. Let's call him T. Afterward, we concluded that after I left, T walked over to Senior's desk, took the letter, and wrote the reply in his handwriting. After Senior left, he put the letter back in the desk drawer where he had sat."

The more Grandma listened, the clearer her thoughts seemed to become. Her eyes gradually brightened. She asked Chu Qianmiao, "But that boy? Why would he imitate your senior's handwriting? And why did he do that?"

Chu Qianmiao smiled, a hint of sadness in her smile. "Actually, that boy is senior's cousin. His father is very kind to him. He feels that my senior is stealing his father's love, so he does everything he can to take away everything my senior has or will have. Especially when he finds someone or something my senior particularly likes, he will do whatever it takes to get it. And my senior, because of the mentality instilled in him by his family elders, feels that he owes his younger brother something. So, he gives in to the boy again and again, to the point of constantly restricting himself and not letting himself have his own preferences. He lives like an ascetic."

Grandma was moved. "His younger brother isn't very sensible, and their parents aren't fair to him, your senior. It's really pitiful."

Chu Qianmiao looked deeply at Grandma. It turns out everyone is blinded by the situation; from the outside, they couldn't discern the implication of this relationship.

But being able to empathize with Ren Yan from the outside was already enough.

She smiled at her grandmother and continued, "That's not the most pitiful part. The most pitiful part is that after boy T intercepted the love letter, he made me think that the senior didn't like me and rejected me. Taking advantage of my disillusionment, he used all sorts of tricks to pursue me and made me his girlfriend."

Grandma sighed again, as if lamenting that she and the senior had missed out.

Chu Qianmiao continued, "Then boy T took me out for drinks. He gave me a drink that made me lose consciousness. Many years later, I learned that the sweet and delicious drink was actually alcohol, used by men with bad intentions to knock girls unconscious."

Grandma's expression stern. "How could a boy be so bad? I don't know how his family raised him."

Chu Qianmiao's eyebrows twitched.

"Child, how were you later?" Grandma's tone was filled with worry and concern for Chu Qianmiao.

"Later, when I woke up again, I found myself lying in T's room, on his bed. He said he really wanted me, but stopped at the last minute because he was afraid I'd wake up and get angry. I lost a button on my sleeve that day."

Grandma breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness, at least this boy still has some conscience."

Chu Qianmiao chuckled mockingly. "Although he didn't actually touch me, he made everyone think he did. He made his grandma believe I spent the night with him in his room. Later, when I broke up with him and he moved abroad, he lied to his cousin, saying I had s*x with him in front of the fortune fish tank in his room. He used this lie as a weapon to block any possibility of s*x between his cousin and me. Furthermore, he didn't allow his cousin any chance of happiness. He would do anything to have s*x with any girl he thought might be his girlfriend."

Grandma's hands trembled when she heard this.

Chu Qianmiao knew from her gradually clearing eyes that she might be beginning to notice the parallels between the characters in this story.

She took the opportunity to clarify, "Grandma, you're right. In this story, the senior is Ren Yan, and the boy T is Tan Shen. Ren Yan doesn't express himself, act spoiled, or act like a spoiled brat like Tan Shen does, so you certainly don't know how much he's been bullied behind the scenes by Tan Shen. What you can see is that the older brother is excellent, while the younger brother is still young, so the older brother should give in to the younger one."

Grandma's lips trembled slightly.

Chu Qianmiao rushed forward, "Grandma, Tan Shen has always made you believe that I spent the night with him and had s*x." After a pause, she spoke solemnly, "But I didn't."

"When I found out not long ago that Ren Yan and Tan Shen were brothers, I felt a little embarrassed by the thought that I'd dated both of them. But then I calmed down and asked myself, if Tan Shen and I had really had s*x, could I accept it? Would I have given up on Ren Yan out of embarrassment? Would I have the courage to stand up to your disdain and resistance?"

"I immediately understood. As long as Ren Yan and I don't dislike each other, why should we care what others think?"

"Besides," Chu Qianmiao said, holding her grandmother's hand, "Grandma, Tan Shen and I didn't have s*x.

"I'm telling you this today not to speak up for myself, but to let you know. If it weren't for Tan Shen's deliberate sabotage all those years ago, Ren Yan and I would have been together long ago. In this relationship, Tan Shen was the deliberate and brutal saboteurs. Even with Tan Shen, even if he played tricks on you, Ren Yan, and me, he would never again be a hindrance between Ren Yan and me. Grandma, as the parties involved, Ren Yan and I don't care about anything, and other people's objections are of no use to us."

After a pause, Chu Qianmiao's voice grew emotional. She held her grandmother's hand, her voice soft and pleading. "And Grandma, don't just dote on Tan Shen. Ren Yan has had a very hard time all these years. I know that the elderly always prioritize the younger, more capable members of the family over the older, more sensible ones, while neglecting the older, more understanding ones. But Grandma, no matter how sensible Ren Yan is, isn't he still just a child in front of you? Do you know how this mute child has been bullied by that naughty kid, Tan Shen, these past few years?

Chu Qianmiao recounted all the ways Tan Shen had bullied his brother.

Grandma's hands and lips trembled. If Chu Qianmiao had said this the moment she entered the house, she would have told her to shut up and stop spreading nonsense that would drive a wedge between their family members. But now, Chu Qianmiao was a trusted book friend, and she couldn't imagine someone she chatted with so much and shared such similar interests saying such things for no reason.

She turned to look at Ren Yan, trying to verify her words with his face.

Ren Yan nodded silently. Grandma's lips trembled even more, and her eyes reddened.

Turbid tears immediately burst from her eyes, weaving their way through her wrinkles.

"Xiao Yan, it's Grandma's fault. It's Grandma's negligence. I'll love you even more in the future. Xiao Shen, if he don't do well, Grandma will tell him off."

Chu Qianmiao couldn't bear to see the old woman cry so much, so she raised her hand to wipe her grandmother's tears. She didn't look back at Ren Yan, but she could guess that he couldn't be feeling well right now; his eyes must be red.

This was probably the moment he would experience the richest, warmest family love of his life.

Grandma suddenly grasped Chu Qianmiao's hand, her voice choking slightly as she said, "You're a good girl. Take good care of Xiao Yan for me from now on."

Chu Qianmiao nodded heavily. She stood up and went to pour her grandmother a glass of water. Grandma took Ren Yan's hand, looking at him with tears in her eyes.

Chu Qianmiao handed the glass to her grandmother, told her to stop crying, wiped her tears, and told her to drink some water.

Grandma obediently tilted her head back and drank half the glass of water.

After putting the cup down, she looked up at Chu Qianmiao, then slowly frowned and asked, "Ah, who are you?"

"Chu Qianmiao saw that her grandmother's eyes had become cloudy again.

She smiled and said, "I'm your friend."

Grandma patted the cup, sighed, and said, "Yes, I remember now. You're my friend."

Chu Qianmiao turned to look at Ren Yan, patted his hand, and comforted him.

Never mind. She had a lucid moment, and she confessed while lucid. This is a rare comfort and fairness for you.

Chu Qianmiao helped her grandmother lie down. When she fell asleep, she and Ren Yan got up and went back to the opposite side.

Ren Yan held Chu Qianmiao in his arms, sitting in the rocking chair by the window. Her back pressed against his chest, their heartbeats synced.

Together, they looked out the window at the bright city.

Ren Yan whispered in Chu Qianmiao's ear, somewhat surprised, "So you really confessed to me twice."

Chu Qianmiao chuckled and turned to look at him. "But what should surprise you most is that Tan Shen and I never actually did it, right?"

Ren Yan pinched her chin, making her look at him.

"I don't care about that," he told her clearly.

Chu Qianmiao raised an eyebrow. "Then, whenever I mention Tan Shen, you get really aggressive at night."

Ren Yan looked at her and said, "I get aggressive because I'm jealous, but it's not limited to Tan Shen. The night I heard that Gu Kai, who worked with you on a project in Li Si's department, was interested in you, I got aggressive, too. And when the waiter looked at you too much when we went out to dinner, I got aggressive too. But you don't notice these things. I only get aggressive when you mention Tan Shen, and that's when you notice. He spoke like a tongue twister. After a pause, he told Chu Qianmiao, "So it's you who's really focused on whether I care about you and Tan Shen having s*x. Qianmiao, the person who truly cares about this is you. "

Chu Qianmiao stared at Ren Yan in amazement. In that instant, she suddenly understood.

Thinking carefully, it was indeed the case.

So, she was the one worrying herself about this matter, the one who was truly trapped. She always said Ren Yan didn't know how to communicate, but on second thought, wasn't she the same?

She smiled, cupping Ren Yan's face and kissing him hard.

But what did it matter? Perhaps that was what love was all about. Because of caring, there was always a little uneasiness in both parties' hearts, constant suspicion, speculation, and worry. It was bitter and bitter, but ultimately sweet.

Chu Qianmiao felt like the days ahead had become a routine for Ren Yan.

He kept blackmailing her into marrying him, saying, "You can see cats every day."

Chu Qianmiao was practically shriveled by his proposals.

After another weekend of energizing herself and replenishing her yin, Chu Qianmiao went to work on Monday morning in high spirits.

As soon as she sat down at the office, she received a message from Ren Yan.

He brazenly and insolently asked her for two days' labor fees, 1,800 yuan, asking Teacher Chu to pay.

Chu Qianmiao, both annoyed and amused, simply transferred him 2,000 yuan.

"I'll give you an extra 200 yuan to save for your labor income taxes. Teacher Chu, please be kind. Even sleeping with you includes tax."

After her morning flirtation ended, Chu Qianmiao got back to work. After finishing the Hanhai Home Textiles project, she could focus on another backdoor listing within her department.

She was studying the project materials until almost noon when she received a call from Ren Yan.

Chu Qianmiao's heart skipped a beat when she heard Ren Yan's voice. His voice was solemn.

He told Chu Qianmiao, "Take a look at the Hanhai Home Textiles listing." "

Chu Qianmiao immediately entered the stock code for Hanhai Home Textiles into her computer.

She held her phone, staring at the screen, her mood beginning to grow more serious, along with Ren Yan's.

"Henong Co., Ltd. has been aggressively acquiring Hanhai Home Textiles shares on the secondary market, appearing to stop just short of the reporting threshold."

The author has something to say to Ren Yan: "My wife stood up for me today. It's so f*cking awesome."