Don’t get carried away!
Wen Ying warned herself.
It wasn’t really her fault.
Long ago, Wen Ying had suspected that Xie Qian harboured feelings for her beyond friendship!
To confirm her suspicions, she meticulously searched for any clues to support her theory. But every piece of “evidence” she found was met with a reasonable explanation from Xie Qian. Once or twice was fine, but three or four times? Who could withstand such repeated blows?
Now Xie Qian was saying things that could easily be misinterpreted, and the little deer in Wen Ying’s heart hadn’t even started prancing before she forcefully suppressed it, “What’s there to get excited about? Do you still remember you’re an old cucumber painted young?”
Not being a heartless woman who toyed with a young man’s feelings was already quite principled. How could she keep letting a young guy toy with her emotions?
“I don’t know why you did this. I used to think I knew you well, but then I realised I didn’t. Xie Qian, I want to remind you to change how you talk. I’m used to it, so it’s fine, but others might misunderstand…”
He was already too charming, and with these ambiguous words, an old auntie like her couldn’t handle it, let alone young girls!
Why was Zhang Nan so infatuated with Xie Qian?
Wen Ying used to think it was Zhang Nan’s one-sided affection, but now she suspected Xie Qian wasn’t careful with details either.
And Zhao Qian… never mind, Zhao Qian seemed a bit dim, probably not Xie Qian’s fault.
Wen Ying felt she should take this chance to teach Xie Qian a lesson. A male god should be aloof when needed. Being aloof wasn’t bad—it was accumulating good karma!
Wen Ying’s tone was dry, but to Xie Qian, it sounded like grievance.
Xie Qian instantly felt uneasy, how could he make his hamster upset?
“Because of you.”
Xie Qian stopped trying to nudge Wen Ying to figure out the answer herself. He laid bare his heart plainly, “Because your works need to be adapted into films, and I don’t trust others to do it. I wanted a film company under my control. I’m not saying this to claim adaptation rights for your works. I just want you to know that when you feel uncomfortable or uneasy at Tian Jiao, you have another company to choose from—one that will always support you.”
Tian Jiao was founded for Li Meng Jiao, a father’s loving effort to protect his daughter.
Li Zhen Tao was still Tian Jiao’s largest shareholder, and Yuan Feng Hui would always prioritise Li Meng Jiao’s needs.
What about Wen Ying?
If Wen Ying’s interests ever conflicted with Li Meng Jiao’s, Wen Ying needed another option!
Xie Qian dared not make other promises, but as long as he controlled Jia Xin, Wen Ying’s status at Jia Xin would equal Li Meng Jiao’s at Tian Jiao. Jia Xin would always support Wen Ying’s ideas.
Xie Qian’s ambition wasn’t just to be a fallback. If possible, he wanted to personally oversee the adaptation of Wen Ying’s works. He’d hire the best team, the best actors, allocate the most generous budget, and ensure her works weren’t ruined by unreliable adaptations!
After speaking his heart, Xie Qian found it wasn’t as hard as he’d imagined.
Any relationship required communication. If he didn’t speak, how would Wen Ying know what he was thinking?
Xie Qian felt relieved, but poor Wen Ying’s carefully built defenses shattered instantly.
This boy wasn’t unaware of how crucial exercising shareholder rights after turning 18 was. His mind was as precise as a computer, weighing pros and cons. Betting shareholder rights for a film company offered him no benefit!
Yet, to better adapt her works and give her an alternative, Xie Qian fought to take “Jia Xin Film”!
Wen Ying’s defenses crumbled, her heart aching.
Xie Qian’s actions were straight out of a romance novel’s “overbearing CEO,” but he wasn’t a CEO—he was just Xie Qian.
He’d repeatedly doused her suspicions, making her think she’d misread him. Xie Qian spoke grand principles, but secretly did grand deeds—was it really a misunderstanding? What he did for her had already crossed the bounds of friendship!
Wen Ying’s throat was clogged with a thousand words she didn’t know how to express. Xie Qian clearly misread her silence.
“I didn’t tell you about Jia Xin before because I was conflicted myself. Reason told me this wasn’t the best choice… but you know, if everything in this world was measured by reason, it’d lose so much vibrancy.”
From confusion to clarity.
From denial to acceptance.
Xie Qian had fought reason, but in the end, reason lost to emotion!
Those confused thoughts, those sleepless nights waiting for a single text, were etched in Xie Qian’s heart. The “vibrant world” he yearned for might just be Wen Ying’s smile.
Without Wen Ying’s recent distance, Xie Qian wouldn’t have realised so quickly what he truly wanted.
Wen Ying was utterly stunned.
She wasn’t really just a teenager!
If the hand-in-hand sprint at Xiang Province Airport, the pink☆ under the wisteria tree, and the confession at the skewer shop were all Wen Ying’s wishful thinking, what Xie Qian was saying now was exactly what she thought!
…Xie Qian liked her.
He didn’t say “like,” but he’d acted on it!
God, Xie Qian actually liked her.
Realising this, Wen Ying was at a loss.
Yes, there was no overwhelming joy—mostly just bewilderment. Any fangirl suddenly “confessed to” by the idol she’d chased for two lifetimes would understand Wen Ying’s feeling.
“I-I’m not… I…”
Wen Ying stammered, panicking. She despised how she sounded like a nervous schoolgirl. Her face flushed, heart racing, she just wanted to flee.
“I’m going home. I have tons of homework left, and my mum’s been tough lately. I need to behave!”
A taxi happened to drop off a passenger in front of her. Wen Ying seized the chance, jumping in to escape.
She didn’t even give Xie Qian a chance to speak again, nor could she let him keep talking. If that final layer of pretense was fully pierced, she couldn’t play dumb anymore!
The taxi sped off, leaving Xie Qian with only a trail of exhaust.
Xie Qian let out a long breath.
Wen Ying was flustered, but wasn’t he nervous too?
He hadn’t meant to confess. In their final year of high school, a confession was ill-timed.
But if he didn’t make his feelings clear, his hamster would drift further away… Xie Qian placed a hand on his chest, feeling his heart pound strongly.
The world was so vibrant.
His heart beat for his hamster.
This feeling, born from who-knows-where, was so beautiful, giving him courage to face any challenge.
“Wonderful.”
Xie Qian strode forward.
Though he didn’t know how Wen Ying would respond to today’s words, what did it matter?
He’d stay by her side for the long haul, climb higher peaks with her, and help her become her best self… The girl he liked deserved not just a long life, but a brilliant one!
