Chapter 1102: Heavy Hammers for Resonant Drums

Wang Yan glanced at the text He Minhong had edited in her phone's memo app criticizing Yu Chuhui, then handed the phone back to her.

Looking at He Minhong's face, which was full of expectation for approval, he smiled and said, "Yu Chuhui previously mentioned that her father was quite irresponsible, basically never cared for the family, and even took money from home. Her mother is someone accustomed to being bullied, getting pushed around by anyone she meets. Zhenzhen also mentioned this to me earlier; I heard Yu Chuhui brought her mother over this time because her father beat her mother again."

"At that time, you said, 'The tree desires stillness, but the wind will not cease; the child wishes to support their parents, but they are no longer waiting.' You criticized Yu Chuhui's notion of only bringing her mother over once she had money, asking how much money counts as having enough, and stating that nothing is better than bringing her over early. That's why she brought her over, right?"

"Yes, but I didn't expect that just a few days after bringing her over, Yu Chuhui would reveal her true colors. Isn't this just escaping a wolf's den only to enter a tiger's mouth? She..."

Wang Yan waved his hand, cutting her off: "You just said we should think from another's perspective; did you actually do that?"

"I did! I was looking at it from her mother's perspective, Brother Yan." He Minhong spoke with extreme seriousness, puffing out her chest as if bearing a great righteousness.

Wang Yan found himself somewhere between laughter and tears; he couldn't exactly call her stupid, but this was He Minhong's cognition being limited, combined with her ego, making her believe that what she thought was what she thought, trusting only what she thought, and assuming what she thought was correct. But what manifested was a life-threatening stupidity that made one feel an inexplicable surge of anger.

"So, you would rather go back to your hometown to be beaten by a man, disliked by your in-laws, and bullied by relatives and friends?"

"Of course not, Brother Yan. I just said that Yu Chuhui treating her mother this way is no different in essence from her father's behavior; both are oppressing her mother. What Yu Chuhui did and said was wrong; there should have been a better way."

"Fine, then tell me, what is this better way?"

"She could communicate! Why can't things be discussed calmly? Shouting and screaming, preventing her mother from contacting home, speaking so hurtfully—what's the point? Her mother is an adult with her own thoughts; she can make her own decisions. As a daughter, Yu Chuhui should respect that." He Minhong spoke as if it were only natural, acting as though she held the sole truth.

"Are you sure you understood the conversation between Yu Chuhui and her mother?"

"Brother Yan, I am very sure!" He Minhong pouted, slightly unhappy. She had already sensed that Wang Yan did not agree with her viewpoint.

"Alright, you say we should respect Yu Chuhui's mother's own choice, but right now her mother's choice is to go home. And going home means getting beaten, doing hard and exhausting labor, being bullied, and being disliked. If you were Yu Chuhui, would you let her go?"

"Of course I wouldn't let her."

"Then you also heard her mother calling home behind Yu Chuhui's back. Yu Chuhui's father is not a good person; he definitely smokes and drinks heavily. Not only does he beat her mother, but Yu Chuhui herself probably suffered quite a few beatings in the past. You can figure that out, right?"

"I understand, Brother Yan, but they are all family..."

"There are plenty of similar social news stories: parents favoring sons over daughters, abuse since childhood, only seeking support from their children when they grow old. You must have seen cases where the elderly behaved terribly in the past, right? They are also family."

"But the news online represents only a minority of cases; nowadays, unscrupulous media take things out of context and exaggerate facts. Other families are other families, and Yu Chuhui's family is Yu Chuhui's family; we cannot generalize, Brother Yan. Analyze specific situations specifically, seek truth from facts—that's what you and I always say. Brother Yan, what exactly are you trying to say..."

He Minhong's logical chain was clear, and her mind was sober. If specific events were not considered, her words made considerable sense. But obviously, when considering the actual event, she was brainless, driven solely by her own wishful thinking.

"You have no objection to the fact that Yu Chuhui's father is not a good person, correct?"

"No objection."

"Then, if Yu Chuhui's mother called him and exposed our address here, and her father came over causing a huge scene, what would you do?"

"That couldn't happen, right? They are all family..."

"Analyze specific situations specifically; do not analogize the harmony and good conditions of your family onto Yu Chuhui's family. Based on our current understanding, do you think it's possible for Yu Chuhui's father to act this way?"

"I admit there is a possibility, but there's also a possibility there isn't?"

"As a third party unrelated to the matter, are you going to gamble on your wishful assumption that it won't happen? If Yu Chuhui's father shows up and blocks the entrance, what will you do? Call security? Will that help? Call the police? For such matters, they'll just offer criticism and education; he'll act shamelessly and return later. Do you have any solution? If he turns malicious and beats you up, what then? Cry? Call your parents? By then, after you've suffered a severe beating and your face is swollen out of shape, what good will that do? This is called foreseeing danger. When crossing the street, don't you wait for the red light? Don't you know the danger of running a red light? When driving through an intersection, don't you slow down and practice defensive driving to avoid accidents? If you see someone committing crimes openly on the road, wielding a knife, shouldn't you realize that acting bravely for a just cause carries the risk of being stabbed to death?"

"The degree of danger differs, but the meaning is the same. When you were secretly filmed, you didn't dare to defend your own rights; back then you said you were unsure, so you hid behind others like a shrinking turtle. Now you are certain, claiming Yu Chuhui is unfilial, oppressing her mother with harm of the same nature, and you prepare to criticize and condemn her? Is it because you know strange men can hurt you, while Yu Chuhui won't beat your face into a pulp? Is that it?"

The degree of danger differs, but the meaning is exactly the same. You were secretly photographed, yet you didn't dare to defend your own rights; back then, you claimed uncertainty, so you hid in the back like a tortoise retracting its head. Now you are certain: Yu Chuhui is unfilial, using harm of the same nature to oppress her mother, and you intend to criticize and condemn her for it? Is it because you know strange men can hurt you, while Yu Chuhui won't beat your face into a bloody mess? Is that right?

He Minhong lowered her head, silent, pursing her lips as if she were about to cry at any moment. When not being strong, getting scolded by Wang Yan made her feel extremely aggrieved.

"Cry? Are your tears so cheap? Do you cry over everything? After crying, will you call your parents to beg for comfort? Little He, you are an adult with sound intelligence, a mature body, and a normal spirit. Your parents are aging and will eventually die; the man you marry may not be reliable either. Ultimately, people can only rely on themselves; you must grow up on your own."

"Cry? Are your tears so cheap that you cry over everything? After crying, are you going to call your parents to beg for comfort? Little He, you are an adult with sound intelligence, a mature body, and a normal mind. Your parents are aging and will eventually die; the man you marry may not be reliable either. In the end, one can only rely on oneself; you must grow up on your own."

"I just tried to guide you, but your attitude was poor, very impatient. But is your impatience directed at me? What obligation do I have to tolerate your little emotional fits? Is it because I didn't agree with your viewpoint as you imagined, leading you to think I don't understand you again and that I'm just speaking useless nonsense, right?"

"I won't guide you anymore; I'll tell you directly. You know Yu Chuhui's family conditions are poor. You also know Yu Chuhui's father is a reckless man who doesn't manage a household and beats women. Then do you know why, after suffering beatings for so many years, enduring so much hardship, and being disliked for so long, her mother still stays in that home?"

"To put it plainly, she lacks independent judgment. She is not like you or your mother, who are educated and knowledgeable. The fact that she can write her name with straight horizontal and vertical strokes is already quite good; this is limited by her culture. Her family is still poor now; were they rich in the past? Moreover, in the past, the preference for sons over daughters was widespread; the village was poor, so after a few years of schooling, she dropped out to work for the family early on. This limited her horizon."

"Going out once, she can't distinguish east from west, south from north; even with road signs, she can't understand them. Asking strangers for directions makes her heart pound; she needs to spend half a day building up her psychological courage. After searching for a while, she finally finds someone who looks kind-hearted and shyly strikes up a conversation."

"Having suffered such mistreatment for so many years, she has become accustomed to submitting to adversity. When people are oppressed for too long, they easily become numb; accustomed to being beaten and scolded, if suddenly no one beats or scolds them, they instead feel uneasy. She isn't a masochist, but after such a long time, she has been beaten into one. As a woman, no one led her to rise up, and she herself has no ideas, only the inertia of many years."

"She believes she must go home, must be beaten and scolded, must be disliked, because that is the life she knows. Shanghai is too big; the cost of living here is high, there are no acquaintances here, leaving her at a loss."

"Yu Chuhui grew up in such a family; she would either be a punching bag or become aggressive—you've seen what she is like. Naturally, she cannot let her mother go back to suffer, but her mother won't listen; her mother secretly calls home, still longing to return to that suffering."

"Why call secretly? It must be that Yu Chuhui had already changed her mother's phone and deleted the contact list, and surely there were many calm, earnest exhortations, all aimed at preventing her mother from having thoughts of returning home. Yet her mother still does it secretly; she still wants to go back."

"But her mother did it anyway; can you understand that despair? Ignorance, stupidity, frustration that iron cannot be turned into steel, rotten wood that cannot be carved. No matter what is said, there is no way to make her understand all that painstaking effort."

"You can think back a hundred years to imagine this feeling: back then, the people were oppressed and exploited; awakened, progressive individuals wanted to change this situation. They reasoned with those around them, trying to make people understand and unite in resistance. But what was the situation then? You've read so many books; you should understand, right? Even if you don't like reading those books, you are a liberal arts student; you studied history and took ideological and political education courses."

You can think back a hundred years to understand this feeling: back then, the people were oppressed and exploited; awakened, progressive individuals wanted to change this situation, so they explained reason to those around them, trying to make people understand and unite in resistance. But what was it like back then? You've read so many books; you should understand, right? Even if you don't like reading those books, you are a liberal arts student who has studied history and taken ideological and political education courses.

"Human patience is limited, and people have emotions. Just as you are impatient with me, isn't your shouting and screaming when you're unhappy with your family the same? Or else it's cold violence, not speaking, not communicating. Yu Chuhui has an even more explosive temper; she is frustrated that iron cannot be turned into steel, feeling helpless, so getting a bit emotional when speaking to her mother is understandable, isn't it?"

"As for your claim that there is no essential difference between how Yu Chuhui treats her mother and how her father treats her mother, saying Yu Chuhui uses the banner of doing good for her mother to actually practice oppression, calling it great unfilial piety..."

"But whether as a daughter like Yu Chuhui or as a third party like you, there should be a most basic realization: staying here, although there are no acquaintances, offers better living conditions and a better state of survival for her than returning to her hometown."

"And in this matter, the choices are either going home to be beaten or staying here; there is no third option. The gentle approach you imagined has no room to be applied. Just like when I speak to you, I try to guide you, but you are impatient and may not listen. You are educated and knowledgeable; just think about how exhausting communication between Yu Chuhui and her mother must be. This brings us back to what I said earlier: how can you assume Yu Chuhui hasn't communicated well with her mother?"

"Don't talk about friends or relatives; if they were truly useful, Yu Chuhui's mother wouldn't have been beaten for so many years. Poverty might be due to region, skills, or various reasons, but being beaten is not, right?"

"So now you are falling into the same old trap; your perspective-taking is based on your own wishful assumptions rather than true empathy. I admit, you are not Yu Chuhui, nor are you Yu Chuhui's mother; no one can be another person, so no one can achieve true perspective-taking. But at the very least, you must try to see more, think more, and be more empathetic."

"Instead of only seeing what you want to see and thinking only what you want to think. What I told you about overcoming yourself and conquering yourself is not just to give you the courage to face things and stop escaping; it is also, right here, for you to break free from the shackles of your habitual thinking."

"Yu Chuhui's mother came here; you basically heard all their arguments, so you should know the cause and effect. Knowing this, you can still take it for granted, follow your wishful thinking, and criticize and condemn Yu Chuhui; this is beyond my understanding. I don't understand why your train of thought is so peculiar."

"Little He, you are not the center of the world; the world's operation does not revolve around you. The cause, process, and result of events are not as simple as your wishful thinking makes them."

"You just criticized unscrupulous media for taking things out of context; today's incident with you is exactly the same. You are also taking things out of context and thereby criticizing Yu Chuhui. I told you before about those netizens in comment sections of hot online events who righteously condemn others. Your current behavior applied here is exactly the same; there is no difference."

"You read books all day, watch movies, see plays, occasionally attend concerts, and join book clubs, living a very refined life. But I believe your personal cultivation has not caught up; you are always wishful, always carrying the banner of morality to criticize and condemn others. Being innocent is fine, but being innocent all the time is a flaw."

"You have no understanding of suffering; you are always immersed in fictional stories, thinking that is what suffering is. But in reality, living itself is suffering. I suggest you put down your books and go look at a train station, look inside hospital wards; if conditions allow, you could even go to the western regions to take a look. If you are interested, you could also conduct social surveys on the streets. Then you will know what bitterness and difficulty truly are."

"This could solve your problem of not knowing the hardships of the world and having an overflowing saintly heart. But your lack of responsibility, even your somewhat selfish nature, that is something you must slowly change yourself."

"Criticizing Yu Chuhui could be seen as standing up against injustice, yet when you were secretly filmed, you didn't assert your own rights. Back then, you were in a restaurant with surveillance cameras, and Ye Zhenzhen and the others were there; you weren't alone. Even under those circumstances, you lacked the courage, making excuses like your mind going blank."

"Now, between Yu Chuhui and her mother, the truth is clearly displayed based on what you know, yet you insist on taking an unusual path, receiving information one-sidedly, and criticizing and condemning Yu Chuhui."

"This cannot be explained away by simply saying you don't understand worldly wisdom or that you are innocent. Because you could have held off on criticizing and instead talked to Yu Chuhui. You might think your relationship with Yu Chuhui isn't good, that she always bullies you, and that since Yu Chuhui was already angry, asking her would only make you a punching bag for her venting."

This cannot be explained away simply by claiming ignorance of social niceties or mere naivety. For you could have chosen not to rush to judgment, but instead gone to speak with Yu Chuhui. You might think that your relationship with Yu Chuhui was poor, that she always bullied you, and that since she was in a fit of rage at the time, approaching her would only have made you her whipping boy.

But you didn't even ask; how could you know? So what if you used her as a punching bag? Hasn't she always been opposing you? Since you already intended to criticize her, does it really matter adding this one more time? Before you even sent that pile of words you wrote, you should have expected Yu Chuhui to curse you out thoroughly.

Even if you didn't ask at the time, you could have waited a couple of days until she was in a better mood to ask. Or you could have communicated with Zhu Zhe and let Zhu Zhe investigate the detailed situation. Do you think Zhu Zhe would refuse you? Even if she refused, she would explain clearly why. Instead, you went to Zhu Zhe complaining and seeking validation; when she didn't respond, you became unhappy, felt she was cold-blooded, bound by damn social conventions, inauthentic, so now you've come to me seeking validation again.

Words always have two sides; your behavior can be called kind-hearted, or it can be called selfishness for your own self-gratification. You might deny it, but you don't need to explain to me; you need to interrogate yourself. The value of a person lies in self-awareness; do you think you possess self-awareness? You do not; instead, you feel very good about yourself. Haven't you noticed that actually Ye Zhenzhen, Zhu Zhe, and Yu Chuhui, all three of them, have never truly opened their hearts to you?"

He Minhong had already been shedding tears, but she had been holding them back. Now, after Wang Yan's barrage of output, she finally couldn't hold it in; "Wah!" she cried out directly, bursting into loud sobs...

"Hold it back!"

Wang Yan's low shout startled He Minhong; she pursed her lips, her shoulders twitching, trying to sob as quietly as possible, daring not to cry loudly again, her eyes blurred with tears, looking pitifully at Wang Yan.

Choking with sobs, she said, "Brother Yan, I know you are doing this for my own good, but I didn't expect that in your eyes I am actually so unworthy..."

"Have you ever considered that it is only I who disregard your feelings and speak so bluntly, not that you are only this way in my eyes while others simply don't say it? After all, everyone is mixing in society, everyone saves face; unless absolutely necessary, no one wants to make things too awkward. Many times, no matter what you say, people won't lose their temper on the spot. They will just silently pass on you, categorize you among the unacceptable people, and stay far away from you.

You certainly have no friends in the company either; the fellow workers together with you are just dealing with you, no one chats with you too deeply. As for your leaders, they certainly don't look favorably upon you either. I guess you think yourself too high and noble for the masses, that they are all vulgar people, only you are a person with principles, and you move yourself to tears with this self-righteousness. The words I just spoke to you, eighty percent of them probably didn't go in your ear and out the other; you only know that I was scolding you and somewhat dislike you, right?"

"No, Brother Yan, I know you are doing this for my own good. No one has ever spoken those words you said before to me."

"What use is that? I told you, wasting a whole bunch of my spit on you, yet you still didn't take it in, remaining stubbornly your own way. Your dialectics have all been applied to others, not a bit of use on yourself. Today it was you who came to find me; otherwise, right now Yu Chuhui would definitely be blocking the door and cursing you. Shut up, think thrice—you haven't learned any of it at all.

To avoid my spit being wasted in vain, I recorded all the words I said to you just now. Right now your brain is certainly not functioning; after you've sorted out your emotions, listen to it again and reflect. Of course, whether you listen is up to you; I have done my utmost. Alright, go back; don't cry and wipe tears in front of me; it upsets me to watch."

"I'm sorry, Brother Yan."

"You don't owe me an apology; you owe an apology to yourself. Your tears are worthless, and your 'I'm sorry' is just the same. Go." Wang Yan waved his hand, unwilling to say more.

He Minhong's choking sobs still hadn't stopped, tears still flowing out as if they cost nothing. Wang Yan's words pricked her heart, Wang Yan's attitude also made her feel unfamiliar, yet she still knew Wang Yan was doing this for her own good.

She still had that much sense; after all, Wang Yan was such a big boss; if he truly disliked her, where would he have spoken so many words to her? This was something she had understood long before; now she lacked the sense to distinguish...

Sobbing "wu-wu," she nevertheless obediently stood up, hugged her books, and slowly walked toward the door.

"Then I'm leaving; thank you, Brother Yan, get some good rest..."

Crying while still remembering to express gratitude—this actually made Wang Yan laugh.

It was precisely this smile that gave Wang Yan a bit more patience; He Minhong had saved herself once.

A loud drum requires a heavy hammer, but He Minhong's brain capacity was limited, and her bearing capacity was also limited; for He Minhong, this one heavy hammer of his seemed a bit too heavy.

Although this person Wang was working as a nanny, he also grew impatient with constantly cleaning up other people's messes; occasionally doing it once or twice was fine, but any more and he would get annoyed. Because it wasn't worth it; he didn't like people who made no progress.

Just like this He Minhong; this time he laid out a whole bunch of reasoning, clearly pointing out her problems, yet she still made no improvements, so he would have to change his approach. As that saying goes, tasks are not set in stone; they can be adapted flexibly.

But the way He Minhong looked when leaving was enough to make one laugh and cry simultaneously. If it were an ordinary person, they would probably be angered into laughter. But Wang Yan truly laughed; he felt it was somewhat interesting, after all, such people are rarely seen.

He Minhong had made his mood, aside from that little incident, pleasant for a moment, so he didn't mind being a bit more generous.

Shaking his head with a smile, Wang Yan sent the recording to He Minhong, then tossed it aside, continuing to leisurely listen to music and read books...

Zhu Zhe was curled up on the small sofa in the living room reading a book; seeing He Minhong return, head bowed, still choking and twitching her shoulders, heading straight back to her room without looking up.

She immediately asked with concern, "Honghong, what's wrong?"

"It's just that I hate myself for being so unambitious; I'm simply stupid to death. Sister Zhu, don't worry about me; let me cry a bit and I'll be fine..."

Speaking while sobbing, He Minhong gloomily returned to her room, then covered herself with the quilt and just cried.

Shortly after, Yu Chuhui from the next room walked out, lightly stepping over to Zhu Zhe's side: "What's wrong with her? Who provoked her again?"

"I don't know; she said she was going up to exchange books earlier, and came back like this."

"Ah?" Yu Chuhui widened her eyes, speaking softly, "Could it be that Wang Yan acted beastly..."

"Impossible." Zhu Zhe shook her head to interrupt, "Wang Yan is not that kind of person, moreover, I saw nothing unusual about He Minhong, just that she was crying heavily. Let me ask Wang Yan."

Saying this, she picked up her phone to send Wang Yan a WeChat message; within a few seconds, she shook her head.

Yu Chuhui asked curiously, "What did he say?"

"He said not to pay any attention to He Minhong."

"I guess Wang Yan must have lectured He Minhong again; He Minhong deserves scolding, Wang Yan speaks particularly directly, he can immediately point out the crux of the problem without any concealment; how could He Minhong's fragile little heart bear it? She only knows how to cry, how to complain to her parents; Wang Yan is such a free-spirited person, he certainly wouldn't indulge her bad habits."

Hearing her words, Zhu Zhe thought for a moment, a flash of understanding passing through her eyes, but she changed the subject: "Did you coax Auntie into a good mood?"

"Coaxed her well; I used both coaxing and threatening..."

The two chatted idly for a while like this, then each went back to their own affairs...

The next day, after morning exercise and breakfast, Wang Yan got ready and entered the elevator.

"Ya, how rare, you're going to work today?"

"Good morning, Brother Yan."

The elevator doors opened; Zhu Zhe and Yu Chuhui were waiting for the elevator.

"Come with me." Wang Yan nodded with a smile.

"Ah, the feeling of hitching a ride is so good. He Minhong hitches Zhenzhen's car every day, Sister Zhu occasionally gets a ride with Brother Yan, but me, poor lonely me pedaling a shared bicycle." Yu Chuhui sighed with an "Aiya."

"Can't be helped; just bad timing." Wang Yan replied with a meaningless sentence.

The elevator moved very fast, stopping only twice midway; in the time it took to exchange a few sentences, they reached the first floor; after bidding farewell to Yu Chuhui, Wang Yan took Zhu Zhe to the underground parking garage, today switching to drive the Panamera.

Turning on some pleasant music, Wang Yan started the car, exited the garage, merged into the traffic flow, and joined the morning rush hour army of commuters.

"Did He Minhong talk to you yesterday about Yu Chuhui's matter?"

"Smart."

Zhu Zhe let out a long breath: "Actually, she came to me about it before, condemning Yu Chuhui's approach as inappropriate, but I changed the subject and didn't let her continue."

"Mm, not letting her speak was the right move; otherwise, you'd just be creating trouble for yourself."

"So you scolded her? Actually, Honghong is just a bit simple; her thoughts are too idealistic, but in other aspects she's still quite good, and she's quite enthusiastic as a person."

"How is that simple? That's just selfishness, having two sets of standards for others and for herself. I just spoke a few extra words; whether she listens is up to her." Wang Yan picked up his phone and swiped, finding yesterday's recording, "To prevent her from treating my words as flatulence, I specifically made a recording; here, you listen."

"I am indeed quite curious." Zhu Zhe smiled, took the phone, and began listening.

Listening from beginning to end, she shook her head with emotion: "No wonder she cried so fiercely; it seems she cried herself to sleep; for her, what you said was a bit too heavy. It's not just her; if it were me being spoken to like that by you, my little heart probably couldn't bear it either."

"You are quite good; there's no need to speak to you like that."

"Thank you." Zhu Zhe gently placed Wang Yan's phone back properly, smiling, "You really are quite a good person; warm-hearted."

"I just couldn't stand it, that's all. I don't care whether she's happy or not, whether she likes hearing it or not; I simply seek clarity of mind. But please don't call me a good person. Being good carries too high a price and demands too much; I'm truly not qualified."

"Then you're a bad person."

"Don't fall for me, though. Ye Zhenzhen has already pinned the label 'scumbag' right on my forehead. Fortunately, after running that marathon last time, I didn't die. Before, it was always 'deadbeat scumbag'; that's exactly how she saved my contact name."

"You and Zhenzhen actually suit each other quite well. I'm not worthy of you; I have enough self-awareness to know that."

"The word 'suit' isn't something I can claim. If anything, I'm rather indiscriminate; I 'suit' anyone." Wang Yan chuckled. "Don't belittle yourself either. What's this talk about being worthy or not? You are a good woman..."

"No, no. Even if I were worthy, I wouldn't dare. I can't afford to play that game."

"Where did your mind go? Do I really seem like a ferocious beast in your eyes?"

Zhu Zhe blushed slightly and said awkwardly, "It's just that the conversation led us here..."

"Confirmed, then. In your eyes, I am indeed a ferocious beast. Oh dear, my heart is freezing cold." Seeing her expression, Wang Yan shook his head with amusement, stopped teasing her, and continued, "You're still a bit too reserved, not like Ye Zhenzhen. With her, if I don't get three sentences in, she's already aiming below the belt."

"How could I possibly be lively? Every day I'm exhausted to death. The competition is getting fiercer and fiercer..."

Zhu Zhe took the opening and began recounting to Wang Yan some of her current difficulties.

Thus they chatted pleasantly all the way until Wang Yan drove Zhu Zhe to her hotel.

Zhu Zhe had been half-hearted until she spotted a man holding a bouquet of flowers not far from the hotel entrance. Puzzled, she said, "Why has he come?"

"Who?"

"My ex-boyfriend."

"Oh, and he's holding flowers. He looks quite refined. He must be here to try reconciling with you."

"We haven't contacted each other in eight hundred years." Zhu Zhe shook her head with a smile. "Just pull over right in front of him. There's no avoiding this anyway."

Wang Yan smiled, pressed the brake, and slowly stopped the car in front of Chen Zufa.

This Chen Zufa was the one from the drama who swindled money; he had tried to trick Zhu Zhe into marriage, failed, and then shifted his target, causing quite a bit of trouble...

Chen Zufa stared in confusion at the luxury car stopping before him, dumbfounded as Zhu Zhe stepped out of the passenger seat, and even more bewildered when the tall Wang Yan emerged from the driver's side.

Seeing Zhu Zhe walk over and stand beside Wang Yan, he forced a smile. "Zhu Zhe, long time no see. You are..." His gaze flicked to Wang Yan, silently asking about their relationship.

"Can't you tell? Isn't it obvious? Naturally, he's my boyfriend." Wang Yan draped his elbow over Zhu Zhe's shoulder.

Chen Zufa's eyes widened as he looked at Zhu Zhe, who nodded with a smile; his face plainly read, 'You think you're worthy?' Zhu Zhe understood. She tilted her head up, looked at Wang Yan beside her, and raised an eyebrow as if saying, 'What are you looking at me for?'

Wang Yan gave no reaction, simply reaching out to take the flowers from Chen Zufa's hands. "Buddy, what exactly are you trying to do?"