Chapter 1108: Secured

David clutched his chest and abdomen with both hands, sitting dejectedly on the sofa in the room.

Ye Zhenzhen brought over a bottle of water and asked, "Are you okay?"

David shook his head, took the water and drank a sip, then said, "Zhenzhen, I'm sorry. I didn't expect..."

"It's nothing; as long as you're fine. Do you want to go to the hospital to get checked out?" Ye Zhenzhen cut him off.

Just as Wang Yan had said, since the beating had already happened, what was the point of saying so much more?

Moreover, she had warned him in advance; even under such circumstances, David still deliberately provoked Wang Yan, so who was to blame? Even if it was jealousy over her, it was still somewhat excessive.

Wang Yan had been amiable from start to finish, without a single fault; it was all David playing clever, thinking Wang Yan wouldn't do anything to him, daring to mock with insinuations and sarcasm—such behavior was truly unlikable. Wang Yan was right: either you finish me off, or you don't make a sound.

Trying to gain verbal advantage with such dirty thoughts was not something David could say to Wang Yan. That required a basis of roughly equal dialogue between both parties, where neither could easily overpower the other or chose not to, allowing them to trade insults for oral satisfaction and show off so-called artistic speech. But David clearly lacked sufficient self-awareness and had underestimated Wang Yan.

David said nothing more; he had no face to say any more words. He didn't want to stay here either, only wishing to leave quickly, return to his home, and hug his injured self alone. So, enduring the pain, he silently packed his luggage.

Ye Zhenzhen didn't know what to say to comfort David's little heart. Moreover, she actually didn't want to comfort him; hadn't she already warned him...

She sighed and said, "I'll drive you back; it's so late, and it should be hard to find a car around here."

"No need, I can get back myself; you continue having fun."

"I'm not in the mood to have fun either; I'll go back and get a good sleep. I'm going back to pack my luggage."

The two packed their luggage just like that; Ye Zhenzhen sent a message to Wang Yan to inform him, then drove away with David.

On the way back, it was very silent...

Wang Yan and Lucy were still grilling and drinking, eating very comfortably.

"You really aren't afraid at all."

"What should I be afraid of?"

Lucy said, "He's at least a rich second generation; you don't even know his family background, and you just beat him up?"

"Didn't I also not know Lihu Qixing?"

"That was at the boxing gym, and he was sparring with you; you were in the right. How can that be the same as with this David?"

Wang Yan shook his head with amusement: "Are you pretending to be innocent, or do you truly not understand? When someone wants to cause trouble, they don't care about being in the right; if they can crush me, even without reason they have reason; if they can't crush me, even with reason they have none."

"Isn't that quite clear? What if David's family is much more powerful than yours?"

"If we really calculate it, isn't Lihu Qixing's family also more powerful than mine? His connections were even harder, yet I still offended him to the death?"

Lucy gave him a coquettish glance; seeing Wang Yan pick up his phone to check it, then smile and put it down, she asked, "What's wrong?"

"Ye Zhenzhen left; she said it's inconvenient at night, so she's driving David back."

"It seems she's unhappy; you're in danger."

Wang Yan placed the grilled food in front of Lucy, eating while speaking: "If I had no reaction and let that David climb all over me, that would be inviting misery upon myself. This was agreed upon long ago; what does she have to be unhappy about? If she can understand, fine; if she can't, then forget it; I don't owe her anything."

"You're impressive." Lucy raised her glass in a toast.

"It's just the truth; there are always those who lack eyes and seek trouble; I'm also helpless." Raising an eyebrow at Lucy, Wang Yan raised his glass in response and drank a cup with her.

"They both left; what are our plans?"

"You can go back if you want."

"Forget it; since we're already here." Lucy shook her head and drank another glass of wine herself.

"Ah, that's the right thing to say. No one is forcing you to drink; drink less, just get slightly tipsy."

At this moment, Lucy had already drunk four bottles of beer; her cheeks were flushed red, her mind must have been somewhat blurred, and her eyes held a hint of bewilderment.

Lucy could certainly hold her liquor; after all, she had previously attended gatherings of old men, who all favored this, so her alcohol tolerance should have been decent. But considering the long time that had passed, she hadn't been drinking much lately, and her tolerance had declined significantly. Furthermore, even if she could drink, four bottles of beer should still cause some reaction.

Therefore, Wang Yan still advised her, lest Lucy truly get drunk and require him to clean up after her.

Unexpectedly, Lucy looked at Wang Yan and said, "Don't men all like women when they're drunk? What, you don't?"

"Then there's no fun in that; although I'm not a noble gentleman, I truly cannot bring myself to do such things." Wang Yan shook his head, smiling, "I understand now; although the development of our relationship was due to a strange combination of circumstances, you have realized that I am actually a very good person, so taking advantage of such a fine opportunity today, you intend to be honest with me and engage in deep contact; is that the idea?"

Lucy glared at Wang Yan: "You are truly shameless."

Wang Yan laughed heartily: "Sometimes, one must be shameless; being too honorable means missing out on benefits. Are you full?"

"More or less."

Wang Yan poured beer to extinguish the charcoal fire in the oven; amidst Lucy's anxious gaze, he walked over and directly lifted her horizontally into his arms. Lucy naturally wrapped her arms around Wang Yan's neck, and thus they returned all the way to the room...

As stated earlier, Lucy was certainly hesitant, but it was indeed she who actively trapped Wang Yan, and Wang Yan did not hold it against her. Not only did he not hold it against her, but he also gave her five million, which had long since stunned her.

After this period of time, except for strong winds and heavy rain, even for light rain, Wang Yan went out for morning exercise. She did not slack off; whenever she got up early and went out, she would inevitably encounter Wang Yan, who had already run over ten kilometers and had over twenty thousand steps on WeChat, practicing boxing.

Without needing to say anything else, just this level of persistence had already proven Wang Yan's excellent qualities. Moreover, the two basically communicated every morning on weekdays, which could already be described as very deep. Wang Yan was also a man who became more fascinating the more one contacted him; Lucy might not have fallen completely, but at least her affection had accumulated.

Therefore, after comprehensive consideration, apart from running away, Lucy had no other choice. If she dared to run away, the consequences would be unpredictable. The relationship between her and Wang Yan was more like a transaction; if this reason were excluded, it was probably just the mutual release of passion and pressure between men and women living in a fast-paced metropolis.

Although she was not such a woman, she had no choice. Initially, she certainly dealt with him hypocritically, but later she figured it out; after all, Wang Yan was indeed a charming man.

Such accumulated affection, combined with the situation of a single man and a single woman together, caused the matter of handling Li Xun first and settling accounts later, which was originally tacitly understood, to be moved forward. This led to the lingering sorrow and tenderness of this night, and also to the renewal of a previous fate that Lucy knew nothing about...

That night, Lucy was covered in sweat, her throat itched, her body felt weak, and she was exhausted; she slept very late and slept very deeply; she felt at ease. That night, she obtained an answer: the answer to why Wang Yan had never thought of accompanying one woman for a lifetime.

At least after experiencing it personally, she believed this to be the case; she felt she had at least found part of the answer...

Lucy slept the most comfortable lazy sleep she had in many years; although her body was not very adapted to the powerful impact, her spirit was excellent. Picking up her phone to check, it was already past eleven o'clock. In the WeChat messages, Lihu Qixing was asking if she was going to the boxing gym.

She casually tossed the phone aside, lazily stretched her arms, and the thin quilt slid off her smooth body; sunlight streamed through the window, coating her in a layer of light.

She subconsciously pulled the quilt back up, but then thought that the damn man was not in the room, and immediately found her own nervousness amusing.

She quietly looked at the ceiling for a while, thinking about the lingering intimacy that was vivid before her eyes, until she thought herself blush; only then did she struggle to get up, dress herself, wash up, and walk out.

As soon as she came out, she saw Wang Yan sunbathing in the courtyard.

"You look in good condition," Wang Yan said with a smile.

Lucy gave him a coquettish glance and said in a somewhat hoarse voice, "It's all thanks to you."

"It's a matter between two people; the credit cannot all be counted on me alone." While speaking, Wang Yan stood up and walked to her front, "You must be hungry; let's go, time to eat."

Lucy hummed in agreement, following slowly beside Wang Yan towards the restaurant; she couldn't walk fast either...

During the meal, Lucy kept playing with her phone, not communicating with Wang Yan. Wang Yan understood; for such a deepening change in their relationship, Lucy simply did not possess a face thicker than city walls like he did, so feeling embarrassed was normal. Thus, he simply ate his fill on his own.

After a while, Lucy suddenly lifted her head to look at Wang Yan, then immediately lowered it again, focusing intently on her phone, her fingers typing rapidly with a clatter-clatter-clatter sound.

"What's wrong?"

Without lifting her head, Lucy said, "One of the victims has relented, willing to give me the evidence she holds regarding Li Xun's embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds. She obtained it while accompanying Li Xun during his contacts, secretly recording it; she was not a participant herself. But she has audio recordings and knows key figures—isn't that enough?"

"What we need is a pretext for an investigation; baseless accusations carry no weight. This evidence is sufficient. Combined with what I found on my end—his insider trading, information leaks, and so on—he's basically nailed. We'll strive to confiscate all his assets as well."

"She's asking for two hundred thousand."

"Why are you looking at me? The money is all yours; you decide."

Lucy glanced left and right, then stood up saying, "I'm going to make a phone call."

Wang Yan nodded, continuing to eat and drink heartily on his own.

Li Xun was a minor character, not worth expending much effort on, so Wang Yan had never paid him much attention. But as time passed, Li Xun's good days were finally coming to an end; as for whether Lihu Qixing's good days were over, that remained to be seen.

A moment later, Lucy sat back down: "Negotiated. One hundred and fifty thousand. I'll send it to you to see. Actually, there are others who hold information too."

"Then ask them again. You can never have too much of this kind of evidence; the more there is, the faster he dies, and the less money he leaves behind."

"Okay, I'll contact them again." Looking at Wang Yan, who was holding his phone upside down to listen to the recording, she asked, "Does that mean we can start moving against Li Xun?"

"Haven't we been moving against him all along? We just haven't filed the report yet." Wang Yan spoke while listening. "I'll arrange for someone shortly; we'll handle it tomorrow. Regarding the matter of unspoken rules, what's your opinion? Should we stir up hype online? If needed, just give me the files, and you don't need to worry about the rest."

"I'll ask them again to see what they think. I'm inclined to publicize this matter; that would count as a strike against him too."

"Then after I have someone file the report, I'll stir up some online buzz as well. Afterwards, we can add new material at any time, putting some pressure on the relevant case-handling personnel too. The sooner it's done, the sooner we can relax."

Lucy smiled brilliantly: "Actually, I'm already quite relaxed right now."

Her remark about being relaxed carried multiple meanings. It was both because Li Xun was as good as dead, and because her relationship with Wang Yan had ultimately reached this stage. Before last night's entanglement, she had always struggled to feel at ease; after all, owing someone, especially someone like Wang Yan, made it very hard for her to rest easy. Now that everything had settled, all her previous internal contradictions, hesitations, and anxieties had finally landed.

Wang Yan naturally understood this point; he smiled, raising an eyebrow playfully: "Since you're so relaxed, shall we practice again this afternoon?"

"Screw you."

Glaring at him in annoyance, she then said, "Do you think... I should resign? After all, my identity is fake."

This showed some dependence; she had subconsciously come to regard Wang Yan as a reliable pillar of strength and security, which was certainly good.

Wang Yan nodded with a smile: "What's next? What do you plan to do?"

"Definitely continue looking for a job, but this time using my real identity."

"Have you ever thought about doing something on your own?"

"Every industry is saturated right now, the general environment isn't great, and I lack the ability to discover new tracks; even if I found one, I wouldn't have the capability to build it up." Lucy shook her head, smiling. "It's better to be down-to-earth, working for someone else. That way I maintain social interaction without letting myself go to waste. What, do you want me to start a business?"

"If you want to do it, I'll provide the capital, or you could join my fund company. But obviously, you have no such intentions."

"I'm curious, are you this generous to all women?"

"Obviously not; I don't possess mountains of gold and silver."

"Then why are you so good to me?"

Wang Yan smiled: "It's fate, plus you have a very clear understanding of yourself, which is rare."

"Thank you, but I truly lack that capability, so let's drop it. It'll save you some money too. With the five million you gave me, if I returned to my small hometown city, it would be enough for me to lie flat and live exceptionally well."

"After all, you've been living in a big city; asking you to return and become Fang Zhiheng again, you probably wouldn't be willing. Now that we've slept together, the matter is about to be handled, and the money has been spent with peace of mind, you should treat yourself a bit better."

"Just eat your meal." Lucy's face turned red.

That afternoon, the two did not go exercising again nor admire the scenery; instead, they simply sat in the courtyard on chairs, enjoying the sunshine and breeze of the fine weather. Only when sunset approached did they set off to return. After stopping halfway to find a place for dinner, they returned to Ode to Joy...

In the elevator, Lucy hugged her shoulders and said, "Do you think I should move somewhere else? I don't want to affect you. After all, you have ulterior motives regarding Ye Zhenzhen too."

"If you aren't afraid of them gossiping, I don't care. Wanting to love broadly, yet afraid of what people say?" Wang Yan put his arm around her, smiling. "I feel you're ready again. Do you go upstairs, or do I go downstairs?"

"Today is truly not possible, and we must be careful in the future too; I still care about my reputation." Lucy slipped out of Wang Yan's embrace and took a step aside.

"I am unmarried, you are unmarried; listening to you, one would think we were having an affair."

"But you aren't a good person."

"That makes your statement reasonable then." Wang Yan chuckled.

"Then I won't move; living here is quite nice, and the few people on the 22nd floor are quite interesting. We've arrived; I'm going back." While speaking, Lucy had already pushed her luggage cart out of the elevator, leaving without looking back.

Wang Yan smiled slightly. In truth, she was far from having adapted; although she seemed to speak naturally and casually, as if she didn't care at all, that was merely her pretending to be strong. After all, she was not the type of person willing to do anything for money, especially given her past experiences; deep down, she found it difficult to accept, yet she could not escape it. In fact, she was attempting to fall in love with Wang Yan.

In this regard, she and Wang Yan were mutually striving toward each other, because Wang Yan had also fallen in love...

Just after returning home, Wang Yan changed into a pair of large shorts, threw the clothes from the past two days into the washing machine to clean, and was sitting bare-chested drinking tea and smoking when the doorbell rang ding-dong-ding-dong.

He swayed over to open the door, only to hear a tiny gasp of "Ya!"

Ye Zhenzhen covered her eyes—if spreading one's fingers wide enough to reveal the eyes still counted as covering them, then indeed, she was covering her eyes.

She said, "What is this? How improper? Put your clothes on quickly."

"Your eyes are practically welded onto me."

Wang Yan shook his head amusedly, turned, and walked into the room, picking up a short-sleeved shirt from the sofa to put on.

Ye Zhenzhen closed the door and followed him in: "Why put anything on? Let me feast my eyes and broaden my horizons. I knew you had a good figure, but I didn't expect it to be this good."

"That thought of yours is very dangerous. What, have you decided to engage in some deep communication with me?"

Wang Yan hadn't intended to steer things this way, but Ye Zhenzhen remembered the food but not the beating, her mouth being far too loose. So he simply threw the short-sleeved shirt back onto the sofa and walked step by step toward Ye Zhenzhen, who was standing a few paces away.

"I was just joking." Ye Zhenzhen hurriedly shook her head, reaching out to push against Wang Yan's chest. Her palm, contacting Wang Yan's body, felt the genuine warmth and textured elasticity, causing her face to turn red instantly.

Wang Yan seized the opportunity to grab her hand, while his other hand clasped her waist, pulling her close until they were pressed together.

Lowering his head, he whispered by her ear: "I took it seriously; what should I do?"

The breath from his words brushed past her ear; Ye Zhenzhen's body trembled as if struck by electricity, and she pushed against Wang Yan with even greater force.

Wang Yan went with the motion and released her, looking at Ye Zhenzhen, whose redness had spread all the way to her neck, and teased: "You just don't learn your lesson. You don't dare to get serious, yet you always run your mouth. Mind your boundaries; it's easy to get burned. Don't say I didn't warn you."

While speaking, he put the short-sleeved shirt back on and sat down on the sofa.

"Come, drink some tea to calm yourself down."

"You deadbeat scumbag!" Ye Zhenzhen glared fiercely, then sat down opposite Wang Yan...