Chapter 169: You Have Become Dependent on Him

Zhu Yuan sped all the way home, and the moment she opened the door with her eyes puffed and red, she saw Song Ci sitting on the floor with her arms wrapped around her knees.

Hearing the sound of the door opening, Song Ci slowly raised her head, her own pair of red, swollen eyes trembling the moment she saw Zhu Yuan.

She stood up abruptly, walked over in long strides, and pulled Zhu Yuan into a hug, "Where did you go? You didn't even answer your phone."

After arguing with Zhu Yuan, she had left in a fit of pique and walked around aimlessly by herself.

She understood that Zhu Yuan, just like her, was hurting for the other; after calming down, she only wanted to give Zhu Yuan a good hug, as Zhu Yuan had suffered too much lately.

She had a key to this place, which Zhu Yuan had given her when she first rented the apartment after graduation.

But when she opened the door and came in, she didn't see Zhu Yuan.

She called Zhu Yuan, but no one answered.

She panicked instantly.

Zhu Yuan was pulled into a full embrace by her, and the feeling of grievance could no longer be held back.

She clutched Song Ci's clothes tightly, suppressing her sobs.

Song Ci's eyes grew hot and tears slid down silently; she took a deep breath and said to Zhu Yuan, "Marrying Yuan Fengye, I don't feel like I'm losing out; he is the most suitable candidate for me."

"Bullshit!" Zhu Yuan choked out, raising her hand to wipe Song Ci's tears.

Song Ci pulled out a tissue to wipe her own, then pressed the tissue against Zhu Yuan's nose to wipe away her runny nose, "You're so dirty."

"If you find me disgusting, don't wipe it." Zhu Yuan reached out to grab the tissue, but Song Ci, despite her words of disgust, continued to wipe her face earnestly.

"He likes to live a debauched life outside, and I have no feelings for him, so we don't interfere with each other. I have endless money to spend every day, no one to restrict me, and I can play around outside as I please. Don't you think I've profited from such a comfortable life?"

Knowing that Song Ci was deliberately acting so carefree, Zhu Yuan knew that marrying into a wealthy family was never that easy, let alone the fact that such a prominent family required heirs to carry on the lineage.

"If you have no feelings for him, why would he agree to marry you?"

Song Ci cupped her delicate little face and sighed, "Because I schemed to sleep with him."

Zhu Yuan sat frozen as if struck by lightning, staring at Song Ci in disbelief!

Knowing she would have this reaction after hearing it, Song Ci briefly explained what happened that night.

"At the end of the year, I had just finished a lawsuit in Yucheng and went to a bar to drink, where I ran into Yuan Fengye. I was impulsive, but only after some thought; I had installed a pinhole camera in the room and filmed a video to threaten him."

With these few understated sentences, Zhu Yuan could imagine how heart-stopping the situation must have been at the time.

Was Yuan Fengye someone who could be threatened so easily?

This marriage was Yuan Fengye's revenge.

She opened her mouth to speak, but Song Ci reached out and pinched her lips shut, manually muting her.

"Since I've taken this step, whatever I have to face in the future is the consequence of the choice I made today. I won't regret it, so you don't need to feel sad for me, and you don't need to run around for my sake."

Speaking of this, Song Ci gritted her teeth in distress, "Did you go to find someone just now?"

The two of them understood each other too well.

Zhu Yuan gave a hum.

Song Ci sighed, "You went to find Sheng Yu, didn't you? He didn't agree."

Zhu Yuan's silence confirmed it for her, and she thought of how Zhu Yuan had been suppressing her sobs while trembling all over when she had hugged her just moments ago.

"You've become dependent on him." A flash of disbelief crossed Song Ci's eyes, "Do you have feelings for him..."

A trace of bitterness crossed Zhu Yuan's lips; knowing she couldn't hide anything from her, she said in a low, hoarse voice, "Yes."

At this moment, Zhu Yuan's phone rang.

Song Ci glanced at the caller ID; it was a number without a contact name, and the area code was for Kyoto City.

She initially thought it was a sales call, but Zhu Yuan's expression changed the moment she saw the string of numbers.

Song Ci narrowed her eyes but said nothing, watching quietly as Zhu Yuan waited for the call to hang up automatically; the phone then ran out of battery and shut down, and Zhu Yuan placed it aside to charge without turning it back on.

Downstairs, Sheng Yu made another call, but heard the prompt that the other party was powered off.

He pushed open the car door with a gloomy face, only for a Bodyguard to emerge from the shadows, "Young Master Yu, there is still someone at Miss Zhu's place. A woman."

Just as he finished speaking, Sheng Yu looked up and saw the lights in Zhu Yuan's living room go out.

Sheng Yu's chest felt painfully tight, and he seemed to hear Enzo's words ringing in his ears again: She cried.

Inside the house, Zhu Yuan was taking a shower in the bathroom.

Song Ci heard a knock at the door, put down what she was holding, and walked to the entryway; it was already twelve midnight.

She glanced at the video doorbell screen and was stunned when she saw the man standing at the door.

The knocking continued.

Song Ci looked back at the closed bathroom door, sighed, and pulled the door open.

As soon as the door opened, the man's powerful aura made her hold her breath instinctively.

She had seen Sheng Yu on the news before, but this was her first time seeing him in reality.

He was truly the object that countless young women in Kyoto City flocked to; his looks were clearly right up Zhu Yuan's alley!

"Yuanyuan is asleep, please head back, President Sheng." Song Ci said expressionlessly.

The sound of rushing water came from the bathroom.

Sheng Yu glanced at her, ignored her, and walked inside on his own.

Song Ci tried to chase after him but was blocked by Situ behind her, "Miss Song, please step aside."

Song Ci rolled her eyes at him and frowned when she saw Sheng Yu walk into Zhu Yuan's bedroom.

Zhu Yuan came out of the shower wrapped in a bath towel and returned to her room to apply body lotion; the moment she opened the door, she saw the man sitting on the bed.

The heated room was a bit dry, so she had turned on the humidifier; a thin layer of mist drifted out from it, and as Sheng Yu sat there, the cold sharpness of his features softened significantly.

He raised his eyes to stare at hers the moment she opened the door and entered.

Zhu Yuan's hand gripping the doorknob stiffened; thinking of her red, swollen eyes, she felt embarrassed and turned to leave.

However, before she had taken two steps, a powerful hand from behind caught her by her slender waist.

The man's scorching chest pressed against her, and her back, not covered by a bath towel, could clearly feel his temperature and heartbeat.

Sheng Yu held her tightly and refused to let go, bringing her back into the room, closing the door, and leaning back against the door panel while circling her in his arms; he stared into her eyes and said hoarsely, "Why didn't you answer the phone?"

"My phone ran out of battery, it's charging." Zhu Yuan's voice was as usual.

Sheng Yu stared into her eyes; they were red, clearly showing she had cried not long ago.

Had she been crying the whole way back from the club?

However, before he could speak, Zhu Yuan said first, "I'm sorry about tonight, it was my lack of consideration. When I suddenly heard that Song Ci was going to marry Yuan Fengye, I panicked; I didn't know what to do, I was completely at a loss."

Hearing this apology and self-reflection, Sheng Yu's heart tightened in an instant.

He subconsciously pulled her waist tighter and said in a strained voice, "You don't need to apologize to me."

Zhu Yuan shook her head, "You were right to scold me; I am no savior. Before I have the ability, it would be good enough just to protect myself."

Sheng Yu's chest felt as if it were blocked by tens of thousands of pounds of stone, pressing down so hard he couldn't breathe, "Did I ever ask you to protect yourself?"